YEAR 2, WEEK 19, Day 7, Sunday, 11 May 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Psalm+71%3B+Deuteronomy+19

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 11 May 2025:

Psalm 71:3 — “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

The psalmist cries out with confidence to the Lord as his unshakable foundation and stronghold. Calling God a “rock” acknowledges both His stability and protection. This metaphor, used throughout Scripture (Deut. 32:4), reflects God’s unchanging nature and His power to safeguard those who seek refuge in Him. The plea to “continually come” reminds believers that we are to persistently rely on God, not only during crisis but throughout all of life. We are to “abide” in (remain or live in) His presence, as one united life (see John 15; 1 John 2; 1 John 2; 1 John 4)

Jesus is the fulfillment of this rock—our place of refuge from both external enemies and, ultimately, from the wrath of God (1 Thess. 1:9–10). Just as David likely penned this psalm in his old age, having witnessed God’s faithful rescue over a lifetime (Ps. 71:9), so are we to proclaim and rely on God’s steadfast deliverance, knowing our salvation is secure in Christ.

Psalm 71:6 — “Upon you I have leaned from before my birth.”

“To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to be blessed. And to be blessed is to be a blessing. It all begins with knowing God and spending time with Him.” (Adrian Rogers. Here more on the topic: https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/listen/knowing-god-intimately-740253.html)

Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) And His prayer to the Father for us before the Cross was, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:21-23) Intimacy with God and intimacy with each other in Him is our life purpose and our life testimony. This is the Great Commandment which inspires the Great Commission.

It is all about relationship with Him, and all relationships take time and investment to cultivate. The Psalmist proclaims, “Upon you I have leaned from before my birth.” This is no incidental, casual, superficial relationship with God; this is a lifetime of intimacy with Him, relying on Him, listening to Him, talking with Him, walking with Him, trusting in Him, obeying Him, loving Him. But note that this relationship started “before” birth – “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

• Job 10:11-12 – You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
• Jeremiah 1:5 — Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.
• Psalm 139:16 — Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
• Psalm 22:9-10 — Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
• Ephesians 1:4 — Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love….
• Romans 8:29 — For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
• Jeremiah 29:11 — For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
• Ephesians 2:10 — For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God loved us first, remains faithful and unfailing in His love, and enables us to love Him that we might have the fullness of joy and life in Him while sharing His love with others. However, we must abide in His love (see John 15). Perhaps, unlike the Psalmist, you don’t feel as if you can celebrate a lifetime of fellowship with the Lord. Perhaps you have neglected the relationship. There is an ancient Chinese saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is today.” Today is the day to seek the Lord with all your heart. He will not deny you.

• Jeremiah 29:13 — You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
• Matthew 7:7-8 — Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
• Psalm 105:4 — Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
• Psalm 70:4 — May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds…. I proclaim your might to another generation…. You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again…. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you…. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long….” (Psalm 71:17, 18, 20, 22-24) The natural response to the experience of knowing God is to praise Him and proclaim Him continuously with an unquenchable joy, regardless the circumstances. The psalmist is one of those “fanatics” who just won’t shut up about God because he is so excited about Him, and no matter how bad things get, the psalmist never waivers in positive enthusiasm and thanksgiving. Is that how people would describe you? If not, seek the Lord with all your heart until the reality of Him truly overwhelms your heart and until you are truly amazed by grace.

Psalm 71:15–16 — “My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.”

The psalmist commits to continually speaking of God’s righteousness and salvation, acknowledging the countless ways God has intervened. Likewise, we must not grow silent in declaring God’s saving work, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a world where self-righteousness often masquerades as virtue, the reminder that only God’s righteousness is sufficient is crucial. Like the psalmist, we are called to come with the testimony of God’s might, not our own strength.

Deuteronomy 19:1–3 — “When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. You shall measure the distances and divide into three parts the area of the land that the LORD your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.”

God instructed Israel to establish cities of refuge—places where those guilty of accidental manslaughter could flee for safety. This provision reflects the Lord’s justice and mercy. It ensured due process and protected against the kind of impulsive vengeance that could lead to further bloodshed. For us today, these cities symbolize the refuge we find in Christ, our sanctuary from judgment. Just as those cities were made accessible by clearly marked paths and maintained roads, so must the gospel be made plain and available—pointing sinners to the one who grants true safety from eternal wrath (Heb. 6:18).

• John 14:6 — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• Hebrews 6:18 — “…we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
• Romans 8:1 — “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
• 1 Thessalonians 1:10 — “…Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Deuteronomy 19:16–19 — “If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

This passage outlines the seriousness of bearing false witness, a sin that undermines justice and community trust. In Israel, the punishment for lying in court was equal to the penalty the accused would have received—this application of the lex talionis was meant to uphold fairness and deter malicious deception. Today, though the church is not a civil government, the principle remains critical: God despises lies and commands truth in every sphere of life. Gossip, slander, and character assassination must not be tolerated among God’s people. When falsehood arises, believers are to confront it lovingly and biblically (Matt. 18:15–17), preserving the integrity of the church. The church must be a community where truth is upheld and justice is pursued, always in grace and humility.

This passage rightly warns against the sin of false witness—deliberately distorting the truth to harm another person’s reputation or standing. However, the principle here can be applied more deeply—not only to how we portray others, but also to how we portray ourselves. Just as it is unjust to misrepresent another person’s character, it is also a form of false witness to misrepresent our own lives to those around us. This includes externalism—projecting an image of righteousness, confidence, or spiritual maturity that does not align with what is true in our hearts. Pretending to have it all together, to be unaffected by sin, doubt, weakness, or need, is a kind of personal deceit that misleads others and fosters pride.

As followers of Christ, we are not called to present polished versions of ourselves, but to walk in the light (1 John 1:7). We are invited—and commanded—to live lives of confession, humility, and transparency. This doesn’t mean oversharing every flaw, but it does mean refusing to build walls of false pretense. The Gospel frees us to admit who we really are—sinners in need of grace—because our security no longer rests in reputation, but in Christ’s righteousness. And we are not only sinners; we are also saved. We must not misrepresent the joy, hope, and power of our new identity either. To dwell only on our brokenness without also celebrating the transformation and adoption we have received in Christ is to give a half-truth. Both realities must be told: we were dead in sin, and we are now alive in Christ.

Failing to represent either side of this dual identity—our deep need and God’s deeper grace—is a disservice to those around us. People need to see the whole Gospel lived out: the brokenness that drives us to the cross, and the resurrection life that now animates us. To hide either is, in effect, a false testimony. To live honestly, then, is to confess freely that we are weak, yet proclaim boldly that we are redeemed. This kind of authenticity cultivates trust, invites others into the light, and rightly reflects the truth of the Gospel.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 11 May 2025: Today, resting in the refuge of Jesus, become a refuge for others by interceding for those in danger or need and serving as a source of comfort, strength and encouragement, pointing the true refuge, Jesus, all the while.

Like the cities of refuge, our lives should point to the safety and justice found in Christ. Let us use our words to protect, not destroy—to proclaim God’s righteousness, not our own. Seek out someone today who needs protection, encouragement, or truth, and act as a living witness to the mercy and justice of our God, the rock of our salvation.