Throne of Grace
We’ve all messed up.
We’ve all done things, seen things, and said things we regret. We’ve all sinned—ignoring God’s commands and rebelling against His ways. And we know it, too. This is because God gave us the ability to discern right from wrong. His Word reveals His righteousness and magnifies our lack and need for Him.
The bad news is our sin separates us from a holy God.
But the good news is Jesus has already bridged the gap.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lived the perfect life we couldn’t and died the brutal death we should’ve—becoming the final and ultimate sacrifice. He’s paid our debt, cleared our names, and defeated death itself by rising back to life. And now, as the author of Hebrews suggests, we have an open invitation into His presence…
He Comforts Us
In ancient Israel, the rod and staff of a shepherd protected and guided the sheep, and even reminded the sheep that the shepherd was there. And so King David (who was a shepherd as a boy) used the metaphor in Psalm 23:4 to convey this truth: God was his protector and guide.
King David faced death many times and had enemies bent on killing him. He also dealt with his own sin issues and personal mistakes. But in the midst of all this, he repeatedly turned his attention to the faithfulness and assurances of God.
Where did he find these assurances?
King David would have been a student of the Hebrew Scripture, the Torah—the first five books in our Bibles.
To a Hebrew, the Torah wasn’t just a story about God, it was the very Word of God. It was authority, promise, and guide. It was this Word that David based his life—and his psalms—upon. David could write about God’s character because:
1. He knew the Word of God.
2. He experienced the faithfulness and goodness of God based ...