Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

Psalm 147 was most likely written by an unknown psalmist after the remnant returned from captivity in Babylon, and they had rebuilt the temple and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. They possibly sang this psalm as they celebrated the greatness and goodness of the LORD who had restored them, healed them, protected them, and provided for them (vv. 1-11). The LORD took pleasure in them and blessed them because they had spiritually returned to Him, both fearing Him and putting their hope in His mercy (v. 11).

Literally all this took place because God's prophetic Word given earlier by Isaiah and Jeremiah was fulfilled concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:3, 6, 13-15; 7:1-4; Lam. 2:9). Because they returned to the LORD, He returned to them and added His blessing of peace to the city and its people. One of the greatest blessings of the LORD is His peace.

In the Hebrew language, "peace" (shalom) is much more than the absence of war. It describes total well-being, including material prosperity and physical and spiritual health. Peace at the borders means peace in the nation, for invaders have to cross the borders before they can attack. Peaceful borders, strong walls, locked gates, which all add up to safety and security. There is a reason America has lost its peace, and is filled with confusion, chaos, and violence in our streets.

When we turn all of our burdens, worries and fears over to the LORD we are promised we can experience His peace too. Paul wrote this to the Philippian church in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Today, if we will recognize God’s ownership of all our possessions and yield all our rights to Him, we can also experience His peace we will never find in the world without Him.

Remember it was Jesus who said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Peace like this is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that we can experience and enjoy if only we let Him have full control of our lives (Galatians 5:22).

Because of their disobedience, the nation of Israel had forfeited the "finest of the wheat" (Psalm 81:16; Deut. 32:13-14), but now the Lord would give His people the very best. After all, the Lord controls the weather with a word (Psalm 33:9) and He can do as He pleases. Hailstorms and snowstorms are very infrequent in the Holy Land, except in the higher altitudes, but the Word of God accomplishes what He purposes. The Word brings the winter and then it brings the springtime, for all creation obeys the will of the Lord.

This truth prepares the way for the final thrust of the psalm: God gave His Word to Israel, and they must obey it even as creation obeys it (vv. 19-20; Deut. 4:7-8, 32-34; Rom. 3:1-2; 9:4). What a privilege it was for the people of Israel to be the bearers of God's Holy Word and to share it with the world! After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah wrote, "The Law is no more" (Lam. 2:9), but God's Word was not destroyed with the city and temple. God's Word endures forever (1 Peter 1:25).

The Jewish nation took great care to protect the manuscripts of God's Word and their scholars carefully counted the letters and words, but they did not look beyond the text into the truth being taught (John 5:38-40). When their Messiah came, they did not recognize Him (John 1:26; 1 Cor. 2:6-12). How easy it is for us to respect the Word of God, bind it in expensive leather, and explain it with exhaustive notes, and yet not obey what it tells us to do!

Yes, today despite what might be happening around us, we can experience and enjoy His peace if we are filled with His Word and His Spirit and we obey Him!

God bless!

11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

Psalm 147 is a psalm that should motivate us to live a life of praise as we experience and celebrate the greatness and goodness of the LORD.  As we remember the setting of this psalm, we recall that after the nation of Israel had been so richly blessed by God they gradually drifted away from Him and they began to worship the blessings rather than the God Who gave them. They forgot where the blessings came from.

They begin to live like the pagans around them and became idol worshippers (Psalm 106). As a result, God allow Babylon to conquer them and take them into captivity for 70 years. The Persian king, Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their land in 537 B.C.. Led by Zerubbabel, a large band of exiles went back to Judah the next year and the temple was rebuilt. Eighty years later, in 458 B.C., Ezra returned with another remnant to restore worship. Then 13 years later, Nehemiah came in 445 B.C. to restore the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Psalm 147 was most likely written for the occasion of the dedication of the rebuilt walls.

I love how this psalm begins! The very first verse reminds us that genuine praise from our hearts is a very pleasant and beautiful experience. As I have been meditating on this psalm, I couldn’t help but think how we have a choice. We can choose to live a life of praise, or we can choose to be ungrateful and live a life of greed, pride and selfishness. It appears that most Americans have forgotten the God who has so richly blessed us. And even most of our praise is from our mouths and lips only and not from our hearts and lives. Jesus said that “this people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8).

In verses 1-6, the people are singing praises to the LORD because they have been restored! The LORD has healed their broken hearts and bound up their wounds! Now in verses 7-11, they are thankful and singing praises on the harp because their land has been refreshed! Windows of blessings from heaven have begun to fall on them again.

The exiles returned to a land that had been left a war zone for seven decades, and they needed the early and latter rains in order to get a harvest. The Lord gathered the clouds over the land and emptied their life-giving rain on the newly planted seed. He even caused grass to grow on the mountains where nobody had planted any seed! He gave food to the wild beasts so they would not attack the humans, and He even sent food for the noisy young ravens. (See 104:1-24.) The ancients believed that young ravens were abandoned by the parent birds and had to find their own food (Luke 12:24). It was essential that the men and their farm animals stay healthy so they could work toward a harvest and be able to feed themselves and their families.

But as important as that was, the most important thing was trusting the Lord, fearing the Lord, and giving Him delight as He beheld their faith, devotion and obedience (Psalms 33:16-17; 146:3-4; Matt. 6:33). It is an awesome thought that we can bring pleasure to the heart of the heavenly Father (Psalms 35:27; 37:23; 149:4).

“The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy” (v. 11). My friend, it is true that God is most satisfied when we are most satisfied in Him. This is the essence of true and pure worship!

God bless!

Psalm 147:1-11

1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.

5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

6 The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God,

8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

9 He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.

10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

Psalm 147 is the second of the five Hallelujah Psalms that conclude the Book of Psalm. This psalm is a remarkable song that celebrates the greatness and goodness of the LORD, especially for His people Israel. The LORD God of Israel is set forth in His awesome glory as caring for the sorrowing, the insignificant, and forgotten.

Psalm 147 was probably written by an unknown psalmist after Nehemiah and his people finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, restoring the gates, and resettling the people.  After the walls were completed, they called a great assembly for celebration and dedication, and it is likely that this psalm was written for that occasion (vv. 2, 12-14; Neh. 12:27-43). The verb "gather together" in verse 2 is used in Ezekiel 39:28 for the return of the captives to Judah, and the word "outcasts" in verse 2 is used for these exiles (Neh. 1:9).

One of the unique characteristics of this psalm is the large number of present participles in it—"building, hearing, binding, counting, lifting up," and so on—all of which speak of the constant and dynamic working of the Lord for His people. Psalm 147 presents three reasons why the people should praise the Lord, and each section is marked off by the command to praise God (vv. 1, 7 and 12).

First in verses 1-6, the nation should sing praises to the LORD because they have been restored. The Medes and Persians captured Babylon in 539 B. C, and in 537 B. C. Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their land. Led by Zerubbabel, a large band of exiles went back to Judah the next year and the temple was rebuilt. Nehemiah came in 444 B. C. to restore the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted the captivity of the Jews as well as their release and return, and God's prophetic Word proved true, as it always does.

But the psalmist did not simply notice the event; he also noticed the way the Lord tenderly cared for His people. Many lost loved ones in the invasion and during the time in Babylon, and all returned to a devastated land and ruined houses. No wonder they were brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18; Isa. 61:1). The "wounds" (v. 3; "sorrows") were in their hearts, not their bodies, for many had repented and confessed their sins to the Lord, and through the Word, the Lord gave them the comfort they needed (Psalm 107:20; Isa. 40).

Our God is so great that He knew each person and each need (John 10:14, 27-28). The God of the galaxies, who knows the name of every star, is also the God who heals the broken hearts of His people (Luke 4:16-21). He builds up Jerusalem and lifts up His people, for nothing is too hard for Him. (Psalms 20:8; 146:9; and Isa. 40:26-29.)

My friend, God is still in the business of healing broken hearts and broken lives. This is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ because, “He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

God bless!

Again, remember that Psalm 146 is the first of the last five psalms of the book of Psalms that are called the “Hallelujah Psalms”. When we praise the LORD, we are declaring that we have experienced God personally through His Son Jesus Christ and that He is worthy of our adoration, love, and worship. In verse 2, the psalmist declares that as long as he has “his being”, as long as his mind can think, his heart is beating, and he has breath in his body, he is going to praise the LORD! And so should we!

Verses 5-6 remind us that we are blessed, we are “happy”, because we have put our trust and hope in the only true God Who made the heavens and the earth! We have experienced the “new birth”, we have been “born again” into His spiritual family through the Cross of Jesus Christ. We have been transformed by His grace into His kingdom and now are His sons and daughters! Our sins have been forgiven and we are now “justified”, “robed in the righteousness” of Jesus Christ. We are a “new creation in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is why we are blessed and happy!

Now in verses 7-9, we want to praise the LORD because we have experienced His great love! Notice the list of all the needy people that the LORD helps – the “oppressed”, the “hungry”, the “prisoners” (v. 7), the “blind”, the “bowed down” (v. 8), the “strangers”, the “fatherless and the widows” (v. 9). This list of God's gracious ministries to needy people has at its heart "The LORD loves" (v. 8). He loves the church (Eph. 5:25), a lost world (John 3:16), and His people Israel (Deut. 4:37), and the greatest proof of that love is the cross (Rom. 5:8).

Paul wrote, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). All of the sins that help to produce these sad conditions were dealt with on the cross, but their existence in society is proof that the law of sin and death is reigning in this world (Rom. 5:12-21). During His ministry on earth, Jesus revealed God's love by helping people who were hungry, sick, crippled, blind, bowed down, and otherwise unable to help themselves (Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 61:1-3).

We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and if we truly love God, we will love those who need God's help and will do all we can to help them (1 John 3:10-24; James 2:14-26). Living in love means more than enjoying God's love for us (John 14:21-24). It also means sharing God's love with others. We may not be able to perform miracles to heal the afflicted, but we can help them in other ways.

Finally in verse 10, we can always praise the LORD because we reign in life with Him! This statement comes from the song of victory that Israel sang at the Exodus: "The Lord shall reign forever and ever" (Ex. 15:18). Think of it: the sovereign Lord of the universe is our loving heavenly Father! Not only does the Lord reign over the nations (Ps. 47:8), but we can "reign in life" through Jesus Christ as we yield to Him and walk in the Spirit (Rom. 5:17). We are now seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 1:18-23; 2:4-10; Col. 3:1-4), and the throne of the universe is to us a throne of grace (Heb. 4:14-16).

We "reign in life" as, by faith, we draw upon our spiritual resources in Christ and together with Him make decisions and exercise ministry. We do not need to wait for the kingdom to come to start reigning with Christ (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 22:5), for God's grace is reigning (Rom. 5:20-21), and we can reign with Christ today (Rom. 5:21). Then we can have a life of praising God, trusting God, and loving God.

We will live a life that will glorify God and continuously we “will praise Him while we have our being”.

God bless!

Put Your Trust in the LORD!

Psalm 146:1-6

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

2 While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.

4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.

5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,

Psalm 146 is the first of the last five psalms of the book of Psalms that are called the “Hallelujah Psalms”. The very first verse uses the word “praise” four times. When we praise the LORD, we are acknowledging that He is worthy of our adoration, love, and worship. In verse 2, the psalmist declares that as long as he is alive and has “his being”, and breath in his body, he is going to praise the LORD! And so should we!!!!

Now in verses 3-6, the psalmist is encouraging us that as long as we are alive, we should put our trust in Jehovah God! Far too often, we trust in "flesh and blood," ourselves and others, instead of trusting the Lord. We try to use our own strength and wisdom to accomplish His will (Psalms 118:5-9; 44:4-8). But my friend, we need to always remember, what nobody else can do, God can do for us and through us.

These verses also suggest that the psalmist was concerned that Israel's leaders not enter into ungodly alliances, but that they turn to God for help. Beginning with Abraham (Gen. 12:10ff) and the exodus generation (Ex. 14:10-14; 16:1-3; Num. 14:1-10), the people of Israel turned to Egypt for help instead of trusting the Lord, and this was true even during the days of Isaiah (Isa. 31) and Jeremiah (Jer. 2:18; 37:1-10; 42-43).

To trust in human wisdom and strength is to depend on that which cannot last, for all people die, and the brilliant ideas of one leader are replaced by the not-so-brilliant ideas of a new leader. In the Hebrew text, "man" is adam, which comes from the word adamah which means "earth." We came from the earth and return to the earth (v. 4; Gen. 3:19).

"But will the Lord help me, as weak and failing as I am?" many believers might ask. Well, He is "the God of Jacob" (v. 5), a title used at least a dozen times in The Psalms. (See 20:1; 24:6; 46:7, 11.) Jacob was far from being perfect, yet God honored his faith and helped him in times of need. Jacob trusted God's promises, for his hope was in the Lord, but too often he depended on his own schemes to see him through.

The beatitude in verse 5 is the last of twenty-five in the book of Psalms, starting with 1:1. But Jehovah is not only the God of Jacob, He is also the "God who made heaven and earth" (v. 6; Psalms 115:5; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; Ezra 5:11) and has the power to act on behalf of His people. When we pray, we come to the throne of the universe to ask our Father for what we need.

Israel knows Him as the God of the covenant. But today, believers and followers of Jesus know Him as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who initiated a new covenant by giving His life on the cross. His resurrection proves He is alive, and that Jehovah is a God who can be trusted to keep His Word. We have the “new covenant” promise that “if God be for us, who can be against us and if God spared not His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Finally, He is the God who "keeps truth or faith forever" (v. 6). Yes! You can always trust Him with everything because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

 God bless!

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

2 While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

We are down to the last five psalms in our study and chats of this wonderful book of praise and worship. These five psalms are called the “Hallelujah Psalms. They are five great doxologies that bring the Hebrew hymnbook to its close. You will notice that each of them begins with the phrase, “Praise the LORD”, and ends with the same phrase, “Praise the LORD”. In the Hebrew this phrase is “Hallelujah”, which means, “Praise be to Jehovah”.

These five psalms were probably written about the time of the completion of the second temple, completion of the walls of Jerusalem, and reconstitution of the body politic of the newborn nation of Israel. This would have been around 518 BC. The Septuagint attributes the authorship of Psalms 146 and 147 to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. If this is so, then these two beginning doxologies would have been sung at the dedication of the new temple.

It is interesting to note that prophetically these psalms anticipate the enthronement of the Lord Jesus amid the praises of all humankind at the beginning of the millennium.

For sure these last five "Hallelujah Psalms" focus our attention on praising the Lord. Psalm 146 begins with a vow to praise God throughout life. Psalm 147 tells us it is "good and pleasant" to praise the Lord, and 148 reminds us that when we praise God, we join with all creation, for heaven and earth praise Him. In 149, God's people are admonished to worship joyfully, and the last psalm, Psalm 150, tells us where and why and how "everything that has breath" should praise the Lord.

These five psalms are a short course in worship, and God's people today would do well to heed their message. Today, our church sanctuaries are turning into religious theaters and "worship" is becoming more and more entertainment. The author of this psalm understood that God was not just a part of life but the heart of life. Paul had the same conviction. In Philippians 1:21, Paul declares, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. In Colossians 3:4, he says it this way: “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory”.   

When God is not just a part of our life but at the heart of our life, it means we should spend our life praising the LORD (vv. 1-2). God gives us life and breath (Acts 17:25), so it is only right that we use that life and breath to praise Him (Psalm 150:6). To receive the gifts and ignore the Giver is the essence of idolatry. In verse 2, the writer promised God that he would praise Him all of his life, and certainly this is wise preparation for praising Him for eternity (Psalm 104:33).

To live a life of praise is to overcome criticism and complaining, to stop competing against others and comparing ourselves with them. It means to be grateful in and for everything (1 Thess. 5:18; Eph. 5:20) and really believe that God is working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28). A life of praise is free from constant anxiety and discouragement as we focus on the Lord, who is mentioned eleven times in this psalm.

