Category: Psalm19-

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Psalm19-

Placing ourselves in God’s hands

When David wrote Psalm 31 is a matter of speculation, as are most of his psalms.

At a guess, it was written during his flight from Saul, and based on verse 21, perhaps after his flight from Keilah. (1 Samuel 23)

This is purely speculative, however.

The things that strike me from this psalm is that in the midst of his pleas for help, David time and again affirms his complete trust in God.

He says,

Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)

And again,

I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands. (Psalm 31:14–15)

All of ourselves go through struggles in our lives. And it’s so easy to place ourselves in our own hands. To take the driver’s seat of our lives and try to control our situation ourselves.

But in life and in death, David fully committed himself to God.

He said, “My life is in your hands, Lord. People are trying to kill me, but I know that as long as you want me here, they will not succeed. I refuse to take control of my own life, even if it costs me my life.”

And you see on two occasions in 1 Samuel where David had the chance to take control of the situation, to kill Saul and put an end to his vendetta against David. But David refused.

Jesus showed this same submission to his Father when he went to the cross. Though not strictly a Messianic psalm, nevertheless, you see some glimpses of Christ in David’s experience.

Like David, he was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. (Psalm 31:10)

Like David, he was despised. (Psalm 31:11)

Like David, he was abandoned by those he called friends. (Psalm 31:11–12)

Like David, people slandered him and plotted to kill him. (13)

Like David, he cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me!” (22)

But like David, Jesus refused to take things into his own hands. He placed himself in his Father’s hands, and with his dying breath, quoted verse 5, saying, “Into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

And because of his submission, we have hope.

Hope that we will ultimately not be put to shame for trusting in him (17).

Hope in his goodness toward us (19).

And hope in our salvation (22–23).

So let us cry out as David did,

Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD. (Psalm 31:24)

And let us put our full trust in him.

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Psalm19-

When God disciplines

Looking back, I really should have put this psalm back in the life of David. I missed it somehow.

It has been conjectured that Psalm 30 was written just after David’s sin in conducting a census of the people out of the pride of his heart (1 Chronicles 21, see also 2 Chronicles 3:1 and the notation made at the top of Psalm 30).

And in this psalm, we see David’s response to God’s discipline.

It seems here that when God afflicted Israel with the plague, that David too was struck, although no mention of this is made in 2 Samuel or in 1 Chronicles.

But after being healed, David praises God, saying,

I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O LORD my God,
I called to you for help and you healed me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit. (Psalm 30:1–3)

Later, he writes why he was struck. He says,

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” (6)

Here, it wasn’t a confidence in God that made him feel secure. It was confidence in himself and the army he had built up, thus leading him to count his fighting men.

But through the circumstances God had put him through, he now realized where his true security came from.

O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. (7)

And so David humbled himself at the Lord’s discipline. Looking back, he said,

To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:

“What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.” (8–10)

When God saw David’s repentant heart, he responded in mercy, forgiving David’s sin. As a result, David responded with praise.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. (11–12)

What can we get from this?

I think before I say anything else, I should make clear that just because you’re sick doesn’t mean that God must be punishing you for something. Often times, that’s simply not the case, as we saw in Job.

But God will sometimes use illness to cause us to stop and see the wrong direction our lives are taking. And so it never hurts to take a look at your life during times of sickness and trouble to pray, “God is this because of something I have done? Is there unconfessed sin in my heart?”

And if God reveals something to you, then like David, we need to humble ourselves before him.

But if he doesn’t, then you can probably take it as a sign that this sickness or trouble is coming from some other source.

Why do I say this? Because God doesn’t delight in torturing us. He doesn’t take pleasure in seeing us suffer. And if he is indeed using suffering to get us to turn our faces back to him, he is quick to forgive when we do.

He doesn’t say, “Well, if you haven’t figured out your sin, I’m certainly not going to tell you.”

Nor does he say, “You’ve finally repented, but I’m going to make you suffer more just to make sure you learn your lesson.”

As David wrote,

His anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning. (5)

Always remember that God doesn’t discipline us because he hates us, but because he loves us and wants the very best for us.

So let us respond to his correction with humble, repentant hearts.

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Psalm19-

The awesome God…who cares about you

Many people in Japan think I’m strange, but I love thunderstorms. I love hearing the lightning flash and the thunder roar. Of course, this is much cooler indoors than out. 🙂

I was looking at the Amplified Bible today, and it had an interesting note.

It said that this psalm was called the “Song of the Thunderstorm,” and was “sung during an earthshaking tempest which reminds the psalmist of the time of Noah and the deluge.”

