THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 31, 2014 – Day 83 - Psalm 83

Today’s psalm is another psalm that looks at Israel and its enemies. It can also be viewed prophetically at the battle of the future when the nations will again come in an attempt to destroy God’s people, Israel. But this morning as I read it I could not help but think about the enemy we Christians have whose entire purpose is to destroy the work of the Church and each of us in the process. Our enemy has gathered a formable confederation of nations as well. Abortion, pornography, sexual promiscuity, worry, drugs and alcohol are just some of the “nations” gathered against us in our daily battles. Like the psalmist we must cry out for God’s help.

Psalm 83:1-4
O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more."

The world wants the Christian church to be destroyed.

Psalm 83:5
For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:

Scripture is clear that our battle is not a physical one.

Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

God calls us to stand against the enemy of our souls.

Ephesians 6:13-18
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

Our weapons are not guns or bombs.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

But our weapons can break the power of addictions and restore the brokenness that seeks to destroy.

But we also have a God whose power exceeds the power of man. God has the forces of nature and the power of life and death.

Psalm 83:14-15
As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!

The energy of a single thunderstorm can exceed that of an atomic explosion. At almost any moment of life there are 1200 thunderstorms occurring on the earth. God’s power is unmatched.

The world seeks to dishonor God. It is our fight to stand for Him. The psalmist prayed against God’s enemies.

Psalm 83:15-18
So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.

But we have a new mission. Jesus was clear. We are to go into the world and make disciples. Yes, we have an enemy, but God has given us all we need to stand firm against his attacks. We must pray as Jehoshaphat did.

2 Chronicles 20:5-9
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court, and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. "Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? "They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, 'Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.'

Then stand in faith and believe the words of the prophet Jahaziel.

2 Chronicles 20:15
“…and said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.”

The battle is God’s not yours. Be not afraid or worried. Stand without fear. Shine the light of Christ in the darkness of the world. Then the world will know that Jesus alone, whose name is the LORD, is the Most High over all the earth.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 30, 2014 - Day 82 - Psalm 82

Justice; a word we hear so often in the news. But is there ever really justice in our society? The problem lies in one fact and that is that those who are empowered to judge are flawed and sinful humans. Psalm 82 looks at those who are improperly administering justice. In the end God will judge the judges and just like those who teach, their judgment will be harsh for much was expected of them.

Psalm 82:1-2
God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.

Though Psalm 82 speaks historically to the days of the Old Testament, it is true today. America’s court system is filled with corruption and an obvious bent towards the rich.

Through the Holy Spirit God speaks here as to the proper discharge of the duties of a judge.

Psalm 82:3-4
Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

One need look no further than the legalization of abortion in America to see that our judges have failed to promote God’s justice. When our society wanted to make abortion legal our courts failed to vindicate the weak and fatherless. Rather than rule in the light, they ruled for darkness. Legalized abortion makes it easy to hide the sin of fornication. It makes it easy to be sure our selfishness trumps life. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t put our abortion clinics in the nice neighborhoods; we hide them in places where the wealthy cannot see them.

Psalm 82:5
They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Judges have the power over life and death in their decisions. That is why they are called gods and sons of the most high, for God has put them in authority. All authority comes from God. He expects that authority to be exercised in line with His truth.

Psalm 82:6
I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.

But man has perverted justice. He has turned from God and has used their positions to promote their own agenda in lieu of God’s. Judgment will come to the judges.

Psalm 82:7
"Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes."

Jesus is coming back and when He does those who abused the authority God gave them will be judged. We can cry out for justice and protest until we drop but until Christ comes back there will be no true justice. I pray every night for Jesus to come back and then we shall see the truth.

Psalm 82:8
Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 29, 2014 - Day 81 - Psalm 81

Psalm 81 is a psalm of missed opportunities. In it we read of the result of the failure to listen to God when He speaks. The church today and its people so often follow the same path. God has given us His Word, the Bible, and in it He speaks to us as to how to follow Him. Yet the church continues to look for others ways and methods to grow the church. We live in the most medicated nation in the world as we seek the psychology of man and the wisdom of the world in our quest to find happiness. God has spoken. When we don’t listen we miss out on life abundant.