Hallelujah! Praise the LORD!

God bless!

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.

We started out our chats in the Book of Psalms on September 14, 2022. That was actually 520 chats ago. I’ve enjoyed this study as much as any I have ever done in the Bible. I have learned so much about the story and history behind each of the psalms. From the titles of the psalms, we know that David wrote at least one-half of the 150 psalms and possibly many more. Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the book attributed to David. It is a psalm of pure praise and worship. It has been called “David’s crown jewel of praise”. How fitting for his last psalm in the book. Over the next week or so we will finish our study with the last five “Hallelujah” Psalms, 146 -150.

In Psalm 145, David not only reminds us why we should praise the LORD, but when and how we should praise Him. David begins by saying that we should praise God from day to day (vv. 1-2). In verses 3-7, David tells us that we should pass on our praise to the LORD to the next generation (v. 4). And in verses 8-13, David is reminding us of our great responsibility to share the message of the “glorious majesty of His Kingdom” to all the nations. Now in verses 14-16, David praises the LORD because He is a God Who is willing and able to meet every need that we might have. Our great God is not an "absentee landlord" who collects rent but never repairs the roof. He knows our every need and He is there to help those who call on Him. When we fall, He is there to “uphold” us. When we are “bowed down” with back-breaking burdens, with broken hearts and difficulties that have thrown us into hopeless despair, He is there to “raise us up” (v. 14).

Our God is also ready to supply food for those who hunger. And most certainly for those who want to be saved from their sins, He will hear their heart’s cry and will save them (Acts 2:21). We toil for our daily bread, but all God has to do is “open His hand” when He hears our cries and meet whatever needs we have (v. 16). When He supplies one need, we must praise Him, and we must praise Him when He supplies the next need! "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Our heavenly Father notices the birds of the air and feeds them, and He says we are of more value than them and that He will care for us too (Matthew 6:26).

Finally, in verses 17-21, David reminds us that “the LORD is near to all who call upon Him in truth” and therefore we should praise Him from prayer to prayer. The emphasis in these verses is on calling on the Lord and that this invitation is for “all”. For everyone and anyone who will humble themselves and fear the LORD and seek Him. James reminds us in James 4:2, “that we have not because you do not ask". God is righteous, so we want to come with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 66:18), but God is also loving, so we should love Him and obey Him.

Prayer is not just a creature coming to the Creator, or a servant coming to the Master; it is a child coming to the heavenly Father, knowing that He will meet the need (Luke 11:1-13). He hears us, watches over us, and supplies our every need (Phil. 4:19). When He answers prayer, we must praise Him, and when He answers another prayer, we must praise Him. David concludes this psalm with "My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord”.  And with the reminder that “all flesh will bless His holy name Forever and ever”.

Yes, my friend, one day, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).  Why not do it now with a humble willing heart of praise!

God bless!

Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the book attributed to David. It is a psalm of pure praise and worship. It has been called “David’s crown jewel of praise”. In this psalm, David not only reminds us why we should praise the LORD, but when and how we should praise Him. David begins by saying that we should praise God from day to day (vv. 1-2). In heaven, we shall praise the Lord forever and forever, but now is the time to get prepared as we praise Him from day to day. David also tells us that we should praise the LORD from generation to generation (vv. 3-7). One of the important obligations of the older generation is to pass on to the younger generation the truth about the Lord.

Now in verses 8-13, David is reminding us of our great responsibility to share the message of the “glorious majesty of His Kingdom” to all the nations. David knew his basic theology. In verses 8-9, he speaks of the graciousness and compassion of the LORD. How God is slow to anger, great in mercy and good to all. And you can see God’s tender mercies anywhere and everywhere you look!  But David also knew that this wonderful truth must be shared with others. Jonah knew it but would not share it (Jonah 4).

You can’t help but notice that the word "all" is one of the key words of this psalm used some 13 times. God is good to all (v. 9) and His throne lasts for all generations (v. 13). He upholds all who fall (v. 14) and the eyes of all creatures look to God for their food (v. 15). He satisfies every living thing (v. 16) and helps all who call on Him (v. 18). One day all flesh will praise Him (v. 21). David acknowledges that God not only loved His nation Israel but “all” the peoples and nations of the world!

Jesus said, "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22), but the message of salvation was not supposed to remain with the Jews. It was not sufficient for the people of Israel to praise God and teach their children to praise Him. They were obligated to share the truth about the Lord with their Gentile neighbors and let their light shine. The prophet Isaiah told Israel in Isaiah 42:6-7: "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”

The Jews were told in Psalm 96:2-4: “Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” It was very clear that God expected His people to share His glory and salvation to all the nations of the earth! Psalm 145 begins with, "I will extol Thee" but ends with, "All flesh will bless His name" (v. 21).

The church today has a similar obligation and privilege. All of God's works in creation praise Him around the world (v. 10), but for some reason, His own people do not follow this example. In the last 40 days that Jesus spent with His disciple He was, “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3b). The Apostle Paul turned the world upside down declaring the Lord’s great salvation and His kingdom. The book of Acts ends with Paul as a prisoner in Rome, but even there he continued to: “…explain and solemn testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus…” (Acts 28:23). And the very last verse of Acts we find Paul, “…preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Acts 28:31).

God has compassion on all and God loves a lost world (John 3:16), therefore we should not keep it to ourselves! Today, there are three billion people who still have not heard the name of Jesus. The glory and wonder of God's spiritual kingdom must be proclaimed from nation to nation beginning with those closest to us!

God bless!

Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the book attributed to David. It is a psalm of pure praise and worship. It has been called “David’s crown jewel of praise” and is a fitting end to the Davidic psalms. It brings all of David's other hymns of praise to a climax. Remember we said yesterday that Psalm 145 is the only psalm that has this particular title, “A Psalm of Praise.

In this psalm, David reminds us why we should praise the LORD. We can praise and thank the LORD for all He has done for us. He created us, He cares for us, He provided for us a great salvation and He saves us, He protects us, He provides and supplies for our every need and so much more! But most of all, we should praise and worship the LORD for Who He is! That is why throughout the psalm David mentions many of the attributes of God throughout the psalm, among them His greatness (v. 3), His grace, mercy, goodness and compassion (vv. 8-9), His glory and might (v. 11), His righteousness and kindness (v. 17), and His providential care (v. 20).

But along with telling us why we should praise the Lord, David tells us when we should praise Him. He begins by saying that we should praise God from day to day (vv. 1-2). In heaven, we shall praise the Lord forever and forever, but now is the time to get prepared as we praise Him from day to day. No matter how dark and difficult the day may be, there is always something for which we can praise the Lord. David lived a very difficult and challenging life, constantly dealing with overwhelming situations, yet he always found reason and time to praise the LORD anyway!

Our universe operates a day at a time as the heavenly bodies move in orbit around the sun, and we are foolish to try to live two days at a time. God promises, "As your days are, so shall your strength be" (Deut. 33:25), not, “As your strength is, so will your days be.”  He promises strength for the day not for tomorrow. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day….”. And some of the strength that the LORD gives us comes from praising and thanking Him.

David also tells us that we should praise the LORD from generation to generation (vv. 3-7). One of the important obligations of the older generation is to pass on to the younger generation the truth about the Lord. Whether we admit it or not, every local church is one generation short of extinction, and we must obey 2 Timothy 2:2 where we are told to “train faithful men who will be able to train others also”.  God’s Word often repeats this responsibly to declare to the next generation God greatness and mighty acts (Psalms 48:13; 71:18; 78:6; 79:13; 102:18; Ex. 3:15; 12:14, 17, 42; Judg. 2:10.)

God is so great that the human mind cannot fathom Him (Isa. 40:28; Job 5:9; 9:10; 11:7; Rom. 11:33; Eph. 3:8), but the human heart can love Him and tell others how great He is. God's character and God's awesome works furnish us with more material than we could ever exhaust, and we will have all of eternity to keep learning more! But David was not writing only about theology; he was also writing about personal witness, what the Lord has done in our own lives. "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (Psalm 34:11).

Yes, the older generation must reach back into their lives and "utter the memory" of God's great goodness (v. 7). The word translated "utter" means "to pour forth like a bubbling spring" (Psalm 19:2; 59:7; 94:4; 119:17). May the LORD give us grace to be mindful to joyfully fulfill this responsibility on a daily basis.

God bless!

A Psalm of Praise. Of David.

1 I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.

6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness.

7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9 The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You.

11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power,

12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14 The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.

16 You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.

20 The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.

Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the book attributed to David. It is a psalm of pure worship, a fitting end to the Davidic psalms. It brings all of David's other hymns to a climax. It forms an end, too, to the main body of the book of Psalms itself. The remaining five psalms are an appropriate appendix of appreciation for God, a supplementary doxology.

Psalm 145 is the only psalm that has this particular title, “A Psalm of Praise. Of David.” Some translations render it: “David's Psalm of Praise.” It is David's, David's very own, David's favorite. It is David's Praise just as Psalms 86:1-17 is “David's Prayer”. It is altogether praise, and praise pitched in a high key. David had blessed God many a time in other psalms, but this he regarded as his peculiar, his crown jewel of praise. Certainly, David's praise is the best of praise, for it is that of a man of experience, of sincerity, of calm deliberation, and of intense warmth of the heart.

Psalm 145 is also the last of the acrostic psalms. All the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are present, with the exception of the letter nun, the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. (Some early versions of Psalms based on the Septuagint have a verse starting with nun.) The use of acrostics no doubt means that the Holy Spirit and David intended that this psalm be memorized and used often in praise and worship of our great Jehovah God. I also couldn’t help but think it so awesome, that by God’s divine providence, we begin looking at Psalm 145 on a Sunday, our day of the week that we have specifically set aside for praise and worship!

Today, I thought it fitting to read Psalm 145 in its entirety and let it speak for itself. You will notice that David mentioned several attributes of God throughout the psalm, among them His greatness (v. 3), His grace, mercy, goodness and compassion (vv. 8-9), His glory and might (v. 11), His righteousness and kindness (v. 17), and His providential care (v. 20). Who could not praise a God with all these wonderful characteristics?

As you read and meditate on this wonderful “Psalm of Praise”, I’m sure you will agree that indeed this is David’s crown jewel of praise!

God bless!

Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!

Psalm 144 was written by David to remind the people of Israel that there are tremendous benefits and blessing in store for the people who will acknowledge Jehovah God as their God, put Him first in their lives and will honor and obey His Word. This is true of any nation that makes the one and only creator God, the God that they worship, honor and obey! God blessed America because our founding fathers believed this and incorporated the Laws and Word of God in our founding documents and sought His guidance in the building of our nation.

Already in this psalm David proclaims that Jehovah God is his Rock, his lovingkindness, his fortress, his high tower, his shield, and his refuge! That the LORD is the One who brings the people of a nation together in unity (v. 2b). He is amazed that the creator of the universe takes notice of mere man who is but a breath and only lives a short time (vv. 3-4). We should always remember that we have a loving God who cares for us personally (vv. 1-4).

But not only does God love us and takes notice of us, David declared that God is mighty and can rescue and deliver us from our enemies (vv. 5-11). And we should respond like David did and “sing a new song” of praise and worship to the LORD (v. 9).

Now David concludes the psalm confirming that Jehovah God blesses His obedient people abundantly (vv. 12-15).  It is interesting to note that King David never engaged in war just for the sake of conquest of other nations so that he could rule the world. His goal was always to defend the land so the people could live peaceful and profitable lives. That is God’s ordained purpose for human government which is to deal with evil and protect and defend its citizens (Romans 13). That is why we are to pray for our government leaders according to 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

The people of Israel were God's people, and they had a work to accomplish on the earth. God called Abraham to be the father of a nation that would declare to the world that there was only one true Jehovah God and the only way you could know and experience Him is by faith. God’s covenant with Abraham included being blessed as he by faith obeyed God and becoming a blessing to all the nations of the earth. This has been fulfilled by the fact that it was through Israel that we have the full revelation of God in a book called the Bible, and we have a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Israel had to have children (v. 12), the necessities of life (v. 13), and peace in the land (v. 14) to accomplish God’s plan and purpose for them. All of these blessings were promised to them in God's covenant (Deut. 28:1-14), if the people and their rulers obeyed the laws of the Lord. David mentioned the home and family first, for as goes the home, so goes the nation. He compared the sons to strong growing plants (Psalms 127:3-5; 128:3) and the daughters to beautiful graceful statues that could support buildings. Then he moved to the fields to behold bountiful crops and multiplying flocks and herds. Even the oxen are heavy with young and bearing heavy loads because the fields are so fruitful.

"No breaking in… or no outcry in our streets” (v. 14b), describes a nation that has peace and security in its cities. But the opposite is true if we forsake God!  Instead of happiness and blessings we will have violence, insecurity, and fear in our streets and homes.  

Yes, my friend, "How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!" For He cares for us personally, delivers us victoriously, and blesses us bountifully. Is He the LORD and God of your life today?

God bless!

Psalm 144 is one of the eight psalms that was written by David and placed by whoever complied or organized the psalms just before the last five psalms of the Book of Psalms. We can be sure that God sovereignly directed that these psalms be exactly where they are in the book so that His people would have these final words of encouragement and instructions from their great king and poet, King David.

In the first four verses, David acknowledges that Jehovah is his Rock, and is a loving God Who personally cares for His people. We are but mere men, and our lives are like a breath of air and a passing shadow, but our great creator God takes knowledge of us and has us in His mind (vs. 3-4).

David used the same vivid images of mountains smoking, with lightning and thunder that causes them to shake with the presence of Jehovah, in Psalm 18:8-9, 14-17, 45, and 50. The Jewish people would never forget God's dramatic appearance at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:18-25 and 20:18-21), where God met with Moses and gave them the Law.  But here in Psalm 144, the “mountains” and "great waters" seem to stand for the enemies of Israel (Psalm 104:32; Isa. 8:7; 59:19; 64:1-5; Mic. 1:4; Nah. 1:5; and Hab. 3:10).

Our problems and challenges that cause us to worry and fear and have doubts often appear as great mountains that are unmovable and floods of water that overwhelm us. They are like the enemies of David that were determined to destroy him and take him down. But David cried out to the LORD to “come down” and His touch would cause them to be like smoke that the wind would quickly drive away.

Today we should remember what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 21:21 “…Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.” Mark 11:23 put it this way: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

What an awesome promise for us today as we face difficulties and problems that appear to be giant mountains that stand in our way and floods of water that would drown us. David’s life is a testimony to this great truth that God gives victory and deliverance to His people when they trust Him by faith!

The "foreigners" of verse 7 are the outsiders who attacked Israel. David mentions the “hand of foreigners” twice in verses 7 and 11.  These “foreigners” tried to illegally get into the land of Israel and cause trouble (v. 11). They told lies and took oaths they never meant to keep. When they lifted their right hand in an oath, it was only deception. That might sound familiar to what we are dealing with today on our southern border.

So how did David respond? In verse 9, as he contemplated God's power and mercy, David sang a new song to the Lord, for he had experienced God's help in a new way, learned afresh the wonderful character of the Lord, and was making a new beginning as king of the nation. David had faith that the LORD would not only deliver him but also all the “kings” that followed him if they obeyed and put the LORD first!

May the LORD give us the grace we need today, to put our faith in God without doubting, so the mountains of trouble and trials we face will be victoriously overcome as we are “rescued” by God and experience His deliverance!

God bless!

The title of Psalm 144 tells us that David wrote this psalm. From the context of the psalm, we learn that he wrote it to "bless the Lord" (vv. 1, 15) and honor Him for making him a successful warrior and king, and to pray for His continued blessing of his people. In the middle section of the psalm, we notice that he was concerned about dangers around them (vv. 6-7, 11) and needs within the land (vv. 12-14).

