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Psalm 13
When observing Psalms 11, 12, and 13, we learn something about faith. Sometimes faith is cool, calm and collected, sometimes faith is a struggle with God and ourselves and yet other times we feel as if God is not there for us and we wonder if we will ever be able to trust in Him again. It’s important for us to know that none of these Psalms are more important than the other and none of the experiences of faith for David are superior nor inferior.
Have you ever felt like God abandoned you in the time when you needed him the most? Or, have you had the thought that God could care less about your crisis?
If king David whom the Bible says in I Samuel 13:14 “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart” felt abandoned by God, then how much more can you and I feel the same?
Let us learn how to cry out to God in crisis and demand that He cease to stay hidden behind the veil of heaven!
As we examine this great 13th Psalm, we should take note of how David responds to deep seated feelings of abandonment by God and how he found confidence in his crisis!
- The Cry of Abandonment in Crisis: Verses 1-2
- A Lengthy Struggle: The phrase “How Long” is repeated on 4 separate occasions.
- A Lack of Blessing: “How long will you hide your face from me?”
- In family (Marriage and Children)
- At work
- At Church
- In Spiritual Life
- In Health
- A Predisposed Condition: “Dark Thoughts and Uncontrollable Emotions”
- A Perpetual Enemy
- The Call for Help in Crisis: Verses 3-4, The answer to feelings of abandonment is the presence of God!
- David’s Prayer has 3 distinct elements:
- “Look on me”
- “Answer”
- “Give light to my eyes”
- God’s Answer: He gives David everything he asks for.
- The Crescendo of Praise in Crisis: Verses 5-6
- When your confidence in God is in crisis cry out to the God who can restore your confidence in the midst of crisis.
- Remember we are not Christ-less in Crisis.
- Feeling forsaken is not the same thing as being forsaken.
- In order to feel abandoned, we must have someone who abandoned us.
- The strongest statement in all the New Testament is Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 5 times negated!
- The Principal of Patience: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer…” Revelation 6:10-11a. If the perfected saints of God in heaven are asked to be patient how much more should we be patient?
If you are someone you know are suffering with feelings of abandonment like Psalm 13 describes, then we cannot tell you when those oppressive emotions will lift. But, we can tell you they will be lifted. The dark curtains of despair will arise, and behind the veil you will see your redeemer the precious Lord Jesus Christ who is with you and loved you the entire time!
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Psalm 12
The 12th Psalm is all about words. The words of faithless leaders are contrasted with the Word of our faithful Lord. As our hearts sink down in despair because of the words falling from the lips of lying political leaders, let us turn to the Word of God and be uplifted by finding great confidence in the Living Lord Who cannot lie!
One of the ways in which the foundations of a society are torn down and eroded away is by the leaders of that society being characterized by constant lies. At the heart of every lying politician is a denial of the Lordship of God.
- The Words of Woeful David
- Exclamatory Prayer. Verse 1: “Save! Oh Lord…”
- Exodus of the Faithful. Verse 1b: “for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.”
- The Words of Lying Leaders. Verse 2-4:
- Lying Insincerities: “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor…”
- Lying Flatteries: “With flattering lips…”
- Lying Deceptions: “A double-heart to they speak…”
- Lying Boastings: “The tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?’”
- The Destiny of All Liars: Revelation 21:8
- The Word of the Living Lord
- Immediate Action. Verse 5: “I will now arise, says the Lord”
- Impeccable Words. Verse 6: “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.”
- Illustration
- Un-incineratable Words: What does it mean when the Psalmist says God’s words are “like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times”? Did it ever occur to you that whatever God says has been refined and thought out for an eternity? When God says something, it has the weight of His eternal nature behind it. Let our confidence in God be founded upon and encouraged by the perfect refinement of His eternal words!
As we are appalled by the lying vanities of finite world leaders and grapple with feelings of loneliness and isolation, let our faith be strengthened by the perfectly pure Word of the infinite God who cannot lie!
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Psalm 11
With the chaos and confusion being promoted all around us due to COVID-19, do you feel yourself asking the question “What are we going to do?”
As we find ourselves gripped by the earthly administration of lying fear, let us set our eyes upon the infinitely greater heavenly administration of truthful facts which are to be apprehended by faith!
Let our hearts and minds consider how Psalm 11 poses the question of the ages “what can the righteous do?” concerning the attitude of the believer in times when it may seem the very bedrock and foundation of our world is in upheaval!
- What Shall We Do?
- A Statement of Faith. In verse 1: “In the Lord I take refuge…”.
- Beware of Ungodly Counsel. In verse 1: “How can you say to my soul, ‘flee like a bird to your mountain…’”
- The Eyes of the Flesh versus the The Eyes of Faith. See II Kings 6:8-18.
- To Whom Shall We Look? In verse 4: “The Lord is in his Holy Temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven…”
- Look in the Right Direction
- Making Eye Contact. In verse 4: “His eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.”
- Reverse Logic
- What Shall We See?
- A progression in verses 4-6:
- The Lord Sees
- The Lord Tests
- The Lord Judges
- Face to Face. In verse 7: “…the upright shall behold His face.”
NOTE: We come into the NT and find that if we are redeemed and entering deeper and deeper into the knowledge of God through Christ… if we know and are known by Christ then we have seen the face of God! “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”-II Cor. 2:6
May we like David and Martin Luther not fear nor flee; but rather, may we stand fast in faith and facts beholding God face to face in the midst of the hype and hysteria of COVID-19!
