Category Archives: Psalms

Singing with the King (66) – Fight for Life

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)

Ps 139 Embryo Baby

I posted this picture on Facebook and was thoroughly dismayed for the “Near-nothing” response it gathered. Now granted, most of my Facebook buds are Christ-followers, but my posts are public and… nothing. So I thought I’d post it on my blog.

Psalm 139 is a celebration of God–His omniscience, His creativity, His care, and His involvement. And it is a celebration of LIFE! The following verse says: Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. The problem is our culture has forgotten the wonder of His work; they not only don’t know it well, they don’t know it at all. So it’s up to us to remind them.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 40:31)

From the day I was born, I have been in your care, and from the time of my birth, you have been my God. (Psalm 22:10)

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalm 24:1)

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:5)

Will you fight for Life?

He made us in His image; we belong to Him; and He is thoroughly involved in our lives. So for 2016, I ask the LORD that planned parenthood will end, that parts for profit will cease, and the pall of this culture of death will evaporate. But toady,pray for His Mercy. Amen.

Singing with the King (65) – Hope

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And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7)

Waiting5 I had a chat with a friend at work and we were talking about the word hope. And as is often the case, our culture has diluted the meaning of the word. It now has to do with wishes, wants, and desires—things which may or may not happen. And I suppose that makes sense. If your hope is based upon the character and nature of someone (or something) other than God, then hope is little more than a crap shoot.

But when you put your hope in God, hope is much greater than a wish. Consider:

God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever He promises, He does; He speaks, and it is done. (Numbers 23:19)

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:11)

Whatever He promises, speaks and purposes, it is done. And when you have that kind of consistence and trustworthiness, you then have a sure hope; a hope that does not disappoint.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Did you see what we must hope in? Not in our circumstances, but in Him. Because we exult in Him which is eternal, we can then exult through our tribulations. Our hope is not driven by wishful thinking or possibility, for it would fail in the midst of trouble. Rather, it is driven by the love of God through the Holy Spirit, which allows us to push past the tribulation and into His glory.

God’s character ensures our hope, empowers our hope, enlivens our hope and enflames our hope. But hope is much more personal than an attribute, or trait, or motivation.

To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1)

Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. (Titus 2:13)

So back to David’s question: And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My hope is not only in Christ alone, but Christ Himself is my hope.

May your hope be that personal.

Singing with the King (64) – Where Your Home Is

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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

cross and shadow There are two very important words in this verse: dwell and abide. The word dwell in Hebrew is used for a lot of words. It can be translated as some form of inhabit, sit, stay, remain, and even married. Do you get the impression that dwelling in the shelter of the Most High is a place where not only do you want to stay, but it is a place where you are welcome. And it is a place that is close, maybe even home.

And though the Hebrew word for abide doesn’t have quite so many definitions or appearances in the OT, some of its translations are spend the night, abide, and lodge. There is within its definitions an aspect of rest. So, abiding also gives you a sense of a place where you can find rest.

The word shelter can also be a hiding place or a secret place. The same word appears in Psalm 32, which you may recognize: You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. (v.7) So now we see the LORD God welcoming us in a place of safety, a place known only by Him.

The word shadow can also mean protection or shade. It is important to note, as we read in James, Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. You see, there is no shadow with in God, it is not part of his nature; but He certainly can cast a very long shadow, and has been known to use darkness, as seen in Psalm 18: He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. (v.9)

I’ve thrown a lot more definitions at you than I typically do; but I want you to understand what it means to dwell and abide with the Most High. It is a place of rest and safety. It is a place where you are welcome and you can call home. And most importantly, He is there.

There’s one more aspect to the word abide that I want you to see. We find it in part of Christ’s teaching to His disciples at the Last Supper:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

From this passage, we learn that abiding in Christ is a living, organic, intimate condition. In the Greek definitions, you still get the aspect of resting, remaining, staying, and even being held. But it also has the meaning of standing fast in a battle, holding your position. Understand that home is not a static place. If you abide in Christ, He is your home. Then you can join with the psalmist in the very next verse of Psalm 91: “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.”.