In writing this psalm, it also appears that he used material from Psalm 18, his great song of victory when he finally delivered from the hand of Saul and became king. David had been a fugitive for perhaps ten to fifteen years when he was fleeing from Saul. At thirty years of age, he became king reigned over the tribe of Judah for seven years and six months (2 Samuel 2:11; 5:3-5). By the time he became king of all the tribes and made Jerusalem his capital, he had seen many battles and would fight many more over the next thirty-three years of his reign.

During his years of exile, David had learned much about himself and about the Lord. It is possible that David wrote this psalm shortly after he became the king of all twelve tribes. Some commentators believe he might have written it after he resumed the throne after his exile and the defeat of his son Absalom. But whenever he wrote it, in this psalm, he gives witness to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and reminded his people that their God was not like the gods of their neighbors. In verses 1-4, David reminds us that we have a loving God Who cares for us personally.

God prepares and equips His leaders, and David had no fear of the future (Psalms 18:34, 45; 55:21; 78:9). David often used the image of God as a Rock, fortress, (Ps. 18:2), and as shield (Ps. 3:3). In verse 2, he also calls God, “My lovingkindness”. Other translations use the phrase "my goodness" or "my loving God". David acknowledge that it was the LORD “Who trained his hands for war and his fingers for battle”.  When our boys were young I often said that this was their favorite verse in the Bible as they constantly fought with each other.

David inherited twelve tribes that did not always get along with each other, and during the years immediately following the death of King Saul, tribal rivalry and conflict created numerous problems. But God brought about political unity within the nation and also gave David victory against the enemies outside the nation (Psalm 18:47-48). But David's position and reputation did not go to his head, for he asked, "Who am I that God should do this for me?"

The statements in verses 3-4, “LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow”, remind us of Psalm 8:4, and this is a reminder that we need, especially when we think we can handle life without trusting God. The Hebrew word translated "breath" is habel, the name of one of Adam's sons (Abel). Interestingly this same word “habel” is translated "vanity" thirty-eight times in Ecclesiastes. (See also Psalms 39:4-6, 11; 62:9; 78:33; 94:11.)

The "shadow" image is also found in Psalm 102:11, 109:23, Job 8:9 and 14:2, and Ecclesiastes 6:12 and 8:13. James tells us in James 4:14, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Life is brief at its best and we need to always remember how helpless we are without the Lord! Without the LORD we will live an empty and “vain” life. Make sure that you can say like David, “The LORD is My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge”.

God bless!

Psalm 143 fits the pattern of so many of David’s psalms. The first verses reveal his pain, his feelings, his despair, his grief, that reveal his desperate circumstances. He acknowledges that he is surrounded by his enemies. Remember his greatest and worse enemies were not the hated Philistines, but often it was those who were close to him. Sometimes it was his own family members, other times it was those he thought were his friends and counselors. David begins many of his psalms speaking of how his spirit is overwhelmed and his soul is full of troubles. This prompts him to cry out to the LORD for help and deliverance.

In the first six verses of Psalm 143, David asks for God to “hear his prayer and give ear to his supplications”. He recalls and appeals to God’s faithfulness and His righteousness and pleads for mercy not judgment. (vs. 1-2). Now in verses 7-12, David is asking God to “answer him speedily” and with expectation and anticipation waits for the LORD to deliver him (v. 9), and to cut off and destroy his enemies (v. 12). Did you notice how most of the verses begin? “Answer me”, “Cause me”, “Deliver me”, “Teach me”, “Revive me”.

The answers for which David was waiting anxiously are the same answers we want to receive today. For one thing, we want to see God's face (v. 7). David had often heard the priestly benediction declare that God's face would shine upon His people in gracious blessing (Num. 6:22-27), but if He was displeased, He would hide His face from them (Psalms 10:1; 13:1; 69:17; 102:2). To know the shining of His face means to walk in the light of His countenance and enjoy the smile of God upon our lives, but the absence of that blessing was like a living death (Psalm 28:1).

We also want to hear God's Word (v. 8). To see His smile and hear His voice gives us the strength we need to overcome the enemy. David moved from the darkness he was experiencing in verse 3, to the morning and the dawning of a new day in verse 8. David expressed this desire in many of his prayers in psalms (Psalms 5:3; 30:5; 59:16; 88:13; 130:6; 90:14). The Word reminded him of God's unfailing love, and the Word strengthened his faith (Rom. 10:17) and gave him guidance on the dangerous path he had to take from the cave to the crown.

We also want the blessing of experiencing the protection of God (v. 9). Jehovah was David's "Rock" in which he took “shelter” (Psalms 18:2, 31, 46; 19:14). He knew he could hide himself in "the cleft of the Rock" (Ex. 33:22) and be safe from his enemies. This reminds us of the old hymn, "Rock of ages/ Cleft for me/ Let me hide myself in Thee."

Another answer we want to receive from the Lord is a knowledge of the will of God (v. 10). His good Spirit, (Neh. 9:20), teaches us from the Word and shows us the path we should take (Psalm 119:105). A knowledge of God's will is what gives us confidence in the difficulties of life; it keeps us going when the going gets tough.

Finally, God answers prayer by helping us bring glory to His great name (vv. 11-12). "For Your name's sake" and “for Your righteousness’ sake…”  was the great motivation of David's life and ministry (1 Sam. 17:26, 36, 45-47). "Hallowed be Thy name" is the first request in the Lord's Prayer, and it ought to be the motivation of all our prayers. David knew that he had a great work to do for the Lord, and he depended on the Lord to help him accomplish it and bring honor to His name.

May the LORD help us to follow this pattern of prayer in our lives!

God bless!

Psalm 143 has always been a special psalm to me as verses 8 and 10 have become a morning prayer to help me begin the day declaring my need for the LORD. “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You….Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.”  These are two verses you might want to copy on a card or type on paper that you can keep visible to start your devotional time each morning.

Psalm 143 is part of a selection of David’s psalms, that whoever compiled or organized the 150 psalms, put together just before the last five psalms of the book. We know that David wrote at least half of the 150 psalms. We know the names of some of the other writers by the titles but there are many psalms we don’t have a clue who wrote them. But one thing I’m sure of is that all 150 psalms were inspired by God and He is the author of them as He is of the other 65 books of the Bible. I also personally believe that the order of the psalms, like the rest of the Bible, was directed by God to be exactly where He wanted them to be in the Bible for His divine purposes and for our benefit!

Another interesting thing about Psalm 143 is that it is the last of the seven penitential psalms. The others being Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, and 130. Spurgeon commented that from his study of the psalms that he is not sure why the church fathers included Psalm 143 in this selection but maybe they needed one last one to make the number of them seven. Other commentators believe it was included primarily because David felt he needed to confess sins that were keeping him from enjoying God's help and blessing (vv. 1-2). He had concluded that the suffering he was experiencing from the attacks of the enemy were actually God's chastening, so he asked God for mercy. In all probability, Psalm 143 was written during the time of the Absalom rebellion.

It is true that the Lord can use painful circumstances and difficult people to bring us to repentance, but sometimes those very things are God's "tools" to polish and mature us, not to punish us. In this psalm, David presents many requests to the Lord, all of which may be summarized in two prayers: "Hear me" (vv. 1-6) and "Answer me" (vv. 7-12). This kind of praying is a good example for us to follow.

First, like David we can pray, “Hear Me”. God already knows our situation, but I believe He wants us to acknowledge it verbally to Him in our prayers. The basis for David's prayer was the character of God, “His faithfulness and righteousness”, attributes that are mentioned again in verse 11. God is righteous in all that He does because He is holy, and He is faithful to His covenant and His promises. We plead these same attributes when we confess our sins to the Lord and claim His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). By calling himself God's servant (vv. 2, 12), David affirmed that he was a son of the covenant and could plead on the basis of God's Word. He also affirmed his own sinfulness (Psalm 130:3-4).

David acknowledges that his life is crushed to the ground, he is in darkness like a dead man, and his spirit is overwhelmed, and his heart is distressed (vs.3-4). But then he recalls and remembers the great works of God recorded in the Scriptures. He meditates on the Creation ("the works of His hands"), and possibly the other wonderful things God did for His people like the call of Abraham, the pilgrimage of Jacob, the life of Joseph, the exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan (vs. 4-5).

In verse 6, in his despair, David still worships and lifts up his hands and expresses his soul’s longing for the LORD, like a thirsty land longs for refreshing rain! May the LORD help us to do the same!

God bless!

4 Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.

5 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

6 Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.

7 Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me."

Yesterday on Easter Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we need to remember every Sunday is resurrection day and the truth is every day is resurrection day for the believer. Because Jesus resurrected victoriously over death, hell, sin, and the devil, we can also experience His resurrection life every day.

Romans 6:4-8 teaches us this great truth: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him”.

Today, we want to pick up where we left off before Passion Week in Psalm 142. From the title we know that David wrote this psalm when he was in a cave and he wrote it as a maschil or a “contemplation”, which means a psalm of instruction. He wants us to learn something from his own experience when he was in a dark cave of discouragement and desperation. 

David was probably in his early twenties when he wrote this psalm. In his late teens he had become a national hero by killing Goliath and had gain a place of honor in King Saul’s court, and a position of authority as a commander in his army. But over night that all changed when Saul grew jealous of him and determined to kill him. In a low point David seems to lose his faith, and his head, as he seeks protection from the Philistines, their hated enemy. He quickly found out this was a mistake and then flees to this cave at Adullam. He no doubt is disappointed in himself, knowing that others would have been aware of his failure to trust the LORD.

But David turns his cave of gloom and despair into a closet of prayer, a place of solitude and devotion. The disciples of Jesus in Luke 11 asked Jesus to teach them to pray and He told them to first enter in the closet and shut the door. David was in a place where he could shut out the sounds and distractions of the world that was crashing in all around him and where he could concentrate on the LORD. And that is what he did and we should so the same!

In verses 1-2, David was confident that the LORD would hear his voice and he could make his supplication and share his complaint before Him. He could declare to the LORD all his troubles. And so can we!!!! In verses 3-4, David was assured that the LORD knew his circumstances despite his feelings that no one else cared about him. Then in verses 5-7, David believed and expressed his faith that the LORD would bring his soul out of the prison of failure and despair, and he would praise His name! He looked ahead by faith to the day that the “righteous would surround him” because the “LORD would deal bountifully with him”.

No matter the circumstances around us or the feelings within us, we have the promise that God cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We can be confident that He is working all things together for His glory and our good (Rom. 8:28). We can be assured that the LORD will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

God bless!

The Saturday following Jesus’ crucifixion might be the most unique and overlooked day in the history of the world. It is the day between Jesus’ death and His resurrection. Less is written in the Gospels about this day than any other in the scope of this week known as Passion Week. But what makes it so unique is this: it is the only full day in history where the body of the crucified Son of God lay dead and buried in a grave. The day before, He was crucified. The following day He would rise from the grave. But what happened on Saturday? Though we may not know much about this day, when we look at the few verses the Gospels give us accounting for it, we find it was by no means a forgotten day to the Chief Priests who had handed Jesus over to death.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus said many times that He would die in Jerusalem at the hands of the Chief Priests, but on the third day He would rise again (Matthew 12:40, Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34). Of course, the Chief Priests scoffed at this. But they didn’t forget it. On the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jesus’ prediction preoccupied their thoughts in such a way that they couldn’t leave it alone. Matthew 27:62-66 tells us the strange story of how the Chief Priests simply could not dismiss the possibility that Jesus might have known something they didn’t. They went to Pilate and explained that while Jesus was clearly an imposter, His disciples might try to steal His body and fake a resurrection. Pilate’s response was laced with poetic foreshadowing when he said, “Here is a guard of soldiers. Make the tomb as secure as you can.”

Already, two of the hardest people to reach or come to Jesus for salvation, the rich and those who are religious, have openly professed their faith in Jesus Christ, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. No doubt they both were at the council that had condemned Jesus but possibly did not vote with the rest to have Jesus crucified. But at the same time, we have no record that they spoke up for Him.

I believe that they must have witnessed the Roman soldiers mercilessly scourged Jesus with a multi-lashed whip containing imbedded pieces of bone and metal with 40 lashings (Matthew 27:26).  And watched as they pressed the crown of thorns into Jesus’ head, mock and spit on Him and ridicule him before they dragged Him to Golgotha. They witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus with the two thieves. They heard Jesus say, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They saw the bright noonday sun go black…. And in that terrible darkness they heard the Savior cry out, “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?”

At 3pm in the midst of the darkness, as they stood nearby, they heard the voice of Jesus one last time as He cry out, “It is finished” and “Into thy hands I commit my spirit.” And He breathe His last! And they saw Jesus die!!!!!!!!! They felt the ground quake!!!!

It is possible that they encountered each other at the cross when Jesus died and together decided to publicly take their stand with Him. Joseph might have said to Nicodemus, “I have a tomb nearby that Jesus can borrow for a couple of days, He said He would rise again on the third day, would you help me take Him down from the cross and bury Him?”  

You can see why the Pharisees and the Pilate were concerned. That Saturday, as His body lay wrapped in linen in a grave, there were many around Jerusalem who sat with uneasy questions about whether or not there would be another chapter in Jesus’ story. His uncommon strength, coupled with the supernatural darkness that settled over the land during His crucifixion (Matthew 27:45), set on edge those who wanted Him dead, even after they’d succeeded. A resurrection would only cause people to believe in Him more.

Yes, it is Saturday, but Sunday is coming!!!! Today, let us prepare for Sunday and the celebration of the greatest day in human history, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

God bless!

Matthew 27:27-36

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.”

Luke 23:32-37

“There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."

Today is called by many “Good Friday”, the day we believe that our Savior was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem two-thousand years ago. In today’s chat I will attempt to give a brief account of the events of that day that led up to the cross. Remember it was probably late Thursday evening by the time the Lord finished the Passover Supper with His disciples. According to John 18:1, they left the upper room and went to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed to His Father, “Not My will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

It was then that Judas appeared with the multitude of the temple guard and betrayed Jesus with a kiss. They bound Jesus (Luke 22:47-53), and the following unfair trials and events took place starting sometime very early Friday morning. This is the best we can discern from all four Gospels:

Christ suffers His first unfair trial as He appears before Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23).

Christ suffers His second unfair trial as He appears before Caiaphas the High Priest (Matt. 26:57, 59-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:24).

Christ is denied by Simon Peter (Matt. 26:58, 69-75; Mark 14:54, 66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27).

Christ suffers His third unfair trial as He appears before the Sanhedrin (Matt. 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66-71).

Christ suffers His fourth unfair trial in His first appearance before Pilate (Matt. 27:2, 11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-38).

Christ suffers His fifth unfair trial in His appearance before Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6-12; Matt. 14:1-2)

Christ suffers His sixth unfair trial in His final appearance before Pilate (Matt. 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16).

Christ suffers His scourging when He is turned over to the Roman soldiers (Matt. 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19; John 19:2-3).

Christ carries His cross to Calvary and is assisted by Simon (Matt. 27:31-32; Mark 15:20-21; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:16).

Christ is crucified on the cross at nine o’clock in the morning (Matt. 27:33-50; Mark 15:22-37; Luke 23:32-46; John 19:17-30).

At noon the sun goes totally dark for the next three hours till 3:00PM. Christ is forsaken by His Father as He bears the sins of all humanity. (Matthew 27:45-55).

Christ's death introduces some supernatural events (Matt. 27:51-56; Mark 15:38-41; Luke 23:45, 47-49).

Christ's body is removed from the cross and placed in a tomb by Joseph and Nicodemus (Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:31-42).

We must never forget the suffering of our Lord Jesus on the cross that day! 1 Peter 2:24: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.”

