A day to reflect on the beautiful book of Psalms

Month of September

September 17th

Whom Shall I Fear?

Of what or whom are you afraid?  Perhaps nothing frightens you now, but certainly you have been fearful before today, and will be so again.  In this portion of Psalm 27, David gives a great example of what we should do when we face troubles, attacks or enemies of any kind.  In the first six verses we hear David's confidence in the Lord, and then David prays for help, forgiveness and guidance.

Notice in verse 2-3, David's response matters not whether he is attacked by one person, an army of enemies or if a war breaks out!  God is with you, in all situations!  Great lesson for you and me!  You and I fall under attack by many foes; people, sickness, worry, guilt, and so forth.  God's people are very blessed; God invites us to boldly take our needs and requests to Him.  This is not some mystical formula which automatically makes things all better.  No, God is no vending machine.  But God tells us in Psalm 46:1 that He is our refuge and strength, our very real & present help in times of trouble.  

Are we both afraid and unafraid at the same time?  Yes.  Are we both worried & confident?  Yes, for sure.  Do we hope and feel desperate?  Absolutely.  This is the tension of our daily lives, lived in faith while under attack.  Thanks be to God, He loves us so much that He has saved us and He will never forsake us!

Psalm 27:1-9

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,

      my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

      though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:

      that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

            to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.

5 For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble;

      He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;

            He will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me,

      and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

            I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

      be gracious to me and answer me!

8 You have said, “Seek my face.”

      My heart says to You, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

9 Hide not Your face from me.

      Turn not Your servant away in anger, O You who have been my help.

  Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! 

September 10th 

High and Far!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!    So David begins today's Psalm, not because the Lord has blessed him with health, wealth and significance.  No, it's because the Lord forgives, heals, and redeems him and us.  The Lord crowns us with His steadfast love and mercy!

Notice how personal David makes God's promises in verse 8-10.  Read these words & phrases slowly, pausing and praying over each one.  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  This is your life as a beloved child of God!  The Lord will not always chide [scold or rebuke], nor will He keep His anger forever.  God took out His anger for your sins on Jesus, punishing Jesus in your place!  And, thank God, that He does not deal with us like we deserve!

If you're like me, you hold onto things, often foolishly.  A walk through my garage or basement would prove this.  Unfortunately, we often hold onto our sins and the guilt they produce.  Who could love me, if they really knew my sins?  Verses 11 & 12 proclaim really good news to you and me!  God's love for you is so great and steadfast, it is FAR greater than ANY of your sins or failures!   Remember Romans 5:8?  "...but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  When Jesus died on Calvary's cross, He took your punishment and removed your sins from you, as far as the east is from the west!  That is the BEST NEWS you will ever hear!

Don't hold onto your sins; God certainly does not!!!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Psalm 138

1 I give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

      before the gods I sing Your praise;

2 I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name

      for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness,

      for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.

3 On the day I called, You answered me;

      my strength of soul You increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord,

      for they have heard the words of Your mouth,

5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

      for great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly,

      but the haughty He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life;

      You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

          and Your right hand delivers me.

8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;

      Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

          Do not forsake the work of Your hands.

September 3rd

You're Covered!

Today we'll look at the first seven verses of Psalm 32, one of several Penitential psalms in the psalter.  As we look first at verses 3-5, all of us will say "Oh yeah, that describes me every day."  Soak in these verses today; I'm sure you'll find them very relevant & personal.

Keeping silent, keeping sins unconfessed and hidden is never a good idea.  Doing so harms us and those against whom we've sinned.  We feel God's heavy hand upon us a when our guilty conscience steals our peace.  Unconfessed sins entirely disrupt our relationships with others and especially with God.  David paints vivid pictures of this:  wasting bones, constant groaning, our strength gone.  These are terrible places to be, yet how often do we keep going there!

In verse five, God gives you the solution to these results of sin:  acknowledge, confess, stop covering up.  Our sinful natures hate doing these things, but we know we must.  Then, God does the really hard part:  He forgives your sins, all of them!   This takes us back to the first verse.  Blessed are YOU whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  

There's another beautiful discovery here for us; consider the word covered in verses one and five.  In verse five, our covering does nothing except prolong our guilty shame and suffering.  Our covering only extends our separation from God, and reinforces the divisions in our relationships.  But in verse one, God the Father covers your sins with the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son!  Jesus covers your sins, having redeemed you, paid your debt and taken your punishment on Calvary's horrid cross!  God covers your sins with the white robe of righteousness which will be given to you and is described in Revelation 7:14.

O, how blessed we are, that God covers our sins!  Give thanks, you're covered!

Psalm 32:1-7

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

     whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

     through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

     my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity; 

     I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found; 

     surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach Him.

7 You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance.