Week 1 April 2025, Devotion Part 1

If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night, if thou testest me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me… Psalm 17:3

What a challenge to put some snap into a slackened Christian life! Those of us who tie God into our busy daily routines as just one more obligation, may not think it wise to turn Him loose to roam at will at night. if we still check for monsters under the bed, our imagination runs wild. But what if God shows up as a laser of truth that slices with surgical precision through layers of fitful sleep and tangled dreams to lay bare the hairy stuff of our scary sin nature?

Sound sleep is a gift to be prized, but it makes for a poor hiding place. Worn out from protracted exposure to punishing circumstances, David is desperate for sanctuary. “Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings,” he goes on to plead. When constant stress makes us crave the soothing ministrations of the night, we yearn for the sleep of the dead. Those hours of blissful oblivion, topped off with a strong cup of morning coffee, should resurrect us sufficiently to bear the strain of yet another hard day. That kind of optimism is bound to wear off as quickly as the caffeine buzz. Part 1 of 2

Comment:  My Spell Check is appalled that out of the many popular English Bible translations I would choose the Revised Standard Version.  Much of it is based on William Tyndale’s work, for which the Church of England burned him at the stake in 1536.  My only other option would have been the New International Version, where Psalm 17:3 reads, “Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed.”  All other translations refer to a done deal in David’s past, and that will make for an eye-opener also. For me the tiny word “if” brings the prospect of a surprise night-time inspection by God into my personal here and now!  Would I welcome it or would it scare the daylights out of me?  Exodus comes to mind and God’s holiness begins to loom so large that I can taste Israel’s “holy terror.”  While in bed already, my shoes are off, but so are all bets as to the outcome…  Moses actually is linked with Psalm 17, inasmuch as its superscription reads, “A Prayer of David.”  Of the 150 Psalms, only 5 are specifically identified as a prayer.  They are 17, 86, 90, 102, and 142.  I chose verses 1-2 of Psalm 90 as my life verse for my confirmation in 1948.  Its surprising superscription reads, “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.”  Bible scholars mostly agree that David’s claim of inculpability refers back to an incident meticulously detailed in 1 Samuel 25.  Although anointed to be Israel’s new king, he is still on the run from mad King Saul, hellbent as ever to kill him.  When David meets Nabal, he briefly does him good, only to find out he’s a worthless “fool.”. That’s the actual meaning of his name and echoes April’s Fools’ Day.  However, his wife Abigail is “intelligent and beautiful,” which adds spice to the story, but also a bit of a letdown for today’s “jealous” followers of Jesus, “the Son of David.”  IF my readers will read the 5 Psalms and the Nabal narrative, my conclusion next week will make them and the Spell Check positively happy.  Thou shallest see!