My Daily Bible Reading

2010-11-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Psalm 23 – The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I have been offline on my Daily Bible Reading for over a month now…but what a great Psalm to get this blog off the ground again running! Probably the most famous Psalm in all of the Psalms. Most folks don’t know much at all about the Bible, but they can tell you the Lord’s Prayer and recognize the phrase, “The Lord is My shepherd; I shall not want.” This Psalm is used in many of the songs we sing and if you go to a funeral you will probably see this Psalm displayed somehow or read aloud.

As you read this Psalm you cannot help but notice the deep and close personal relationship David has with God. The visual of a Shepherd speaks volumes about this. A good shepherd as to have constant contact with his sheep and know them and what they need even better than the sheep know themselves. I love that phrase in Verse 2, “He makes me lie down”, this is not some forceful act here. Sheep will only lay down if they are free from fear and are content. Think about what this says about David’s praise of God. God has provided richly for David. Even when life gets dark and scary for David he knows (verse 4) that God is still with him.

I love this idea of the Lord is my Shepherd. In fact isn’t that how Jesus describes Himself in John 10? Jesus declares in fact that He is the “Good Shepherd” who laid down His own life for His sheep. How blest is the one that receives the Lord as His shepherd! What peace and comfort that provides the one that puts their trust in the Lord! Does that describe you? Are you one of his sheep? To make Him your shepherd you have to LISTEN to Him and OBEY Him.

GENERAL BIBLE FACT QUIZ: ANSWER SHEET

2010-10-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is the answer sheet for the General Bible Fact Quiz. If you haven't taken the quiz yet go back to: http://aaroncandrews.blogspot.com/2010/10/general-bible-fact-quiz.html
and try your hand. Once you've taken the quiz, check your answers here and see how you did.

(If you see any problem with these answers, please send me a message.)

Thanks.

GENERAL BIBLE FACT QUIZ ANSWERS

Name___________________________________ 64 questions total with 103 possible answers

The Old Testament:

1. Name the first man and woman: Adam & Eve

2. List the two special trees in the Garden of Eden. Circle the one that they were NOT to eat from:

1) Tree of Life

2) Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

3. List the three sons of Adam & Eve:

1) Cain

2) Abel

3) Seth

4. Who walked with God and did not die? Enoch

5. Who was the Prophet sent to Ninevah who ran away from God? Jonah

6. List the 3 promises that God gave Abraham:

1) Land

2) Nation

3) Seed

7. Who was willing to sacrifice his son? Abraham

8. Who led the Israelites after Moses? Joshua

9. Who Prayed to God when he was in a lion’s den? Daniel

10. Who was the king who built the temple in Jerusalem? Solomon

11. Who was a man after God’s own heart? David

12. Who was sold into slavery by his brothers? Joseph

13. Name the sons of Aaron who offered strange fire:

1) Nadab

2) Abihu

14. Who was Israel’s first king? Saul

15. List the 3 men who were put into a fiery furnace:

1) Shadrach

2) Meshach

3) Abednego

16. Who was the strong judge whose hair had not been cut? Samson

17. What was the name of the king of Egypt who wouldn’t let Israel go? Pharaoh

18. What was the name of Abraham and Sarah’s promised son? Isaac

19. Who was Moses and Aaron’s sister? Miriam

20. Who asked that his bones be carried out of Egypt to Canaan? Joseph

21. What tribe did Israel’s priest come from? Levi

22. Name the feast celebrating the deliverance of firstborn: Passover

23. List the 3 objects in the Ark of the Covenant:

1) Aaron’s Rod

2) Stone Tablets

3) Jar of Manna

24. A tower was built here to reach into heaven: Babel

25. When Lot’s wife looked back, what did she become? Pillar of Salt

26. What city was defeated by falling walls? Jericho

27. What is the day of rest and worship for the Israelites called? What day of the week is it?

a. Sabbath Day b. Saturday

28. What sign did God give man that he would never destroy the earth with water again? Rainbow

29. How many years did Israel wonder in the wilderness? Why were they made to wonder by God?

a. 40 Years b. Lack of faith

30. The first five books of the Bible were written by whom? Moses

31. Who wrote most of the Psalms? David

32. List as many of the 10 commandments as you can:

1) No Other God’s 6) Shall Not Murder

2) No Graven Images 7) Shall Not Commit Adultery

3) Shall Not Take The Lord’s Name in Vain 8) Shall Not Steal

4) Remember Sabbath Day 9) Shall Not Bear False Witness

5) Honor Mother & Father 10) Shall Not Covet

The New Testament:

1. Who tempted Jesus 3 times in the wilderness? Satan

2. List the 3 types of temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness:

1) Lust of the Flesh

2) Lust of the Eyes

3) Pride of Life

3. What was the place called where Jesus was crucified? Calvary or Golgotha

4. This person taught and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch: Philip

5. Who prepared the way for Jesus? John the Baptist

6. This person betrayed Jesus with a kiss and afterward went out and hung himself: Judas Iscariot

7. Who preached the first gospel sermon on Pentecost? Peter

8. This friend of Jesus was sick and died, but Jesus raised him from the dead: Lazarus

9. What city was Jesus born in? Bethlehem

10. What river was Jesus baptized in? Jordan

11. Who wanted to kill baby Jesus? Herod the Great

12. Who saw Jesus on the road to Damascus? Saul or Paul

13. Who climbed a tree to see Jesus? Zaccheus

14. Name Jesus’ earthly parents:

1) Joseph

2) Mary

15. Name the two people who appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration:

1) Moses

2) Elijah

16. What happened 3 days after Jesus died? Resurrection

17. Name the 4 books that tell Jesus’ life:

1) Matthew

2) Mark

3) Luke

4) John

18. This doctor wrote a Gospel and Acts: Luke

19. This robber and murderer was released to the Jews instead of Jesus: Barrabas

20. Who was stoned to death for preaching about Jesus? Stephen

21. Who was the apostle who walked on water? Peter

22. What stands for Jesus’ blood in the Lord’s Supper? Fruit of the Vine

23. What stands for Jesus’ body in the Lord’s Supper? Unleavened Bread

24. This man found Jesus innocent but crucified Him anyway: Pilate

25. Who doubted Jesus’ resurrection at first? Thomas

26. What special day was it when Peter preached the first gospel sermon? Pentecost

27. Name the two groups who often argued with Jesus:

1) Pharisees

2) Sadducees

28. What was Jesus’ first miracle? Changing Water to Wine

29. What day of the week did Jesus rise from the dead? Sunday

30. List the 5 Acts of Worship:

1) Singing

2) Praying

3) Giving

4) Lord’s Supper

5) Preaching

31. What are the steps to becoming a Christian?

1) Hear

2) Believe

3) Repent

4) Confess

5) Be Baptized

32. What must a CHRISTIAN do to remain saved? Live Faithfully

GENERAL BIBLE FACT QUIZ

2010-10-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Do you think you have a good working knowledge of the Bible? Try the General Bible Fact Quiz. I will post the answers soon. There are 32 questions in the Old Testament and 32 from the New Testament. The total number of answers is 103. How well do you think you can do? Give it a try!

(If you have any questions about the quiz or if you see any errors, please send me a message.)

GENERAL BIBLE FACT QUIZ

The Old Testament:

1. Name the first man and woman:

2. List the two special trees in the Garden of Eden. Circle the one that they were NOT to eat from:

3. List the three sons of Adam & Eve:

4. Who walked with God and did not die?

5. Who was the Prophet sent to Ninevah who ran away from God?

6. List the 3 promises that God gave Abraham:

7. Who was willing to sacrifice his son?

8. Who led the Israelites after Moses?

9. Who Prayed to God when he was in a lion’s den?

10. Who was the king who built the temple in Jerusalem?

11. Who was a man after God’s own heart?

12. Who was sold into slavery by his brothers?

13. Name the sons of Aaron who offered strange fire:

14. Who was Israel’s first king?

15. List the 3 men who were put into a fiery furnace:

16. Who was the strong judge whose hair had not been cut?

17. What was the name of the king of Egypt who wouldn’t let Israel go?

18. What was the name of Abraham and Sarah’s promised son?

19. Who was Moses and Aaron’s sister?

20. Who asked that his bones be carried out of Egypt to Canaan?

21. What tribe did Israel’s priest come from?

22. Name the feast celebrating the deliverance of firstborn:

23. List the 3 objects in the Ark of the Covenant:

24. A tower was built here to reach into heaven:

25. When Lot’s wife looked back, what did she become?

26. What city was defeated by falling walls?

27. What is the day of rest and worship for Israelites called? What day of the week is it?

a. b.

28. What sign did God give man that he would never destroy the earth with water again?

29. How many years did Israel wonder in the wilderness? Why were they made to wander by God?

a. b.

30. The first five books of the Bible were written by whom?

31. Who wrote most of the Psalms?

32. List as many of the 10 commandments as you can:

1) 6)

2) 7)

3) 8)

4) 9)

5) 10)

The New Testament:

1. Who tempted Jesus 3 times in the wilderness?

2. List the 3 types of temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness:

3. What was the place called where Jesus was crucified?

4. This person taught and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch:

5. Who prepared the way for Jesus?

6. This person betrayed Jesus with a kiss and afterward went out and hung himself:

7. Who preached the first gospel sermon on Pentecost?

8. This friend of Jesus was sick and died, but Jesus raised him from the dead:

9. What city was Jesus born in?

10. What river was Jesus baptized in?

11. Who wanted to kill baby Jesus?

12. Who saw Jesus on the road to Damascus?

13. Who climbed a tree to see Jesus?

14. Name Jesus’ earthly parents:

15. Name the two people who appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration:

16. What happened 3 days after Jesus died?

17. Name the 4 books that tell Jesus’ life:

18. This doctor wrote a Gospel and Acts:

19. This robber and murderer was released to the Jews instead of Jesus:

20. Who was stoned to death for preaching about Jesus?

21. Who was the apostle who walked on water?

22. What stands for Jesus’ blood in the Lord’s Supper?

23. What stands for Jesus’ body in the Lord’s Supper?

24. This man found Jesus innocent but crucified Him anyway:

25. Who doubted Jesus’ resurrection at first?

26. What special day was it when Peter preached the first gospel sermon?

27. Name the two groups who often argued with Jesus:

28. What was Jesus’ first miracle?

29. What day of the week did Jesus rise from the dead?

30. List the 5 Acts of Worship:

31. What are the steps to becoming a Christian?

32. What must a CHRISTIAN do to remain saved?

Starting the Daily Bible Reading Blog...Again.

2010-10-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being delayed the last few weeks with the Daily Bible Reading Blog. Things have been pretty crazy around here but I think they are finally settling down. I will begin again with the reading of Psalms today. Stay tuned for the 23rd Psalm.

Thanks again for reading the Bible with me.

