Psalm 104

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
² He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent
³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
⁴ He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
⁵ He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
⁸ they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
⁹ You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
¹⁰ He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.
¹¹ They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate bringing forth food from the earth:

¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.
¹⁸ The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.
¹⁹ The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
²⁰ You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
²¹ The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
²² The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
²³ Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.
²⁴ How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number living things both large and small.
²⁶ There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
²⁷ These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
³⁰ When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-
³² he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.
³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

The theme of this Psalm is stated in verse one, Praise the Lord. The psalmist praises the Lord as the creator and the one whom is fully controlling every aspect in his universe. As I study David’s life as well as the biographies of the great men and women of faith found in the hall of fame of Hebrews chapter eleven, I cannot help but realize that the praises in this psalm set their daily mindset. In their daily walk they wanted their daily meditations to be pleasing to God. So, as you read this Psalm, reflect upon these simple words of praise and remember that God is the creator and controller of this Universe.

But a wise soul might ask, “If God is in control then why does evil happen?” This question is simple to answer, but hard to understand. A reading of Genesis chapter three and an understanding of how sin entered the human race can explain why evil exist in our world. But to try to understand why God has let man become like God and control the world around him is a question that I must focus on during my daily meditations.

This psalm also gets us an illustration the truth of Paul’s words in Acts 17:24, 25 “God that made the world and all the things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelled not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life and breath and all things.”  Paul’s message to the men of Athens was to make known to them this unknown God whom they had make an altar.  They wanted to make sure they did not leave out one of the Gods.  But Paul warned them that God for the time of this ignorance He winked at; but now commanded all man everywhere to repent.  On hearing this message some mocked, some wanted to hear more, and a few cleaved to the words of Paul.  However, soon after Paul left Athens.  It seemed that the center of Greece that prided itself on the search for truth turned its back on truth when they heard it.  This was one of Paul’s visits to a city that we do not have knowledge of a church being established.   He then went to Corinth soon afterwards. 

I believe Paul’s words in I Corinthians 1:18-25 was written in response to the visit he experienced in Athens:

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Psalm 103
Of David.
¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD , O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
⁶ The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children-
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

As I read the verse, I realized that it is in all my daily activities that I should praise the Lord. As I praise the Lord, I must not forget all his benefits to me. The psalmist list a few of these benefits in this psalm: forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, redeems my life from the pit (grave), crowns me with love and compassion, satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renew like that of an eagle.

As I did a Google search on the phase “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being” I was amazed at the number of hits (2,510,000) I received from this phrase. This made me realized that one common theme that all Christians share is their desire to praise the Lord. It is this one common, however much diverted way that we have to worship the Lord. When we get to heaven it will not be a time that we as believers finally realize if our plan of salvation was the best way to present the gospel to others. It will not be a time to exalt our good works. But it will be a time when we praise and worship God. The great secret is that some believers realize that praising the Lord does not have to wait till we get to heaven.

Probably one of the best commentaries on this psalm was written by Charles Spurgeon:

Our attempt at exposition is commenced under an impressive sense of the utter impossibility of doing justice to so sublime a composition; we call upon our soul and all that is within us to aid in the pleasurable task; but, alas, our soul is finite, and our all of mental faculty far too little for the enterprise. There is too much in the Psalm, for a thousand pens to write, it is one of those all-comprehending Scriptures which is a Bible in itself, and it might alone almost suffice for the hymnbook of the church.

So, as we embrace this psalm remember that within these words is the golden thread that will bring together all believers when we get to heaven.

Psalm 102
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
³ For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
⁵ Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears
¹⁰ because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
¹² But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.
¹³ You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
¹⁸ Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:
¹⁹ “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
²¹ So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem
²² when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD.
²³ In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days.
²⁴ So I said: “Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.
²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
²⁸ The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”

When I read verses 1-11, I am reminded of the opening verses of Job. These could have been the words of Job after Satan put forth his hand against him. When these events happened Job’s, wife said to him “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast your integrity? renounce God, and die.” His answer to her was like verses 12-28 of this psalm “Thou speak as one of the foolish women speak. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job’s view of God was solid which caused him to be blameless in the eyes of the Lord ” In all this did not Job sin with his lips”.

How does a person measure their relationship with God? The answer to this question varies on your beliefs about the character and attributes of God. Over the past several years that I start my journey of reading five psalms a day to help my prayer life I have seem that both my beliefs about God’s character and his attributes change. This is because my relationship with Him has changed. God is now not someone who I turn to in my time of need but is now someone who I desire to fellowship with daily. The events in my life are not always characterized by the first opening verses of this psalm; however, I have learned that God’s character is unchanging. Verse twelve states that the Lord sit enthroned forever, his renown endures through all generations. God will always be God. By staying daily in the psalms, I have realized that my knowledge of God grows daily and with this my relationship with him becomes deeper. To those who state that you cannot know God, fail to heed Christ’s words found in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”.

Verses 25 through 27 are used by the author of the opening chapter of the book of Hebrews in verses 10-12. Verse eighteen “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD” points to the coming salvation from God that is available through work of Christ.

Psalm 101

Of David.

¹ I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life– when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart.
³ I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
⁴ Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.
⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.
⁷ No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.
⁸ Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

This Psalm written by David reflects the way in which he tried to rule as King of Israel. The key to the way he ruled and lived his life was to live a blameless life. The word blameless can be defined as free of guilt, not subject to blame, of irreproachable character, an unimpeachable reputation. Blameless does not mean sinless, nor does it imply perfection. A blameless lifestyle is a characteristic of one’s life that others encounter during our daily activity. Living a blameless life before others is not easy and usually is very difficult. Because the perception of living a blameless to others is viewed by our actions and not our motives a blameless lifestyle is very difficult to show to others. Unlike our physical appearance which people can see, our motives are not visible and must be weigh over time.

So how do I groom my life to be blameless? The key is like the way I get my physical self ready everyday. As I must get up each morning and make my physical appearance presentable before I venture out of the house each morning, I must also examine my heart to make sure that is it blameless before God and man. As you read this psalm considered the following examples that are in the Bible for us to model our walk after:

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1)

I (David) have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. (II Samuel 22:24)
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:8)

As I study these four men, I realized that their blameless lifestyle is the result of a living a life of integrity. One key to this is to eliminate anything that causes me to keep secrets. In our process of communicating with others we usually try to filter out the differences between what the other person is saying and that they really mean. In our process of communication, we must stop and examine the true motive behind our words and actions. Is what I say really what I mean, or is there a hidden agenda behind my words? So, one of the first steps in living a blameless life is the process of eliminating all secret motives from my words and my actions.

Another step would be to remove all the vile things from my life. The word vile is defined as loathsome, disgusting, unpleasant, or objectionable. It is also used to describe behavior as contemptibly, miserably poor and degrading, wretched, morally depraved and wicked. In Psalm one this is one of the two steps in living a blessed life. The first step is to move toward God and seek him, and the second step is to stay away from those things against God’s way (vile things).

The final step is to read and mediate on God’s Word daily. Just read Psalm 119 for this truth to set in. The Word of God will lead you to live a blameless life.

Psalm 100
¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

¹Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

This is one of the first psalms (along with psalm 23) that we teach our children. Yes, it was from the King James Version that most of us remember. As we read the truths found in this psalm, we must also ask how much we apply these truths to our daily routine. Do we truly worship the Lord with gladness, or do we question His actions or lack of actions in the affairs of man? Do we come before him with joyful songs or does our praise seem to focus on the deeds of fallen man whom we have elevated above the common man? Do we look to him as creator when we look at the world around us, or do we try to explain the existence of this universe to other forces? When we said the phrase “we are his people and the sheep of his pasture” does our daily activity reflect his righteousness and truth in every aspect of our labor? The phrase “the sheep of his pasture” should reflect a total guidance of our daily activities being led by him. Do you even in the darkest of times know that the Lord is good, and his love endures forever? When we consider the phase “and his truth endures to all generations” do we stop and reflect upon this truth? In John 14:6 Christ states that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to God, but through Him.

Psalm 99

¹ The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
² Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
³ Let them praise your great and awesome name-he is holy.
⁴ The King is mighty, he loves justice-you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right.
⁵ Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the LORD and he answered them.
⁷ He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
⁸ O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.
⁹ Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

One of the first areas that we must address in our study of philosophy (the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct) is to define God. This Psalms gives these attributes of God (our Lord):

• The Lord reigns
• he sits enthroned between cherubim
• he is exalted over all the nations
• his name is great and awesome
• he is holy (use three times in this psalm)
• he is mighty
• he loves justice
• he has established equity
• he answers whose who call on him
• he is the God of Jacob and of Israel
• he spoke to Israel
• he gave them statutes and decrees
• he answers them and forgave them
• he punished their misdeeds
• he is to be exalted and worship.

Psalm 98
¹ Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
² The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
³ He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD , all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,
⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD , the King.
⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy;

⁹ let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

As I look at verse two the word salvation jumps out at me. What does salvation mean to you? When you look up the word in the dictionary it means “preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil: a source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance”. What does salvation mean to me? As I grow and mature in this journey, I have taken on this earth I have realized that salvation is a wonderful gift that God has given man. His salvation has given me a new purpose in my walk. I now can have daily fellowship with the Lord of the universe knowing that the guilt of my past has been covered by the blood of Christ. This newness of life that Paul outlines for us in Ephesians two and concludes by stating “so then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” is the daily walk that Christians can have with Christ. His salvation also gives me hope for the future. Death will come to all of us unless Christ comes before that time. However, his salvation also promises us a new body as Paul outlines in I Corinthians chapter fifteen. The last enemy that Christ will abolish will be death. Paul concludes this chapter with these words “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord”. So, let us sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things and has given us a salvation which we can enjoy now as we make our journey on this earth and a salvation that will make us a son of God at the time of Christ’s return.

Psalm 97

1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.

4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O LORD.

