August 28 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

These meditations are on the psalms. All those songs about Zion, the temple, and the Son of David really make sense when they are sung In the New Testament church.

Bible Reading:

Psalm 116

Bible Text:

You ... have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD (Ps. 116:8–9).

Devotional:

"You, 0 LORD, have delivered my soul from death." Perhaps the psalmist had been very ill before he penned this song. Maybe his enemies had almost killed him. In any event, death and the grave had bound and gagged him and had nearly carried him off. But then the LORD saved him.

I have often read this psalm (omitting verses 10 and 11) to people who've had a brush with death in an accident or in surgery. They can always identify with Psalm 116 because they feel as if they've been snatched from the grip of the grim reaper. With the psalmist they feel a surge of gratitude: "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?" (v. 12) "You ... have delivered my soul from death." This is an appropriate response for someone who has escaped physical and/or spiritual death.

When God saves us, he dries our tears, puts us on our feet, and teaches us to walk. As a result, the psalmist says with great relief and resolve, we "may walk before the LORD in the land of the living." Walking with the Lord means living in communion with him. Walking after the Lord means being his disciple. But walking before the Lord means being forever conscious of God's eye upon us.

After recovering from serious illness or being restored after a fall into sin, we cherish anew all treasures in the land of the living. And we step carefully and gratefully, knowing that we walk before the all-seeing eyes of God.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.