When I am weak and wounded, feeling alienated from God and man; when I am desperate and fearful, and when I am lonely and dry and need to be reminded of exactly who our God is….I run to the Psalms. There, perhaps more than in any other book of the Bible, I find the everlasting God painted clearly and beautifully, in the full measure of His eternal power, intimate love and unceasing glory. According to the Psalms our God is:

A sun and a shield, our rock, our refuge and shelter. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble; for by His breath all things were created. He set the stars,  the sun and the moon in their places. He alone laid the foundation of the earth, making both summer and winter, and all of the creatures of the sea. The day is His, and His also is the night, for darkness is as light to Him, nothing in all of creation is hidden from His sight.

When our hearts and flesh fails He is our strength and portion.  He holds us by our right hand when we are weak and embittered. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is righteous, just and true. All of His ways are loving and faithful to those who fear Him and keep His commands. He is gracious and full of compassion. Look upon Him and Him only, for His faithfulness never ends.  He has searched us and He knows us. He knit us together in our mother’s womb. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and even if we travel to the far side of the sea and make our beds in hell, there He is with us…His right hand holds us fast.

The Lord is gracious, slow to anger and full of compassion. His mercies are new every morning. Trust in him for he alone is to be praised. Praise him and sing aloud to him with your voice. Lift up your hearts in song to Him for as long as you live. He alone is our refuge, our strength and our portion. He is our deliverer. In Him and Him alone will I trust.

I have many favorite Psalms, so it is hard to list them all. The ones I cherish the most have spoken to me about God’s deep love and protective hand as I have struggled through depression, desperate family situations, and severe vocational distress. His right hand has always held me…and held me fast.

A few of my absolute favorites are : Psalm 1,3,4,8,16,18,19, 24,27,*34*, *40*,51,71,*73*, 86,88,91,94 ,97, 101, 103, 107, *112*,115,116,118,!38,*139*,145,and 147……..

When I think of Psalm 119, I often become emotional because of all it has taught me over the years about the beauty and power of the word. To me, the depths of wisdom and truth set forth for us in this chapter are unparalleled in all of the Bible. Even as I read it today, it instructed me on how to think, and how to live as I walk before the face of a mighty, benevolent God. As a lover of God, the Psalms teaches us what should be at the forefront of our lives. The answer? the word, the word and the word). Psalm 119  truly is gold…eternal gold, revealing even more eternal treasures to those who meditate on it and take it to heart, and live it.

MPortraits of Jesus Christ in the word: Who Exactly is our God?