Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is one of the most beautifully written works of literature in all the world. It doesn’t need explanation, for it is a clear exposition of who God is. I should leave it alone and just encourage each of you to simply read it. I will simply call attention to some of the great truths of theology it contains.

Psalm 139:1-6

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are going to say, before we even say it.

Psalm 139:7-12
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

We might think we are running from God and we might think we can hide, but He knows all and He sees all. He is in every place we might flee.

Psalm 139:13-16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

When you child asks the question, “Mommy, where do babies come from?”, We ought to read them this verse. Life comes from God. Period. That we legalize abortion is the most blatant form of mankind attempting to be our own god that can be imagined. Our days are already written in His book. Christians read this and they still won’t take hold of the truth of the complete sovereignty of God. This truth is the foundation for a faith that comforts.

Psalm 139:17-18
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!  If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Our finite minds are incapable of understanding the widths and the heights of God’s majesty and glory.

Psalm 139:19-22
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!  They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain.  Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

God’s wrath is a holy wrath and our hearts should be broken over the world’s total disregard for His law. But we must trust in God’s timing. The return of Christ is imminent and when He comes, this prayer will be answered.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Let us search our own hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to be our helper in our own sanctification as we await His return.

Take time today and read Psalm 139 through and through. Then meditate on its great truths, on its theology. Pray through it. Make it real in your heart. Then offer God the worship He so deserves.

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 94

Studying Psalm 94 this morning, I cannot help but relate deeply to the thoughts of the psalmist as I think of current events. I find it fascinating to read the opening.

Psalm 94:1
O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!

God is not only a god of love; He is also a god of vengeance. We misinterpret the word vengeance. We think of it in our terms, based on our perverted need to inflict revenge upon those who wrong us, but God is a just god. His vengeance is holy and pure. His vengeance speaks of judgment of motive and true justice, something man’s government is incapable of serving.

Psalm 94:2-7
Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!  O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;  and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

When I read those words, I think of the innocent babies in the wombs of our women. Abortion not only physically kills children; it crushes women and afflicts our heritage. Those who perpetuate the murder of these babies think God does not see, but He does.

Psalm 94:8-11
Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?  He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?  He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge—  the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.

The words above speak to those who persist in living life in rejection of God and His Word.

Psalm 94:12-15
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,  to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.  For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;  for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Whom does God discipline?

Hebrews 12:5-8
 

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.

God disciplines His children. The answer to the age-old question as to why God allows the wicked to prosper, is found here. He disciplines His children and they grow in their faith. But the wicked who reject God are simply the benefactor of His longsuffering and patient nature as we read of in Exodus 34:6-7:

 
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

This psalm also reminds me of the protests going on in St. Louis and across the nation. To those who are Christians and have the perception of being treated unjustly, I suggest they consider God’s Word.

Psalm 94:14-15
For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;  for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

If you are a Christian under oppression, Jesus has spoken to you.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Psalm 94:16
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?

Those under oppression ask this question. As Christians, rather than sit in judgment of those protesting, we ought to be assuring our brothers and sisters in Christ that, though we might be able to see the same perception of oppression as they, we still stand alongside them. We must gently guide them back to God and to know that He sees and He will address those who oppress and inflict injustice upon them.

Psalm 94:16-21
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?  If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.  When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.  When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.  Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?  They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Certainly, there are horrible injustices being inflicted upon people throughout our land. The babies being aborted would be the first to speak up, if they could. As Christians, we are called to help those who cannot help themselves.

Proverbs 31:8-9
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

But at the end of the day, we must trust in God. Our faith must be in Him; not men.

Psalm 94:22-23
But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.  He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

Take refuge in Jesus. He is coming back and when He comes true justice will finally be served.

Revelation 14:14-19
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."  So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.  Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."  The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

Until then, we live in faith and stay true to our charge.

For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

The Womb Belongs to God

Came across a verse this morning in my studies. It is a clear reminder that God is the one who gives life.

Genesis 30:22-23
Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.  She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."

God opens the womb. The Word of God tells us this. This means that all the excuses we come up with for allowing certain abortions are wrong. Even in a terrible thing such as a rape it is God who determines whether or not conception occurs. To abort the life that God Himself has created could not be more wrong.