This would be a good day to read Isaiah 53 and meditate on it!

God bless!

Luke 22:7-13

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?" And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" ' Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready." So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

As we look at the major events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in what is called “Passion Week”, we have come to Thursday. To get a full picture of all took place, remember it was on Wednesday that Judas Iscariot secretly went back to Jerusalem and sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver with the promise that he would betray Him. Now early Thursday morning in Bethany, Jesus sends Peter and John to Jerusalem to prepare the Passover Supper for Him and His disciples. So, most of the recorded events in the four Gospels that take place on Thursday must have happened late in the afternoon and evening.

We can’t be sure of the exact sequence of these events, but it appears to me that at some point during the supper, according to John 13:4, Jesus washes His disciple’s feet. This might have happened after Jesus overhears them arguing at the table who would be the greatest in the kingdom (Luke 22:24-30). Jesus is teaching them a practical lesson on humility. Keep in mind, Jesus knows that this Passover Supper is about His sacrificial death that will take place in just a few short hours.

Jesus already knows that Judas has sold Him for 30 pieces of silver, the disciples are expecting Him to set up an earthly kingdom very soon and they are seeking to be sitting next to Him on His throne. Jesus then gives the message on a heavenly kingdom in John 14 as He tells them that He is going to prepare a place for them, but He will come again (John 14:1-6).  Jesus also gives them the promise of the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 16. In John 15, Jesus teaches them the lesson on the True Vine and the importance as branches to abide in Him.

Then at some point Jesus also prays His High Priestly prayer that is recorded in John 17. All of this occurs on Thursday evening. Jesus also tells the disciples that one of them will betray Him and send Judas out. After the supper is ended, they sing a hymn, no doubt from the Psalms, and leave the Upper Room and make their way to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1). Jesus also announces on the way there, that all of them would forsake Him and be scattered (Matthew 26:31).

Thursday evening ends with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. Jesus is praying but the disciples are sleeping.

I’m afraid that many of us are like the disciples on the eve of the greatest event in human history that will take place on Friday, the sacrificial death of Jesus on a cross, and we are arguing and being divided about things that really don’t matter!  Of course, the Resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit changed all that in the lives of the disciples and can transform us also!

God bless!

Up to this point, we know that on Sunday Jesus made His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem with His disciples. He was greeted by the crowds of common people with shouts of Hosanna, which meant “save us now”. For three and a half years they had heard messages on the kingdom and seen His miracles of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making lame men to walk, feeding the multitudes, and raising the dead! They sincerely thought that He was the Messiah who would save them from the hated Roman rule over them.

They wanted an external salvation of freedom but failed to realize that they must first have an internal salvation for their souls from their sins. This could only take place if Jesus fulfilled the prophesies like Isaiah 53 where He would bear their sins in His own body and died as the spotless Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb, in their place. In these last days just before His crucifixion, Jesus has privately been telling His disciples over and over again that He must suffer and that He would die and be resurrected.

Of course, this must have “troubled” the disciples (John 14:1), and particular one of them named Judas. We have already been told that he was a thief and was stealing from the common money the disciples shared. His dreams of ruling and getting a position of power and control in the Kingdom were falling apart and Satan puts it in his heart “to go his way” to get the most out of his position as a disciple and betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

During this Passion Week, Jesus and His disciples were staying at the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Bethany is about two miles away from Jerusalem. The city would have been extremely crowded and chaotic during the Passover week. Jesus and His disciples walked those two miles each day to teach in the temple and then returned to Bethany for the night. We are pretty sure we know what Jesus did each day of this week, except for Wednesday. For that reason, this day has been called “silent Wednesday” by some scholars.

But most Bible scholars and commentators seem to agree and believe that Wednesday was the day spoken about in Matthew 26:14–16, Mark 14:10-11, and Luke 22:1-5, the day Judas chose to betray Jesus. Besides this we can’t find any other events that might have taken place. It is possible this is because the disciples needed time to prepare for the Passover meal. Did Mary and Martha help with that? The Passover celebration required shopping, cooking, and planning. Was everyone bustling around Jesus with important preparations while He was praying for the strength to make an impossibly difficult sacrifice?

We can imagine Jesus taking time on Wednesday to retreat to a quiet spot so that he could sit with his Abba and pray. It’s impossible to fathom what it would have been like for Jesus to be God incarnate, indwelling the limitations of a human body. He understood physical pain, he felt humiliation, He expected His death would be a horrendous ordeal for His human body to endure. He also knew that He was about to accomplish the purpose He had been born to do. He was going to provide salvation for anyone who would choose to believe and make Him Lord. What did Jesus pray about during that time with His Abba?

Maybe we should spend some of this day like Jesus did. Is there time in your schedule to simply turn the world off, take a walk, and spend some time with your Abba? If you are reading this on your office computer, take time during lunch or during the drive home to simply quiet your heart and think about what Jesus did that Wednesday—and the significance of the events in the days that followed.

Why doesn’t Scripture tell us what Jesus did that Wednesday? Maybe because it was the day Jesus chose to spend privately with God. Maybe we can consider doing the same. Your Abba would love to have that time with you . . . there is something He wants to tell you.

God bless!

This week we are looking at the events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in what is called “Passion Week”, and what took place each day during this week. Remember that we should not be dogmatic about the exact chronology as we look at all four of the Gospel accounts, but we at least can get an idea of what was happening concerning the suffering of our Lord throughout the entire week.

One of the events that took place on Monday was the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus. This must have infuriated the religious leaders and set up the scene for their confrontations with Jesus on Tuesday. Jesus did not attempt to avoid them and when He and His disciples “came again to Jerusalem”, He went directly to the temple for where they were waiting for Him with a plan to trip Him up in front of the crowd. Their goal is to discredit Him, shame Him or quiet Him. It’s time to show the people who's really in charge.

As Jesus walked into the Temple, “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”’ (Mark 11:27–28) “Tell us Jesus, who do you think you are? We are the ones with authority here in the Temple—we are the high priests.” Jesus responds: “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? .... So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Mark 11:29–33) Their question backfired on them.

The Sadducees take their turn and come up with a crazy story about a woman who marries seven brothers, one after the other as the previous one dies. They want to know which brother she would be married to in the resurrection. Jesus shamed them with His answer pointing out that they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God. (Luke 20:27-33)

Jesus was confronted with the question of the “Great Commandment” (Mark 12:28-34). He then confronts the religious leaders with His question, “Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?" And the common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:35-37). Matthew’s Gospel tells us at the point, “And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:42–46).

Now in Matthew 23, with the priests and Pharisees silenced, Jesus lets them have it in front of the crowd. He spends 36 verses, which takes just under five minutes to speak out loud. He pronounces seven woes with specific accusations about their character, sin and condemnation. And He does it in the temple, in front of the crowd, to their faces. Jesus, then says to His disciples for all to hear, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation" (Luke 20:46-47). Then in contrast to these religious fakes, Jesus points out the widow and her meager offering of one mite (Mark 12:41-44).

It is also possible that as He and the disciples leave the Temple and Jerusalem that Jesus gives both the Mount of Olivet Discourse concerning the end of the age (Matthew 24), and the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the judgment of the sheep and goat nations (Matthew 25).

You can imagine the rage of the religious leaders now intent on putting Jesus to death! My friend, make sure you have a relationship with Jesus and not just a religion about Him.

God bless!

This week we are going to take a break from the book of Psalms and share the events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in what is called “Passion Week”. It is in these eight days that the greatest event in the course of human history takes place, and that is, the suffering, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t ever forget that Jesus suffered like no man ever suffered as He lays down His life as God’s perfect sacrifice for our sins!

Because the four Gospels are not written in chronological order the Biblical scholars debate the exact order of events that took place each day of this week. I have chosen to use Dr. Harold Willington’s Guide to the Bible for our study this week. Dr. Willington was a dear friend of mine and I had to privilege to sit under his teaching during my time at Lynchburg Baptist College and even travel to the Holy Land with him on two occasions.

It appears that after the events on Palm Sunday the Lord and His disciples spent the night in Bethany, a town about two miles east of Jerusalem just on the other side of the Mount of Olives (Matthew 21:17). This is where Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. They were close friends of Jesus, and probably hosted Him and His disciples during their final days in Jerusalem.

On Monday morning as Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Mount of Olives Jesus saw a fig tree, and being hungry He stopped to eat some fruit from it but found only leaves (Mark 11:12-14).  He cursed it and immediately it withered away. Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. But the truth is the symbolism of this event could extend to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward religiosity; true, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.

Mark’s Gospel continues to tell us after that they continued to go up to Jerusalem. It was then that Jesus cleansed the temple. “So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' " (Mark 11:15-17).

It is so sad that many of our churches today have become places of entertainment and religious commercialism rather than houses of prayer. The thing we should do the most in our churches is the thing we do the least! I have a feeling that the Lord would be cleansing a host of our churches today as we promote everything but the Word of God and prayer!

According to John’s Gospel it is possible that another event might have happened on this Monday in Jerusalem. “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:20-36)

Jesus was of course speaking of His own death on the cross which would bear much fruit! He also added that the same truth can be applied to us. If will lose our life for His sake and we live for Him and not the world and ourselves, we will enjoy eternal life that will bring others to life in Christ too! This will glorify Jesus! (John 12:28)

How healthy is your Spiritual life?

God bless!

We are going to take a break from the book of Psalms for the next eight days and share the events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in what is called “Passion Week”. It is in these eight days that the greatest event in the course of human history takes place, and that is, the suffering, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t ever forget that Jesus suffered like no man ever suffered as He lays down His life as God’s perfect sacrifice for our sins!

 Actually, if we want to look back one day to Saturday, we will find that the Lord Jesus was anointed with oil by Mary.  “And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table” (Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). She was criticized by Judas and the disciples, but Jesus said, “She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." (Mark 14:8-9). Jesus knew exactly what was going to take place in the course of this week!

What a great place to start these devotions this week. We should be encouraged to know that the Lord takes great note of our sacrificial devotion, records it, and will greatly reward it!

Today is called Palm Sunday. On this first day of the week, our Lord makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-11, 14-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44). Luke’s Gospel tells us, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. (Luke 19:28-31)

Mark’s Gospel informs us that this colt had never been ridden and it was tied “by the door, without in a place where two ways met.” (Mark 11:2-4). This is a beautiful picture of us as sinners. We are unbroken, rebelling against God, and “tied” to our sins! We are “tied” to our past, our guilt, our addictions, our bitterness and cannot lose ourselves. We need someone, sent by Jesus to tell us the story of His resurrection power and how He needs us to come into His family! Notice the colt was “by the door”! Remember Jesus is the door (John 10:9). The colt was “without”. We are outside the fold of safety. The colt was also “in a place where two ways met.” When we are introduced to Jesus, we are at the crossroad of two ways. We must either choose Jesus, the Narrow Way, or reject Him and continue down the broad way that leads to destruction!

When Jesus came into the City of Jerusalem, there was a great celebration by the people! When “much people …. heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem... cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:12-13)

Both Matthew and Mark’s Gospel record this entry: "Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord"  "Hosanna to the son of David... Hosanna in the highest" "Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David" (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9-10). It is sad to note, that in less than five days later, many in this crowd would be crying “crucify Him”.  

The last thing we should note that took place on this day is the broken heart of Jesus over the city of Jerusalem. After the Pharisees criticized Jesus for accepting this praise he replied, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." Then Luke also tells us “as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes….” (Luke 19:40-44).

As Jesus faces the suffering of the cross, He is weeping over the lost condition of those who would crucify Him. May the Lord give us broken hearts like Jesus to pray and weep over the lost sinners around us today!

God bless!

Something interesting I just learned studying for this chat on Psalm 142 is that this is the last of the psalms attributed to David that relate to the years in which he was fleeing from Saul.  For other psalms that David wrote concerning this particular period of his life see, Psalms 7, 34, 52, 54, 56, 57, and 59. The title tells us that this is a psalm of David, written when he was in the cave. It does not tell us which cave, whether it is the one at Adullam (1 Sam. 22) or a cave in En Gedi (1 Sam. 24).

We should also note that Psalm 142 is a maschil psalm, (a contemplation), a psalm that was written for instruction. David felt that the lessons he had learned in his troubles should be recorded to help and encourage others. For some reason this psalm did not find its way into the Hebrew hymnbook for a very long time. It was given its place probably by King Hezekiah, who could appreciate David's experiences, having gone through troubles enough of his own.

For the background of this psalm, we need to remember David’s experiences up to this point. David's troubles as a young man came swiftly to a head at King Saul's court. After Saul had tried to have him murdered in his bed, he fled to Naioth. He had a secret meeting with his loyal friend Jonathan who promised to find out if it was safe for him to return home. Shortly afterward Jonathan returned for a clandestine meeting with David and warned him that his life was in danger. By this time King Saul was under the tormenting influence of a demon. Nine times in two chapters he tried to have David murdered (1 Samuel 19 and 20).

Thoroughly frightened, David fled to Philistia for political asylum. It was a disastrous move and he escaped from Gath only by feigning to be insane himself. It may be that his friends even questioned his faith and his courage by doing something so crazy seek help from the hated Philistines, especially the ones at Gath where Goliath was from. Back in Israel, he sought refuge in the cave of Adullam, a big cave not far from the famous "valley of the shadow." It was a natural refuge for the beleaguered outlaw in a very dark and desperate time of his early years. David pictured this time as being in a “prison” (v. 7).

But David finally did what God's people must always do in times of crisis: he looked to the Lord for help. He knew very little about Saul and his plans, but he did know about Jehovah and His great promises, and because of his faith in these assurances, he triumphed over both his feelings and his foes.

In verses 1-2, David not only cried aloud with his voice, but he cried earnestly from his heart. He was a godly young man who had faithfully served the Lord and his king, and yet there he was in a cave, hiding like a guilty criminal. Later in life, David would understand more fully that during those fugitive years in the wilderness, God was equipping him for the work he would do the rest of his life, but at the time, his situation was miserable. His feelings were so pent up within him that he "poured out" his troubles (43:4; 62:8; 102 title) and his inner turmoil ("complaint").

God knew David's difficult situation better than he did, but the Lord has ordained that our prayers are a part of His providential answers. When we need bread, our heavenly Father wants us to come and ask (Luke 11:9-13). The word "trouble" means "in a tight place, in narrow straits" (Psalms 120:1; 138:7; 143:11). David would learn that those dangerous narrow places usually led to wider places and greater opportunities (Psalms 18:18-19; 4:1; 25:17).

My friend, no matter how dark and deep the hole or “cave” we find ourselves alone in with our feelings of total abandonment from our family and friends, we can be assured that the LORD hears our prayers!

God bless!

It is obvious that David, the writer of Psalm 141, is being attacked by ruthless and evil people. It almost goes without saying, that as followers of Jesus Christ we will be attack by our enemy whenever we are determined to do the will of God and live a righteous and upright life like Noah or Job in an ungodly environment. Peter told us to be on guard because we have an adversary who goes about like a roaring lion. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

In this chapter we find at least five things that David did as he responded to these attacks. In verses 1-2, the first thing David does in his desperation is to seek the LORD. He prays and cries out to the LORD in his desperation.  In verses 3-4, the second thing David did was he made the choice and determined to keep himself from sin. He was tempted to say and do things that he knew God would not be pleased with and he asked the LORD to “set a guard over his mouth”, and keep his heart from being inclined to do evil and “practicing wicked works with men who work iniquity…”.

In verse 5, the third thing David did was to accept God’s rebuke and counsel. David recognized that the LORD was involved in allowing this conflict or pain to come into his life. When we yield to God's will, the difficulties of life are tools that God uses to bring maturity to our lives. Often the Lord sends people to speak to us with a message of rebuke.