Aaron Andrews

2010-10-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Psalm 22 - Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet —
17 I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

What an incredible Psalm this is. Even though Every Psalm in the Bible is special in its own right, but there are several things that stand out in this Psalm to make it unique:

1) One of the things that makes it so unique is the fact that it was used by Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

2) Also this Psalm contains an amazing amount of prophecy concerning the events of Calvary. So much so that it has led some scholars to call this Psalm the 5^th Gospel’s account of the crucifixion.

3) Another unusual aspect of this Psalm is that it contains a lament and a song of thanksgiving all put together. Watch carefully for the contrasts and notice that this Psalm divides clearly at verse 21, “…You have rescued me…” Prior to this point in Psalm 22 everything has been dark and gloomy, with nothing good on the horizon. And then AFTER this point, everything is changed. Everything goes from darkness to light, and from sorrow to joy. Now the Psalmist speaks in terms of greatness and rejoicing. In fact, after God has answered the Psalmist prayer, and brings deliverance and blessing, the Psalmist begins making declarations of faith. Isn’t that wonderful? When we are suffering, and then we come to know deliverance from God, we should rejoice in it and speak of the greatness of God to others.

So, is this a Psalm who’s meaning is strictly for Jesus, or can it have any meaning whatsoever in David’s life too? That is a question that has been debated by scholars. It is my opinion that while certainly it CAN have meaning in David’s life, it comes to have its FULLEST meaning in Jesus Christ.

Finally I want to say something about the attacks that are made against the Psalmist. In particular, did you notice the sarcasm that just OOZED off the page in verse 8? “7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 ‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’” The idea is that, “Well, if you really trust in the Lord, then why are you suffering? You’re either a hypocrite or maybe it is that God doesn’t really love you!” Yet despite all that mockery and persecution, and people pushing him down making him want to doubt, in the face of ALL of that the Psalmist says, “I’m still trusting in you God.” What an incredible and amazing faith. That is the kind of faith every one of us needs to grow and develop in our lives. We must be determined that in times of troubles, adversity, and strife, we must be ever more determined to put our faith and trust in God. We need to be able to get on our knees and pray, “O My God! I KNOW that you will not forsake me, and I KNOW that you love me, and I will trust in YOUR will and YOUR ways.” We need to have that kind of tough, sturdy faith…the faith of Psalm 22.

2010-10-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Psalm 21 - The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.

As we said regarding Psalm 20 also applies to Psalm 21 – This is a Psalm designed to be sung by the people for their king and nation. Whereas Psalm 20 is the people’s prayer and Psalm 21 is the thanksgiving ad acknowledgement of God answering their prayer. In other words, Psalm 21 is the answer and proof of the hope the people had in their kind who was himself trusting in Jehovah. These Psalms certainly demonstrated that we have the right to pray for our nation and her leaders as we have gathered together.

Notice also that the people praise God for granting their request. Look at all God did:

ü Granted the desire of the king’s heart,

ü Placed the crown on the king,

ü Given him long life,

ü Given the nation great victories,

ü Granted beautiful blessings,

Why? Why did God DO all these great things? I think verse 7 gives us the answer, “For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.” Doesn’t that just jump off the page at us? How important is it that a nation’s leadership put its trust and faith in God? It’s the reason (verse 7) that God gave all those wonderful blessings to the king and the nation in our Psalm. Again, we need to put our faith and trust in God as well. Even when we go into the voting booth, we need to choose our leadership (and our laws for that matter) on God’s standards and not based on our own selfish reasons. That means we choose on the basis of morality and NOT solely based on taxes, or Health care, or employment, etc… Something we all need to be thinking about.

Let me say as well, that this concept of praying for our leadership is not just an Old Testament idea…it is a NEW Testament one too! In 1 Timothy 2, Paul tells us of the importance of making these kinds of requests and pleas before God: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Let us always strive for godly leadership, but also, let us always keep our nation and our leaders in our prayers daily.

2010-09-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Psalm 20 - Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.

The next two Psalms in our daily reading are a bit different than what we have studied so far. Psalms 20 and 21 are written by David for the Jewish people to sing on behalf of their king and nation. Of course, the assumption is made that the king is good, righteous, devout, a man of prayer, a king like David – a man after God’s own heart, and one who offers sacrifices and makes righteous petitions for the people. Notice the change of the subject from “my” to “we”. In our last Psalm David uses “my” repeatedly, but now uses “us” and “we”.

Notice as well the use of the word “may” in this Psalm. It becomes a key word in this Psalm, used six times in the first five verses. One writer said, “These are the requests of the people before God. However, you will notice that these are more than the requests of the people to God. In fact, these are words which are directed more to the king than to God. It is as if the people are informing the king about what they are requesting and desiring of God to do for the king.” …very interesting.

Here are the six requests:

· May God answer the king in his distress

· May God protect the king

· May God send the king help and grant support

· May God remember the king’s sacrifices and accept the offerings

· May God give the king what his heart desires and all his plans succeed

· May God grant all your requests.

Let me say a word or two about godly leadership.

Is it important for a nation’s leaders to be interested in God and doing things God’s way? You bet it is! Think for a moment about Israel and Judah. Israel was destroyed after just 200 years because they never had a king that was godly. But Judah stood longer because it did have within its ranks, leaders who would rise up and bring the people back to God.

