Category: Psalm35-

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Psalm35-

Two misconceptions of God

Psalm 50 reads a lot like the message of the prophets in terms of its contents. And it tackles two common misconceptions people have of God.

In the first part, God is seen coming into the courtroom, calling the defendants before him.

Who are the defendants? In context, the people of Israel who were under the covenant of Moses.

But all of us too will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so it would be well for us to take into consideration what he says.

The first misconception God addresses is that he only desired outward signs of religion. That rituals such as sacrifices were all that he really wanted. But he told the Israelites,

I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.

If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats? (Psalm 50:9–13)

Basically, he’s saying, “You make all these offerings, but you don’t understand why I require them. I don’t require them because I’m hungry, poor, and needy. Everything belongs to me, anyway.

“If I needed food, I’d know where to find it. But the truth is, I don’t even need food. That’s not why I ask you to offer them.”

Then he tells the Israelites what he really wants.

Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me. (14–15)

In short, have hearts filled with thanksgiving. Acknowledge me as your God, as your provider, and as your savior. Stop trying to live for yourself and by your own strength and wisdom.

He then blasts those who merely look religious, but who in their hearts despise God. He says,

What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.

When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.

You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.

You speak continually against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son. (16–20)

In other words, “You say all the right things. You sound like you honor me. But then you go out and live your own way.”

To put it into modern terms, “You worship me on Sunday, but live your own way the rest of the week.”

God is not so impressed by religious ritual and outward appearances. He’s not impressed by how often you go to church, by how much you give to the church, or by how many Bible verses you know. He wants your heart.

And if he doesn’t have that, everything else means nothing to him.

God then addresses the second misconception people had of him. He said,

These things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.

But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.

Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces,
with none to rescue. (21–22)

Put another way, “You’ve mistaken my silence for approval of your evil. I’ve been patient with you waiting for you to repent, but if you don’t, judgment will come. And when it does, it will be too late to repent.”

But then God comes back to his original thought,

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God. (23)

What does this mean for us?

The first step to salvation is acknowledging God as God. To stop living as if we are independent of him. But to live in gratefulness and humbleness before him.

And as we do, it prepares us for the way of salvation as expressed in Christ.

The day of judgment is coming. So as James wrote,

Humble yourselves before the Lord,
and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)

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Psalm35-

What money can’t buy

As the old saying goes, “Money makes the world go round.” But the psalmist here reminds us of another more important truth. “There are some things that money can’t buy.”

He writes,

No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him —
the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough —
that he should live on forever
and not see decay. (Psalm 49:7–9)

In short, no one can buy eternal life. All of us, rich or poor, wise or foolish, powerful or weak, whoever we may be, will someday die. And much as we’d like to, we can’t take our money with us.

What’s more, it will not buy us a place in heaven. All the money in the world cannot pay the penalty for our sin.

Only one person can. God. And so he came down to this earth, and he paid the penalty for our sin, not with money, but with his blood shed on the cross.

It’s amazing to me the insight the psalmist had into this, even before Christ came. He wrote,

But God will redeem my life from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself. (Psalm 49:15)

Though the psalmist had no knowledge of Christ, nevertheless he says with confidence that we will live on to be with God through the ransom he himself pays.

And so he writes,

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;
for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

Though while he lived he counted himself blessed —
and men praise you when you prosper —
he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life. (Psalm 49:16–19)

How about you? Do you envy those with wealth? Are you seeking it yourself? Or do you have it, and are making it your life purpose to just make more and more?

Remember the words of the psalmist.

A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:20)

Having money and wealth is by no means bad. It can be used to do a lot of good in this world and for God’s kingdom.

But let us understand that money is definitely not everything. There are more important things in life. And there are definitely things that money cannot buy.

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When God dwells within us

Psalm 48 was probably written after an attack was made upon Jerusalem. And it praises the greatness of God who protected her.

It exults,

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain. (Psalm 48:1)

After praising the beauty of Zion in Jerusalem, it says,

God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.

When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,
they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror. (3–5)

The psalmist then sings,

As we have heard,
so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever. (8)

What can we get from this?

