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PSALM 26

cherry grove pier

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.  Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.  I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.  I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells. Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.  But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me.  My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

As I look at this Psalm written by David I see a Psalm of prayer.  The word I is used in this Psalm ten times and the word me or my is used twelve times.  Usually when we focus on how many times a person uses the word I in their conversation it portrays a sense of self-confidence in their abilities which leads to pride and the desire to live a life without God.  But here in this Psalm David’s I’s focus on his walk with God and his desire separation from the way of the wicked,  By looking at the words I and me we can get an idea of how David leads a blameless life.  He starts out with the request to the Lord of vindicate me.  He is asking the Lord to clear him of either some accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments stating he has led a blameless life. He is asking the Lord to defend, maintain, or insist on the recognition of his blameless life because he trusts in the Lord without wavering.    In other words his faith did not move unsteadily back and forth his faith remains unchanging.  Unchanging faith in the Lord is a characteristic that David learned at an early age in his life.  It was this faith in the Lord that kept him going when he was running from Saul.  David’s faith knew who God was, knew the nature of God, knew the nature of man, and knew how to walk in truth.  This walk of truth that David had is the same walk that we need to follow in our walk on this earth

Paul gives us the fruits that are a characteristic of this walk in Galatians 5:

  • love
  • joy
  • peace
  • longsuffering
  • kindness
  • goodness
  • faithfulness
  • meekness
  • self-control

He goes on in this chapter to state that the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.

David asks the Lord to test him, try, him, and examine his heart and his mind.  When you ask for a procedure that includes a critical evaluation and a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth about your statement I lead a blameless life; then I hope you are ready for the real test.  This will put you in the same league as Job, Joseph, and David himself.  However, David was sure of two facts: that God’s love is forever, and David’s walk was a regular daily walk which was not interrupted and was steady according to God’s truth.

Verses four and five reminds me of Psalm one.  David refused to sit with deceitful (deliberately misleading) men, nor to keep company or be in accord or agreement with those that pretend to practice the beliefs, feelings, and virtues of godliness but whom do not hold or possess these qualities.  He also hated the assembly of those that performs evil acts and refused to be in the company of those who were evil by nature and who had destructive, troublesome and corrupt practices.

Verses six and seven gives us a key to David’s blameless walk.  He includes in these verses the act of washing his hands in innocence as he states in Psalm 51 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” which refers to his knowing he is not perfect.  This is the beauty of God’s Word for it is like a mirror which when we look into it we get a sense of Christ’s nature and this similarity in appearance and character will become more of our nature the more we stay in His Word.  This was fact number two; fact number one is David’s proclaiming aloud the praises of God and the telling of His wonderful deeds.  Question, do you let others know how great God is to you?   David did.

As I look at verse four “I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites” I must stop and think about what groups would others people around me associate me with?  As we look into God’s Word (the true mirror to our inward self) it should reveal to us our true intent of our hearts.  However, how do I appear to others?  Can they see the true intents of my heart?  It depends upon what their true intents are.  Remember, a person’s view of God does not reveal to them what God is but what that person wants to believe about God.  This is the same view they have about me and anyone else they are around.  Just as people can reject or accept God’s true nature so they can reject or accept our true nature.  Look at verse four in this light then, and ask yourself which group do you associate yourself with, deceitful men or men of true

In I Samuel 12:20-25 Samuel gives the children of Israel the desire of their heart, a king.  They recognized this as an act of adding to their sins, but ask Samuel to pray for them so that they might not die.  Samuel’s answer was “Do not fear.  You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.”   David was not even born when Samuel gave this warning to the children of Israel and when he stepped aside and let them, have Saul as their king.  After Saul’s failure to follow the Lord and his ways, the Lord rejected him.   I Samuel 15:30 “Then he said “I have sinned, but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God” illustrates the true abandonment of Saul’s association with God and God’s association with Saul.  David did not want this abandonment.  To David the words of Samuel from the past “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you”, became the guiding light to the blameless walk that David led.

