Psalm 87

Of the Sons of Korah..

¹ He has set his foundation on the holy mountain;

² the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
³ Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: Selah
⁴ “I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.'”
⁵ Indeed, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.”
⁶ The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.” Selah
⁷ As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you.”

As I read the psalms there are some, I seem to read over to jump to the next and Psalm eighty-seven is one of these Psalms. As I read this Psalm, I reflect upon the verses found in Revelation chapter twenty-one.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

The phrase “those who acknowledge me” means more than just stating that there is a possibility that god could existed. The meaning of the word acknowledge is “to admit being real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of” which is more than recognizing God, it is accepting Him. Not only is it accepting Him, but it is also accepting His way. Knowing God is more just becoming religious. Oswald Chambers stated in his devotional The Mystery of Believing “Many people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart— Jesus Christ, not religion.” To truly acknowledge God, we must make Him the master of our heart.

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

¹ Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
² Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.
³ Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.
⁴ Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶ Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD , and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
¹² I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
¹⁴ The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life men without regard for you.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.
¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

There is an old hymn of the faith called “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” written by Frances J. Cosby that I am reminded of when I read verse eleven. The refrain of this song:

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard

reminds me of the way of God that David wrote about in all his psalms. David look forwarded to the Savior, but we are so much more richer since we now have the story of Jesus in your life. David’s desire was to walk in God’s way and to walk in his truth. We should have the same love in sharing the story of Jesus that David had for studying God’s way. By sharing the story of Jesus to those around us, we will be more inclined to live this type of a blameless walk that David wrote about in Psalm 15. Paul’s writings also encouraged us to make our walk blameless before others:

1. 1 Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
3. Ephesians 5:27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
4. Philippians 1:10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
5. Philippians 2:15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
6. 1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
7. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
8. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this psalm David also refers to himself as your servant. To truly be devoted to God we must become a servant to God just as David refers to in verse two. To gain a better understanding of the concept of this type of servant see my comments to Psalm 40. By being a servant of God two things will occur, God’s presence will be in your life and the wicked will stand against you.

In the daily reading of the Psalms today we start the devotional time with this Psalm and end with Psalm 90. In Psalm 86 David wrote “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” These words bring to life the key to living a Christian life which is found in Psalms one. This fact is also found in Psalms 90:12 as Moses wrote “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. Teach me God is a prayer that we need to pray more in our daily walk.

Psalm 85

¹ You showed favor to your land, O LORD; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. Selah
³ You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
⁴ Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us.
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show usyour unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
⁸ I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints but let them not return to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰ Love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹² The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps

Love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. As I read these two verses, I see a beautiful picture of the gospel. God in his righteousness looked down from heaven and send his son into the world to give us hope. Now with hope we look to heaven with faithfulness knowing that Christ will come again and restore all things to him. This hope gives us peace. We no longer need to worry about today or tomorrow for the Lord will indeed give what is good to us.

Yet, this is not the hope of those who know not the Lord. Those who know not the Lord look to this hope as foolishness and a weakness to those who believe in this hope. I realized that their eyes are indeed blinded to this hope. Why this blindness? Is it because of the desires for the things of this life (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life) that is ever portrait before them by Satan? As I look back on my walk with the Lord, I realize the hardships that were part of my path, the many failures I had; however, I realize also that through it all God was there with me. The more I travel down this path with the Lord the more I realized I do not deserve these blessings from the Lord, and yet I come to a peace about this relationship because I realize that His nature is slowly being reflected by me to others.

As I started today’s journey in the psalms, I started it off this morning by sharing with a friend the first verse of Psalm 81 as a song of joy. Verse one of Psalm 81 states “Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!” In this psalm the psalmist writes “The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest”. As I read these Psalms 81 through 85, I see a picture of the believer’s journey in this world. This walk is a walk of trust and obey. By leaving the worries of this world behind me and focusing more on my daily fellowship with God; the care for the things of this earth will grow strangely dim as I look for the coming return of my Lord to this earth.