Just as God watched over and protected the city he made his dwelling in, he watches over and protects us.

For God no longer lives in a temple within a city, he lives within human hearts.

And though our Enemy may rise up to attack us, God will make us secure if we’ll just put our trust in him.

So in times of trouble, let us not live in fear, but rather “meditate on his unfailing love.” (9)

In his eyes, we are his beautiful dwelling place and his joy, not to mention his precious children, and he will not fail to defend us.

And when we see his deliverance, let us not forget to thank him for his goodness, remembering always that,

This God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end. (14)

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Psalm35-

Sing and shout!

Yesterday morning, I was on the train listening to a worship song and I was really getting into it, singing along.

Of course, I didn’t do this out loud. I was just mouthing the words, but nevertheless, I noticed a strange look from the person sitting next to me. (I don’t know. Maybe people in Japan just don’t do this.)

Anyway, I really didn’t care what he thought, so I just kept on going.

On Sunday, our pastor was talking about shouting and singing things with conviction. He asked, “If you’re at a baseball game, are you going to whisper, ‘Go team go’?”

No, you shout it with conviction.

(Just to give a little background, in Nishinomiya where I live, there’s a baseball team called the Hanshin Tigers, and the fans are crazy. All game long, they are cheering and singing. Actually, all Japanese fans do this, but the Tiger fans are especially crazy.)

Anyway, that’s what I thought about as I read Psalm 47. I don’t think you can just say this psalm in a whisper. It’s the kind of psalm you have to sing and shout out loud.

Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy. (Psalm 47:1)

And again,

Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises. (6)

It’s hard to miss the exuberance of this psalm. No less than four times in one verse are we exhorted to sing to our God.

Why all this excitement? Why all this joy? For one thing, we praise him for who he is.

For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth. (2)

We also praise him for what he has done.

He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.

He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. (3–4)

In context, this is talking of God bringing Israel into the promised land.

But for us as Christians, God has given us victory too. Victory over Satan. Victory over sin. And ultimately, victory over death.

More, because of his love for us, we have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven.

Not only that, we have a life worth living here on earth as we follow him. As Paul wrote,

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s something to sing and shout about.

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Psalm35-

When all is chaos around us

Chaos.

Children screaming. Sick spouses. Deadlines and pressure coming in from all sides.

Sound familiar?

We all face the clamor of life from time to time. And sometimes the whole world seems to be crashing in upon us.

If that weren’t enough, we look at the news and see stories of war and natural disasters occurring left and right. And in the midst of it all, God can get lost.

I don’t mean that God loses his way, of course. But like Peter being faced by the crashing waves when he stepped out of the boat, we lose sight of Jesus. And we start to panic. We start to drown.

What is the Psalmist’s solution to this?

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)

In other words, stop for a moment. Be still. Stop looking at the circumstances around you and look at God for a minute.

Instead of looking at how big the problems around you seem, look at how big God is. And when you do, what will you find?

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1–3)

As we look around us,

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall. (6)

And yet,

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (7, 11)

So often, as we focus on our problems, we forget that God is truly in control. That nothing is beyond his power.

He has but to lift his voice, and this world would melt. He has but to say, “enough,” and all war will cease, and all will come to judgment.

So let us be still before God. Quiet our fears. Cease our questions. And see how big our God truly is.

Know that God is within us and we will not fall. That he will help us.

That he has given us the deposit of his Spirit who flows like a river in, through, and out of us, doing his work in our lives and in the world around us.

As we do, he will bring us joy and peace in the midst of any circumstances we may be going through.

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Bonded to Jesus

It says in the title of Psalm 45 that it was written for the wedding of a king. But in it, we see the wedding not only of the king it was written for, but the wedding of the great King of kings.

We are called the bride of Christ, and in this passage, we see both our groom, and how we are to respond to him as his bride.

In the first part, we see the description of the king, and in it we see many pictures of Christ. It shows him as a man of grace, saying,

You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. (Psalm 45:2)

It also shows him as a mighty warrior.

Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet. (3–5)

And it shows him as our king.

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. (6–7)

These last two verses in particular are attributed directly to Jesus in the book of Hebrews (1:8–9).

But then the psalmist talks to us, Christ’s bride, saying,

Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. (10)

The idea behind this actually comes from Genesis where God says that when people get married, they are to leave behind their parents, be joined to their spouse, and become one with their partner.

Of course, the passage in Genesis specifically talks of the man doing this, but we see here that it applies equally to his wife.

When we are bonded to Christ, we are to leave behind all ties that would keep us from truly being one with him.

I’ve been truly fortunate to grow up in a Christian home, but I know others who in deciding to follow Christ have had struggles with their parents over becoming a Christian.

Others have had to leave behind friends that would have held them back from following Christ.

Ideally, of course, we wouldn’t have to literally do that. Ideally, they would see Christ in us and decide to follow him too.

But there are times when we have to say to our family and friends, “I’m sorry, I can’t go the way you are going. I’m following Christ.”

The psalmist goes on to tell the bride,

Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord. (11)

What kind of beauty is this? Physical beauty? No. As Peter said in talking to wives,

It should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Peter 3:4)

And we are to honor him with our whole lives, since he is our Lord.

He then sings,

All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.

In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her —
those brought to be with her.

Led in with joy and gladness,
they enter the palace of the king. (13–15)

Why is the bride glorious? Because she has been clothed and made beautiful by the king who has chosen her.

This passage reminds me of what Christ has done for us, who,

…loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25–27)

May we ever live lives bonded in this way to our King.

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Psalm35-

Why is this happening to me?

“Why is this happening to me?”

Have you ever felt that way? The psalmist certainly did.

The background of Psalm 44 is unclear. Apparently, it was at a time when the people were trying to serve God and yet found themselves being defeated by their enemies.

And basically, they said, “We remember all the stories of how when we first came to Canaan that you were with us. All the nations here were driven out, not by our strength, but by yours, out of your great love for us.

“You’re our King. And like our ancestors, we put our trust in you, not in ourselves for our victory. You are the one we boast in. You are the one we praise.

“Why then, are you no longer with us? We go out to battle, but we fall. All those around us mock us, and we are disgraced.

“If we had turned our backs on you, if we had followed other gods, we could understand it. But we’ve done none of this.

“Why have you forsaken us? Why do you hide your face from us? Help us.”

In short, “Why is this happening to me? I’m trying to follow you. I haven’t turned my back on you? Why is my life falling apart?”

And no answer is given here. But there is a hope given in the book of Romans. In Romans, Paul quotes verse 22 of this psalm.

Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

And then he says,

In all these things (trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and even death) we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37–39)

God never promises us as Christians that we’ll never have hardship. He never promises that we’ll never go through suffering. On the contrary, he guarantees it. (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12)

But no matter what happens to us, God promises to bring us through. And nothing can or will separate us from his love.

That’s where our hope lies.

So when you’re struggling, cry out to God as the psalmist did. But whether God seems near or not, whether he seems to be hearing you or not, cling to his promises.

Our feelings constantly change. Namely, there are times when we feel God seems close and times when he doesn’t. But God and his promises never change.

So as Paul wrote in another passage,

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

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Depression

Depression. All of us go through it at some point in our lives. Some go deeper into it than others.

The writer of Psalms 42 and 43 was no exception, and he writes about it in utterly striking pictures.

He starts by saying,

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God. (Psalm 42:1–2)

I saw an interesting note in a commentary by Adam Clarke.

He said that when a deer is being hunted and is utterly exhausted and parched with thirst, it will go to a river or brook as its final place of refuge and will actually plunge into it and keep only its nose above water.

Sometimes we feel the same way. We feel attacked on all sides and we are utterly exhausted. And in our exhaustion and fear, we pant for God and desire to plunge ourselves into his arms.

And yet, sometimes, we feel that no matter how hard we look, he is nowhere to be found. Like the psalmist, we cry out,

When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:2)

In our depression, our food becomes stale in our mouths, and tears become our only food.

