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 ofhisthrone” 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.

Psalm 94
¹ O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth.
² Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.
³ How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
⁴ They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.
⁵ They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance.
⁶ They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless.
⁷ They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
⁸ Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
⁹ Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
¹⁰ Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?

¹¹ The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.
¹² Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;
¹³ you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
¹⁵ Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me.

¹⁹ When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
²⁰ Can a corrupt throne be allied with you one that brings on misery by its decrees?
²¹ They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

²² But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
²³ He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

The cry for vengeance started back in Genesis 4:10 “The LORD said, ‘What have you done?’ Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” or as stated in Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead”. When studying the events in Genesis chapter four one will notice that when God did not look at favor on Cain’s offering that Cain became angry. However, God still came to him and offered him a way back. “If you do what is right will you not be accepted”.

But if Cain did not want to do that which was right when then God stated “but if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it However, Cain did let sin master him and in his angry killed his brother. Wickedness has a way of controlling us, but God has provided a way out and that is through Christ.

In I John 3: 11-12 “For this is the message which we heard from the beginning that we should love one another: “not as Cain was of the evil one and slew his brother. And therefore, slew he him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous” reveals the difference between the way Cain lived and the way Abel lived. This difference of the two ways has been with us from the beginning of time. The only difference between these two different ways or walks is their relationship with God. The ungodly way can be characterized as godless, in other word it is a way that does not include God at all. The godly way does include God. In this psalm we see examples of God’s judgment on both ways. In verse 23 God repays the wicked for sins by destroying them. In verse 12 the way of the righteous is blessed by God’s discipline which teaches them his law. Your walk then is determined by whether you include God in it or whether you chose to keep God out of it. This is your chose. However, the end of your walk and the reward that you will at the end of this walk will be determined by God. So, chose wisely.

Psalm 93
¹ The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
² Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.
³ The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
⁴ Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea the LORD on high is mighty.
⁵ Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O LORD.

The theme of this psalm is the majesty of the Lord. This week as I prepare to spend some time at the beach one of the things, I enjoy is watching the interaction of the sea with the land. This interaction goes on daily twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five (or sixty-six) days a year. Sometimes the sea is rough, sometimes it is as still as glass. The power of the surf during a storm can destroy an entire city. Yet the Lord is mightier than the great waters. So, the next time you are at the beach, stop and observe the power of the surf and realize that the Lord is mighty than the sea.

Reading God’s Word daily is as important as our daily meals. Just like the strength we gain from our daily meals to give us the energy to meet the physical challenges of our daily activities; we need the daily study of God’s Word to help strengthen us for our daily spiritual activities. In today’s reading the four simple words found in verse five, “your statutes stand firm” reveals to us the unchanging character of God. We can rest assure that God does not change that his ways are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

As I read the Psalms and study David’s life, I can see how the truths found in this Psalm was probably taught to him at an early age by his mother, his grandmother, and his great grandmother Ruth. I used to teach two- and three-year old’s a song with these words in them: “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there nothing my God cannot do”. This simple song proclaimed the same simple truths that are found in this Psalm. At an early age we are taught the simple truths about God. However, as we age many of us seem to forget these simple truths. It is these simple truths that helps us along the way as we take our journey along the paths of this world to the place that God has provided us in the new heaven and the new earth.

Psalm 92
¹ It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High,
² to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
³ to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
⁴ For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
⁵ How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts!
⁶ The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand,
⁷ that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
⁸ But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.
⁹ For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
¹⁰ You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me.
¹¹ My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
¹² The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
¹³ planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
¹⁵ proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

As I was studying the last week of Christ’s ministry on this earth this week the phase from Matthew 27:46 stood out “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”. Why did God forsake him? I believe because of the sin of the human race was upon Christ at this time. Paul wrote of this in Philippians 2:5-8 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!” And yet as Christ took on the form of human likeness, we can now take on the form of a son of God in this world. This should be the purpose of all believers today. In I John 3:2-3 “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

In the year that has passed since my son’s death I reflected to the voids that his death has left in my life. Yet as all the voids in one’s life (especially those that comes about because of the death of a loved one) usually start to be filled over time by the demands placed upon us by life itself, there does comes moments when these voids open again. When these times come, I try to reflect upon songs from the past. As I reflected on my experiences at church as a young person, I realize how much music was a big part of these experiences. The songs that I memorized and placed in my heart as a young man has help me get through some of the most difficult times in my life. The opening statement of this psalm “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name” reveals the type of relationship a person needs to have with the Lord. Verse four “For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands” enlightens us on the themes that have made these our songs. The song It is Well With My Soul is one such song. However, it is the history behind the story that help gives the peace to the one that sings it.

