Title: Soul's Wish
soul's wish
“My soul looks up to you, O LORD” (Psalm 25:1).
I. Text Commentary
Psalm 25 is David's psalm and consists of earnest petitions to God. It is not known when he wrote the poem, but it is clear that he made an earnest appeal to God when he was faced with internal and external strife. Through the short 25:1 verse, I would like to think about the essence of faith.
II. “Jehovah” - the God of the covenant
There are three major words for the name of God in the Bible. ‘God, Jehovah, Lord’. ‘Lord’ means that God is the Lord of all things, and that He is the Ruler and Ruler of all things. God, the word Elohim, refers to the One who has superior power over all gods and for all things. Therefore, God is the name revealed not only to the people of Israel but also to the people of all nations. However, since the name Jehovah is God's real name and is the most holy name, the Israelites do not use the name Yahweh or Jehovah itself. The name Yahweh becomes a revelation in the days of Moses. God said to Moses, “I am who I am,” and is the first to reveal this name to the people.
The name of this God, Yahweh or Jehovah, is a revealed name based on the covenant relationship between the people of Israel and God. So this name is revealed only to the covenant people, the Israelites. While suffering from internal and external strife, the poet deeply remembered that the name of God that came to mind first was Jehovah, and that he was in a covenant relationship with God. Although man may constantly disobey and betray the Lord, God is faithful to the covenant He has made with us because He is perfect, holy, and true. Faith is the shifting of our views from ourselves to the God who made a covenant with us. That is why the poet has the hope of looking to God alone in the midst of suffering.
God decrees to save us before eternity, and he fulfills his decrees in time. It may seem like an accidental event to us, but it is a fulfillment of God's faithful covenant with us, because God chose to save us before eternity. Therefore, even in the face of trials and difficulties, we must be people who believe in God's faithfulness and hold on to the covenant. We are deeply moved when we come to realize that every step of life we take by chance is the footsteps of God, who is faithful to the covenant, led by our hands. And we will praise God.
II. The Essence of Faith: Looking to God
With faith in the covenant Jehovah, the poet teaches us what the essence of faith is. It is just looking up to God.
A. “My Soul”
The poet first confesses that he is 'my soul'. This expression is often used by the poet when he seeks the Lord with a deep longing for God in the depths of his heart. So this soul is the core of your identity. The soul, not the body, gives us our identity. Also, the soul mentioned in the Bible is the channel of communication with God who is the Spirit. The soul is called 'Nefish' in Hebrew. In other words, it is a place where the spirit given by God is awakened in our hearts, we communicate with God through our souls, and feel the things of this world through our senses. So, this confession comes from the deep root of the human heart, serves God and appeals to God. Depending on the condition of the soul, communion with God may increase or decrease. If the condition of the soul is clear and healthy, the Word of God will be understood well, and prayers to God will be raised beautifully. So the beauty of a human being is not in the body, but in the beauty of the soul. And a man's worth is not in his possessions, but in the size of his good will.
We must pray earnestly to the Lord that our souls will remain pure and beautiful and that whatever we do, we will fulfill our duty out of longing for God. Our unclean souls are purified through the word of the Lord and renewed through the Holy Spirit. When speaking of the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). All of these are privileges given to those who seek the Lord with pure souls. The essence of faith is to look to the Lord with this soul.
B. “Lord”
The second is to wait for the Lord with the soul. The name of God, ‘Lord’, reveals that He is the Lord and Ruler of all things. All beings were created by the Lord's grace, and their existence is sustained by His upholding. So, faith is acknowledging that the Lord who sustains our lives is our only Master. The blissful life of letting go of the life that made us master, throwing away the old life full of lust, pleasing the Lord, giving glory to ourselves, and satisfying ourselves is our happiness.
Whenever you try to master yourself, you have to check what the consequences are. The result is the fact that it is the Lord who forsaken Himself on the hill of Golgotha and was crucified. So the essence of faith is to know that God is not the master of my life, but God.
C. “Looking up”
The third is to look up. God in heaven cannot be compared with humans on earth. We must commit ourselves fully, remembering that only God can meet the real needs of our lives and bring us back to the purpose for which we were created. It shows that sincere worship and earnest hope for God are the most important duty and happiness of believers. God has given us everything so we can enjoy it. So, because God loves us, when we slip in the worship and hope of looking up to Him, He sometimes makes us poor so that we can look to Him again. God gives good things even through bad things.
Because all good things come from Him, when we live with the hope of dependence, we develop the heart to love and obey God. Instead of being discouraged whenever trials and difficulties come to us, we must remember that He is healing my sick soul. Man's response to God's gracious intervention is faith. So, looking up to God in faith and setting all expectations and hopes in life on Him, through this, we experience the great love and grace of God.
IV. Conclusion: the wish of the soul
Just as the poet quietly looked up to the Lord with his soul from the pain of internal and external afflictions and found comfort and hope, so may you live with this hope of dependence and become beautiful people who draw closer to the Lord in whatever circumstances you are. wish.