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Psalm 10
Did you know there is more than one kind of atheism?
This 10th Psalm is rich with redemptive truth regarding practical atheism and how we can enter into a more complete understanding of how this sort of unbelief affects the world.
- The Rotten Fruit of Practical Atheism. Verse 4:
- Unbelieving Pride in verse 4 “In the pride of his face…”.
- Unbelieving Prosperity in verse 5 “His ways prosper at all times…”
- Financial prosperity is never a symbol of godliness.
- Financial prosperity causes others to desire to be like the unbeliever.
- Financial prosperity has turned the American dream into a nightmare.
- Unbelieving Security in verse 6 “He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved…”
- Unbelieving Words in verse 7. “His mouth is filled with cursing and bitterness…”
- Unbelieving Actions in verses 8-11. There are 3 images which the Psalmist employs:
- An assassin in verse 8
- A lion in verse 9
- A hunter in verse 9
- The Real Test of Faith for the Faithful.
- The Response of David. Verses 12-18:
- Asking God to act in verse 12.
- Believing God will act in verse 14.
- Knowing God will execute justice in verse 16. NOTE: See II Peter 3:3-7.
In the book of Habakkuk, God gives His prophet a vision of the invasion of Judah by the Babylonian army. Many Jewish people would be killed or enslaved. The entire book of Habakkuk is essentially the prophet wrestling with the fate of Israel. God answers Habakkuk’s prayers with Habakkuk 2:4 “The just shall live by his faith.” This is the ultimate answer to our prayers as well as David’s prayers. We must live the life of faith.
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Psalm 9
Would you like to know how to praise God no matter your circumstances? Do you find yourself complaining to God rather than complimenting Him? Let us learn how to offer up tremendous praise to God even while we are under terrible pressure as we study this 9th Psalm!
As we examine this great portion of God’s Word let us take note of the way in which David praises God and we like David can offer the sacrifice of praise regardless of our circumstances!
- The Nature of Authentic Praise: Verses 1-2. Both Internal and External
- Beware of artificial praise.
- Beware of absent praise.
- Mumbled hymn Singing
- Murmuring hearts
- Praising God for His Past Deliverance
- Praise God for victory over our enemies in verses 3-6.
- Praise God for the outworking of His divine justice in verse 7-8.
- Praise God for being a strong-hold for the oppressed in verses 9-10.
- Pleading with God to Work in the Present: Verses 19-20.
- The mercy of God is foundational to getting our prayers answered in verse 13.
- Praising God for past deliverance is the foundation for pleading with God to work in our present circumstances.
- Applications:
- Praising His Name in faith because He has made the faithless nameless!
- The vital importance of living faithfully for God over the course of many years!
- The power of His testimony is the foundation for the power of my/your testimony!
- Past deliverance from oppression and oppressors!
The God of the past is still God in the present and when we find our faith faltering we can return to the well-spring what God has done in our lives and find great encouragement knowing the God will work now as He did back then!
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Psalm 8
Have you ever wondered what the purpose of life and human existence is? This 8th Psalm was written in order that the people of God would know their place in the cosmos and that their hearts would be drawn out in adoring fellowship with their Creator!
Let us learn what it means to live out the original purpose for which God has created humanity and in this we can know and understand what it means to be merely human!
- A Difficult Question: “What is man?” v. 4
- It’s a debated question.
- Its derogatory statement. What is measly mortal man?
- A Directional Emphasis: “A little lower than Heavenly Beings” v. 5
- The Status of Mere Humans. 2 views:
- Humanism
- The Psalmist’s Claims
- Humanity is “halfway” between God and all other forms of life. Humans are the only creature in the physical universe who are both body and spirit.
- A Clear-Cut Choice.
- Application: The Christian looks up whilst the humanist looks down.
- Example: The Beastly Pride of king Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30.
- A Definite Destiny: “and crowned them with glory and honor.” v. 5
- Royal Representatives.
- Royal Responsibility.
- Diagram: Vertical then Horizontal
- Conclusion: To be merely human is to be nearly divine!
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Psalm 8
Have you ever heard someone say “if there is a God then why does He allow infants and children to suffer?” Well, Psalm 8 answers this question with great clarity.
Let us observe how the God of justice hears and vindicates the
cries of even the most helpless members of Adam’s fallen race!
As we study this 8th Psalm let us take notice of how the
Psalmist views God, children, and the cosmic conflict that rages around us in
the heavenly realms!
- The Sovereignty of God in Creation: Verse 1a. “Yahweh our God, how mighty is your name in all the earth…”
- The Greater Reality: Yahweh the God of Israel is Lord and rules over all things even though it may seem like He is not.
- The Supreme Entity: God has all power and authority not merely “in all the earth” but rather “over all the earth.” The basis of God’s sovereign might goes all the way back to His Creative power.
- God’s Foreknowledge Concerning the Suffering of Children: Verse 1b. “by the mouth of babies and sucklings” – History’s Helpless Victims
- God’s Protecting Grace: Verse 2b. “You established a barricade to deal with your watchful foes, to stop the enemy and the person taking redress.”
As we consider the innumerable injustices committed against the throngs of helpless children throughout human history, we can rest assured that God has established limitations and boundaries to protect these precious little ones. Jesus Christ takes up the words of this great Psalm in the NT and declares that if we are to enter into a relationship with God that we must come to God as one of these little children. -Matthew 21:1-16
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