Singing with the King (63) – Too Late

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O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest. Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace. Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth. (Psalm 83:13-18)

Normally I don’t quote so many verses in a single study—at least not in one place. I may angry mob spread them out over a number of days, pull Scripture from all over the Bible to show how consistent and clear God’s Word is. But in the above six verses, which are the last verses of this Psalm, there is just one simple thing to learn.

Sound familiar? 2700 years later you still have people making the same threats. But they forget about the same God, who loves His people Israel.

So the psalmist asks for God to scatter them, burn them, chase them, terrify them, and disgrace them, until they submit to His name. The apostle Paul makes a similar statement in Philippians chapter 2: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (vs. 9-11) Paul makes it clear that every knee shall bow and every tongue declare, regardless of your opinion of the LORD.

Asaph continues in his request to his God: “Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace.” And then we learn the point of his request: “Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”

reject Jesus For those in Philippians 2 who must bow and confess, so it will be for the enemies of God in Psalm 83. It’s too late; they will be dead, but they will know who the LORD is. No chance to repent. No chance to believe and confess. No chance to find forgiveness.

For those of you who may have a similar attitude towards God the way His enemies do, please heed the following passage: “Behold, now is ‘The acceptable time,” behold, now is ‘The day of salvation’.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Don’t become an enemy of God. Learn who the LORD is, while you still have breath, and then make today, right now, your day of salvation.

Singing with the King (61) – True & Trust

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For the Word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything He does. (Psalm 33:4)

bible lamp There are two words in this verse which are either lost, or come at a premium, depending on your worldview. They are true and trust. And trust cannot exist without truth. So let’s tackle true first.

The Hebrew word for true is most often translated as right and upright. Now, it only makes sense the Word of God is true (right and upright) because God is true.

Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth. (Psalm 25:5)

But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. (Psalm 86:15)

This is not, however, an unknowable attribute. Why? First because He has given us His Word, and it can be learned:

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:5)

And it causes us to worship:

I will also praise You with a harp, even Your truth, O my God; to You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. (Psalm 71:22)

Sun on Plains What does it mean that the Word of the Lord holds true? Some of the definitions of true are straight and level. God will go great lengths to speak to us: A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5) It should be noted these were the words quoted by John the Baptist as he began his ministry, soon to proclaim the coming of Christ. Things would be level, straight and plain; then glory of the Lord would be revealed—Jesus would be revealed.

Next comes the trust. We can trust Him because He is faithful:

Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. (Psalm 40:4)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Faithfulness is used often to describe God’s character and His acts. But faithfulness in Hebrew has a secondary translation: truth (also a character trait). We as a society have pretty much given up on truth. It has been relegated to a matter of personal preference and opinion. But are we willing to give up on faithfulness? With God it is both, as proclaimed in His character, His Word, and His acts. You cannot separate one from another. God is true. God is faithful. And because of that, you can trust everything He does.

Singing with the King (60) – Be Exalted #2

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Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)

Last week I mentioned how context is critical to understanding and applying Scripture. I then showed the what the above verse was sandwiched in between:

My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me. (vs. 4-6)

Now how is it that David could exalt the LORD in the midst of a dangerous and desperate position? The words of another Psalm give us some insight:

I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:11-12)

If we truly do trust the LORD, then hopefully we can say along with David, “What can man do to me?” But I also said the last time, I wanted to go a little further—and I meant that literally. Here’s more context to the “exalted” passage.