Psalm 84

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah
⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

⁷ They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
⁸ Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
⁹ Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
¹² O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

This psalm can picture the walk of the believer on their pilgrimage to heaven. As you read this psalm ask yourself this one question “Am I living my daily walk for gaining thing for this world or enjoying the things in this world as I make my way to heaven?”. As I pray that God will use me in his service verse eleven makes me realize how useless for me to search for God’s purpose in my life. The more I study God’s Word the more I realize that to walk in God’s way is to have a walk that is blameless. The word blameless can be found fifteen times in the Psalms, fourteen times referring to the type of walk we should have:

Psalm 15:2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart
Psalm 18:23I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
Psalm 18:25To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
Psalm 19:13Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 26:1Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Psalm 26:11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me.
Psalm 37:18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever.
Psalm 37:37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.
Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 101:2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart.
Psalm 101:6 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.
Psalm 119:1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
Psalm 119:80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

My purpose then should be to stay in God’s Word, look for God to reveal himself in my relationships with others and to keep myself unspotted by the world. As Paul told Timothy in II Timothy 2:20, 21 ” Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master’s use, prepared unto every good work.”.

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 love 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 83

This is the last of twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph
¹ O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.
² See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads.
³ With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
⁴ “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
⁵ With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you–
⁶ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷ Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
⁸ Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. Selah
⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.”
¹³ Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
¹⁶ Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
¹⁷ May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace.
¹⁸ Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Charles Spurgeon in his work The Treasury of David writes about the historical background on this psalm. One of the interesting points in his commentary about this historical background was his comment on why the Lord keeps silent. He gives three examples from scripture on this subject. The first example was from Matthew chapter eight, Mark chapter four and Luke eight. This was the incident when the Lord was asleep during the storm. This silent was one that test our faith. The next example was from Isaiah fifty-nine were God is silent in the times when his people are experiencing trouble times. This type of silent test the uprightness of men’s heart. The third example he gives is a type of silent that we usually do not consider and is found in this Psalm. We seem to focus most of our attention on God and his relationship with the righteous. In this psalm God seems be silent in dealing with the wicked. This is a time of silent in which God gives the wicked a chance to turn from their wicked way. However, in Matthew 25:31-46 our Lord gives an example when this silent will end. In verse forty-one his judgment is this: depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. This is when verses seventeen and eighteen of this psalm will come to pass.

As I examine this Psalm considering the third example of God’s silent and consider the direction in which the societies of the whole are drifting, I cannot help but consider the words from II Peter chapter three. In this chapter Peter states his purpose of writing to them was to give them a reminder to stimulate them to wholesome thinking. He reminds them that this wholesome thinking starts with an understanding of God’s Word. The failure of wholesome thinking starts with a denial of the Lord’s return and the denial of the Flood. With this denial comes a denial of God’s Word. But God is patient. Why? Here in II Peter chapter three we are told that it is because the Lord does not want anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance. So how do we as believers pursue a lifestyle during these times when the wickedness of the world seems to surround us on every side? The answer is simple but is hard to understand. Peter writes that we should look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. As we wait, we should make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and have the peace of God within us. However, in verse sixteen Peter describes the state in which Christians are in today. They find the scriptures hard to understand and distort them to fit their lifestyles. This description of the church is also found in Revelation chapter three of the church of Laodicea where Christ is pictured outside of the church. So, as we watch the direction in which the world is drifting read II Peter chapter three, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and look for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ to usher in the home of the righteousness.

As I read the last psalm ascribed to Asaph, I am remained again of the seven thousand that God let Elijah know that had not bowed knees to Baal (I Kings 19:18). These seven thousand lived during the reign of Ahab and his wife Jezebel at a time in which the world around them worshiped other Gods. Not only did the nations around them worship other gods, but Jezebel even cut off the prophets of Jehovah and tried to silent their voice. During this time, we see Elijah as the only one taking an active stand for God. Not even the incident of Elijah calling fire down on the burnt-offering on Mt Carmel and the power of God being magnified could turn the nation back to God. Soon after this show of God’s might and power Elijah was running with fear from Jezebel. I Kings 18 gives us the example of people like Obadiah who feared God and remained faithful to God, in the quietness of doing his assigned work assigned to him as head of Ahab’s household. In this position he was able to protect and take care of a hundred of the Lord’s prophets. Here we see two examples of how Godly men react to the events in a troubling time. As we too are living in times when the movement of our social is moving against the ways of God, we have the examples found in I Kings chapters eighteen and nineteen. Yes, God will raise up powerful evangelists such as Elijah to stand in the way, yet at the same time he will reserve a remnant that will not be a part of this world. Therefore, do not be discourage when it seems like the enemies of God have the upward hand. God did not seem present during the time of Elijah, but he was. God might not seem present now, but he is and is just silent for a while.

