Since there is negative noise constantly surrounding me and pounding upon me, and since I am beset with a melancholy personality, I find it necessary to have my go-to verses of Scripture waiting for me as I rise to begin my day. Today I am sharing two more passages from the Psalms that lift my spirit and orient me rightly before the Lord so that my light may shine and so that I can be useful to the Master in the coming day.

Psalm 23, verse 4.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME. . .

COMMENT: The LORD is the Shepherd and His people are the sheep.

As any shepherd knows, there are occasionally times when he must take the sheep through dark and scary valleys or threatening canyons in order to bring them to the other side where He knows there are greener pastures. The sheep follow the shepherd and are not afraid, because they trust the shepherd and know that he will protect them. It does not matter the threat; the sheep believes that the shepherd is superior to the threat and so, as long as the shepherd is WITH the sheep, the sheep is safe.

In the same way, there are occasionally times when the LORD must take His people through dark and scary valleys and threatening canyons. In this place, the surroundings are dark, and enemies can lurk in the shadows. What do we do? We look around us to make sure that the Shepherd is nearby. If the Shepherd is WITH us, all is well. And we as sheep know that the Lord is always WITH His people. He is ever ready to defend us against any possible attack or threat. It is the Lord who leads us into the dark valley, and it is the Lord who will lead us to green pastures. He is stronger than any possible enemy and He rules over all His creation. He is certainly leading us to heaven, regardless of the current condition of the path. We can indeed say, “I will fear no evil, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.”

Psalm 66, verses 1-4

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!

Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.

All the earth worships You and sings praises to You;

they sing praises to Your name.”

COMMENT: In this psalm we see that praise produces joy. The psalmist issues four commands to his hearers: Shout! Sing! Give! Say! All the verbs are directed toward God.

Shout to God. Sing of God’s glory. Give God glorious praise. Say to God.

“Shout for JOY to God, ALL THE EARTH.” These commands are issued to all the earth. All the earth is commanded to shout for joy to God. Therefore, if you draw breath on this earth, you are called to shout for joy to God. To be silent or not to shout for joy is simply disobedient.

The same applies to the other commands. “All the earth” is implicit in these commands.

Finally, what is all the earth commanded to say to God? “Your deeds are awesome! Your power is great! All the earth worships and praises You.” And so, I obey with all the earth.

SDG          rmb          5/19/2020