“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them has He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and His circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Psalm 19:1-6 (KJB)
Psalms
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,
“I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death surrounded me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth. There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before Him His thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also upright before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight. With the merciful You will shew Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will shew Yourself upright; with the pure You wilt shew Yourself pure; and with the froward You wilt shew Yourself shrewd. For You will save the afflicted people; but will bring down high looks. For You will light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. For who is God except the LORD? Or who is a rock except our God? It is God that girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation: and Your right hand has held me up, and Your gentleness has made me great. You hae enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For You have girded me with strength unto the battle: You have subdued under me those that rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but He answered them not. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and You have made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. The LORD lives; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdues the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies: yea, You lift me up above those that rise up against me: You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto You, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Your name. Great deliverance gives He to His king; and shows mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.” Psalm 18:1-50 (KJB)
O God, Show Your Marvelous Loving Kindness
“Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of deceitful lips. Let my sentence come forth from Your presence; let Your eyes behold the things that are equal. You have proved mine heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold up my goings in Your paths, that my footsteps slip not. I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God: incline Your ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew Your marvelous loving kindness, O You that saves by Your right hand them which put their trust in You from those that rise up against them.” Psalm 17:1-7 (KJB)
The LORD is My Portion
“Preserve me, O God: for in You do I put my trust. O my soul, you have said unto the LORD, You are my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to You; but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: You maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.” Psalm 16:1-7 (KJB)
Dwelling With GOD
“LORD, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbour, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honors them that fear the LORD. He that swears to his own hurt, and changes not. He that puts not out his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.” Psalm 15:1-5 (KJB)
The Tragedy of the Fool
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one.” Psalm 14:1-3 (KJB)
My Heart Shall Rejoice In Your Salvation
“How long will You forget me, O LORD? For ever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:1-6 (KJB)
When the Faithful Fail
“Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things: Who have said, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffs at him. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted” Psalm 12:1-8 (KJB)
Foundations of the Righteous
“In the LORD put I my trust. How say you to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain?’ For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:1-3 (KJB)
The Wicked In His Pride
“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride does persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the LORD abhors. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” Psalm 10:1-4 (KJB)
He Shall Judge the World In Righteousness
“I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You: I will sing praise to Your name, O You Most High. When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat in the throne judging right. You have rebuked the heathen, You have destroyed the wicked, You have put out their name for ever and ever. O you enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and you have destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the LORD shall endure for ever: He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Your name will put their trust in You: for You, LORD, have not forsaken them that seek You.” Psalm 9:1-10 (KJB)
Excellent in the All the Earth
“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have You ordained strength because of Your enemies, that You might still the enemy and the avenger.” Psalm 8:1-2 (KJB)
In You, LORD, I Put My Trust
“O LORD my God, in You do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” Psalm 7:1-2 (KJB)
For the Sake of Your Mercy
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your anger, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but You, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for Your mercies’ sake.” Psalm 6:1-4 (KJB)
My King, and My God
“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto You will I pray.” Psalm 5:1-2 (KJB)
Have Mercy…, and Hear My Prayer
“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: You have enlarged me in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1 (KJB)
Rage and Imagination
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His anointed…” Psalm 2:1-2 (KJB)
Blessed is the Man…
“Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” Psalm 1:1 (KJB)
Consider the Poor
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. I said, ‘LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee.’” Psalm 41:1-4 (KJV)
In the United States of America we are richly blessed. We are blessed with the grace of God. We are blessed with riches. Yet in the midst of the blessing of riches we are cursed with some levels of poverty; and some of which cannot be avoided. People often find themselves without an income, due to loss of jobs; or sickness, and/or disease; which has robbed them of the strength to make a living. These are the poor that the Christian must not neglect.
It is the light of Christ Jesus that shines in our hearts that causes us to see others as being better than ourselves; and that includes the poor. Paul the apostle writing to the people of Philippi…
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3 (KJV)
As Christians the love of Christ will reign supremely in our hearts; and others will be blessed by our lives and our conduct: even though they may not always realize it. John the apostle wrote the following…
“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” 1 John 3:17 (KJV)
Be a blessing today.
This post is one written in July of 2013.
