WEDNESDAY 10th
Psalm 32
NIV (v11) – ‘Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!’
ESV (v11) – ‘Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!’
An opportunity to remember one of the hymns we used to sing a lot, or at least we did back in Hereford as I was growing up, ‘Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, all ye that are upright in heart: and ye that have made him your choice, bid sadness and sorrow depart. Rejoice! Rejoice! Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, rejoice! Rejoice! Be glad in the Lord and rejoice.’ Another hymn based upon Scripture and within this psalm, David is rejoicing that his sin has been forgiven, (v1) rejoicing in that he was being led and instructed by the LORD (v8) and is celebrating the steadfast love of the LORD. (v10) He realises that despite whatever life may throw at him he is blessed because he is under the watchful eye and care of the LORD God, therefore he is able to rejoice.
David had learned what it was to be satisfied in the LORD, to use the words of another hymn, ‘Whatever my lot, you have taught me to know, it is well, it is well with my soul,’ and in that knowledge he could rejoice. Paul puts it in another way in Philippians 4:11-12, ‘Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.’
We are all faced with our own peculiar set of circumstances, sometimes we act that it is only us that is faced with this issue or that issue, forgetting that others have there own problems, difficulties etc. but the wonder of being a believer, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is that we too can find ourselves in a place where we can learn to be content, knowing that whatever our lot, it is well with our soul, therefore like David we can say, ‘Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!’
I turned to the internet to find this well-known prayer may we choose to make it ours as we navigate through this world.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that you will make all things right, if I surrender to your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with you forever in the next.
As we live this way we will join with David and rejoice and along with the instruction from Paul we will ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:4-7.