Yes . . . But . . . Yet

Psalm 78:35-39 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

God is more merciful with us than we deserve.

I find it interesting that the psalm for this morning is a historical psalm. In it Asaph gives a basic overview of key events in his nation's history. The primary focus of this overview is to ensure that his people remember God's mercy to their ancestors despite their unworthiness. It's probably easy to see where I'm going with this.

If we were to take an honest look at ourselves, and our personal history, we would see a similar pattern in our own lives. The passage that I picked out is a good illustration of that pattern. We would say yes to God, but then we would go about our usual, sinful, ways, yet God did not give us what we deserve because He is merciful and remembers our frailty as human beings. If we were to keep God's mercy, as well as our frailty, in mind more often, this pattern would be repeated less often.

So as we remember today those who have fallen, let us also remember the merciful God who, "time after time . . . restrained His anger and did not stir up his full wrath" against us even though we probably deserved it.

Dealing with Doubt

Psalm 77:7-12 "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"Selah Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.

When we have doubts, a key word to know is "remember".

In this psalm I find Asaph having a rough time. He is crying out to God, losing sleep, refusing to be comforted, etc. Then he ask questions that many of us may have asked at one time or another. We start to doubt whether God is really out to help us or not. Thankfully, Asaph gives a solution to this problem, and that is remember. Remember the deeds of the LORD. Remember the miracles of long ago. Think about all that He has done. The psalm continues for many more verses in which Asaph remembers how God really is.

So, when I have a rough time, when I start to doubt, I need to remember who God really is, and then my perspective will change dramatically.

Whose Job Is It?

Psalm 75:6-7 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

Sometimes we take upon ourselves roles that belong only to God.

I think many of us at one time or another fall into this trap. At one time or another we have someone who we think should be exalted (maybe at times that "someone" is ourselves). However, this verse states that no one can exalt a person. It's a role that belongs solely to God.

This is a concept that I struggle a bit to understand. One definition of exalt is "to raise in rank, power, or character". However, we, as believers, are encouraged to, well, encourage each other. What I get out of this passage is that this encouragement can be taken too far. We need to be careful not to let our encouragement turn into exaltation. I know it's a fine line to walk, but with God's help we can do it, and if we succeed we will be happier, yet still humble, people.

But As For Me . . .

Psalm 73:1-3  Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

It's good for us to admit when we have less-than-ideal feelings.

I read this psalm and I must admit that sometimes I have felt the same way that Asaph (the author) felt. I see the prosperity of the wicked and sometimes, on a certain level, I have envied them. At the very least, sometimes I have envied their prosperity. Why, just the other day, I heard about somebody winning the lottery, and I found myself thinking about all the good things I would do if I won millions of dollars.  While I am not proud to admit that, I think it is helpful to get those feelings out into the open.

So many times we can live in denial that we are less-than-perfect, and that denial gets us nowhere. In Psalm 73, Asaph goes on for quite a bit about how he feels about his situation in comparison to the wicked, but then he gets to the point where he realizes, that they are not so well off after all.  I would venture to say that he might not have gotten to that point unless if he had not vented his frustrations.

I heard somewhere that negative thoughts and feelings are like mold.  They grow when they are kept in the dark, and die off when exposed to the light. I'm not advocating going around burdening everyone else with all of our problems, but we should bring them to the Light, for that is the only way that we will truly be rid of them.

Lifelong Dependence

Psalm 71:6  From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.

Whether we admit it or not, we are dependent upon God.

This verse somewhat coincides with what I discussed in yesterday's post. I need to remember that even before I could even acknowledge it, I relied upon God. My very life is held in His hands. Because my life is dependent upon him, I need to live in a way that honors that fact. Not simply by avoiding what is bad, but also by remembering that He is always there in my times of need.  I think I often go through life forgetting that part. At least I act that way. When I try to do things on my own, it shows that I am forgetting my dependence upon Him.

The last part of the verse is especially important. I missed it the first time. It states that this reliance upon God is a reason to praise Him. Again the subject of praise comes up. Everywhere I turn, there is a reason to praise God. I think that God is telling me to be more positive, to think less about my problems, and to think more about His power. What do you think this verse is telling you?

Constant, Immediate Need

Psalm 70  Hasten, O God, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" turn back because of their shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!" Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

We need to recognize our constant, immediate of God.

I put the entire psalm this time because it's short, and because the verses I wanted to focus on were the first and the last ones. There are times when I recognize my need for God simply in a general sense (simply a mental acknowledgement), and there are times when I recognize my need for God in a specific and immediate sense.  Those immediate times are usually times when I find myself in trouble of my own devising, and need to be rescued. I'm thinking that if I were to realize more often that this immediate need was also a constant need (that is, I am in constant need of rescue), I could avoid many of the problems in which I find myself.

