May 18 (Daily reading: Psalms 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64) These psalms teach us a powerful lesson about grace. David wrote: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; and He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm” (40:1-2). David’s pit was deep, and the mud was heavy; he was guilty of adultery and murder! He confessed: “My guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head” (40:12). But David had this confidence: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us” (Ps. 103:12). After the pit and the mud, he could say, “My foot stands on level ground” (26:12).
David’s assurance that God had forgiven him led him to write: “I have trusted in the LORD without wavering … I will wash my hands in innocence” (26:1, 6). What a difference it makes when we are forgiven! David again cried out, “Hear my cry, O God” as he prayed, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy” (61:1-3). He wrote again of the image of God as our rock: “He alone is my rock and my salvation” (62:2, 6). This image is made even stronger by describing the rock as a “stronghold” (“fortress,” NIV); and as a “refuge” (62:6, 7, 8). “The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!” (64:10, NIV).
Do not settle for the pit and the mud when you can stand on solid ground—on the Rock!
– Al Gary
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