As so often is the case we open in praise.

Psalm 81:1-3
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE GITTITH. OF ASAPH. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.

The psalmist looks back as he praises God in remembrance of God’s deliverance from Egypt.

Psalm 81:4-7
For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob. He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known: "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

The Jews were delivered from the oppressive hand of the pharaoh. This is a picture of the oppressive nature of sin that keeps us in bondage as well. God is speaking in this psalm as He tells the psalmist, "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you.” God is mighty to save. We are also in held captive in sin but if we cry out to Jesus in our distress He breaks the chains that hold us captive to our own pharaoh, Satan. Jesus will set you free.

But the Jews spent 400 years in bondage. The murmured and complained which did no good. They cried out to God and he delivered them. It was by a mighty army that God delivered the Jews; it was by the powers which God controls. It was the forces of nature which God used. Flies, frogs, boils, blood, lice, locusts, darkness and death were God’s army. The final defeat came via the supernatural power of the waters as they parted for Israel then swept away the mightiest army of the world. God does not need man’s weapons.

Yet after all that, what happened to Israel? Even Moses fell to his own ways and it cost Him the Promised Land. God told him to strike the rock just once but Moses added a second strike. Hear God’s response.

Numbers 20:12
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

God has spoken to us in His Word. We need not add anything to that. We just don’t listen.

Psalm 81:7-8
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 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you-- if you would but listen to me, O Israel!

God has instructed us clearly about idolatry. He promises us He will provide if we simply listen and obey.

Psalm 81:9-10
You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

But we, like the Jews, think we can follow the way of man.

Psalm 81:11-15
"But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.

Church we do not need anything from this world. We need to hear God’s commands and obey.

Psalm 81:16
But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

The rock is Jesus Christ. He will satisfy you. But we must be obedient.

John 14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

Sing out in praise today for God has shown us the way. He has given us the rock, Jesus, and told us how to live by abiding in Him. But we cannot keep adding to it our own devices or we end up like Moses, wandering the desert. Don’t wait 40 years. In your distress call out to Him and He will deliver you. Then sing out in praise.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 28, 2014 - Day 80 - Psalm 80

Fortunately we live in the age of grace not law. Israel’s failures and their rejection of Jesus has left them many times outside of God’s protective hand. Psalm 80 is written in the middle of one of those times.

Psalm 80:1-6
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO LILIES. A TESTIMONY. OF ASAPH, A PSALM. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Like Israel we are often disobedient and we turn back to the world. Like Israel we must cry pout to God in these times.

Psalm 80:7
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

God has not given up on Israel and He has not given up on us.

Psalm 80:8-11
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River.

God is not finished with Israel. And no metter how much you have messed up He is not finished we us. In John 15:1 Jesus tells us that He is “the true vine.” If we abide in Him then we can ask anything of Him. (John 15:7) For the Christian must stay connected to the vine.

Psalm 80:14-15
Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.

This speaks of Christ. Jesus is the son of God who came with power. It is a saving power. To those who call on His name salvation is theirs.

Psalm 80:18-19
Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let your face shine, that we may be saved!

One day in the end times a remnant of the Jews shall be saved. And as long as we can draw a breath we can call on the name of Jesus and through His Holy Spirit we can repent and be restored. Let the face of God shine upon us so that we may be saved.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 27, 2014 – Day 79 - Psalm 79

Psalm 79 is a cry to God from Israel to hurry and deliver them from God’s hand of discipline. Many Christians deny that at times sickness and despair come to us as God’s discipline but to say that is to deny scripture.

Hebrews 12:5-11
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

In Psalm 79 we see the prayers of a people under the hand of God’s correction.

Psalm 79:1-4
A PSALM OF ASAPH. O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.

Israel had the temple; we are the temple. When Israel turned away from God towards idolatry He used their own enemies to lead them back to Himself. When we turn to the world and sin against God we find ourselves lacking closeness to God. The wages of sin is death and death is the absence of life.

