“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.” (Psalms39:12). The verse comprehends two sentences, in the initial sentence David beseeches the Lord earnestly while the other sentence is a self attestation by the supplicant. In first sentence, we can notice different degrees of David’s supplication for seeking God’s helping hand or solution in the case.
- Prayer- A solemn request to the Lord for help.
- Weep- Expressing passionate grief about the problem.
- Cry- Shout or scream, to express fear, pain or grief.
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, And wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. So powerful! God never delays to respond to our tears.
The second part says, “For I am a foreigner, a stranger with thee.” Here it is not to thee, but with thee. Which means like thee, (Isaiah 1:3) my Lord, I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children. (Psalms 69:8). God made the world, He owns it, and the Scripture says He came to that which was His own, yet His own did not receive him.(John 1:11).
1 Chronicles 29:15 states- “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow. As a child of God a Christian is a sojourner the one who resides temporarily in this place but whose heart yearns for his own nation; a hankering for an eternity with the Lord.
Peculiarities of an alien. They are distinctive in :
1. Protocol of attire and sustenance.
2. Assets, life savings and reserves.
3. Evidential response (nature) towards everyone and everything.
We have read of Daniel and his friends who preferred the vegetables and refused the meat and wine from the King’s table which would have consisted of daily rations of meat, fish, lamb, honey, barley, dates, wheat, lentils, peas, beans, olives, pomegranates, grapes and pistachios and lot more. “Clothes define a person.” Jacob gives Joseph a special cloak with long sleeves, he grants his favourite son a sign of special privilege. A stranger buys things needed in his journey, things that he can carry with him; he does not buy trees, house, household stuff etc., but jewels and pearls are his assets. As a traveler our major objective isn’t storing up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. To be a partaker of the divine nature (Good, Gentle, Righteous, Merciful, Forgiving, Long-suffering, Patient, Joyful, Peaceful, Self-controlled, Faithful, Kind, Honest, loving). Own the characteristics of God’s nature through His creating work in us !
So as a sojourner, our intention is not to settle, but to be in motion travelling home-ward, cause we will pass through this place soon.
Have a great day!
