Psalm 4

A psalm of David.
¹ Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
² How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Selah
³ Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.
⁴ In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.
⁶ Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
⁷ You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
⁸ I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

The purpose of starting my study in the psalms eighteen years ago was to help improve my prayer life. This started the process of reading five psalms a day and letting them speak to me as I poured my heart out to God, just as David does in a lot of his psalms. This psalm is an example of a simple pray. This prayer starts out with the request for God to answer his prayers. Here David is requesting relief from his distress. As you read verse one and look at David’s requests, “answer me when I call to you, give me relief from my distress, be merciful to me and hear my prayer” reveals that this was a prayer that came from a hurting man. Verse two reveals that the distress David is referring to in verse one is from men that are trying to destroy David’s character. When you study David’s life it is not a study of how God rewards the godly as they live a righteous life on this earth, but it is a reflection on the struggle between the two walks (way of the righteous and the way of the wicked) on this earth. This struggle is also the struggle we face as we are sojourners on this earth. When David was running from Saul, he was force to give up relationships with those who were close to him such as his wife (Saul even gave Micah to another man), his family, and his closest friend (Jonathan). As these events of rejection happened in David life they also happen in the life of Christ as well as in your life today. However, verses three, four, and five gives us an insight to handle ourselves when we are experiencing these events in our life. First know that God has set the godly apart for himself. This means that in times of trouble we do not seek to right the wrong, but instead focus on becoming godly. This is only done by becoming more Christ-like in our walk on this earth. Second, we need to know that God will take care of us just as he did Joseph. Joseph’s life serves as a great example of how even when we are wronged by others God is still in control. And last of all we must be continually in a state of self-examination. As David states here search your heart and be silent. God will speak to you in these dark times things that you will not be able to share even those who are very close to you. By following these principals, we like David will have great joy in our hearts and will be able to lie down and sleep in peace.

As I study David’s life, I realize how much of his life was guided by one principal and that was by staying in God’s Word. As one studies the Bible in a spirit of self- examination the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more of God’s ways to us. By reading these psalms daily and seeking to walk in his ways we will experience joys that this world can’t give.

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

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.” Selah
³ But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah
⁵ I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
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. Selah

As I read this psalm, I recall the verses that recount the story of David and Absalom. I am not one that fills in the blanks so I will not try to determine the relationship that David had with his son Absalom. Absalom was David’s third son (2 Samuel 3:3) and the half-brother to Ammon who was David’s oldest son but whom also had raped Tamar Absalom’s sister. Read the story in 2 Samuel 13:1 – 19:43 to get a full account of the story that leads to this psalm. However, until you have one of your own children rebel against you to the point of wanting to destroy you and go against the truth; you can never fully understand how David felt here. David waited on the Lord. This is different from the approach that many take today. The belief that God takes care of those who take care of themselves is a belief that carries over to almost every aspect of our life. We are living in an age where we must make it happen, and when it does it must be God’s will; yet I believe we have really forgotten the art of waiting on the Lord. As you read these verses look at David’s response to the trial he is going through. He is trusting in God as his shield and the one that gives glory. He will rest and lie down because the Lord sustains him. He will not fear because from the Lord will comes deliverance. David knew how to trust God. The words in this psalm should help us to develop the same trust in God as Davd had in when facing a major battle in our life. When we measure the battles, we fight in the fleeing moments of this life they will be nothing compared to the victories we will have with him for eternality.

May your blessing be on your people reminds us to walk in the way of the Lord. Remember there is only one way and he is the way, the truth, and the life, so walk in this way and be blessed.

