Psalm 116

  1   I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications.

 2   Because He has inclined His ear to me, I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

 3   The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me—

      I found there distress and sorrow. 

 4   Then I called upon the name of the Lord: 
      “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” 

 

 5   Gracious is the Lord, and righteous,  yes, our God is compassionate.

 6   The Lord preserves the simple, I was brought low, and He saved me.

 7    Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

 8   For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 

 

  9   I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

10   I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”

11   I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.”

12   What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?  

13   I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.

14   I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.

15   Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

16   O Lord, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid,

You have loosed my bonds.  

17   To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.

18   I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,

19   In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

      Praise the Lord! 

Jehovah God, the God of Israel, and the God of our Holy Bible, is in the business of bringing back those who are spiritually dead and giver of new life.  The lost do not know they are lost--sinners headed for destruction.  God seeks the lost that we may become aware of our condition, helping  unbelievers to become aware they are lost and helpless.  Jesus said plainly that no one can come to Himself unless the Father first draws him (John 6:44, 65).  The Apostle Paul also reminds us that “the god [small g] of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). 

 

If salvation had been left up to us, we would still be in our sins. But, thank God, He lovingly takes the initiative.  He sent Christ to die for our sins, and even now is still seeking the lost while many are wandering further away Him.   
 

We are extremely vulnerable at this point…

There is only one true God who can offer salvation.  It is so important to acknowledge the Holy Spirit who offers this new life in Christ, and not fall prey to false teachers and false
religions. The enemy of our souls knows very well our state and will do everything to trick us back into listening to a false god.    
 

God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ
Ephesians 2:1-10
2   You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God.

3    At one time we all lived among them. We tried to satisfy what our sinful nature wanted to do. We followed its longings and thoughts. God was unhappy with us… because of the kind of people we were.

4   But God loves us deeply and is full of mercy.

5    So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you.

6   God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus. 

7    He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared  with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.

 

8   God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift.

9   It is not based on anything you have done.  No one can brag about earning it.

 

10  God made us.  He created us to belong to Christ Jesus.  Now we can do the good  that long ago God prepared for us to do.

 

 

 

Psalm 115 Putting God First

The danger of keeping idols…

Their idols are made of silver and gold – they are man-made.

They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell, hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk… 

Those who make them will end up like them – as will everyone who trusts in them.  

 

 

 The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God

                1    Not to us, O Lord, not to us.

        But to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.

   2   Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?”

   3   But our God is in the heavens – He does whatever He pleases.  

   4   Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands.

   5   They have mouths, but they cannot speak…

        They have eyes, but they cannot see…

   6   They have ears, but they cannot hear…

        They have noses, but they cannot smell…

   7   They have hands, but they cannot feel…

        They have feet, but they cannot walk… they cannot make a sound with their throat.

   8   Those that have them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.  

   9   O Israel, trust in the Lord – He is their help and their shield.

               10   O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is your help and your shield.

               11   You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord—

        He is their help and their shield.

               12   The Lord has been mindful of us, He will bless us, He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron.

 13   He will bless those who fear the Lord, the small together with the great.

 14   May the Lord give you increase, you and your children.

 15   May you be blessed of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.

 16   The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men. 

 

 17   The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence.

 18   But as for us, we will bless 1the Lord from this time forth and forever.

        Praise the Lord!

 Keeping the Lord up front in our lives assures us of His nearness.  We can be encouraged that He has us in His thoughts continually. 

 

All to often there are times when we feel isolated, alone and abandoned.  In reality... God sees, understands, and hears.  If we are discouraged by any problem or discouraged by self-worth, BE ENCOURAGED that God knows all about it and will pull us up out of the pit -- when we seek Him first with all our heart, soul, and mind.

 

Do not be like a lifeless stone who depends on any other means to pick us up and give the hope we need.  Only God can supply all of our needs, "according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19.   God will not withhold any good thing from those who live righteously before Him.  When we place our trust fully in the Lord, He provides the very best for us.

 

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 114 He Cares For You

God Cares for His People – The Deliverance of Israel from Bondage

      1     When Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of  strange language,

      2     Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion.  

      3     The sea looked and fled – the  Jordan turned back.

      4     The mountains skipped like rams, the hills, like lambs.

      5     What  ails you, O sea that you flee? O Jordan that you turn back?

 6     O mountains that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?  

      7     Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob,

      8     Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the  flint into a fountain of waters. 