Now in verses 6-7, the fourth thing that David did was to let God judge his enemies. These two verses have puzzled translators and expositors, but the general message seems clear. David continued to pray for his enemies, and he saw a day coming when God would judge them and vindicate his own cause (Ps. 138:8; 140:12). Perhaps it is best to translate the verbs "Let the judges be thrown down... let them learn that my words were true... let them say, 'As one plows.... '" To throw people from a cliff was a terrible form of execution (2 Chron. 25:12; Luke 4:29), but David is no doubt speaking in metaphorical language as in verses 1-5. When God has judged the leaders, their followers will agree that David's words were correct, especially when they see the unburied bones of those leaders bleaching in the sun. We need to allow God to do the same for us!

Finally, in verses 8-10, the fifth thing David did in response to the attacks of his enemies was he was determined to keep going by faith. Fixing one's eyes on the invisible Lord means living by faith in His Word (Isa. 45:22; Heb. 12:1-2). God had anointed David to be king of Israel and nothing but David's own disobedience could frustrate that plan. God was David's refuge, and he was immortal until his work was done.

If David had worried about the traps and hidden snares the enemy had set, he would have been paralyzed with fear; but he committed himself to the Lord and walked safely through the battlefield. Four simple words declare his faith, "While I escape safely” (v. 10). This reminds us of our Lord's experience in the synagogue at Nazareth, when the people became angry at His message and tried to throw Him from a cliff, “Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way." (Luke 4:30).

Life goes on and there is work to do, so we must not allow tough situations to paralyze us but to energize us in trusting the Lord. Life's trials are not excuses for doing nothing; they are opportunities for claiming God's promises and experiencing His miraculous power. Satan obtained permission from God to attack Job’s family, his wealth, and his health. Yet Job responded, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). He went on to also say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

May the LORD give us grace to keep our eyes on Jesus and have the patience and faith of Job and David! “But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge…” (v. 8).

God bless!

5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

First let me say a thank you for your prayers these past couple days as we traveled back and forth to Roanoke to speak at Shelby Leonard’s home going celebration. It was a beautiful service honoring her godly life and her wonderful witness for the LORD. I’m sure she received a “grand entrance” into heaven this past Saturday night as she went from this earthly life to her eternal abode. Peter spoke about this in 2 Peter 1:10-11, “So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Thanks again for your prayers!

Psalm 141 is written by David as he is responding to being attacked by ruthless and evil people. In this chapter we find at least five things that David did. In verses 1-2, the first thing David does in his desperation is to seek the LORD. He prays and cries out to the LORD in his desperation.  

Yesterday we noticed in verses 3-4, that the second thing David did was he was determined and made the choice to keep himself from sin. He was tempted to say and do things that he knew God would not be pleased with and he asked the LORD to “set a guard over his mouth”.

Now in verse 5, the third thing David did was to accept God’s rebuke and counsel. So often when we are attacked by someone, or we are facing a desperate situation, we respond in all the wrong ways. We might run to a friend or relative that we believe can bail us out of our trouble, or at least will take our side and feel sorry for us. Some of us might turn to drugs or alcohol to drown out our pain. David is determined to focus on the LORD and what He might be doing in his life.

Actually, "the righteous" can also be translated "the Righteous One," referring to the Lord. David recognized that the LORD was involved in allowing this conflict or pain to come into his life. When we yield to God's will, the difficulties of life are tools that God uses to bring maturity to our lives. Often the Lord sends people to speak to us with a message of rebuke.

Solomon would later instruct us with these words in Proverbs 1:23, “Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” Paul told Timothy that the Word of God was given for this purpose in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The major difference between King Saul and David was that Saul would not listen to rebuke and went from bad to worse. He made excuses, blamed others, or even if he acknowledged that he was wrong, he kept right on doing the same things. David was willing to turn at God’s rebuke and knew it was good for him. David knew that God’s rebukes, however they came to him, were like fragrant oil that cleansed him and brought healing to his soul and made him a better man!  

As we face the problems and perils of the Christian life, it is important that we listen to wise counsel and obey it. God’s reproofs, however they might come to us, are a sign that we are God’s children and that He loves us! (Hebrews 12:5-11)

God bless!

This morning at 10am at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church in Troutville, VA, I will have the honor and privilege of speaking at the Home Going Celebration of Shelby Leonard. I met Shelby through her son, Alan Leonard around 28 years ago. I preached her husband’s, Fred Leonard, Home Going Service in 2013. Edith and I had many wonderful visits with her in her home over the years. She indeed was one of the sweetest and most humble ladies I have ever met. She was a saint in any way you could describe her. No matter what she was going through she always had the most beautiful smile and she always spoke kind and encouraging words to everyone. I just wanted to take a minute to honor her memory and celebrate her wonderful life with you in this chat!

We are looking at Psalm 141 and thinking about how David, a man after God’s own heart, who throughout the psalms is crying out to God for help as he faces trials and tribulations time and time again in his life, from the beginning to the very end. But despite all his problems and challenges and failures, David was a man who continuously sought the LORD and desired to live for His glory.

It appears that as David writes this psalm from wherever he was, he did not have access to the tabernacle at Shiloh where the priest led the worship and preformed the sacrifices, burned the incense and pray the prayers for the people. But David knew that no matter where he was or he might find himself, he could still make a holy sanctuary and a place of worship. We should follow his example and know that we can make even our times of pain, trial, disappointment, discouragement, a time we can seek the LORD for the grace we need. We can determine in our hearts that God will hear our prayer as we call out to Him in our desperation.

This is basically what we read about in verses 1-2, as the first thing David does in his desperation is to seek the LORD. Now, in verses 3-4, the second thing David is determined and chooses to do is to keep himself from sin! As we already have said, this psalm is closely linked with the preceding one.

Some expositors suggest that some of the courtiers in Saul's attendance were planning to get rid of Saul. There can be no doubt that Saul was anything but an ideal king. Under him the nation was going to ruin. The countryside was beset by outlaws: those in debt, those in distress, those filled with discontent. Many of these drifters later joined up with David, under whose wholesome influence they were transformed into an efficient body of fighting men. Saul himself was lashed periodically by fits of demonic, ungovernable rage. Worst of all, the nation was a constant prey to its enemies, particularly the warlike Philistines against whom King Saul had no success at all. Jonathan, twice the man his father was, vacillated between loyalty to Saul and love for David. In any case, he made no effort to conceal his conviction that he would never be king, that the throne belonged to David.

Those who desired to get rid of Saul were possibly trying to use David to further their own ambitions. They would befriend him, play on his fears and ambitions, and use him to assassinate Saul. Then they would make short work of him and place their own man on the throne. The evidence for such a scenario is not historical but circumstantial but it fits with what we see in this psalm.

David was under tremendous pressure and he faced a great temptation to compromise with the enemy, and he knew this was wrong. But, they were slandering him so why should he not slander them? But the problem was with his heart, not his mouth, and he prayed for a heart that would not be inclined to approve of their sins and imitate them (Prov. 4:23). David pictured his temptation as "eating their delicacies" (see Prov. 4:14-17).

Times of testing become times of temptation when we stop believing and start scheming, and when we ask, "How can I get out of this?" instead of "What can I get out of this?" 

God bless!

It is hard to believe that we have now come to the last ten chapters in this wonderful book of Psalms. As I have been reading through the Psalms over the years and especially these past couple of weeks I have noticed a recurring theme throughout the book. David, who wrote more than half of the psalms is constantly crying out for God to help him as he faces difficult trials and desperate situations. It is a repeated theme, over and over again, that you can’t help but see.

David did have some wonderful highlights in his life, like when he killed Goliath and became a national hero overnight. But for most of his life after that he was plagued with trouble, evil and wicked men who sought to destroy him, family issues beyond imagination with even his own son leading an insurrection against him. God had a special way of keeping David humble and totally dependent upon the LORD for deliverance and help.

Honestly that is the best position to be in ourselves! When we understand that we desperately need God every day of our lives and in deep humility acknowledge our total dependance upon Him, we will find like Paul, that when we are weak then we are strong because it then that the power and glory of God is reveal to us and in us! God uses circumstances, uses people and a host of other things to get our attention so that we will keep our eyes upward looking to Him in our desperation for the help we need!

Psalm 141 ties into the two previous psalms with this theme. In Psalm 139 after David speaks of how God marvelously and wonderfully created him, all of a sudden he cries out in verse 19, “Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.” Psalm 140 begins with, “Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war.”  

Psalm 141 begins with, “LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You”. The enemy was after David again and he needed immediate help. It has been suggested that David wrote this psalm after his cave experience with Saul (1 Sam. 24), or perhaps he wrote it when he was away from the sanctuary during Absalom's rebellion. This psalm reveals David making a number of wise decisions as he faced the attacks of the enemy. He does at least five things.

First in verse 1-2, David determines to seek the LORD’s help. Whenever the enemy caused trouble, David's first response was to pray. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (27:1). He was a man with spiritual insight who understood that he could pray and worship God even if he was away from the sanctuary and had no priest to assist him. Each evening, the Jewish priest would offer a burnt offering on the brazen altar and also burn incense on the golden altar, but God accepted David's prayer and uplifted hands. Frankincense was usually included with the burnt offering. (See Ex. 30:1-10, 34-38; Lev. 2:2.) Incense is a picture of prayer going up to the Lord (Rev. 5:8; 8:4).

David's hands were empty but his heart was full of love for the Lord and faith in His promises. Both Ezra (Ezra 9) and Daniel (Dan. 9) prayed at the time of the evening offering. After the second temple was built, this psalm was read when the evening sacrifices were offered and the lamps were lit in the holy place.

My friend, in the time of our desperation the first thing we should do is also seek the Lord with our whole heart!

“I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4)

God bless!

There are several things we have learned from Psalm 140 and at least four lessons we should take to heart. David wrote this psalm and gave it to the chief musician to be sung for generations to come. Our songs, poems, and hymns often are a story of our life experiences and should be passed down to our children to give them guidance for their lives. It appears that this collection of eight psalms at the end of the book were put together by someone years later for this very purpose.

In verses 1-5, David is crying out for the LORD to deliver, preserve and keep him safe from evil and violent people. We can expect sinners, wicked and evil people to hate the righteous and attempt to destroy them. We shouldn’t be surprised! It has been this way from the very beginning of the human race. Cain murdered his brother Abel, “because his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1 John 3:12).

In verses 6-8, like David we can pray and trust the LORD to “cover our head in the day of battle”. We can pray that the evil schemes of the wicked will fail. We definitely need to be doing this today!

In verses 9-11, we can trust the LORD to return to the wicked what he intended to do to us. Our enemies think they are hurting us, but they are really hurting themselves. The trouble they cause us will only come right back on their own heads, for it is an inexorable law of God that people reap what they sow. We should always remember Galatians 6:7-9, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

The wicked dropped burning coals on David's head, but God would return the same to them. Verse after verse in the Bible assures us of this: (Psalms 11:6; 18:8; 120:4; Proverbs 25:22; Genesis 19:24). The destructive fires they lit with their tongues would burn them, and they would fall into the pits they had dug for David (v. 10). For more references to this look up Psalms 7:15; 9:15; 35:7-8; Proverbs 26:27. The wicked hunted David and set traps for him, but evil would eventually hunt them down and destroy them (v. 11). "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23) is a Biblical truth that will always be fulfilled. We should also remember, “If God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31).

Finally in verses 12-13, we know the end of the story. We have read the whole history of the life of David and God’s people, so we know that God did maintain David's cause, defeat his enemies, and keep His promise to put him on the throne of Israel. David would establish a dynasty that would eventually bring the Savior into the world. He would write nearly half of the psalms, he would expand and defend the borders of the kingdom, and he would make the preparations necessary for the building of the temple.

What a great man he was because he trusted in the Lord! David was grateful to God for His intervention, and he determined to live to glorify the God of Israel. David wrote, "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me" (138:8), and God honored His faith.

My friend, you can be assured that for God's devoted people, the best is yet to come. “The upright shall dwell in Your presence” (v. 13). We still have heaven to look forward to and experience the very presence of God forever (Psalm 23:6)! Yield to Him and He will accomplish what He has planned for you, and you will be satisfied.

God bless

6 I said to the LORD: "You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.

7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah

If there is one thing that we should learn from the life of David that we can apply to our journey as believers, it is that before we can wear the crown, we must experience the Cross. Jesus also exemplified this great truth of the Bible. Suffering always precedes a greater experience of the presence of God in our lives. The persecuted church leaders in China told us, “Don’t pray that persecution will stop, but that we will have faith, patience and strength to endure it. Persecution is good for the church; it keeps us purified.”

Psalm 140 was born out of a time of intense suffering and persecution in the life of David. For 15 long years after he was anointed to be the next king of Israel by the prophet Samuel David experienced hell on earth as Saul became jealous and sought to kill him. When David still tried to serve on Saul’s court, he was surrounded by evil and violent men who hated him because of his righteous life and pure motives.

In verses 1-5, we see what sinners will always do to those who live righteous lives around them. They will hate them and attempt to remove them. David was a light in the midst of great darkness and so are we today! Our lives expose the evil intents of wicked hearts, and they can’t stand it. A sinner will either repent or he will attempt deny even the existence of a holy God to cover his evil deeds and to enjoy the temporary pleasure he receives from them.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world…”. A righteous life condemns the wicked around us and they can’t stand it. Jesus said that is why they hated Him and that we would be hated for the same reason. My friend we are experiencing this in America today as the media, Hollywood, and liberal politicians mock, deride and blame Christians for everything.

In verses 6-8, David first responds to this persecution by affirming his faith in the LORD! We also must affirm our faith in the Lord and not be ashamed to confess it openly. We must humbly ask Him for the help we need to live and work among difficult people who hate us and want to see us fail.

Also, whenever David found himself in that kind of a situation, he gave himself to prayer and asked God for the wisdom to know what to do and the strength to do it. Here he asked God to put a helmet on his head and protect him from deception and danger. This reminds us of Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

He also prayed for his enemies, that their evil desires would change, and their evil plans would not succeed. If they succeeded, they would only become proud and go on to do greater evil. Our prayers for godless people must focus on changing their character, and not just stopping their persecution of believers. In the New Testament we are taught by Jesus to do this: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Someone must have prayed this for Saul in the book of Acts, and he became the great apostle who “turned the world upside down” with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May the LORD give us grace to respond in this way today!

God bless!

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men,

2 Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war.

3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.

5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah

The title of Psalm 140 informs us that David is the writer of this psalm which was given to the choir leader to be sung by God’s people. For sure, songs are a reflection of our personal stories that let people know what we experienced in life and how we responded to it. Songs also reflect our culture and our history. David lived around 1,000 years before Christ, which means he wrote this psalm over 3,000 years ago and it still exist today to give a glimpse of how he trusted the LORD in the midst of his troubles.

It is obvious in these first five verses that David is dealing with difficult circumstances at this time in his life. He cries out to the LORD to deliver him, to preserve him, to keep him and again in verse 4, to preserve him from violent men. It seems likely that the circumstances behind this psalm occurred during David's years as a member of King Saul's official staff, when Saul's envy and paranoia were developing. In their attempt to please the king, some of Saul's officers spread lies about young David and even tried to set traps to make him look bad.

They can just as easily relate to circumstances surrounding David in the tragic days of the Absalom rebellion. In this psalm it is evident that David was being slandered and that violence was lurking in the background, waiting to strike once slander had done its poisonous work.

Some believe that it is possible that King Hezekiah had an old copy of David’s psalms and possibly put this collection of eight psalms together. He might have picked this particular one up and used it to pray when Rabshakeh's glib tongue was seeking to subvert the Jerusalem garrison (2 Kings 18). Or perhaps it was picked up and used by the restored captives when they returned and were surrounded by enemy forces as they attempted to rebuild the temple and walls of Jerusalem.