Life has enough problems of its own. I don't need to add to them by forgetting that I constantly need God to rescue me.

Our Burden Bearer

Psalm 68:19  Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

If God bears our burdens, why are we so weighed down?

This verse is another reminder to me that I need to calm down and let God do what He wants to do. It says that He "daily bears our burdens", not once in a while, but daily.  If He is available everyday to bear my burdens, why do I so many times feel weighed down?  The answer is simple, I'm not letting Him bear my burdens, not surrendering my cares to Him, keeping them all to myself.

I'm reminded of the book The Pilgrim's Progress. For a good part in the beginning of the story, Christian, the main character, is weighed down by a heavy burden. When he comes to the cross of Christ, his burden falls off, rolls down the hill, and disappears into an empty grave.  I think that many times, for one reason or another, I either don't let that burden off my back, or actually chase after it down the hill!

So if we find ourselves weighed down, we should remember that God is the burden bearer, not us.

The Results of Praise

Psalm 67:5-7  May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Praising God brings positive results.

Psalm 67 is a rather short psalm, and it is all about praise.  In the passage I am focusing on today, the author is saying that if everyone praises God, then good things will happen.  The first thing is one that was very important to someone living in that time and place; the land yielding its harvest.  The people that most likely were reading this lived in what was called an agrarian society, meaning that the society was based on agriculture.  If their land didn't yield its harvest, then their future didn't look very bright.

I don't live in an agrarian society.  The closest thing to farmland around here is the community garden a few blocks away, but I can still identify with the thought.  I can look at harvest in a different way.  I can see that if we praise God then a spiritual harvest will be yielded.  I read somewhere that the greatest argument in favor of Christianity is a loving and lovable Christian.  If I am living in an atmosphere of praise, people can see that I have Christ in my heart, and will be drawn to Him.  On a personal level, I can see that if I am praising God my future will look brighter than before, and I can see God leading in ways I overlooked before.

Another result of praise is connected with the first, and that is that God will bless those who praise Him.  Most likely, some people believe that if they praise God that He owes them a blessing.  Few will actually come out and say that, but many act as though they do.  Praising God is not some magic spell that automatically gives us what we want.  In fact, sometimes the only blessing I would receive from praising God is the praise itself.  As I previously mentioned, praise makes the future look brighter.

Now the final result is somewhat of a paradox, that is a self-contradictory statement, because it states that a result of praise is fear.  Notice that it doesn't say that we praise God because we fear Him, rather that all the ends of the earth will fear Him.  Now fear in the Bible is somewhat of a complicated concept (or maybe we've just made it complicated).  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, words can have additional meanings, this doesn't diminish the original meaning, it simply adds to it.  Now the word translated "fear" in this text is defined, "to fear, revere, be afraid."  If all the ends of the earth fear God, it covers a variety of responses.  If the people are evil, well, then they have reason to be afraid of God because He will be coming after them.  If the people are seeking after Him then they will revere Him, that is, they will regard Him as worthy of great honor. So the way we see fear is simply based on what direction we're viewing God.

So basically, if I am praising God, a lot of good things will happen, and they can happen for you as well.

Hearing Our Prayers

Psalm 66:17-20  I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

We can have confidence that God hears our prayers.

The first part of this passage really intrigued me.  Here the author of the psalm states that if one cherishes sin in their heart, that God will not listen when they cry out to Him.  I did some further study into this text, and found something that seemed to clarify things in my mind.  The word that the NIV translated into "cherish" has the a lot to do with seeing.  In fact, the definition given is "to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider".  So a possible alternate translation could be "if I saw sin in my heart . . ." Now, don't think that I'm getting soft on sin or anything like that, but I think that there may be more to this, especially because of the "but" that follows that statement. It says that God did listen to their prayer, and there is no mention of the sin disappearing.

Many people, myself included, can fall into the trap of seeing themselves as so sinful that it is pointless even to pray.  We have heard many times on how much God hates sin, and think that because we are soaked in the stuff that God hates us as well. Now we may not explicitly say or think that, but the thought could definitely be lurking somewhere in the back of our minds.  We can lose sight of the fact that although God hates sin, He loves the sinner, and will not withhold His love from us regardless of how bad we think ourselves to be.  That, my friend, is definitely a reason to say "Praise be to God!"

Psalm of Praise

Psalm 65:1-4  Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

Sometimes we just need to forget our troubles and praise God.