What about this nation? What about the United States of America? Is it important that her leaders seek after God? I believe that we are where we are as a nation today because our founding fathers (at least to some extent) believed in the God of the Bible as the creator of all things, who ought to be obeyed. Now they never always had it right, but at least they were seeking after God. In fact the University of Houston did a study based on the writings of the founding fathers (some 15,000 documents), and they discovered that 94% of the quotes of the founders of our nation were based upon or echoed the language of God’s word. That’s incredible! Just look at the Declaration of Independence, “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The very founding document of our nation mentions and speaks of God! In fact after making 15 or 16 charges against the King of England, the Declaration of Independence goes on to say that, "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." …Those are powerful words, words that rang around the globe. And I realize that the men who wrote those things were not all perfect by any means, and that they did not have the understanding of Christianity as you and I understand it. Some of those men were not very good men. Jefferson was a Deist and he had the most utter disregard in many ways for the Bible. But that said, nothing can change the fact that the men that FOUNDED this country, the reason people CAME to this county was because they respected God, and His Word. They acknowledged Him as the supreme ruler over all men and nations. ...That has made ALL the difference for us all.

For the most part, our country has been moving away from those ideas and those principles, we have elected leaders based more on tax cuts, health care, social security, etc, than on moral integrity and character. In this Psalm we see people who are praying for their leader to seek after God. …Shouldn’t we do the same? I don’t really want to get into politics, but let’s consider moral integrity and character FIRST when we are seeking out our leaders.

Finally, the Psalmist concludes by saying that we trust in God…not horses and chariots (or in today’s language, “our military might”). Where is your trust? Is it wholly on the nation? What if this nation were to fall? Then what? Nations come and go but God is forever! Trust in the Lord! I’m not saying we can’t be patriotic, but that we need to remember where I citizenship lies. Paul tells us, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

Let’s face it, America does have problems, out government is a human institution not a divine one, American is not the Israel of God, we are not a theocracy, we are not (dare I say it) a Christian nation. But without a doubt we are a blessed nation. God has used and blessed this nation in an amazing way. It needs to be our prayer that God would continue to bless this country. But also let us always strive for leadership in the manner of Psalm 20!

Note: Whether or not God allows this country to continue on…remember God has promised to always be with those who love and obey Him. (John 14:21,23)

2010-09-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Psalm 19 - The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

This is perhaps one of the better known of David’s Psalms, and one of this blogger’s favorites. I love the way David has designed this Psalm:

(1) He begins by saying the God has in fact spoken to each and every one of us. …He HAS? …How? Just look up…look down…look all around. First of all He has spoken to us through His creation. Creation “declares” the glory of God. This is not for an elite few to see and comprehend; ALL of us can understand the glory of God thru what He has made. Creation shows us God’s infinite knowledge and power. Just think for a moment about the ecological systems that God has created. How can it all be just chance…that plants produce oxygen for us to breathe, and when we breathe we produce carbon dioxide which is what plants need to live? And that’s not the only relationship that God has created in order to sustain life on this planet! It’s just incredible when you think about it.

Verses 1-6 come together to illustrate that point for us. But that’s not where the Psalmist stops. Notice also that there is more to it than simply appreciating God’s strength, wisdom, and love of beauty…

(2) Verse 7 shifts our attention to Law. As great as the wonders of the heavens and the earth are…they do not tell us right from wrong. God’s LAW does that for us. It is interesting to me that it is HERE that God does his most speaking to us and yet this is where we listen the very least! It has the ability to make the humble in spirit wise. It is more precious than gold. Do you really believe that? What do you hold to be the most valuable thing you have? Your money? Your time? The word of God?

Finally, let me say a word about David’s request to be found acceptable in God’s eyes. Shouldn’t that always be our prayer before God? David describes two areas that God will judge us on: Our actions, and our motives. It’s not enough that we have good intention…but that those good intentions are coupled with RIGHT actions. For example, remember what Jesus said about the Scribes and Pharisees? They had all the right actions: They looked right, acted right, and everyone thought they were right. Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28) Or what did Jesus say on the Sermon on the Mount, about those who in the end did many things “in your name Lord”? We are told, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23). Do you understand? Doing the right actions but with the wrong heart is worthless, but a good heart is not all that God has required of us. God demands that a good heart bring forth right actions. Our actions AND our motives matter and are judged by God. God has revealed His will and laws to show us the way we ought to go. It is now time for each of us to obey God. Will you? What do your motives and actions say about your commitment to God?

I'm back!

2010-09-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

I have been ill for the last several days and have been unable to update this blog. I will begin again today to update this blog regularly. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Thanks again for reading through the Psalms with me.

Sincerely,

Aaron Andrews

2010-09-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Psalm 18 - The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

This Picture hangs on my office wall.
It reminds me of Psalm 18:2,
"The Lord is my Stronghold, my Hightower."

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?—
32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence.

49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

This Psalm, so far is the only one that has given us a detailed explanation about why this Psalm was written by David, it is also the longest Psalm we have seen so far. This Psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22 as David is near death and reflected on his life and what God has done for him. It is also interesting to note that our previous Psalm (Psalm 17) was a prayer by David for God to deliver him from his enemies. Psalm 18 shows that God answered his prayers and deliverance has come. So much I could say about his Psalm, but I’ll keep it short for this Blog. (After reading this Psalm, I think I’m going to work it up into a sermon.)

We have discussed in previous Psalms that you want to look out for repetition in the Psalms and sequences. Those are used quite frequently and signify importance. Notice the repetition of “My” in the Psalm, David says that the Lord is:

“My strength”

“My rock”

“My fortress”

“My deliverer”

“My God”

“My shield”

“My salvation”

“My stronghold”

David describes with these “my” phrases the strength and security he has in God. (“Refuge” is used again in this Psalm for the same reasons.)