So the psalmist did what we also must do in the times we have let the world desecrate God’s temple; pray. We see four things the psalmist prayed for in this psalm.

First he prayed for the Lord to hurry.

Psalm 79:5
How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?

Next he prayed God would act upon the enemies that have destroyed the temple.

Psalm 79:6-7
Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name! For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.

When we let the world in it will lay waste God’s temple. That is us. The world will mess us up.

But the psalmist does the wisest thing possible next; he appeals to God’s tender mercy. He asks God to forget their sin.

Psalm 79:8
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.

In asking for mercy the psalmist humbles himself and asks God to help. But more importantly notice how he appeals for God’s help. He appeals for God to do it for the glory of His name. Unlike the psalmist, who was looking forward in anticipation of the Messiah, we can look back in full knowledge of the work of Christ. We pray in the name of Jesus.

Psalm 79:9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake!

Unlike the psalmist, we live in the age of grace. He would call for God to destroy his enemies. Our mission from Jesus is to pray for our enemies to also be saved just as we are.

So if we are in the season of correction from God we should hit our knees in confession. But we must also cry out in repentance and ask God to refill us with His Holy Spirit. Our sins are atoned for, but we need God’s Spirit to help us push out the world in our lives. We are His sheep and Jesus is the great shepherd who has promised to lead us home.

Psalm 79:13
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Wherever you are today it is not too late to cry out to Jesus. Pray for Him to help you as you turn back in repentance. Give thanks and be His light by telling the generations of His love and mercy.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 26, 2014 -Day 78 -Psalm 78

If I could go back in time and change how I raised my children I would teach them more about Jesus. I would try and do a better job of creating a legacy of Christianity in my family. Psalm 78 is called a maskil psalm, which means it is a teaching psalm. This psalm teaches the lesson that blessings come from obedience to and faith in God. But it also teaches that turning away from God brings discipline.

Psalm 78:1-4
A MASKIL OF ASAPH. Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Maybe God hasn’t parted the Red Sea for me and you in a literal sense as he did for the Jews, but each of us can speak of the salvation God has given us. We all have a testimony of the great things God has done in our lives and as parents and grandparents we must share them with our little ones.

Psalm 78:5-6
He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

We must share the stories of God in our lives so our families become a legacy of His salvation. But we should also teach them of how we have at times in our lives turned away from God in disobedience so that they do not make the same mistakes we did.

Psalm 78:7-8
…so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

 The history of Israel has great teaching value for all of us. Oh, how often they turned away from God even after He delivered them and saved them from peril. Psalm 78 is a lesson in the fickle nature of God’s people. We, too, are just like they were. What was the first thing we did as a nation after the 9-11 terrorist attacks? We prayed as a nation. Where are we today as a nation? All of us have made a deal with God in the midst of a terrible trial only to go right back to our old sinful selves a little later after He brought us through.

There is a wonderful lesson in here for us about God.

Psalm 78:35-37
They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

Most of us are guilty as well. But see how God reacts.

Psalm 78:38-39
Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

God remembers we are flesh. You cannot out-sin the grace of God.

The rest of the psalm again is a historical record of how Israel continued to reject God. The New Testament reveals they would crucify God’s only Son who came to redeem them. Yet read on to the end of the Bible and you find that in the end God will save a remnant of Israel. He does not break His promises. Our salvation is not dependent on our behavior. Our good deeds will not get us to heaven. We cannot write a big enough check to get in. You see we are all sinners. We have violated God’s law and we have broken our promises to Him many times. Yet, He loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for us.

John 3:16-18
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

This is the single most important lesson we must teach our children. They will not learn it in school. Tell them your story mom. Teach them about Jesus, dad. Grandpas and grandmas, tell them the story of your life. Tell them how Jesus has saved you.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 25, 2014 - Day 77 - Psalm 77

Sometimes it just gets hard to have faith. We cry out to God and it seems He isn’t there. We think He does not hear us. If we are not careful despair will overtake us. Psalm 77 speaks to these times.

