Scripture Thought (What I Learned):
David
speaks of two very important things in these two chapters (39-40). David speaks
out about how we need to be careful to what we say. Now when I was serving a
mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the country of
Honduras I always found that teaching this to children was far easier than
adults. It seems so simple for the innocent… don’t say bad words, don’t say bad
things about others… etc. So we can take a page out of this chapter and put it permanently in our mental library. Don’t swear or speak evil of anyone. Pretty
simple!
Then
David goes on to speak about how his “heart had failed him” and because of this
his only way to lift himself up again, was through the Lord. This reminded me
of a scripture in Luke which speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end
of the world; “And there shall be
signs in the sun and the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them
for fear, and looking after those things which are coming on the earth…” (Luke
21:25-26)
This hit me hard, because
I feel like we are currently living in a world where the hearts of men are failing,
and the world is falling down around us. But we can be like David and ask for
the Lord to send us help, so that he can lift us up again, no matter what we
have done. Through our diligence and the help of the Lord, He can help keep our
hearts from failing us.
Chapter 39: Control thy Tongue
To the chief Musician, even to
Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.
David
opens this Psalm with a promise that he made to the Lord; “…I will take heed to my ways,
that I sin no with my tongue…” (Psalms 39:1). In other words David shouldn't be swearing or
saying anything evil. This would include gossiping
about other people or saying “bad” words.
David
says that altogether man is full of vanity; “Excessive pride in
or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.” We need to avoid this.
Chapter 40: Thy Lord be magnified
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David.
David tells
us that the Lord helped him out of a horrible pit, and that the Lord is filled
with loving kindness. David tells us of when he was in the moment of pain and
anguish and when he looked up to the Lord for help…
“Withhold
not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord; let thy lovingkindness and thy
truth continually preserve me….innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine
iniquities have taken hold upon me… my heart faileth.” (Psalms 40:11-13)
He then
asks the Lord; “…make haste to help me.”
(Psalms 40:13) David was desperate, after all his heart had failed him and
he felt like there was no way out of his sin, except through the Lord.
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