Love always trusts

DEVOTION

PSALMS

LOVE ALWAYS TRUSTS

Ps 55

55:1 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil  of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught 3 at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest —  7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah  8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."

9 Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them.

16 But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. 17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. 18 He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. 19 God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them — Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. 20 My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. 21 His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. 23 But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

NIV

David was most likely talking about once having a sweet relationship with Saul and now it is Saul who is trying to kill him. The idea of what can happen in the heart of man compared to the heart of God is at the center of this song. People are fickle and change as does the wind. One day best of friends the next there is strife. There will always be the ebbs and flows in relationships, even within marriages, but in the marriage a covenant was made, one that should not be broken. God has made such a covenant with man. He sent Jesus to die for our sin, which is the foundation of the covenant. If we accept his provision of salvation through Jesus Christ, then he will give us eternal life. Although David did not have this kind of covenant with God, he was still in a covenant relationship with him. God was his refuge, his strength, his ever present help in time of trouble. David says that he calls to God and the Lord saves him. Here we also see that men will never change their ways. Does that mean us as well? Perhaps in the sense that we will never stop having some sin in our life no matter how much we say we don’t. But most likely this has more to do with a comparison again between those whose trust is in God, and the wicked who say there is no God, or say God is someone other than the Most Holy God, creator of all that is created. They either curse God by rejecting his covenant, or admit who he is, but only give him lip service still living according to their own desires. Nevertheless David sees them as speaking words as smooth as butter, but have war in their hearts. These are the lip service people with words soothing like oil, but have drawn swords. In general people have corrupted their hearts with the ways of the world. There is violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl the city streets, malice and abuse are within the city. This is condition of the heart of man without being in fellowship, in harmony with God. David cries out to us from this song, cast your cares on the Lord, he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall. This should be the condition of our lives. We cry out to our Lord, we cast all our cares on him, for he cares for us, he sustains us, and he never lets us fall. This is a promise, if only we trust him one hundred percent. How can we expect anything from God if our trust is less than one hundred percent? Can we say we trust God fifty percent and trust ourselves the other fifty, or how about eighty, twenty or ninety-five, five? No, we have to have absolutely no trust in ourselves and all our trust in him, then his promise to us works. According to his word as recorded in 1^st Corinthians 13, love always trusts. If we say we love the Lord then we will always trust him. So I say, as for me, I will trust the Lord.   

Overcoming

DEVOTION

PSALMS

OVERCOMING

Ps 54

54:1 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, "Is not David hiding among us?"

Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.

3 Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life — men without regard for God. Selah 

4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.

6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O LORD, for it is good. 7 For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

NIV

This word translated as vindicate has several meanings and has been translated as judge, or defend in other translations. It has been used to mean rule in other scriptures as well. In the context of this song it might well be seen as David is asking God to judge his situation, or his thoughts, the intent of his heart. This would be appropriate if we are to come to God in prayer. David is going to pray and he wants God to look into his heart and examine his thoughts and intents, so God will know he is right and answer his prayer. God, listen to us, hear our words, examine our heart and know you dwell within it, that our intent is to live to please you, rather than ourselves. That is the framework for prayer, the foundation of prayer. We cannot be flippant about speaking to God, unless of course in an emergency situation and we have no time but to cry out for immediate help. The question then is have we been living for him, have we been seeking him through his word? Have we been listening to the Spirit as he teaches, leads us into the truth? Are we right with God, or have we been simply giving him lip service? There may not be the opportunity to ask him to search us, in those emergencies, but we should know he is there. The attacks David felt are different than those we feel. He was actually under physical attack from Saul, who wanted to kill him. As David traveled about looking for places to hide, to take refuge from Saul, many other kingdoms, or people groups still recognized Saul as the king of Israel. They would have either an alliance with him, or fear reprisal if they offended him and gave refuge to his enemy, David. It may even be the case other people who were not from Israel, who did not know God, were in alliance with Saul and seeking David to kill him. We do not live in that type of culture, although the Wild West some years ago might have looked like it. Even today we, with all the strange events of mass shootings, it seems we have lost some humanity, morality and or a spiritual compass. But the fact remains we believers are under a different type of attack than David was. Those who attack us, actually are attacking God. Ruthless men attack our way of life. They attack the idea of creation, giving way to theories of evolution. They consider themselves as able to control the planet. Their self-aggrandizement has not limits. Our faith is under attack. They think we are foolish to believe the Bible is God’s word, that he is the author of its content. David prayed for God to destroy them or give him the victory over them. This is how we should think, not to destroy them physically, but to triumph over them. We need to ask God to give us the victory over such evil thinking, to have the right words at the right time. He gives the victory. Ultimately we will prevail in the end, but in each day we are in a battle against the foes of God. We have confidence God will deliver us from all who seek to destroy our faith, our life. We will overcome.  