Having read this Psalm and seeing the application it has in David’s life…I reread it and applied it to Christ, because Paul does so in Romans 15. When you read this with Jesus in mind, you can really see the life of Christ just oozing from this Psalm. We see the Love that Christ has for His Father, We see the suffering of Christ and His crying out to God and His response to that, We see the deliverance that Christ received. That Christ Died for our sins, but He didn’t stay in that condition. He Arose! He gained the VICTORY over death. He triumphed and crushed the head on Satan. We see also the reasons why God delivered Him. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, with no spot or blemish. It puts a whole new perspective on this Psalm, doesn’t it? Go back and reread this Psalm and insert Jesus Christ for David. Just look at the last verse, “Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” …Amen.

2010-09-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Psalm 17 - In the Shadow of Your Wings

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!

3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

This is a wonderful prayer to God by David. David has all confidence that God will hear his prayer because of his innocence (vs 2.), and because of the way he was lived his life (vrs 3,5).

Again, we see David pleaded with God to rescue him from his enemies, asking God to take vengeance on the wicked. (Did you notice again the use of refuge in reference to God?)

Over and over again, the themes from this Psalm are seen in MANY of the Psalms.

David is in trouble,

David in being pursued by his enemies,

David pleads for God’s help,

David praises God for his deliverance,

David is made strong because of his faith in God.

David ends his Psalm showing great trust and hope in the Lord. “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness.” Are we that confident in our prayers to God? If not, why not? Perhaps it is because our prayers are not what they should be? Our perhaps our faith in God isn’t what it should be? The Christian should be able to have the very same confidence and trust that David has with God - That God WILL deliver him. Reminds me of a New Testament passage, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

2010-09-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Psalm 16 - You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

This is a wonderful Psalm filled with joy and confidence in God. Just look at the beginning of this Psalm, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” There is that theme of refuge in the Lord that we have seen several times already in our reading of the Psalms. Do you think that the Psalmist is trying to appeal to us to turn to God in all situations that we are faced with, whether good or bad, joyful or turbulent? One writer said, “To the righteous the Lord is a refuge, a solace to those who are hurting and suffering."

Did you notice the heading of this Psalm? “A Miktam of David.” What is a “Miktam”? …Good question. The answer is…I don’t know. Some scholars would suggest it means “to cover” giving it the impression of a secret or hidden prayer. In fact this title will appear several more times, Psalms 56-60 are also called “Miktams”.

Look at verse 2, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” This is something we all need to consider: That without God we have no goodness. There are many who think that being obedient to God isn’t really necessary, or that God doesn't even REQUIRES that of us. That we can just live a “good moral life” and that God will just accept you based solely on that. You will even hear people say, “Oh my grandma never went to church, but she was such a good person. Made cookies for the neighborhood kids, always had a kind word for you. I just KNOW she’s in Heaven.” What we must realize is that we have no goodness apart from obedience to God. There is no such thing as being a good person if we are not serving the Lord.

Finally, who is David talking about in verse 10? Is it about David, himself? We don’t have to wonder about that because the apostle Paul explains that verse for us in Acts 2 demonstrating that David is not the subject of this verse…JESUS is. That the language of Psalm 16 is too strong for David, for he has known corruption…but not the Messiah!

What a wonderful Psalm that speaks volumes of the joy and contentment that can be found in the one that serves God fully.

2010-09-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Psalm 15 - Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

This Psalm is a prime example of the Hebrew poetry that we discussed in our introduction to the Psalms last month. A question is asked and answered in the form of couplets. This Psalm not only praising God but also teaches the reader about holiness and how to come to God.

The Psalm asked a great question about those who want to have the approval of God, but David also gives the answer: Those who are Holy in Character, Speech, Conduct, Values, Integrity, and use of Money.

Notice the conclusion of this Psalm: “He who does these things shall never be moved.” That sounds a lot like 2 Peter 1:5-11, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Who can dwell in the Lord’s tent and holy hill? …EVERYONE OF US CAN! If we will just obey God and live holy lives according to His will…then we can meet God’s approval.

2010-09-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Psalm 14 - The Fool Says, There Is No God

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?

5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

David begins his Psalm by describing what a lot of people in the world have said about God: “…There is no God.” This just goes to show us that there have always been and will continue to always be folks who do not believe that there is a God. They have a hard time rationalizing in their mind that there is a Creator who is the “Alpha and the Omega”, who is “King of kings and Lord of lords”. They say that it is not intelligent and rational to believe in God. David says that those people who say there is no God…they are fools.

For example, did you hear recently what Stephen Hawking had to say about God? In the news the other day I heard an excerpt from his new book. He said, “Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." In other words…It’s not necessary to believe in God. You don’t think he’s trying to draw attention to himself and his new book is he? (It is Interesting to me that he would reveal this “new information” in a new book he’s trying to plug.)

Paul tells us in Romans 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Why are they fools? Because they cannot not look at the things of this world and truly see that there had to be someone greater than ourselves who put these things in place. Just think about the universe and how exactly the earth is set in space to sustain life, or how everything you look at has order, and design, and functionality, and how complex even the smallest molecule is.

In fact I heard one person say, “The probability that all these things happened by accident is like a hurricane striking a junkyard and producing a 747!”

One scientist said, “The really amazing thing is not that life on Earth is balanced on a knife-edge, but that the entire universe is balanced on a knife-edge, and would be total chaos if any of the natural 'constants' were off even slightly. - Dr. Paul Davies, professor of theoretical physics at Adelaide University”

The truth of the matter is, people don’t believe in God because they do not WANT to believe in God. And what’s the effect of not believing in God? David tells us, “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is

none who does good.” …Corruption thru and thru. (Does this apply at all today? You bet!)