9 For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.

As I researched the phase “righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne” this morning I realized that righteousness and justice have very different meanings to a wide vary of people. The more I researched the more complicated the definitions of righteousness and justice became. Righteousness is simply defined as an attribute that implies one’s actions are justified. It is a term in theology that is used to describe a person who is in a right relationship with God. Justice is simply defined as the concept of moral rightness. However, in my research I quickly came to the realization that the definition of moral rightness is really based upon the person’s view in which you are having a conversation with at the time. Of course, the definition of moral righteousness would change with every conversation. However, the book of the Psalms makes it clear who defines righteousness and that is the LORD.

As we go about the process of living in this world, we seem to have a misunderstanding of the order in which we place your priorities. It is His righteousness that should be the main priority that we seek and not our daily needs. In Matthew 6:33 the Lord states “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you”. As we consider our daily conversations with friends and family the topic of the problems in the daily events in our live usually rise to the surface and can become the major part of the conversation. Yet we must realize that this topic should not really be a concern for the believer. If we seek God’s righteous and justice, then all the things we need will be provided to us. Therefore, our priority in life should be living a blameless life seeking the kingdom of God, and not worrying about tomorrow.

As I look at the opening statement of this psalm it reads “The Lord reigns” I am reminded of the song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and recall some of the words of this song that Henry Longfellow wrote during the time of the Civil War:

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

As I look around me with all the wars and evils in this world today, I can see why people can ask “with so much evil how could God be in control?” Yet one hundred and forty-five years ago Henry Longfellow had the answer. His answer “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevails”. The foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. Paul declares this righteousness of God as a righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. We need never to forget this important fact of God’s righteousness. He did not just forgive our sins because he felt sorry for us; our sins were forgiven because they were atoned by the cross. Oswald Chambers writes about this forgiveness of God in his November 20 devotional:

“Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.”

We must not forget that even though the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness that justice had to be satisfied. It took the cross to make our unrighteousness right before God. This cost of this price to God can never be fully understood by us, but we can delight in it and I believe that this delight brings pleasure to God.

Psalm 96
¹ Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
² Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
⁴ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.
¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

For the Lord will come, he will come to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. In Matthew 25:1-13 the Lord liken the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins, five of them wise and five of them foolish. As I look at verse 13 of this psalm, I reflect on these verses in Matthew 25 and if I fit the description of the wise virgins.

Questions to ask yourself in self-examination:

• As I read this psalm about the Lord does my daily walk reflects the truth of God’s future judgment that I see in this psalm?
• Do I take lightly the salvation that God has provided for me in Christ?
• Do my daily actions proclaim this great salvation to those around me?
• Can those around me see the glorious work of transformation that God is performing in me daily to make me more Christ-like?
• Do I truly worship him with the glory due his name?
• Do I truly view him as creator of heaven and earth and worship him as creator?
• Do I truly fear the Lord?

As I was working on my land yesterday, I looked up and considered the sun. I ask myself the simply question what the importance of the sun to life on earth is. Wikianswer.com answers to this question is ” The sun is absolutely necessary, thus very-very important, for the life on Earth, because without sun, all the forms of life in Earth will disappear in only a few days. The sun delivers more than 99% of the energy that is necessary for nearly all the phenomena on Earth, like wind, rain, ocean streams, photosynthesis, and even fossil fuels can be said that are a part of accumulated solar energy. This truth makes me realized the truth found in Psalm eight on the greatness of God, and yet how much greater is His love for man.

As I read this Psalm on how important the Lord is in our life, I also realized how little the world in which we live gives God the glory He desires. In Job chapter thirty-eight records God’s answer to Job “Who is this that darkened counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee and answer thou me. Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”. There will be a day that the Lord will demand of us for the actions and deeds in our life. With this realization I ask, “who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge in this world today?”.

Psalm 95

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
³ For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
⁵ The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
⁷ for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
⁸ do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,
⁹ where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did.
¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.”
¹¹ So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.”

Today as I was reading Oswald Chambers’ devotional for October nineteen, I could not help seeing how true his observations of the Christians of his day are also true in the society in which we live in today.

“The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . .. For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.”

As I read this Psalm, I picture the churches of my youth, churches that came together for a worship service. As I reflected on these services, they were services that meet the need of a young growing Christian who loved the Word of God. As a young Christian I was interested in reading and studying God’s Word and learning more about Jesus and his message. Today however, the message is having a Purpose in life, a system for living a productive life. This is the great enemy that I believe that Oswald Chambers is writing about in his devotion.

Instead of using God’s Word to defend the activities of the church and make God’s Word fit into the mold the church needs we should let the Bible speak to us on an individual basis. Today it seems that the light in the song “This Little Light of Mine” focus more on the activities that leads on how to live a purpose driven life instead of being the light of Christ that abides in me.

As I read this Psalm, I realized how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. In verse eleven the Psalmist writes “So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest” as a warning to us if we reject ways. This Psalm is tied to the very first three commandments “Thy should not have any God before me. Thou shall not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shall not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing loving-kindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” This same fear is what the author of Hebrews wrote about in Hebrews chapter four. With salvation comes a change. We turn from the lord of this world to the Lord of Creation. Therefore, keep your focus on Him.