We then remember the good times. Those times we went to church and rejoiced with our Christian friends. Those times in prayer alone where God seemed so tangible, we felt we could touch him.

But now, we feel like we’re drowning in the midst of a storm, with wave after wave crashing down on us until we feel there is no hope.

Sometimes we try to pick ourselves up, and like the psalmist say,

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5–6)

But then we plunge immediately back into depression saying to God,

Why have you forgotten me? (42:9)

What can we take from all of this?

I think the first thing to remember is that you’re normal. You’re not the only person to go through these kinds of feelings and struggles.

One of Satan’s biggest lies is, “You’re alone. You’re the only person that ever goes through these feelings.”

And because we feel alone, we feel ashamed. That no one could identify with us.

But this psalmist surely could, and I think that’s one reason why God had this psalm put in the Bible. To remind us that we are not alone. That others have felt as we do.

So what do we do?

One thing is to continue choosing to believe in God’s goodness. Three times in these two Psalms, the psalmist tells himself,

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”

Remember that he is your God, your Savior who loved you so much that he sent his Son to save you.

Remember also his goodness to you in the past. How he has delivered you from problems before. And remind yourself,

By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me (42:8).

In other words, in the light of the good times, and the darkness of the bad, God never abandons us. He is with us whether we feel him or not.

So pray as the psalmist did,

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. (43:3)

Put another way, “Lord, I can’t see you or where you’re leading. Please shine your light on me. Show me where to go. Keep me from believing the lies that would make me think you’ve abandoned me. And lead me to where you are.”

One last thing. When you’re depressed, be sure to share with your Christian friends your feelings.

Remember that as the body of Christ, they are the hands, feet, ears, and mouth of God in this world, imperfect vessels though they may be.

And as you do, you’ll find that you’re not as alone as you thought.

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Being merciful

We now come to the end of the first book of psalms (there are five all together).

And David starts it by writing,

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. (Psalm 41:1)

Jesus put it another way.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

What is mercy? There are two ideas to the word mercy. One is showing compassion to those who are weak, sick, or poor.

The other idea is withholding punishment from those who deserve it.

We see both of these ideas in this psalm. David says of those who show mercy to those who are weak, God will show mercy to them when they themselves are weak. (1–3)

But David also cries out,

O LORD, have mercy on me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you. (4)

So often, like David, we cry out for mercy. But how often are we ourselves merciful to others?

How often are we like those David describes in verses 5–9. Who speak of those who have hurt us with malice.

Who when we see them suffering, say, “Good. He deserves it. I hope he dies.”

Who whisper gossip about them and exaggerate the wrongs they’ve done against us.

Or who, when we see our friends suffering, instead of comforting them, accuse them as Job’s friends did. Who say they must have sinned or that they lack true faith in God, otherwise they would be healed.

Even David struggled with the idea of mercy at times. So many times we see him in his psalms rail against his enemies. Ironically, he even says,

But you, O LORD, have mercy on me;
raise me up, that I may repay them. (10)

We don’t have to justify these kinds of statements of David. One thing about the psalms is that they are honest expressions of human emotions.

The key is that though David did indeed express his feelings of anger and frustration, he did not act on them except in justice.

We too may get frustrated or angry with others. But as God showed us mercy, so we are to show mercy to others.

And when we see people who are weak and in need of our help, we are to help them as God helped us when we were powerless to save ourselves. (Romans 5:6–8)

How merciful are you?

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Song of a Savior

In this psalm by David, we see his suffering and deliverance. But we also see the song of our Savior as he sings about his suffering on the cross and his resurrection.

Psalm 40 starts out with David praising God for his salvation, singing,

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:1–3)

In the same way, Jesus looks back upon the cross and his sufferings there and sees his patience rewarded as his Father resurrected him from the dead never to know death again.

Now because of his work,

Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (3)

And so they have. Throughout the years, people have looked to Jesus’ work on the cross and have been saved.

He then says,

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. (4)

Ever since the time of the Fall, people have either trusted in false idols or looked to themselves for their salvation. But the psalmist says here that these things cannot save.

