The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD; "O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!" Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you, for You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living... Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.
There is a foe difficult for us to handle, and that is the inevitable. This is especially true with inevitability of physical death. Very few of us surrender to it easily, and rightfully so because we are made to live. All along the way we seek every avenue to for stall this inevitable event, right up to our last breath. But, finally, we are all swallowed up in the reality that "It is appointed unto man once to die." It is a great curse of the Fall. Paul calls it "the last enemy". We are constantly up against it, and sometimes more fearfully. How often have any one of God's people had to say, "The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow"? Countless numbers, in their own darkness, know exactly what the Psalmist felt when he said, "Then I called upon the name of the LORD; "O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!" And how thankful we are when we again escape death's intent on on our lives, declaring, "Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me." But there is something else going on in this passage of Scripture that is important to see and know. The Psalmist seems to mix the object of his attention, on physical life, with soul life. He says, in verses 7 and 8, "Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you, for You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." C.S. Lewis said, "I do not have a soul. I am a soul. I have a body." The inevitable will finally bring this body to the grave; but we are much more than body, and blessed is the person who sees this. It sets them on a different course, and that is the salvation of their soul. The inevitable is taken over by the eternal, becoming their very reason for anything, both in this life and the next. We are captured by the Audience of One, and we declare with the Psalmist, as long as we live in this life, "I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living." And this Audience of One is captured by any who walk before Him this way, keeping His eye on them all the way, even unto death. Now we can understand why the Psalmist wrote, " Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones". He has followed our goings all the way, as we follow His grace all the way. And as we walk through the valley of death, He is with us with His big heart, still holding our hand as we awaken in eternity. There is no relationship like this relationship! "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD, (Ps. 116:12-13)
There is a foe difficult for us to handle, and that is the inevitable. This is especially true with inevitability of physical death. Very few of us surrender to it easily, and rightfully so because we are made to live. All along the way we seek every avenue to for stall this inevitable event, right up to our last breath. But, finally, we are all swallowed up in the reality that "It is appointed unto man once to die." It is a great curse of the Fall. Paul calls it "the last enemy". We are constantly up against it, and sometimes more fearfully. How often have any one of God's people had to say, "The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow"? Countless numbers, in their own darkness, know exactly what the Psalmist felt when he said, "Then I called upon the name of the LORD; "O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!" And how thankful we are when we again escape death's intent on on our lives, declaring, "Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me." But there is something else going on in this passage of Scripture that is important to see and know. The Psalmist seems to mix the object of his attention, on physical life, with soul life. He says, in verses 7 and 8, "Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you, for You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." C.S. Lewis said, "I do not have a soul. I am a soul. I have a body." The inevitable will finally bring this body to the grave; but we are much more than body, and blessed is the person who sees this. It sets them on a different course, and that is the salvation of their soul. The inevitable is taken over by the eternal, becoming their very reason for anything, both in this life and the next. We are captured by the Audience of One, and we declare with the Psalmist, as long as we live in this life, "I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living." And this Audience of One is captured by any who walk before Him this way, keeping His eye on them all the way, even unto death. Now we can understand why the Psalmist wrote, " Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones". He has followed our goings all the way, as we follow His grace all the way. And as we walk through the valley of death, He is with us with His big heart, still holding our hand as we awaken in eternity. There is no relationship like this relationship! "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD, (Ps. 116:12-13)
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