September 6, 2016
The Psalmist reminded the people of Israel that offering sacrifices without a heart of true righteousness and thanksgiving were not acceptable to God. His apparent “silence” over their hypocrisy and sin would soon pass and He would come in judgment. The fact that they were children of Abraham did not necessarily give them the right to say, “The Lord is ‘our’ God.” They needed more than circumcision of the flesh. They needed a “circumcision of the heart” (Rom. 2:29) in order to be children of God. God has not kept silent. He has spoken through His Son, Jesus, so that we might believe on Him as Savior and become children of God. And God will not keep silent. He will soon speak again through Jesus as Judge. He will clothe Himself in the terrible robes of justice, like a devouring fire and a mighty tempest, He will come to judge the living and the dead. God does not stay silent.
September 4, 2016
Thinking on God’s “steadfast love” is an appropriate act of worship. What kind of love is this? The Hebrew word is “chesed,” which may be translated “lovingkindness” or “covenantal love.” In the Greek New Testament, the word “agape” would be its equivalent. This kind of unconditional, unmerited, and unchanging love is worthy of our meditation. The psalmist spoke of his meditation of it in worship, yet it’s supreme revelation isn’t found until the cross of Christ. It is in Jesus that we see God’s steadfast love made manifest. As John said, “This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Beloved, think on this steadfast love of God revealed in Jesus Christ!
August 30, 2016
The Psalmist reflected on the stories told by their fathers of God’s miraculous deeds in bringing them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Although those stories were from “days of old,” the author still leaned on them in faith to give him hope for the days ahead. These faith stories, although not experienced first hand, yet inspired hope. Remembering the hand of God in the past, we too can be encouraged as we face the future.
August 28, 2016
David addressed the spiritual emptiness of his own soul by expressing his feeling towards God. His soul’s thirst for God was just as real as a deer’s thirst for water. His psalms are like prayers recorded in a spiritual journal. They reveal the heart of the man that God Himself called a “man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). David knew that only God could satisfy his soul’s deep longing. Many today don’t recognize this need. Sure, they feel the spiritual emptiness, but they vainly attempt to fill it or medicate it with worldly things. Yet, only God will satisfy. As Augustine once said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
August 22, 2016
The Lord is our salvation. Those who have believed and received Christ as Lord and Savior have been saved from sin’s penalty, are being saved from sin’s power and will ultimately be saved from sin’s presence. However, this salvation does not mean that his followers will not experience trouble. In fact, Jesus warned his disciples that “in this world there will be trouble” (John 16:33). Yet, He is not only our salvation, but our “stronghold,” our fortress of protection and defense. When storms of tribulation come, run to Him, for He has overcome the world.
August 16, 2016
The Holy Spirit inspired David to write before the cross what He inspired Paul to write after it– namely, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). Christ is our refuge.
August 15, 2016
David’s psalm invites us to worship the Lord with him. This is a wonderful call to worship. Are you part of a fellowship that will answer this call with you? This is a call that you cannot answer alone. You will need brothers and sisters who love the Lord as you do. Private devotions are life-giving, but they create a longing for worshiping together with others. Isn’t this the goal of the gospel? That there would be worshipers called out from every tongue and tribe?
August 12, 2016
David described how he felt when he had unconfessed sin in his life. Keeping silent about the sin, he felt a sense of heaviness and separation from the Lord. He suffered a kind of spiritual arthritis in his bones, so that his prayers turned into groaning as he tried to bend his stiff knees before the Lord. Yet when he acknowledged his sin, the Lord forgave him. God’s steadfast love surrounded him. Why did he wait so long to confess? Why not admit the sin as soon as he felt the Spirit’s conviction? Why wait for the spiritual dryness and heaviness before crying out to the Lord?
August 8, 2016
David knew what it meant to grieve a loss. Yet, he experienced the touch of the Lord that could change his “mourning into dancing.” Not just that his grieving was abated, but that it was replaced with abounding joy. Are you grieving a loss today? Bring it to Jesus. Leave it with Him. Let Jesus turn your mourning into dancing.
August 7, 2016
The word “ascribe” means to “give credit” or “recognize.” The Lord’s name is worthy of our recognition. We are to ascribe appropriate glory to Him. This call from David’s psalm is similar to the Lord’s Prayer which teaches us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name.” The first movement of prayer is the upward movement, we lift our eyes to the Lord, seeking His face. This moves us to consider the attributes of God. When we ascribe the glory due his name, we list His character traits and call on His many names as revealed in Scripture. When our view of God is thus enlarged, it moves us to worship and it reduces the size of our troubles in view of Him.