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling even the LORD, who is my refuge
¹⁰ then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

As I read this psalm, I have a note in my Bible to also read Matthew chapter four where Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. It is amazing how much I have discovered of the way Christ led his life here on this earth by my daily reading of the Psalms. As one reads the psalm above the reader could refer both to the believer who is trusting completely in God or Christ himself when he dwelled on this earth. Note also in Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” are the same angels found here in this psalm in verses eleven and twelve. These were the verses that the devil tried to misinterpret in Matthew 4:6. As we go about on journey on this earth the key to this journey is found in verse fourteen. Because I love God, God will rescue and protect me and because of my love I will acknowledge God before others. The love of God is much greater than that of a father or mother toward her their own child. And the love of the believer picture here is much greater than the love a son or daughter can have for their own parent. Just as the devil tried to misinterpret these verses to Christ in the desert; the sinful nature that is found in the world around us also tries to blinds us to these verses that reveals to us the truth about how close a relationship we can have with God.

The opening statement of this psalm ” he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High” sets the stage for all believers. One of the most precious teachings of Christianity is that of the priesthood of the believer. As Peter writes in his first epistle, we are not only priest, but a people of God’s own possession for the purpose to show forth the excellencies of God who call us out of darkness into his marvelous light. When we make God our refuge, our hiding place we place ourselves in his care and our faith grows. As this relationship of trusting in the Lord grew, we learn to love him more. We come to the realized of how important the first law of the Ten Commandments in our relationship with God. Having no other Gods before him truly means dwelling in his presence. This relationship with God is very important. By resting in the Lord, we become as a young chick who stays near the wings of the caring hen. We will not fear what will happen to us as we perform the daily routines that are in our lives and careers. For in the moment of danger we know we have the protection on the mother’s wings. The secret to living this type of life is giving up the pride we have in being able to do things my way instead of God’s way. Surrender to God’s shelter and his peace will be upon you with the long satisfy life he gives those who walk in his way.

Verse fourteen states “Because he loves me, says the Lord” is the focus point of our relationship with God. My relationship with God is not based upon the way I live my life, but with whom I chose to have fellowship and companionship. I might not force God on others; however, I will not deny him for as my God I will acknowledge him to all who inquires.

As I studied Luke 2:41-52 this morning I realized that this is the only glimpse of the boyhood of Christ in the scripture. We can see from these verses that there was a purpose that Jesus had in his life and that was to be about his Father’s business. As I read this Psalm, I can picture Christ in his early age as a boy, just as David was a boy that spent his time mediating on God’s Word. In this Psalm I can picture Christ reading this Psalm and seeing David as the subject of this Psalm placing himself as a lamb under the care of his shepherd. It is not how great and powerful the shepherd makes the lamb, but how the shepherd protects him. David realized that God was in control no matter had difficult the situation seems to be around him. This Psalm just as Christ’s life points to the secret of living a blameless life and that secret is a simple trust in the Most High. In Luke chapter two verse fifty-two the simple statement “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”, is an example of how we a believer must grow in our life. So instead of focusing on the glorification of self as Satan wanted Christ to do in Matthew chapter four, we need to be focusing on dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and growing in our love for Him.

APsalm 90
¹A prayer of Moses the man of God.Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
² Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³ You turn men back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”
⁴ for a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning
⁶ though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.
⁷ We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
¹² Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Relent, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants.
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.
¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us yes, establish the work of our hands.

This psalm was written by Moses and reveals several truths for us to consider. Remember that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible. These first five books of the Old Testament set the framework that education should be based. As the first verse of Genesis state “In the beginning God” sets the stage for the Pentateuch so must we include God as the foundation for all of our sciences in every aspect of our studies. You are God is a truth that we must grasp and believe. And not even question. And yet when we question the events that happen in our life, we seem to forget about Romans 8:28 and how ALL things work together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose. Yes, God is God and he does as he pleases.