God's people face similar situations today, for Satan is a murderer (John 8:44), a slanderer and accuser (Rev. 12:10), and a deceiver (2 Cor. 11:3). He is determined to discourage us, make us despondent and drive us into depression where we lose any hope that God cares about us and can help us. There are several lessons that we can learn from this psalm that encourage us to trust God and be faithful when Satan's servants oppose us.

In verse 1-5, we must see that David's presence among Saul's leaders was like light in darkness (Eph. 5:8) and health in a hospital. When confronted by a godly man like David, Saul and his leaders either had to change their ways or get rid of him, and they chose the latter course. They were evil men (v. 1) who planned evil (v. 2), spoke evil (v. 3), and practiced evil (vv. 4-5).

Note that verse 3b is quoted in Romans 3:13 as part of the evidence Paul assembled that proves the depravity of the human heart. The phrase "the evil man" (v. 1) is collective, for the pronouns in the psalm are plural (vv. 2-4, 6, 8). What David needed from the Lord was wisdom to avoid their traps and protection from their violent plans. You meet the "hunting metaphor" in Psalms 9:16, 31:4, 119:110, 141:9, and 142:3, and the "sharp tongue" image is found in Psalms 52:2, 55:21, 57:4, 59:7, and 64:3.

As God's people in an evil world, we must expect the opposition of the enemy and trust the Lord to enable us to overcome (John 16:33). That is also why we should pray the model prayer every day in Matthew 6:9-13 asking God to “deliver us from the evil one”.

God bless!

Psalm 139:19-24

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.

20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain.

21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;

24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. 

Today, we will finish our chats on Psalm 139, a great chapter that reminds us that our awesome God is both omniscience and omnipresent! David first looks at how God intimately knows him and his every thought. God knows where he is and there is no place he can flee or hide from His presence. Then he recalls in awe how God created him in his mother’s womb, designing every detail of his body and planning out His life!

Realizing this David knows that there is no way we can deceive God, no way we can escape God, and no way we can ignore God! Therefore, the only conclusion is that the most sensible thing in all the world is that we should obey God!

Suddenly in verses 19-22, David turns from his marveling at Who God is and what God has done in creating him and directing his life, to the evil world and the wicked people in it that choose to oppose God and dispute what He says about them in in His Word. David called these people wicked, violent, liars, blasphemers, and rebels, and he grieved because of them.

Even as we should take the time and make the effort to set our minds and thoughts on heavenly things and God’s wonderful love and plan for our lives, we must also accept and deal with the reality of the wicked and evil world in which we live. David’s first response was to pray that God would deal harshly with them. The Scriptures teach that “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11).  It might appear that they are getting by with their evil deeds, but God is keeping a record and is noting every detail that He will call them to account for one day.

At the same time God also grieves over sinners and is not willing that any should perish (Ezekiel 33:10-11). The Father grieves over the wicked (Gen. 6:6). The Son does (Mark 3:5; Luke 19:41), and so does the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Yes, it is difficult to love rebellious sinners and still hate their sins, but we need more "holy hatred" in this day when blatant sin is a popular form of entertainment. For more verses on how we should respond see Psalm 11:5; 45:7; 97:10; Amos 5:14-15; and Romans 12:9, 19-21. Whenever we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are asking the Lord to judge the wicked, and then we must leave the matter in His hands.

We also need to notice how David closed this chapter with a prayer for God to search His own heart, know his anxieties and concerns, forgive him, and lead him. We must be cautious as we examine ourselves because we do not even know our own hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). It is best to open the Word and let the Spirit search us and speak to us, for then we discover the truth about ourselves (Hebrews 4:12-13; James 1:21-27)

We must never dispute with God, for He loves us and wants only the very best for us. Yes, my friend, God intimately knows us, He is always with us, and we should never ignore Him since He is the One who gives us our life and sustains it! And most of all He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place for our sins (Romans 5:8).

God Bless!

America is facing a major crisis today as we deal with several generations of young people who have been taught that they evolved from animals, and human life is no different than animal life. Because we have devalued life, they are growing up with little or no purpose for living. As a result, we are experiencing the highest suicide rates ever, violence, anarchy, disrespect, looting, stealing, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and many more destructive behaviors.

Paul described it this way in Romans 1:28-32, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

This is exactly what happens when we believe the lies of the Evil One and deny the existence of the Holy God Who created us in His image. Psalm 139 is one of the greatest passages in literature about the miracle of human conception and birth. There are several things we have already learned from this great chapter!

In verses 1-6, we saw where God is omniscience and that He knows us intimately and we can never deceive Him. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He takes notice of every word we speak and searches us out in our innermost being. In verses 7-12, David reminds us that God is omnipresent and that He is with us constantly and there is no place we can hide from Him!

Now in verses 13-18, David declares that God is present at conception and birth, and because we are made in the image of God and God has a special purpose for each person who is born. We live in and with our bodies all our lives, and we know how amazing they are. God formed us as He wants us to be, and we must accept His will no matter how we feel about our genetic structure, our looks, or our abilities. The verb "covered" in verse 13, means "woven together" (see Isa. 32:12), and "skillfully wrought" in verse 15 is translated "embroidered" in Exodus. In the mother's womb, the Lord weaves and embroiders a human being, and abortion interrupts this miracle. What a tragedy!

But the Lord did more than design and form our bodies; He also planned and determined our days (v. 16). This probably includes the length of life (Job 14:5) and the tasks He wants us to perform (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12-13). This is not some form of fatalism or heartless predestination, for what we are and what He plans for us come from God's loving heart (Psalm 33:11) and are the very best He has for us (Rom. 12:2). If we live foolishly, we might die before the time God has ordained, but God's faithful children are immortal until their work is done. How can we ignore God when He has given us such a marvelous body and planned for us a wonderful life? Life is not a prison, it is an exciting pilgrimage, and the Lord has prepared us for what He prepared for us.

Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to Him daily, ponder His thoughts found in His Word (Psalm 92:5; Isa. 55:8-9), and walk in the Spirit. God thinks of us! (Jeremiah 29:11). Should we not think about Him? 

God bless!

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Psalm 139 is one of the most notable of the sacred hymns. It sings of the omniscience and omnipresence of God reminding us that God knows all about us and that He is everywhere, and He is always with us! It also describes how God marvelously created each one of us and teaches us that life begins at conception and every human-being is of tremendous value to God!

Some commentators believe that this psalm was written by David shortly after he had united the nation, defeated its foes, put its internal affairs in order, and settled down to be a shepherd-king to Israel. Then it occurred to him that the living God of Israel, the God he had hymned in scores of psalms, the God to whom he owed everything, still lived in a tent. He determined to build God a temple, a temple fitting for such a God as Jehovah. He shared his desire with Nathan the prophet, who gave immediate approval. But then God spoke to Nathan and informed him that David's son would build that temple.

But God also revealed to Nathan that since David was concerned about God's house, God would be concerned about David's house. He would establish David's house as a permanent dynasty until the coming of Christ. The Davidic Covenant was established, and when David heard Nathan’s message about it in 2 Samuel 7and 1 Chronicles 17, the promise rang in David's soul. He told the Lord so, and his heart was overwhelmed at the greatness of God's thoughts toward him. It is possible that David might have gone to his room that night, not to sleep, but to write this hymn, Psalm 139. Maybe that is why he wrote in Psalm 139:17 & 18, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…”

Yesterday in verses 1-6, we saw where God is omniscience and that He knows us intimately and we can never deceive Him. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He takes notice of every word we speak and searches us out in our innermost being.

Today, in verses 7-12, David reminds us that God is omnipresent and that He is with us constantly and there is no place we can hide from Him! It is amazing that we think that we can hide from God! But because of the sin nature we were born with, when we realize we have broken God’s holy law, we attempt to run and hide from Him. Or we attempt to deny that there is even a God in heaven Who is aware of our deeds.  That is what most of America is doing today!

But all the "escape routes" we go down are futile. David reminds us if we go up to heaven or down to hell or sheol, the realm of the dead, God is there. If we take the “wings of the morning” and we travel the speed of light to the east or west (the Mediterranean Sea was west of Israel), His hand will catch us and tenderly lead us. We cannot hide even in the darkness, for to the Lord, the darkness is as the light.

God wants to walk with us and guide us, because His plan for us is the very best. Why should we want to run away and hide? Adam and Eve tried it and failed (Gen. 3:8), and so did the prophet Jonah, who only went from bad to worse.

My dear friend, we need God's presence with us if we want to enjoy His love and fulfill His purposes. Take time to read Isaiah 43:1-7 and don’t forget Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

God bless!

Psalm 139:1-6

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.

3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

Psalm 139 is one of the more well-known psalms in the collection of psalms. It answers so many questions about life, such as, who we are, where we came from, where are we going, what is our purpose, and what is our value. From the title we know that David was the writer. He is obviously a poetic genius and a man who knew and loved God. God is referred to by name six times and by personal pronoun thirty times. The psalmist refers to himself fifty times. It is a song of profound spiritual experience. All such experience is, by its nature, personal and intimate. David gave it to the “Chief Musician”, to be sung by the sanctuary choir in worship of our great and glorious God!

It is important to remember that what we think about God and our relationship to Him determines what we think about everything else that makes up our busy world. How we view other people, the universe, God's Word, God's will, sin, faith, and obedience all come from our thoughts of God. Wrong ideas about God will ultimately lead to wrong ideas about who we are and what we should do, and this leads to a wrong life on the wrong path toward the wrong destiny. In other words, our theology, which is the right knowledge of God, is essential to a fulfilled life in this world. David contemplated God and wrote for us a psalm whose message can only encourage us to be in a right relationship with Him.

First in verses 1-6, David reminds us that God knows us intimately and we cannot deceive Him. I’ve been told that the number one major that students chose to take in college is psychology. A degree that few will actually use in their professional life after college. The reason is that the students are at a stage in life where they are searching for themselves and their purpose in life. What would be better for them to know is that God is “searching” them according to verse 1. The verb "search" means "to examine with pain and care." The Jewish people used this word to describe digging deep into a mine, exploring a land, and investigating a legal case.

Our friends see the outside, but God sees the heart, and we cannot deceive Him. Adam and Eve tried it (Gen. 3:7-24), Cain tried it (Gen. 4:1-15), and even David tried it (2 Sam. 11-12), and all of them discovered that God knew all about them. "Understand" in verse 2 means "to distinguish and discern with insight" and not just gather raw data. " Comprehend " in verse 3 is a picture of winnowing grain, and "try" in verse 23 means "to test metal."

The fact that God knows us intimately and exhaustively is asserted in verses 1, 2, 4, 14, and 23. He knows our actions, our locations, our thoughts and words, our ways, and our motives. "All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13). But even more, He knows what is best for us and does all He can to guide us that way. He hems us in behind and before and puts His hand on us to steady us and direct us.

In verse 5, the word translated "hedged" means God has "enclosed" us and “guards us as a valuable object". In other words, God's knowledge and guidance are for our protection. What should be our response to this? We should be overwhelmed by the height and depth of God's knowledge and be thankful that He knows us perfectly. When David thought about this he could not help but exclaimed, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.”

My friend, even with 8 billion people on planet earth, God knows you, loves you, and cares so much for you that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to make a way for you to know Him and experience an abundant life! You are of tremendous value to Him!

God bless!

Psalm 138 is about what happens when God answers prayer! And saying that, I want to thank you all for your many prayers these past several weeks as we traveled both to India and Jordan. Truly God answered your prayers keeping us safe, healthy, giving us strength and endurance, and blessing us with very successful and exciting opportunities to minister. I got back to my home in Sneads Ferry NC Saturday afternoon and was able to get some wonderful rest in my own bed. Again, I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support which made it possible for me to be a part of two great ministry teams that were able to accomplish so much in so little time!

Psalm 138 is the first of eight psalms attributed to David. They form a special collection just before the five "Hallelujah Psalms" that climax the book. The psalm probably grew out of the opposition of the neighboring nations when David became king of a united Israel (2 Sam. 5; 8:1-14). It was God's plan that David reign over Israel (v. 8), but the Jebusites, Philistines, and Moabites wanted a divided Israel with a weak leader. David knew God's will, prayed for God's help (v. 3), trusted God for victory (vv. 7-8), and defeated the enemy. The psalm does not mention the Lord until verse 4, but it is obvious that Jehovah is the object of David's prayers and praise. In this psalm we need to notice at least three things that happens when God answers prayer.

First in verses 1-3, answered prayer glorifies God's name.  "The gods" in verse 1 are the false gods of the nations that attacked David (Ps. 82:7). His victories over their armies were God's victories, and David wanted Jehovah to have the praise and glory (Jer. 50:1-2). The word translated "temple" means "sanctuary" and was applied to the tabernacle at Shiloh (see 1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3). In verse 2, the phrase, “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name”, seems to mean, "I trusted your promises and prayed, and the Lord answered above and beyond anything that He promised." It is another way of expressing Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. God answered David’s prayer and this brought glory to His name.

In verses 4-5, we see that answered prayer gives witness to the lost world around us. Jehovah is not only higher than the gods of the enemy, He is also greater than their rulers. David's victories proved that. However, there were Gentile kings who rejoiced that David had won the battles—rulers such as Hiram (2 Sam. 5:11) and Toi (2 Sam. 8:9). David prayed that the day would come when all the kings of the earth would hear God's Word and praise the Lord for His promises to Israel. Beginning with Egypt, every nation that has opposed and persecuted Israel has gone down in defeat, as God promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3).

Then in verses 6-8, answered prayer accomplishes God's purposes in our lives. Jehovah is the Highest of the high and the Greatest of the great, but He is also willing to become the Lowest of the low and stoop down to meet our needs. To "look upon the lowly" means to pay attention to them and regard them with favor (11:4; 113:5-9; Isa. 57:15 and 66:2; Luke 1:47-55).

David gave thanks that the Lord knew his need and came to his aid. In His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7), God revealed that He had a great purpose to fulfill through David's life, and He would not allow the enemy to thwart that purpose. This is true of believers today (Phil. 1:6 and 2:13; Eph. 2:10 and 3:20; Col. 1:29), and He will not forsake us. It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven but to get God's will done on earth, and this was demonstrated in David's life.

Praise the LORD as we have experienced God perfecting and accomplishing His purposes in our lives on these two trips and answering your prayers that have brought glory to the Name of our Great God!

God bless!

Psalm 138:1-8  A Psalm of David

1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.

In verse 4 David said, “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.”  David said that he prayed and cried out and God answered him and gave him inward strength to face his challenges. It is amazing how Psalm 138 is so fitting for our time in both India and Jordan these past several weeks!

For sure the Lord has given us strength for this amazing journey! I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support. Today is our last day and we are preparing to catch a flight back to the U.S. tonight. Our time here in Amman Jordan has been very interesting, exciting and rewarding! It is amazing what all can happen in such a short period of time.

We have participated in several distributions of food and household goods for several hundred refugees over the past week.  In each one we had the opportunity to share our testimonies and a message of God’s love and grace which was received very warmly. Our team of 6 divided up into two groups and probably went into at least 15 homes of refugees from Syria and Iraq. On many occasions we all went together. We listened to story after story of how family members were killed as they fled for their lives from ISIS in 2014.

At the same time, we heard amazing testimonies about how the Lord brought them to salvation and miraculously answered their prayers and has provided for their needs. There were many tears as we heard them recount their suffering and even their present situations where unless a miracle happens, they have a very bleak future.

In one of our last visits a dear older lady shared how her son and brother was killed one night by ISIS in Iraq. She went into detail about what she went through in her pain and loss but the whole time she had the most amazing smile, countenance and glow on her face! She shared how finally a pastor’s wife prayed over her and she was able to forgive the men who killed her son and brother and begin to pray for them. At that time a peace came over her that lifted her out of her despair and set her free with a peace that was indescribable.  