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Psalm 21

day beginnningThe king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!  Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.  For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.  He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.  His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.  For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.  For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.  Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.  Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.  For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.  Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.  Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

As I study this psalm I can’t help but see this as a psalm that refers to David’s reign as well as the coming reign of Christ.  As I read the first six verses I can picture David’s kingdom as it become one of the most powerful nations on the earth during this period of history.  However, the last seven verses seem to point to a coming King, one who will destroy the enemies of God.  This King is Christ.  In Deuteronomy 17 we are given instructions for a King to follow.  Verses eighteen through twenty reads:

And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites: and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.

As we study these verses we realized that knowledge of the law of the Lord and the fear of the Lord are key to how a king rules.

As I read verse ten of this Psalm I must reflect on Peters words concerning the latter days (the times that we are living in today).   Verse ten states “you will destroy their descendants from the earth”.  In studying the scripture I realized that this had already happened once before in the history of mankind.  The Great Flood of Genesis.  In II Peter chapter three Peter writes about the last days in which men deny that this great flood ever happened.  He gives us two characteristics of the mockers that Christians will face during these times.

The first characteristic is they walk after their own lust.  As I reflect on the phrase “walking after one’s own lust” I ask myself “why is this an issue?”. Peter wrote this epistle to stir up the minds on the believers.  He wrote this epistle to remind them of the message of the gospel.  In fact in verses fifteen and sixteen of chapter three he reminds them that Paul wrote to them in words that were sometimes hard to understand the salvation of the Lord.  As I reflect on Paul’s writings about the gospel, the resurrection of Christ and our future resurrection I gain a new perceptive of the message of the gospel.   Paul states in I Corinthians 15:12-19

Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.  Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

In other words if the message of the gospel was just to make the world a better place to live in and that this life we are living really is all there is then I am preaching the wrong message.  If my message does not focus on gaining eternal life with God, but just on how to make the world a better place to live; then why would people give up walking after their own lust?  They would not.  If all I had hope for in this life then I would be the Lord of my life and live my life for my pleasures only.  So until a man looks at the eternal value of their life the message of the gospel really has no meaning to him.

The second characteristic is they deny the Word of God.  They question the Word and the promises found in the Word.  They deny the creation, the flood, the call of Abraham, the law, the prophets and the ministry of Christ.  What is so sad about questioning God’s Word is that most believers do not even read it.  Yes it is true that the Word of God is often abused by many and twisted to support their own personal belief system; however that does not justified holding out the Word of God in your life.  You have the same freedom as others to study the Word.  You have as much access to the Word of God as any one else.  So as I look at the second characteristic of the latter days I must ask the question “what do you think of God’s Word?”.  Do you stand on the Word of God?  And what do you think about God’s son the King (Christ) in relationship to how you live your life?  Read Psalms 22 and study how He suffered for us when he came the first time to earth and then read Psalms 2 to see how he will reign the second time he comes to the earth.

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Psalm 16

River

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  I say of the holy people who are in the land,  “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.  I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods  or take up their names on my lips.  Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;  you make my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;  surely I have a delightful inheritance.  I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;  even at night my heart instructs me.  I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;  my body also will rest secure,  because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,  nor will you let your faithful one see decay.   You make known to me the path of life;  you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

As I look at verse five, I can not help but look back to the Luke 22: 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done”. Are we able to pray the same prayer as our Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane?   We can, once we realized that God has made our lot secure. As I travel this journey that the Lord has prepared for me I must look to these verses as coming from the heart and life of King David. For as he wrote of Christ in his psalms he also wrote words that can help us develop a closer walk with God.

This psalms helps us realized that God is our refuge and our delight. He does assign to us our portion in life and the cup we are to bear. Again we are warned in this psalm not to follow after other Gods, or those who seek fellowship with those who follow other gods. God counsels us and instructs us day and night. As long as we seek him in his word we will know he will lead us in the right path. Surely the grave is not our destiny, but being in his presence with eternal pleasures.