And throughout Psalm 29, we see the awesomeness of God.

David starts with a call to worship,

Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. (Psalm 29:1–2)

I don’t know about you, but I don’t use the word “ascribe” very often, and it seems that every time I see this psalm, I have to think about what it means.

Basically, it’s saying, “Recognize the glory and strength of God. Recognize the glory that is due to him. And worship him for the beauty of his holiness.”

I wonder how often we think of the “splendor” or “beauty” of holiness.

But when we see what God is, and what we were originally created to be, there’s no other word we can use except, “beautiful.”

Right now we are but a marred figure of the image of God. Yet even so, we can sometimes see glimpses of his beauty as we look at people.

How much more beautiful is the One who is unstained by sin.

David then talks about God in nature, the roar of his voice, and the power and majesty of it.

He describes the lightning that flashes and the thunder that shakes the earth, and how in the midst of the storm, even the mighty trees are broken, their branches made bare, and their pieces “dancing” in the wind.

Through all this, David imagines hearing other voices, the voices of angels in heaven’s temple calling out “Glory,” as they worship the King upon his throne.

But if there’s one thing that strikes me, it’s how David ends this psalm.

He sings,

The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace. (29:11)

What strikes me about this verse? That the God who is awesome, the God who is holy, the God who is almighty… he cares for me.

He cares enough for me to give me strength when I am weak. He cares enough to give my soul peace when I am anxious and fearful.

When I am weak, he is strong. And as the Amplified Bible puts it,

The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people.

Lord, you are awesome. You are mighty. You are holy. And yet you love me.

Thank you for that. That though I am small and seemingly insignificant, yet to you, I am highly significant. Enough so, that you came down to this earth to die for me.

When I am weak, be my strength. When I am in the storm and am fearful and anxious, grant me your peace. I love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Psalm19-

Crying out in times of trouble

Sometimes as we pray, it seems that God is slow in answering. Or that perhaps he’s just ignoring us.

We see this here in Psalm 28. David cries out,

To you I call, O LORD my Rock;
do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. (Psalm 28:1–2)

What exactly his situation was, we are not sure, but how often do we pray as David did?

“Lord, are you hearing me? Why are you silent? Please listen to me. Don’t you see me calling to you?”

He then pleads for God’s justice in his life.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.

Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back upon them what they deserve. (3–4)

A lot of times in the Psalms, we see David asking for God’s punishment on his enemies, and we wonder how this fits in with the idea of loving our enemies.

I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind here.

First, though David sometimes prayed against his enemies, he always left justice in the hands of God. He never took it into his own.

Rather, in his life, he consistently showed a heart of compassion and mercy toward his enemies. You see this in his treatment of both Saul and Absalom.

Second, though God certainly understands our cries against those who hurt us, it touches his heart more to see us pray for them.

Having poured out his heart to God, however, we see the joy flooding back into David’s heart. Why? Because he knew God had heard him, and that he would answer.

Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. (6–8)

He then does what we should all do in our times of prayer. He turns it from praying solely for himself, to praying for the people he cared for, in this case, the nation he was ruling.

He prayed,

Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever. (9)

We would do well to remember that though we may be hurting, there are many people around us who are hurting too.

So let us pray not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. And let us reach out with God’s hand of mercy to touch them as God has touched us.

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Psalm19-

Waiting on God

It has been said that when we fear God, we need not fear anything else. And we see this so clearly in Psalm 27.

David starts by singing,

The LORD is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. (Psalm 27:1–3)

Even in the midst of trouble, David’s first thought was not of his deliverance from his problems, but of seeking God’s face. Of having sweet fellowship with his Savior. He prays,

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple. (4)

So often, especially in times of trouble, our prayers are, “Help me.”

But in times of trouble, David cried out, “I want you. I want to look upon you. I want to know you.”

Why? Because he knew that if he put himself in God’s hands, God would take care of him. He sang,

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD. (5–6)

I like how the NASB puts verse 8.

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”

Here we see God calling out to us, saying, “Seek me.”

How often do we miss out on peace in our lives because we fail to do just that? Instead, we focus on our problems and in the process become overwhelmed by them.

How much better would our lives be if we took our eyes off of these things, turned our eyes toward God, and said, “Your face, O Lord, I will seek?”

For though those around us may abandon us or let us down, God never will. As David sang,

Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me. (10)

Then after praying for God’s guidance and deliverance through his troubles, he proclaims,

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (13)

It’s so easy to say, “God is good,” when things are good. But how often do we proclaim his goodness when things are bad?