Here we see David the father of Absalom running from his son. When studying David’s life, the main theme I have realized is his personal relationship with the Lord and how this relationship changed David into being a man after God’s own heart. In I Kings 15:3-5 David’s character is described as having a heart that was wholly devoted to his God. The only blemish on David’s life was the case of Uriah the Hittite. David’s examples of how he lived his life reflects a man who was truly a man after God’s own heart. He was not a man who was searching for God, but a man who walked in the way of God who waited on God’s transforming power to make his heart like God’s heart. This is reflected in the way he handled himself at the death of his son Absalom. He wept. Joab and Israel could not understand this weeping, just as the world today cannot understand the love and patience of God as Peter writes about in II Peter 3:9. Just as the thought that David had in his heart as he walked in his chamber “O my son Absalom, my son Absalom! Would I have died instead of you.” is the same love God has for us his children. In fact, that is why Christ died on the cross for us. With his death and resurrection, he made a way to restore the broken relationship between God and man. So, when you study the psalms as well as all scripture wait on God to open up his Word to you. Then you will start to see God’s transforming work in your heart as he makes you into a child of God. Stop searching for God in your way and start walking and growing in his way by studying his Word and letting it speak to you. Let your walk be characterized as a man or women who is walking with the Lord and enjoying sweet communion with Him. Let your communion with Him be a candle that sheds light to those who are searching for God.

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.
³ “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.”
⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my Kingon Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷ I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
⁸ Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

This psalm is about the Lord. As you look at this psalm you will see that the theme is the Lord and those that take a stand against the Lord. However, the only reference to the saints is found only in the last sentence. We are blessed (reread psalm one) our refuge is in him. It is not by our acts but by his grace that we are blessed. Therefore, heed verse twelve kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you be destroyed in your way. Notice that way is singular. In Psalm 1:6 David writes but the way of the wicked will perishes, this is the way that the son destroys in verse twelve of this psalm. Kiss the son is an act of reverence. Your way then is simply put to this one question “what do you think of Christ?” Is he the way, the truth and the light in your life?

As I read Psalm two, I wonder what the Lord told the two disciples going to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32) about this portion of the scriptures. In Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spoke to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?” was a trip that one of my favorite Bible teachers stated as his dream trip. That short journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus was the best discourse on Old Testament theology that was ever delivered. Christ himself gives us the keys to understanding the scriptures in Luke 24:46,47 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Simply put it is the gospel.

As I watch the news and listen to everyday discussions about the affairs of men, I see little refer being made to the King of Kings in either case. As I study the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters five through seven, I see the King of Kings presenting his kingdom and his principles to mankind. The theme of this psalm can be found in the first three verses. The people of this earth take their stand against God. Their goal is to break the chains that they state that God has placed upon them. These chains that the kings and the rulers want to break are simply the desire to set themselves up as gods so that men would worship them instead of God. As I study Isaiah fourteen verse twelve through seventeen, I realize that this was the same chains that Satan wanted to break. In Isaiah 14:12-17:

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

Just as Satan, these kings and rulers of the earth paid no heed to God’s law and disregard the honor due Him. However, God has set Christ up as King. As you study the gospels take a close look at the parables that Christ gave after his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The parables of the two sons, of the tenants, the wedding banquet, the ten virgins, and the talents all point to a returning Lord. As we approach each day are our eyes focused on the clouds and looking for the coming King or are we so focused on the daily activities around us and being part of this world that we have taken our eyes away from looking for the return of the coming King.

I was asked the other day if God ever laughs. Here in verse four of this Psalm, as well as Psalm 37:13 and Psalm 59:8 I have found the answer. God laughs at the wicked. In these three Psalms the issue that God laughs at is the stand the wicked have taken against God and his anointed One. He laughs that they believe that they can rebel against God and free themselves from his ways. God looks down from heaven and views this as foolishness. His advice is simply “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling”. So be warned “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you will be destroyed in your way”.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

As I start my quest of detailing my philosophy of life to my children over the next one hundred and fifty days, I will explore each of the one hundred and fifty Psalms and will focus on these four universal questions:

1. Does God exists?

2. What am I?

3. Is there a correct way to live?

4. How can we live together?

Psalm one is a great stating point since all four of the questions are addressed. Does God exist? It is interesting that the very first verse of the Bible states “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In this Psalm God is the law giver, he is the judge, and the protector of the righteous. So, the very first Statement I must make in writing about my philosophy on life is the fact (the foundation) of my belief statement is that God is the creator of both heaven and earth.

The second question is what or who am I. In this Psalm man is described as either walking with the wicked or meditating on the law of the Lord (the path of the righteous). It is interesting that this Psalm gives us a way to walk. Our walk or way seems to determine what or who we are. So, what is man? A creature created by God who has the gift of choose. The law of God was simple to Adam and Eve as Eve stated it the serpent: “And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” However the counsel of the wicked changes God’s words: “And the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.” And as the story goes in Genesis chapter three, we realized that this was the fall of man. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons.” (ASV) As Paul writes in Roman five verses 17 through 19: For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ.  So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life.  For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. (ASV) So with first decision to disobey God by Adam the sinful nature was passed upon all mankind.