As you read this psalm take a look at your epistemology. Ask yourself this question “What is knowledge?”. Verse eleven points out the fact that the psalmist realized that his knowledge came from God and it is God who has made known to him the path of life. This is the knowledge that the psalmist describes in Psalm One.  When one start studying epistemology the first two questions that must be answered are: what is knowledge and how is knowledge acquired.  To the psalmist (as we will see in Psalm nineteen) knowledge is the work of God’s hand.  By studying nature knowledge is revealed to us.  However to acquire knowledge God has given to us  his written Word (law, statutes, precepts, commands, and ordinances) to understand his creation. 

Verse ten “because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” was used by Peter in Act 2:27 in his message on the day of Pentecost as verses that David referred to the suffering and resurrection of Christ.

In verse eleven David writes “You have made known to me the path of life”. As I grow in my faith daily I realize that it is God who seeks after me and not me seeking God. We have a way of wanting to stray away from God, but in his loving kindness he brings us back to him. As we travel along on our journey here on earth we like the Psalmist must realize that God is the shepherd that guides us along this path of life. As we walk along this path we can have joy, but this joy is in knowing that God’s presence is with us. This psalm illustrates our walk on earth with God. Let each verse speak to you as it did to David. Remember each person’s walk with God is unique, however they all share the characteristics of the walk that this psalm describes.

As I was reading this week The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield I could not help but see verse eleven play out in his life.  Stephen Mansfield gives us the great foundations of George W Bush’s faith by devoting the first two chapters on the faith of his parents and grandparents.  Just as Paul praises the unfeigned faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice Stephen Mansfield gives the same praise to George W Bush’s parents and grandparents.  Yet his way of  living his faith was different.  His statement at the end of chapter two about how George W Bush’s  faith was acquired reveals a lot about how he lives out his faith.

“But the day will come when all of the faith that has been planted in him – from childhood prayers to Presbyterian creeds, from small-town Christian culture to the Christ known in an Episcopal service – will flower to become the ruling principle of his life.  But it is the desert he will know before this flowering that will make it all the sweeter when it comes.”

As I study the psalms as well as the lives of the great heroes of faith both from the Bible and those that have lived from early church history to the present I can see a common thread that they all have shared.  That thread is a desert experience, a time when their faith was tested and God did not seem to be present.  It is in times like these that all believers must pray a psalm like this psalm to give us strength to get through our desert experience

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Psalms 11

IMG_4046In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord‘s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.  The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.  For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

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Who do you place your faith in: God, man, or self. Here the psalmist tells the reader that his faith is in God so why should he flee from his problems. So when the wicked attach the righteous and the very truths that the righteous base their faith upon are tested; what actions should the righteous take?  Simply put your faith in God and purse a life of righteousness with God.  This task is not as easy as it seems.  Walking with the Lord and trusting in Him only is a difficult task for a worldly person.  We must look at our walk of faith and compare it to a child learning how to walk.  They stumble a lot along the way in this learning process.  However as the coffee table or couch provides the extra support a child needs in the process of learning how to walk, so must a young believer learn to hold on to the Word of God when times of temptations come into his life.  Look to Matthew chapter four and see how this is the same principle that Christ applied when he was tempted (tested) by Satan in the wilderness.   Having raised seven children and watching them learning how to walk I have noticed that the process that a child goes through to reach the goal of walking is similar to the process that a Christian goes through in learning how to live by faith.  A child first learns to roll over, then the process of lifting up the head, followed by scooting, followed by crawling and then pulling themselves up to walk while holding on to something.  However, once a child finally let’s go and start taking the first few steps he usually falls.  Yet, these falls become fewer and fewer until the child can walk on his own.  And finally the walking becomes running and the child starts his process of exploring the world around him.  Our walk of faith is also like this.  The more we read and study God’s Word the more His thoughts become our thoughts as we hid His Word in our heart.  So where the world questions our faith our reply to the world can be just like Christ’s reply was to Satan in the Wilderness “but it is written”.