We are truly without excuse if we look at these “attributes of God” and still say, “There is no God.”

2010-09-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Psalm 13 - How Long, O Lord?

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

In the last couple of Psalms (Psalms 10-12) we have continued to see David crying out to God for help and relief. With each Psalm this theme of David’s continue to intensify to now David feels that God has abandoned him. …Let me say that again... the man after God’s own heart feels abandoned by God. Four times David cries how, “How long?” I think too many people believe that the child of God will never feel this way at all. But that is really not so. There are times in our lives were God feels distant to us and so we perhaps do feel abandoned by God. In times of despair that seems to go one and one we can feel that there is no end in sight. Perhaps it has been so long that we struggle to remember a time that was free of despair. I think it is important for us to understand that this is many times the very nature of the trials we face. We rarely see an end to trails or what the outcome will be until they are well behind us.

This is the state that we find David in. David declares to God that his emotions are eating him up inside. David is fighting a hard battle against himself and his negative feelings during these times of adversity. Doesn’t that describe us? One writer said, “How many times we must wrestle with our emotions when we are suffering or in the midst of trail! Our minds may tell us to give up, to give in, and tell us things that are not truthful.” The truth of the matter is…David has not been abandoned. A reality that David will note this latter.

Again, this Psalm points to an all too familiar answer to aid in this great difficulty…PRAYER. How many times have we talked about this already in 13 Psalms? Many times however, because we are consumed with feelings of loneliness and despair, and we feel God has turned His back on us, that instead of appealing to Him we TURN on God and BLAME HIM for our problems and we give up on God. Let us do that no longer. Instead of throwing in the towel and giving up on God, we need to turn to God and ask him to consider us like David does in Psalm 13.

Finally, David doesn’t abandon God because He knows that God has been there for him in the past, and he will be there for him again. Let us never turn our backs on God and abandon Him, but always turn to Him in prayer when we feel, “How Long, O Lord?”

2010-09-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Psalm 12 - The Faithful Have Vanished

1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Have you ever felt all alone? I mean, FELT like you were the last righteous one in the middle of all the people you know? That there is no one else around trying to do right and to be right? Perhaps you have. If you have, then you were just expressing what even Elijah feels in 1 Kings 19:10, “He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” Of course Elijah wasn’t alone, and God demonstrated that to him in an incredibly powerful way.

David’s concern will be answered throughout the discourse of this Psalm. Beginning with being able to identify who is wicked and who is truly righteous among us. That is an important step for us to take if we feel all alone. You can do that by noting the words of the wicked which are:

Idle (vs. 2)

Flattery (vs. 2)

Deceitful (vs. 2)

Boastful (vs. 3-4)

Malicious (vs. 5)

However, the Lord’s words are:

Flawless (vs. 6)

Valuable (vs. 6)

Words of protection and safety (vs.5,7)

Verse 8 is interesting to me. “On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.” Why would David end this Psalm on this note? I think one writer said it best, “If the wicked exalt only vile and evil things, then it is a good thing that they do not exalt us. If they exalted us, then there would be something wrong, for we would be too much like them. However, because we are trying to serve the Lord, they are going to use their words against us. The wicked will continue to strut around honoring that which is vile. We do not want their honor. We want the honor and glory of God. Let us seek out His honor by serving Him and obeying Him today.”

…Amen.

2010-09-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Psalm 11 - The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

David has said in the Psalms already much about the behavior and acts of the wicked. Now in Psalm 11 he describes themes as ones shooting arrows. What an interesting illustration of the works of the wicked. In fact this sounds very similar to what Paul says in Ephesians 6:16, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;" Why do we need a shield? Because the arrows are aimed at us! Have you ever thought about that? Do you ever feel that because you are trying to live a godly life that you have a target planted squarely on your back? Do you want to know why you feel that way? ...Because you do!

However, our advisory is extremely cunning in his attacks. David says that they are shooting their arrows from secret places and in the darkness. That of course is the best tactical strategy Satan has. It reminds me of the ole boiling frog: Put a frog in hot boiling water and it'll jump right out. But put that frog in cool water and slowly increase the heat and the frog won't know the danger until it's too late. This is Satan's best weapon in his arsenal. We get all comfortable with our lives and the things that occupy us daily and we let our guard down and then he attacks. Peter tells us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

So what should we do? Run and hide ourselves? NO! David said, “In the Lord I take refuge.” Again, that is a common theme throughout the Psalms. (There’s that refuge word again.) The first and most important step we can take is to trust the Lord who sees all and knows all and who rules and reigns over all. Our God is awesome in power and might. Who can stand against Him and win? NO ONE! We do not war against Satan alone. Though we may be shot at by the wicked, we need not be afraid. We know that God is still with us as long as we still live righteous and godly lives.

“Our God is an awesome God;

He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, pow’r and love.

Our God is an awesome God!”

2010-09-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Psalm 10 - Why Do You Hide Yourself?