Restored

DEVOTION

PSALMS

RESTORED

Ps 53

53:1 For the director of music. According to mahalath.  A maskil  of David.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Will the evildoers never learn — those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God? 5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

NIV

This sort of puts to rest the idea of the term, “Good Christian”. Of course this song  starts out with the fool who doesn’t even believe there is a God. Those kind of people are indeed corrupt and their ways are vile. Many of them might well be nice people, and do nice things in this world. But according to God, if they say he does not exist, they are a fool and whatever they do, in the eyes of God it is not good. Now we come to all the sons of men, which include all believers. God searches to see if anyone understands and seeks Him. We believers have at least done that. We have searched for God, or at least heard him when he called us, when he revealed himself to us. We understood we were sinners in need of salvation. We responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit by saying, yes. Yet God says everyone has turned away, they all have become corrupt, there is no on who does good, not even one. Is he just talking about the fools or about all the sons of men? Maybe we are excluded from that class of people because we have been given the right to be called children of God. However even having that right, we are also sons and daughters of men. Jesus, although he is the Son of God, referred to himself as the Son of man. He was in the flesh and subject to the temptations that attack the flesh. He was perfect because he was God, and he needed to be the Lamb of God, free from and spot or blemish. He had to be perfect so he could take away our sin. We, on the other hand, are not perfect. We have corrupted our ways. We surely admit God exists and we have absolutely accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So we are no fool, but we are corrupt, we sin. We cannot say that we have no sin, or that we do not sin in word, thought or deed. However, we believe and are thankful we have a Savior out of Zion. Because of Jesus, of our being in Christ, God sees us as holy and blameless in his sight.  We have received our salvation out of Zion.  Our fortune has been restored.  Just as an old car with rust and dents and an engine that does not work is restored is in the hands of a skilled restorer, we are in the hands of God, a clay vessel, being molded into his design, being restored into his original design. We can be glad and rejoice.

His name is good

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HIS NAME IS GOOD

Ps 52

52:1 For the director of music. A maskil  of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech."

Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah 4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"

8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

NIV

Although this might be, according to the scholars, a song written as a response to the historic event which is recorded in 1 Samuel 22, it also bears a great deal of truth for all people in all times. This truth is transcultural. When people boast of their own exploits, their own accomplishments or achievements they are a disgrace in the eyes of God. This would include their plans, aspirations, goals and or desires. When people speak as though it is their doing and their future plans are in their own hands, it is a disgrace in the eyes of the Lord. Who is man? He is a creation of God. Why did God create man? To be in relationship with him. When man lives according to man’s plan, he degrades and disgraces himself in the eye of God. When people live in that manner, God will bring them down to everlasting ruin. It seems unlikely we will laugh at their ruin, but God says we will. Because we are the righteous, having accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, thus not trusting in our own abilities, we fear, or revere God. We know his power and his might and we know his justice and his grace. God says we even perceive those who trust in their wealth and do not make God their stronghold. There it is again, the serving two master’s truth. People who trust in their wealth will not put their trust in God. Even those who call themselves Christians might be in the situation of looking to their wealth for security rather than God. Sure they believe for salvation, but not for their daily lives, or future days of their life. How can anyone think storing up wealth is trusting in God? It just seems inconsistent with the whole of scripture. Yet we are told God will bring those who do not make him their stronghold to ruin. That is so sad, when he is ready to be their stronghold and wants all men to come to him, that none should perish or be torn from their tent, uprooted from their land, or transculturally, their wealth. Those who actually have made God their stronghold, will be like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God. This is the picture of the tree again which bears much fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Those who trust in God will bear this fruit in their lives. But the interesting thing God has revealed to us, is the fruit is not for the tree, but for people to come and pick it off the tree. As we bear the fruit of the Spirit, it is for others to be able to enjoy. They can taste our love, our joy, our peace, our gentleness, goodness, patience, kindness and even our self-control. But that requires we trust in God rather than in self. We will praise our Lord forever and ever. This implies we will not get caught up in the ways of man, but will remain in the stronghold, in the Lord. Praising him for all he does in our lives, and for all he is doing in our lives, and for all he will continue to do in us, for us and through us. We will always hope in God for his name is good.