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Psalm 6: 1-3

Tallapossa 4O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.  My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?

In his devotional My Utmost for His Highest for April 2, 2009 Oswald Chambers  writes “The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others.” as the spiritual insight that we need to portray in our daily walk.  This psalm is an example of those events that take place in our life in which we know God, but we can not grasp an understanding on how God is using those events in our life at that moment to shape us for his purpose.

In this psalm David knows the Lord.  He knows of God’s anger and discipline and he knows of his unfailing love.  He had witness how God had used Saul to united Israel as a nation, but also witness how God had deserted Saul when he refused to obey God.  He saw the pain and suffering that Saul went through when the Spirit of the Lord left Saul.  He also saw the type of person that Saul became when he forsook the Lord’s way and pursued his own path.  However, he also saw how much pain and suffering Saul could inflict on others.  Events such as when Saul had Doeg the Edomite kill eighty-five members of the priest family were hard for David to grasp when it came to understanding God intervention in the affairs of man.

 

As I study the issues that David must have faced in this psalm and apply it to the issues that I face I realize that David is wrestling with gaining an understanding of the events surrounding him.  The more I study the psalms the more I realize that David was writing his psalms to help him understand the nature and attributes of God.  David knew that God was in control, however, he also realized that evil existed in the world and that this evil was godless.  Godliness and godlessness can not exist together.  Therein lies the conflict that we see in the world today, those who walk in the way of the righteous and those who opposes the righteous way of God.   The major issue that I see today is that many believers strive to make a stand against all unrighteous that they see exist all around them and take matters into their our hands, instead of leaving it to God.  We should become like David and become obsessed with the pursue of knowing God and living a blameless life.  If we truly believe like David; then we like him, will know that the four results of verses nine and ten will take place.

 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed they will turn back in sudden disgrace 

Living a blameless life is different then living a perfect life.  One of the earliest struggles that I faced as a Christian was striving for human perfection.  Paul also gives us an example of his struggle with living a life of perfection in Philippians chapter three.  Paul purpose changed from striving to live a life of perfection to knowing God and the power of his resurrection.  He sought the fellowship of Christ suffering and being made conformable unto God’s nature.  Oswald Chambers summarizes Christian perfection in his devotional from December 2 as “Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life.”   So as we go through times in our life that we can not understand God’s leading look at them as a time that God is making us conformable unto His nature

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Daily Living

cherry grove pierThe making of New Year Resolutions are a way we reflect back on last year and look forward to the new and upcoming new year to make changes to improve our life. However, there is one resolution that we should make early in our life and should strive to keep it forever. Solomon’s Ecclesiastes was written to explore the purpose of man’s life on this earth. It is interesting that he starts with the words “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” and continues this theme throughout the entire book. He explores every aspect of life and concludes all is vanity. Solomon sums up Ecclesiastes with these verses from chapter twelve “Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them (Ecclesiastes 12:1). And furthermore, my son be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:12-13).   So how do I pursue life and enjoy this gift of life that God has given me so that at the end of my life these words (I have no pleasure in them) will not be my words.

So as I begin this New Year my one and only New Year Resolution is to remember my Creator. For I am no longer in my youth, but as an old man I can reflect back and see how much my Creator has cared for me. This is because in my youth I learned the words of Psalms 23 that sums up how we should live our life are the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want for He leads me. Yes I did stray, but He never forsakes me. He was always there to deliver me out of the situations caused by my straying.

