Psalm 4 YOU CAN REST AT NIGHT!

DOES WORRY KEEP YOU AWAKE?

Psalm 4

            Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

                        You have given me relief when I was in distress.

                        Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

            O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

                        How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

            But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

                        the LORD hears when I call to him.

            Be angry, and do not sin;

                        ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

            Offer right sacrifices,

                        and put your trust in the LORD.

            There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

                        Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

            You have put more joy in my heart

                        than they have when their grain and wine abound.

            In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

                        for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

David knows that any kind of rescue on the part of God in his life will be based solely on the righteousness of God and not his own. The work and care of God is certainly a gracious act and in no way deserved. As David seeks God’s help he also call men into look to His LORD and not after their own human understanding. The psalmist knows that God has set His own apart and that He will hear their call.

I love the way David goes to bed:

Be angry, and do not sin;

                        ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.

In bed at night, when all is quiet is where, many times, thoughts run wild. Loneliness, despair, bitterness, and many more negatives thought come to the surface. It is in those moments that our hearts can express rebellion to God. Our bitterness or outright anger demonstrates that we feel that we deserve something different or better.

David says to be quiet and think. He is watching his thought life and the center of his thinking is God and not himself. He is rehearsing the character of God and His righteousness. The psalmist chooses to trust in the creator and sustainer of the universe. He knows that he can trust his sovereign God and not himself.

In those moments some are tempted to question God, but not David, he is quietly waiting upon God to show himself faithful. He knows where the light will come for those dark moments.

He is not dependent on material things to produce joy. He has watched men have abundance and not experience the joy that he has in his heart. The reality of his enemies and the difficulty of his situations might not change, but he will find rest in the LORD.

Worry keeps so many people awake, but those that trust Him can rest at night in the midst of the difficulties of life.

As I think of many that are going through physical difficulties, friends that are struggling through broken marriages and difficult relationships with children, others that are looking for jobs or are having difficulties in their place of employment, some that are struggling in churches that are in turmoil, others that are missing some loved ones where can they find hope? Where can I find peace in my difficulties? The same place where David did: in the arms of a careful, wise, omnipotent, and loving God.

Relief and hope cannot be found in our ability to change situations, or even in the change of circumstances or people. We lived in a fallen world populated by fallen people. Our hope is in the LORD!

Stop looking down, stop looking around, certainly stop looking at yourself and look up and through God’s Word look at your heavenly father! Let the peace of God guard your heart.

Philippians 4:6-7

            …do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 3 - REST IN GOD’S PERFECT CARE!

SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD


Psalm 3

O LORD, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the LORD,

and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O LORD!

Save me, O my God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the LORD;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

This psalm of David was probably written as he was fleeing from Absalom. If you read 2 Samuel 13 and the following chapters, it is certainly a story of sin and its consequences. David had to flee from his own son and deal with many who rose against him. Through the whole event, David relied on God to deliver him.

David knew that, in spite of the words of those around him, his hope was only in the LORD. David had learned, since the days he was a shepherd, to trust his God. He fought against Goliath, he dealt with the envy of Saul, he fought against multiple enemies, and he knew that there was no other place to find true help.

David had also known the reality of sin and God’s forgiveness. He knew that he could still go to the Lord and find refuge and help. Not only was the LORD his shield of protection, but also the One who would lift his head when he was discouraged.

David had found rest in God, he knew he could sleep and rise in the morning, knowing that his life was in the hands of his Lord. His enemies had no power to touch him as long as the Lord would protect him.

Things seemed bleak, but David was sure that his God would protect him. He had no doubts that God had the power to stop his enemies. At the end of the day, he knew that his salvation depended upon the Lord. He was sure that God would do what was right for him and his people.

As we rehearse these truths, we are reminded that we too should recognize the sovereignty of God in our lives, and should rest in His arms. God is aware and can powerfully accomplish his will in any situation. We need to recognize that He is in control and trust Him, as David did.

David had learned to depend on his LORD; we also need to learn also. As we learn more and more to depend upon God our lives will reflect this dependence in our words and actions, and in that way, God can use us also to lead others to trust Him.

The progression in this psalm is so clear. David had real enemies; those around him offered no hope. David did not waver in his trust in his Lord, he knew that God was his shield and to Him would go all the glory. As David went to the only true Lord, he rested and waited for God to work. Salvation belonged to God, he trusted God to accomplish it because he knew that God was sovereignly in control.

May this be the same way we approach our problems. Life is hard, problems are real, and circumstances are overwhelming! Our God is in total control and has perfect eternal plans for our lives. May we rest in His perfect care!

Psalm 2 - LIVE YOUR LIFE IN GRATEFUL EXPECTATION!

CHRIST RULES FOREVER

Psalm 2:1-3    

            Why do the nations rage

                        and the peoples plot in vain?