 Even today with our greatest technology, life can be quite the challenge. We have no control over the rivers and seas, the quaking of the earth and the crumbling of the mountains.  Aside from the glorious majesty and beauty that is presented before our eyes, God's power over all these things can cause much destruction and devastation to mankind. God controls all nature—and to Him all of this is as nothing.          

The Lord led His people, Israel, out of a land of bondage and slavery.  From their presence in Egypt God used His servant Moses, to lead them out from under bondage to a new land filled with 'milk and honey.'  Everything there was good and was given because God cared for His people and loved them.  The Lord's own spirit was the backbone of these people that He had created with His own hand.  He cares for and loves them to this present day.  To tremble at God's presence, [vs.7] is to recognize God's complete power and control over any situation—and our frailty by comparison.   Amen.        

Psalm 113

The Lord Will Exalt the Humble

 The Lord Exalts the Humble

 1    Praise the Lord!

       Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

 2    Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever.

 3    From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.  

 4    The Lord is high above all nations — His glory is above the heavens.

 5    Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high…

 6    Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and on the earth?  

 7    He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap—

 8   To make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.

 9    He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children.

       Praise the Lord!

 

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up…

 

 

Two Aspects of God's Nature

On one side we can see God's Lofty nature, one the other side, God's tender compassion for the poor and needy. 

God will humble Himself—to look down from heaven and see with compassion the things He created on earth.  He will raise us up—from the dust, even from the ash heap, to set us apart to live with the princes of His people.  God does not exclude the lowly from His lofty dwelling place.  Rather we are the ones whom He invites to share it with. 

 

Contrasting God's majesty with our place here on earth—those He created from out of the dust, we see ourselves with as unworthy.  By God's Holy Spirit we share in receiving this grandeur vision.  We need to understand this divine paradox... it is our lowliness that qualifies us to share in God's loftiness. 

  

 

 

 

Psalm 112: All God Intended Every Man To Be



Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy, for all the nations will come and worship before You,

For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”   Revelation 15:4

 Prosperity to Those Who Fear the Lord

 1    Praise the Lord!

       How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.

 2    His descendants will be mighty on earth, the generation of the upright will be blessed.

 3    Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

 4    Light arises in the darkness for the upright, he is gracious and compassionate and righteous.

 5    It is well with the man who is gracious and lends, he will maintain his cause in judgment.  

 6    For he will never be shaken, the righteous will be remembered forever.

 7    He will not fear evil tidings, his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

 8    His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.

 9    He has given freely to the poor, his righteousness endures forever, his horn will be exalted in honor.

10   The wicked will see it and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and melt away, the desire of the wicked will perish.  
 

We praise the Lord... that we are a people in the world who fear Him and serve Him...
That they are a happy people--entirely because of His grace. The fear of God is not that which love casts out, but that which love brings in. It follows and flows from love.  
Compare all this with the unbeliever... the happiness of the saints is the envy of the wicked. The desire of the wicked shall perish entirely due to the desires of their flesh, their joy is gone.
 
By the Lord's example we learn to become kind and full of compassion. We need not fear evil around us, because our spirit is settled in the Lord.  Trusting in the Lord is the best and surest way of establishing the heart. The heart of man cannot be fixed anywhere else and find firm footing but in the truth of God.  Those whose hearts are established by faith, live by the pattern present in righteousness given by our Lord Jesus Christ.  The blessings received are both spiritual and eternal--for now on this earth and for life everlasting.  No man is wise who does not fear the Lord; no man acts wisely except as influenced by that fear. This fear will lead to repentance, to faith in Christ, to watchfulness and obedience. Such persons are of a good understanding, however poor, unlearned, or despised.

We are Victorious
The heart touched by the Spirit of God, turns itself to God in every situation, yet still with trembling and filled with this holy fear. Blessings are laid up for the faithful, from all that come from this world's possessions as is profitable for them. Even in the darkest hours of affliction and trials, the light of hope and peace will spring up within.  In the peace that comes from God alone relief turns mourning into joy. 


  

 

 

Psalm 111

God's Works, Our Hands



And they sang the song… of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty…

Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!   Revelation 15:3 

The Lord Praised for His Goodness

 1    Praise the Lord!

       I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly.