What initially struck me in this psalm is that in it David doesn't say anything is wrong with him.  There is no complaining, no crying out for help, no telling about what evil men might do to him, he is simply praising God.  The psalm goes on telling how good God is, how He provides for even the natural world.  This is a mindset that I need to have more consistently.  I, like many people, tend to worry about things, and my prayers reflect that. They are often more of the "crying out" kind than the "praising God" kind.  I'm going to take more time out of my day to praise God, and I hope you will as well.

Ultimate Defender

Psalm 64:6-8  They plot injustice and say, "We have devised a perfect plan!" Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning. God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

God is the ultimate defender of the weak.

Again I find David venting his complaints to God.  This time he is talking about how evil people conspire against him.  I find it interesting the metaphors that he uses.  In verse three he talks about how the evildoers "sharpen their tongues like swords".  He understood the power for destruction that our tongues can have. He continues by saying how they plot evil against innocent people and encourage others to join them.  They begin to think rather highly of themselves, thinking that they devise perfect plans. However, when God comes into the picture, things change.  God shoots arrows at them, and their sharpened tongues become weapons of their own destruction.

I look around at all the man-made destruction of body and soul out there and it saddens me.  I can be encouraged by the fact that sooner or later, these evildoers will bear the results of their crimes against humanity.  I also can be warned by the fact that if, God forbid, I become like those mentioned in this psalm, that sooner or later God will be coming after me. Either way, the truth remains that if I find myself being attacked, I can turn to God, because He is my Ultimate Defender. 

Antidote for a Sleepless Night

Psalm 63:6-8 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

God is the only true antidote for a sleepless night.

Like many people from time to time I lay awake at night concerned about one thing or another.  This passage challenges me not to think about my problems, but to think about God because He is my help.  Like I have written in a previous post, God is the only one who can truly help me with my problems.  I need to remember that instead of yielding to the temptation to try and solve my own problems in my sleep-deprived mind.

Lord, thank you for reminding me to turn to you when I have trouble sleeping.

One & Two

Psalm 62:11-12  One thing god has spoken, two things have I heard:  that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.  Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

There is more to God than we often acknowledge.

I find it interesting that David stated that God spoke one thing, yet he heard two things.  The two things being His strength and His love.  A lot of us tend to focus on one aspect of God or the other depending on the situation.  Often we focus on His love when we are thinking about ourselves, and on His strength in relation to others (namely those who we see as working against us).  However, God is not one thing or the other, He is everything all the time.

Every act of God has the force of His entire character behind it. For example, in the book of Exodus,  when God's presence was on Mount Sinai, there was a barrier around the base of the mountain. If the general public were to cross that barrier, they would die. At first glance, that doesn't sound very loving, but, in fact, it was. God was showing them that He was not like those household gods that they had gotten used to in Egypt who could be controlled by humans.  He was the Almighty, a fact that they needed to remember if they were to get through the wilderness alive.  A fact that they forgot, causing an entire generation to pass before they could enter the Promised Land.

We have to, I have to, remember that there is more to God than we often acknowledge, and that's a good thing.

Listen to Me

Psalm 61:1  Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

The boldness of David's prayers should be an inspiration to us all.

Often when I read a psalm, I have to think a little bit to figure out what verse I want to focus on, but not this time.  As soon as I read verse one, I knew that it was the verse I wanted to talk about in this post.  Sometimes the power of a statement comes from what is not said rather that what is said.  What is not present in this verse is the politeness, the deference, dare I say, the courtesy that one might expect when addressing the Almighty.

I was taught when I was young, and reminded of now that I am older, to be polite when talking with people.  Don't make demands of people, say please and thank you, etc.  Then here comes David basically throwing all that out the window; demanding that God hear his cry and listen to his prayer. It practically leaped off the page, and told me that I need to be bolder when talking with God.  It's a challenging thought, to say the least.

Lord, thank you for reminding me that it is O.K. to be bold when talking with you.

First Aid

Psalm 60:11-12 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.  With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

Whatever battle we face in life, the only One who can truly help us is God.

This Psalm is written in the context of battle.  The preamble is basically a summary of 2 Samuel 8:1-14 which records some military victories that David had, most notably a victory over the Edomites in the Valley of Salt.  The lesson I get out of it is simple, mankind and all its supposed power will not be  able to give me victory in any sense of the word.  If I have to go to court, it doesn't matter how good my attorney is, only God can give me the victory, and the list could go on and on.  In the spiritual sense, it doesn't matter how many good books I read or good choices I make, if God is not with me I am doomed to defeat.

Lord help me to trust completely in You whenever I am in trouble.

Thinking of Others

Psalm 59:9-13 But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down.  For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips,  let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.

Even in the midst of life-threatening situations, David was thinking about the welfare of those around him.

