Morning Thoughts - by Elder Philip Conley

Morning Thoughts Back

Psalm 40:2, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

This morning, there are differences of opinion about interpretations of verses of Scripture. Many claim that a verse has a timely application, others say eternal, some say both, and others say, "What is the difference between timely and eternal?" (Thankfully, these people are not Primitive Baptists in my encounters). Sometimes, both applications are valid, and I do not make a big to-do about it. However, there are times when a transition or remark is made in a passage that is different from the other verses within that passage. I believe that this verse is such a case.

Both of the verses surrounding this one are timely texts. The Lord most definitely inclines His ear to our cry (verse 1), and He does indeed put a new song in our heart (verse 3). These are things that bring us together in fellowship, and they give the child of God assurance that they are His. However, I do not believe that our verse under consideration is timely. The verse starts out by saying the Lord "also" does something. I must have read over that word many times before I saw it. The Lord ALSO does this very thing. The Lord has saved us, and He did it in a magnanimous way. The Psalmist is most concerned with his fellowship with the Almighty, but He does not want to be neglectful to put in remembrance the fact that the Lord has redeemed His people.

Notice that the Lord does all of the work. HE brought us up, HE set us on a Rock, and HE established our goings. This morning, I am so very thankful that He did bring us up out of the pit and miry clay. But, I am just as thankful that He did not leave us in a state to fall again. Had the Lord just brought us back up to ground zero, we would have fallen into the horrible pit again and been dead in trespasses and in sins all over again. However, the Lord set us on Christ (the Rock). With Him as our foundation and root, we can never again be in a state of deadness in sins. Forever have our sins been removed from us, and the Lord Himself remembers them no more.

The Lord also established our goings. That phrase does not mean that He foreordains every step that we take. Rather, it means that He has set our bounds, and He has anchored our final destination. That word “established” is from the same word as “set.” That means that as secure as our being set on Christ is, that is just as sure as our destination is. Paul tells us in Hebrews 6 that our hope is sure and steadfast and anchored in heaven. That is the establishment of our goings. May we ever be thankful this morning that when He passed by it was a time of love, and He commanded us to LIVE! (Ezekiel 16)

In Hope,

Bro Philip