Psalm Study Thread

[Evie1980]

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the LORD—
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

Isn't it a joyous occasion when we get to go to the house of the Lord? Isn't it nice when we go there and enjoy the presence of the Lord? We may not be able to go to Jerusalem or the Temple of the Lord as it was built by King Solomon but we can still go to the House of the Lord will a loving and peaceful heart.

In a world that teaches us how to get our own way and seek our own needs at every and any given time, we have to be careful what attitude we bring to church on Sunday. I have been guilty of entering church with a wrong and sometimes even volatile attitude. I have sought my own needs to be met but the psalmist reminds us we should be seeking to met the needs of the church. This psalm, is therefor, a timely reminder to check our attitude within church as well as our motives behind our worship. After all, we should be seeking the prosperity of the church rather than ourselves when we enter.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy. 3 Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.

Look to the Lord. That is all you have to do. So many tmes I like to fill my life with guilt and anxiety when things don't go my way. Ok so it is not really enjoyable but I think that I deserve it or maybe not deserve it but feel like I have no other options. When having a bad day, and we feel like letting it all out, we can yell, rant, scream, throw something, feel bad, guilty, angry, etc. We make excuses. We tell our friends. We complain on facebook. We let it consume us.

And when we get consumed by something we fail to recognise what we should have done in the first place - look to God. We look to God because He will provide. Like a slave looks to a Master. Now, don't get upset here. A Master's job is to protect and provide. A servant would go to his/her master to sort out any problems and our Master is on our side. He wants to sort it out. He wants to help. He can't get rid of consequences but He can strengthen us to overcome. He can enable us to control the emotions and not make the situation worse.

Yes, we can leave it all behind and turn our eyes to God. He is there waiting for us to focus on Him.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 If the LORD had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the LORD had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away. 6 Praise be to the LORD,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

If the Lord had not been on our side... those are words we rarely say. We complain about what has happened in our life and sometimes we cry over the things that didn't happen but rarely do we say "if the Lord had not been on our side."

I felt this way today when, once again, things didn't turn out the way that I wanted them to. So I had a sulk. A big sulk for me before my dad came knocking on my door asking me to help him by being his driver for the afternoon. So as I am driving around the beautiful area my parents live in I was able to think about God, my life, my hopes and directions. After a while I was reminded how fortunate I actually am and how blessed I am that God could see my doing what I had desired and knew it wasn't right for me. There is something better for me. I know this because my God is for me and if He had not been on my side then I am not sure where I would be.

I know my God is for me. I don't need to pray more (though it would be nice) or read my Bible more (though it is beneficial). I don't have to be someone better than who I am for Him to be on my side. He has been there in the beginning and has shown how much He cares through the death of His Son. He has always called me home at the right time and sent me out when I have needed. He surrounded me with friends and encouragement in times of desperation. He has held my hand in times of fear. He has been on my side everyday since I was a child when His protective hand was upon me. So today, in a moment of doubt, I questioned the Lord and asked "are you really on my side?" and this psalm has just answered it. Where would I be if the Lord had not been on my side?

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.
4 LORD, do good to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.
5 But those who turn to crooked ways
the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.

How strong is your faith in the Lord? How much do you trust Him? These are the thoughts going thruugh my head at the moment. You see, there are moments that I have of great clear insight and then others are so full of doubt. To think of my faith as a strong mountain of rock seems rather far reaching. It seems, as the moment, like a mountain of jelly. It looks solid enough until you move the plate. Then it looses some of its stability.

So here is my dilemma. How do I stay strong during those times of doubt? By allowing God to surround me in all that I do. That means allowing Him to build up mountains around my life so that doubt (and other unpleasant thoughts) can't attack my faith. I do this through prayer, reading His word, meditating on His word and living out His word. These things are here to provide me with a strong faith. Yes, they do please the Lord but my benefits out weigh His. The strength of my faith benefits me most of all. It is a hard and slow learning curve but I, like the psalmist, am getting it.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes, LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.

Have you ever had a dream that you just thought would never come true? Many times we feel like our hopes are getting crushed by the sea of doubt that surrounds us. It seems easy to give into the uncertainty and flow along with the tide of "nothing good ever happens to me."

The Isaelites knew how this felt. They knew adversity and hardship. They knew about war and famine. They knew what it was like to loose hope and to feel sorry themselves BUT they also knew that God's answers come quickly. They knew how to be restored. They knew what it was like to see their hope fulfilled and be given all that was promised to them. Along the way they also had to do somethings for themselves. You see, the Israelites had to go into battle before they could win. The Israelites had to walk to the Promised Land and claim it as theirs before they could have it. In fact, before they could live in the land, they had to get rid of ALL the people there.

Many times we pray for the Lord to overcome and fulfil His promises in our lives but we are not willing to put in the effort. We want change but don't want to do it ourselves or we look at the task and think we can't (a trap that the Israelites found themselves in). As the psalmist said, we need to sow seed before we can reap a harvest. Although it may not seem easy and it may not be the road you want to take, it can lead you where you need to be. God will provide the answers to your prayers and fulfil His promises, but are you willing to walk in the wilderness, following His guide, to get there?

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. 3 Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.

So how does the Lord build a house for you? To be honest, I have struggles a lot over the past couple of days. I have stumbled through reading this psalm. Why? I am not sure. On the outside it seems the simplest of psalms as does the following psalm. However, beneath the head thinking part of this psalm comes the heart living part. Being a single woman with no kids, the second part can easily be dismissed as I focus on the top half but, even though I feel justified in ignoring the parts of the Bible I don't think effect me, I still feel it is all a bit convoluted.

Forgive me that I am not making much snese. You see it is easy to see a building as it is being made and wonder "how is that going to work?" One of my favourite tv programs is called Grand Designs and it shows you how people go about creating amazing, magnificent houses. These houses are what dreams are made out of. Yet, what man can imagine God can image a million times more. What would God's Grand Design house look like? We culd argue that we see it around us every day. We see it in nature, We see it in each other and ourselves occassionally. Yet rarely do we ask the Lord to "build us a house" and while He is at can He please "watch over our city" (and our lives), provide our needs and grant us rest. He can also develop us a family (or friends that we include as family).

True, we all know God can do that in our lives but how many actually believe in it? We hire builders and plan our own homes. We watch over our money, savings, investments, our taxes, benefits... the list goes on. We entrust in prayer then keep doing the same old thing. Could we really just let go and allow God to take control? If we did we could see that God's plan was and is far grander than our own. But we have to let go first.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 128

A song of ascents.

1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the LORD. 5 May the LORD bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.

When we fear the Lord His promises are made real in our lives. One of the greatest promises God gave Abraham was that his family would as innumerable as the stars in the sky. This promise followed Abraham's family through Isaac and Jacob. It was an important promise to the Israelite people. So why is is important to us? As a single woman I can be quick to dismiss the psalm about family when I can't see it manifest itself in my life (especially not in the near future). The point of this psalm is not the husband/wife/children promise. It is that the PROMISE will be fulfilled.

It is when we walk in obedience with the Lord and fear Him that we see His promises fulfilled in our life, not before. We don't get the interest from our investments before we invest. We don't get paid before we work. Many people say that they will believe when God makes His face known in their life. They want the promise before the faith. They want to reap before they have sown.

I know I have been guilty of this. I want the answer to my questions before asking what the Lord wants from. And we know, from Micah 6:8 and Dueteronomy 10:12-13. what the Lord requires of us - to walk with Him. What does that mean? I am slowly learning this. It is to listen to His voice or calling. It is seeking to live like He would. It is loving Him and fearing Him. so that I feel no greater sadness as when I step out of His shadow and walk on my own.

We will eat the fruit of our labour both in the real world and in our walk with God. In fact both of them are really the same thing. Our reality is our walk with God and our walk with God is our reality. God's blesssings flow through our lives through our labour in this world. We can't make water flow without turning on the tap and God's blessings don't flow until we labour for Him through our daily walk with Him.

* Further reading Deut 10.12-22: “What does the Lord require of you?” « Gold, silver, precious stones?

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 129

A song of ascents.

1 “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
let Israel say;
2 “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the LORD is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.” 5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the LORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of the LORD.”

How often do you give God the victory in your life? Many days I struggle to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak. I know God's real and I know His promises yet I questions His methods of getting me to where I am going. I don't see the victory until it is on a silver plate in front of me. But that is not what faith is about. Faith is knowing that we have the victory regardless of what is going on in our life.

You may I have heard it all before and I had too. I am the first person to say that you don't know anything about my life. But I am learning that it doesn't matter if people know your struggles or not. Victory is found by those who seek out the Lord. Victory over your struggles is not found in finding other people who have the same struggles. They can encourage you but they can never give you victory. Victory is found in breaking free from the struggles and only God can do that in your life.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

If sins were bricks that used to build a tower around you, how tall would that tower be? How far would you have to climb to get out of it? It would be a pretty tough job that even the strongest Olympian may have difficulty doing.

