If you’re a guy and married, there are two words spoken in rapid succession that will help turn you on more than any aide invented or manual written. The words? “You’re right!” Spoken by a wife to her husband, there are no words sweeter to the male ear.
In our household, we have a calendar that hangs on the kitchen wall. It’s peppered throughout the various dates with, “Les was right,” and serves as a hanging museum that I go to visit when I’m feeling low. It tells me, “You’re not wrong—you’re right.” That is peace.
David often asks God to check him out—to see that he is right—that is to say, righteous.
I remember seeing a story on television once, where they interviewed a beautiful, aspiring young actress. Her job (and later, business) was to follow the husbands of wives suspecting their mates of cheating, or at least being apt to cheat. Once she made her flirtatious moves, she would report to the client whether the man passed the test or not.
Proverbs 5:19 tells men to rejoice with their true love—to be regularly enthralled in intimacy with her, rather than enjoy amorous ways with someone other than their spouse. If your wife knows you wouldn’t stray—by virtue of your attention to her—she has peace, and when she has it, you have it too.
It is said that when a man elects to have an affair with another, he has fallen. David frequently asks the Lord to help keep him upright as he walks down life’s road. Though separated by centuries, he wasn’t all that different from the Apostle Paul who (by way of paraphrase) exclaims in Romans 7, “That which I would do I don’t, and that which I wouldn’t, I do.” Paul, the Pharisee’s Pharisee recognizes his own wickedness and realizes (wretch that he is) that Christ Jesus rescues him (and us) from that condition. That is peace.
God protects us from ourselves, which ensures peace. He also protects us from others, too.
When I was a kid, I played a lot of tag, and spent a lot of time on, “ghoul”. You were always safe there—it was a welcomed respite where you could catch your breath. God is like that—a very present help in time of trouble—therefore we don’t fear (Psalm 125)—and that is peace.
When we take all these things into account, we have the peace that comes from the confidence that God loves and cares for and about those that love Him, and seeing the peace provided in our collective past fills us with confidence of a peaceful eternity.
b(Les)sings
Psalm 17
New King James Version (NKJV)
A Prayer of David.
1 Hear a just cause, O LORD,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O LORD,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O LORD,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
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