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“Where could I go but to the Lord?” (J.B. Coats) is the refrain of a familiar spiritual. It’s a catchy tune and catchy poetry, but it states an important question that comes up in today’s readings.

Living below in this old sinful world
Hardly a comfort can afford
Striving alone to face temptations call
Where could I go to the Lord

Where could I go where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to help me in the end
Where could I go to the Lord

The rock higher than I (Psalm 61) — The psalmist is feeling alone and fearful. If the epigraph is accurate and it truly is a psalm of David, it sounds like it could have been written during David’s outlaw years, running from king Saul, living outside of Israel’s borders in the land of the Gentiles. But despite his exile from Israel, he continues to rely upon the Lord, seeking an unapproachable refuge (the rock higher than I) from enemies (Saul?) and shelter under the shadow of God’s wings. Ever felt isolated, alone, without protection? Take a tip from David here: seek real help from the Lord. Trust in Him.

We are all lightweights (Psalm 62) — Along a similar vein of thought, as David continues to seek for rescue from enemies (can you imagine being a king in the 10^th century middle-east?), he observes that trusting in the people (v. 9) or even in men of rank or nobility (also v.9) is vain “In the balances they go up; they are together lighter than breath.” Now, of course, these days we’d all like to weigh a little less, but not in this way. We’d all like to think that perhaps we’re heavyweights in a sense, people of importance, of influence. But God observes that altogether we’re lighter than breath — barely even there. So, who is the real heavyweight? God, of course: “…power belongs to God.” We may be able to do things in our world, influence the course of some events, influence some people. But when it comes to who we need to rely on for the real power, let there be no mistake or misunderstanding, “power belongs to God.” Don’t forget to consult Him; don’t forget to pray to Him; don’t forget to make Him part of any calculations you might make for life here or hereafter! Such a thing could only end in miscalculation.

Better than life (Psalm 63) — It apparently can’t be emphasized enough or possibly even exaggerated how much David loved the LORD. Time and again the theme of His psalms return to his soul’s longing, even craving, for God — for being able to come to His place of worship, offer sacrifices to Him, and sing songs in His praise. David goes so far as to say that God’s lovingkindness (covenant love) is better than life. How do you feel about a statement like that? Really. Exaggeration? Hyperbole? Or can you identify? It may say something about your discipleship: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24, NAS95.

Again, there are a number of complaints and petitions included in today’s readings, but once again, please notice that they deal with many of the same sorts of everyday issues that we too struggle with. Let’s take a look.

A plea for just judges (Psalm 58) — It happened back then like it happens today, judges dispensing personally created versions of “justice”, whether right or good or moral — or not. And it’s a good thing for judges, legislators, and executives in our and every government to remember that God pays attention to what they are saying and doing. Representative Charlie Rangel, according to reports that I’ve seen, has recently tried to manipulate politics through asking “What would Jesus do?” Please pardon my raised eyebrow, but wasn’t he the guy that was up on a laundry list of ethics charges not long ago? All politics aside, there needs to be less lip service and more realization that the Lord will one day judge them (government officials of all stripes, positions, parties, and branches of government) more strictly, because of the position that He allowed them to occupy. Dear political friends, it might be impolitic to do so these days, but it would benefit you the very most to consult with another poll, taken 2000 years ago of only one  source — with no margin of error — the real judge of your actions, God. He’s the One who is above the demographics and the polls, and He will be judging you, yes you, by His unchanging standard. For those who fail to meet His standard, the psalm pronounces a consequence from the Lord Himself:

“O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”” Psalms 58:6-11, NAS95.

And you know, this warning applies to everyone whom God has allowed to serve in a position of leadership or power, be it governmental, church leadership, or family leadership. God judges the judges.

A plea for protection for the guiltless (Psalm 59) — In this psalm there is a plea for help against enemies who attack without provocation, and in this prayer/psalm there is an often repeated petition essentially that “what comes around, goes around”. And certainly there is a certain satisfaction, when those who seek evil for the innocent are bitten by the very evil that they had planned for the innocent. Such poetic justice moments are wonderful opportunities to see God at work in His providence.

A plea for help in defeat (Psalm 60) — Who hasn’t been defeated, found themselves coming in second? But we aren’t talking about defeat in a little league baseball league, losing at Monopoly in this psalm. I don’t really think that God pays much attention to the score of the high school football championship despite what prayers might go up Him. But for important matters, life and death matters, kingdom matters, I know that God does pay attention — as in this prayer. Possibly because of sin, possibly because a need to try Israel God had allowed Israel to suffer defeat and it was a very serious matter, not just in terms of middle-east politics of the 10^th century BC, but in eternal terms, since these were God’s chosen people, chosen for bringing salvation to the world. And according to the epigraph of the psalm, God did empower His people to come out victorious.

