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“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

Even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because he is always at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices,/

My body also will rest secure,

Because you will not abandon me to the grave,

Nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life,

You will fill me with joy in your presence,

With eternal presence at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:7-11(NIV)

David penned these words. I find comfort in them.

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me. . .”

He tells us he praises the Lord and the Lord guides him. Do we praise the Lord enough? This time of year, my praises to God are for our warm home, its strong roof, and warm clothes. What are yours?

“even at night my heart instructs me.”

God always conversed with David, even during the night. Some of my sweetest times of talking to God are at night when all the lights are out and the house and its surroundings are quiet.

“I have set the Lord always before me.”

We glean from his writings that he chose to live his life with God always living before him.

Brother Andrew wrote a book I need to find and re-read, Practicing the Presence of God.

“Because he is always at my right hand,”

David made God a priority in his life. God was important to him. Does God seem important to the majority of those who live in our nation? Is He important to those who profess to believe in Jesus? David invited God into his life. Do we stress that to those searching for something to hang onto, to get them through the tough times?

David knew God was with him at all times. He found this comforting. Do we realize that God is also with us at all times?

“I will not be shaken.”

The Shepherd king remained strong in the face of all he had to endure. When those distressing times come to us, are we strong in the face of them?

“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices,”

David was relieved of the burdens his heart and he gave praise to God for what He did. When God takes away a burden, do we give praise in our churches? Do we give praise in our homes? We should rejoice whenever we receive favor from the Lord.

“my body also will rest secure,”

David would rest and not be weary from all the duties he had to attend to. When we walk with Jesus, we can find we have more energy and begin to feel better. We might even sleep better than if we let issues build up in our hearts.

“because you will not abandon me to the grave,”

David makes a statement of faith with these words. He believes God will not forsake Him when he comes to the end of his life. We who follow Jesus know that our spirits, who we truly are, go to Jesus immediately after we pass away from this earth.

“You have made known to me the path of life,”

God guided David through his life, especially the difficult episodes. David wrote numerous poems about God and his relationship with Him. He has guided each of us through tough times, some of which may have been of our own making.

“you will fill me with joy in your presence,”

David tells God that He gives joy to him whenever the shepherd king is in the Lord’s presence. We, present-day believers, experience this joy every time we enter into a season of personal prayer, each time we pray with another believer, and when we gather to worship with fellow Christians.

“with eternal presence at your right hand.”

David looks ahead to Jesus Christ in this last phrase. We know Jesus sits at God’s right hand. When he went to heaven, he was with Jesus. When it’s our turn to enter heaven’s gates, we will be with Jesus. We will be there eternally.

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

"Lord God, You Have a Funny Way of Working at Times"