Psalm 66

1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.
4 “All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah.

5 Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
There let us rejoice in Him!
7 He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.

8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
9 Who keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah.

16 Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
19 But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.

8 ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. 10 ‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. 13 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Psalms 94

The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.

94 O Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth,
Render recompense to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
How long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness vaunt themselves.
5 They crush Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 They have said, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, stupid ones?
9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10 He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord,
And whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
15 For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?
21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my stronghold,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.

5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. 6 You formed the mountains by your powerand armed yourself with mighty strength. 7 You quieted the raging oceanswith their pounding wavesand silenced the shouting of the nations. 8 Those who live at the ends of the earthstand in awe of your wonders.From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.

9 You take care of the earth and water it,making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,for you have ordered it so. 10 You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showersand bless its abundant crops. 11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!

We will fulfill our vows to You

A Psalm of David.

In a world of confusion, faced with many problems and many choices to be made, this Psalm provides assurance that God will help. There are some conditions though. You must wait upon Him. This doesn’t mean you remain idle nor neglect responsibilities. You are to learn His ways. You are to follow His lead. You will walk down paths of justice, lovingkindness, and truth, as you call upon the Deliverer to deliver you. That should keep you pretty busy.

1 To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, in Thee I trust,

Do not let me be ashamed;

Do not let my enemies exult over me.

3 Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed;

Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

4 Make me know Thy ways, O Lord;

Teach me Thy paths.

5 Lead me in Thy truth and teach me,

For Thou art the God of my salvation;

For Thee I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O Lord, Thy compassion and Thy lovingkindnesses,

For they have been from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

According to Thy lovingkindness remember Thou me,

For Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in justice,

And He teaches the humble His way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth

To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

11 For Thy name’s sake, O Lord,

Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

13 His soul will abide in prosperity,

And his descendants will inherit the land.

14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,

And He will make them know His covenant.

15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord,

For He will pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

For I am lonely and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

Bring me out of my distresses.

18 Look upon my affliction and my trouble,

And forgive all my sins.

19 Look upon my enemies, for they are many;

And they hate me with violent hatred.

20 Guard my soul and deliver me;

Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in Thee.

21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,

For I wait for Thee.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,

Out of all his troubles.

For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar.

A Psalm of David.

22 My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.

What does that last phrase mean? The NIV reads, “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” This fits well with the parallel phrase in the next verse and returns to the statement made in Ps 10:1 Why dost Thou stand afar off, O Lord? Why dost Thou hide Thyself in times of trouble? NASB.

2 O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.

“The word for rest in verse 2 occurs only here and in 39:2 (“I was silent”) and 62:1 (“waits in silence”); and perhaps in 65:1. It seems to mean “silence,” and the Hebrew phrase “no silence for me” indicates that his pain is not alleviated, he gets no relief, which would come if God were to listen to him and answer his pleas.” (from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)

There are times when the soul wonders away. After awhile you find yourself isolated and alone. All inner strength is weak or nonexistent. Dan Fogelberg wrote a song called Hearts Hotel. I think he captures the feeling well.

Seek inspiration in daily affairs
Now you soul is in trouble
And requires repairs
And the voices you hear at the
Top of the stairs
Are only echoes of unanswered prayers
Echoes of unanswered prayers.

Well there’s too many windows
In this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy
And the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living inside
Nobody living inside…

There are those times when your soul makes you feel like you are in an empty house.

How long those times seem to last; David’s cry was “by day…and by night.”

The use of “my God” three times indicates the personal relationship David had with God. The sense of that personal relationship had vanished and he wanted it to return. The reason why it had vanished, the cause, is David’s concern so he is asking, “Why have You forsaken me?”

Will the rest of the Psalm reveal the answer?

3 Yet Thou art holy,
O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

The heart is wounded, but David’s mind is clear; God still is thought of as holy. David senses he is in the wilderness, but is conscious that others continue to lift God up in praise and rightly so.

4 In Thee our fathers trusted;
They trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.
5 To Thee they cried out, and were delivered;
In Thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.

His memory is clear. He remembers the remarkable work of God in delivering His people, the greatest act of all recorded history. I like the way Moses summarized it. His use of questions here is very powerful.

Deuteronomy 4:31-39 For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them. 32 “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 “Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 “Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 “To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. NASB

Every time David would look at the ground under his feet he would have to give an account of how he got here. Recalling his own history cleared God of any cause for his present condition.

David turns inward.

