Psalms

Despite being thought of as being the Psalms of David, not all the songs in this book were written by King David.  Many people were inspired to reduce their feelings to words, both to praise God, and to cry out in pain. 

Which means that whatever your circumstance of life, you will find something for you.  Whether you are in joy, or sorrow.  Whether you are in doubt, or feeling very faithful.

Ultimately though, all the Psalms come back to one central theme, which can be summed up in the haiku.

PSALMS
Praise ye the Lord.
In our joy, and our sadness,
our help comes from Him

Meditate on his words everyday, and sing Praises to the Lord.

Day 39 – Good Friday

 

Last night I read Psalm 22 from the back of our church, as they slowly turned out the lights.  For those who have never read - or heard - it before, I include it here in its entirety.

A psalm of David; it speaks volumes about what Jesus had to go through.  But if you read carefully, it is also a Psalm of great hope.

And isn’t that what Good Friday is all about? 

Never forget, today might be  Friday…. but Sunday’s coming!

 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
       Why are you so far from saving me,
       so far from the words of my groaning?

² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
       by night, and am not silent.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
       you are the praise of Israel. ^[a]

⁴ In you our fathers put their trust;
       they trusted and you delivered them.

⁵ They cried to you and were saved;
       in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
       scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷ All who see me mock me;
       they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

⁸ "He trusts in the LORD;
       let the LORD rescue him.
       Let him deliver him,
       since he delights in him."

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
       you made me trust in you
       even at my mother's breast.

¹⁰ From birth I was cast upon you;
       from my mother's womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
       for trouble is near
       and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
       strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey
       open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
       and all my bones are out of joint.
       My heart has turned to wax;
       it has melted away within me.

¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
       and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
       you lay me ^[b] in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me;
       a band of evil men has encircled me,
       they have pierced ^[c] my hands and my feet.

¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
       people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸ They divide my garments among them
       and cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹ But you, O LORD, be not far off;
       O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰ Deliver my life from the sword,
       my precious life from the power of the dogs.

²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
       save ^[d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my brothers;
       in the congregation I will praise you.

²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
       All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
       Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴ For he has not despised or disdained
       the suffering of the afflicted one;
       he has not hidden his face from him
       but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
       before those who fear you ^[e] will I fulfill my vows.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
       they who seek the LORD will praise him—
       may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
       will remember and turn to the LORD,
       and all the families of the nations
       will bow down before him,

²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
       and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
       all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
       those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
       future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness
       to a people yet unborn—
       for he has done it.

Day 27 - Trust

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,  which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
(Psalm 125:1)

 

We need a spirit of fearless reliance.  To learn to lean entirely on GOD, and to trust in his promises.

So how do we do that?  One step at a time I think.

Day 6: Commitment

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

 

Familiar words for many of us.    Simple.  Direct.  Straightforward.

A spirit of …

COMMITMENT

 

One of my favourite Psalms is Psalm 16.  If we look at the first two verses, it says “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.  I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

Note that David is doing more than just acknowledging that GOD is his Lord, he is making it so by his words. GOD is the Lord, there is no two ways about that one; but here he is placing himself under his Lordship. Saying to him “today, I choose to make you my Lord.  Today, I choose to follow you.”

Today, how are we going to acknowledge GOD’s Lordship of our lives?  How are we going to show Him, and those around us, who we serve?

No matter what may arise.  No matter what temptations we may face.  No matter what others might do.  Will we make a stand, and say “No, I will serve the Lord.”

Day Three : Purity

Blessed are the pure in heart,for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

So let's just get this one out of the way. Purity is a tough one, but from the verse above we know it is something we need to strive for. So today, we seek a desire to be clean, a spirit of

PURITY

This entire time of lent is about striving for purity. I think the operative word here is striving. We will fail.

Yes, I said will fail.

Haven't you heard? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

So what hope do we hope. Well, the good news or us is that it is not about reaching the prize. It is about reaching for the prize.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-15)

Paul reminds us to keep looking forward, to 'forget what is behind' (our sinful nature) and strain for what is ahead. We cannot be clean by our own effort, but thankfully we don't have to be.

Haven't you heard? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24)

We can never purify ourselves. Or achieve purity in our own strength. Luckily we don't have to, all we have to do is accept his redemption, confess our sins, and strive onwards.

So what is our challenge for today? How do we seek purity

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. (Psalm 119:9-10)

By reading His word, and taking it to heart.

Day Two : Reverence

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the
Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)

Should we fear the Lord? Yes. Do we need to be afraid? No.

What we need to pray for is a spirit of...

REVERENCE

Yesterday we spent the day contemplating Humility; thinking of ourselves less. Humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and hopefully others. How did that work out for you?

Today we look at the closely linked spirit of Reverence; having a right attitude towards GOD.

If we are truly honest with ourselves when we think about Him, and truly honest in our words when we talk to Him, how can we miss the most important thing...

GOD is HUGE!!!

I mean he is scary powerful and capable of mighty deeds. This is the being who spoke the entire universe into creation. Forget trying to get building permits for a new shed, He winked, and stars falmed into being to light our nights.

And he calls us by name, and asks us to walk with HIM.

If we're not thinking about that, even a little bit, I think we are selling him way short.

So, today, let's focus on not taking GOD for granted. On appreciating every little detail he lays before us, and marvelling at just how awesome he is.

Let us seek a spirit of reverence.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
(Psalms 8:3-4)