Each Morning I Will Sing

April 27, 2017

Each Morning I Will Sing

But as for me, I will sing about your power.

    Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.

For you have been my refuge,

    a place of safety when I am in distress.

Psalm 59:16

I grew up in a very safe and secure environment. My father served in the US Air Force, and all the way through high school I lived on or near Air Force bases. The reality of a hostile world burst upon our Norman Rockwell life with the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and was followed one year later by the assassination of President Kennedy. The Gulf of Tonkin incident in Viet Nam occurred the summer I graduated from high school, and thus began the rapid expansion of US military forces in Southeast Asia. The violence between nations led to violence and rebellion within nations, including the assassination of several national leaders in the US. While the message and language of Psalm 59 may seem dated and part of another era, it could have well been written in our country, even last week.

Because Psalm 59 is applicable to so many people, figuratively, if not literally, it serves as a reminder that the child of God always has better options. We do not have to cower in fear. We do not have to return violence for violence, insult for insult, and hate for hate. We can sing with the psalmist, “Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress” (Psalm 59:16b).

Psalm 59 is also a reminder that “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Although the purpose of evil is to steal and kill and destroy, Jesus has overcome the forces of evil (John 10:10, 16:33). Therefore, Jesus said, “Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

    may your name be kept holy.

May your Kingdom come soon.

May your will be done on earth,

    as it is in heaven.

Give us today the food we need,

and forgive us our sins,

    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

And don’t let us yield to temptation,

    but rescue us from the evil one.”

Matthew 6:9-13 (Emphasis Added)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.