Pure Heart

DEVOTION

PSALMS

PURE HEART

Ps 51

51:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

NIV

In the grand scheme of human kind it appears those individuals who have great wealth and power get caught up in great sin, if there is levels of sin. We are witness today of many of the rich and powerful men being exposed for taken advantage of women. It may well have happen before David by other kings and pharaohs. It most likely has happened after David and throughout history right up to the present. This does not excuse it, but merely notes it is a condition of humankind to sin. How we respond to sin it the question at hand. It would appear David was so overtaken by his sin that he was not aware, or refused to acknowledge what he was doing was wrong. Once Nathan exposed his sin, David was filled with remorse and guilt. His heart was broken that he could have gotten himself so wrapped up in this behavior he did not see it as sin. His cry for God to create in him a pure heart show how broken he was. He sees how wicked he is, even from the time his conception. We would have thought David was already a man of pure heart. He was, even in his youth bent toward God. He stood before Goliath in the name of Yahweh, Jehovah, the God of hosts. According to the timeline of David, after the slaying of Goliath, he spends time in the court of Saul, after which Saul tries to kill him. After many battles David is anointed king and captures Jerusalem, making it the city of God. He brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and we recall how he danced before it. His Heart was bent toward God, but after time somehow he was deceived by his own heart. This is where we come in. We too can be deceived by our own heart, even if it is bent toward God. How we respond to the sin in our life is the point of this song of David. Crushed to the core, filled with guilt and remorse, broken before God. Take this heart and destroy it, creating within a pure heart, a clean heart. We need to know our sin and seek to be cleansed, to have it purged from our heart, to be washed, and today we say washed in the blood of the Lamb. We cannot tolerate any level of sin on our lives, even though we cannot escape sin altogether. Only Jesus was able to live a sinless, perfect life, but then again he was also God in the flesh. Nevertheless we cannot become content with our sin, or complacent with it. Our cry should forever be for God to have mercy on us. The fact is he already did by sending Jesus to die in the cross, taking all our sin upon himself. But we cannot take advantage of his mercy or grace, as God says through Paul, should we continue to sin so grace can abound? God forbid! No, our response to sin should be brokenness before God. Our heart is bent toward him, but it still gets deceived or does the deceiving and sin takes its grip. Our cry is for God to forgive, to create in us a clean heart, a pure heart so we might sing, truly sing his praises before the people. We will sing his praises before the people, we will speak of his righteousness, which is Jesus. Let us not be content with any amount of sin, in word, thought or deed. Oh, Lord create in us a clean heart.  

Live what we say

DEVOTION

PSALMS

LIVE WHAT WE SAY

Ps 50:16-23

16 But to the wicked, God says:

"What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? 17 You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. 19 You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. 20 You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son. 21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

22 "Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue: 23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

NIV

Having looked at the first fifteen verses already which spoke about the righteous, we need to see how God deals with the wicked. It seems sad this is their fate, but then they have sealed their own fate by their way of thinking and consequently living. What is interesting is they might even appear to be religious. This first question to them from God gives us the impression they are people who what to look like they are spiritual, but in fact live for their own desires. They say they believe in God, but hate to live according to his word. They might even cherry pick a few scriptures to justify what they think those scriptures mean. But in reality they merely want to do whatever they want to do. They throw their lot in with the rest of the world, living as an adulterer. This is another reason we have an impression these may be pretending believers. When people say or recite the word, quote a few scriptures, ,maybe even be a church goer, but are involved, engaged in the ways of the world, having an affair, being intimate with the world, they are committing adultery. This speaking evil might not mean speaking actual evil words, but more like saying one thing but living differently. It might refer to a so-called quoting of the bible while still having ill-feelings toward others. A deceitful tongue would be used in that way. It is like saying, “I Love God, but I can’t stand this other person”. It might look like saying we love God, but refusing to forgive someone. That could be a deceitful tongue. God says up to now he has kept silent, accusing them of thinking he is alright with the way they are thinking and living. Yet there is a day of judgement coming and God will rebuke all those who he defines and the wicked. Those considered wicked is not by our standards, but by Gods. It does not matter if we think we are right in our thinking, it matters if God does. We have to always remain in Jesus and in a constant state of thanksgiving for all the God is doing for us, in us and through us. He promised he started the good work in us and that it is he who will complete it. We cannot complete any good work in us, it is his to do. If we think we are doing any good work in our lives, or any good deeds for that matter, we deceive ourselves and dishonor God. He is the one who does all the good work in us, and through us. A better translation the second portion of the last verse:

23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

Is and he that considers the course of his life, I will show him the salvation of God. This gives us the insight that we must always be considering how we think, what we say and how we behave. Is God pleased with our living? But more importantly in contrast to what he has said about the wicked, the deceitful tongues, we know we are saved because of our faith in Jesus. We profess Jesus, we accepted him as our Lord and Savior, but at the same time we need to live in accordance with our faith. Living as we say we live, by faith. So we must live what we say.