We also spent three mornings visiting three different ministry centers where most of their staff took the time to share with us what they are doing to bring hope and hands on help for refugees and many who have suffered physical, emotional and mental trauma beyond our ability to describe. As we listened all we could do is weep and put our faces in our hands and pray. We plan on partnering with at least two of these ministries as they desperately need both financial, prayer and volunteer support! They have websites that we will share later.

Needless to say, because of Arab culture here in the Middle East, at every visit we were served tea, coffee, sweets and on many occasions full Iraqi, Syrian or Jordanian meals! I have gained several pounds but really enjoyed every moment of our time with these precious people. We have anointed many with oil and prayed over them for special healing.

Again, Psalm 138 is an awesome reminder of how our God is still at work in His harvest fields. And we had the firsthand experience of seeing and hearing of the great movement of the Holy Spirit in opening the eyes and hearts and minds of multitudes of precious souls in this region.  Truly He is magnifying both His Word and His Name as He manifest both His lovingkindness and His truth to so many here and around the world today!

God bless!

Tuesday March 05

“I Will Praise You…”

Psalm 138:1-8  A Psalm of David

1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth.

5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD.

6 Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Our team is having a wonderful time ministering to the refugees here in Amman Jordan. Yesterday we divided into two teams and visited their homes where we had the opportunity to listen to their stories and connect with them. Of course, we drank a lot of tea and coffee in each home, ate a lot of snacks and in one home we were served a full Iraqi delicious meal.

Most of them have been here at least 6 years waiting for a visa to go to another country. They are not able to work here and are totally dependent upon outside resources to survive. In our first home visit, the parents had three teenage daughters and the reason they left Iraqi was because the girls were not safe there. We heard that story many times. In this particular apartment there was only one bedroom, and the living conditions were very poor. I noticed in the very small bedroom that 5 thin mattresses were stacked up on each other with a pile of blankets nearby. I’m guessing that they simply spread out the mattresses out and cover up. The apartment was very cold. But the parents were still very joyful and thankful that they were alive and professed that they were followers of Jesus!

In the home where we were fed the awesome meal, we heard the story of how they had to flee from Isis. They left behind a beautiful home and a very successful business they had built up over 40 years. They grabbed their documents, jumped into one of their cars in the middle of the night with their three children and fled for their lives. They lost everything but their lives. This couple has been here as refugees for 8 years and are still waiting for a visa to another country. Yet they never quit smiling and being great host as they testified to God’s love and grace during this time. Our hearts were truly touched!

In our last home visit very late in the evening we experienced another large Iraqi family that also has been here for over 6 years having fled from Bagdad because it was unsafe for their daughters and ladies in the family. Through the ministry here they had also become believers and were rejoicing in the Lord. The dad shared how he now has read through the Bible 6 times since he has plenty of time! They openly witness to anyone who visits with them, and they shared the story with us of how the LORD answered their prayer with a miracle of healing a grandson who was declared to be blind and would never see.  The wife kept saying that all she prayed for was that the LORD would show them His glory! We thought we had gone by to bless and encourage them, but we were the ones who were blessed.

Thank you so much for your prayers! I’m afraid we take a lot for granted in America and in our comfortable lives there!

I will be starting to look at Psalm 138 in our Pastor’s Chat video today! I trust you will get a chance to view it and you will join David in his praise to the LORD for answered prayer!

God bless!

Today we had the opportunity to worship at the Nazarene Church here in Amman. It was a wonderful and blessed experience with great music and a wonderful message from the Pastor. He preached on Jesus having compassion on those who are ignorant from Hebrews 5:2. When he gave the invitation and asked people to stand if they needed the compassion of Jesus and desired to repent it appeared to me that at least 20 people immediately stood up and prayed with him.

The service was in Arabic and the pastor’s wife translated both the worship music and the message into English for us. She did an awesome job and we understood everything that was going on. Afterwards we were privileged to go the pastor’s office with him and his wife and spend about an hour with them over some tea and pastries. I can’t tell you how encouraging that meeting was as they shared their vision of ministry and Kingdom work with our team! Already they are very engaged with Grace Church and the ministry to refugees and have a genuine heart to make a difference in this part of the world and beyond as a missionary sending church! We were truly blessed!

Afterwards we spent a couple hour with Pastor Wasim and Lillian in their apartment! We ate a awesome Egyptian meal with them and had a great time of fellowship hopefully encouraging them as much as they did us!

It is amazing that Psalm 137 fits so well into our current time here in Amman. It is about the people of Israel who have been displaced from their homeland and currently living in a strange and foreign place where they have been taken as captives. They are hurting and have painful memories. The unknown psalmist is expressing both his thoughts and feelings about his memories of Jerusalem and how they are being treated by their captors.

Music was also one way of expressing their grief and seeking the help of the Lord "who gives songs in the night" (Job 35:10). These former exiles remembered the times their guards demanded that they entertain them by singing one of the "songs of Zion." What biting sarcasm! The Babylonians knew how the Jews honored Mount Zion and the city of Jerusalem, and how they boasted of Zion's strength and security (46:5, 7, 10, 11; 48; 76:1-3; 87), but now, the city and temple were in ruins. In their sarcasm, the guards were asking, "Where is your God? Why did He not deliver you?" (See 42:3, 10; 79:10; 115:2.)

The exiles had refused to obey; they did not sing for their captors. Why? For one thing, the Babylonians wanted "the Lord's song" (v. 4), and the Jewish people were not about to use sacred temple hymns to entertain the pagans. Their captors wanted "songs of mirth," and the exiles had no joy. They had lost everything but God and their lives, and being normal people, they were deeply pained in their hearts. Their city, temple, and homes had been destroyed, their people had been deported, and the throne of David had been cast to the ground. But even worse, they had seen the Babylonian soldiers get great glee out of throwing Jewish babies against the walls and smashing their heads (v. 9). It was one way the Babylonians could limit the future generation of their enemies.

Yes, memories can bring pain, and the pain does not go away when we try to "bury" the memories. Denial usually makes things worse. But the fact that the exiles could talk about these painful things indicates that they were facing them honestly and learning how to process this pain in a mature way. It takes time for broken hearts to heal, and Jesus can heal them if we give Him all the pieces (147:3; Luke 4:18).

Again, I remind you that we are ministering to precious refugees here in Amman this week who have tragic memories and a very painful past for the most part. Please keep us in your prayers as we share God’s love and His Son with them!

God bless!

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.

3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!

6 If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth-- If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, "Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!"

8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!

9 Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!

I am so thankful and grateful for your prayers for our current trip to Amman Jordan. We had a safe and long flight here with our wonderful team. We arrived last night around 5:30 pm and went directly to the GPPD Relief Center about 35 minutes away where we will be staying for the entire time here. We met with the Pastor of the Grace Church and went to our rooms for some rest. This morning we had breakfast with the team in Jon’s apartment and Kristi Robers gave us a wonderful and very helpful devotion from Joshua 5 called “Lectio Divina”. After that we had the opportunity to go across the street to the Relief Center and minister to over 25 Syrian women refugees in the first group. Kristi share her heart in a very moving way as she shared God’s love and hope with them.  Jonathan also shared a wonderful message with them. Afterwards, they all received a large bag of food items and another bag of cleaning supplies.

We immediately received another group of over 25 Syrian women refugees. Anita Geiger share her testimony with them and assure this group also of God’s love for them during this difficult time of their lives. I was also about to share a few minutes with them about living a life that has meaning and value despite the conditions we might be going through! After I finished, they asked Jonathan how old I was. He asked them how old they thought I was and many of them replied that I was probably around 95 years old! Wow!!!! We all had a good laugh about that! We really felt like we connected to them and heard that they made many positive comments to our translator as they were leaving. They also receive the same relief items as the first group.

We met with the pastor of Grace Church and his wife and children for lunch together. They shared their journey of faith that brought them to Amman and how the Lord always marvelously has provided for them. It was very moving and inspiring! I wish everyone could have heard it that is reading this blog.

Today, we also want to begin our chats on Psalm 137.

Psalm 137 was probably written by a Levite after he had returned home from Babylon with the remnant in 536 B. C. Twenty years later, Babylon would be destroyed. It appears that the psalmist was with a group of former exiles (note the "we" and "us" in vv. 1-4), recalling some of their experiences from their time of captivity in Babylon.  Many of those memories opened old wounds and were very painful! 

But from this encounter with the past, the psalmist learned some lessons about the human memory, himself, and the Lord.  You will notice that the words, "Remember" and "forget" are used a total of five times in these nine verses. This chapter will help us to learn to deal with our bitter memories God’s way so we might find healing for the bitterness they might have brought into our lives.

We are ministering to precious refugees here in Amman this week who have tragic memories and a very painful past for the most part. Please keep us in your prayers as we share God’s love and His Son with them!

God bless!

Today I need to tell you that I am pre-recording this pastor’s chat, because by the time you see this chat I will be on a plane on my way to the kingdom of Jordan, leaving Thursday evening and will be flying over to Jordan to do some work with Syrian, Iraqi, and Palestinian refugees, just loving on people who have been displaced, over a million refugees in the city of Amman, Jordan alone. We have a great team, dear friend of mine Pastor Rick Flowers, several others from Roanoke, and my son Jonathan will be there. We have a great opportunity to reach out in love to some very hurting people and help them along life's way and the journey they're on but most of all to share with them the love of Jesus Christ.

Now what's interesting, we are going to be in the land of Jordan. That is where the people and especially around Amman and Mount Nebo just on the West side of the city of Amman, Jordan and then of course the Jordan river and then the land of Israel. All that area, that territory right there, that's basically where we are going to be. That is where the people were camping and that is where they fought with the king of Sion, the king of Hispon. As a matter of fact, we have found that little place Heshbon where this king reigned.  We go there on several occasions and stand on a desolate spot, nothing there anymore but a bunch of rubble. The mighty king that God slew because he fought against Israel and would not let them pass through the land, and then all king of Bashan was king a little bit further north and he was destroyed also by God.

We read about these two kings over and again some 50 times in the Old Testament. Here in verses 19 and 20, “His mercy endures forever. He slew these kings who stood in the way of God's people getting into the promised land.” But when we come now to verses 23 through 26 we find our God is not only our Creator, also He brought us forth, He gave us life, He's our Redeemer, He brought us out of Egypt, He brought us out of sin. As we look at the spiritual journey of our lives compared to the physical journey, the history journey of the nation of Israel, He brought us out and then He shepherded us, He took us through the wilderness 40 years. He took care of his people, He fed them, He watched out for them. He ministered to them through the Tabernacle and the sacrifices and then He conquered for them He took them in to the land and first He gives the east side of the land of Jordan to the half tribe of Manasseh and Gad and Reuban, then they go in and fight for the land where the people of Israel and they conquered the land those are verses 17 through 22.

But now the last few verses here, verses 23 through 25. What a great psalm. Now the people go into the land of promise and there they conquer all the land and they set up all the land, the people get their places get their inheritance, but guess what, they did when they were being blessed, they forgot God, they turned to idols, started living like the people that were amongst them and the next thing you know as God promised he had to punish them and they went into a lowly state but guess what? Go read the book of judges because these verses were found in the book of judges, the history is there, they cried to God in their misery and their despair and in their pain and guess what? His mercy endures forever. He heard them and remembered them and rescued them from their enemies, and my friend, we will fail God, yes we will and we will follow, we will be miserable but we could cry out to God and He'll rescue us too, and then He says who gives food to all flesh, ohh just reminding us that God is the one who sustains us, takes care of us, and we can trust Him because His mercy endures forever and then what can you say? Verse 26, “Ohh give thanks to the God of heaven for his mercy endures forever.”

Again, just a reminder that today, Thursday February 29, I will be leaving for Jordan with a wonderful team to minister to Iraqi, Syrian, and Palestinian refugees. There are over one million refugees in the city of Amman Jordan. We sure would appreciate and covet your prayers for our team during this 10-day trip to a very special area of our world!

This means that my daily pastor chats might not be so daily. I will do my best to post ministry updates, pastor chats, pictures and videos, as our time, schedule, and internet access permits. Once again, thank you for your patience and prayers during these next 10 days. We return on Saturday, March 9 and hope to get back to our daily chats as soon as possible!

Psalm 136 describes creation of the world and the beginning and history of Israel all the way to the book of Judges in verses 23-25. But it also describes our spiritual journey as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. First in verses 1-9, we should never forget to remind ourselves that God is our creator. Next in verses 10-12, we rejoice that God is our Redeemer! He has brought us out of our bondage and set us free through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ! Yesterday we learned in verses 13-16, that God is our Shepherd Who brings us through the “wilderness” of life!

We have a God who not only created us, redeemed us and brought us out, shepherds us and brings us through, but in verses 17-22, we also have a God that conquers for us and brings us in!

As the forty years drew to a close, Moses led the people back to the gateway into the Promised Land, and on the way, Israel defeated great and mighty kings and took their lands. In verses 19-20, two of them are mentioned by name, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan. (Num. 21). These two kings are mentioned over fifty times in the Old Testament as a testimony of God fighting for and protecting His people!

Several times when I was in Jordan, I have gone to a place located not far outside of Amman to a pile of stones that is called Hesbon, where Sihon had his fortress.

You might remember that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh claimed their inheritance east of the Jordan River (Num. 32; Josh. 18:7), but their men marched with Israel into Canaan and helped to conquer the enemy and claim the land (135:10-12; Josh. 22). The land belonged to the Lord, but He gave it to Israel as their inheritance (vv. 21-22), and they would enjoy its blessings as long as they obeyed the covenant.

Believers today have been delivered from sin through faith in Christ and are now in the "kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13). Canaan is not a picture of heaven, for there will be no wars in heaven. It pictures our present inheritance in Jesus Christ, an inheritance that we claim as we walk by faith and defeat Satan and his forces that want to keep us in bondage and spiritual poverty. This is the theme of Hebrews 1-4.

Peter assures us of our inheritance with these words in 1 Peter 1:3-8, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”.

God bless!

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Thursday February 29, I will be leaving for Jordan with a wonderful team to minister to Iraqi, Syrian, and Palestinian refugees. There are over one million refugees in the city of Amman Jordan. We sure would appreciate and covet your prayers for our team during this 10-day trip to a very special area of our world!

This means that my daily pastor chats might not be so daily. I will do my best to post ministry updates, pastor chats, pictures and videos, as our time, schedule, and internet access permits. Once again, thank you for your patience and prayers during these next 10 days. We return on Saturday, March 9 and hope to get back to our daily chats as soon as possible!

You should never forget the main emphasis of Psalm 136! If someone asks you what is in Psalm 136 you should be able to immediately reply, “For His mercy endures forever!”  Or, as some versions translate it, “For His steadfast love endures forever!”

Psalm 136 describes creation of the world and the beginning and history of Israel all the way to the book of Judges in verses 23-25. But it also describes our spiritual journey as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. First in verses 1-9, we should never forget to remind ourselves that God is our creator, and He gives us breath in our lungs, hearts that beat, and a mind to think with! We are totally dependent upon Him for our very existence to enjoy this beautiful, orderly creation we live in! Never forget that God is our Creator who brought us forth into this world!

Next in verses 10-12, we rejoice that God is our Redeemer! Because of sin we are enslaved and in bondage to Satan, like Israel in Egypt. But like God brought Israel out of Egypt, He has brought us out of our sinful state in bondage and set us free through the sacrifice of His precious Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ! All because “His mercy endures forever!”

Now, in verses 13-16, we find that God is our Shepherd Who brings us through the “wilderness” of life! One of the greatest miracles in history takes place when the Lord brought Israel through the sea that He parted so they could walk across on dry ground and at the same time He destroy the armies of Pharoah (vv. 13-15). God then led Israel through the wilderness (v. 16). A pillar of cloud guided them by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21-22).