 2    Great are the works of the Lord, they are studied by all who delight in them.

 3    Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.

 4    He has made His wonders to be remembered – the Lord is gracious and compassionate.  

 5    He has given food to those who fear Him, He will remember His covenant forever.

 6    He has made known to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

 7    The works of His hands are truth and justice, all His precepts are sure.

 8    They are upheld forever and ever, they are performed in truth and uprightness.  

 9    He has sent redemption to His people –

       He has ordained His covenant forever, Holy and awesome is His name.

10   The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom –

       A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.  His praise endures forever. 

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him 

The many people of God’s church come together as one, to serve Him by caring for and feeding the hungry all around the world.  We have the Lord Jesus Christ as our perfect example.  Our lives have been changed by our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and it’s that encounter with Jesus that frees us to make a difference.  We bring glory to God by demonstrating what He is like.   

What are the good works for which we were created? Charles Spurgeon summarizes them as, works of obedience, works of love, works of faith, and what we do in everyday life.  Obeying the commands of Scripture, works of love includes both love for God and love for our fellow man.  In faith we do all in reliance upon Him and His promises. By all that we do everyday in our home, at work, when we travel,  or even when we are on a sick bed—we should always have in mind to do all for the glory of God.  We were saved by God’s grace and we should live with a God-ward focus, to please Him. 

God sovereignly ordained these good works before we were born, we are responsible to walk in them

God has prepared a path of good works for believers which He will perform in and through us as we walk by faith in obedience to Him.  It does not mean doing a work for God, but rather that God is doing His work in and through His people.  In Philippians 2:13, we are told, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

 Many cultures lead us towards independence. We tend to idolize the “self-made man,” who gets it done on his own.  But Scripture teaches that when God saves us, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). We are individually members of this body, each with a role to perform.  But together, we can reflect Christ back to community in a way that we cannot if we act independently of one another—or by not focusing on God’s work from the beginning.    

In closing, there are two things we must remember.  First, we must be sure to be a new creation in Christ. Have you truly been saved by His grace through faith in Christ alone?  The only way we can become a Christian is by God first doing His work in us. Only He can change a heart.  Stand back, and retreat from all self-works, for it is God who must create us to do good works in service to Him through Jesus Christ.  To feel this deceit in ourselves might very well drive us to the Lord in great despair. It would be to our benefit if we never again indulged a shred of hope in the work of our own hands, and were forced to accept the grace that God has for every man.  

Second, if you have been saved, the focus of your life should be, “Lord, what will You have me to do?”  The Apostle Paul asked God this question after his experience on the Damascus Road. The Lord answered in Acts 22:10, “Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.”  God had already prepared Paul’s future ministry.  Paul had to learn God’s plan and walk in it, and so must we. 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 110

Praise to the Coming Messiah, In the Day of Battle

 

A Psalm of David. Dominion Given to the King

1   The Lord said to my Lord:

                   “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
 

 2   The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,

        “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”  

 3   Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power…

        In holy array, from the womb of the dawn—

        Your youth are to You as the  dew.   

4   The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,

        “You are priest forever—according to the order of Melchizedek.”

 5   The Lord is at Your right hand, He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.  

 6   He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses—

        He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.

 7   He will drink from the brook by the wayside…

         Therefore He will lift up His head.
 

Your troops will be willing on the day of battle—

Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn,

Your young men will come to you like the dew.   Psalm 110:3

[Alternative translation]
 

Our God is a God of battle.  David’s Lord, the Messiah, is seated at the Father’s right hand—in the place of authority, until the consummation of the ages.  At that time the Lord will send David’s Lord the Messiah, to make his enemies subject to Him. A footstool pictures complete subjugation... with His scepter the Messiah will rule over His enemies. 

David looks forward to the day when, “Your young men will be willing on the day of battle”—

God is asking us at this time to be His “freewill offerings”… for the coming spiritual battle.
He is asking for one thing only, ourselves.  He desires that we seek Him now.  

What is more beautiful than a drop of dew as it is touched by the sun’s first ray in the morning?  We must give ourselves over to Him fully; we are the army He seeks out of the darkness and into the new light – our day of rebirth.    

David's prayer is a heavy one, but necessary.  In faith we may ask, “Accept me O Lord, as a freewill offering in Your day of battle.”