Action of God

DEVOTION

PSALMS

ACTION OF GOD

Ps 50

50:1 A psalm of Asaph.

The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. 2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 "Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." 6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah 

7 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. 8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. 9 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

16 But to the wicked, God says:

"What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? 17 You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. 19 You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. 20 You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son. 21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

22 "Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue: 23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

NIV

This song has three main parts. There is the one about God and one about the righteous and the other about the wicked. We may need to take a couple of days to get through this. Let’s consider just the righteous for now. But first we should note what God says about himself. God can summon the earth. God simply needs to speak and the whole earth can be shaken and drawn up into his presence. There is no place on earth that is not his, or that he cannot call into judgement. Every nations upon the earth, all the people of the earth are going to be called before him for judgement. He is coming to judge the earth, the peoples of the earth. He is coming with a devouring fire. He will not be silent, a devouring fire comes with him. This might well speak of the flames of the lake of burning sulfur. It might be his rage, his anger or wrath that will be poured out on the wicked. However he is also going to gather his people to himself. He is going to gather his consecrated ones, those who made a covenant with him by sacrifice. This should give us a picture of Romans 12, 1-2. Although we no longer cut the flesh of animals and pass between them as the Hebrew word translated covenant means, we are to present our flesh as a living sacrifice. God cuts our flesh, he circumcises our heart, he word is liken to a double edge sword.

Heb 4:12-13

12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

NIV

This is the new covenant God has made with us, through his Son, Jesus. We are the righteous because we are in Christ. We will be, in fact already have been, gathered to him. But is also speaks of the gathering, the taking up of his saints, his people to himself. This may be what we call the rapture, of it could be the final Day of Judgement. It is most likely the second as this second part speaks of the finality of the wicked. Yet within the second portion of this song God speaks to the righteous. He speaks about not needed anything from us as far as sacrifice is concerned. He only needs us. It is not about how much we can do for him, how many sacrifices we can make. He can’t or doesn’t want that kind of relationship with us. He wants us to simply be thankful for what he has done for us, is doing in us, and what is will do through us. The vow or promise we made before him was to follow Jesus, to accept Jesus into our heart, to bow before him as our Lord and Savior. He wants us to hold to that promise to be a believer and to call upon him, not upon ourselves. He wants us to trust him, which is why we call upon him in times of trouble. He will deliver us. This is all about what God will do, and not about what we can do. This is all about the actions of God.

Understanding

DEVOTION

PSALMS

UNDERSTANDING

Ps 49

49:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me — 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him — 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough — 9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.

10 For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.

12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. 15 But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah 

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; 17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. 18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed — and men praise you when you prosper —  19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light [of life].

20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

NIV

To begin we first start with the end. This whole psalm is not about having to be poor in order to get to heaven, but it is about putting trust in wealth rather than God. There is a contrast between the pagan and the believer throughout this song. The pagans have nothing but their wealth, but no matter how much they accumulate it is not enough to buy them eternal life. Their lot at the time of their death is the grave, which is their home. This sort of implies they will not live on in any fashion at all. It makes it very clear they are like the beasts of the field,  at death they simply perish. This agrees rather strongly with John 3:16 in the point about whosoever believes will not perish, but has everlasting life. The opposite of everlasting life is perish. Certainly the beasts of the field are not sent to hell to be tormented day and night, or to life in eternal torment in the flames of the lake of burning sulfur. Those who put their trust in wealth, who store it up, like the rich farmer who built bigger barns, are destined to the grave. But the rich and the poor die, it matters not how much we have in the here and now. So why do so many keep trying to make so much and store so much for themselves? Even many believers have taken that approach toward life. It is not clear which scriptures they use to justify investing in the world system, storing wealth for the future. Again, it is not that wealth is bad, God has made some people to have great wealth, but like the rich farmer with the bigger barns, God said that his soul was demanded that night and then who would get all his wealth, but the point was that so would it be for those who had such wealth and were not rich toward God. The rich farmer had the attitude all his stored up wealth was so he could sit back enjoy life and take it easy, in essence retire and live on his stored up wealth. Had he used his wealth for the kingdom of God, he would have lived. But he used it for himself. This is what this song is all about. We need a certain amount of income to live in this world. Some believers have greater income than others, especially when we take a world view. But the point is how much we trust in that income and what we do with it. Our life is in Christ, it cannot be in our income, our wealth. It comes back to the not being able to serve two masters thing. We cannot go about living in the same philosophy as the pagans regarding money and live as if we are Christians, it just doesn’t work. It has to be one or the other. This whole song makes that clear. So we chose understanding.  