Let us realize the difference between mere competitions that God doesn’t pay much attention to and truly important things that He does pay attention to — and make them our priorities and attention getters, too. Too often we get caught up in mere competitions, and act as if they were televising the second coming; while we let important church things slide, as if they were no big deal.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

The theme of today’s readings is a familiar one, prayer to God in time of trouble. But despite the familiarity of the theme, there are at least a couple of very worthy things to consider.

Betrayal of a friend (Psalm 55:12-15) — Few things can be more heart-piercing than the betrayal of a friend. It’s easier to take (as the psalm points out) when it is someone who is clearly an enemy — you expect it, you know to guard against it. But from a friend… It’s a heartbreak that even Jesus felt. But God avenges even these sorts of things.

You have put my tears in a bottle (Psalms 56:8) — Have you ever wondered if God cares about your heartaches, your griefs, your tears? There’s an old hymn that asks the question, “Does Jesus Care?”  (Frank E. Graeff). Its stanzas go like this…

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Refrain:
Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

The Lord does care and keeps our tears in a bottle; a symbol of how God keeps a record of every tear, and why it fell.

Because this is so late, I’ll try to be brief and brilliant. 🙂 Today’s psalms are largely musings about the wicked — good food for thought even when we’re trying to follow Jesus, since the basic reasons that men are tempted do evil are all the same.

Why? — The point of Psalm 52 is a challenge to the sinful to explain why they would want to do evil — for the purpose of pointing out its futility. The sinner thinks he’s making progress, getting where he wants to go, taking the shortcut! The truth is that it only looks like progress, it only looks like you’re getting where you want to go. The outcome is far from where he really wants to be. Ask the folks in jail, the folks who are looking over their shoulders continually, the folks who are lying to cover lies and keep it all straight, the folks who’ve stolen their wealth as they consider the many people they’ve hurt. The sin didn’t really get them where they wanted to go.

A spiritual cause and effect — Although most biblical beginners get confused over the use of the word fool in the Bible, it simply signifies anyone who is morally lax. It is because righteous moral living is considered wisdom — it just makes good sense — while unrighteousness is considered the opposite of wisdom, foolishness or folly. So, when Psalm 53:1 seems to be calling names, the truth is that it is not calling names, but making a spiritual statement on the wisdom or foolishness of the person’s moral state. And here the observation is that those with lax morals (fools) must tell themselves that there is no God. This is a truth that is easy to spot almost anywhere; the majority of atheists that I’ve met are not philosophic atheists. They are often deeply enmeshed in sin and, believing that they cannot (or do not want to) overcome it, they are most comforted to claim that there is no God who will call us to account for what we’ve done.

Hope your Sunday was blessed.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

The psalms in today’s reading is chock full of great stuff, so let’s dive right in…

Wealth is vanity (Psalm 49) — One of the most deceiving things that Satan has devised to allure mankind from God has been the lie that wealth is important, makes you important, is powerful, and makes you powerful — possibly even immortal. This psalms reminds us, like parts of Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount, that wealth is temporary and can never buy the most important things. We know this; we know the platitudes, “Money won’t buy time,” “The best things in life are free,” “You can’t buy happiness,” “You can’t buy love,” and others. But still the allure is there. Remember:

“For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish. This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who approve their words. Selah. As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation.” Psalms 49:10-14, NAS95.

The redemption of his soul is costly (Psalm 49:8) — This verse is part of the larger encouragement to not place trust in money, but it shifts over to the spiritual aspect of the larger question with Gospel connections.

“No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him– For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever– That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay.” Psalms 49:7-9, NAS95.

There is no man who can redeem his brother, provide a ransom for him. Redemption is costly indeed! And buying “life”, so that one doesn’t undergo decay, living forever? Impossible! And that’s why, “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (my emphasis, obviously).” John 14:6, NAS95. Only Jesus can redeem and ransom His “brothers” (Heb. 2:14-18) and their souls. Only Jesus can provide the way to eternal life, resurrection, and hope — in His cross, the high cost of our souls. Apart from Jesus, there is no buying any stairway to Heaven (sorry, Led Zeppelin); no one has enough money.

What do you give to the God who has everything? (Psalm 50:10) — This whole section, vv. 7-15, is wonderfully enlightening. What God really, really wants is thanks and the honor due to our Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Protector, and Father. Though certainly the gifts we may offer will demonstrate our thanks and show the honor in which we hold God, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills; He owns the hills — and oceans, the trees of all the forests, mountain ranges of every continent and island, precious metals of a million mines, and the sun, moon, planets, and stars to boot! What gifts can we offer Him that He can’t just take, because it already belongs to Him? But before you go away thinking that there’s nothing we can give to God that He doesn’t already own, there is one thing — your free-will thanks, praise, love, and obedience.

