God takes pleasure in you

His pleasure is not in strong horses,
   nor his delight in brave soldiers;
but he takes pleasure in those who honour him,
   in those who trust in his constant love. (verses 10, 11)

Read Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

Several centuries ago one of the kings of Prussia used to recruit very tall men to put into his army. He was very proud of his army of giants.

The Lord is not like that. He’s not impressed by ‘strong horses’ or ‘brave soldiers’. Why should he be? After all, he has the whole universe at his command, and every creature in it is in his care. His concerns are justice and mercy, not military might.

If you honour the Lord by trusting in him, you are the one he takes pleasure in. You don’t have to impress God by all the great things you can do. In fact, that kind of attitude only cuts you off from God, because he can’t help you if you are doing everything yourself and trying to go it alone. God himself does all the great things, and all you need to do is ‘trust in his constant love’.

That’s what pleases him.

Loving God, help me to get my priorities right. Help me, above all, to honour you and trust in your great love. Amen.

by David Schubert, in ‘God’s Peace for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2006)

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