Verse of the Day for September 4

David is not preaching here. He is speaking to his own soul; the psalm opens with him telling his soul to bless the Lord. These lines are a man reminding himself, in private, of what God is like.

He will not always chide. Chiding has an end. Whatever correction God brings, it is not a permanent tone of voice. neither will he keep his anger for ever. Keep is the word of someone storing something away, and God refuses to store it.

Then the past tense. He hath not dealt with us after our sins. This is not a promise about tomorrow. It is a report about yesterday. Look back over your life, David is saying, and compare what you actually received with what you earned.

Grace without an audience works the same way. Much of the mercy God shows you no one else will ever see. The accident that did not happen. The cruel word you nearly said. The debt that was quietly reduced. There was no crowd for any of it.

Try what David did. On your walk to the market or in the queue at the bank, talk to your own soul. Remind it of three times God did not deal with you as you deserved.

Much of God's mercy to you happened without witnesses.

Your soul sometimes needs to be reminded by you, out loud.