The Man That Makes the LORD His Trust
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, praise unto our God: many shall see and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” Psalm 40:1-4 (KJB)
The LORD does indeed lift us, picks us up, out of the miry clay, the pit of sin, and sets our feet upon a rock; the Rock is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
The way of sin is darkness, and cold. O, it may seem like the way to go at the time; it may seem like it is the comfortable thing; it may seem to be pleasurable, but it leads to shame, pain, misery, and death. Be an instrument of praise to the LORD God. Call on the name of the Lord and be delivered from that pit to which you are imprisoned.
Let me share with you the thoughts of Charles Spurgeon from the Treasury of David on verse four…
“Blessed.” This is an exclamation similar to that of thePsa_1:1-6, “Oh, the happiness of the man.” God’s blessings are emphatic, “I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed,” indeed and in very truth. “Is that man that maketh the Lord his trust.” Faith obtaineth promises. A simple, single-eyed confidence in God is the sure mark of blessedness. A man may be as poor as Lazarus, as hated as Mordecai, as sick as Hezekiah, as lonely as Elijah, but while his hand of faith can keep its hold on God, none of his outward afflictions can prevent his being numbered among the blessed but the wealthiest and most prosperous man who has no faith is accursed, be he who he may. “And respecteth not the proud.” The proud expect all men to bow down and do them reverence, as if the worship of the golden calves were again set up in Israel; but believing mean are too noble to honour mere money-bags, or cringe before bombastic dignity. The righteous pay their respect to humble goodness, rather than to inflated self-consequence. Our Lord Jesus was in this our bright example. No flattery of kings and great ones ever fell from his lips; he gave no honour to dishonourable men. The haughty were never his favourites. “Nor such as turn aside to lies.” Heresies and idolatries are lies, and so are avarice, worldliness, and pleasure-seeking. Woe to those who follow such deceptions. Our Lord was ever both the truth and the lover of truth, and the father of lies had no part in him. We must never pay deference to apostates, time-servers, and false teachers; they are an ill leaven, and the more we purge ourselves of them the better; they are blessed whom God preserves from all error in creed and practice. Judged by this verse, many apparently happy persons must be the reverse of blessed, for anything in the shape of a purse, a fine equipage, or a wealthy establishment, commands their reverence, whether the owner be a rake or a saint, an idiot or a philosopher. Verily, were the arch-fiend of hell to start a carriage and pair, and live like a lord, he would have thousands who would court his acquaintance. TREASURY OF DAVID, by Charles Spurgeon verse 4
While in Thought the Fire Burned
“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, ‘LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.’ Selah.” Psalm 39:1-5 (KJB)
The Psalmist, the singer, was refusing to speak and be silent. While he is being silent his thoughts rage, the fire burns as he continues to add fuel to that fire.
I have been there. I am fairly certain that all who are reading this has been in that place where you bridle your tongue, and wisely so, but the anger, the hurt continues to rage in your thoughts. What do we do with that?
David realized he had a problem. He took it to the LORD. So must we take it to Him.
Going to God in prayer is the best place to vent, to complain about that man or woman or situation that has caused our thoughts to roar at us; rousing anger, rage, and maybe even bits of hatred.
I was asked not too long ago, ‘Don’t you ever get angry?’ My answer to that was, “Yes!” If it is not seen by others there must be something going on. One of at least two things: 1. I am just covering it and building a fire in me making me even angrier; or 2. I have taken the rage, anger, and hatred to the throne of God.
The first can be dangerous. The second is the way of the faithful Christian. When we take our complaints to the Lord, then we will have less of a problem getting along with others.
Jesus Christ died on the cross to deliver us from our sins. He was buried to carry away our sins and shame. He arose from the grave the victor over sin, death, and hell. He is coming again. Do you know Him?
When You Reach the Bottom in Despair
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Thy wrath: neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure. For Thine arrows stick fast in me, and Thy hand presseth me sore.
No soundness in my flesh because of Thine anger; neither rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink, are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares, and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
For in Thee, O LORD, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. For I said, ‘Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.’ For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow good.
Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.” Psalm 38:1-22 (KJB)
The following commentary is from F. B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Day by Day…
A long drawn-out sigh of pain. Some think it should be classed with Psa_32:1-11; Psa_51:1-19, as belonging to the time of David’s fall and repentance. It is filled with a sense of God’s judgments and the profound consciousness of sin. Perhaps David was suffering physically, or he may be describing his spiritual maladies in terms borrowed from that source. His friends stood apart and his enemies were near. But it was wise to refrain from man and to wait only on God. When we are buffeted and derided, the true attitude is our Lord’s. As the dumb sheep before her shearers, He opened not His mouth!
