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21 March 2010

Psalm 56

Thou hast taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Thy bottle;
Are they not in Thy book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.
In God whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Thy vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to Thee.
For Thou has delivered my soul from death,
Indeed my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of the living.
Psalm 56:8-13 (NASB)

God has a bottle and a book for his people's tears, both the tears for their sins, and those for their afflictions. He observes them with tender concern. Every true believer may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and then I will not fear what man shall do unto me; for man has no power but what is given him from above. Thy vows are upon me, O Lord; not as a burden, but as that by which I am known to be thy servant; as a bridle that restrains me from what would be hurtful, and directs me in the way of my duty. And vows of thankfulness properly accompany prayers for mercy. If God deliver us from sin, either from doing it, or by his pardoning mercy, he has delivered our souls from death, which is the wages of sin. Where the Lord has begun a good work he will carry it on and perfect it.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible, on Psalm 56

(art credit:  Blue Bottle by Jeff Hayes)

1 comment:

b said...

Love this passage. About two years ago when I was shedding many, many tears, I wrote this poem after reading Ps. 56:

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-grain-of-salt.html

Thanks for reminding me and for the beautiful commentary and painting to go with it. Blessings from NC. B.