God first led them to Sinai where they remained for over a year while Moses received and taught the divine law and supervised the construction of the tabernacle. The nation needed the discipline of the law and the delight of worship before they were ready to enter Canaan and take the land. Israel's unbelief and disobedience at Kadesh Barnea sent them back into the wilderness (Num. 13-14) where that rebellious generation died during the next thirty-eight years of wandering. But even then, God miraculously provided food for them to eat by raining down Manna on them everyday and bringing water out of rocks for them to drink!  Moses commanded the new generation to remember those wilderness years and obey the Word of God (Deut. 8).

My friend, as believers we are also on a spiritual journey through the “wilderness of sin”, (Exodus 16:1, 17:1), and we need God’s protection and provisions every day!  Indeed, we need not worry or fear because the Lord Jesus Christ is our Shepherd in this life (Psalm 23:1; 78:52-55; 80:1; John 10:11-14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4) and throughout eternity (Rev. 7:17). He is the true Manna sent down from heaven (John 6:41-51)! He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6)! Jesus knows us by name and if we will by faith follow Him, we can be assured of His “mercy and goodness that will follow us all the days of our lives” (John 10:3-4; Psalm 23:6). 

Yes, today you can rejoice because “His mercy and steadfast love endures forever”!

God bless!

Every verse in this beautiful psalm ends with the refrain, “For His mercy endures forever”. Over the years as I have read this psalm my heart leaps for joy as I read this phrase over and over again, some twenty-six times! I don’t know about you, but I desperately need His mercy every day! I am so thankful that God’s steadfast love never ends or that He never gives up on me! He is so patient with me as I falter and fail over and over again! We definitely join this anonymous psalmist by giving thanks daily to triune God of heaven!

Remember, the focus of Psalm 136 is on giving thanks to God for who He is and what He has done for His people. The psalmist begins by giving thanks to the LORD as the creator of the universe! The psalmist started at the beginning of time with the creation of the universe, recorded in Genesis 1. The Lord had the wisdom to plan creation and the power to execute that plan, and all He had to do was to speak the Word (Psalm 33:6-9).

As you read these verses and think about them, it is hard to believer that there are people who call themselves atheist and say they don’t believe in God! Everything that God created had a special and unique design that had a specific purpose. It would take more than faith to believe that a big bang took place trillions of years ago and eventually everything we see and enjoy today somehow, or another just happened! I choose to put my faith and trust in the Bible and God’s record of creation and stand amaze at how awesome my God is!

Because humanity refused to be thankful for creation, mankind began that terrible descent into ignorance, idolatry, immorality, and ultimate judgment (Rom. 1:18-32). In the day or the night, whether we look up at the heavens or down at the earth and waters, we should see evidence of the hand of God and realize that a Creator brought it forth from nothing. In this creation is all that we need for life and work, so let us thank Him!

Not only did God create us He redeems us and brings us out of the bondage and slavery of sin. Only a couple chapters after the record of God’s creative acts in Genesis 1-2, man disobeys God and sins, and then faces the consequence of death. But God is not caught off guard and already has a plan to save mankind from his sin and it is through the nation of Israel. Through them we were given the Bible and a Redeemer and Savior. The psalmist quickly turns to this great act of God in the history of Israel and their deliverance.

The psalmist wrote nothing about Israel's years of suffering in Egypt, or the Lord's judgments against the gods of Egypt (Ex. 12:12) but focused on the Exodus. "Brought out" is a phrase the Jewish people used to describe their deliverance (Deut. 1:27; 4:20, 37; 5:6; 16:1). By the time Israel crossed the Red Sea, the land of Egypt, its firstborn sons, its religion, and its army had been destroyed by the power of God. The Exodus marked the birthday of the nation of Israel, and from that time, the Jews looked back each year at Passover and remembered what the Lord had done for them.

The Exodus is also a picture of the redemption we have in Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of God who shed His blood to set sinners free (1 Peter 1:18-19; John 1:29; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12). God's mighty arm was revealed at the Exodus (Ex. 15:16), but it was revealed even more at the cross (Isa. 53:1-12; Luke 1:51).

Again, we must give thanks to the LORD and loudly proclaim, “For His mercy endures forever!”

God bless!

This morning, I will be driving to Dulles Airport in Washington DC to meet up with our team of five others wonderful people, and to catch our evening flight India. Again, I’m asking you to pray for our team as we minister to precious widows, orphans, children, pastors, and as we dedicate wells in remote villages. We also want to be a blessing and encouragement to our national partners that labor tirelessly to reach their nation for Christ. We hope to post as many daily chats updating everyone as is possible with travel and the internet. We will return on Saturday February 24th, but only for a few days. On Thursday, February 29th, we leave again for Dulles to catch an evening flight to Jordan for another 10 days, where we will be ministering to national partners, both Syrian and Iraqi refugees and many others.  We will be back from that trip Saturday, March 9th. Your prayers and support are very much appreciated!

Psalm 135 is a great passage to share from just before we leave on our trip, as we are reminded that the emphasis of this psalm is on praising the LORD because of who He is and what He has done for His people. Yesterday in verses 1-5, we saw how the psalmist was singing and praising the LORD for His goodness and for His “pleasant” name (v. 3). And rejoicing that the people of Israel are a chosen people and special treasure to the LORD. Today, we are His chosen ones who are also His special possession, and we can trust Him!

In verses 6-12, we are reminded that God is sovereign, and He does what He pleases! He is in charge of the world, both earth and sea, and all the elements including lightning, the rain and wind. He is charge of the nations and gave the land of Canaan to Israel! In verses 13-14, the LORD personally judges His people and has compassion on them! We are His servants, and He cares for us!

The LORD proves He cares for us in verses 15-18, because He is the true and living God. With minor changes, these verses are quoted from Psalm 115:4-8. Dead idols cannot speak, see, hear, or breathe, and they cannot give life to their worshipers. Because Jehovah is the living God, He speaks to us in His Word, sees us in our every circumstance, hears our prayers, and comes to us when we need the help that only He can give.

But best of all, in verses 19-21, the LORD is to be praised because our God is with Us. Israel could praise the Lord because He was present with His people. No other nation could claim that distinction. His glory led Israel through the wilderness, and that glory resided in the sanctuary until God had to depart because of the nation's sins (Ezek. 7-11). What other nation had the glory of God dwelling in their midst (Psalm 63:2; Rom. 9:4)? The Lord is not a distant God; He is "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). Jesus is "Immanuel—God with us" (Matt. 1:20-25; 28:20). And He has promised us, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5; Gen. 28:15; Josh. 1:5; Isa. 41:10, 17).

Oh, my friend, today we have so much to praise and bless the LORD for!!!!

God bless!

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD!

2 You who stand 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 praises to His name, for it is pleasant.

4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

5 For I know that the LORD is great, And our Lord is above all gods.

Psalm 135 begins the last section of the book of Psalms which focuses on worship and praise of the LORD. The emphasis of this psalm is on praising the Lord because of who He is and what He has done for His people. It opens with the command to "Praise the LORD" that is repeated four times. It ends and concludes with the command to "Bless the LORD,” that is also repeated four times. The name, "Jehovah" is found thirteen times in the psalm, and the familiar phrase "praise the LORD" ("hallelujah") is repeated at least six times.

Psalm 135 has been called "a mosaic" because it contains numerous quotations from other parts of Scripture, no doubt collected by a temple liturgist who, led by the Spirit, put the material together for a special occasion of worship. He obviously knew the Scriptures well as he either quotes or alludes to so many of them. Psalms 135:7 is almost identical with Jeremiah 10:13. The passage contained in Psalms 135:13 is to be found in Exodus 3:15. Psalms 135:14 can be found in Deuteronomy 32:36. The closing verses, Psalms 135:8-12, are in Psalms 136 and from Psalms 135:15 to the end it appears to be a repetition of Psalms 115:1-18.

I’m convinced that the LORD loves it when we repeat His own Word back to Him in our prayers, praise and worship!

Some students think that the occasion was the one described in Nehemiah 9, after the walls had been rebuilt and the people gathered to read God’s Word for a fourth of a day and confess their sins for another fourth of a day. Then the leaders lead into a time of prayer that is recorded as one of the longest prayers in the Bible. In Psalm 135, verses 2 and 5, the psalmist uses the phase, "our God", which is characteristic of the book of Nehemiah (4:4, 20; 6:16; 9:32; 13:2). The Jewish people spoke of Jehovah as "our God" to affirm their separation from the false gods of the nations around them (vv. 15-18).

In verses 1-4, the psalmist first acknowledges that Israel is a “chosen people and that the Lord Is “Our God”. It was God's election of Israel that set them apart from the rest of the nations, for they are "his people" (vv. 12, 14; 100:3; Deut. 32:9, 36, 43, 50). Israel is His treasured possession (v. 4; Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2) and He gave them their land (v. 12). His temple stood in Jerusalem and His priests offered Him praise and sacrifices. The Jewish people were set apart to honor the name of the Lord and to bear witness to other nations that Jehovah is the one true God.

Why did God choose Israel? Deuteronomy 7:6-8 tells us why: “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” The LORD chose them because "the LORD is good" (v. 3).

The church today is an elect people, saved by the grace of God (Rom. 1:6; 8:30; Eph. 1:4) and called to glorify God (1 Peter 2:9-12). All believers are priests of the Lord, and we have been called to praise and worship Him, and in so doing, make His Name, Jesus, famous in all the earth! May the LORD help us to do so today!

God bless!

Psalm 134 is the fifteenth and last psalm of the "Songs of Ascents" or what is also called the “Pilgrim Psalms”. The psalm closes the collection with a benediction and leads into a series of psalms that emphasize praising the Lord. It is interesting to note that when the pilgrim began his journey to Jerusalem, the first prayer of this section of psalms, Psalm 120, indicates that he was at a low point spiritually. “In my distress I cried to the LORD… Woe is me….” (vv. 1, 5). But now, in Psalm 130, having completed his time of worship and cleansing at the place of worship in Jerusalem, he loudly proclaims, “Bless the LORD”!  A wonderful change has taken place in his life! We notice several great encouragements from this psalm.

First, we have a God Who never sleeps (v. 1). As you review these fifteen psalms, you see that the pilgrims had a variety of experiences on their journey, but they arrived safely in the Holy City, fulfilled their obligations, and were now preparing to return home. It was night and they wanted to make one last visit to the temple. Directed by the high priest, the temple priests and Levites were responsible to make sure everything was in order for the next day's ministry. The pilgrims heard a temple choir singing the praises of Jehovah, and their ministry would continue all night. Pagan temples were silent at night, because their gods had to rest (1 Kings 18:27), but "He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:3-4). The Lord gives sleep to His beloved people, but He stays awake and guards the city and watches over the family (Ps. 127:1-2). He also hears the praises of His people.

"The LORD that made heaven and earth" (v. 3), also made the day and the night (Gen. 1:14-19), and “the darkness and the light are both alike to Him” (Ps. 139:11-12). When we go to sleep, we know that the Father is caring for us, and when we awaken, He is there to greet us (Ps. 91:1-6). If we awaken in the night, we can fellowship with Him and meditate on His Word (Ps. 119:55, 62, 147-148). If God never slumbers nor sleeps, why should we stay awake all night, tossing and turning and fretting? "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).

Next, we have worship that never ends (v. 2). David arranged that the temple choirs praise the Lord day and night (Ps. 92:1-2; 1 Chron. 9:33; 23:30). While you and I are asleep in our part of the world, somewhere else on the globe, believers are worshiping God. Even more, Jesus Christ, our High Priest in heaven never ceases to intercede for us and enables us to pray and to worship. God gives us "songs in the night" (Ps. 42:8; 77:6; Job 35:10; Isa. 30:29), when circumstances are difficult and we cannot see our way.

The greatest responsibility and highest privilege of individual believers and of churches is to worship God, for everything that we are and do flows out of worship. As the choir in the temple lifted their hands to heaven (see on 28:2), they were pointing to the Source of all good things and praising Him for His mercy and grace. True worshipers lift "clean hands and a pure heart" to the Lord (Ps. 24:4; James 4:8), for the Lord looks on the heart. We will worship God for all eternity (Rev. 4-5), so we had better start learning now.

Finally we should realize we are blessed to be a blessing to others (v. 3). As the pilgrims left the temple, a priest on duty called, "May the Lord bless you from Zion". The pronoun "you" is singular, for the blessing of God is for each of us personally. To leave God's house with God's blessing upon us is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility, for we must share that blessing with others. If it is a joy to receive a blessing, it is an even greater joy to be a blessing. If the LORD who made the heaven and the earth never sleeps, and our worship never ends, then the blessing will not stop.

God bless!

Psalm 133 is the fourteenth of the fifteen “Ascent Songs” or “Pilgrim Psalms” and from the title we see that the writer was David. When David became king he was 30 years old and he inherited a divided nation and almost a civil war. He first was anointed king of Judah and Benjamin and ruled in Hebron for seven-and-a-half years. But then the Lord gave him a united kingdom (2 Sam. 5; 1 Chron. 12:38-40) and he ruled over all twelve tribes from Jerusalem for the next thirty-three years. He could well have written this psalm when he began his reign in Jerusalem.

The people of Israel usually journeyed to Jerusalem in family groups (see Luke 2:41-52) to observe their three special feast days, so this psalm perfectly suited the situation. It applies to individual believers and churches today, for we also have our "family quarrels" and need to learn to walk together in love. Maintaining the spiritual unity of God's people is the work of every believer, with the help of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:1-6).  For God’s people to enjoy the pleasantness of unity we must experience at least three ministries of the Spirit that are illustrated in this psalm.

In verse 1, David called the people “brethren”. The Jewish people all had a common ancestor in Abraham; they spoke a common language; they worshiped the same God; they were children of the same covenant; they shared a common land; and they were governed by the same holy law. Christians today have experienced being born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6),  worship the same God, declare the same gospel message, preach from the same Scriptures, and are headed for the same heavenly city. How sad though, that there is often more division among us than unity! Yet all of us know that spiritual oneness in Christ (Gal. 3:26-29; Eph. 4:1-6) is both "good and pleasant."

In verse 2, we can also experience the pleasantness of unity because we are anointed by the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, this means that we are being filled by the Holy Spirit and under the control of the Spirit. When the high priest was anointed, the oil ran down his beard to the front of his body and over his collar. This suggests that the oil "bathed" the twelve precious stones that he wore on the breastplate over his heart, and this "bathing" is a picture of spiritual unity. When God's people walk in the Spirit, they forget about the externals and major on the eternal things of the Spirit. Externals divide us, gender, wealth, appearance, ethnic prejudices, social or political standing, while the Spirit brings us together and we glorify Christ.

In verse 3, we have a beautiful illustration of being refreshed by the Holy Spirit for our daily task. The Jews were basically an agricultural people and they depended on the early and latter rains and the dew to water their crops (Deut. 11:10-17). In Scripture, dew symbolizes the life-giving Word of God (Deut. 32:2), the blessing of God that brings fruitfulness (Gen. 27:28, 39; Deut. 33:13, 28), and God's special refreshing on His people (Hos. 14:5; Zech. 8:12). How often we need the refreshment of the Holy Spirit that comes silently but bountifully, like the dew upon the grass! The dew speaks of fruitfulness and the anointing oil speaks of fragrance, for the unity of God's people is both "good and pleasant."

The word “there” in verse 3 no doubt refers to Jerusalem on Mt. Zion. “Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). It was “there” that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice that made it possible for us to have “peace with God”, and the experience “the blessing and life forevermore”. Both images, the oil and the dew, remind us that unity is not something that we "work up" but that God sends down by His Holy Spirit. When we get to the heavenly Zion (Heb. 12:18-29), there we will enjoy perfect unity. But why not seek to have that kind of unity today?

God bless!