Unfailing love

DEVOTION

PSALMS

UNFAILING LOVE

Ps 48

48:1 A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. 2 It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. 3 God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.

4 When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, 5 they saw [her] and were astounded; they fled in terror. 6 Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor. 7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.

8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.  Selah 

9 Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. 10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. 11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, 13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

NIV

This could be a song about the great city of Jerusalem and how well it is defended by God. However the phrase at the end of the song makes us think more of the New City of Jerusalem. Nevertheless the point is all the same. God defends his city, his people. This could also been seen as God defending his Holy Mountain, His Holy Temple. That might be viewed as his truth or as us, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We could say that God is the citadel of truth, he is the fortress of truth. All the lies of the world could join forces advancing upon his truth, but when they see it, when they come up against it, they are astounded and flee in terror. They cannot handle the truth, it terrorizes them. The truth of God shatters all their lies, like ships without a sail, tossed to and fro, no chance to steer a good course. God’s truth is secure forever. This idea about us being the temple is viewed in the idea of us meditating on his unfailing love. Within our inner being we are to be in constant meditation about the unfailing love of God. What this does is give us a great sense of security, but also as we ponder on his unfailing love it brings us to giving him praise and our praise should reach the ends of the earth. We know the truth and he has set of free. Jesus said that he was the truth, the light and the way. As we ponder, meditate on how secure we are in Zion, in the city of God, the mountain of God, our eternal home, it should give us a sense of peace, calmness and contentment. We can see how well we are protected by Zion, the city of God, the truth of God, Jesus. When we consider Jesus, we will tell the next generation, for God is our God for ever and ever. How glorious is it to know that he will be our guide even to the end, which has to mean the end of this portion of our life, for there is no end to God or for us in all eternity. Yet the fact is God will guide us to the end. We never have to be concerned about being left alone, or forsaken for he will never forsake us or leave us.

Deut 31:8

8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

NIV

No fear, no discouragement, God is in his city, in his temple, on his throne within the inner most part of our being. He dwells within us, so we are safe and secure. He is most worthy of praise for his unfailing love.

Sing with Joy

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SING WITH JOY

Ps 47

47:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! 3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. 4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah 

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. 8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

NIV

Clearly God is to be praised. Clearly we are to shout to God with cries of Joy, clap our hands, and raise them upon our God. We are to sing praises to our God, sing praises, and sing praises. The picture which flashes before us is a congregation of people, perhaps even standing while some kind of worship leader or group is before them. There could be a simple set of musical instruments, or a full out orchestra and one or multiple screens displaying the words to a song. Some of the songs might even be songs about God, rather than ballads about something. But the congregation is not actually in worship, as they appear more like mannequins, expressionless, just quietly mouthing the words because that is what they are expected to be doing. There appears little joy, or little real praise, unless it is all going on deep within them on the inside where no one can detect. It seems sad we are not really in an attitude of praise, singing with all we have to our God. We need to be the ones who are filled with Joy because we have a great inheritance God has given to us. We need to be raising our hearts, our voice and our hands to our God for he reigns over the nations, he is seated on his throne. Our faces should be shining with the joy that is in our hearts because God has done great things in our life. How awesome is our God, how awesome is the Lord Most High. He is the King over all the earth! Let us give him praise in the morning, in the day and in the evening as we lay our head down. God is worthy of all our praise! Especially when we gather together on the Lord’s Day, we should be filled with praise for our God. We need to sing praises to our God, sing with joy!

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy joy

Down in my heart

Down in my heart

Down in my heart

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart to stay!

Let us sing praises to our God with that joy.

Be still

DEVOTION

PSALMS

BE STILL

Ps 46

46:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.  A song.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 

8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

NIV

This psalm contains one of the more famous verses which has been used for pictures or plagues for ornamental hangings, verse ten. We have quoted it, looked at it every day and become so familiar with it, we might not consider just how important it is. But we get ahead of ourselves. This whole song is about verse ten, building up to that phrase about being still and knowing he is God. The whole of this song speaks about the power of God, the mightiness of even his voice. He can make the earth give way and the mountains fall in the heart of the sea. But what about the words of Jesus when he said if we have faith, we can tell the mountains to get up and move into the sea?

Mark 11:22-25

22 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." 

NIV

Some take all this out of context and think we should be doing great signs and wonders. 