In Psa_38:15 the tone becomes calmer. The soul begins to recover its center of gravity in God. Notice the fourfold repetition of For, Psa_38:15-18. Faith marshals her arguments. Out of “stony griefs” she builds “Bethels.” Like Samson, she finds honey in the lion’s carcass. But God will not forsake. He never for a moment withdraws His close attention. The Refiner sits by the crucible, and will cool down the heat the moment it has done its work.
Jesus Christ is the only hope for all Adam kind. We have sinned. When we get to the place of despair over our sin, its pain and disease, its death, and destruction; its theft, and hatred; then we will call on the name of the Lord, and He will hear us.
Jesus came and died on the cross in our place; He was buried carrying away all our sin, death, condemnation, shame; and then He left those things in the grave, and arose to show His victories. He lives today. Call on Him and be saved. Be born again.
Delight in the LORD
It has been several days since I wrote a post for this site. I want to express my appreciation to those who have showed interest in these writings, thoughts, and the word of God. Thank you, and God bless you richly with all heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus.
I will be doing thoughts on the Psalms, taking up where I left off the last time in Psalms which was at Psalm 36..
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” Psalm 37:1-6 (KJB)
Do not worry about what those who are working evil are doing; rather watch your own heart, and mind. Pray for those who are doing evil, and live your life delighting in the LORD God, and His word. Those who do evil will perish just as the grass, and the flower.
Those of us who are trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ are assured of eternal life with Him; and that is forever and forever. Let us keep our eyes on the Lord and His work. We are not to close our eyes and try to convince ourselves that there is no evil; that would be dangerous and foolish. Our lives of trust, faith, and delight in the LORD will be repelling to all that is evil.
There is a phrase in verse four above “…He shall give you the desires of your heart”. Now many think this means material blessings, health, wealth, survival, security, success. When we delight in the Lord those things will become very secondary in our thinking. Our desires, when we delight in the Lord will be what He desires. He gives us the desires of His heart – heavenly blessing; grace, mercy, peace, joy, and power in prayer; just to name a few.
When the Christian walks with God He brings forth righteousness as light, and everything to do with it will be seen by all who know you.
Trust in the LORD today; delight in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
Description of the Wicked
The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil. Psalm 36:1-4 (KJB)
The Thirty six Psalm is titled as “Psalm of David servant of the LORD”. You may, if you desire, follow the link above for a further study of verse one.
The description of the wicked is this; keep in mind this is not my description, it is of no human origin. Though David did pen it down it is divinely inspired; That description of the wicked…
- …The wicked are flattered by themselves, and many times found by others to be hateful.
- …The wicked has a mouth with words of iniquity and deceit; their words are often vile, malicious, full of gossip, and lying.
- …The wicked has forsaken all wisdom, maybe even some common sense, and forsakes doing good.
- …The wicked plans, schemes, and devises wicked mischief while they lay in bed; “How can I better myself against those who appear to be better than me.”
- …The wicked set themselves on the opposite side of good; calling what is good “Evil”; and calling what is evil “Good”.
- …The wicked cares not for what is good, and does not hate what is evil, but lives in it themselves.
As a Christian I am to “Abhor evil” (Romans 12:9), and “to cleave to that which is good”. That begins by trusting in the finished word of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, His burial, and bodily resurrection. GOD hated evil so much that He put His own Son to death on that cross to redeem evil, wicked mankind unto Himself.
Take Hold; Draw Out
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Psalm 35:1-3 (KJB)
The thought that David is giving (concerning the “shield and buckler” v. 2) is that the LORD is his protection and strength against all his enemies; his accusers. The LORD is our protection against the onslaught of the enemy, and our accusers.
There is none who can accuse quite as strongly, maybe even honestly as the devil, that old serpent, Satan himself. John the revelator calls him the “accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:10). So when you are attacked, accused, ridiculed, or viciously beaten and bruised; yet, still living; God is your strength and your shield.
Let me make something plain from our text. God, the LORD has no need of physical weapons such as a sword, a shield, or a buckler. They are, however, great examples of God’s means for our protection and safe keeping.
When Stephen was stoned to death in the book of Acts chapter 7 verses 54 through 60 we find Jesus standing to welcome him to his new home with Him. The Lord stands with us in our time of suffering and pain. He is with you today.
If you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior do that today. He is your help, your shield, your strength. He is all those and more for all who trust in Him.
The Fire and Hammer 