Purity comes to mind. God invites us to a way of life that has benefits. When we live this way (outlined in Psalm 15) we are strong. Our character matters to God. Our words are precious. God is interested in blessing us and he shows us the way to life in this Psalm. Walking in it will be amazing. We will not be shaken.
Yes, Psalm 13 came alive this morning for 4 men at MARK Centre in Abbotsford. The cry of the Psalmist matches the cries of hundreds of people praying for a precious young woman named Jessica in a coma in hospital nearby. We have had enough Lord! Come and act. Come and heal.
For me personally I am reminded to sing, to give thanks, to declare the goodness of the Lord. God has provided and I don’t want to be quiet about it. I need to shout for joy and give thanks in song and on the trumpet.
“The Lord examines the righteous” – this is God’s role and no one else’s. God examines, God knows the hearts of people. We don’t do this for each other. We are not meant to fear what others think of our hearts. It is not their role to examine our hearts.
Relationship with God is available for us. We don’t have to fix things on the earth. Though we participate with God in bringing justice, we are limited in our role. God alone is on his throne. He reigns. He is just.
The reality of the throne room of God needs to permeate our hearts. We need to find rest in God when the foundations are being ripped apart.
What can the righteous do? When we hear of tragedies and injustices, what can the righteous do? This question is followed by God is on his holy throne. He is in his holy temple. So we start with God on his throne. We start with God and his absolute power and authority. We long to be involved in his kingdom and God will give us opportunities to partner with him.
God sees us. He knows us.
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (v.1-2)
David chose to worship God. He made choices regularly to “praise”, to “tell” and to be filled with joy in the midst of all kinds of situations that could have discouraged him and .
“Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” (v.10)
An amazing thought that God will not forsake his children. God never has a bad day. He is consistently gracious to his children. This truth needs to go deeper into my spirit. God’s mercy towards me is great.
- my hope is in God
- knowing God is my passion
- I trust in Him entirely
- He will not forsake me
Inviting God to search my heart, that I would be like David. Publicly, yes to be proclaiming God’s goodness, but also privately that I would be close to God and fully devoted.
Being in the oven in our trials we might ask to be taken out of the heat, but God knows the right time. He doesn’t want us coming out “half-baked”. He is committed to our growth and purifying.
God will never forget the needy…
“But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.”
God knows and he will not forget the needy. On the contrary, God pours a lot of time and energy into one needy person.
God is good.
1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.” …worry, accusations, stress are around this idea that God will not come through for us. The accuser is speaking. Satan throws thoughts at us, but we don’t need to give in to them because…
3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. …dependence on God, God does protect, he does lift our heads when we are weighed down. God shields us from the accusations and the stress that comes through listening to them.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill…that God answers us is exactly what we need. We need to know the solutions to our problems are coming from the Lord.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. …TRUST and REST, sleep represents a heart at peace.
6 “I will not fear” the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side. …..David is resolute, being resolute not to fear.
7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people….this blessing puts to rest all the other challenges we go through. God’s blessing upon us is what we need.
Psalm 2:7-8
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.”
Identity: We know we are sons and daughters. We are confident in our identity.
Expansion: We ask for nations because we are linked to the Father, the One who is in control of nations.
So we prayed for Randy today as he goes to Egypt soon and gathers with leaders there who hope to see the good news break into more and more people’s lives.
Psalm 1 encourages delighting in God and his Word. Delight points to more than duty or obligation or even discipline.
We are back to Psalm 1 after reading through the Psalms twice now in the last 6 and a half years.
Our hearts are united around the benefit of coming together to delight in the Word once a week.
There is something about this choice to praise God that excites me today. We need to praise the Lord in the face of any and every challenge. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
“Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet” is a good reminder for me. I am a trumpeter. I will praise the Lord with my horn. The breath it takes to play will be directed to God in praise. My identity is something God is speaking to me about. I am a son of God. I am also a trumpeter, a worshiper, an encourager and a visionary. And I choose to praise the Lord this morning. With the breath I have I will give honor to God. I will speak of his faithfulness and love.
“May the praise of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands”
These two truths go hand in hand. If you don’t praise God you won’t be effective in relationships and ministry with people. Praising God sharpens you for action. God’s Word becomes powerful in your life.
“Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.”
The invitation in this Psalm is to simply rejoice, be glad, and praise God. Choose to give praise to God. Lift up his name. Adore the Lord. Ponder his attributes and praise him for all of who he is. Before everything falls in place in our lives, during the battles we need to GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.
PSALM 148
Praise is the word that resounds throughout this psalm.
“at his command they were created…” God is the Creator, the Initiator of all things. How is he still creating and initiating? He issued his command and they came into being. What is he issuing today? What is God decreeing and establishing today? And how can I tune into his creative and initiating work?
I am reminded that God is creating and initiating in the hearts of people. But he is also creating and initiating in the circumstances of our lives. He is the Divine Orchestrator.
Coming together of what is known and the Creator. Everything is before us because of God. Humility is appropriate. Arrogance is inappropriate. Praise is due.
Back when this psalm was written there were people believing in spirits in the rocks and trees, etc,. What do we look at today that takes our attention off God?
God’s attention to detail is amazing. Praise is due him.
Once again it puts our own actions and achievements in check. God alone is Lord. He alone is to be praised.
Hallelujah!!!