What right have you to tell of My statutes? (Psalm 50:16) — This may seem a little strange on the face of it. Why would someone who is disobeying the Lord try to tell others of God’s statutes? Yet people do it — a lot. There’s plenty of ministers who are deliberately turning their backs on God’s word, God’s patterns, and God’s ways who still want to function as ministers of the Gospel. “What right have you to tell of My statutes?” There are “Christians” who are negligently living “below standard”, while . “What right have you to tell of My statutes?” And there are completely worldly people who want to attempt to manipulate godly folks by trying to quote Scripture (a la Satan, Matt. 4:6). “What right have you to tell of My statutes?”

You thought that I was just like you (Psalm 50:21) — This is part of the larger section of Psalm 50 that we just spoke about. But this verse was too good to pass up. I think it is the reason that sometimes people “go off the rails”; they think God is like them. “I can do this because, I think it’s OK; God will too.” “I can do this, because God will never see or know; you can hide from Him and keep secrets from Him.” “I don’t believe in Hell; God could never do something like that to us.” And on and on the assumptions go. God says,

“These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.” Psalms 50:21-23, NAS95.

Every kind of forgiveness for every kind of sin (Psalm 51) — This psalm deserves a book all it’s own, so I’ll try to restrain myself. This psalm contains every Hebrew word for sin — and every Hebrew word for forgiveness, too. There’s just something real comforting here: every sin we can sin can be forgiven. It’s also a psalm that is said to have been written by David after Nathan the prophet came to him to convict him about his many sins in connection with Bathsheba, and it contains such wonderful confession and teaching about obtaining forgiveness from the God we’ve sinned against. One of the interesting tidbits to be found in the original language here is in the first word of v. 10, “create”. It is a word that refers to something only God can do, you only see it used in reference to what God does. It is not like the word “make” or other similar words that are used in reference to what man does — take already created stuff and manufacture something. Create takes nothing and produces something. And David asks God to “create” in him a clean heart. Not a clean heart manufactured by man, bestowing “absolution” like in a sacrament, or a psychologist telling us that we’re “really OK”; but a clean heart created by God, real forgiveness that only God can grant. And all obtained not by works but grace based on a contrite heart.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

Today’s readings are full of praise for the one true and living God. They loudly proclaim His power, His authority, His nearness to us in trouble, and the wonder of His blessings to His people. It is full of praise for the God who deserves it.

A very present help in trouble (46:1) — The side note in the NASB offers an alternate translation: “Abundantly available for help in tight places”. I like that. Have you ever been in a tight spot? Wasn’t it good to know that God was “abundantly available”? Not tied up with someone or something more important? He loves His children and is always a refuge and strength, when we need Him. Don’t let the fact that He sometimes expects us to “wait on the Lord” fool you. He is there, abundantly available — not always on our time schedule, but never too late.

Cease striving and know that I am God (46:10) — The more popular version of this passage that we sing is “be still and know that I am God.” Unless they know the context, people often think the passage is speaking about how we should still our souls and minds to become more aware of God’s presence. While there may be great value in such a deed, especially in our hyperactive society, the context of the passage is really a command to all the warring nations to be at peace and recognize God’s sovereignty. Of course the world’s nations have never been terribly submissive to any of God’s commands, including this one, but there is coming a day in which “… at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11, NAS95. And in a spiritual sense, the individuals of the nations of the world — in as much as they are members of God’s eternal kingdom, the church — have ceased to strive against one another and do acknowledge God and His sovereignty. Thus, Jesus is our peace and is known as the Prince of Peace.

For God is the King of all the earth (47:7) — In some respects this phrase may be considered a no-brainer, but have you taken a moment to consider what this proclamation might imply? Two that occur to me off the top of my head are: 1) God is King in the sense that He has authority to call the shots in this world — authoritatively. Like a king makes laws that all its citizens must obey, so also everyone on the planet has an obligation to obey the Lord. There are plenty of rebels in this world in this regard, because the world is mostly under the sway of Satan. But there is another sense in which He is the King of the earth; 2) God still is in charge of history and governments, and other events of this world. Oh, certainly Satan instigates a lot, but in the end it is God who orchestrates the direction that all of history is heading, fulfilling His grand scheme of redemption. So even though much of the world is blind to His mighty hand guiding the wheels of time and history, let us never be blind to His power, and judgments, and providence in the individual affairs of people like you and me but also in the macro sense of nations and the course of history, because of the fact that He still is King of all the earth and always will be — even when, especially when, things look their worst.

He will guide us until death (48:14) — Some commitments we make as sort of open ended — agreements with escape hatches. Some wedding vows have proclaimed, “As long as love (not life) shall last”. But real discipleship and covenants aren’t like that; they’re lifelong commitments — and that’s the commitment of this psalm in it’s last line. Will He guide you until death? Through thick and thin, through tight spots (see above) and broad places, through blessing and suffering?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

So many of our petitions to God boil down to this one word, “Help”. In view of that, a couple of today’s psalms will sound pretty familiar.