The truth is, even with Repunzel like hair, we wouldn't be able to do it alone and with eveyone else caught in their own towers, you would be waiting a long time for anyone else to come recue you. Only God, independent of man's sin, could actually rescue us yet many times we fail to ask. We fail to seek His help and guidance. He fail to relise how much sin we actually have and how tall our tower is.

God in His infinite mercy and love does redeem us from our sins. In fact we are redeemed so that we can serve Him with reverence. This means that we serve with honour and esteem. We are serving Him with respect. Our service is God focused not self focused.

God will save us from our pits of sin. He will lift the heavy burden of our sins. He will redeem us. He will keep His promise. The real question is: will we keep our promise of service with reverence when we ask? Because the only problem sin really causes is our seperation from Him. We can live in our own little tower of sin but we will never be able to develop a relatonship with God in there.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

Do you know better than me? It is a common question we ask. Do you think your better than me? It is hard to remember our place in the world. We get caught up in the troubles of the world. We discuss how we could run the country better than the current leaders. We talk about celebrities and judge their behaviour. Most reality television is watched so the viewer can make judgements on them! We get involved in some many things that don't really concern us and neglect the things that we should.

Our thoughts, our heart, our eyes can be so proud and so wrong. We let the world take control of them and they lead us into thinking, doing and being proud. We need to get to centre of the issue and
Paul understood this. He said to the Philippians (4:8) "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Why? Because it is a quiet and peaceful thoughts that lead to a quiet and peaceful life that leads to contentment.

Contentment isn't found in being involved in everything. It is not found in proving yourself and your worth as better than others. It is not knowing that you are better than others! It is found in living a peaceful life. It is found in knowing who you are and what the Lord wants your life to be concerned about.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 132

A song of ascents.

1 LORD, remember David
and all his self-denial.
2 He swore an oath to the LORD,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my house
or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard it in Ephrathah,
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool, saying,
8 ‘Arise, LORD, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;
may your faithful people sing for joy.’”
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore an oath to David,
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne for ever and ever.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion,
he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;
here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor I will satisfy with food.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her faithful people will ever sing for joy. 17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”

Are you willing to build God a temple? David was. Though the Lord never granted David the desire of his heart, God still recognised the devotion of David to Him. In fact, God established a promise with David that saw the greatest King of all time come from his descendants.

But what does it mean to build a temple? If you have watched a building show you would realise that building anything takes money, time, dedication, planning, labour, skilled workers... the list is endless. When we read about King Solomon's building of God's temple we realise just how massive the task was. Yet, David was so willing to do this. He basically begged the Lord for it. Contrast him with Jonah and you can understand why King David is known throughout the Bible for his devotion to God.

However, we know that God said no. God said this was not a job for him but for his son Solomon. Did David build it anyway? No! He listened and obeyed God. David willingly forfeited his desires because this was what the Lord wanted. This is the basis of a wonderful, beautiful relationship with the Lord - desiring to do the Lord's will and obeying His word.

But God was faithful to David. He gave David something better than the opportunity to build His temple. He gave David the lineage to His own Son, Jesus.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

U2 sing a beautiful sone called "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." . Keith Urban also sings the song "Everybody". These songs (and many others) remind us that we are not alone in this life. We have people who will help us out and work with us to achieve our goals. What makes these songs popular is that many times we forget about others in our lives and the same can be said about our church family.

The psalm reminds us how important it is to get along with our church family. It reinds us how important it is to us and to God that we spend time in fellowship with each other. It reminds us how we should be treating others - with love, kindness and compassion. If we are not living in harmony with others we need to be asking why and how we can change it.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

1 Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD
who minister by night in the house of the LORD.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the LORD. 3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth

Short, sweet and to the point - Praise the Lord. Why do we lift our hands and praise Him? Because the Lord will bless us Not quite. We all have read those lovely self-help Christian walk books who say if we do this, God does that. Unfortunately that is not the case. God, as I discussed in my children's talk in church the other day, does not do fairy magic promises and blessings. I have been blessed to see the Lord's promises fulfilled in people's lives according to His will NOT my begging, pleading, grovelling, praying or praise. His will manifested to allow thses things and just as much as I have seen these things happen, I have also seen a lot of prayers left open-ended.

At the end of the day, regardless of our situation, God is worthy of praise as well as He will bless us regardless of our situation (or our praise). We are called to give Him praise and thanks because sometimes we forget. In the lack of blessings and in the lack of conquering our situations, we have a wrong attitude toward God. We are like the Israelites, so quick to forget who their God was when Moses wasn't around to remind them. Their attitudes changed and they worshipped a golden calf. Our attitude changes and we worship our jobs as our provision or money or our relationships or.... well we all have our own. It is not up to God to prove Himself worthy of praise, it is up to us to recognise and remember it.

