Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 136

One week ago today, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. This morning Psalm 136 is reminder of our need to be thankful every day for the lovingkindness of our wonderful God.

Psalm 136:1-3
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

The psalmist goes on in rest of the psalm to offer thanks and praise to God as he provides many reasons the Jews had to praise God. As Christians, we have the same things to be thankful for.

Psalm 136:4-22
To him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;  the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;  the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;  with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever;  but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;  to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;  Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever;  a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever.

But the greatest expression of God’s love ever given, is the giving of His Son, Jesus, who went to the cross and died a horrible death. It was a death that we deserve. Without Christ, we are in the lowest estate a man can be.

Psalm 136:23-24
It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;  and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever;

On Thanksgiving Day, just who do atheist thank? The truth is they are being provided for by the very God they deny, every day they have life.

Psalm 136:25
He who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.

God’s steadfast love is a perfect love that never ends. We must make every day Thanksgiving Day and praise Him continuously.

Psalm 136:26
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 66

It cannot be spoken of enough; God deserves our praise and worship. Psalm 66 is another psalm that teaches us this truth.

Psalm 66:1-4

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;  sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.  All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

The psalmist looks back and remembers and we can do the same. Like Israel, we have been led many times through the trials of life. As they were set free from the yoke of the pharaoh, we have been set free and delivered from our sinful nature.

Psalm 66:5-9
Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,  who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah  Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,  who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

It’s easy to praise God when it’s easy to praise God, but as Christians we must mature into a people that also praise Him in the hard times.

Psalm 66:10-12
For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.  You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;  you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

We forget that God uses trials and storms to purify us. We are being turned from rough rocks into diamonds. Even when we are the cause of our own suffering, God uses the consequences of our sins to make us like Christ. Thus, we can rejoice in joyful praise. Thus, we can come to His house and offer back.

Psalm 66:13-15
I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,  that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.  I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

We must come to God in confession and repentance. We must let Him have our hearts to be changed and recreated into light and salt to show others of His majesty.

Psalm 66:16-19
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.  I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.  If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.  But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

God hears our prayers when we come as sinners seeking His mercy and His grace. He loves us so much He sent Jesus to be our savior. We should bless God with all our praise and worship Him with all we have.

Psalm 66:20
Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Amen

Love – Part 1

For some reason the Holy Spirit has me considering the topic of love lately. As I think about love and what the Bible has to say about it, it has become clear that I fall way short of loving God, loving people, and even my own family as the Bible calls me to. How about you? As God’s people, we are called to be the light of Christ to the dark world we live in and it is through love in which we can best shine. So, what does that look like?

The first thing we must remember is that God loves us. How do we know?

John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 1 John 4:9-10 explains that “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” There are many proofs of God’s love for us, but there is none greater than the sacrifice of His own son, given so that we can be in a personal relationship with the Almighty God.

So how must we respond to the love of God? Again, let us see what God says?

We find the answer in Matthew, chapter 22:36-38 where Jesus answers the lawyer’s question, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus answers him saying, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.”

This is where I must stop and examine myself. Jesus doesn’t just say we are to love God. No, He puts a heavy weight to that love saying we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Can I honestly say I do that? Can you? I sure cannot. Jesus described what our love for God should look like in John 14:15 by saying,” If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I have not kept all of God’s commandments. Have you? Again, we go back to the Bible. 1 John 1:8 is clear in its message, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Verse 10 is even more biting saying that “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” But because God loves us we find this sandwiched in between these two verses in verse 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Yes, God loves us. God is faithful, even when we are not, but we must confess our sins, admit we have not loved Him as we should.

Personally, I often find the facts of my sinful nature depressing and sometimes am tempted to doubt my salvation. If loving God is based on my ability to obey, I seem to be in deep trouble. But guess what? God’s love is bigger than my sinfulness and according to scripture, that kind of love is a deal maker. Romans 5:6-8 reminds us “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is good news. This is the Gospel. This is the love of God.