Rather, it is the person who looks upon and puts their trust in the Savior that will be saved.

All this was according to God’s plan that he had laid out before time began.

Then, in verses 6–8, it says,

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

This passage is quoted in Hebrews 10, and the writer there comments that while the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament were required by law, nevertheless, they were a mere shadow of the work that Christ would do on the cross.

A quick note here. Many comments have been made on the “piercing of ears” as quoted in the Psalms, and “a body prepared for me” as written in Hebrews.

The reason for the change comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible which the writer of Hebrews quoted.

When the translators changed the Hebrew to Greek, they changed “my ears you have pierced” to “a body you have prepared for me.”

Why they did so is unknown. Some have claimed that it was a copyist’s mistake. Others have said that it was a paraphrase, as the Greeks couldn’t understand the meaning of the piercing of ears.

There are numerous other theories, but little agreement, and more qualified people than I have written on this. Here is one idea I favor, however.

The piercing of ears seems to refer to Mosaic law where if a servant who was to be set free desired instead to stay with his master for life, he would have his ear pierced as a sign of his voluntary, lifelong submission (Deuteronomy 15:16–17).

Perhaps, if the Greek translation did paraphrase here, the idea was that David wanted to serve God forever with the body God had given him.

Not because he was forced to. But because he deeply loved his Father and wanted to please him.

In the same way, Jesus wanted to serve his Father by going to the cross, and the Father provided him a human body to do so.

Again, Jesus did this, not because he was forced to, but because he loved his Father and wanted to please him.

And now he lives to serve his Father forever. (Romans 6:10; 1 Corinthians 15:24–28)

Having died for us, he then proclaimed God’s righteousness, his salvation, his truth, and his love to all. (9–10)

For the final verses, it goes back to the cross, and his suffering there. Having taken our sins upon himself and counting them as his own, he suffered for us. (12)

And he begs God not to forget him, but that he would be vindicated before those who hated him, and that God would be glorified by those who loved him. (13–17)

The Father, of course, answered his prayer, and now because of Jesus we can rejoice in his salvation and truly shout, “The Lord is exalted.”

To that, I say, “Amen.”

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True repentance

There may or may not be any direct connection between Psalms 38 and 39, but both seem to be dealing with David’s attitude toward God’s discipline in his life, and so I place them together here.

We don’t know what the situations were in which these psalms were written, but I would guess that it was after the incident with the census. This is pure speculation, however.

But as in Psalm 29, David seems to be suffering God’s discipline because of a sin he committed.

And he prays,

O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

For your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down upon me.

Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
my bones have no soundness because of my sin.

My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.

My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.

I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.

My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.

I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart. (Psalm 38:1–8)

One verse that strikes me here is 18, where David says,

I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin. (38:18)

Some people take their sin lightly. They may “repent,” but are merely trying to wipe their dirt off on the mat of grace. Yet in their hearts, they are not troubled at all by the sin they committed.

But David’s heart troubled him when he sinned. And like Paul in Romans 7, his heart cried out in remorse when he fell. That’s a true heart of repentance.

In Psalm 39, we see more of his response to the suffering he went through. And at first, he said nothing, for fear that he might bring disgrace upon God’s name among the wicked.

Perhaps he felt by confessing his sin before them, it might give them the opportunity to blaspheme God.

Or perhaps he feared that by complaining about the discipline he was receiving, that it would reflect badly on God.

But in the end, he cried out,

Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Each man’s life is but a breath.

Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. (39:4–6)

Here David confesses how his distorted perspective led him into sin.

If indeed this was written following his sin with the census, he could’ve been referring to how all his efforts to build up his military strength was a waste of time. How all his pride in what he had and what he had accomplished was worthless.

For all these things were temporary. All would pass away.

And so he prayed, “Lord, never let me lose perspective again. My life is but a breath. Let me not sin by focusing on things that are temporary.”

And then he prayed,

But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7)

In short, “I no longer look to the things that are temporary for my hope. For my satisfaction. From now on, I look to you.”