As the psalmist says - we lift up our hands in worship as the servants of the Lord God who created the Heavens and the Earth because He is worthy and through Him all blessings flow.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 135

1 Praise the LORD.

Praise the name of the LORD;
praise him, you servants of the LORD,
2 you who minister in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, LORD, endures forever,
your renown, LORD, through all generations.
14 For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the LORD;
house of Aaron, praise the LORD;
20 house of Levi, praise the LORD;
you who fear him, praise the LORD.
21 Praise be to the LORD from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

Praising the Lord in the midst of trials is not always the easiest thing to do. In fact it is downright difficult. When we are in the midst of suffering it is much easier to complain about our life. If you don't agree with me read Job. His own wife told him he was better off dead than holding on to hope in the Lord! Some of us may agree with her. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment of our feelings rather than look at the true essence of the Lord.

Unlike us God is not caught up in this moment. We are focused on the now. We live in a fast paced life which focuses us on our lives, our needs and our feelings at this moment. Yet the psalmist reminds us that we praise God for what He has done. We praise God for who He is now which is the same as before. The God who loved me enough to send His Son to die; the God who provided strength in the midst of the battles of the Isrealites; the God who provided King Solomon the wisdom to lead the people; the God who provided miracles to the diciples; the God who gave vision to Daniel; the God who restored Job; this God is the God worthy of praise. This God is my God. His love that has abound for His peoplethrough the ages is surrounding me now.

Though my life feels like a train wreck about to happen, I will praise Him.
Though my life looks like it is going nowehere fast, I will praise Him.
Though my life is not what I dremaed or envisioned, I will praise Him.
For His promises are assured, His love covers me and His mercy is new every day just as it always has.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Wouldn't it be nice if we recognised every good and blessed thing the Lord had done in our lives by saying 'His love endures forever'? Many times we fail to see the Lord's love in the midst of the our daily striggles. It was something that the Israelites easily forgot too. They wondered arround the desert for 40 years without ever running out of food or water. They always had a clear direction and the presence of the Lord could be seen within their camp. Yet, they still fell short of remembering the love of the Lord.

The more I love, the easier I can see in "hind sight". I can see things clearly in the past where the Lord has answered my prayer yet still have trouble recognising it in my daily life. I can remember the times past but can't see the future hope. The psalmist wrote this psalm to be Israel's future hope and it can be ours to. Our future hope doesn't rest on what we have or haven't achieved in the past but it rests on what God has done in the past. God loved us in the past and He will continue to love. His love endure forever means somply that. He will love me as much today as He did yesterday when He delivered me and as much as He will tomorrow when I stumble over my own feet.

He loves me in all my moments and He loves you in all of yours. Rewrite this psalm with all the Lord has done for you. rewrite it to remind yourself when you think He doesn't that He actually does. When has He parted your Red Sea? When has He provided you water, food, shelter? When has He made a way in desert for you? Remind yourself of those moments and then end it all with the future hope "His love endures forever".

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
7 Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.

Sin finally seperated the Israelites from the Lord and their promised land. The Lord warned them but they failed to turn aside from their wicked ways and ended up with a destroyed city and a destroyed relationship with the Lord. To make things worse their captors wanted them to sing and be happy in their captivity!

It is hard when sin abounds us to break free. In this day and age, sin is all to easy to be caught up in. We are brought up wanting more of everything and wanting what everyone else has. We are brought up to think that excess is good and that we should lack in nothing that we could desire. We are brpught up to be competitive and win at all costs. All of a sudden we realise we have nothing to bring us joy. Our lives and God's promise is destroyed. We are left with nothing.

It is easy to blame our captors: credt card companies; banks; society; our boss; our families demands; when really the blame is ours. Like the Israelites we followed the way of sin. We let our relationship with God be compromised and ended up in captivity. As much as we would like to curse our captors it will never set us free. Only restoring our relationship with God will bring back our joy. Only restoring our relationship with Him will enable us to live in His "promised land".

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 138

Of David.

1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
6 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will vindicate me;
your love, LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.

Are you emboldened by the Lord answering your prayers? Sometimes it is hard to courage in the answers the Lord brings us. We find that our answers and the Lord's answers don't match up. Then we find ourselves in a place that we never imagined possible - living in fear of the future. We start to forget about the promises. We start to forget about the protection and preservation. We start to forget the goodness and love of God.