1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

The Theme of this Psalm is not unfamiliar to us. In fact we will see it throughout the Psalms, and that is the cry of the righteous concerning the ways of the ungodly. So often it is the case that we feel like the righteous are the only ones who go through hardships and sufferings while the wicked continue in prosperity all the while getting way with their dishonesty and disobedience. What do we do when we FEEL that way? What do we do when we feel that we have been forsaken? David demonstrates for us exactly what our response needs to be…turn to God. But that isn’t what often happens. Usually we blame God, or turn our backs on Him. But the Psalmist petitions God and we must as well. Why do we turn our backs on the only one who can truly help us and hear our cries? One writer has said, “We need to turn to the Lord first. In times of trouble and suffering, turn to God first. In times of joy and victory, turn to the Lord first. In times of frustrations and confusion, turn to the Lord first. The first step we take is so important for us and shows us where our faith lies.”

The Psalmist goes on in this Psalm to describe the character of the ungodly. Why does it appear they prosper? One of the reasons is their Pride. (Verses 2-4). Pride and arrogance is defined as, “being concerned with self rather than with others.” As one writer said, “When we think our way is the best way, we are arrogant. When we think that people ought to be more concerned about us, then we are full of pride. When we get hurt because people are doing things unlike we expect, then we have fallen into the error of self-exaltation. “ We need to be aware and avoid pride in all of its forms. Notice, that the proud have no room for God in their lives. Is there any doubt that this is so? When our lives are full with selfishness…where is the room for God?

Let’s talk a little bit about the perception of prosperity of the ungodly. Why do we think they prosper? Perhaps it is because they have wealth. But at what cost has that wealth come? How often we look at the ungodly and desire the riches they enjoy. How many times have we said, “I’ll tell you what, if I had that kind of money, boy I could do a lot of GOOD things with it.” (An easier statement to say than to do for the one who does not have wealth). I would suggest one of the reasons they have that wealth is because their life has been spent in pursuit of those riches. That has defined their lives. What are riches? Something temporary that man worries about acquiring but which you can’t take with you when you die! Therefore the things that truly have meaning and purpose in life have been neglected. Families have been ignored in the effort to maintain more. Children grow up without truly being raised by their parents, because mom and dad are consumed with the idol of covetousness. Because they worship the god of self and wealth, they are miserable in their existence. How poor they truly are!

I love verse 16, “The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.” Don’t forgot who has the real power – GOD! The Psalmist tells us that God sees and that he is judge. Therefore, don’t give up in frustration feeling that you have been neglected by God, don’t give in to pride and false hope and security that the ungodly have who have pursued their own interests and not God’s, don’t be afraid of what the ungodly can do to us. Our Lord is King forever and ever! “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:3-7).

Judgment is certain…the outcome is certain. Therefore decide this day who you will follow: The arrogance of the ungodly? Or the path of righteousness that leads to God?

2010-09-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Psalm 9 - I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.

7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.

9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

David begins his Psalm by describing his need to praise God. Notice that David demonstrates praise to God in three ways:

(1) Singing – of course the Psalms themselves are hymns that are just full of praise. David says He will sing praise to His name.

(2) Telling of God’s Wonders. Do you tell others about God and who He is and what He has done? This is perhaps one of the most overlooked forms of praise of our God today. How much do you “recount all of His wonderful deeds” to others?

(3) With All of His Heart - We cannot be well pleasing to Him unless we give our all to Him. How many times have you been in a worship service and you weren’t worshipping God? You weren’t thinking about the words of the songs we’re singing, you’re not taking the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner, you’re not paying attention to word of God being proclaimed. Your mind is a million miles away. Is that worshipping God with all your heart? We need to do a better job.

David also describes in this Psalm the reason why he is praising the Lord. Read the Psalm and you will see four reasons that David gives:

(1) Because God Gives Victory Over Enemies (vs. 3-6)

(2) Because God Rules And Is Just (vs. 7-8)

(3) Because God Gives Refuge From The Wicked. (vs. 9-10)

(4) Because God Will Not Overlook Sin. (vs. 11-12)

We know that David gives God the praise for all these things because he has already written Psalms ABOUT these things. Reading this Psalm I couldn’t help but think back to the last 8 Psalms we have read. You will find these themes contained in them. For example, think about God as a refuge. David has describe God as a refuge in Psalms 3,4,5, and 7. As we said in the introduction to Psalms, you want to pay careful attention to the repetition in the Psalms. How many don’t consider this? God is the place to go for protection and escape from all of life’s difficulties and tragedies. With God on our side we can endure anything that life throws at us.

Finally, verse 10 is the key verse in this Psalm. “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Trust the Lord! Do you? Maybe a better question to ask is, do you KNOW the Lord? Because in order to trust Him you have to know Him. Therefore, if you do not trust God, then you do not know Him.

“Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, Not a frown or a cross,

But is blest if we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,

To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.”

2010-09-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Psalm 8 - How Majestic Is Your Name

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

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

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

This is a very powerful Psalm. I love the way that it begins and the way it ends. Did you notice that? Verse 1 & 9 – “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” You always want to pay special attention to the repetition in Psalms.

This is a Psalm that answers the question of who we are, and it does so by focusing on God by demonstrating who he is and what he has done. By looking at God and all that he has created and how masterful His hand is, who am I? I am one who owes everything that I am…to God.

How do babies speak of God’s glory? Hold a new born baby in your hands and try NOT to think about how marvelous God is. God’s power is shown in even the small things. Something so small and tiny but full of vast complexities.