He then closes by weeping before God, asking for forgiveness. And God did. For as John wrote,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

How about you? Does your sin trouble you? Does God’s discipline turn your eyes from temporal things to eternal things?

Let us be like David. Let us turn our eyes and our hearts from sin to the things that are eternal and bring true life.

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Frustrated by the evil we see

“What’s the point of following God and doing what’s right, when I’m struggling and so many people I see doing their own thing are prospering?”

So many times we feel that way. We look at all the people doing evil around us, and they seem to be enjoying life, and we compare their lives to our own struggles and we wonder what’s the point of following God.

But in Psalm 37, David gives us words of encouragement as he looks back upon his own life. He writes,

Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong (Psalm 37:1).

Why?

For like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away. (2)

And he admonishes us,

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret — it leads only to evil.

For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. (7–9)

In other words, don’t get angry when you see the wicked around you prospering. Don’t fret about it.

Because when you do, you start to become bitter, and it leads you down a slippery slope in which you are tempted to give up your faith and to start living your own way.

But while evil men will eventually be cut off, you will find blessing if you continue to hope in the Lord.

And so David tells us,

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. (3)

Put another way, “Don’t throw away your faith when you see the wicked prospering. Continue doing what is good, and trust that God will reward you.”

He then says,

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. (4)

David’s saying here, “Make God your chief desire. Seek him above all things. And if you do, he’ll give you all your heart desires.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll give you a new Ferrari if you seek God.

But as you delight yourself in God, some of the things that you once thought were so important will not seem so important anymore. And the things that are truly important, God will bless you with.

Moreover, the gifts he gives will not leave you empty as the things of this world will. In short, if you make God your chief desire, that’s when you’ll find true satisfaction in life.

And so David says,

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (5–6)

You may feel unrewarded, but know that if you commit your way to him, he will not forget. And the day will come when all will see what you have done and praise God.

When you’re feeling jealous of the wicked because of their prosperity, remember:

Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous. (16–17)

David then encourages us,

If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.

They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.

For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. (23–28)

How about you? Are you frustrated by the evil you see? Then remember these words:

Wait for the LORD and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off. (34–38)

I like that last part. For those who follow God, there is a future. And it is good. But there is no future for the wicked.

So let us not fret over the evil we see. Rather, let us be still, be patient, delight ourselves in God, and put our trust in him each day.

And as we do, we’ll find a life that’s truly worth living.

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The goodness of God

In the first half of Psalm 36, we saw the evil of mankind. In the second half, we see the goodness of God.

I love how David describes the character of God here.

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep. (Psalm 36:5–6)

In this world we see so many whose love is shallow. Who prove to be unworthy of our trust. Who do what is good and just only when it suits them.

But God is not like that. His love extends to the heavens, and his faithfulness has no bounds. His righteousness stands firm no matter the situation, and his justice swallows up all who would do evil.

Yet within his justice, there is room for mercy and grace.

O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light. (6–9)

After the flood, God promised never to destroy the world through water again. And despite our sin, he shows us mercy, waiting for us to repent.

More, in his unfailing love, he didn’t wait for us to turn to him, but he reached down to us, sending his Son to provide the way of salvation.

Now, everyone, both rich and poor, powerful and weak, can find refuge and salvation in him. And in him, he not only provides our needs, but fills us with joy, life, and light.

Lord, I thank you for your goodness. You were the fountain of life to me when I was dying. You brought light to my darkness.

Lord, reveal my sin to me and forgive me. Extend your mercy, grace, and goodness to me that I might know true joy and life. And help me to extend all you’ve given me to those around me.

Let me be your vessel. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Psalm35-

The evil of mankind

As I write this, a major story in the American sports world is the arrest of an NFL star named Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez is charged with murder.

It seems quite unreal to me. I am by no means a New England Patriots fan. (Actually, I can’t stand them).

But it’s unbelievable to me that someone could have such a blatant disregard for life, that he would plot and carry out the murder of another person.

Hernandez is, of course, innocent until proven guilty, but things don’t look good for him right now. All the evidence that we know of points to him and two others murdering another man.