But because David has his eyes firmly fixed upon God, even though things were rough, he could still say, “God is good.”

And so he tells us who are struggling as he did,

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD. (14)

Lord, through times of trouble, help me to wait on you. Help me to keep believing in your goodness. Help me to remember that you’re always with me, though I can’t always see or feel you.

Lord, my one desire is to know you. Help me to hear your voice as you call to me. And give me a heart that seeks you always. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Psalm19-

Blameless, under God’s grace

Psalm 26 is another psalm where I wish I knew when David wrote it.

Did he write it during the time of his flight from Saul? Or from Absalom? Or did he write it at some other time in his life?

Looking at what he says, it would seem to make sense that this happened during his flight from Saul. For in these verses, he sings,

Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life.

I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth. (Psalm 26:1–3)

Because of his failures with Bathsheba and Uriah, it would be much easier to see him singing this during his time fleeing from Saul. Certainly, he could say these things with much more confidence back then.

But what intrigues me is the idea that perhaps he wrote this song after his sin with Bathsheba. That it happened during his flight from Absalom.

And if that is so, then he truly understood the depth of God’s forgiveness. That God had indeed washed him as white as snow. That God had blotted out his iniquities as he had asked. (Psalm 51)

So when he talks about his blamelessness, he says this with confidence not based on the fact that he was, but on the basis of knowing that God had forgiven his sin and remembered his sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)

Now by God’s mercy, he was back on track, living the life that God had intended for him, and he could praise God saying,

I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, O LORD,
proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds. (6–7)

And he could say with confidence,

My feet stand on level ground (12).

So many times we look at our lives, and we see our failures. We see our sin.

And Satan would accuse us, saying, “See! You’re no good. Look at yourself. Look at what a mess you made out of your life.”

During those times, let us look Satan in the eye and tell him, “What you say is true. But God has already forgiven my sin, and no longer remembers it.

“You have no right to accuse me anymore when my Judge doesn’t. So get away from me Satan and take your accusations with you.

“I’m God’s child now, and I’m forgiven. And in his eyes, I’m blameless.”

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Psalm19-

Crying out for God

I often wish that we had a little more insight as to the background of the songs that David wrote. Some of the psalms have the background written in the title. This one, unfortunately, does not.

But what strikes me in Psalm 25 is the cry in his soul for God in the midst of the troubles in his life.

He sings,

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
in you I trust, O my God. (Psalm 25:1–2)

In other words, “Lord, I give my everything to you. Everything that I am, I lift to you. And in you, I put my complete trust.”

It’s so easy to say those words. It’s so difficult to live them.

So often I take back from God what I once surrendered. So often, I lack in faith, failing to trust him completely.

Yet despite my failings, it is the cry of my heart, just as it was David’s.

He then prays,

Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. (4–5)

Here we see the humility of David.

So often we think we know it all. That we don’t need to inquire of God.

But David humbles himself and says, “I don’t know everything. I don’t know the best path to take. Please teach me. Please guide me.”

Why did he seek God’s ways and path? Because of his love for God, and his desire to please him. He said, “You are my God my Savior. My hope is in you.”

Then in the midst of this psalm, he pleads,

Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD…

For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great. (6–7, 11)

I wonder from these verses if perhaps David wrote this during his flight from Absalom.

Perhaps he saw how his sin with Bathsheba, though forgiven by God, had nevertheless led to the events that led to his exile.

And so once again, he prayed, “Lord, don’t hold my sin against me, though I know it was great. Forgive me. Not because I deserve it, but because of your love and mercy.”

So often we look at our own lives, and see how our sins, though forgiven, have nevertheless brought about the trouble we are in. And we wonder if God has truly forgiven us.

God has. And he will have mercy on us on the day of judgment though we don’t deserve it.

But that doesn’t mean he will necessarily take away the consequences of what we’ve sown in our lives here on earth.

Nevertheless, he will stand with us through the things we’ve brought upon ourselves, as he did with David.

And so David said,

Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.

All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant. (8–10)

In other words, even though we sin, as long as we seek him, he will never give up on us. He will continue to lead us and teach us.

Of course, the big difference between us and David is that we live not under law, but under grace.

And so though we fail to keep his law, nevertheless his love and faithfulness towards us never changes. As Paul wrote,

If we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

David then closes by asking for God’s protection, saying,

Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you. (20–21)

As he started the psalm, so he finishes. By putting his soul in the hands of God, and his hope in God as well.

Through the trials that we go through in this life, may we do the same.