They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit before me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it.(vs. 6)

And what did we learn from the additional context? Deliverance! And David goes further:

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. (vs. 7-11)

David recaps this verse at the end of the Psalm (there is no more) because he has been delivered; those who thought to do ill to him, fell into their own traps. He then breaks out into full-tilt praise to the LORD, all the way to the end. He sings praise because God answered His prayer; he sings praise because He is thankful. Man prays to God

The story ends well here, and David sings the Lord’s praise. But don’t forget, when he exalted the Lord the first time, he was still in the middle of it. So regardless of the context, of what’s going on around you, exalt the LORD. And should He deliver you, remember to be thankful. Job had it right as well, even when He was in the middle of it:

Then Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downward on the ground. He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God. (Job 1:20-22)

Singing with the King (59) – Be Exalted #1

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Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)

Biblicak Context Context is critical when it comes to determine the actual meaning of a scriptural passage, and how it is to be applied. I love getting wrapped up in individual words and their meanings and nuances, but if I lose sight of the context, then I commit a grave error as described in the idiom: “Can’t see the forest for the trees”, which reminds us that we need perspective, we need context.

So here is David crying out a reality about God’s existence, His presence and His glory. He IS exalted above the heavens; and His glory IS above all the earth. That is His nature, and David is sharing with us, that he gets it. But what is interesting about this Psalm, is what this verse is sandwiched in between.

David is a dangerous place, surrounded by lions and dragons; and men whose teeth are like spears and arrows, and their tongues like sharp swords. And in the midst of this dangerous and even deadly place, David exalts the Lord. So an obvious question here would be, is there ever a time when it is NOT appropriate to worship the Lord? Oh by the way, David is weighed down, bent down, making it difficult to navigate around nets and pits, as well as lions, dragons and scary men.

Are you surrounded by enemies, by sickness, by loss, by sin? In the midst of all that, take David’s example to heart, and exalt the LORD.

Next time, we go a little further.

Singing with the King (58) – Number Your Days

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So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Wisdom. It’s not something that is typically sought out; for rare indeed are those who think it useful. But Scripture tells us otherwise:

Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. (Proverbs 3:14-15)

Respect and obey the Lord! This is the beginning of wisdom. To have understanding, you must know the Holy God. (Proverbs 9:10)

For those who find wisdom, it will be more profitable and more precious than anything you desire. And through our respect and obedience for the Lord, it leads to a closer relationship and greater understanding.

But how does numbering our days help us? It was a lesson I learned years ago.

It was summer before my senior year in college, and I was in the Northwest finding concert venues for our choir tour during spring break. It turns out that the music director of a large downtown Church had been my sister’s high school choir director, and his wife had been my first grade Sunday School teacher. And their daughter, who was in the same grade, was my best bud.

Her Mom and Dad promised that she would get to our concert in the Spring, and I even sent a couple of notes telling her I looked forward to seeing her again, even after 15 years. So September comes, and I’m thoroughly immersed in classes, ensembles, and recitals; and I get a letter from Portland.

I opened the envelope and inside was a newspaper clipping from the Oregonian, reporting an accident where a young woman was hit by a car and killed, while riding her bicycle. I was stunned. And even though I hadn’t seen her in years, I still felt a great sense of loss. Loss of re-connecting with an old friend. Loss over hoped-for conversations about Jesus and music. And great pain for her folks.

Catching up, picking up; plans and conversations… gone. And it wasn’t just an reunion that was gone, a friend was gone. A daughter was gone. I don’t know how God gave me this verse, but it arrived in the midst of my grief. And I learned an indelible lesson on numbering my days. I learned to count each day, every day, every conversation, every person as precious, and that tomorrow (or several months hence) wasn’t promised.

So is the passing of the day just a blur? Does it drag by, filled with excruciating pain with each and every breath? Or is it a gift from God? I pray that it would be the latter. One more day to experience His mercy, grace, and love. One more day to celebrate His creation. And one more day to walk with and embrace His people.

Or maybe it’s one more day to discover Who He is, and how much He loves you. Remember: In the Scriptures God says, “When the time came, I listened to you, and when you needed help, I came to save you.” That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

So, how are you numbering your days?

Singing with the King (57) – Have You Lost Your Voice?