Psalm 82

of Asaph.

This is the eleventh of twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph

¹ God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “gods”:
² “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
⁵ “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
⁶ “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
⁷ But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler.”
⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.

This is the psalm that Christ referred to in John 10:34. It was on this discourse that the Jews ask him this question “How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly.” Christ answer was simple “I told you and you believed not.” He ended by saying “I and the Father are one.” To this the Jews took up stones to stone him and answer him “we stone you not for your good works, but because thou being a man make thyself God.” Then Jesus referred them to this psalm. The theme of John chapter ten is the good shepherd and his flock. In this discourse Christ pictured himself as the good shepherd who took care of his sheep and did not act as a hireling who did not care for the sheep, but for his own personal needs. The good shepherd cares for the sheep, but the hireling only cares for himself. The rulers of the Jews who were to guide the weak and needy, the fatherless and the poor, forsook their duty and focused on making their lives better at the expense of the ones that were entrusted to protect. As I was studying A.W. Tozer’s book Knowledge Of The Holy this week I realized that the religious as well as the political leaders at the time of Christ did not have right view of God. The same can also be said about the religious and political leaders of today. As I study the truths in his book, I realized how much of our daily activities does not included the realization God in our decisions. After studying the chapter on God Incomprehensible, I realized how thankful I am for Christ. By trusting in Christ, I can get a glimpse of God. As John writes in I John 1:3 “that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his son Jesus Christ.” I can now fellowship with my creator. He also states in chapter 3 verses one and two that we are the sons of God.

So, think about the quote from this psalm “ye are Gods” in relationship to John’s writings in I John chapter three. Christ the son of God came to earth as the son of Man and was manifested to take away sins so that one day we too will be like him. Therefore, everyone that has this hope in Christ purifies himself even as Christ is pure. Ask yourself this question today “where is your hope for eternity found?”. Do your daily activities center around the pursuit of the knowledge of the holy, eternal, and incomprehensible God?

Psalm 81

Of Asaph.

This is the tenth of twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph

¹ Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
² Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre.
³ Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
⁴ this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
⁵ He established it as a statute for Joseph when he went out against Egypt, where we heard language we did not understand.
⁶ He says, “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
⁷ In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
⁸ “Hear, O my people, and I will warn you if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
⁹ You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.
¹⁰ I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
¹¹ “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
¹³ “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways,
¹⁴ how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
¹⁵ Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
¹⁶ But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

At the start of my journey of reading five psalms a day the purpose of this journey was to help me improve my prayer life. During this journey I also discovered the writings of Oswald Chambers. In his October 17 devotional The Key of the Greater Work, he makes this statement about prayer “Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work”. As I reflect upon this statement I am reminded of the Paul’s references to prayer:

Ephesians 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

I Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.

Philippians 1:4 – Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.

It is prayer and worship then that must play an important part in our daily spiritual walk. As I consider the first four verses of this chapter, I see the importance of daily worship. Do I have a song of praise in my daily walk? Do I thank the Lord for my daily needs that have been met? Do I take moments from my daily walk to devote to prayer? Do I consider prayer as asking God for something, or is it a request that we present before God? A great example of prayer from the business world would be that of a budget request. We put together our budget and then submit it to our manager and hope it gets approve. Prayer is the process of submitting our request to God. In verse ten we see God wanting us to open our mouth wide and he will fill it. However, we have not listened to God. Our prayers (budget request) are not in line with what is needed. We ask for things outside the requirements of God’s will. Verse seven gives us an example of what prayer is like “in your distress you called, and I rescued you, I answered you and I tested you”. The two parts of prayer are seen in this verse. I called and God rescued me. I ask and he fulfilled my requested desires.