There with this sinful nature being a part of all mankind is there a correct way to live and if so, how can we live together? His Psalm address this path as the law of the Lord. But it not a law to know but to be mediated upon. Live is very complicated. And because of the sinful nature that exist in everyone we must follow David’s advice of mediating on God’s law both day and night.

As I was growing up one of the pictures that was in many Christian homes was an old man praying for his meal with a Bible next to him. Growing up I witness my grandparents finishing the evening by reading the Bible before bedtime. It is amazing how busy our lives have become that the simple pleasures of hiding God’s Word in our heart has lost it importance, The truth I want to leave my children is the importance of hiding God’s Word in your heart and mediating on it all day long. Life is not easy. However, I start the day out knowing to answers of two of the four major questions. Yes, God exist and is in control, and yes, I know I am a sinner saved by grace. The other two questions can only be answered daily by mediating on God’s Word. For it is the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that helps my sinful nature grow closer to God.

Let you light shine

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The little songs that we learn in our youth may be simple but the truths they contain are powerful.  The choirs “This little light that shines, I going to let it shine” is an example of this.  And why do we let it shine?  Is it so that men can glorify men because of all the good I am doing, or is to the glorification of God for the work that he has performed in me.  Of course it is the latter and yet why do we deep down want the glory to be directed on us? 

The answer is another simple truth and that is the sin nature is still alive and is in a battle against the spirit nature.  Do we hide God in our life or do we put Him on display as in the example of the candlestick so that all around us we are believers.  Do we include the simple truths of the scriptures in our everyday conversations?  Does our conversation take us from the Word of God or bring us back to His word?  This is why we need to stay in God’s Word and hid it in our heart.  Live a life so that then others see light they will glorify your Father in heaven for the change he has made in your life.  One last thing about this song; do not let Satan or the world blow it out!

In the Beginning

I John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

As I look at these words written nearly two thousand years ago I wonder how many people have read, hear, and reflect upon these verses and applied it to their life.  The world as we know it was made by God.  However, do I really believe this and reflect this belief in my daily live?  If I do then I have an advantage over the person who does not believe.  The advantage that I have is a starting point for all my beliefs: God!

Since all things were made by him getting to know him will open the flood gates of knowledge before me.  The more I learn of him the more I see the sinfulness of mankind and the need to proclaim his message of grace.  The more I learn of him, the more I see how wonderful this world was made.  The more I know him the more I understand Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he made and behold it was good”. And as the disciples had Christ to lead them into all truth, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us daily from the words of the scriptures.  So stay in his word and let the Holy Spirit guide you in all truth.

For My Sake

Matthew 5:1-12

These verses are for the blessed:

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Blessed are those that mourn

Blessed are the meek

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Blessed are the merciful

Blessed are the pure in heart

Blessed are the peace makers

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you falsely saying all kinds of evil against you

Because of Me

As I read and study these verses I realized Christ is addressing these words to those who know the truth.  In John 14:6 Jesus states I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the father but by me.  As I go through this list of the blessed ones I see a pattern of growth:

Poor in spirit – see our sinful condition as it is hopeless.

Mourn – how can I live in this sinful state?

Meek – humble our self before God.

Who hunger and thirst for righteousness – seek after a way to be rid of our sinfulness.

Merciful – recognize that others are like us and need to be shown the truth.

Pure in heart- realized that forgiveness is looking to Christ.

Peace makers – sharing this truth with others.

Persecuted because of righteousness – refusing to conform to the world’s ways but stay truth to the truth.

 People insult you and persecute you falsely saying all kinds of evil against you – taking a firm stand against the ways of the world and proclaiming the truth for Christ sake and not your sake.

