Hold Me Close Lord!

Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!

Psalm 27:9 (NASB)

In the previous devotional, we meditated upon the awesome invitation of Almighty God, that we seek His face and intimate presence. In today’s verse, David lays claim to God’s invitation, coming humbly as a serf would to his King. The fact that David asks for God’s presence does not suggest that he believes the Almighty was lying; but that he feels unworthy in his sinful humanity to come before the Holy One. In our humanity we cannot comprehend His love for us amidst our fallen state, just as the prodigal son was accepted covered in pig mire…his father hugged him!

For the LORD will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
Psalm 94:14

The fear of being turned away by Father God and abandoned is an awful thought in the most extreme. It relates to whether David or we live our lives seeking holiness or wickedness; seeking the first brings us into His family – we are then His people, but the latter earns abandonment.

For the LORD loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
Psalm 37:28

Dear Reader, in our humanity we are stained by sin. Yet if we seek the way of Holiness being saved by Jesus Christ, we are welcomed by the God of our Salvation. We are preserved by His Grace; clothed in royal robes as heirs of Heaven. In these truths, we can ask God, “Hold me close Lord!”

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures

About the Author

Devotional Treasures is a daily source of Biblical posts on various sources; they are free to all. These are written by me, Alan Kearns, and are inspired by my own private reading/study of God's Word.

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