our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
(Psalm 116:5,6)
How do you see yourself? What terms would you use to describe yourself? One flavour of spirituality says our self-assessment needs to be in the bleakest terms possible, taking its cue from Paul’s statement, “good itself does not dwell in me, that is in my flesh…” (Rom. 7:18). But such an approach is not as fully biblical as it sounds. The same writer is quite happy to affirm that others are “full of goodness, filled with knowledge” (Rom. 15:14), still others “are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8) and that even he, himself, is able to offer a trustworthy judgement (1 Cor. 7:25) and is worth listening to because he also has the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 7:40).
Which might caution us against being too quick to concede that we are among “the simple” - especially when we recognise that the term means morally naive, unwary, inexperienced. Essentially, it is speaking of one who is easy pickings for the unscrupulous, who needs to be better able to distinguish between good and evil. If we’ve been Christians for any length of time we’d probably be reluctant to describe ourselves quite like that.
And yet we cannot but concede that, given the right circumstances and under a certain kind of pressure, we can fall into that category. Our judgement fails us; our moral fibre appears to collapse. We find ourselves all at sea and feel that the best that could be said of us is that we're novices - we mean well, but fail often. Even for those whose character has been attested over time, cracks can appear in a season of drought.
Which makes these verses in Psalm 116 so very encouraging. The LORD who is gracious and righteous and full of compassion is one who continually and actively “protects the simple”. He guards and shelters the unwary; he garrisons the gullible. All of us have more need of such protection - and have already received far more - than we could possibly imagine. Our words and actions so easily betray us, marking us out as vulnerable and exploitable. But the LORD looks upon us with wonderful kindness and acts to prevent disaster befalling us. His care is tender and wise.
And his commitment is to continue to grow us as his children into genuine maturity, into a Christ-likeness that is “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Mt. 10:16). To that end, his Spirit continues to apply His word to us in transforming power. For “the statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7) - his precepts, his declarations that are fulfilled in and by his Son, have the capacity to enlarge not simply our bare understanding but our hearts also, in devotion and humility.
“To make the simple wise” allows us to counsel our own souls, in the words of v.7, “Return to your rest…for the LORD has been good to you.” Rest that is not founded upon our capacities and experience but rather is rooted in the unchanging character of God, whose goodness never changes, never fails.
************
The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His,
And He is mine for ever.
Where streams of living waters flow,
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill,
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.
And so through all the length of days,
Thy goodness faileth never:
Good Shepherd may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house for ever!
(Henry Williams Baker, 1821-77)
How do you see yourself? What terms would you use to describe yourself? One flavour of spirituality says our self-assessment needs to be in the bleakest terms possible, taking its cue from Paul’s statement, “good itself does not dwell in me, that is in my flesh…” (Rom. 7:18). But such an approach is not as fully biblical as it sounds. The same writer is quite happy to affirm that others are “full of goodness, filled with knowledge” (Rom. 15:14), still others “are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8) and that even he, himself, is able to offer a trustworthy judgement (1 Cor. 7:25) and is worth listening to because he also has the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 7:40).
Which might caution us against being too quick to concede that we are among “the simple” - especially when we recognise that the term means morally naive, unwary, inexperienced. Essentially, it is speaking of one who is easy pickings for the unscrupulous, who needs to be better able to distinguish between good and evil. If we’ve been Christians for any length of time we’d probably be reluctant to describe ourselves quite like that.
And yet we cannot but concede that, given the right circumstances and under a certain kind of pressure, we can fall into that category. Our judgement fails us; our moral fibre appears to collapse. We find ourselves all at sea and feel that the best that could be said of us is that we're novices - we mean well, but fail often. Even for those whose character has been attested over time, cracks can appear in a season of drought.
Which makes these verses in Psalm 116 so very encouraging. The LORD who is gracious and righteous and full of compassion is one who continually and actively “protects the simple”. He guards and shelters the unwary; he garrisons the gullible. All of us have more need of such protection - and have already received far more - than we could possibly imagine. Our words and actions so easily betray us, marking us out as vulnerable and exploitable. But the LORD looks upon us with wonderful kindness and acts to prevent disaster befalling us. His care is tender and wise.
And his commitment is to continue to grow us as his children into genuine maturity, into a Christ-likeness that is “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Mt. 10:16). To that end, his Spirit continues to apply His word to us in transforming power. For “the statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7) - his precepts, his declarations that are fulfilled in and by his Son, have the capacity to enlarge not simply our bare understanding but our hearts also, in devotion and humility.
“To make the simple wise” allows us to counsel our own souls, in the words of v.7, “Return to your rest…for the LORD has been good to you.” Rest that is not founded upon our capacities and experience but rather is rooted in the unchanging character of God, whose goodness never changes, never fails.
************
The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His,
And He is mine for ever.
Where streams of living waters flow,
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill,
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.
And so through all the length of days,
Thy goodness faileth never:
Good Shepherd may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house for ever!
(Henry Williams Baker, 1821-77)
