One evening the little faithful Christian was teaching other church members a lesson on visitation.  He took his lesson from Matthew 25:34-46.  During the lesson, many church members gave him hearty “Amens!” for truths that he pointed out from God’s word.  At the close of an excellent lesson, the little faithful Christian asked the other church members several questions.
“Who will help me feed the hungry and quench the thirst of the thirsty?” he asked.  “Not us!” replied the other church members.  “We have too many fellowship meals to plan.”  So the little faithful Christian took it upon himself.
“Who will help me to house the homeless?” said the little faithful Christian.  “Not us!” said the other church members.  “We’re expecting guests from out of town.”  So the little faithful Christian opened up his home to the homeless.
“Who’ll help clothe the naked?” the little faithful Christian asked reluctantly.  “Not us!” cried the other church members, “We’ve got to buy new Easter outfits and you know how tight money is.”  And so the little faithful Christian took his own money and bought and gathered clothing and gave to those in need.
And finally the little faithful Christian asked, “Who’ll visit the sick, the fatherless, and those in prison?”  And the other church members said, “Not us!  We’re going on vacation for a much needed rest.”  And so the little faithful Christian visited as many as he possibly could.
Not too long after the little faithful Christian presented this lesson, the Lord returned.  He asked, “Who’ll go with me to heaven?” and all the church members said in unison, “We will, we will.”  But the Lord said, “Depart from me, ye cursed.  To him that knew to do good, and did it not, to him it is sin.  You were to be doers of the word and not hearers only and inasmuch as ye did nothing for the poor and less fortunate, ye did nothing for me.  Depart into everlasting fire.”  But to the little faithful Christian the Lord said, “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
What is the moral of this story?  Well, you figure it out.

          — Jimmie B. Hill
 
 

Commentators have a variety of views regarding the time when this psalm was written.  This also leads them to some different applications.  The psalm itself really does not offer any clues about these matters, so we will study it without attempting to determine the date (except that it was during the lifetime of David), or the specific setting (except that it was during the part of his life when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit; 2 Samuel 23:2).  We will also note that there are a few points in this poem that remind us of some of the characteristics of our King Jesus.

The eight verses of Psalm 61 divide naturally into two equal sections.  In the first four verses, we are presented with the general theme, “I shall trust in thy protection.”  In the second four verses, we are presented with the general theme; “Here is why I shall trust in thy protection.”

Let us read the first section, and then briefly note some items that our author made concerning trusting God.

You will note that David’s commitment to trust God can be seen in the following ways:
 

• He directed his cry of prayer to God.  This was part of the pattern of David’s life.  His cries to God came out of his understanding that God could—and would—ALWAYS help.  

• His trust would be in God wherever he was when a need arose.  Even if he were “at the ends of the earth,” he would not cry to anyone else—for no one else could be trusted (meaning, of course, that there were no other gods, so why call on them!).

• He would trust when his heart was overwhelmed.  This word means to be covered up with something, and here it refers to the difficulties of the moment.  Too many of us do not trust God at the very time when we need Him to deal with our difficulties—we even sometimes blame Him!

• He would trust God to lead him to the “rock that is higher than I.”  This is a statement from David showing his trust in God to lead him up, over, and out of that which had him “covered up.”

• He would trust God because God had so often shown himself to be trustworthy.  Verse 3 says that God had been a shelter and a strong tower for David in the past.

• He would trust God from now on.  Verse 4 is his restatement of this commitment.  The word for trust in verse four carries the idea of making a refuge (KJV, margin) of the “wings” of God.  The parallelism of this verse equates the tabernacle of God with His wings.  This helps us to see that we cannot be sheltered by His wings unless we meet the terms of entrance into His tabernacle.  Jesus used a similar point when He reminded the Jews of His time that the call to the “wings” had been made all through time, but they had almost always refused to meet the terms (Luke 13:34).

Now let us read the second section, and then briefly note some (more) things that help us learn why our trust should be placed in God.

• This part of the poem begins with another statement that David’s trust in God should continue in light of the things that God had been doing for David through the years.  We would do well to think carefully about this point, for the implication here is that no one else can do that which God can do.  Since we live in a time that has just as much paganism as the time in which David lived, and we are inundated with “opportunities” to misplace our trust, the point of Psalm 61 is very helpful.

• Another reason to trust Him is that it provides us with an inheritance—the same inheritance that all of the faithful of the past will share.  We will even inherit with Jesus (Romans 8:16,17).

• There is an extension of life and opportunities that comes with trusting in Him (Let it be understood, however, that this is not a promise without exceptions, for sometimes God sees fit to allow the lives of the trusting to be cut short.).  Verse 6 teaches this point by making reference to the “king.”  But which king does David have in mind?  Some say, “Saul.”  But his life does not seem to fit at all.  Others say, “David.”  This would be more appropriate since David did live a more trusting life that Saul did.  Others say, “Christ.”  This makes the psalm Messianic.  My view is that David is speaking of himself as an example of that which will be true of the trusting ones—whether they are kings or not.  I will address the Messianic issue in a moment.

• As a continuation of the previous reason to trust, the author describes the continuing nature of the abilities of God to honor and preserve the faithful.  He specifically appeals to his readers to understand that God is worthy of our trust because He is able to “prepare” (“to number, to appoint, to assign”) His mercy and truth to be used for the preserving (“to keep in a safe place, to guard or secure from enemies”) of those who abide before God.  The idea is that when we place our trust in Him (by keeping His ways), He “appoints” mercy (lovingkindess) and truth to take care of us!

• The last “Why” in the list is an appeal to the joyful singing that is possible for those who keep their “vows” to God every day.  He is teaching that the only real way to be really happy is to do the things that we told the Lord we would do!  So let us learn His ways; let us tell Him that we will keep His ways; and LET US KEEP OUR VOWS!

Finally, let me ask you to consider the possibility of the Messianic element of Psalm 61.  I believe that there are points here of the same nature as “types and shadows” of the One Who is now at the right hand of God—Jesus Christ the Lord.
 

• He cried to God (v.1).

• He cried to God when He was overwhelmed (v.2).

• He trusted in God’s will (v.4).

• He was given an inheritance (v.5).

• His life was prolonged (v.6).

Such reminders of the Messiah—His life, work, passion, and victory—are to be expected in the Old Testament.  Jesus said that the men who wrote the Old Testament wrote of Him (Luke 24:44-47).  Let us see Him where He is when we read those 39 books.
    — Skip Andrews
 

SICK LIST:  Lydia and Hannah Reid were ill last week.  Niki Callender’s father, Steve Edwards, is doing well following brain surgery to remove a blood clot.  Jimmy Elliott is home following a hospital stay for tests.  Jimmy Ezekiel (he and his family have been visiting at Duluth) had angioplasty earlier this week.  Rod Rutherford’s nephew, Andrew Rutherford, has had a bone transplant and needs our prayers.  Electa Wilson (Room 140, Gwinnett Extended Care) and Steve Fishel remain in our prayers.
 
SYMPATHY:  Jewell Graves’ sister passed away last week.  A friend of Lucy Jerrolds also passed away; Lucy has been away for the funeral.  We offer our sympathy to these families.
 
GROUP 1:  Group 1 is in charge of the services at Plantation South at 1:30.  Also, please meet up front following evening services for visitation assignments.
CHILDREN’S CLASS:  5:30 today.
SEEKING THE LOST:  Class will meet Sunday evening, August 6,  at 7:15.  This will be our only meeting this month.  
FOR THE RECORD: 7/16 7/23   7/30 
AM Class  126 125   124 
AM Worship  144 154   140 
PM Worship  125 113   113 
Wednesday Class 106 109   119 
Contribution  $6869 $5017   $6957  
Budget   $6500 $6500   $6500
AWAY:  Jimmie Hill is in Ghana for two weeks.  John Grubb will be leaving next week for Taiwan and will be away three weeks.  Ernest and Carolyn are leaving for the Ukraine this week and will be gone three weeks.  Let’s remember them in our prayers as they travel far away to teach.
 
BABY SHOWER:  Brett and Joanne Rutherford are expecting a baby boy in mid-December.  We would like to send them a “shower-in-a-box” to show our love and support as they do the Lord’s work in Australia.  If you would like to send a gift or help with postage, please give it to Sheri McAfee by the end of August (it will take a few months to get there).  Remember:  Their seasons are opposite from ours, so think light, think summer, and think boy!