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The Way of God

Little RiverAs I read the first five chapters of Psalms and the first chapter of Proverbs I can not help but reflect upon the way I walk in this world.  Today I started my readings with Proverbs chapter one instead of first chapter of the Book of Psalms.   In the opening six verses Solomon gives ten reasons for writing the Proverbs.  These reasons are:

for attaining wisdom and discipline

for understanding words of insight

for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life

for doing what is right and just and fair

for giving prudence to the simple

for giving knowledge and discretion to the young

for letting the wise listen and add to their learning

for letting the discerning get guidance  

for understanding proverbs and parables

for understanding the sayings and riddles of the wise.

As I study the book of Proverbs I have gained great insight in the study of human nature. Just by reading over the ten reasons I realize that fools, sinners, murders, robbers, liars, simpleminded and those that do not have the fear of God will not be reading the books of Psalms and Proverbs.  However wisdom is still calling out to those in need.  Her presence can be heard and seen in the streets, in the gateways as she makes her speeches.  Wisdom speaks out and rebukes their foolish ways.   Wisdom pours out her heart to give them wisdom, to teach them discipline and show them knowledge and discretion.  However, they remain in their ways.  So when bad times over take them when they reject wisdom’s way she laughs at them, she mocks them and she does not answer them.  Why?  Because they choose not to fear the Lord and spurn the knowledge of wisdom.  They just want help out of their problems, they have no desire to change their ways.

As I read the words found in Luke 15:11-31 I see the father of the prodigal son follow the same path as wisdom does in the verses of Proverbs chapter one.  This principle of returning back to wisdom is importance for all parents to grasp.  We can add much to the story found in this parable but here are the facts: the younger son want his share of the estate, the father gave it to him.  The younger son squandered his share and then had to take a job which did not pay enough to met his needs. It was not until he came to his senses that he returned to the father.  As we study the principle of returning home it is importance to realize that there must be a change in a person’s walk or way of life.  If there is no change they will just return to the condition that they were in before they were bailed out of the problems that they are experiencing at the time.  Therefore, offers to help, or forcing the foolish one to go the right way is not an option.  The wayward one must turn and come back home to the way of wisdom.

The final words of Proverb chapter one reinforces this principle.  “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.  Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.  For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”  These verses are sometimes difficult for a parent to heeded who has a wayward child.  No parent who truly loves their child wants to see their child fail.  But the truth is everyone is accountable to God for the way in which they walk and it is more important to reinforce this principle then reinforcing a way of life without the fear of God guiding it. 

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Psalm 146

Little RiverPraise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.  While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.  Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:  Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:  Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:  The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:  The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.  The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.  (KJV)

If you are like me and read five Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs a day then you are on the last or second to the last day of the month today.  These last five psalms are what I call the Praise Psalms.  The reading of Psalm 146 reveals to the readers Christ a picture of the promise King.  In Christ the reader would have found hope and help from the burdens that encompassed their lives.  He would uphold the cause of the oppressed, and give food to the hungry.  He would open the eyes of the blind and restore health to the broken bodies.  He would meet the needs of the fatherless and widows, but would frustrate the ways of the wicked.   However when he came to earth two thousand years ago, he became the rejected one that was pictured in Isaiah chapter fifty-three.

Who hath believed our report?

And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:

he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,

there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised,

and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows:

yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed,

and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth:

he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment:

and who shall declare his generation?

for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death;

because he had done no violence,

neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;

he hath put him to grief:

when thou shall make his soul an offering for sin,

he shall see his seed,

he shall prolong his days,

and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:

by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;

for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he hath poured out his soul unto death:

and he was numbered with the transgressors;

and he bare the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

As the readers after the time of Christ look back on the Savior and his work we have a detail history of his walk found in the Gospels.  We are also given the promise of his return.  However, with this return we also will see the doing away with the ways of the wicked.  With this hope in mind how can we not praise the Lord.

This promise of the Lord’s return is very important for Christians as they make a stand for Christ in the world today.   As I read the Lord’s words concerning his kingdom found in Matthew chapter twenty-five I ask myself these questions: am I a wise or foolish virgin, a profitable or unprofitable servant, a sheep or a goat.  The answer depends upon which phrase would I want to hear.  “Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels” or “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”.  Peter informs us that if we have the correct view of the Second Coming of the Lord it will help us from being carried away by the error of the wicked.  Knowing this are you looking for that coming day?