6 But I am a worm, and not a man,
He gives a humble and accurate assessment of himself. Even others recognize this.
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

David sees nothing in himself that would prompt God to want to deliver him. The people recognize this as well, hence they jeer and taunt him. David turns from their opinion and his own self assessment to consider what God must think.

9 Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb;
Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon Thee I was cast from birth;
Thou hast been my God from my mother’s womb.

David goes back to what was. The cause of his relationship with God was an act on God’s part, not his own. It was God’s doing, not his own doing. Just like his birth was not his own doing, so was his inclination to grasp on to Him as His God.

With this fact firmly in mind he begins commanding God realizing such command must be in line with who God is and what God wants.

11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
He provides more details of his present condition.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a 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 me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
18 They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.

He returns to commanding God in the midst of his problems.

19 But Thou, O Lord, be not far off;
O Thou my help, hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth;

Now note the change in the next phrase. It appears the Lord has begun to move.

And from the horns of the wild oxen Thou dost answer me.

This would explain and provide the transition into the following.

22 I will tell of Thy name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Neither has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From Thee comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.

Hear is the lesson of this Psalm.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!

Jesus the Christ taught His disciples these very lessons.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

The Psalmist turns from looking at the present to looking into the future. No longer is he in need of encouragement, but he now is the one who encourages. History and the present are on a predetermined course.

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before Thee.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

So, to conclude, what is the reason God has forsaken him?

1. To direct his mind back to the great things He has done.

2. Such remembrance will cause his heart to turn to the true nature and character of God.

3. That in turn, will inspire him to worship God in the midst of his circumstances

4. This will enable him to stand and boldly demand God’s compassionate help and deliverance.

This Psalm amplifies the lostness of man but not his hopelessness. To the same degree it amplifies the saving nature of God.

To a nation of proud people whose world is quickly collapsing all around I would say, save yourself if you can, but if you can’t, know there is a God who is ready to save you, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

God have mercy on us.

Our Glory And Joy Will Be The Result Of His Saving

Psalms 21

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, in Thy strength the king will be glad,
And in Thy salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
And Thou hast not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah.
3 For Thou dost meet him with the blessings of good things;
Thou dost set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of Thee,
Thou didst give it to him,
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through Thy salvation,
Splendor and majesty Thou dost place upon him.
6 For Thou dost make him most blessed forever;
Thou dost make him joyful with gladness in Thy presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
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 fiery oven in the time of your anger;
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,
And fire will devour them.
10 Their offspring Thou wilt destroy from the earth,
And their descendants from among the sons of men.
11 Though they intended evil against Thee,
And devised a plot,
They will not succeed.
12 For Thou wilt make them turn their back;
Thou wilt aim with Thy bowstrings at their faces.
13 Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength;
We will sing and praise Thy power.

This fact is affirmed in the New Testament.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The appropriate response should be…

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 5:6-11 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2008/04/03/4/feed/ 0 http://robertcoss.com/blog/2008/04/02/we-need-friends-like-these/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2008/04/02/we-need-friends-like-these/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:46:45 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/?p=3 Continue reading →]]>

Psalms 20

A Prayer for Victory over Enemies
  For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
  May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!
  2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,
  And support you from Zion!
  3 May He remember all your meal offerings,
  And find your burnt offering acceptable!
  Selah.
  4 May He grant you your heart’s desire,
  And fulfill all your counsel!
  5 We will sing for joy over your victory,
  And in the name of our God we will 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 strength of His right hand.
  7 Some boast in chariots, and some in horses;
  But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
  8 They have bowed down and fallen;
  But we have risen and stood upright.
  9 Save, O Lord; May the King answer us in the day we call.

Commentary

Read this Psalm and you will be apt to say, “If David is for you, who can be against you?”

Who is the person David desires to bless?

In a day of negativity, who do you have in your life that has a genuine concern for you? Who is petitioning the Lord on your behalf for such things as “may God grant you your heart’s desire
  and fulfill all your counsel?”

What a friend and ally that person would be!

Turn the table now; who do you hope such things upon? Who is the object of your prayer and genuine care and concern today?

What is the source of such a positive disposition?

A deep conviction that this is true – the Lord saves His anointed. It doesn’

t matter how far away God is. His saving strength of His strongest most coordinated hand can save. This verse reminds me of Philippians 1:6

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

One final thought: As the leaders of this country fall, as they trust in their economic plans and war plans, as these back fire in their faces, have we risen and stood upright?