Psalm 77:1-4
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Faith requires a level of strength. I have learned that we must build our faith before the storms hit. One way to stay strong is to look back and remember what God has done in the past.

Psalm 77:5-6
I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search:

But despair and depression will cause doubt. Even when we know God has always been faithful to us Satan will use our past against us. He will tell us our sins are too great. He will try and convince us God has left us alone and tell us God is mad at us.

Psalm 77:7-9
"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah

But wait just a moment. Go back 2000 years ago to Calvary. Open your Bible and hear what Jesus has promised to those who call Him Lord.

Hebrews 13:5-6
“…for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

Psalm 77:10-15
Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

The psalmist remembered the great exodus when Moses led Israel out of Egypt. We remember Jesus who has led us out of our sin.

Psalm 77:16-20
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Take note of something very important in this psalm. It says this in verse 19, “Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.”

Sometimes it appears we have been abandoned by God. We have not. It’s just that at that point we cannot see His footprints. But He is there. He will lead you to the Promised Land. Imagine what the Jewish people thought just before God parted the Red Sea? Things looked pretty bad. But then suddenly God acted in a way that was unimaginable. So no matter how bleak it looks, trust in Jesus. He is there. Always.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 24, 2014 - Day 76 - Psalm 76

In the course of our lives there will be ups and downs. Battles will be fought and at times things will seem hopeless. But when we place our trust in Jesus we can be sure that victory will come. In times of trouble we cry out to God. In times of victory we must lift Him up with praise and worship. Psalm 76 is a psalm of praise meant to be sung. His name is great.

Psalm 76:1-3
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM OF ASAPH. A SONG. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

God has no comparison. When we finally see Him in all His glory we will be stunned.

Psalm 76:4
Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains of prey.

Today we have war and terrorism running rampant in the world but when Jesus returns the evil leaders of this fallen world shall be broken.

Psalm 76:5-6
The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.

Again comes the message that it is God and God alone whom we should fear.

Psalm 76:7-9
But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

Every knee will bow one day. Sadly for those who reject Him it will be too late to avoid the judgment.

Psalm 76:10
Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.

We Christians have made many vows to God. How often we have made promises to Him as we sought to make a deal with God. We need to fulfill those vows. We need to fall before Him in humility and offer Him back everything we have ever had. It all comes from Him. Our very lives are His.

1 Corinthians 7:23
You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

That price was death on a cross. Our death. But Jesus took our place.

Psalm 76:11-12
Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared, who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

Today is the day of salvation. Let us praise God and let us revere His very name

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 23, 2014 - Psalm 75

When God? How often we ask that question. God answers that question in Psalm 75.

Psalm 75:2
At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.

Whenever we ask God when He will act, His answer is at the time He appoints. God is sovereign. He does not fret or worry and act impulsively like we do. He has a plan. He acts according to His plan and His will. God is sovereign. Things might look out of control to us, but God is holding it all together. It cannot fall unless He decrees it to fall.

Psalm 75:3
When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

We like to think we are in control. We like to brag about how smart we are. How we did this and we did that. God does not desire we boast of anything but Him.

Psalm 75:4-5
I say to the boastful, 'Do not boast,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horn; do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.' "

Yes it seems the wicked are getting away with it. “Where is justice people”, cry out in protest. It’s coming. But it’s coming at God’s appointed time. And it is from God not man from which it will come.

Psalm 75:6-7
For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

Jesus came to drink the cup we deserve. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus agonized over the drinking of this cup. Yet in the most selfless act of love ever He drank the cup. But many will refuse His salvation and will one day, at God’s appointed time, drink that cup.

Psalm 75:8
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

But to those who call on His great name salvation is theirs. They shall not taste the cup of payment for their sins. That is worth singing about.

Psalm 75:9
But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

When will Jesus return? At God’s appointed time.

Psalm 75:10
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Until then we must sing this song as set forth in the beginning of this psalm. We must remember what He has done for us.

Psalm 75:1
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 22, 2014 - Day 74 - Psalm 74

What do you do when you stand in the midst of ashes, having watched it all burn? That is the question the psalmist asks as he writes Psalm 74.