 

 

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Psalm 142

day beginnning 1

I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.  I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.  When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.  I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.  I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.  Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. (KJV)

This was written by David when he was running from Saul.  As I read this psalm and reflect on the times in my life that God seem so far from me I can sense the desperate need that David longed for at this time in his life.  These times are characterized by rejection even from those who should be supporting you.  It seems during these trialing times you must defend yourself from lies and dishonest statement from friends and foes alike, that are used to discredit you and your activities.  This was the case with David at this time in his life.  David was being hunt down as a criminal.  He was forced to be separated from his friends and family.   It was at this time that David even had to take his parents from their home and leave them with the King of Moab to protect them from Saul.  The only ones that surround him at this time were those who were distress, who were in debt, and those who were discontented with the events happening in Israel at that time.  These people looked to David for support, and he became captain over them.

As I study the issues that David deal with at this time, found in I Samuel chapters twenty-one through I Samuel thirty-one, I can see him praying verse six of this psalm. Toward the end of this time period  these words of David were recorded in I Samuel 27:1 “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.”  David just seem to give up at this time.  The memory of the time he was anointed by Samuel to be the next King of Israel was pushed to the back of his mind.  The memory of time spent in the service of King Saul and the relationship of being his son-in-law were history.  His desire was to rest and find safety among the very enemies he once had defeated.

However, there is hope in God.  David realized this in verse seven of this psalm.  In this verse I see a principle that the church today needs to grasp and take hold of in order to have others gather around them.  This principle is simply looking to God for deliverance instead of taking matters into my own hand.  The church of Laodicea lost this principle of relaying on God to rescue and taking care of them.  In Revelations 3:17 this church is characterized by theses words “I am rich, and have gotten riches and have need of nothing” yet to the Lord “they know not that they are wretched and miserable, poor and blind and naked”.  In other words their principle was “God helps those who helps themselves and see we have prosper by this principle.”  And yet in God’s eyes they were poor, naked and blind.  God intervenes in your life for many reasons, however when He does it always for His glory and refining you for his purpose.  When we wait on the Lord and go through the refining process people will see God’s goodness to us.

So as you read this psalm reflect upon the gloom and loneliness that David must have faced during these times and the hope he still had in God to be his refuge and his portion in the land of the living.  The key to David’s life is that his heart was fully devoted to the Lord.  Being fully devoted to the Lord will bring times of difficulties in our lives and these times might be hard for us to understand.  However, not being fully devoted to God will bring destruction to our life.  Solomon is a perfect example of someone who follows God and then decides to go and pursue his our purpose.  In I Kings 11:4 “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been”.  He turned from God and God left him.  So we need to be like David and realize that when our spirit grows faint within us, it is God who know our way and all we need to do is to look to him for direction.

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Psalm 139:1-6

River

O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.  (KJV)

As I read this psalm I recall a friend whose desire was to commit this psalm to memory to remind her of how much God was really in control of everything around her.  This psalm was written by David who like Timothy was instructed in the ways of truth at an early age.  His great-grandmother was Ruth, so the history of faith must have run deep in his family.  I too saw this strong faith in my mother’s parents (my grandparents) and also in her life.  As parents and grandparents we must realized that actions speak louder than words and that our children and grandchildren watch our every action.  These actions should reflect a godly world view as presented by this psalm.  Note that this psalm starts with the phase “you have search me and you know me” and ends with the phase “search me, test me, and lead me in the way everlasting”.  This psalm starts out by introducing the great teacher God and ends with a student eager to learn God’s ways.

