Reflections

Reading through this Psalm, I couldn’t help but think this was written just as much for 2019 as it was for David’s time (about 3,000 years ago). Doesn’t this sound like the rhetoric of today? Where we see in verse four that it says, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own – who can stop us?” And then again in verse eight it says, “the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.”

For me the hope is sandwiched in between these verses when David talks about the refining of silver. Silver, like other metals, isn’t usually completely pure when it is mined. It takes a lot of work to burn off the impurities. The beauty of this scripture is that it is talking about the Lord and how his promises are true – just like pure silver.

This really makes me reflect on my own refining process. Over the years, the Lord has been working in my life. It hasn’t always been easy. There have been times when I have resisted the removal of the impurities in my life but over time I have learned that the hard work of cleaning up my life has been worth it. That’s not to say that I have somehow magically arrived at perfection – FAR FROM IT. This is a process that will continue for the rest of my days here on earth. Why?…well because we struggle because of sin in this world. There is a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit.

But thankfully, the God we serve is pure and true; therefore we can rely on him no matter the trial, struggle, or temptation we are facing. We just need to look to Him and rely on Him in all circumstances.

Imminent physical danger is something that we want to avoid if at all possible. We certainly are blessed to live in a country that is, for the most part, free of the kind of danger that David is speaking of in this passage. We don’t have enemies lurking in the darkness ready to jump out and kill us. That being said, we do have an enemy that seeks to destroy us; spiritually speaking.

What is our best defense? – a good offense. We see this beginning in verse 1 when David says, “I trust in the Lord for protection“. A very short sentence that carries a lot of power. Like David, we also have this ability to speak power and protection over our lives.

When things seem overwhelming or out of control, we need to step back and look up. Our father in heaven is ready and waiting for us to seek him.

Scripture passage from the New Living Translation

We have arrived at a Psalm that is not full of sunshine and happiness. In this Psalm, we see passionate anger expressed because of the evil that is being perpetrated on innocent helpless lives. I can’t help but think about all the Christians that are being killed in India and Africa simply because they are worshiping the Lord. I too want to shout out ‘Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!’ (verse 12) There are days when I wonder how much longer until we see a mighty move the the Lord and destruction of the evil that is so prevalent in our world today. What will it take for us collectively to turn our face back to the Lord and implore him to intervene on behalf of the innocent?

A couple of things strike me when I read this Psalm. First, the writer (probably David), doesn’t have any trouble questioning God. He outright asks, ‘Why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?’ ( verse 1) Those are a couple of very strong statements. Did you know that you can ask God the hard questions? Did you know that even in your anger you can reach out and ask why? That is the beauty of this God that we serve. He encourages us to come to him – to ask the hard questions. We serve a BIG God – he can take it and he will answer. Secondly in verses 4-6, I couldn’t help but think about our society in general when I read these verses:

The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies. They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”

All too often people think they are free of the consequences of sin. There is nothing further from the truth. God has made it clear that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We can pretend that God is dead. We can pretend there aren’t consequences. But in the end we will be held accountable for our actions. The Lord knows the hopes of the helpless. Surely he will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them. …and that right there is the BEST news ever! So even though this chapter started out with questions and trauma and pain, it ended with hope and anticipation for comfort in the days to come.

Scripture passages from New Living Translation

There certainly is a theme developing as we go through these early Psalms. In the best of times and in the worst of times, David always wants to acknowledge the Lord’s protection. He is looking forward to the day when he can shout it out so everyone in Jerusalem will hear about the greatness of the Lord (vs 14).

As I was meditating on this chapter, I really stopped to pause for a while on verses 1 and 2. These verses had me reflecting on all the things the Lord has done for me and wondering if I should begin to capture those events maybe in a journal in order to share them with others. Here is what David said:

I will praise you Lord, with all of my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2 NLT

If someone was to ask me right now – name 10 marvelous things the Lord has done for you – could I do it? It seems like I certainly could name 10 things. But what if that was narrowed down to 10 things this month or 10 things this week or 10 things today. Personally I know that when I begin to focus on the marvelous things the Lord has done for me, the struggles and pain and sadness fade into the background. You see as I focus on the greatness of the Lord the joy begins to outweigh the sadness.

