8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings 9 from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. 10 They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. 11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a great lion crouching in cover. 13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword. 14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. 15 And I--in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Jesus used the metaphor of sleep to represent death. If we apply this metaphor to this Psalm we can know that the righteous will see the face of the Lord.20Can you imagine being in the very presence of Jesus our Lord, actually standing before our God and seeing the reality of the Holy Spirit? What a glorious occasion that will be! Now, in order to enjoy this moment of bliss and to make it last eternally – no end to it – all we have to do is be raised from the dead and be absolutely righteous. If we believe God’s word at all, we believe that we will be raised from the dead. We also believe that we will then face judgment and be either declared righteous or unrighteous. Paul tells us that our belief and hope of the resurrection is based on the conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead and that he destroyed the power of death. We will live again.

How can we, as mortals who have sinned, ever be considered as totally righteous – totally free from any sin? Paul tells us in Eph. 1:7-8 that we can be redeemed from our sin by the blood of Jesus. He also tells us that it is according to God’s infinite wisdom that this good news plan (the gospel) is available to us. He goes on in chapter 2 of this same book and explains that it is because of God’s great love that he has mercy on us and our plight. Because of his mercy, he extends his grace to us (he offers forgiveness that we do not deserve). So by being forgiven from our sin we can have the assurance that “in righteousness I [we] will see your [the Lord] face”!

O God, keep me in your care and protect me from all wrong. Give me strength to overcome every temptation that I face today. Give me wisdom to live for you by putting you first in everything I think and do. I thank you for your forgiveness that you have given me thru the sacrifice of Jesus. Create in me a pure heart, filled with your love and your peace. I pray in Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we re-affirm our dedication to him.