Romans 8:28 says that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." To abort a baby under the terms of rape would be an act of rebellion against God who has promised to work things out for your good in "ALL" things. It is an attempt to be your own god.

Yes, God may allow you to abort that child. Yes He will forgive you and restore you to Himself if you seek Him and acknowledge your sin by accepting Christ's work on the cross. And we should not condemn those who live with the past sin of abortion.  But why take the path of sin?

Please take a stand for God in this matter. Please come alongside those contemplating abortion and reach out to women who struggle with the past guilt to find the forgiveness of Christ.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - August 4, 2014 - Day 11 – Psalm 11

 “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 

 

 The 3^rd verse of Psalm 11 asks this question and the question is as relevant today to us as it was to David when he wrote it so many years ago.

The foundations of America are crumbling, especially the Christian foundations we were founded upon. The Ten Commandments are gone from public institutions, prayer is removed from our schools, abortion made legal, and same sex marriage has removed God’s concept of family from our culture. Drugs, alcoholism, gambling, pornography are just a few of the vices that Americans spend much of their free time with. Violence? 5 people shot in St. Louis yesterday and multiple shootings are getting commonplace. The foundations of America are crumbling.

David knew the answer; he states it in verse 1 saying, “In the LORD I take refuge…”

But clearly he struggled as we do.

Psalm 11:2-3
“…for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

The answer does not lie in us, but in God.

Psalm 11:4-6
“The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.”

This is Biblical truth. God sees. Judgment will come. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah it was a picture of the day of wrath to come. To those who persist in their evil ways fire will consume them.

But what can the righteous do?

The answer comes in the final verse.

Psalm 11:7
“For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”

God is righteous and he loves righteous deeds.  Behold His face. Do righteous deeds until Jesus returns. It’s that simple.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - August 2, 2014 – Day 10

5 Characteristics of an Atheist

Where is God in the midst of the evil of the world? In Psalm 10 David asks that very question.

Psalm 10:1
“Why, O LORD, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

As David went on to describe the wicked I cannot help but think of the wicked people who run the abortion clinics. Verse 2 is analogous to their marketing scheme.

Psalm 10:2
“In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.”

The abortion industry sells its murderous wares to the poor by convincing them their baby is not a life. They prey upon the fears of the mother. The poor here speaks not only of the economically poor but of those whose spirits are weak and lack the resources to see the truth. In this Psalm we hear of the wicked. Even though some in this world claim religion in reality they are practical atheists. This Psalm describes them.  

David provides 5 characteristics of atheism in this Psalm.

First is arrogance. They think they do not need God so they deny He exists.

Psalm 10:2-4
“In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."

Second is prosperity. Why do evil people prosper? The abortion industry is a very profitable operation. They mock God in their prosperity.

Psalm 10:5
“His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.”

Thirdly we see the atheist seems to have security.

Psalm 10:6
“He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity."

The fourth characteristic is their vile speech. Try and talk to the workers at the abortion clinic. I have been cussed out for simply saying good morning to them as they walk past and go onto the clinic.

Psalm 10:7
“His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.”

And lastly we see the violence of the atheist. We live in a violent world. Shootings and stabbings occur nightly across our neighborhoods. But nowhere is there a more horrific violence than seen in a place where there they rip off baby’s arms and legs or burn them with chemicals inside abortion clinics. I am stunned by how the following verses describe the abortion industry.

Psalm 10:8-10
“He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.”

The wicked think they are getting away with all this. Sometimes we Christians wonder the same thing.

Psalm 10:11
“He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."”

So David cries out to God in prayer and so must we.

Psalm 10:12-15
“Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"?
But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.”

David finishes his prayer having heard from God. This Psalm is prophetic. It speaks of the end times when Jesus will return and to those who do not call upon Him in repentance are going to be judged in eternity and all things shall be made right.

Psalm 10:16-18
“The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.”

God sees. God hears. God will act. But for now we remember He is a longsuffering God who desires none perish and that all come to repentance. Our job is to pray and to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of this wicked world.