I couldn’t help but think of that as I read Psalm 36. David wrote,

An oracle is within my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.

For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.

The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

Even on his bed he plots evil;
he commits himself to a sinful course
and does not reject what is wrong. (Psalm 36:1–4)

Do all these things relate to Hernandez’s case? That is yet to be seen. But it shows the heart of so many who do evil.

Evil starts with a lack of fear in our hearts for God. When we refuse to acknowledge God in our lives, then just about anything goes. We are free to do almost anything.

The only thing that would restrain us would be a fear of punishment or our conscience. And apart from God, our consciences inevitably become warped.

Some people’s consciences are warped to a lesser degree than others, but they are warped nonetheless. And they become blinded to what is truly good and right. As David wrote,

For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin. (2)

How do we flatter ourselves? We think of ourselves as better than we really are. Or we think we are perfectly justified in all our actions.

The result? We can’t even detect, no less hate the sin in our lives. And in our sin, we cease to be wise and to do what is good.

If the prosecutors are right, Hernandez was so angry with the victim that he murdered him.

Part of the reason it seems so unreal to me is that if this is true, not only did he destroy another man’s life, he destroyed his own.

He was rich and had everything he needed from a material standpoint. He worked with a good organization. He seemed set for life.

Yet he couldn’t forgive the grievance he had against the victim, and that grievance became more important to him than anything else.

That includes his fiancée and his 7‑month‑old daughter who will now be without a husband and father if he is found guilty.

But when we commit ourselves to a course of evil, that’s what happens. When we fail to reject what we know is wrong, we destroy ourselves and end up hurting the ones we love.

How about you? You probably haven’t murdered anyone. But how about in your heart?

Do you hold anger and unforgiveness in your heart? Jesus said that if you do, you have murdered that person in your heart. (Matthew 5:21–22)

Aside from that, are you giving yourself to other destructive tendencies in your life?

Do you fail to fear God, saying, “Oh, he’ll forgive me. It’s okay?”

Have you been justifying yourself for actions you know are wrong? Are you committing yourself to a path you know is wrong?

Let us be wise. Let us fear God and do what is right, not giving in to the evil that infects our world.

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When people hate us

When I was a kid, I had a friend that I would often hang out with. But by the time we hit junior high school, we had kind of drifted apart, and it soon became evident that he really didn’t like me. To this day, I’m not completely certain why.

How do we deal with these kinds of people?

David certainly experienced this. Though David did nothing to deserve it, he experienced the wrath and hatred of King Saul. And it was perhaps during his time of fleeing from Saul that he wrote this psalm.

David opens by praying,

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.

Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.

Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. (Psalm 35:1–3)

One thing that we see about David is that when dealing with those who hated him, he always left the fighting in God’s hands. He said, “Lord, please fight for me. You be my defender.”

Even so, it was probably difficult for him to remember to do this and not take things into his own hands, and so he prayed,

Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” (3)

In other words, “Remind me Lord that you’re on my side. Remind me that you will deliver me so that I don’t try to avenge myself.”

What’s really amazing to me is his attitude towards those who hated him.

Yet when they were ill,
I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.

When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother.

I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. (13–14)

You actually see this attitude when David heard about the death of Saul. When he heard of Saul’s and Jonathan’s death, he not only mourned for Jonathan who was David’s best friend, but he wept for the man who had tried to kill him.

It is the kind of attitude, in fact, that Jesus had. In fact, I see a lot of Jesus in this psalm.

Like David, Jesus had false accusers coming against him (11), and people mocking and slandering him (15–16).

And yet, he prayed for them, even as they were crucifying him.

God calls us to do the same. In 1 Peter, the apostle wrote,

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)

In particular, Peter is talking about suffering for doing what’s right. And he’s saying that because Jesus endured suffering in order to save us, we should also endure suffering for righteousness’ sake.

But we also see in this passage more on how Jesus responded to those who hated him. And in this, we are to follow in Jesus’ steps as well. How did Jesus respond?

“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
when he suffered, he made no threats.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:22–23)

How about you? When people hate you and hurt you without cause, do you follow in Jesus’ steps?