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Wednesday, August 23, 2017, 2:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “I Will Lift My Eyes.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 94 (ESV).
Their Arrogant Words (vv. 1-7)
When we are born into this world, we are born with sin natures, under the control of Satan. When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, God delivers us from Satan’s control and he brings us under God’s headship (Lordship). That enrages Satan, and so he declares war against us. His goal is to either destroy us or to try to persuade us to desert our Lord and to return to following him, instead. Thus, Satan uses other humans to accomplish his purposes by turning them against us in hopes that they might crush us and that we might give up serving our Lord.
God has a day in mind when he will repay the wicked for their evil deeds and for the unjust suffering with which they have afflicted God’s people. Yet, he is very patient towards us, because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (See: 2 Peter 3). Yet, for those who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and who are suffering greatly at the hand of these evildoers, they will cry out to God in their trouble, and they will pray for relief. God will then comfort them with the understanding that he knows what is going on, and that he has it all under his control. So, we are to trust him, rest in him, and pray for the salvation of the wicked.
The Thoughts of Man (vv. 8-11)
When the wicked are allowed to freely strut about doing their evil deeds, they can become arrogant, thinking that God does not see, and that he does not know, or that he is somehow impotent, and that he will do nothing. So, they may gain a false sense of security in all of that, thinking that they can continue in their evil ways and that nothing bad will ever happen to them. But, that is a false reality, for God does see, and he does know, and he is omnipotent (all-powerful), and one day he will repay them for their evil.
He Will Not Forsake (vv. 12-15)
When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are not signing up for an easy life, nor does God promise us smooth sailing. In fact, he promises us that we will share in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and that we will be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted. So, it should not surprise us if the world hates us and if the wicked strongly opposes us. God has allowed this in our lives for his purposes and for his glory. Through our difficulties God is pruning us, purifying us, making us holy, and conforming us to the likeness of Christ, as well as he is teaching us patience, endurance, and compassion, and that we need to rely on him and not on ourselves.
The rest that our Lord gives us isn’t always rest from suffering or from persecution, though he may do that, too, at times, but the rest he gives us is internal, in our hearts, minds and souls. It is an internal peace that he gives us even when all hell is breaking loose all around us. It is the belief that God is absolutely in control (sovereign) over all that he has made, and that nothing can happen to us but God has allowed it in our lives for a purpose, and that he will accomplish his will through it all. It is also the knowledge that our Lord loves us, that he cares about what is happening to us, and that he will never leave us or abandon us, but that he will carry us through every hardship until the day when he takes us to be with him.
The Lord, My Help (vv. 16-23)
When the wicked are assailing us, we may sometimes feel deserted and all alone in this world, but we can rest in the knowledge that the Lord is with us, that he has a purpose in it all, and that he will help us through it. His steadfast love will sustain us. He will comfort us in all our troubles, and he will teach us his will so that we may walk in his ways, and in his truth. And, he will use us, if we are willing, in other people’s lives to encourage them in their walks of faith. Even when our troubles are many, we can sing with the hymn writer that “It is Well with My Soul.”
I Will Lift My Eyes / An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
Their Arrogant Words (vv. 1-7)
O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
When we are born into this world, we are born with sin natures, under the control of Satan. When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, God delivers us from Satan’s control and he brings us under God’s headship (Lordship). That enrages Satan, and so he declares war against us. His goal is to either destroy us or to try to persuade us to desert our Lord and to return to following him, instead. Thus, Satan uses other humans to accomplish his purposes by turning them against us in hopes that they might crush us and that we might give up serving our Lord.
God has a day in mind when he will repay the wicked for their evil deeds and for the unjust suffering with which they have afflicted God’s people. Yet, he is very patient towards us, because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (See: 2 Peter 3). Yet, for those who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and who are suffering greatly at the hand of these evildoers, they will cry out to God in their trouble, and they will pray for relief. God will then comfort them with the understanding that he knows what is going on, and that he has it all under his control. So, we are to trust him, rest in him, and pray for the salvation of the wicked.
The Thoughts of Man (vv. 8-11)
Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.
Fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.
When the wicked are allowed to freely strut about doing their evil deeds, they can become arrogant, thinking that God does not see, and that he does not know, or that he is somehow impotent, and that he will do nothing. So, they may gain a false sense of security in all of that, thinking that they can continue in their evil ways and that nothing bad will ever happen to them. But, that is a false reality, for God does see, and he does know, and he is omnipotent (all-powerful), and one day he will repay them for their evil.
He Will Not Forsake (vv. 12-15)
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are not signing up for an easy life, nor does God promise us smooth sailing. In fact, he promises us that we will share in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and that we will be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted. So, it should not surprise us if the world hates us and if the wicked strongly opposes us. God has allowed this in our lives for his purposes and for his glory. Through our difficulties God is pruning us, purifying us, making us holy, and conforming us to the likeness of Christ, as well as he is teaching us patience, endurance, and compassion, and that we need to rely on him and not on ourselves.
The rest that our Lord gives us isn’t always rest from suffering or from persecution, though he may do that, too, at times, but the rest he gives us is internal, in our hearts, minds and souls. It is an internal peace that he gives us even when all hell is breaking loose all around us. It is the belief that God is absolutely in control (sovereign) over all that he has made, and that nothing can happen to us but God has allowed it in our lives for a purpose, and that he will accomplish his will through it all. It is also the knowledge that our Lord loves us, that he cares about what is happening to us, and that he will never leave us or abandon us, but that he will carry us through every hardship until the day when he takes us to be with him.
The Lord, My Help (vv. 16-23)
Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
When the wicked are assailing us, we may sometimes feel deserted and all alone in this world, but we can rest in the knowledge that the Lord is with us, that he has a purpose in it all, and that he will help us through it. His steadfast love will sustain us. He will comfort us in all our troubles, and he will teach us his will so that we may walk in his ways, and in his truth. And, he will use us, if we are willing, in other people’s lives to encourage them in their walks of faith. Even when our troubles are many, we can sing with the hymn writer that “It is Well with My Soul.”
I Will Lift My Eyes / An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
