Psalm 19

PSALM 19

"The Works and Words of God"

Psalm 19:1 is one of my favorite verses: 

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

Isn't this SO true!!  Don't you see it every time you look up at the endless stars in the huge sky, when the seasons start to change, when you see a glorious sunset or rolling thunderstorm?  I actually took all of the photos in this post . . . beautiful scenes of nature where God's glory and handiwork are evident and glorious!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• His law is perfect
• His testimony is sure
• His statutes are right
• His commandments are pure and enlightening
• The fear of the Lord is forever

• His jugments are true and righteous
• God declares His glory to the end of the world through His creation
• The Lord sees my heart and can cleanse me from secret faults
• The Lord can hold me back from presumptuous sins
• The Lord is my strength and my Redeemer

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord because He has declared Himself to the ends of the earth - He does not hide Himself from His people.  He is to be found!
• I praise the Lord for the surety of His testimony, and that it makes the wise simple.
• I praise the Lord that I can rest in knowing that His statutes are right, and that His commandments are pure and bring enlightening to my eyes.
• I praise the Lord that He is altogether righteous.
• I praise the Lord that forgiveness from even secret faults is mine through Him.
• I praise the Lord that He is my strength and Redeemer!

PRAYER:
     Father, how my heart is full of praise of You!  You know how much I love Your creation; how much I love to see a full moon rising, and to be outside on a hot summer day as well as a crisp fall morning!  Your heavens do indeed declare Your glory!  I praise You for the handiwork of Your creation! 
     Father, I also praise You for Your attributes that are always perfect,

sure, right , pure, clean, eternal, true and righteous altogether.  You are to be desired, and I pray that I will desire You with all my heart.  I pray that You will cleanse me from my secret faults, and that You will protect me from sins.  O, that I would never sin again - yet I know this is impossible until I am justified with you in Heaven.  But most of all, thank You that there is forgiveness for my sins through Your Son, Jesus Christ!  I do not want sin to have dominion over my life!  I have many regrets, O Lord.  You know them all.  Bad choices that I made, even after my salvation, when I had access to Your word and to a "way of escape."  But I loved sin more at times and am deeply sorry for the way I have grieved Your Holy Spirit over my life.  May You find great delight in me, Lord ~ may I become a woman of God who brings honor to You.

     I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart will be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer!  Thank You that You are those things for me - that I do not ever have to rely on my own strength or ability.  O Father!  You are a gracious and loving God, and I do not deserve Your kindnesses, but crave them and am grateful for them!

     I pray all of these things in Jesus' name ~ Amen

Psalm 18

PSALM 18

"Thanksgiving for Deliverance"

King David sang this psalm as a song to the Lord when God delivered him from the hand of Saul and of his enemies.

David calls God many different names to show what God is like.  It also seems that God used many forms of nature / weather to accomplish His purposes – David mentions earthquakes, hailstones, lightening, and deep waters. 

We’ve noticed in this and in previous Psalms that David refers to his “integrity” or “righteousness.”  How can that be, since the Bible is clear that

There is none righteous, no not one.  ~ Rom. 3:10

So, what made David a “man after God’s own heart?”  Acts 13:22 says, “ 

I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.

We also know that David was a man who was a great sinner, and who reaped consequences of his sin.  So what, then?

I think we just found our answer when we read Psalm 16.  Look at verse 2:

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. ~ Psalms 16:2

Ron Edmondson noted this on that verse:  David recognized that the only good in him was the God in him.  Great godly leaders are willing to step aside from their own need for ego-building and self-confidence and humble themselves before an almighty God.

The most important thing to God is your internal heart position (the core person that only you and He know) being attuned to love and obey Him. In the Psalms we see the thought processes that David went through and we see his inner core position as that of a man who desired to obey the Lord, even with all the dreadful mistakes he makes.  

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD:          

Regarding me, the Lord is:

•   My rock
•   My fortress
•   My deliverer
•   My strength
•   My shield
•   My salvation
•   My support
•   A shield to all who trust in Him
•   My Avenger

Regarding Himself, the Lord is:

•   Trustworthy
•   Victorious over my enemies
•   Merciful
•   Blameless
•   Pure
•   Shrewd
•   Merciful

The Lord

•   Rewards according to righteousness
•   Saves humble people
•   Listens to my cries
•   Sets me on my high places
•   Upholds me with His right hand
•   Enlarges my path under me
•   THE LORD LIVES !
• God’s way is perfect
• God’s word is proven
• THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT THE LORD

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord for every attribute of God that David claims – and that this God who delivered David will deliver me today!  The God whose ears heard the cries of David hear my cries today. 

