"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2
These words make me think of the things I might say about the time after my physical death or Christ's return. When all of God's people will be taken up to be in God's presence for eternity. During that eternity, "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart." My whole being will be involved in thanking the Lord for his grace and mercy. "I will recount all of your wonderful deeds." At that time I will have a clear understanding of all of the blessings that the Lord has and will bestow upon me. I will also have a better understanding of the incredible amount of grace given by God. "I will be glad and exult in you." Oh, what a gladness, that will lead to, "I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Days of eternally praising and worshipping God and just being in His presence...That is what is in store for His people.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A Sympathetic Savior
"Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:5-9
In this Psalm of David, David is describing man's place in the created order. Man was made a little lower than heavenly beings (such as angels), and created in God's image. He was given dominion over all of the animals on the earth.
However, this being a messianic Psalm (one that points to the Messiah to come), it also points to Christ. For, "we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:9 Our Lord, our God, our Savior, Jesus Christ came to earth fully man and fully God, made a little lower than the angels for a little while, so that He could die on the cross an innocent man to pay the debt for all of our sins. But that's not where the story ends, for then He was raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for His people. He came to the earth fully man and knows and understands the temptations and trials we struggle with. "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18 Thank the Lord that we have a sympathetic savior.
"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:5-9
In this Psalm of David, David is describing man's place in the created order. Man was made a little lower than heavenly beings (such as angels), and created in God's image. He was given dominion over all of the animals on the earth.
However, this being a messianic Psalm (one that points to the Messiah to come), it also points to Christ. For, "we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:9 Our Lord, our God, our Savior, Jesus Christ came to earth fully man and fully God, made a little lower than the angels for a little while, so that He could die on the cross an innocent man to pay the debt for all of our sins. But that's not where the story ends, for then He was raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for His people. He came to the earth fully man and knows and understands the temptations and trials we struggle with. "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18 Thank the Lord that we have a sympathetic savior.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wow! What love!
"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4
When I get the chance to get out of the city and see a little bit of God's (mostly) untouched creation, I love to just look around and let it sink in. Just sit back and take it in. On the beach, I marvel at the beauty of the ocean waves...both the sounds and the sight. I also marvel at the breadth of the horizon. When I'm on the farm, I marvel at the many different kinds of plants and bugs and the beauty of the bubbling creek. When I'm flying in an airplane, I am amazed by the size of everything and how small we are in it...like ants. And at night, when I look up at the stars I am amazed by the vastness of this universe. Then, to think about all of these things and to consider that God personally put each of these things into their place and made them exactly as they are...WOW! Who am I?? I am like the ant that you see crawling up your leg and you flick it away (or smash it). And yet, God knows everything about me and each and every one of you. He knows how many hairs are on my head and He knows when I stub my toe (which happens a lot...just ask Peter...I wonder if God cringes a little bit when that happens. Ha!). How!? Why are we so important to God in a way that is far over and above the care that He places on any other thing? Why did He send His son to die for us? And yet He did. He really cares about His people, folks. He cares about us enough to know everything there is to know about us and still not just destroy us. Wow! That is love. Now husbands, consider this... You are told to love your wives as Christ loves the church. Now, that's a tall order! :-)
(I didn't get to the messianic aspects of this Psalm today after all...tomorrow, I promise!)
When I get the chance to get out of the city and see a little bit of God's (mostly) untouched creation, I love to just look around and let it sink in. Just sit back and take it in. On the beach, I marvel at the beauty of the ocean waves...both the sounds and the sight. I also marvel at the breadth of the horizon. When I'm on the farm, I marvel at the many different kinds of plants and bugs and the beauty of the bubbling creek. When I'm flying in an airplane, I am amazed by the size of everything and how small we are in it...like ants. And at night, when I look up at the stars I am amazed by the vastness of this universe. Then, to think about all of these things and to consider that God personally put each of these things into their place and made them exactly as they are...WOW! Who am I?? I am like the ant that you see crawling up your leg and you flick it away (or smash it). And yet, God knows everything about me and each and every one of you. He knows how many hairs are on my head and He knows when I stub my toe (which happens a lot...just ask Peter...I wonder if God cringes a little bit when that happens. Ha!). How!? Why are we so important to God in a way that is far over and above the care that He places on any other thing? Why did He send His son to die for us? And yet He did. He really cares about His people, folks. He cares about us enough to know everything there is to know about us and still not just destroy us. Wow! That is love. Now husbands, consider this... You are told to love your wives as Christ loves the church. Now, that's a tall order! :-)
(I didn't get to the messianic aspects of this Psalm today after all...tomorrow, I promise!)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Let us be like children
"O LORD [YHWH], our Lord [Adon], how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger." Psalm 8:1-2
Yay, I'm on Psalm 8. What a wonderful psalm of praise (and a messianic Psalm which we'll get into more tomorrow)! Every verse is filled to the max with incredible truths and clearly shows the glory of God. In verse one, there are two different words used for Lord (or LORD). The first, which you will usually find in the bible as LORD (all caps) is the name God gave himself to the Israelites. Vines states "God chose it as His personal name by which He related specificaly to His chosen or covenant people." The second word is most often found in the bible as Lord, lord, or master. It refers to the relationship between a master and servant. Specifically recalling Psalm 8:1, Vines states "The word is often a title of respect, a term of direct address usually assuming a specific concrete lord-vassal or master-servant relationship."
