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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Surrounded By Mercy

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 32

He who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. —Psalm 32:10

It was almost impossible not to see the giant billboard with the red background and huge white letters that shouted: “This year thousands of men will die from stubbornness.” Later I learned that the billboard was one of hundreds just like it targeted at middle-aged men who typically avoid routine medical screenings and often die from preventable conditions.

Psalm 32 deals with the spiritual disease of sin, which can be treated by honest acknowledgment and repentance. The first five verses express the anguish of hiding our guilt and then celebrate the joyful release of confessing our transgressions to God and being forgiven.

This psalm goes on to show that the Lord longs for us to seek His help in difficulty (vv.6-8) and receive His guidance. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (v.8). We are hindered, though, when we stubbornly refuse to follow His direction and repent from our sin.

God’s Word urges us, “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, . . . which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (v.9). Rather than hold on to our sin, the Lord offers an alternative: When we humbly confess, His mercy shall surround us (v.10). —David McCasland

Heavenly Father, help us now

At Thy feet to humbly bow;

Take away all thought of sin,

Make us clean and pure within. —Bartels

The first step to receiving God’s forgiveness is to admit that we need it.

Bible in a year: Psalms 120-122; 1 Corinthians 9

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Instruct, Teach, Guide

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“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Psalm 32:8, KJV).

As an Eastern monarch, David was familiar with the thought behind this interesting expression: “guide thee with Mine eye.”

As he sat in state, David was surrounded by a number of servants who were eager to do his bidding. They constantly fixed their eyes on him, and when David wanted any service done, he rarely needed to speak. Each servant knew his post, and his eyes were dutifully fixed on his master. At a nod or a sign – a turn of the eye – he flew to complete the desired service.

How refreshing to know that our God keeps an eye on each one of us as His children. He knows the way we are going; He knows the way we should take – and with His watchful eye He promises to instruct us and to teach us.

When we become careless and stubborn, and thus are not observing the slightest indications of God’s will for us, we require the bit and bridle instead of the guiding eye. Great attentiveness and great desire are presupposed on the part of those who are led.

On some subjects, full directions and plain commands are not always given in the Word of God. In such cases, we must be especially sensitive to the guiding eye.

Similarly, we apply the truth of this passage to the truth of a particular providence. God’s guiding us with His eye often indicates to us His will by means of providential events. When we live and walk in the Spirit, by faith, we recognize His guiding eye.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 3:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will try to be more sensitive to God’s guiding eye, realizing that I will find proper direction in no other way.