Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever. – Psalm 40:11
Safety, especially personal safety is on the minds of more people now, than ever before. Especially as more people are starting to get out. I must admit, it is strange to see people wearing masks everywhere I go. And I’m still getting used to wearing one myself. However, I know it is the best practice to keep myself and others safe, though, it’s not a guaranteed safety.
While many of us have lived through times in which we felt a potential risk to our safety, whether from war, or being drafted, or robbed or things of such nature; this current threat is much worse. It’s a threat to our health, our well-being, and is effecting every aspect of life. Yet, we do not lose hope.
Our psalm today, give us a reflection of a time when life was just as fragile, and truthfully life is always this fragile, we just usually have a grander illusion of safety. In Christ, in a relationship with the divine, our true safety is not an illusion, but a reality. The psalmist knows that God has helped before, and God will help again. God is the rock upon which we know that we can stand. There’s another great hymn the speaks to us this truth – God Our Help in Ages Past.
The opening verse of this grand hymn by writer Isaac Watts reminds us:
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home;
Like the psalmist, Watts, also knows that God has been with us in the past, and God will be with us in the future, and we can rest assured that God is with us know. God’s steadfast love and faithfulness will keep us safe forever, for we are in his almighty grip, and we have received his endless mercy. Thanks be to God for knowing that our true safety and security is found in God’s divine hand.
Yes, it’s true, we may not feel safe in this world anymore, or for a little while. We will have to make some changes in our daily lives, but our praise for God’s grace and mercy, that will never cease. He has been our help in ages past, and he will be our eternal home.
Grace & Peace,
Sam