Psalm 84 – The Great Exchange
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalms 84:11)
Alright! A part of me thinks this verse speaks for itself. God is a sun. He provides light and energy. He is glorious. He is also a shield. A protector of his people. God always comes through. Favor and honor are given by God. He bestows it on his people. This is all great news. Until you see that last line in this verse, that God does not withhold good from those who walk uprightly. To walk uprightly is to walk blamelessly. To be without blemish. Unfortunately, you and I have not walked uprightly. Had we walked uprightly, without blemish, or been blameless this would be true for us. According to Romans though, we have “all sinned”. We all have blemishes on our record. So it means we do not deserve good, favor, honor, or God’s protection. So what do we do?
The good news is that God sent his Son, to become human, to be tempted in every way that we were tempted, and yet rather than give in to temptation he lived a spotless life and then he died on behalf of all who would believe in him. This is the gospel. The gospel is an exchange. A glorious exchange in which you take your long rap sheet of sin and give it to Jesus. You repent and give it up. In exchange Jesus gives you his righteousness. He gives you his upright and spotless record. So for anyone who believe in Jesus, God sees you as he sees Christ. Because of Christ’s righteousness you can trust that God is your sun, shield, that you have favor and honor, and that you are lacking nothing good. But it’s not because of your walk, but because Jesus always walked uprightly.
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