Psalm 59:10 is a short verse, but it can help us greatly. Psalm 59:9-10 read, “O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. My God in His steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.” (Psalm 59:9-10) This short phrase “My God in His steadfast love will meet me” is very precious, and it helps me a lot. David was a person from the Old Testament. Why did he love God so much? It’s because he knew God’s love and God’s affection towards him. He often drew near to God. The closer he was with God, the more he knew about God. God also revealed many precious things to him.
God chose him when he was young. You might be young, but you could become someone who knows God the best out of everyone in the country . You can desire to be close to Him and ask Him about things you don’t know. I have inquired many times and He has opened my eyes. David once asked, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4) David treasured God’s presence very much. Gazing upon the beauty of the Lord, His beautiful heart, and glory will change you. Paul was the same. With an unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, Paul was transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
Beholding will transform you. You will see that the everlasting God, the Infinite One delights in you. He loves you the most and cares for you. He will not show you an expressionless face. On the contrary, you will find the most beautiful smile in the whole world on His face. He gave man the ability to smile. He also created many beautiful flowers. He is so beautiful! His heart is so beautiful! His smile is so bright!
It’s right for God to tell us not to make idols. No description of His appearance can be found in the gospel books. It’s because no drawings can accurately depict Him. Any attempts would be too far from the truth, and might even result in wrong perceptions of Him. In the whole universe, nothing is more beautiful than the Lord. This is not external beauty. It’s the glory that comes from His infinite love and beautiful heart. One day we will see Him with our eyes. We’ll see His true image, His glorious resurrected body, and the scars that remind us of His love. He wants us to know that we have the deepest love relationship. He loves you the most. We will also see the Father.
Today, we learn about God from the Bible. From a person’s facial expression, you can tell what’s in his heart. The description of God in the Bible is wonderful. But you cannot use any facial expression to fully describe what’s in God’s heart. It’s written here that He will meet me in His steadfast love. He truly welcomes you! When you know God, you and your heart will change. When you know how much He loves you, you will not worry. Because of His love and His delight for you, you will have joy. Not only does He love you, He delights in you and rejoices over you. Little children do not know how much their parents love them. For example, a sleeping baby would not know about his parents’ love when they kiss him. Similarly, we know very little about the Lord’s loving heart towards us. We do not know how He takes care of us and His loving heart towards us. Neither do we know how much He desires us. But the Bible says, “Let me see your face, let me hear your voice.” (Song 2:14) He desires to see our faces and hear our voices. He really welcomes you, doesn’t He? You see, this everlasting God, infinite Lord, desires to see your face the most. He desires your heart for Him. He wants to hear you talk from the bottom of your heart. Tell Him anything and everything. He has given us free will. He loves to help us. But He doesn’t want us to feel obligated or pressured. In Psalm 42, David wrote, “I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” When they are in danger, many people, especially sisters, will cry out, Mom! Young children do not know much. But when they cry out, their parents will immediately come to help them. Would God’s love be any less than parental love? This Bible verse is quite short, but it can help us tremendously.
We read a certain verse from Zephaniah last time. I consider this verse to be the jewel of this whole book. I’d like to give you this verse as a gift. Of course, it’s also a gift from the Lord. Zephaniah 3:17 reads, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zep 3:17)
This verse uses different words—rejoice and gladness— to express how much joy the Lord has over you. When the verse says “He will quiet you”—it’s not that He has no words for us. Some translations use the words “rest in his love.” This tells us how much He enjoys the sweetest and closest relationship with you. He enjoys this love. God is more than joyful for us; He exults!
This verse is very special and includes many meanings. Some translations use the word “singing.” He sings because of His joy over you. I think it is more appropriate to use the word “singing” because the first part of this verse has already used the words “rejoice” and “gladness.” One word is not enough to express this. You see…the Lord is so joyous over the people of Israel. But His joy over you is much greater. I’d like to use this verse to tell you how precious it is that He is in our midst today. He has saved you from all the troubles in your heart.
This verse uses the words “a mighty one” to describe God. The Bible might use different translations as one word may not be able to fully express it. This verse is very precious. Cross-referencing with the original script, I found that some of the translations are very good. When you need help in your heart, He is the mighty one. He can save. Regardless of your spiritual condition, He can help. He is in our midst and He rejoices over you with gladness. In the presence of God, the Lord has fullness of joy. God is the most joyous in the whole universe. No matter how distressed I am, I’ll recover when I draw near to Him. God’s own joy is so great! We will change even if we touch Him just a bit when we draw near to Him. Have you had this experience? Isn’t He the most joyful?
I want to hear God’s singing. He created birds and made their singing sweet to the ears—clear, interesting and lovely! When a person sings well, his or her voice will also be beautiful and impactful. Birds use singing and their voices to communicate with other birds. I love to hear animal sounds. I often draw near to the Lord in the hills. I can hear all kinds of sounds, even at night. I think you would enjoy these sounds. God created animals with different sounds. Some are very interesting and different from human sounds. I sometimes find human sounds distracting. Hearing someone talk in a loud voice on the bus makes you feel annoyed! But animal sounds are very interesting. I sometimes miss these sounds. Unfortunately, human activities result in the destruction of wildlife. I was able to hear more sounds when I was young. These sounds were nice and they saved me from feeling lonely. Nonetheless, I desire even more to hear God’s singing. He exults over me with loud singing.