PRAYER:

My Loving Father ~

     I know that only clothed in the righteousness of Christ will I ever be righteous.  Left to myself, I am desperately wicked.  Thank You, O God, for saving me from myself.  I do so want to be like Jesus.

     Father, there is so much in this Psalm for which to praise You!  What a beautiful example of how our praise to You and for You will be eternal and everlasting.

     O Lord, there is such a source of comfort in this Psalm.  How faithfully You delivered David!  How faithfully You will deliver Your anointed.

     Thank You, dear Lord, that there is none like You.  Thank You that it is You who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  Enlarge my path under me, O God, so that my feet do not slip.

     Father, I exalt You because You are worthy.  I pray that You will light my lamp and enlighten my darkness.  May I always depend on You and not fear man.  Deliver me, O God, from the strivings of other people. 

     Forgive me, Father, when my faith is small.  When I fear man.  When I don’t trust You fully.  Increase  my faith, Lord.  And I thank You with a full heart because I know my faith is a gift from You – the most unspeakable gift. 

      In Jesus’ name I pray ~ Amen

Psalm 17

PSALM 17

"Hide Me under the Shadow of Your Wings"

King David is in great distress & danger by the malice of his enemies.  He is praying to God, asking for His protection & deliverance.   So MUCH to learn from this Psalm.  A great truth is in verse 4:

By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

My Bible makes this note:

The Bible serves as a measuring rod or ruler.  Teachers have used wooden rulers in their classes not only to give the right measurement, but on occasion, to correct a misbehaving pupil.  God’s Word likewise can do both of these things.  It should be used a standard against which to measure our beliefs.  And sometimes our Heavenly Teacher uses His written ruler to correct us when we are in the wrong.  Israel’s great king David once experienced this:  “You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word . . . Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” ~ Ps. 119:65-67

Are you using the great resource of God’s Word?  What a blessed freedom to live in a country where we can freely read the Bible without fear of persecution!  Don’t be remiss in this glorious freedom! 

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• The Lord hears my cry
• Vindication is from the hand of the Lord – I do not need to seek my own revenge!
• The Lord allows testings of our faith
• The Lord keeps my footsteps sure on His path for me
• The Lord is lovingly kind
• The Lord saves those who trust in Him
• My protection & deliverance is from the Lord

We see the word “portion” again in Ps. 17 like we did in Ps. 16.  Verse 14 is talking about people of this world who lay up for themselves only earthly treasures – they have only what is in this world; there is nothing for them afterwards. 

 David pleads his own dependence on God as his portion and happiness.  In verse 15, he is claiming his eternal treasures – commentator Matthew Henry makes this observation on vs 15:

“When the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the body . . . blessedness will consist in three things:

1. The immediate vision of God and His glory – “I will see Your face in righteousness”
2. The participation of His likeness – “when I awake in His likeness”
3. A complete and full satisfaction – “I shall be satisfied”

David had a great understanding of life after death, and the intimacy with which he relates to his God – as we are discovering through the Psalms – shows us how to also long for that “other world.”

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise God that His ear hears me!
• I praise Him that my vindication is in His hand – I don’t have to pursue my enemies or exact my own cause.  The Lord’s eye sees!
• I praise the Lord that this world – full of its short-comings and pain – is not the one for which the children of God were ultimately created.  We are beings created by God for relationship with Him – and we will enjoy this fellowship for all eternity!

PRAYER:

     O Lord – may I learn to have the heart of David – a servant of God who sought the mind of God, one who is known as the man “after God’s own heart.”  May You transform me into a child after Your own heart.  May I recognize, like David, that my deliverance is in You.  Thank You, Father, that Your ear hears my cry!  Lord, what an unspeakable thing – to be able to call upon the God of the universe, and He inclines His ear to me!  Thank You that You are a just & righteous Judge, and that You are my vindicator.  There is comfort even in that , O Lord – knowing that You see!  You see every hidden thing, every hidden action against Your children.  May I repent of any hatred, bitterness, or vengeful feelings & actions and trust You to vindicate me!  Grant to me great wisdom in my life’s circumstances, O Lord . . . to know when to wait and when to act. 

      Heavenly Father, would you be pleased to keep me, like David, as the apple of Your eye?  How I long for Your favor and Your blessings in my life and in the lives of those I love. 