Psalm 74:1
A MASKIL OF ASAPH. O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

As in all cases no matter what happens we must cry out to God, even when it seems He has cast us off.  Six times in this cry we hear the call for God to remember. First to remember His people and then to remember the temple, where God Himself has dwelt.

This psalm looks both backward and forward. It speaks of the destruction of the temple in the past and in the future. But it speaks to us today as well, as we see the church being attacked by the world as it stands in contrast to its ways and its tolerance of evil and sin.

Psalm 74:3-8 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

While the church still stands today in America it is clear if we do not remain faithful to the Word of God then it too may fall. Even at the risk of imprisonment we must preach the Word. All of it, even the parts the world finds offensive. Otherwise we could end up without truth.

Psalm 74:9
We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.

The prayers of the psalmist cry for God to move quickly in the midst of the battle.

Psalm 74:10-11
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

But next the psalmist remembers who God is and what He has done.

Psalm 74:12-17
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams. Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

Again we hear a cry for God to remember His people.

Psalm 74:18-19
Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever.

The psalmist reminds God of His covenant.

Psalm 74:20
Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

But the answer is to praise God as we remember His promises are true. We can look back and see He is faithful.

Psalm 74:21
Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

Yet still the psalmist looks for answers.

Psalm 74:22-23
Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Job wanted God to explain Himself. God has neither the desire nor the need to do so and instead He taught Job the answer is faith. The answer lies in waiting on God as we stand in the pile of ashes. If your whole world seems to have been burnt and destroyed stand firm in the midst of the ashes. We may never know the whys of what happens but if we trust God we can believe scripture.

If you do not have this scripture memorized it might serve you well to do so. Write it on your doorposts. Put it on sticky notes and place them all over your house. It is true.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Praise God, pray for help in time of need, then step back and wait on Him.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - October 21, 2014 - Day 73 - Psalm 73

Why does God treat the wicked so well? That is the question of Psalm 73. Asaph has pondered this matter and comes to a conclusion. He opens with the conclusion.

Psalm 73:1
Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!

As Christians we know that. Yet as we walk through this life we can almost slip from His hands if we let ourselves get caught up in the world and lose our eternal perspective.

Psalm 73:2
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.

We get envious of those with all the money and power. We want to look like the stars of Hollywood and own big homes on the beach. Even the drug dealers drive better cars than we do. We covet what they have. Sometimes it seems God just blesses them and then leaves them alone even they say and do things that contradict His holiness. Some of them even get to die an easy death.

Psalm 73:3-12
For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?" Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

We question why we try to be like Jesus. Why do we give our money to the church? Why do I have to let people talk to me that way? Why do I have to be the one who says “I’m sorry.”?

Psalm 73:13-14
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; For I have been stricken all day long And chastened every morning.

But we do go to church and we read His Word. We don’t want to our youth to grow up without knowing the truth of faith in God.

Psalm 73:15
If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

But sometimes we just can’t help it. So we listen to talk radio and we see the world. We try and understand.

Psalm 73:16
When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight

The psalmist now tells us how to get past this coveting nature we carry.

Psalm 73:17
Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.

He went into the sanctuary of God. That is what we must do. Open the Bible and read of God’s faithfulness. Go to church and listen to the sermons. Sing songs of praise. Make your offerings to God. Go to your prayer closet where you have access to the very creator of the universe. Go into the sanctuary of God.

The word of God reminds us to remember eternity. In this life we shall have troubles. Jesus promised. But in the next we shall bask in the glory of almighty God. But the wicked; their fate in eternity is not good.

Psalm 73:18-20
Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

Bitterness is the fruit of Satan. He wants to distract you from seeing who God is.

Psalm 73:21-22
When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within, Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

Jesus promised that He is always with us. He placed His Holy Spirit within our hearts. We must have an eternal perspective.

Psalm 73:23-28
Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

The Lord is our refuge. God is good. Now go out and tell that to the lost world. Do not trust your heart and do not trust your flesh. Trust Jesus.