It is still about having faith in God, but also about never holding a grudge, always be in the frame of mind that God is in, always forgiving, remember a sin no more. The power of God is completely awesome, able to make the water surge, the mountains move, his works are so powerful he can bring desolation upon the earth and he can make wars cease. He can either lift a nation up or break it apart, breaking the bow, shattering the spear, and burn the shields. Of course we do not use those types of weapons anymore, but the power of God is the same and he can melt a tank with his word. He can destroy a rocket, he can bend the long tubes, or barrel, of the artillery guns, and he can cause war planes to fall from the sky. He can bring an end to all war, if that is what he desires to do. Now it comes to this: “Be still and know I am God” He will be exalted among the nations, he will be exalted on the earth. He gives us abilities, yes to move mountains, if we have faith in him, for it is by his power, not ours that we can do anything. We are to be still. We are to be still in heart, in faith, in life. We are to still our hearts, fearing nothing, being anxious about nothing, not being envious, not being jealous, not being angry, or not being forgiving. We are not to hold a grudge, or even get upset when someone does something that offends us. In the first place, we would not be offended if we understood to be still and know that he is God. We would not always be thinking about ourselves, if we were still and know that he is God. Our whole life should be still. The Hebrew word is used to imply to be relax, to abate, to sink down, to withdraw, to let drop, to refrain. All that means is to be still, to not move, to keep ourselves from thinking we have to do. No, we have to have faith in God, he does, and we stay still. It is so easy to get swept up in exalting our efforts, our abilities, our intelligence, and our accomplishments. The pagans do that every day, they praise each other to the point of creating awards, the golden globes, the Emmy awards, the Oscars, and so many more the famous give themselves. Then we have our smaller lest important awards we receive at work for how many of whatever we have done or at school. We try to find any way we can to recognize some kind of our achievement. But that only fills us with pride, and pride comes before the fall. No, we are to be still and know he is God.

The Lord of life

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE LORD OF LIFE

Ps 45

45:1 For the director of music. To [the tune of] "Lilies." Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.  A wedding song.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. 5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. 6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. 9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10 Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. 11 The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. 12 The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift, men of wealth will seek your favor.

13 All glorious is the princess within [her chamber]; her gown is interwoven with gold. 14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you. 15 They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.

16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. 17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

NIV

Because this is a wedding song we have two approaches to the meaning which we could take. First in the context of the time it was written it may well have been composed for a marriage of Solomon to some princess, such a daughter of Pharaoh. But if that is all it is, then it has nothing for us today and considering that all scripture, including this song, is God-breathed and profitable for rebuking, correcting, teaching and training in righteousness, then  this has to have some truth or principle which bears on our life. It has been suggested it might be considered as the conversion of the gentiles. But we think it resembles the church and Christ, as the church has been referred to as the bride of Christ.

Rev 21:9

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

NIV

2 Cor 11:2

2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

NIV

There are many more verses which imply or use the analogy of a husband and wife, as a marriage of the church and Christ. We can even see this in the idea of committing adultery. Although we are humans, we should refrain from that activity in the physical realm, it bears even more significance in our marriage to Christ. If we are engaged in an affair with the world, then we are committing adultery on a far grander scale. All the verses which talk about being faithful speak of our faithfulness to Christ, not seeking pleasures from another, like the world. All the scriptures which speak about trusting our Lord, trusting God, speak about a complete devotion to our beloved husband, believing in his provisions. Although the Bible in general speaks in the sense of men being the head of the household and throughout most of generations the men were indeed the leaders, even considered as the lord of the house, women were subject to them, our culture has demolished that whole idea. Our culture does not promote men being the head of the household at all, in fact it diminishes the need for men, except for their need to produce children. We have moved away from the patriarchal society to almost an entire matriarchal one. The whole woman’s movement has created a false religion of sorts. This is not to diminish the importance of woman at all, in fact, God created man and woman. He created them as equals to walk through life together. However, God did establish marriage, and he did put the accountability for the family on the man. He did tell Adam he would have to work the ground all the days of his life for his sustenance. He did not tell Eve she would also have to work. Modern culture may have perverted the original intent of God. Why is this important? It would appear this philosophy has permeated our relationship with Christ. What this looks like is that we want to be in the drivers’ seat with Christ riding along as a passenger. When we were a youth it would be very rare to see a woman driving with her husband as a passenger. Today it is as common as a cold. Again this bears on our relationship with Christ. Because we are his bride, he is our husband, our Lord and master, he has to be in the drivers’ seat. We have to see him as the Lord of the family, in the context of the culture in which this song was written. We dance the wedding song, with Christ leading all the steps. We cannot lead, he does. We might have made all our life choices along when we were single, but now that we are his bride, we cannot make our own choices. Our lives are in his hands, he is the head of the household, and he chooses what we will do and what we will not do. It really is that simple. Because of the way our culture has become, we have a difficult time being submissive. That word is never used in the context of human marriages, even though the scripture teaches us to submit to one another.