In this psalm Moses reveals to us the creator of the Universe. As I reflect on the teaching of science, history, math, and language arts in schools today I see how much we have left God out. Moses speaks of men’s short life on this earth and how God controls mankind’s future. It is interesting that in these verses he does not speak of the glory of man and the great achievements of mankind, but of their iniquities and secret sins. Moses and Israel were leaving all of this behind when they leave Egypt. Moses witness how much the Egyptians valued the glorification of themselves and their achievements, but he also witnesses their death. In fact, Moses himself was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt and was a man who probably value the glorification of his works and his achievements in his early days as one of the rulers of Egypt. However, it was probably in the second forty years of life in the quietness of the wilderness as a shepherd that he learned that God is God. This is a lesson that most people learn late in life. Solomon warned of this danger in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was probably written by him in the later years of his life after he had forsaken God and served the gods of his wives. He writes in chapter twelve: “Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them”. His final words in Ecclesiastes are:

Vanity of vanities said the Preacher; all is vanity. And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 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. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

So, as we live our lives on this earth let us remember the words of the son of David and remember our Creator in the days of our youth and carry this remembrance of Him on to our old age.

For a thousand years are like a day to you. Time is in God’s hand and yet we seem to worry about the shortness of life that we have on this earth. But Moses let us know we only have seventy or maybe eighty years on this earth and that these are full of trouble and sorrow. Moses knew God, I am afraid that our leaders today do not know God. When I refer to the leaders today, I am not only referring to the political leaders, but also to the religious leader, educational leaders and business leaders. It seems that the church is focused more on issues that would make this world a better place instead of spreading the message of the gospel of salvation. Today, we as the Egyptians want to glorify man and his achievements and leave God out. It is our kingdom that we seek to achieve and not the kingdom of our Lord’s. Verse seventeen is key to walking with God and that is understanding that it is his desire and not ours for the events that happens in our life. As one looks at the Lord’s prayer it starts out as Our Father who art in heaven holy is your name. Your kingdom come that will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Mediate upon Moses’ life of one hundred and twenty years and the trials that he went through as you read this psalm. Let verse twelve take places in your heart. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. ” His first forty years were spent in the courts of Pharaoh learning the wisdom of Egypt and how to be a royal administrator. His second forty years were spent in the wilderness tending sheep. The last forty years he became the prophet who led Israel to the Promise Land. Charles Swindoll reflected upon this truth of gaining a heart of wisdom in his book Wisdom for the Way. He wrote “Aging isn’t a choice. But our response to it is. In so many ways we ourselves determine how we shall grow old.” One of the greatest features that an elderly Christian shows the world is the gracefulness of growing old in the Lord. They have learned the secret of living and that is to quietly look to the Lord to meet their daily needs.

Psalm 89

A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
¹ I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
² I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
³ You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant,
⁴ ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.‘ Selah
⁵ The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
⁶ For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
⁷ In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.
⁸ O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
⁹ You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.
¹⁰ You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
¹¹ The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
¹² You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
¹³ Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
¹⁶ They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.
¹⁷ For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.
¹⁸ Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁹ Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.
²⁰ I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
²¹ My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.
²² No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
²³ I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
²⁴ My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted.
²⁵ I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.
²⁶ He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’
²⁷ I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.
²⁹ I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
³⁰ “If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
³¹ if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
³² I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
³³ but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
³⁵ Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness and I will not lie to David
³⁶ that his line will continue forever and his throne endures before me like the sun;
³⁷ it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
³⁸ But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one.
³⁹ You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
⁴¹ All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle.
⁴⁴ You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. Selah
⁴⁶ How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men!
⁴⁸ What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave? Selah
⁴⁹ O Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
⁵¹ the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD , with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
⁵² Praise be to the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.

This psalm is a story of the promise savior given to mankind thru the line of David. The start of this psalm “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” sets the stage for the rest of this psalm. The Lord’s great love for mankind can never be fully understand by anyone. This is one of the psalms that was forward looking from the time it was written to the time of the cross. Just like the Passover feast points to God’s deliverance of the first born at the time of the Exodus, this psalm gives us a picture of the ministry of the rejected anointed one.

As I was reading this psalm from my KJV study Bible verse one made me recall one of my favorite hymns of the past. Verse one in the King James Version reads ” I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” these words which were used in a hymn written by James Fillmore in the early 1900s. These words are so important in today’s world do I make known God’s faithfulness to all generations?