Our Lord's name does not really seem to be majestic throughout the world today, does it? People are always using His name in vain. Many times we don't even really hear it anymore because its like saying "huh?" or "hello". God's name is not spoken in reverence by many. Even those who profess to be Christians speak His name irreverently all of the time. But there will be a time, my friends (reading J. Vernon McGee makes me want to use that phrase all of the time!), when our Lord's name will never be spoken in vain again and will be revered by all. I want to be there for that!!!
Now, what about verse 2? Let's look into the NT to see how this verse is used there. In Matthew 21 during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and while He cleansed the temple, children were crying "Hosanna to the Son of David!" When asked about this in verse 16, Jesus replies, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?" Here he refers directly to Psalm 8:2 and further strengthens the argument that He is the Messiah. Its almost like He was saying, "Even these young insignificant children know who I am! DUH!!" Now remember what is written, "'Truly, I say unto you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 Let us be like children!!
Yay, I'm on Psalm 8. What a wonderful psalm of praise (and a messianic Psalm which we'll get into more tomorrow)! Every verse is filled to the max with incredible truths and clearly shows the glory of God. In verse one, there are two different words used for Lord (or LORD). The first, which you will usually find in the bible as LORD (all caps) is the name God gave himself to the Israelites. Vines states "God chose it as His personal name by which He related specificaly to His chosen or covenant people." The second word is most often found in the bible as Lord, lord, or master. It refers to the relationship between a master and servant. Specifically recalling Psalm 8:1, Vines states "The word is often a title of respect, a term of direct address usually assuming a specific concrete lord-vassal or master-servant relationship."
Our Lord's name does not really seem to be majestic throughout the world today, does it? People are always using His name in vain. Many times we don't even really hear it anymore because its like saying "huh?" or "hello". God's name is not spoken in reverence by many. Even those who profess to be Christians speak His name irreverently all of the time. But there will be a time, my friends (reading J. Vernon McGee makes me want to use that phrase all of the time!), when our Lord's name will never be spoken in vain again and will be revered by all. I want to be there for that!!!
Now, what about verse 2? Let's look into the NT to see how this verse is used there. In Matthew 21 during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and while He cleansed the temple, children were crying "Hosanna to the Son of David!" When asked about this in verse 16, Jesus replies, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?" Here he refers directly to Psalm 8:2 and further strengthens the argument that He is the Messiah. Its almost like He was saying, "Even these young insignificant children know who I am! DUH!!" Now remember what is written, "'Truly, I say unto you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 Let us be like children!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
God's Purpose of Justice will Prevail
"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." Psalm 7:17
Here is another psalm of David where he is asking for God to judge those who wrongly accuse or slander him. When we are unfairly persecuted, this is a model of the prayer we can pray. There is trust in the protection of God at the beginning of the psalm (vs 1-2). Then vs 3-5 make us careful in praying this prayer. Before praying such a prayer we must be sure that we are innocent, for it reads, "...if I have repaid my friend (the one at peace with me) with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it..."
In verse 12, we can see the desire that the enemy repent and be forgiven by God. However, there is the warning that without repentance the path leads to destruction. One commentary notes that in verses 14-16, "The sinner is described as taking more pains to ruin his soul than, if directed aright, would save it." That's scary and yet so true. I don't know how many times I've seen nonbelievers dig themselves further and further into their unbelief as though they are trying to not believe rather than trying to find the truth.
However, we can know that in the end, "God's purpose of justice will prevail." Praise the Lord!
Here is another psalm of David where he is asking for God to judge those who wrongly accuse or slander him. When we are unfairly persecuted, this is a model of the prayer we can pray. There is trust in the protection of God at the beginning of the psalm (vs 1-2). Then vs 3-5 make us careful in praying this prayer. Before praying such a prayer we must be sure that we are innocent, for it reads, "...if I have repaid my friend (the one at peace with me) with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it..."