The psalmist understands how quickly we can loose faith in the Lord. So in front of other "gods" he is going to praise God. In front of the alter of money and power, he is going to praise God. In front of the alter of relationships, friendships, family and marriage, he is going to praise God. In front of the alter of his heart's worldy desires, he is going to praise God. He is going to praise God because GOD'S LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.

God does not desert the plans He has for your life. He does leave you to die in the wilderness or at the hands of your enemies. He loves you. It may seem like He doesn't but He does. He is with you and He emboldens you to do what you never thought possible.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you. 19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

So you think that you know yourself? We have all seen those extreme game shows were people do extraordinary things for money. We watch and laugh because we know that we would never do that. Yet, it is surprising what we end up doing. As a child or teenager we think we know what the plans are for our lives. We know where we want to go and we know how we are going to do it. My greatest as piration was to be a politician! Yeah, that is not happening in my life today. Scientist are still learning more about the body and even what they do know about it doesn't mean it is applicable to your life. You can be allergic to medications or they can just not work. Working at the cigarette counter at a local supermarket, people would come to me saying that their grandma had smoked 50 a day and died of unrelated causes so why should they quit? Because generally most people who smoke do do a lot of damage to their body cuasing a great number of different diseases. However, everyone of us is different. Even the four gospel writers, who witnessed the same life of Jesus, wrote them different because each one had a different view, a different reason for being their, a different relationship with Him and a different purpose for their stories in what they wanted the audience to learn. Everyone is different.

David knew this more than anyone else. He had been set apart by God. He had been called to do something amazing in his life. He was different and it was that difference that caused him the most problems in his life. The reason God had made him seperated him from his family, his friends and caused him to live most of his twenties on the run from death was that God knew him as a better person. Samuel was sent to annoint David as the next and the Lord told Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Even Samuel didn't know who the Lord wanted until God revealed it to him.

So why is this important to us? Verse 5 explains it the best as we are hemmed in by God. He goes before us and after us to the ends of this earth, to the depths of the sea, to the darkest places and the places that we never thought we would end up in, He is there for us. We are in His thoughts and part of His being. We were made by Him, for Him and to do His will but never alone. He never left us. We are not a sometimes friend or a one hit wonder in God's life. He surrounds us everyday in all that we do.

It may seem today that you are alone. It may seem like there is no hope and no way that the Lord can rescue you from your struggles. You may feel forgotten and anxious about your future but God is still with you. This is the promise that we have in Him. This is what David leanrt. This is what gave him courage and confidence in all that he did. And this is available to us today.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 140

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 Rescue me, LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,
2 who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
4 Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net
and have set traps for me along my path.
6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy.
7 Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD;
do not let their plans succeed.
9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent. 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,
and the upright will live in your presence.

King David ddn't really believe in loving thy enemy but He did believe in God and God's souverenty in his life. There were many times David could have taken the life of King Saul, his worst enemy, but he didn't. Why? Because he believed that the Lord would deliver him when the time came.

We live in a world where it is not always easy to grin and take the taunting of enemies. It would be easier play their game and take them out but that is not the way God wants it to be done. When we take vengence into our own hands we are taking control of our own lives and removing God from the status of providence to mere bystander.

God wants us to trust Him like David did, in the good times and the bad. God wants us to know that He will enable us to make our way through the storms. When it comes to our enemies we are asked to love them because it is the one thing that we can't do without the Lord. David knew he would have killed his own enemies if left to his own choices. Yet, he followed through on God's choices. He followed through on what the Lord had required of him. There will be times when the only thing that keeps you going is the love of the Lord. When every moment of your life you want to run away. I know. I have been there. The Lord was my strength and courage in those times just like He was for the Lord. You can have that too.

 

[Evie1980]

Psalm 141

A psalm of David.

1 I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me;
hear me when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7 They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
8 But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD;
in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
9 Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers,
from the snares they have laid for me.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.

Where are you fixing your eyes? It is to tell what a person desires by what they have around them. When my sister and I shared a room we had a lot of different posters. Her's included Marilyn Monroe and horses. Mine included a lot of dogs. We kept visual reminders of what we liked. When I living in Korea I had a lot of posters on my wall again but this time they included Bible verses. The reminder of the word of God helped me to focus on Him. Sometimes we need visual reminders. We need our eyes to focus on something.

As humans we rely a lot on our sense of sight. But sometimes, even when we are looking, we can't really see what we should be looking at. It is like looking through a window that is foggy. People say that the eyes are the window to the soul (n that they lead our thoughts, emotions and desries) yet if we can't see properly how are we able to achieve all that God sets before us? Wouldn't it be better if God was our window through which our eyes see?