"Love Beyond All Bounds"
April 10, 2021
Psalm 36:5-6 - Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast You save, O LORD.
Every time I meditate upon this psalm, I come away with two feelings. The first is shame at the smallness of my faith. The words of the psalm describe a pureness of faith in Jesus that I should have, but when I look at these words honestly, it is O me of little faith! My faith in Jesus is smaller than it should be because my trust in myself is greater than it should be. Could it be that you and I find our self-worth in what we do or try to do, rather than finding our worth in our God and Savior?
Second, meditating on this psalm never fails to expand my little mind. Do you have to go into a sanctuary to think about God? Meditating on Psalm 36 puts the loving-kindness and faithfulness and righteousness of God in greater perspective than just a building and a Sunday service. Hear how the psalmist compares the magnificence of God's loving-kindness to the greatness of creation:
"How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light" (Psalm 36:7-9).
Do you hear what God is saying here? His remarkable creation is all around us, and in all His loving-kindness He is even more magnificent. You and I are living in God's cathedral of creation, and His Word leads us to focus all God's goodness on Jesus Christ.
Psalm 36 concludes with this prayer: "Oh, continue Your steadfast love to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise" (Psalm 36:10-12). With these closing words of meditation, we pray the deeds of others will not pull us away from trusting all the loving-kindness of God.
And when the psalmist says, "There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise," how shall we understand that? The answer is by faith, trusting that God's justice and righteousness will finally prevail. Since God's love reaches to the heavens and His faithfulness to the skies, since His righteousness is like the mighty mountains and His justice like the great deep, we trust Him for the ultimate victory of good over evil.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, steadfast is Your love for us, and this You have shown the world in Your Son Jesus Christ. In His Name. Amen.
From "In Your Light We See Light," a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Reflection Questions:
1. How strong is your faith, do you think? What do you do to strengthen it?
2. Another word for steadfast is "loyal." How is God's love loyal?
3. Has your faith growth been impacted, good or bad, since the pandemic began?