This psalm starts by introducing an omniscience and omnipresence God who is involved in every aspect of David’s life.  The question now arise “can I apply this psalm to my life?”.  The answer to this is a resounding YES.  Just read Matthew chapters five, six and seven (Christ’s message to Israel).  In these chapters Christ is stating the way in which we should walk and how God seeing us will provide everything we need.  In I John 3:19-20 “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence, whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts and knows everything” John states that he knows everything in our life.  So yes this psalm can apply to your live.

From the introduction I know that God is searching my heart and that he knows me.  He knows my actions, my speech, as well as my thoughts.  He even directs my path by placing a barrier around me.  He is my potter the one that has created me.  He knows how I was form and the purpose for which I was created to perform since these were written in his book before they even happen. So as the master teacher he knows the students.

One of the truths I learned as a classroom teacher was for learning to take place the student must be willing to learn.  David recognizes the first step in learning was to trust the teacher.  He recognized that God not only knew him and was always present, but that he was framed and created by God.  We see David’s longing for knowing God’s thoughts.  However, we also see David’s desire for God to get rid of evil.  David does not hide his hatred for people with evil intent.  However his prayer is that God will intervene in this battle.  One of the biggest issues that a classroom teacher faces in maintaining classroom discipline.  I have witness many times when an unruly student has interfered with the learning process of the class.  How to handle the issues that result from evil intent is a delicate issue for the believer.   This is why God has given us great examples of faith such as Joseph, David, and many others to help guide us along the way.  Joseph’s reply to his brothers’ request from Jacob to forgive them for the way they treated him at seventeen reveals how we must approach evil intentions of other.  He stated in Genesis 50:19-20 this truth “Fear not: for am I in the place of God? And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.  So when evil intentions are directed your way turn them over to God, and keep living a blameless life before God and man.

As I study the last eight verses of this Psalm; I gain an insight of how David must have felt as King over the nation of Israel.  His desire was to rule over God’s people as a King who follow God’s way and a King who could transform this nation into a Godly nation.  As I was reading some news articles this morning I could not help reflect an article titled Bush debuts as motivational speaker by Alexander Mooney of CNN on George Bush’s comment that he made in a motivational speak in Fort Worth Texas October 26, 2009.   One of the interesting points in this article was about how Bush’s faith played a large role in guiding his decisions as the President.

“Every single day, I was honored to be your president by bringing honor and dignity to the office,” he said. Bush also added later that his faith played a large role in guiding his decisions: “From a personal perspective, I don’t see how you can be president without relying upon an almighty.”

Just like David the president’s first step was to get his our personal life in the right with the almighty.  Verses seventeen and eighteen gives us a picture of this first step:  “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.”  We must turn our thoughts toward God and reflect on his way.

However; verses nineteen through twenty-two brings up the issue of dealing with those that are wicked.  It is interesting that the first thing that David does is to turn his desires over to God.  Verse nineteen starts out by stating “If only you would”.  Yes David had no desire to be in their presences, he had no desire to take part in their plots.  Yet how do you work with the wicked when it is part of your task on this earth?  David’s desire was to create a kingdom for promoting God’s way, however, many of those surrounding him only wants to follow their desires and pleasures and promoting their way.  When studying the Psalms we see the challenges that David faced in his life as he tried to walk in God’s way.  These challenges were the same as Christ faced when he came to earth two thousand years ago.  The goal of his coming was given to us in Luke 4:16-21 as he recited Isaiah 61:1 and the first half of verse two.  The mission Christ came to do was “he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Christ did not read the second of verse two “and to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion; to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”.  Many believe that this will be fulfilled when he returns the second time.

So, as we study Psalm 139 and realize that God deals with us as an individuals, we must not lose focus that God’s dealing with us is for his purpose, not ours.  As David closes this Psalm with these words, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  The central theme of this Psalm is God’s way and our desire to follow it.  So as I read this Psalm I am drawn to these last few verses.  God usually uses a small still voice to speak to us, so heed the words of Eli and be quiet and listen for the Lord to speak to you.