Psalm 18:25-26 “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.”
Have you ever read a very old account about someone of whom there exists no picture? I think of authors like Josephus who have descriptions of famous people. We have no photos of them, but we are left to the description of the author to find out what they look like.
Let me ask you: What does God look like? Now, God is timeless; there is no picture of Him. You have never seen Him, but you do see Him every day in your dealings with Him. You can put together a composite picture from what the Bible says about Him, as well as your own dealings with Him.
So what does God look like? In Psalm 18:1-2, David says God is “my strength,” “my rock,” “my fortress,” and “my deliverer.” This was personal to Him-my God, my strength, my rock, etc. David not only loved Him, but he called upon Him. That makes sense; if He is your rock, fortress, and tower, then you will look to Him. To David, God looked like a tower, a shield, a horn, and a rock.
Now, is that what God looks like? Is that the only description of God? No-it is not even the only description in this psalm! When David cried to this God of great defense, in light of the great enemies that He had, the Bible says in verse 7 that “the earth shook and trembled” and “he [God] was wroth.” Verses 13-14 tell of hail, coals of fire, arrows, lightning, death and destruction.
What a minute! Which is it? Who is God? These are two totally different descriptions, aren’t they? How can God be hail and arrows, lightning, and death on one hand, and a buckler and shield and defense on the other hand? How can He be both?
God doesn’t change-that is the whole point. What God looks like depends on which side of Him you are on. I want to be on God’s right side, not His wrong side. When I am on His right side, I am on the right side of everything, including the right side of life.
Verses 25 and 26 summarize this truth in a nutshell: “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful . . . and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.” How God looks depends on who is describing Him. Is God a tower, a rock, a merciful friend; or is He nothing but heartache, destruction, hail, fire and brimstone?
God does not change, and He is not who we wish Him to be. But God will be perceived dependent upon you; and you can change. If God is a rock to one man, He is a “rock and a hard place” to someone else. If God is a horn of defense to one, He is a sharp, pointed weapon to another. If God is a high tower, He is also a brick wall. How you perceive Him purely depends on your changing, not on His.
Who is God? In this regard, the answer entirely depends on who is asking. The question is not, “Is God on my side this morning?”; the question is, “Am I on God’s side this morning?”
Prayer Requests:
– Revival services tonight in Starke, FL and Bradenton,FL