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Their hands have no feeling, their legs don’t move, and they can’t make a sound. Everyone who made the idols and all who trust them are just as helpless as those useless gods. (Psalm 115:7-8)

False3 Idols. Useless gods. Do you serve any useless gods? When God with His own finger wrote out the 10 Commandments for Moses, the first of them was: Do not worship any god except me.Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. (Exodus 20:3-5)

Now the thing about idols is that they are no longer relegated to the wood, stone, precious metal composition. They can be intangible; such as philosophies, ideologies, pursuits, careers, seemingly harmless (yet all-consuming) goals. Even religion can be an idol. I think the Pharisees of Jesus time would be the consummate example for that. Another idol is evolution. Another pervasive one is SELF. And what about the government? Well, whatever the flavor-of-the-month your idol is, you are going to become like it. For the past couple of weeks we’ve focused on verse 8. But this time I want to focus on a specific characteristic the idol has passed down: no voice. Now you may not be completely mute, but whatever you say, won’t matter.

I had old man in a bed a mentor named Rick when I was at the Conservatory. He was a retired Baptist missionary, and was now on the payroll of a large hospital in the Central Valley as their chaplain. Whenever there was a difficult situation, Rick was called in to minister to the family, and help the patient to step into eternity to meet Jesus. There was this one old man who had just hours to live, and the hospital asked Rick to visit him. He had no family, he was alone, and Rick chose to sit and wait with him.

After a rather pain-filled conversation with this patient, Rick discovered that the man was Jewish. So Rick asked if he could read the Old Testament to him. The man nodded, so Rick read Isaiah 53:

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:1-5)

Rick heard something, looked up and saw the man weeping. The words of the prophet had obviously touched this man, so Rick leaned forward and said, “You know, Isaiah was talking about Jesus.” But the man, shaking his head, said with his last few breaths, “I don’t understand, I don’t understand.” Rick tried to explain using other verses from the Old Testament, but the man still weeping said one last time, “I don’t understand.” And he passed into eternity without knowing his Messiah.

He needed to cry our like Peter. “Lord save me!” (Matthew 14:30) But he did not. He had no understanding, and he had no words. Now I don’t know what his particular idol was, but it left him without the right words to say.

Consider this warning from Christ: “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’ (Luke 13:24-37)

May the Lord give you the right words to say, before it is too late.

Singing with the King (56) – Like Them #2

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Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them. (Psalm 115:8)

Last week we talked about the nature of their makers.

valley of bones The next phrase in the verse is one of scope: Everyone who trusts in them. I have said and written on numerous occasions, when there is a sweeping generalization, if it is God doing the sweeping, then it must be taken literally, for He alone can address or accomplish those generalizations. So when the Father says everyone, He means everyone. No wiggle room.

And this verse is a clincher. This death is not just reserved for those who make the idols, it’s for those who trust the idols.

When you examine the Hebrew word for trust, there are some disturbing translations, especially when you’re trusting in the wrong god. It is such a trust to cause you to be careless and complacent. When that becomes the way you move, there will be little or no opportunity to change. You will be stuck. You will be dead in your sins and trespasses, and you will die in an eternity without God. Be sure you trust in the right God, the One True God.

Now there’s some good news, and bad news regarding who you trust.

Carelessness and complacency will never be an option for those who trust the living God. That is not in His nature, nor is it His desire for those of us who are His followers, His worshipers, His servants. We are in a never ending spiral upward to become more like Christ, pressing on, pursuing, and as the author says, “Following hard after God, and playing for keeps.”

Carelessness and complacency, is very much part and parcel to the nature of idols. Consider this: you can’t get much more careless nor complacent if you’re dead. Life, options, opportunities, decisions, all move by you minute by minute, day by day, but you don’t even see them, because you have eyes cannot see.

To illustrate how badly you are without Christ consider this description the Paul leaves us in the book of Romans: There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; they’re swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)

That’s a pretty bleak description, that is the nature of those who are without Christ. So whom will you serve? Whom will you worship?