Verse of the Day 8/12

Verse of the Day 8/12

Psalm 73:22-23 I was so stupid. I was senseless and ignorant,

acting like a brute beast before you, Lord.
^23??Yet, in spite of all this, you comfort me by your counsel;
you draw me closer to you.?????? The Passion Translation (TPT)

Yesterday, I read Psalm 73 in my daily reading through the Psalms, this time through, reading from The Passion Translation.?? Reading those first few words, "I was so stupid.?? I was senseless and ignorant" was sobering.?? I realized that I can be that way; letting things get to me and then taking it out on others who had nothing to do with my emotions.?? Can you relate??? Do you look back and realize sometimes that you have been a "brute beast" towards someone, someone you love??? How about in your relationship to God.

Both the TPT and ESV below use the words brute or brutish.?? A brute is defined as a savagely violent person or animal.???? Think about that.?? Are we like that sometimes with God, questioning Him, and angered toward Him because of our circumstance.?? That's were verse 23 comes in and the Psalmist realizes "In spite of all this, you comfort me".????

This morning I receive the Grace Gems devotional by email.?? In it Charles Spurgeon just happened to be dealing with these same verses.?? He writes:

"I am continually upon His mind--He is always thinking of me for my good.     I am continually before His eye--the eye of the Lord never sleeps, but is perpetually watching over my welfare.     I am continually in His hand--so that none shall be able to pluck me thence.    I am continually on His heart--worn there as a memorial, even as the high priest bore the names of the twelve tribes upon his heart forever.     "You always think of me, O God.  Your love and affections continually yearn towards me.  You are always making providence work for my good.  You have set me as a signet upon your arm.  Your love is strong as death, many waters cannot quench it; neither can the floods drown it.  Surprising grace! Though in myself abhorred, You see me in Christ and washed in His blood, and thus I stand accepted in Your presence. I am thus continually in Your favor, continually with You!"

The takeaway from this for me and for you today, that even when we find ourselves in that "brutish" condition, God is still there.?? As Spurgeon states, "I am continually on His mind; continually before His eye; continually in His hand; and continually on His heart".??

If you started the day feeling brutish, may God's Word lead you to a similar conclusion to Spurgeon's .

  --   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 73:22-28??English Standard Version (ESV)

^22??I was??brutish and ignorant;
????????I was like??a beast toward you.

^23??Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
????????you??hold my right hand.
^24??You??guide me with your counsel,
????????and afterward you will??receive me to glory.
^25??Whom have I in heaven but you?
????????And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
^26??My flesh and my heart may fail,
????????but God is??the strength^[a]??of my heart and my??portion??forever.

^27??For behold, those who are??far from you shall perish;
????????you put an end to everyone who is??unfaithful to you.
^28??But for me it is good to??be near God;
????????I have made the Lord??God??my??refuge,
????????that I may??tell of all your works.