Psalm 16:8 - How To Keep Jesus At Your Right Hand.
Psalm 16:8 - How To Keep Jesus At Your Right Hand.
Psalm 16:8 (TNIV) I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at
my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8 (NRSV) I keep the LORD always before me; because he
is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
The psalmist so deeply depends on the Lord for strength and joy
that he senses that God is right beside him. [NLT SB]
In David's eyes, God was no mere abstraction, but a Person
actually at his side. Enoch walked with God. Moses kept a vision of God
before him. We need a consciousness of the constant presence of God.
Not only will a sense of God's presence be a deterrent to sinning,
but it will gladden the heart, brighten the life, and give meaning
to circumstances. [SDA Bible Commentary]
It is human nature to make our own plans and then ask God to
bless them. Instead, we should seek God's will first. By constantly
thinking about the Lord and his way of living, we will gain insights that
will help us make right decisions and live the way God desires.
Communicating with God allows him to counsel us and give us wisdom. [Life
Application SB]
Each of us too can experience God's guidance. When we "set the
Lord always before" us, keeping our eyes on Him, always following
where He leads, we will "not be shaken." [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
What does it mean to set the Lord always before you? It means
that you choose to relate everything you encounter to your trust in
God. What you choose to focus on becomes the dominant influence in
your life. You may be a Christian, but if your focus is always on
your problems, your problems will determine the direction of your
life. If your focus is on people, then people will determine what you
think and do. In biblical times, the right hand was the most
distinguished position, reserved for one's chief adviser and supporter. When
you choose to focus on Christ, you invite Him to take the most
important position in your life as Counselor and Defender.
Every time you face a new experience, you should turn to
Christ for His interpretation and strength. When people insult you and
mistreat you, you should seek direction from your Counselor regarding the
right response. When you face a crisis, you should receive strength
from the One at your right hand. When you experience need, you should
consult your Counselor before you react. When you face a fearful
situation, you should take courage from the Advocate at your right hand.
Everything you do is in the context of your relationship to Christ.
What an incredible act of God's grace that Christ should stand
beside you to guide you and counsel you and defend you! How could you
ever become dismayed over your situation with Christ at your right
hand? What confidence this should give you! [Experiencing God Day by
Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re Psa. 16:8]
Many have an idea that they must do some part of the work
alone. They have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but now
they seek by their own efforts to live aright. But every such effort
must fail. Jesus says, "Without Me ye can do nothing." Our growth in
grace, our joy, our usefulness,--all depend upon our union with Christ.
It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly,--by abiding in Him,
--that we are to grow in grace. He is not only the Author, but the
Finisher of our faith. It is Christ first and last and always. He is to
be with us, not only at the beginning and the end of our course,
but at every step of the way. David says, "I have set the Lord
always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be
moved." Psalm 16:8. {SC 69.1}
Do you ask, "How am I to abide in Christ?" In the same way as
you received Him at first. "As ye have therefore received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." "The just shall live by faith."
Colossians 2:6; Hebrews 10:38. You gave yourself to God, to be His wholly,
to serve and obey Him, and you took Christ as your Saviour. You
could not yourself atone for your sins or change your heart; but
having given yourself to God, you believe that He for Christ's sake did
all this for you. By faith you became Christ's, and by faith you are
to grow up in Him--by giving and taking. You are to give all,--your
heart, your will, your service,--give yourself to Him to obey all His
requirements; and you must take all,--Christ, the fullness of all blessing, to
abide in your heart, to be your strength, your righteousness, your
everlasting helper,--to give you power to obey. {SC 69.2}
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very
first work. Let your prayer be, "Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I
lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide
with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee." This is a daily
matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender
all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His
providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into
the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more
after the life of Christ. {SC 70.1}
A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no
ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your
hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to
His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His
enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind
dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love,
upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His
self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness,
Christ in His matchless love --this is the subject for the soul's
contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him,
that you are to be transformed into His likeness. {SC 70.2}
Jesus says, "Abide in Me." These words convey the idea of
rest, stability, confidence. Again He invites,"Come unto Me, . . . and
I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. The words of the psalmist
express the same thought: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for
Him." And Isaiah gives the assurance, "In quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength." Psalm 37:7; Isaiah 30:15. This rest is not
found in inactivity; for in the Saviour's invitation the promise of
rest is united with the call to labor: "Take My yoke upon you: . . .
and ye shall find rest." Matthew 11:29. The heart that rests most
fully upon Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him.
{SC 71.1}
When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ,
the source of strength and life. Hence it is Satan's constant effort
to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent
the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of
the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of
others, or your own faults and imperfections--to any or all of these he
will seek to divert the mind. Do not be misled by his devices. Many
who are really conscientious, and who desire to live for God, he too
often leads to dwell upon their own faults and weaknesses, and thus by
separating them from Christ he hopes to gain the victory. We should not
make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we
shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the Source of our
strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to God, and trust in Him. Talk
and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt;
dismiss your fears. Say with the apostle Paul, "I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for
me." Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you
have committed to Him. If you will leave yourself in His hands, He
will bring you off more than conqueror through Him that has loved
you. {SC 71.2}
www.aBible.com
|
|