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Psalm19-

Making way for the King

In the last psalm, we saw God as a loving shepherd. Here we see him as king.

On what basis does he claim that title? That he is our creator. David sang,

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters. (Psalm 24:1–2)

Just about everyone acknowledges that if you make something with your own materials and with your own hands, what you create belongs to you.

In the same way, God created everything, including you and me, and so rightfully, we belong to him. And one day we will have to give an account to our King.

Who will be able to stand before God on that day?

The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob. (Psalm 24:4–6)

Note here that it’s not enough to live a “good life.” You also need to acknowledge God as your King. As your God. As your Savior.

Not only that, you need a heart that seeks his face.

That is what is important to God. That we would put our faith in him, trusting in him each day.

That’s what saved Abraham in the Old Testament. It’s what justified him before God, even though Abraham himself failed many times.

And it’s what saved and justified everyone who followed him, even down to our day.

It is these people that God says will receive blessing from him and be vindicated on that day.

How about you? Have you made room in your heart for him as your king? David wrote,

Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty —
he is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:7–10)

Let us open the gates to our hearts and make way for our King to not only enter, but to have his way in our lives.

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Psalm19-

Our Shepherd

Psalm 23 is probably the most famous psalm in the book. Probably because of the intimacy it displays between God and us.

In other psalms, we see God as king. As judge. As avenger. As warrior. But in this passage, we see him as a shepherd.

It has been pointed out that being called sheep is not exactly a compliment. Sheep are among the stupidest animals in the world. They are completely lost without their shepherd.

And that’s what we are. We’d like to think of ourselves as smart and better than others. That we don’t need God. But without God, our lives will go to pieces. We are hopelessly lost without him.

David starts by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Not just “our shepherd.” But, “my shepherd.”

In other words, though we may be one of many sheep, God cares intimately for us. And as in the story of the lost sheep, when one of us strays from him, he cares enough to pursue us and rescue us. (Luke 15:3–7)

And because he cares for us, David says we shall lack nothing we need.

Jesus reiterates this saying that if our Father takes care of the birds of the air and clothes the flowers of the field, how much more will he take care of us? (Matthew 6:25–30)

Not only that, he gives us peace and rest. Sheep will not lie down if they are anxious or afraid. But a good shepherd soothes their fears and anxieties and allows them to lie down in peace.

And when we’re tired and exhausted, when we’re feeling burdened by life’s problems, David writes that he restores our soul.

He gives us what we need not to just make it through the day, but to be totally refreshed as we face the new day and its challenges.

As our shepherd, he also leads us. He shows us the right path to walk upon, a path that leads us where we need to go in life.

This is not to say that the path will always be pleasant.

The interesting thing here is that David says that the path sometimes leads us right into the valley of the shadow of death. Through times when things seem dark. Through times when there seems to be no hope.

But David says, “Even though I go through these dark places, even as I face death itself, I will not fear.”

Why?

“Because you are with me.”

He writes,

“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).”

Shepherds often used their rods to protect the sheep from predators that would attack them, and they would use the staff to guide the sheep.

And so even as David went through the dark times (and he had many), he says, “I see your protection and your guidance even then.”

And though God may not take all adversity from us, David says that even so, he provides all we need and more. He sings in verse 5,

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

Because of all these things, David sings with confidence and joy,

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (6)

How about you? Have you made God your shepherd?

Only in him will you find the peace, joy, and contentment that we all seek.

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Psalm19-

The God who understands suffering

Our pastor was continuing his message series on suffering yesterday, and he made an interesting point.

“Just because God doesn’t ‘cooperate’ with us, doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.”

That is, just because God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want, doesn’t mean that he isn’t there. Nor does it mean that he doesn’t care.

And that’s what I see in Psalm 22. Here, David cries out,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. (Psalm 22:1–2)

But despite God seeming silent and distant, the psalmist affirms,

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.

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

To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. (3–5)

In other words, “I still believe you’re there. And you are the same God that our ancestors trusted, and they were not put to shame. So I’m going to keep trusting you, even though I can’t see you or what you’re doing right now.”

Still, David pours out his troubles before God, but in them, we see something else. We see Jesus whom this psalm foretells.

It foretells his state on the cross (14–17).

It foretells his mocking, and the casting of lots for his clothes (7–8, 17–18).

And it foretells his ultimate triumph and the salvation and blessing that would come because of his sacrifice (22–31).

Jesus, himself, as he was dying on the cross, quoted this psalm and applied it to himself, when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

What can we get from this?