Here we find once again that David was in trouble (you can read the story here).  It's an interesting story, but the Psalms aren't so much about the events, but about David's reaction to those events.  I focused in on these verses because they differ a bit from the usual wording that I have found.  In the midst of the cries for deliverance and the giving of praise, there is the concern for his fellow countrymen.  The first thing I thought of was the concept of how God let sinners live so that people can see the sinfulness of sin, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I need to make application for myself as well.


The application I found is that a sign of true leadership is the concern for other people, the people you are leading, or in David's case, the ones you will lead.  He wanted the lives of his enemies to be spared so that his people, and ultimately all people, will know "that God rules over Jacob."  If we are to be true leaders (and we all can be leaders in one sense or another), we need to show genuine concern for other people, even in the midst of our own trials.  Here we see manifested in a small way the same compassion shown by Jesus on the cross, where the thoughts were to bless His persecutors, His mother (had to put something in about mothers on Mother's Day), and the thieves hanging beside Him.  We cannot, I cannot, be effective leaders without that compassion.


Thank you Lord for showing me once again to think of others instead of myself.

Praise During Disaster

Psalm 57:7,8 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.  Awake, my soul!  Awake, harp and lyre!  I will awaken the dawn.

These verses took on new meaning when I realized the situation in which they were written.

The preamble to this psalm states that it was written by David "When he had fled from Saul into the cave."  I'm not sure exactly what cave it is referring to because there are two stories where David fled from from Saul into a cave.  However, think about it, here is David hiding in a cave from someone bent on his destruction, and he is singing and asking for accompaniment!  I had always heard these verses in the context of a praise and worship band where everyone is happy and having a good time, not when people are fleeing for their life.

The more I read the Psalms, the greater respect I have for David.  What can I say except I want to me more like that.

Help me Lord to praise you especially when things are going poorly.

What Can God Do for You?

Psalm 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Whenever I am afraid, it would be good to remember what God can do for me in comparison to what man cannot do to me.

David was once again in trouble.  (As a side note, I find it interesting that here David is fleeing for his life and in all sorts of situations, and is writing these songs.  Not something the average person would be doing.)  However, even in the midst of all these situations, he turned his eyes toward God. I guess that what it means to be a man after God's own heart.  I see that as a challenge to all men, and women.  What do we do when we are in trouble?

In this verse David asked a very important question, "What can mortal man do to me?"  It's somewhat of a rhetorical question because the answer is obviously, "Not a whole lot."  I like to break it down a little bit as to what man can do in comparison to what God can do.

• Man can take away my money, but God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills".
• Man can take away my freedom, but if I have the truth, it will set me free.
• Man can take away my family, but if faithful, I will see them again.
• Man can take away my life, but He is "the resurrection and the life".

Thank you Lord for being the One I can always turn to when I am afraid.

I am Not Alone

Psalm 55:16-19 But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.  Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.  He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.  God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them—men who never change their ways and have no fear of God.

It's empowering to know that God is always available.  That I am not alone in the battles of life.

I don't know about you, but when I call an organization, I like to talk to a person.  Automated systems are O.K., but when I need assistance with something, I prefer to have a flesh-and-blood human on the other end.  For example, not too long ago, I called a government organization to help clarify some paperwork I received.  Not only did I not get to talk with a person, I didn't even get an automated system where you press numbers for specific situations.  I got a recorded message, and then got disconnected.  Needless to say, I had a very empty feeling knowing that I was pretty much on my own.  Eventually things did get cleared up when I got a response to an email that I had sent about five days earlier, but things could have been less stressful if I had gotten help earlier.

In this passage, David states that when he asks God for help, the LORD saves him, and it doesn't matter when he calls, God is always there to ransom him from the battle.  Other versions of the Bible use words like "rescue", "deliver", and "redeem".  It's difficult for me to put into words the peace that I feel when I realize that in the battles I face in life He is always there to help me.

I am not alone.

Save Me

Psalm 54:1,7  Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. . . . For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

I need to remember that help is there the moment I ask for it.

I find it interesting that at the beginning of this Psalm, David is crying out for help, and at the end he is speaking in the past tense that he has been delivered.  The heading of the psalm gives some background.  I read the story of what happened, and I don't see any immediate deliverance of David from his troubles. This leads me to think in different terms.  David was accepting the fact that God will deliver him, maybe not immediately, but ultimately.  I need to remember that fact when I am in trouble, and in whatever form that trouble may come.

Sure, I may sometimes be in trouble like David was, where my physical life is in danger, but I most of the time I am in spiritual danger.  My biggest enemy in this case is the person I see in the mirror, and I need to not only ask for deliverance, but believe that I will ultimately be delivered.

Thank you Lord for saving me from myself.