The second part is the testing God gives to each believer after he has answered their request. This testing by the waters of Meribah comes when God has already answered our prayers, however we are again in a place that we need God’s help again. In Exodus 17 this place is called both Massah (which means testing) and Meribah (which means quarreling). Question yourself and considered if your request before God is either testing God or quarreling with God? Sometimes during our journey on this earth, we get hungry and thirsty for spiritual things in our life. However, instead of asking God to meet these needs we start to complaint about how God has just deserted us. We let our hearts become stubborn like Israel and stop listening to God and stop following his ways. To succeed in this time of testing we must practice the principle of trust and obey and know that God is God.

Psalm 80

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
This is the ninth of twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph

¹ Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
² before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.
³ Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
⁴ O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
⁶ You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.
⁷ Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹ You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
¹¹ It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
¹² Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
¹³ Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it.
¹⁴ Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine,
¹⁵ the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.
¹⁶ Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

This psalm written by Asaph is a prayer to the Shepherd of Israel. It is a prayer to come and save us. It is also a prayer to restore them so that His former glory is upon them. Yet at this time God is making them struggle in everything that they attempt to pursue. As I read this psalm, I realize a simple truth that we sometimes seem to forget in our pursue of growing closer to God. That truth is our incomplete nature without God, the void that we feel when we are not in God’s presence. In verses four through thirteen Asaph writes how God anger smolders against them, how God has provided them with things of sorrow, and made them a source of contention to their neighbors. If my friends or even my family turns and treats me like this then I would probably discontinue my relationship and live life without them. However, in my pursuing a relationship with God the truth is that these events should bring me closer to Him. The impulse to pursue God must come from a desire to fulfill that missing relationship I have in my life for God. Therefore, the impulse not to purse God must come from a desire to fulfill this missing relationship with the things of this world.

As I look at verse 17, I am reminded that the phase Son of Man was a title that the Lord used refer to himself. This title is used 80 times in the New Testament by the Lord. When we consider the phase “son of man” we must also consider these verses found in Daniel 7:13,14: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”.

Psalm 79

A psalm of Asaph.

This is the eighth of twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph

¹ O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
² They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.
³ They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.
⁴ We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
⁵ How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;
⁷ for they have devoured Jacob and destroyed his homeland.
⁸ Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
⁹ Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.
¹⁰ Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the out poured blood of your servants.
¹¹ May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die.
¹² Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the reproach they have hurled at you, Lord.
¹³ Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Most of the psalms written by Asaph focus on national issues of the nation of Israel. Israel is God’s chosen nation. This was the promise that God made to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. How as I look at our nation is it a nation that supports Israel or rejects Israel. As we approach the last days God will be bringing the nation of Israel back into the picture of his coming.

Reflecting on Christ words from Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.” I realize that the gospel is not only a message to individuals but also to the nations. As I read verse six of this psalm “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;” the words of Matthew 24:14 makes me more aware of the importance of the preaching of the gospel in the world today. Matthew 24:14 does not reflect upon the acceptance of the gospel, but the fact that it is preached to all the nations as a witness to the nations. After this is the end.

There are many signs that we can point to that we are living in the latter days, however in Matthew 24:14 I realize that the gospel has been preached to all nations. This verse has been fulfilled. The see how nations are at war against each other. Just as Asaph focus upon the nation instead of the individuals, so did Christ focus of the nations in Matthew chapter twenty-four. National view reflects the direction of the individuals within the nation. As I witness the way the nations are abandoning the way of the righteous to the way of the ungodly I realize that the gospel is being rejected by the world.

So, as I read this psalm, I realize that the preaching of the gospel is not only to the individual, but also to the nations. And this gospel is to be a witness against the nations. I am not sure how God will judge these nations; however, judgment will come. As I study history, I realize how blessed the USA has been blessed in the past. However, whatever happens in the future I also realize that God does see the seven thousand that have not bowed their knees to the gods of the nation (Baal). God does judge the nations however He also judges the individual.