     Thank You, Father, that we can know that we are merely “passing through” this world, and will one day behold You in Your glory.  On that day, our faith will be sight and our prayer will be praise!  Keep us until then, O Lord, hidden under the shadow of Your wings.

     In Jesus’ name I pray ~ Amen

Psalm 16

PSALM 16

"Eternal Life for One Who Trusts"

Psalm 16 holds a great truth in verse 5:

Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

 Elizabeth Elliot makes this comment about verse 5:

             I know of no greater simplifier for all of life.  Whatever happens is assigned.  Does the intellect balk at that?  Can we say that there are things that happen to us that do not belong in our lovingly assigned "portion?"  Are some things, then, out of the control of the Almighty?  Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good.  As I accept the given portion, the other options are cancelled.  Decisions become much easier, directions clearer, and hence my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter.  A quiet heart is content with what God gives.    

Author Linda Dillow also notes this:

God fills our cup with our 'portion,' what He determines best for us.  Our 'portion' is our physical and emotional being, our abilities, circumstances, roles and relationships. 

Great definition:  Contentment is accepting God's sovereign control over all of life's circumstances.

TO REMEMBER:  someone has to be "in control" of our lives in this out-of-control world.  When we choose to let God be in charge, instead of ourselves, we become women of contentment.

My favorite illustration of this truth of accepting God's sovereignty is the

STORY OF THE TWO MONKS: 

     "I need oil," said an ancient monk, so he planted an olive sapling.  "Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell.  Send gentle showers."  And the Lord sent gentle showers.  "Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun.  Send sun, I pray thee."  And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds.  "Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk.  And behold, the little tree stood sparking with frost, but in the evening it died. 
     Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience.  "I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see!  It thrives well.  But I entrust my tree to its God.  He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me.  I laid no condition.  I fixed not ways or means.  'Lord, send what it needs,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain or frost.  Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'"

May we all bend our hearts to God's sovereign will as monk #2, and pray with that mindset - He has made us and knows what we need!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• My goodness is nothing apart from God
• God is the portion of my inheritance and my cup
• God maintains my lot
• The Lord gives me counsel
• The Lord is at my right hand and I shall not be moved
• God shows me the path of life
• Fullness of joy & pleasures are with God eternally

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord for my preservation, and that He maintains my lot.  How I rejoice in my position in Him!
• My heart praises God that I have a good inheritance. 
• I bless the Lord that He gives me counsel through His word.  May we all read, search, and learn His word!
• I praise God that, by His side, I shall not be moved. 
• I praise the Lord that He shows me the path of life, and that in His presence is fullness of joy.

PRAYER:

      Father, eternal life is so hard for my finite mind to grasp!  Above all, O Lord, I praise You that eternal life is mine through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  I know I will have fullness of joy in Your presence, even though I admit I lack so much understanding of that concept. 

     O Lord, I pray that You will reveal to me the path of life, and that I will never depart from Your way.  Guide me with Your counsel.  I pray that I would go to Your word first when I am seeking - that I would not be swayed by culture or popular magazine articles or professional "opinions" that are not in agreement with what the Bible has to say.  May I hide Your word in my heart so that I am 'rooted and grounded' in truth.

     Father, my heart blesses You that You maintain my lot.  May I ever rest in the security of that fact.  I know that I have a good inheritance from Your hand.  May I live such a life, O Lord, that I always set You before me and keep my gaze fixed on You.  
     In Jesus' name I pray ~ Amen

Psalm 15

PSALM 15

Teach me to pray, O Lord, as You taught Your disciples of old; and winnow my prayers that I may desire and ask only those things which are according to Your will.    ~ F.B. Meyer

This psalm provides a description of a life that pleases God.  In my college sorority, we stood and recited this Psalm by memory prior to every chapter meeting.

The Mount of Olives

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's 'hill' is holy, and only the righteous may enter.

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that He is righteous and holy, and that He imparted righteousness to me through Jesus Christ.  Because of that, I can abide in His tabernacle and dwell in His holy hill.  That which God demands - righteousness - He provides!  Bless the Lord!

PRAYER:
     Father, How great Thou art!  How greatly You are to be praised!  O, what a magnificent God who provides all things necessary for His people!  Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light - that which You require, You provide. 
     Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the gift of my salvation and for enlightening me to Your truths.  Thank You that I will abide with You eternally.  I ask that You would bring every member of my family to saving faith in You.  My heart rejoices in You.
     I make this prayer in Jesus' name ~ Amen

"I bless You O Lord because You daily bear my burdens and load me with benefits.  You are the God of my salvation; make my mountain stand strong."  ~ F. B. Meyer



Psalm 14

PSALM 14

"The Characteristics of the Godless"

"There is none who does good; no, not one."  ~ Ps. 14:3

Aside from divine grace, everyone is by nature and practice corrupt and sinful.  Hard to believe, isn't it, when you see a precious baby, that this little one is a sinner who needs salvation. 