            The kings of the earth set themselves,

                        and the rulers take counsel together,

                        against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

            “Let us burst their bonds apart

                        and cast away their cords from us.”

After Psalm One spoke of two men, in this next psalm we find the subject expands to the behavior of the nations and their leaders. The rulers have gotten together and have rebelled against God. The people plot and scheme; their actions are against the ruler, the anointed King. They are rebelling against the rules of God, as if the restrictions set by God are a curse and not the loving boundaries of a caring ruler.

Although for a time they seem to be able to live according to their own will, the LORD is not indifferent!

Psalm 2:4-6

            He who sits in the heavens laughs;

                        the Lord holds them in derision.

            Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

                        and terrify them in his fury, saying,

            “As for me, I have set my King

                        on Zion, my holy hill.”

It is laughable that man can think he has a chance, in rebelling against the LORD. God has chosen His King; no rebel will be able to escape His wrath. There are no earthly powers that can in any way thwart the decrees of God.

Psalm 2:7-9

            I will tell of the decree:

            The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

                        today I have begotten you.

            Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

                        and the ends of the earth your possession.

            You shall break them with a rod of iron

                        and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

What a wonderful prophecy of the sovereign power of the Messiah! His power will have no boundaries and no rivals. The works of the Father and the Son have been decreed from eternity past.

It is certainly unwise and for the rulers to fail to heed this clear warning.

Psalm 2:10-12

            Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

                        be warned, O rulers of the earth.

            Serve the LORD with fear,

                        and rejoice with trembling.

            Kiss the Son,

                        lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

                        for his wrath is quickly kindled.

            Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The wise kings will listen, fear God, and serve Him with joy and reverence. The wise will find refuge in the Messiah.

As we look at the governments in our own times, and those who are in power, it may seem to us that they are in control; their rebellion and evil without restriction. But in truth, God is watching. And in His timing, His wrath will come and Christ will reign.

It is interesting that many individual people, as well, think that they can rebel against God, presuming that He is indifferent to their rebellion. In contrast, men and women who are wise fear God; they listen to His word; they repent, and submit to and honor their King.

We live in a world of rebellious people. May we avoid following their example, but rather, take refuge in our King. We know the end of the story. So let us rejoice in the final outcome and be patient, as God unfolds His sovereign will. 

WE ARE PERFECTLY LOVED IN THE MIDST OF EVIL

WE MUST TRUST THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

PSALM 52

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A MASKIL OF DAVID, WHEN DOEG, THE EDOMITE, CAME AND TOLD SAUL, “DAVID HAS COME TO THE HOUSE OF AHIMELECH.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

2 Your tongue plots destruction,

like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

3 You love evil more than good,

and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4 You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

We can read the story of Doeg in 1 Samuel 21, 22. This man not only came against David, but also killed the priests who had helped David and his men. This man had perpetrated evil against David. Those who knew David were very aware that he had been faithful to Saul, and did not deserve his hatred.

Psalm 52:5-7

5 But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

6 The righteous shall see and fear,

and shall laugh at him, saying,

7 “See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

David had full trust in the love of God, so he knew that God would do what is right in due time. God is not indifferent or unaware of those who plan and do evil. Their rebelliousness will lead them to destruction.

Psalm 52:8-9

8 But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

9 I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, for it is good,

in the presence of the godly.

David trusted in God’s eternal love. He was grateful for God’s sovereign control. He knew there was peace in the presence and protection of God.

God’s people do suffer by the hands of evil ones. As we watch men have a temporary upper hand, we should never lose sight that God is in total control. He has eternal purposes that we cannot know or even understand. When evil happens, we must trust the character and purposes of our eternal and loving God. God did not spare His Son for our salvation, so we know His great love will continue to be steadfast.

This past week Leonard Hopkins, a faithful missionary who was serving God in Mexico, was brutally killed. He knew well that he ministered in a dangerous place, in the midst of evil men. We grieve for his widow, his children, and those who loved him, but we cannot overlook the fact that God was totally in control of those men. And as He ushered Leonard into heaven, He had eternal purposes in mind.

Dear friend, you might be suffering at this time because of the evil of some enemies of God, and you might be tempted to just look at yourself as a victim. By allowing feelings of revenge to grip your heart, you may even be rebelling against God. This psalm was written to bring you back to the right perspective.

God is in total control; He has eternal purposes in mind. He loves you perfectly and eternally. His justice will prevail. You can find peace and comfort in God’s care. Our faith and gratitude should rest in the character and wisdom of God.

No one can touch us apart from God’s perfect will.

John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

Romans 8:38-39

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have these promises; we can have peace in the midst of evil people. We are perfectly and meticulously loved.

WORSHIP GOD WITH A CLEANSED HEART!