Can’t read Psalm 8 without seeing Jesus on the pages. This Psalm reaches forward to the New Testament. Hebrews 2:6-8, “It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Finally let me say something about the name of the Lord. This Psalm speaks of the greatness of the name of God. In fact the scribes would not even WRITE the name Jehovah when copying the text. They would just use four letters (in a different typeface and font even) to signify to the reader that this is where the name of God should go. They did this out of fear that someone would say the name of God wrong and thus bring dishonor to God. Instead of saying the name Jehovah they would say…LORD. Wow have things changed! People don't take CARE with God's name in THAT way. The way we hear people use God's name today is usually with profanity attached to it or people will thoughtlessly utter, "OH MY GOD!"…and it doesn't have ANYTHING to do with God. In fact they even have an abbreviation for this insult with God. - OMG. Our Lord is great and awesome and majestic IS His name! Think about that before you use His name in a careless way.

Let me conclude with the words of writer on Psalm 8, “Without God, we have no value. Without God, we are no better than the animals. Without God, we are small in this universe and our lives have no meaning. It is enough to be depressed for life. But with God, we have meaning and significance.” …Amen and amen.

2010-08-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Psalm 7 - In You Do I Take Refuge

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the

Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high.

8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

What do you do when there are those who would do evil against you? How should you respond when someone has set out to destroy you? That is the question that David is faced with in our Psalm.

What is David’s response?

First of all, he put his Trust In God. Right off the bat we see David describing God as a refuge, a place of safety. What better place to be than in the arms of our Lord? David trusted that God would deliver him. He believed that with every fiber of his being; with good reason too. We read in Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold {Refuge} in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge {trusts} in him.” In fact one writer said, “Trust is about turning over control to someone else. Trust is about depending upon another for the outcome. Trust is about what you are relying upon under fire and in a tight bind.”

But notice as well, David had Confidence In His Own Innocence. Look how boldly David speaks here of his enemies charges in verse 5, “let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.” He tells God that if the claims against him are true then let the enemy have his way with him. David knows that God sees all things and that He knows who is right and who is wrong. (Goes back to that trust thing, doesn’t it?)

Why could David be so bold? Because David has confidence in this purity and blamelessness. That is how we must live our lives as well. Peter says, “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (2 Peter 3:14). Being blameless is something that we have to work at each and every day.

Why is this so important? As one person said, “When the evildoer comes and tries to charge us with error, we can be vindicated from such charges when we have led blameless lives. If we are not blameless, then the charges can stick whether they are true or not.” …Amen. Do you see that even if the accusation against us is false, if those around us believe that it is well within our character to do exactly what we have been charged with, then our innocence is in great jeopardy. Lead a blameless life and be able to stand boldly like David did.

Finally David leaves the Vengeance In God’s Hands. That is so hard for us to do, isn’t it? When we feel that someone has somehow done us wrong, we are looking for justice and lots of times we take justice into our OWN hands. We want to DO something because of the injustice that has taken place against us. Notice, David called upon the Lord’s anger and not his own. That is incredible. What self-control David has here. He knows the Lord will not let wickedness go unpunished and who better to punish the ungodly than Jehovah? What a valuable lesson for us. (Again, do you trust the Lord?) I love what Paul says about this in Romans 12:17-21, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

That is vastly different than what the world says to do. This is one of the reasons why Christians are so different than the world. The Christian trust God enough to leave the justice to Him, just like David does. Psalm 7:9-13 goes on to describe God’s judgment and actions. I certainly don’t want to find myself on the business end of God’s wrath.

Remember this Psalm when you feel the urge to act out of vengeance. TRUST THE LORD!

2010-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Psalm 6 - O Lord, Deliver My Life

1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.

2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?

4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?

6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.

7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.

8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

9 The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

David is in distress. Why? Because he has sinned.

Maybe somebody is wondering, “How can the Bible describe David as ‘a man after God’s own heart’ (Acts 13:22) who found himself committed retched sin?” The answer of course is how he handled himself and the rebuking of the Lord. Psalm 6 gives us some insight to this.

Notice in the first 3 verses here that David is in agony. Verse 2 says, “My bones are troubled”. Verse 6 tells us he is in grief, and weak, and in tears. I want you to see though…this was a self-inflicted despair. How did he get into this situation? Did God not deal fairly with David? NO! It’s David’s fault and he knows it. David doesn’t BLAME God for his agony, instead he appeals to God for help. He knows that God is his answer…not his problem. He knows that he is deserving of God’s wrath and anger, and because of that…he appeals to God’s mercy. David’s plea is that God not act on His anger and wrath. David wants no part of the Wrath of God.

Aren’t we like David? When we are tempted to sin, we begin to rationalize with ourselves saying, “Oh this won’t be so bad.” We act on the pleasures of sin…but they are only fleeting pleasures. Soon the reality of our situation sets in. Our conscience begins to eat us alive. We feel a sense of guilt within us. There is a sense that things are wrong in our lives and we need to make changes to correct them.

Unfortunately many don’t make the right changes. They will either push those feelings to the far corners of their mind and they’ll try to ignore them. Or they may also engage in more sin, looking for the euphoric feeling that comes with sins pleasures. There end will not be good.

There are others however, who will look at their sin like David does in our Psalm. They will get on their knees before God appealing to Him for forgiveness and mercy, wanting so desperately to repair the relationship with God and will plea for His return. God will answer their prayer.

God answers David’s prayer. We know that to be true because of the change seen in David in our Psalm. In verse 8 we see the confidence of David has been renewed. David is able to stand up from the mire of sin and fight against all that have been working against him. Do you want that confidence? The key is turning away from sin and asking for God’s forgiveness and mercy. If we are living in sin let us turn from it like David did and God will answer our prayer!

“To Him that o’er cometh, God giveth a crown;

Thro’ faith we shall conquer, Tho’ often cast down;

He who is our Savior, Our strength will renew;

Look ever to Jesus: He’ll carry you thro’.”