We are all born knowing "how" to be bad!  No one has to teach us how to lie, do they?!  By the time your toddler is two years old, they will master this wicked behavior!  And self-centeredness  . . . how quickly a baby wants the universe to be all about him! 

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• The Lord looks down from Heaven to see if there are any who seek God
• The Lord is with the generation of the righteous
• The Lord is the refuge of the poor
• The Lord is our salvation

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• There is great comfort that the Lord is with the generation of the righteous, and that He is the refuge of the poor.  Our refuge and salvation are of Him.
• The Lord looks down from Heaven - He sees me!

PRAYER:

     O Lord, it is great comfort to know Your eye looks down from Heaven.  How secure we are under Your watchful gaze, even when we know we are so unworthy  Yet, in the righteousness of Your Son, we know You look upon Your children as a loving Father.  May I be one that seeks You, O Lord! I know, Heavenly Father, that I am able to seek You only because You sought me first.  May I not seek after things of this world, but rather those things that are "other-worldly." 

          As F.B. Meyer writes, "I bring to You, O Lord, my desires, and pray that You will cleanse them by the searching fires of Your pure Spirit, that I may desire only those things which You have chosen and prepared for me."  Amen and amen!

 



Psalm 13

PSALM 13

"The Prayer for God’s Answer . . . Now"

How many times have we felt like David . . . wondering, where is God?  Doesn’t He see what’s going on in my life?!!  How many times have we questioned God’s timing!!  I heard a great saying once:

God’s never in a hurry, but He’s always on time!

In this Psalm, David is expressing these very feelings.  He is desperate for God’s intervention and deliverance in his particular situation.

   

There are several Scripture verses that reference God’s timing as “ . . . in the fullness of time . . . “  Let those words serve as reminders to us that God’s timing is perfect . . . He hasn’t forgotten us down here, and He’s not in Heaven wringing His hands about what’s going on.    Remember what we read yesterday . . . we cannot bring a "surprise" before God's throne!

I love this prayer by Ruth Harms Calkin:

Lord, I know there are countless times

When I must wait patiently for You.

Waiting develops endurance.

It strengthens my faith.

And deepens my dependence upon You.

I know You are Sovereign God --

Not an errand boy

Responding to the snap of my finger.

I know Your timing is neatly wrapped

In Your incomparable wisdom.

But, Lord,

You have appointed prayer

To obtain answers!

Even David the Psalmist cried

With confident boldness:

"It is time, O Lord, for You to act."

God, on this silent sunless morning

When I am hedged in on every side

I too cry boldly.

You are my Father, and I am Your child.

So, Lord, could you hurry a little?

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• The Lord will deal bountifully with me
• The Lord’s mercy is trustworthy
• The Lord’s salvation is my joy
• My enlightenment is God’s gift
• The Lord will stay my enemies

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• The Lord will not hide His face forever.  Even in my sorrow, He sees.
• The Lord hears
• The Lord opens my eyes to see – He gives me spiritual enlightenment
• The Lord is merciful, and my salvation is the source of my joy.
• I praise the Lord because He is faithful and will deal bountifully with me!

PRAYER:

     O Lord, My heart is full of joy and praise!  Hear the song of my heart, O Lord, that my soul sings to You in praise!  My heart praises You that Your mercy is dependable; You are trustworthy. Father, You are worthy, and I am sorry that I love You so little.

     Do not allow my enemies to prevail over me, O God.  Keep Your angels around me and those in my family.  What comfort and security we have, being held securely in the palm of Your hand!

     Father, I pray that You will teach me to wait in You.  To wait on Your perfect timing.  It is so hard at times, O Lord! Guard me from the folly of trying to “rush” You . . . of taking matters into my own hands when I feel like You are too slow.  How silly I feel when I do this . . . how sinful to elevate myself, that I could possibly know a better plan than the God of the universe!  Lord, You are so long-suffering with Your child . . . teach me to turn everything over to You in prayer . . . to place my hopes, my plans, my dreams on the altar to You, much like Abraham did with Isaac . . . knowing, Lord, that You will provide at the perfect time. 

    In Jesus’ name I pray ~ Amen