I don’t want you to think that naming 10 things is some magical recipe that makes everything all sunshine and rainbows. Struggles are real – struggles are tough! Sometimes it is difficult to see anything good because we are overwhelmed with the burden we are currently bearing. What I do want you to know is this…you don’t have to stay there. You can break free. You can begin to climb out of that pit by intentionally looking for and acknowledging the marvelous things the Lord has done for you (and for me).

Today I say this as much to myself as anyone. Today was a struggle. Today was tough. Let’s be real…it was hard to find marvelous things but they were there (whether I noticed them or not). How do I know that? Well the Lord is faithful. I believe and trust that he has my best interest at heart. And when I stopped and really thought about it, I was able to find a really good example and I want to share it with you now:

On my way home this afternoon, the car in front of me was cutoff by a gravel hauler. Now let me add a little color commentary. The road we were travelling on had tar and stone put down last week so there is loose stone everywhere. That gravel hauler pulled out not 2-3 car lengths in front of us. We both had to slam on our breaks and come to a complete stop. Mind you we were both going almost 55 mph when he pulled out. It is a miracle neither of us hit him (or each other). At the time, it annoyed me that the truck driver wasn’t paying attention. But in retrospect, I praise the Lord with my whole heart that we weren’t hurt and like David I want to tell everyone of this marvelous thing that the Lord has done.

What better way to lift up the Lord than to share what he has done in our lives each and every day. I’d love to hear the marvelous things that the Lord has (and is) doing in your life.

Where’s today’s Psalm you might ask? – well today I am going to share something that I shared during communion this morning at church. We will be back to look at Psalm 9 tomorrow.

I want to start by asking you a question – How much does Jesus love you? Are you unsure whether he loves you or not? I have met many people that aren’t sure if Jesus loves them at all. Why?…because they aren’t good enough, they have done horrible things, they aren’t perfect, etc.

When Jesus said ‘come to me’, He didn’t say IF you are good enough, IF you are perfect. He didn’t add any IF statement to his invitation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. That is it. No conditional statement. Come as you are and believe. That is the start of the journey. Which brings me to our verse in Hebrews.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Did you see the word I highlighted above – CONFIDENCE – there is no room for any IF statements when you have confidence. It doesn’t say you can have hope IF…

When you have confidence in something you can stand tall and declare it to be true. So when I ask you how much Jesus loves you, you can stand with confidence and say Jesus loves me so much that he died for me. Nowhere in the Bible will you find a statement that says Jesus will love me IF I do this or that. And that my friends is something to hold onto.

Are you struggling with the idea that you can have confidence that you are saved? Do you wonder if you are ‘good enough’ to get into heaven? Does this idea of having enough faith to be confident sound like something you want to explore? If so, let me know. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Scriptures from New Living Translation

The beginning of this Psalm just makes my heart sing. It reminds me of the song, ‘How Majestic is your Name,’ that Sandi Patti sang back in the 1980’s. The orchestra, the choir, the vocals – In my opinion, it is a very powerful song that derives its lyrics from this scripture. “O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.” Many songs have been written over the years using the words of this Psalm as the basis for their lyrics.

Personally I believe that there is power in words. The words we say. The words we sing. When David looks around at the massive landscape and the heavens, he is in absolute awe and he asks the question ‘what are mere mortals that you should care about them’ and yet not only does God care about us, he gave us the responsibility to care for his creation. What an honor. What a privilege. With the beauty and majesty around him, David can’t hep but express his deep gratitude to the Lord. How do you like to express your gratitude and love for the Lord?

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Scriptures passages from the New Living Translation

I was listening to an interesting TED talk this evening. The presenter was talking about a study that she did in which she asked people their perceptions of what it meant to hit rock bottom. The responses were interesting – such as it being like a trampoline where they can bounce back or a period of reflection or downright paralyzing depression and many other descriptions. I found this fascinating since I always perceived rock bottom based on my experience and a trampoline is not my first thought.