Eph 5:21

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

NIV

Thus we also have a difficult time submitting to Christ, allowing him to be the Lord of our life. We say he is, but do we actually live as if he is? We are the bride of Christ and as such we need to be his bride, in the context of the truth of scripture, not in the context of our culture. So let us just be his bride, standing at his side, allowing him to lead us, to provide for us, to be the Lord of our life.

unfailing love

DEVOTION

PSALMS

UNFAILING LOVE

Ps 44

44:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.

We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. 2 With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. 3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. 5 Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. 6 I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; 7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. 8 In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. Selah 

9 But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. 10 You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. 11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. 12 You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. 14 You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. 15 My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame 16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17 All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or been false to your covenant. 18 Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. 19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21 would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? 22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. 24 Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?

25 We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26 Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.

NIV

Here is a song that has been song for many years, perhaps since the children of Israel were in captivity in Egypt. David did not write this one, but is it credited to the sons of Korah. It is divided into two parts, but has but one purpose, to remind God all that he did and to let him know they knew it was all him and none of them who brought them so many victories over their enemies. The reason for all that reminiscing was twofold. First, they wanted to let God know they remembered all the times he gave them victories. Second, they were now not in the victory business, but being conquered instead. They also wanted God to know they never gave up on him, but we know they had from time to time. Even shortly after their rescue from Egypt they convinced Aaron to make a golden calf, a false god thus proving they turned their backs on God. They did spread their hands out to a foreign god and now they were paying the price. It seemed to them the God who fought for them in the past was asleep and was not watching over them. They were even bold enough to ask God to search their hearts to know they were telling the truth. That takes either courage or stupidity to ask God to examine their heart when it was lying. Here is where the rubber meets the road for us. God does examine our hearts, he knows our ever thought.

Ps 139:2-4

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

NIV

We have read about how Jesus knew the thoughts about the people trying to trap him into saying something they could charge him with. God knows our thoughts and he perceives our motives, our words before we say them. We cannot hide the truth of who we are from God, who are inner being is. This song also reminds us that it is God who does it all, he fights our battles, and he brings us the victory. It is not by our strength, our abilities, our efforts, our education or wealth which brings us the victory. It might seem many of the pagans are winning victories in this life and some believers appear to have won some as well. But we need to know it is all God in our lives, he is the source of all things good for us. We can never spread our hands out to a foreign god. Who this foreign god is may well be different for each believer. But there are many foreign or false gods out there for us to choose from. It is easy to get swept up in the course of life and start to make choices based on our wants, our desires, or our cravings. Maybe we kept ourselves from an actual physical encounter, but our mind is being drawn toward this foreign god. Honesty with God is the only way we can survive the onslaught of temptations from these foreign gods. He already knows but we need to let him know we know. We know our weakness, our soft points, and the holes in our defense against such gods. Arise Oh Lord and fill the gap, fight the battle, stand in our stead and win the victory for us, for we are weak, but you are strong. We are committed to remaining in you and having you remain in us. Without you we are lost and defenseless. You have not sold us out, but in fact you have bought us with your blood. You have redeemed us because of your unfailing love.

Trusting Him

DEVOTION

PSALMS

TRUSTING HIM

Ps 43

Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men. 2 You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? 3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

NIV

Our scholars tell us that within many of the original Hebrew texts this psalm is actually the rest of the previous psalm, which is they are one psalm. Still this has a truth we can glean for our lives. Although David is pleading to be vindicated by God, we have already been vindicated. God has already judged us and he has judged us innocent, holy and blameless. He has already rescued us from a deceitful and wicked people. Sure we live among them, but we have been rescued from them. As if the deceitful and wicked people were a raging river, or flood headed downstream to a waterfall crashing against the rocks below and we were in a canoe flowing with them, unable to paddle against the flow. He has reached in with the lifesaver, Jesus, and snatched us up and out of that raging flow to destruction. We no longer have to worry about where we were headed for God not only snatched us out of that raging flow, but he put us within his stronghold. He is our strength, our fortified place. The raging flow of madness cannot harm us, we are within his fortified place. Our feet are on solid ground. Although David felt as God has rejected him, we do not have to feel that way because we have his promise to never leave us nor forsake us. Sure there may be times when it seems that is not the case, but we do not live by feelings, but by the word of God. He has set forth his light and truth to guide us. Jesus is the truth, the light and the way. Jesus guides us to the holy mountain of God. This may well be seen as the new city of Jerusalem, a holy mountain 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long and just as high. A Holy mountain where God is the light, no sun will be needed. This is the place God dwells and we are lead there by Jesus. He is the only way to this holy mountain of God. There we will find eternal joy and delight, but we not have to wait until the day we step into eternity for we are already with God, he dwell within us. In some sense we are his temple, his holy mountain and we can live free from worry and distress. There is no cause for our soul to be downcast or disturbed because God is our Savior, we have been saved, we are safe and secure from all alarm. We have put our trust in God.

