MEMORY VERSE 1! 

PSALM 40:3:'He has a put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.' (nkjv)

The first verse analysis of many to come! We begin this blog looking at Psalm 40:3, that says, 'He has a put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.' (nkjv)

Before getting into the verse itself, I think it makes sense to understand the context of the verse itself, by looking at what the chapter says!

 

 

This verse, is one of rejoicing and gladness, where God has met David's needs. This gratitude is reflected throughout the psalm , but for this analysis, I wanted to hone in specifically on verse 3. Verse 3 says, 'He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.' (NKJV) I thought the TPT version felt very heartfelt also, and reads, 'A new song for a new day rises up in me every time I think about how he breaks through for me! Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until everyone hears how God has set me free. Many will see his miracles; they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!' This felt so pure and genuine I loved it! Between these versions and others - including NIV and ESV- the use of 'fear' came a considerable amount of times and this really caught my interest. I will discuss this next.

Now, we typically use the word fear to describe how we feel against something that is threatening to us, or unknown to us. However, fear of the Lord relates more with reverence, rather than the way we typically understand it. We also see this concept mentioned in Proverbs 9:10 (The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.') Similarly, in this verse fear of the Lord is a sort of respect, an understanding of Who God is and His abilities. Through fearing the Lord you're acknowledging Him and what He can do. Hence, it is the beginning of wisdom. Once you acknowledge God and His power you act accordingly, following God's commands and obeying Him. This is why it is important for us, His creation, to fear Him. But how can anyone fear of God if they don't know the reason why you yourself fear Him? This leads me onto the next point!

 

Sharing your testimony! You sharing what God has done for you is extremely effective for helping people understand who God is. The end result of them getting to understand God deeper is trust. Just from sharing your testimony, a seed can be planted in the person you're speaking with, to where they could develop the desire to know God fro themselves. Not only for non-believers is this helpful, but also fro those who have been Christians for a while and have bene struggling with their faith or are in waiting seasons. No matter who it is, they will benefit from you sharing your testimony. Later on in the psalm, in verse 10, David actually mentions how he will not hide the Lord's righteousness in his heart, making this observation clear as day. We need to do the same, and follow by example.

 

Romans 10:17 says, 'Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.' It is important to emphasise that the testimony you have is because God has met your needs, so that people can hear what the Lord has done. You should what you have and your testimony is what you can use to spread the good news! Although it is obligatory as a Christian, it can be a little daunting at times. It can be helpful to look to figures in the Bible who allowed God to use them and gathered strength from God to be able to carry out tasks that looked too big to them. If in doubt, think of the lepers in 2 Kings chapter 7! I have read this chapter recently and their actions really stood out to me.

 

As I draw near to the end of my first post, I thought it would be nice to consider some questions to ask yourself, going into the new week. Am I reflecting God in the way I act? Do I tell people about the God i serve, the reason I act the way that I act? Do I fear the Lord, and live with this fear in mind?

As humans, we are all works in progress, so the answer to these questions might highlight to you where development is needed. The most important thing is that you pray for strength and grace from God to make those changes. Real change comes from God, we cannot do anything alone. 

Thank you very much for reading my first post, I really appreciate it :))

If you have any suggestions, corrections or observations please do not hesitate to send them my way!!

Going into this new week, remember, if you are fearful, you need to redirect your focus to the Lord! 

 

Lots of Love,

 

Rachel xoxo