MONDAY 25th
Psalm 16
NIV (v11) – ‘You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.’
ESV (v11) – ‘You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’
We continue from yesterday, David after declaring his confident trust in a sure resurrection then continues to dwell on his present experience, ‘You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence . . .’ and sees it as running automatically into what will be his future eternal experience, ‘with eternal pleasures at your right hand.’ He is already enjoying a foretaste of glory divine!
But how has he got to this position? The answer is found in the first few words, ‘You have made known to me the path of life’. God had revealed to him the pathway of life and he himself had made a determined choice to get onto that pathway. There is only one conclusion we can draw from this and it is this, men and women will only get to know fulness of joy and the eternal pleasures available by getting onto the right pathway which is the path of life.
Over the last few weeks during the lockdown, Elaine and I have been discovering some of the walks around our area. Within a few minutes’ walk from our front door we can get onto footpaths that lead to country parks, or nature reserves. One day after we had had some snow, we decided to go for a walk, the snow was thawing and it was very wet underfoot and we went in one particular direction and then decided to follow the signs for a public footpath. It was messy, we went so far and then I decided (I like to explore) we would take a short cut and make our way across to another footpath we had already explored a few days earlier, but the short cut was not a short cut time wise, we ended up having to get over fences and other hurdles along the way making the walk much longer that it ever needed to be before we got to the pathway we wanted, then it was head straight for home, back into the warm, get the wet footwear off and dry out! We (or rather I) should have consulted a map which was easily accessible on my phone and got on the right pathway and we would have had a much more enjoyable experience. Many are muddling their way through life, thinking they are on the right pathway, yet it is a pathway that is full of diversions, obstructions, hurdles and problems and it will never lead to the place that leads to eternal pleasures, they need to consult the map, the guide book, God’s word and get onto the right pathway, the pathway that will lead to eternal pleasures at God’s right hand.
Elaine and I were on the right pathway, but we (or rather I) decided to try another route and we got into a mess, many have gotten onto the right pathway but while walking in the right direction have decided to try another route and their lives have gotten into a mess, this is one of those devotions where I feel constrained to bring a fresh challenge to us all concerning our walk with God, he has made known to us the pathway of life, it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who himself is the way, are we sticking to this pathway or are we trying out other paths, being distracted with what may seem to be an easier route which will end up being full of trouble and if we stay on it will lead us astray. Let us keep focused on Jesus, who is the only way, may we keep to his path, may we not look to the left or the right but remain focused on the finishing line.
At the end of Psalm 139 we read the following ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting’ (vv23-24) the psalmist could so easily have said, ‘Check out my pathway, O God, see if I am straying or gone off course and lead me again onto the pathway that leads to the way eternal.’