27.i. “I will bless the Lord who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me.”

 

Psalms 16:5 Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely.

ii. “Preserve me from the world; let me not be carried away with its excitements; suffer me not to be before its blandishments, nor to fear its frowns. Preserve me, from the devil; let him not tempt me above what I am able to bear. Preserve me from myself; keep me from growing envious, selfish, high-minded, proud, slothful. Preserve me from those evils into which I see others run, and preserve me, from those evils into which I am myself most apt to run; keep me from evils known and from evils unknown.” (Spurgeon) David’s heart was instructed first by God and His Word, and therefore his heart could also instruct him in the ways of God. How many times do we lay awake at night to try to figure out our problems? We wrestle with fear, confusion, anxiousness, and worry.  It seems as though we get on a train of thought and continue to stoke up the steam engine to get it down the track to the town of “I have figured it out” which is right next door to “I have a plan to make it right”, only to find, after numerous times of stoking we have never left the station. It is not wrong to meditate on the worries of life but it must be always in the presence of God, surrendering it into His hands, and with a heart and mind the trusts and rely on Him.  When we find those worrisome thoughts pounding in our head we need to take them captive.  Don’t allow them to consume our peace and joy.  When we recognize thoughts that are giving us a mental beating we can talk to God about them.  We can place them where we can stand back and see them and then see the mighty power, awesome love, and all-knowing Heavenly Father.  When we do this our heart turns from worry, anxiousness, fear, and confusion and starts to begin to rejoice in God, His power, His love, and how He is able to handle and make sense of it all.  Give it to Me.  Rejoice in Me.  Know that I have it all under control.  I will give you peace and rest.  Trust Me.  We can find a security, joy, peace, and rest that only God can give.