As I look at these verses I realized that I must see myself as a sinner needing God’s forgiveness and transformation.  This forgiveness and transformation only comes through the perfect sacrifice that was made on the cross by Christ.  I may not understand the reasoning behind this gift from God; but the peace and the transformation in my life after I believe is undeniable.  Verse twelve reveals the wonder of having the Son in your life “rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven”.  The mission of Christ was to seek and to save that which was lost.  I now must proclaim His message to the world by the way I live.

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 tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
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.

As you read this psalm, I hope you will stop and realized that everything in your world is not “All about Me”. However, as you look at this psalm you will see that we are to praise the Lord. As you look at these verses you will get the picture of a modern church service:

• Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet
• praise him with the harp and lyre
• praise him with tambourine and dancing
• praise him with the strings and flute
• praise him with the clash of cymbals
• praise him with resounding cymbals
• Let everything that has breath praise the LORD

Why Praise God?

       For his acts of power

For his surpassing greatness

What is this surpassing greatness? Paul answers this in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worked all things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,– in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

As I finish another reading of the Psalms and Proverbs today, I realize that this month is almost over another month is almost upon me. This month I seasoned my daily readings with the daily devotional by Charles Swindoll title Wisdom for the Way. I found this devotional at the Goodwill store where I buy some of my books. On the inside cover I discovered these words “For Lindsey From the Craig’s May 2001”. The subtitle of this devotional is Wise Words for Busy People. How this book came from the Craig’s to Lindsey and then to me is a mystery, but as I look to the surpassing greatness of God, I realize how God can use a book to influence a person.

On page 62 of this devotional Charles Swindoll starts off the reading by writing “The only way we can come to terms with reality-is by trusting God, regardless.” As I continue to read this devotional, I noticed there were only two paragraphs. The first paragraph centered the words I and me. It is a matter of if I am trusting him, or if I do or don’t allow God in my world as I face each and every issue in my daily routine. The second paragraph centers on the word we. We can’t wait for conditions to be perfect, instead we must go on trusting. This gift of the Craig’s to give Lindsey a treasure to help her along the way is an example of their trusting God to work in her life. Sometimes it might appear that we have fail, however because of the surpassing greatness of God their gift might produce fruit elsewhere. As this simple devotional starts with an individual, the end result because of the surpassing greatness of God will be a group result.

Verse six “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” forces the reader to one conclusion and that is we are to praise the Lord. The journey that begins with the first breathe that a child takes at birth to the last breath we take before we pass from this life to eternity must include the process of praising the Lord.

Psalm 149

¹ Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
² Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
⁴ For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
⁵ Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
⁶ May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
⁷ to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,
⁹ to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints.
Praise the LORD.

As we study God’s Word some concepts are hard for us to understand. As I study the attributes of God and focus on His goodness and kindness as well as His great mercies that He has impart not only on my behalf but on to all who call on his name, it sometimes becomes difficult for me to picture God as One who will inflict vengeance and carry out the punishment of the sentence that is written against the those that have not called upon his name. Thankfully for me the message I must give to the world is not this message of the future judgment of God against the wicked of this world, but a new song a message of a way of salvation to all who will believe. As I study these verses, I must realize that there will be a time of judgment ahead, but until then there is hope for anyone that still wants to come to Him. In Jude’s book (the second to the last bible of the Bible) in verses twenty-one through twenty-four we are told to keep ourselves in the love of God and have mercy on those who doubt. So, when I am confronted by others to explain how a loving God could be such a God of vengeance, I will explain to them that I am only beginning to understand the workings of God and that some concept about God is still beyond my understanding. I can compare my understanding of the complete nature of God to that of a 3rd grader’s understanding of calculus. Some things are just beyond my understanding. However, by reading Psalm ten I get a picture of how wicked the evil man truly can be.

This psalm ends with a plea for God to arise and take action against the wicked and evil man and call him into account for what he has done. Then this happens to the evil it will become the glory of all his saints. This day will come when the Lord returns. Why the delay? Peter answers this in II Peter chapter three “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. How then should we live “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you”.

But why don’t the wicked see their coming judgment? The answer can be found in Psalm fourteen, Psalm fifty-three, and Romans chapter three.

Psalm 148

¹ Praise the LORD.  Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
² Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
³ Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
⁶ He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.
⁷ Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
⁹ you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
¹⁰ wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
¹¹ kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
¹² young men and maidens, old men and children.
¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
¹⁴ He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the LORD.