Our God reigns

DEVOTION

PSALMS

OUR GOD REIGNS

Ps 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long," Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God.

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon — from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me — a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock," Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

NIV

This is one of those songs which David wrote perhaps while hiding in some cave from the attempts Saul was making to find him and kill him. This also could have been prophetic as to what Jesus might have be feeling on the cross, although we are not told any of that, except perhaps the “why have you forgotten me” phrase. Still when it comes to our lives, we too might experience these feelings at certain times or in certain situations. This sort of defines those ups and downs in our journey with the Lord. There are those times when it seems God is far off and life is just not as good as it should be, or we think it should be. The question we need to ask of ourselves is whether we pant after God as the deer pants for water. When a deer pants for water, which is an all-consuming drive to find the water, drinks it in until the thirst is satisfied. Even in our ups and downs, we should still thirst after God. We should still pant for God. But are those moments in life when things just pile up and press us down to a point that all we can think about is the situation and when will we find a way out, or if we are even looking for a way out. The idea is that although we cannot, or should not live on our laurels, we can live on the perfection and the history we have with God. When things seem hopeless, we can recount all the things that God has done in us, for us and though us. We can remember all the times he was so near and either provided miraculously for us, healed us, protected us, lead us, stood by us and helped us. We can remember the first day we accepted him as Lord and Savior and how the heavy burden of guilt from sin was lifted off our being, how free we felt, how exhilarating that moment was. Then we can be sure, we can renew our hope in him, knowing he is not far off, he promised that he would never leave or forsake us. Our life is secure in him and we are once again lifted up and rejoice in our Savior. There is no need to be downcast. We put our hope in the Lord. We will rejoice and be glad. We will sing and praise the Lord,  our God reigns.  

Weak

DEVOTION

PSALMS

WEAK

Ps 41

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. 2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. 3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.

4 I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you." 5 My enemies say of me in malice," When will he die and his name perish?" 6 Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.

7 All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, 8 "A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies." 9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. 11 I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. 12 In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

NIV

Much of this psalm can be seen as prophecy about Jesus. How the Pharisees spoke with malice about Jesus, how they wanted to kill him and wanted his name to perish. The part of the close friend, Judas, sharing bread and then lifted his heel against Jesus. The part about God having mercy and raising him up. However this is also all about how David felt during those times when Saul was trying desperately to kill him. We can also glean some truth for ourselves out of this psalm. We need to consider if we regard the weak. Does that mean the physically weak? Could it mean the spiritually weak? The Hebrew word could be used either way as it means to be weak or thin. Some translations used it to mean poor. But then poor could mean in the material sense or in the spiritual sense. In either case the weak are those who have less of whatever we have. Then as we perceive a person is weak, then we have the call to regard, to consider, to help them. That is of course if we want to be blessed and have God deliver us when we are in trouble. This would imply that we cannot be an island onto ourselves. That could be applied individually or as the body of Christ. We cannot live in a cocoon, a bubble, or a vacuum, either not being aware of those in need, again either physically or spiritually, or being aware and doing nothing. If we are living in the realm of God, loving him with every fiber of our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves then we will be involved in this regarding of the weak, we will be giving them strength. The enemy is always at our gate, trying to bash it down, trying to destroy us, trying to harm our name, our cause, our strength, our faith, and/or anything he can use to weaken us and cast us upon our sick, or death bed. But God will sustain us, he will lift us up, he will protect us least we dash our foot upon a stone. God will always prevail if we trust in him. We fail when we try to trust ourselves, our own strength, abilities, skills, education, wealth, or spiritual prowess. When we see ourselves as the weak, then he who is strong, lifts us up and gives us strength for each day and to consider others who need his strength. When we put our complete trust in him, we are indeed blessed. He upholds us and brings us into his presence forever. This is the everlasting forever and ever, God upholding the weak.