February 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 103:

¹Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
⁶The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
⁷He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
¹⁵As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
¹⁶For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
¹⁷But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
¹⁸To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
¹⁹The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
²⁰Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
²¹Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
²²Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

Devotional

When death takes our loved ones, we realize how frail man is and how quickly and decisively our earthly circumstances can change. We recall the joyous fellowship in the past with our loved ones; but the days of the past are like grass; as a flower of the field so man flourishes. "For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more" (Psalm 103). We are shaken, and we mourn when scenes of bright and happy associations are darkened, when doors of Christian fellowship are closed by death, when cherished companionships are severed.

But we are upheld in our desolation by the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort. In the midst of saddening change, the Lord who changes not abides with us. If mans' days are as grass, nevertheless the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children. Nothing can ever change His love. Nothing can ever separate us from Him. Death has no power to sever our union with our Saviour. By His substitutionary work He has destroyed the power and sting of death. Death admits us into the fuller enjoyment of His presence. After death, we will be reunited with those who, redeemed with the blood of Christ, have crossed Jordan before us to the promised land.

Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)