READ PSALM 51

DO NOT RESIST GOD'S CORRECTION

Psalm 51:13-17

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

In the beginning of this psalm, David was recognizing his sin and going to the only One who could ever forgive him. David knew that after his confession and receiving pardon by grace alone he would have joy again.

The amazing blessing is that after have wandered away from God in sin now, David can be used by God to warn the transgressor and invite them to return to God.

David has returned to God with the right attitude: a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Any pride or personal justification had to be set aside. David had recognized his sin and how deeply he had offended his God.

God was not looking for exterior actions; He was not looking for empty rituals, but for a heart aware of the offense to the Lord.

We have said it before; God is not looking for repentance for the consequences of our sin, but is looking for those who agree that their sin was an act of rebellion against God. Those who truly repent are not giving excuses for their actions, but are taking full responsibility for their transgressions. They know that they need to remit themselves to the grace of God. They must change their ways and be fully committed to change.

They see clearly their wretchedness and God’s holiness. They know that a righteous God has every right to punish them, and it’s only His grace that causes God to forgive them.

Those who are forgiven cannot help but praise God for saving them and allowing them to come into His presence. It is God who fills their hearts and mouths with praise.

Psalm 51:18-19

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

build up the walls of Jerusalem;

19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar. 

Once the heart is made right, then worship can be brought to God again and He will be pleased.

Dear friends, what a privilege we have to know the forgiveness of God. This forgiveness truly takes away guilt and produces profound joy. This profound work of God produces a gratitude that cannot be explained. In God’s goodness, He uses us to invite others to Him. Our worship is then pure and pleasing to God.

This is the God whom David worshiped and invited the children of Israel and us to know. In God’s mercy, He revealed Himself to me, and I know the reality of forgiveness.

May our desire be to have God always show us our sin, and may our repentance then be prompt. We have an advocate, Christ Jesus, who paid for our sins and intercedes for us before the Father.

We are truly blessed! Do not worship God if you are not purified by Him. Do not resist His hand of correction. Do not wander in the darkness and weight of sin. Come to Christ, repent of your sin, make no provision for it. Find true peace and rest in Him. Speak of His wonderful grace, and invite others to know complete forgiveness in Christ. Finally, worship God with a pure heart!

TRUE CONFESSION RESTORES TRUE JOY AND PEACE

GOD LOVES TO SHOW MERCY!

READ PSALM 51

Psalm 51:7-12

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

The weight of sin brings guilt. Man, in his own strength, can only try to atone for it through rituals and penance, but will never find relief. The only freedom is found in confession to God and full trust in His forgiveness.

Even though man might try to suppress his guilt through distraction and more sin, only God can restore joy.

God finds much pleasure in forgiving the repentant sinner. When God purifies us, there is no more need for anything else. God’s work is complete. When God forgives there are no strings attached.

David asks for forgiveness, knowing that when God washes him, he will be pure. What a wonderful assurance we have in knowing that we can be made pure again. When we recognize we have offended God and go to Him for forgiveness, the weight is gone. David knows so well the weight of unconfessed sin. His bones were crushed by the weight of God’s hand.

If you are a believer, God will not allow sin to remain in your life, without putting all the pressure necessary to bring us back to Him. If you are holding on to some sin, this psalm is here to remind you that there is so much relief in returning to God. There is no sin that God will not forgive, there is no trespass that Christ did not die for to provide full forgiveness.

There are consequences to sin, there are scars, but there can also joy of knowing that one is right with God. God desires to create in us a clean heart again. Our walk with Him will continue unhindered!

Dear friend, our walk with God begins by grace and continues by grace alone. I marvel, at times, when I stop and realize that when God the Father sent His only begotten, precious Son to die for us, He knew exactly every sin that we would ever commit. Every sin offended His holiness and exposed our rebellious and ungrateful heart, in spite of the cost, Christ died so you and I could have full forgiveness and peace with God.

If we took more time to meditate on these amazing truths, our love for Christ would increase, our gratitude would be evident and our lives would be different. We must stop and meditate on the grace of God.

No one who knows these things can take his sin lightly. We must make no provision for sin. We must mortify our sin. We must ask God to make us desire purity and we must strive for it.

Sin will quickly tear away our joy in the Lord. Our desire for the Word and for fellowship with other believers will fade. If you are going through a season of apathy, you must check your life. Have you allowed sin to blur your love for God? Have you allowed you heart to wander in the wrong direction?

Our request to God should be for Him to work on our will and our desires. We so easily attracted by sin. The world is always enticing us with its flashing lights. Our fleshly desires are ready to drive us to sin as soon as we let our guard down. We know which sins entice us more easily, we must fight them, and we must close any pathways to them.

Dear friends, I am sure you know both the joy of fellowship with God and the darkness and weight of sin. May the words of this psalm be both a deterrent and a pathway to a joyful walk with your Savior.

