Thurs., 6/4/20 Devotion (Ps. 94:12-13)

Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 94:12 & 13, where these good words are found:

"Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked."

It is intriguing that our learning from God's written word, in the context of His church’s preaching ministry, is intended to "give [us] rest”—and that from "days of adversity." So, all the effort we put into our lives of grace turns out to be largely designed, in the end, to forward our respite from and deliverance from evil.

We persevere, endure, and forebear "until the pit is dug for the wicked." This has both a temporal (provisional) sense—from Sunday to Sunday; and an eternal (absolute) sense—of rest in heaven. Sanctification in Jesus is worth it. The true church must never give up.

[Puritan quote of the day: "The same breath in the ministry that blows a godly man to heaven, blows a profane sinner to hell.” —Thomas Watson, in, "All Things for Good"]