When we are suffering and God seems distant and uncaring, those feelings are just that. Feelings. And they are not true. God is there. And he does care.

David sings,

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

God doesn’t make light of our sufferings. Nor does he ever hide his face from us. Rather, he hears our every cry. And he feels and understands our every pain.

How do I know? Because Jesus himself suffered. He too had feelings of abandonment by his Father. He too knew what it meant to go through pain.

And just as God used all that Jesus went through for his glory, he will use all our sufferings for his glory too, if only we’ll keep trusting him.

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Psalm19-

Remembering where victory and blessing come from

When things are going badly, our thoughts often quickly turn towards God. But what about during times of victory and blessing?

Do our thoughts turn quickly in praise towards God? Or do our thoughts turn towards ourselves, and how great we are?

Even David fell into that trap (see 2 Samuel chapters 11–12, and 24), but here in Psalm 21, he kept in mind just where his victory and blessing came from. He sang,

The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!

You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.

You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—length of days, for ever and ever.

Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. (Psalm 21:1–6)

Not only did David remember where these things came from, he remembered why God blessed him.

For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. (7)

Where do your thoughts turn when you find victory in your life?

Do you find yourself boasting in yourself and your wisdom and strength? Or do you find yourself praising God for what he’s done?

Do you find yourself putting more faith in yourself and what you can do? Or do you find yourself putting more faith in God and what he can do?

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Psalm19-

The key to victory

It seems that David wrote Psalm 20 on the eve of a battle. And here, the people pray for God’s blessing on him as he and his army go out.

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God. (Psalm 20:1–5)

It’s a beautiful prayer, but after it, David reminds them of what the key to victory is.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm. (7–8)

So many times we make our plans without God’s counsel, and just say, “Okay God, bless our plans. Make them successful.”

Then when our plans fall apart, we wonder why God didn’t answer our prayers.

But here, David reminds them that the key to success is in putting their trust not in their own power and strength (nor in their own wisdom for that matter), but in putting their faith in God.

And that while those who trust in themselves will fall, those who put their faith in God will rise up and stand firm.

How about you? Are you putting your faith in your own wisdom and strength, and simply asking God to bless you? Or are you putting all your faith in God?

Are you seeking his face, not only in the battles you face, but in the planning as well?

Let us make God and his Word the foundation for all we do, not our own strength and wisdom.

Categories
Psalm19-

How God reveals himself

Psalm 19 is another one of my favorite psalms and it powerfully shows how God reveals himself to us.

First, David shows us how God reveals himself through creation. He sang,

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1–4)

I think this passage is primarily what Paul was thinking of when he wrote,

What may be known about God is plain to [all], because God has made it plain to them.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:19–20)

Sometimes people ask, “What will happen to those who have never heard about God? Will God judge them too, when they’ve never even heard the name of Christ?”

The answer to this is, yes they will be judged, but not on the basis of never hearing about Christ.

They’ll be judged on the basis that when they looked at creation, they knew in their hearts that it couldn’t have been an accident, nor could it have been created by the idols made by their own hands. And yet they rejected that knowledge.

When people reject the knowledge that God gives them, he is under no obligation to give them any more.

If he chooses to do so, it’s purely a matter of grace, not of some right to knowledge that we have.

(Actually, any knowledge of himself that God gives to us is purely a matter of grace, anyway).

I will say, however, that if a person, say in Africa, who has never heard the gospel looks up at the sky and says, “I didn’t make this world. No one I know could have made this. It’s impossible that the things I created with my own hands have made this. Whoever you are that made all this, please show yourself to me,” that God will respond one way or another.

Why? Because it is his desire that all be saved. (1 Timothy 2:4)

If you have any doubts about that, just look at the story of Cornelius in Acts 10.

He knew nothing of his need for Christ. Yet because he acted on the knowledge that he did have, God reached down to him and gave him the knowledge of Jesus that he needed for salvation.

God reveals himself to us through creation, but he also reveals himself through his Word. And just as with creation, people need to choose to believe his word or reject it.

We can either say that it’s perfect and trustworthy, or that it’s not. (Psalm 19:7)

We can either say it’s right, or that it’s not. (Psalm 19:8)

We can believe it gives joy and light to our lives, or that it doesn’t. (Psalm 19:8)

David, of course, chose to believe the former. Many others do not. But how we view God’s Word shapes our view of God for the good or bad. And if we reject his Word, then we come out with a distorted view of who God really is.

But when we see God for who he is, we love him, and want to please him as David did. And so David closes this psalm with a prayer, saying,

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:12–14)