If you have never experienced the joy of forgiveness, ask God to lead you to Him through His Word.

Those who know the richness of God’s grace and forgiveness are never the same again.

STOP JUSTIFYING YOUR SIN!

GOD LOVES TO FORGIVE SIN!

READ PSALM 51

Psalm 51:3-6

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 

David had approached God on the basis of the Lord’s mercy and love. He knew that only God could forgive sin, and repentance and confession where the only responses that were acceptable to Him.

David knew the gravity and the depth of his sin. No one will ever repent and confess unless he agrees to call sin what God calls sin. Man in, his corrupt nature, will always deflect responsibility for sin. Man minimizes sin and tends to blame circumstances or people. David knew very well that he was responsible for his sin.

He also realized that his sin offended God, first and foremost. Again, as men, we tend to judge the gravity of our sin by its consequences and by the awareness that other people have about it.

As sinners, we also tend to compare our sin to those of others and to evaluate it on the basis of comparison.

David comes before God and recognizes the fact that he has offended God Himself. He says that he has done evil in the sight of God. His sin is evaluated on the basis of God’s standards and not man’s evaluations or excuses.

No sin ever escapes the sight of God. We often forget that God's vision penetrates even in the most secret and most remote places.

Sin is serious and is never hidden; it offends God every time, and can never be overlooked by God. We should never minimize our transgressions.

But the amazing reality is that God is willing to forgive those who come to Him with a contrite heart.

Isaiah 43:25

 “I, I am he

who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,

and I will not remember your sins. 

God has provided a way to forgive sin that does not compromise His holiness and justice. This forgiveness is not based on the behavior or merits of man, but completely on God’s provision through His Son, Jesus Christ.

David knows that he was born in sin and lived in a sinful world. This fact did not justify his sins, for it only proved his total inability to find a human solution.

Man thinks he can offer some kind of restitution, or in some way attract God’s forgiveness, but it’s so clear: man cannot do anything and until he realizes this, he will never come to God with the necessary premise to find true forgiveness.

God delights in forgiving. He loves to show mercy and grace. He desires to forgive repentant sinners. He always does it the same way: by grace through faith.

Dear friends, are you overwhelmed by this truth, or have you spent too much time covering or justifying your sins? God wants to work in our hearts and provide the forgiveness we all need.

We are so blessed, by the grace of the eternal and holy God. 

TRANSFORMED BY GOD’S LOVE AND MERCY!

We are forgiven!

Read Psalm 51

Psalm 51:1-2

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin! 

We remember the time when David went to God for forgiveness. He had sinned by committing adultery with Beersheba, and by then having her husband Uriah killed, to cover his sin.

Why would David, under the inspiration of God, write a psalm that would remind all of his sins for thousands of years? Certainly it was both the overflow of his repentant heart, and, in the long term, to teach some very valuable lessons.

David is described by God, Himself, as a man after His own heart.

Acts 13:22-23

And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ From this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised. 

David loved God, he pleased God, and was chosen by God to be not only the king of Israel, but also in the lineage of Christ. He was inspired by God to write about 78 psalms recorded in the Scriptures.

We should never believe that we are above any sin. Our lives need to be in continuous submission to God, for when we allow ungodliness to creep into our lives, the most heinous sins can follow right behind.

When David sinned, his return to God was based on the only way any person ever receives forgiveness: by God’s grace, alone.

There is no sin that cannot be forgiven; the grace and love of God is sufficient to forgive every sin.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

David approaches God on the basis of His steadfast love and abundant mercy.

God’s love can never be merited, or even attracted, by us. God is so holy and pure that He could never have loved us, based on what He saw in us. His love is perfect, eternal, unwavering, faithful, true, relentless, and immense. Paul had to pray that believers would understand this transforming love of God in Christ.

Ephesians 3:17-19

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

God’s love goes beyond anything we could ever imagine.

David knows that his forgiveness will come only by the limitless grace of God. Grace cannot be deserved, or it would stop being grace. God loves to show His grace to undeserving man. Only those who humbly come to Christ, broken and aware of their inability to please Him, will find grace.

John 1:14,16,17

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Apart from grace, we could never even approach God, no matter what kind of sin we have committed.

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23,24

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

God is the only One who can wash away sin; David knew this very well, and so he came to Him for forgiveness.

Dear friend, no matter what sin you may have committed, there is forgiveness by coming to Christ in faith. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, and no sin that can be forgiven any other way.

Our hearts should be overwhelmed by the love of Christ and by His mercy! We should also be watchful and sober, as we live our lives. Any of us is capable of any sin, and we know that there is no sin acceptable in God’s eyes. He is grieved every time we sin. May our confession of every known sin be both sincere and prompt.

We are blessed beyond our understanding! This love and grace must surely transform our lives!