In verse 12, we can see the desire that the enemy repent and be forgiven by God. However, there is the warning that without repentance the path leads to destruction. One commentary notes that in verses 14-16, "The sinner is described as taking more pains to ruin his soul than, if directed aright, would save it." That's scary and yet so true. I don't know how many times I've seen nonbelievers dig themselves further and further into their unbelief as though they are trying to not believe rather than trying to find the truth.
However, we can know that in the end, "God's purpose of justice will prevail." Praise the Lord!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Alex entertaining us
Just a quick funny Alex story....
Here lately, if we leave a cup of water out on the table in our breakfast nook, Alex will sometimes climb up into a chair and get a drink. Last night, Peter and I were sitting on the couch watching as Alex did just that. He's so good about it too and has gotten to where he rarely spills anything. Somehow milk was brought up so Alex got down, ran over to the fridge, and got his milk out. He then took it back to the table and climbed back up into the chair. Now he has his cup of water and a sippy cup of milk.
So, we watched as he dropped the sippy cup of milk. We asked him to pick it back up. So, he gets down out of his chair and goes to get it. Only apparently he was distracted by something. He sat the sippy cup up (still on the floor but now sitting up instead of on its side) and goes off to get something. A minute later, Peter and I were laughing when we watched as he used a piece of paper to try and clean up the milk. He was wiping the floor with it. Then he grabbed the sippy cup and got up and went off to play. I kind of like this clean freak part of my son!! :-)
Here lately, if we leave a cup of water out on the table in our breakfast nook, Alex will sometimes climb up into a chair and get a drink. Last night, Peter and I were sitting on the couch watching as Alex did just that. He's so good about it too and has gotten to where he rarely spills anything. Somehow milk was brought up so Alex got down, ran over to the fridge, and got his milk out. He then took it back to the table and climbed back up into the chair. Now he has his cup of water and a sippy cup of milk.
So, we watched as he dropped the sippy cup of milk. We asked him to pick it back up. So, he gets down out of his chair and goes to get it. Only apparently he was distracted by something. He sat the sippy cup up (still on the floor but now sitting up instead of on its side) and goes off to get something. A minute later, Peter and I were laughing when we watched as he used a piece of paper to try and clean up the milk. He was wiping the floor with it. Then he grabbed the sippy cup and got up and went off to play. I kind of like this clean freak part of my son!! :-)
The Lord Forgives
"O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath." Psalm 6:1
"I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping." Psalm 6:6
"The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer." Psalm 6:9
I like the KJV of verse 1 where it reads "neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." Here in Psalm 6, we can see that David is feeling convicted of some sin. He is remorseful over it to the point of not being able to sleep at night. He cries out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. And, we find out in verse 9 that he gets it. The Lord hears and accepts David's prayer for forgiveness and we can be certain that the Lord will do the same for us. If we are truly repentant, God will forgive.
Let me also mention verse 8 which reads, "Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping." If we are repentant and God has heard and forgiven, we are released also from guilt. In a recent Wednesday night service, a good friend was talking about this. Our consciences, Satan, and other people in our lives can continually accuse us of our sins and attempt to make us feel guilty even after the Lord has forgiven. All too often, it works. However, if you have been forgiven by God, you are free of this guilt. I believe that it would be unwise to not regret the sin. Regret for a sin can lead to obedience in the future. (It makes me cringe sometimes to hear someone say they have no regrets in their life.) However, God is our judge; not our conscience, not other people, and certainly not Satan. As Romans 8:33 reads, "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies."
"I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping." Psalm 6:6
"The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer." Psalm 6:9
I like the KJV of verse 1 where it reads "neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." Here in Psalm 6, we can see that David is feeling convicted of some sin. He is remorseful over it to the point of not being able to sleep at night. He cries out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. And, we find out in verse 9 that he gets it. The Lord hears and accepts David's prayer for forgiveness and we can be certain that the Lord will do the same for us. If we are truly repentant, God will forgive.
Let me also mention verse 8 which reads, "Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping." If we are repentant and God has heard and forgiven, we are released also from guilt. In a recent Wednesday night service, a good friend was talking about this. Our consciences, Satan, and other people in our lives can continually accuse us of our sins and attempt to make us feel guilty even after the Lord has forgiven. All too often, it works. However, if you have been forgiven by God, you are free of this guilt. I believe that it would be unwise to not regret the sin. Regret for a sin can lead to obedience in the future. (It makes me cringe sometimes to hear someone say they have no regrets in their life.) However, God is our judge; not our conscience, not other people, and certainly not Satan. As Romans 8:33 reads, "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