In Psalm 7 we see David still struggling. He is desperate for help. For all intents and purposes, he appears to have hit his rock bottom (or at least it seems like it). He describes his anguish over the sins he as committed. He pleads for protection from his enemies. And then he does a complete turn around and he declares the sovereign nature of the Lord as judge and ruler over the nations. And from the depths of his pit, in verse 10 he declares, ‘God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right‘. I can just imagine him yelling his declaration so that everyone could hear him.

Despite this rough patch, David still keeps his focus on what is most important. His relationship with the Lord. This Psalm ends with David expressing his gratitude to the Lord by saying, ‘I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High‘.

Passages from New Living Translation

Have you sometimes wondered if God gets tired of listening to us complain and cry and plead? Do you sometimes wonder if God is really listening? I think many people have this idea that God is so far removed from us as to not know or even care what is happening in our lives.

In Psalm 6 we see David struggling mightily. He doesn’t mince words or try to sweet talk or manipulate. He is repentant. He is genuine. He pleads. He cries. Verses 6 & 7 capture the absolute agony he is feeling. “I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood by bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.”

Sounds really dire, doesn’t it? And yet in verse 9 he declares emphatically, “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer”. There is no doubt. There was no question. There is simply the statement that the Lord will answer.

My prayer for you – as well as me – is that in our despair – in our grief – that we will see the promises of God.

Scriptures taken from the New Living Translation.

David acknowledged his need for the Lord in verse 2 when he said “Listen to my cry for help, my King & my God”. How do I acknowledge my need for the Lord’s help in my life? Currently, as I write this reflection, I have entered a new phase of my life where my needs and desires are changing. Things that I wanted (or thought I needed) have begun to fade into the background as I find the need to prioritize things I can and can’t afford. This change in my socio-economic standing has helped me see with clarity the way I was changing and moving away from a reliance on God for my provision, my livelihood, my life. In the past few years, I became rather self-reliant.

It feels like we as a society are moving toward values of self-preservation, self-motivation, self-actualization. All of these ‘self’ statements move us farther and farther from the God of the universe. And despite these tendencies, God waits patiently for us to cry out to him. God will hear our prayers when we cry out to him and wait expectantly (see verse 3). For me this begs the question – what am I expectantly waiting on the Lord for in my life?

In the middle of this chapter, we see David acknowledging the reason that he is able to enter the temple – God’s Unfailing Love. He is also earnestly seeking guidance of the Lord. He wants to be sure that he is following the right path.

The end of chapter 5 is just beautiful because it ends with a prayer of blessing over those who love and take refuge in the Lord. It says, “Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.” New Living Translation

Who wants to be surrounded with a shield of love? I know I do!!

Looks like it is time to wait expectantly and seek earnestly…

When I began reading chapter 4, I got stuck on a word in verse 1. It says that God declares me INNOCENT. The enormity of that statement alone is mind-blowing. How can a righteous and just God (see II Corinthians 5:21 & Job 37:23) look on me — a sinner — and say ‘You are innocent’? How can a God that is holy see me as worthy to be called his own? This gift God has given us through his Son Jesus is amazing and something we shouldn’t take for granted.

In this Psalm, David speaks with confidence that the Lord hears him – He is listening – He will answer. That is the kind of confidence I want to have when I am approaching the Lord. I want to be bold. I want to know the favor of the Lord. We see this in verse 3 when David emphatically states ‘You can be sure of this’. There is no question. There is no hesitation. There is confidence and we also can have that confidence.

The other verse that really jumped out for me was verse 5. It says ‘offer sacrifices in the right spirit and trust the Lord. What kind of sacrifices can I offer to the Lord? What are some things I am holding on to that can be given away? How can I bless others and in so doing show someone else the love of Jesus? When I give, am I giving with the right attitude. Maybe my sacrifice should be in proportion to how grateful I am that God has declared me INNOCENT.