Psalm 88

A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

¹O LORD, the God who saves me, day and nightIcry out before you.
² May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
³ For my soul is full of trouble and mylife draws near the grave.
⁴ I am counted among those whogo down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
⁵ Iam set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, whoare cut off from your care.
⁶ You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah
⁸ You have taken from me myclosest friends and have made merepulsive to them. Iam confined and cannot escape;
⁹ my eyes are dim with grief. Icall to you, O LORD , every day; Ispread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah
¹¹ Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
¹² Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
¹³ But I cry to you for help, O LORD ; in the morning myprayer comes before you.
¹⁴ Why, O LORD , do you reject me and hide your face from me?
¹⁵ From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
¹⁷ All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
¹⁸ You have taken mycompanionsand loved onesfrom me; the darkness is my closest friend.

This is probably one of the hardest psalms to understand. Marshall H. Lewis wrote about this psalm “Psalm 88 is like no other psalm. There is nothing like it in the Psalter, nothing like it in the rest of the Bible, nothing like it among Israelite and Judean non-canonical psalms, nothing like it among Babylonian and Egyptian psalms. It is unique in its utter hopelessness, its complete lack of praise, its unmitigated blame of God. Brueggemann goes so far as to call it “an embarrassment to conventional faith.” Not even the Book of Job is as dark. At least God responds to Job; here, the cry of the psalmist disappears into the void. God is invoked, but remains absent. This is the challenge in interpreting Psalm 88.” I believe that this psalm can be understood best as a psalm for those that rejects God’s provisional way of salvation. Read this psalm after you have read Luke 16:19-27. Put the rich man of Luke 16 in the subject role of this psalm. Notice that this psalm does not mention anything about repentance. Now read Romans chapter one, then reread Luke 16:19-27 and then reread this psalm. Unless you seek God and the righteousness found in the work of His son this will become your psalm after your death.

As I was reading this psalm I realized how much this gift of salvation really means to me. Now for the hard question, does my life reflect how important it is in my life to share God’s Word and his message of salvation from the pit, the grave, the place of darkness, the land of oblivion with others? In Luke 16:26 where Abraham tells the rich man that there is a great gulf fixed between us and that none can pass either way makes me realize how important God’s Word is in this world. When the rich man ask Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers Abraham stated “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rise from the dead”. It is not my lifestyle that leads other to Christ, but my lifestyle that can leads them to the source of my salvation which is Christ. Christ became the living Word. The song Let the Lower Lights Be Burning by Philip P Bless was written to encourage believers of their responsibilities to be the light on this earth to point others to the greater light so that they to might make it safely into the harbor.

1. Refrain:
   Let the lower lights be burning!
   Send a gleam across the wave!
   Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
   You may rescue, you may save.

As you read verse eighteen “You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend” remember David’s words from Psalm 51:10-13:

• Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

Remember it is your relationship with God that makes you shine, not the relationship you have with others. Strive to renew your relationship with God and he will make your light shine and hopefully your light will point them to the greater light.

I was presented another view of this psalm the other day that I believe opens up another side of looking at these verses that I have not considered. As I study the ministry of Christ I realize that during his ministry he knew it would end not only with his death on the cross, but also a separation from God. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:8-16:

Wherefore he said, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men. (Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in due measure of each several part, make the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

The portion of these verses “Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.” refers to Christ fulfilling all things. So could this Psalm represent a prayer that the Lord prayed during his earthly ministry? If so we may never truly realized the price that Christ had to pay for our salvation. If your do a quick search of the word suffer in the Bible you will find one hundred and fifty reference the the word suffer in the New International Version: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=suffer&searchtype=all&version1=31&spanbegin=1&spanend=73

and one hundred and nineteen reference to the word suffer in the New American Standard Version: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=suffer&searchtype=all&version1=49&spanbegin=1&spanend=73

I Peter alone has nineteen references to the word suffer or suffering:

1. 1 Peter 1:6
   In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
2. 1 Peter 1:11
   trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
3. 1 Peter 2:19
   For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.
4. 1 Peter 2:20
   But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
5. 1 Peter 2:21
   To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
6. 1 Peter 2:23
   When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
7. 1 Peter 3:14
   But even if you shouldsuffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened.”
8. 1 Peter 3:17
   It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
9. 1 Peter 4:1
   Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
10. 1 Peter 4:12
    Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
11. 1 Peter 4:13
    But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
12. 1 Peter 4:15
    If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
13. 1 Peter 4:16
    However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
14. 1 Peter 4:19
    So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
15. 1 Peter 5:1
    To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
16. 1 Peter 5:9
    Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
17. 1 Peter 5:10
    And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Committing yourself to suffering according to God’s will (as Christ suffered for our sins) is a difficult task for the believer. It is only by dying daily to His will and not ours that we can live the life that is found in the writings of Peter and the other apostles.