David’s Psalm 43 is clearly asking for God to be on the side of the nation of Israel against her enemies, and on the surface it might seem like the application might be of a Christian nation against enemies — except that God’s kingdom is spiritual rather than political. The real application of this psalm is to ask God’s help for the church against her enemies — and the church has enemies. Satan would be the first on the list: “So the dragon (Satan) was enraged with the woman (God’s people, including the church), and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 12:17, NAS95. False teachers might be another on that list: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1, NAS95. Likewise, those who would cause division: “If any man destroys the temple of God (contextually, by division of the church), God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:17, NAS95. Such enemies do attack, do oppress, and do cause suffering. And their defeat won’t come by fighting the world’s way, but by following God’s light and truth (v.3).

Psalm 44 is sort of a Job psalm; God’s people are being oppressed, but the psalmist is calling to mind the times when God saved His people — not by their own sword or military might, but by God’s power. It asks God to again to rescue, but wonders why God seems to be silent. God isn’t answering right away; waiting patiently is the order of the day; yet the psalmist pleads to God to come to his aid quickly. This writer (me) has personally endured waiting, still waits for some things; so, believe me when I say that it is one of the hardest things that a disciple can do. It can erode faith, it can chip away at confidence, and plant seeds of doubt. But you have to hang in there: “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31, NAS95.

This last psalm seems to be a king’s wedding song, not too unlike the Song of Solomon. This superficially celebrates the beauty of human love, but more importantly it gives a metaphor to work with on the relationship between Christ and the church, one that is introduced here, continued in the prophet Hosea, continued in other OT books like Ezekiel, and brought to Pauline teaching in Ephesians 5:22-33.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

 Waiting patiently (40:1) — Patiently? We all know that we have to sometimes wait for God to act; we’ve all endured. But patiently? Suffering is hard. Suffering for a length of time is harder. Suffering for an indefinite period of time is hardest of all. And to do so — praying and “playing by the rules” — waiting patiently for the LORD to act just adds to the degree of difficulty. Boy, I wish I had an easy 1-2-3 formula for how you do that, but reality is different. It’s a journey of faith, faithfulness, courage, and regular remembering of how God has “come through”.

The patience part is really quite important, you know. Without it we are tempted and often do decide to take matters into our own hands: vengeance, manipulation, cheating, lying, violence, the world’s way, etc. Many a Christian life has been thrown way off course by impatience.

New covenant (40:6-8) — Although there are other Old Testament passages that are clearer, e.g.,

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33, NAS95.

…the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews cites Psalms 40:6-8 as a prophecy for God’s planned change of covenant. The thrust of it is that the expected blood sacrifices of the Mosaic covenant were not really what God was desiring, but rather a delight to do God’s will within the heart — thus a change of covenant. Is there meaning here for us? Real religion is never about just hitting the right marks, but rather a matter of obedience from the heart. 

Even my close friend (41:9) — In Psalm 41 the psalmist complains about his enemies. But worst of all his complaints is the betrayal he feels at unfaithfulness from a close friend. Such disloyalty adds a stinging insult to a deep injury. And it is this passage that is mentioned later in Matt. 26:23 in Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. There was nothing that Jesus didn’t suffer while a man on earth — yet without sin. Here’s a truth to hold onto and turn over in our minds, instead of making excuses for ourselves about why Jesus didn’t sin — He was God, He wasn’t tempted with MY situation, etc. — let’s just confess that everything we face, Jesus faced and lived perfectly. Let’s live up to His standard without the excuses.

Do you miss it, when you miss? (Psalm 42) — David (the ascribed psalmist here) likely wrote this while an outlaw in Saul’s kingship, when David could no longer go to the Tabernacle of of worship. Instead of using his outlaw status as an excuse to not worshipping, he pants for the worship of the Lord. Here’s a tough one for modern day TV spectators, summer beach visitors, Sunday morning sleeper-inners, baseball game attendees. and a number of us who are a little lackadaisical about our attendance — do you miss worship, when you miss? Honestly? You know, what you miss doing you make efforts to come to next time, and attendance isn’t a chore it’s a privilege! And what does that say about one’s love, commitment, dedication, discipleship, and Christianity.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

The psalms we read today cover a pretty wide range of situations from wise teachings, to the pains of conscience, to the confusion about the right thing to do. The one thing they have in common is that they are part of the ordinary human experience as lived on earth.

Don’t write it off, just because you’ve heard it a lot — Psalm 37 has great wisdom for godly living, great promises about the destiny of the wicked, and assurances to us of God’s help in difficulty:

“Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Psalms 37:3-5, NAS95.

“The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming.” Psalms 37:12, 13, NAS95.

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.” Psalms 37:23-25, NAS95.

This is great stuff! But there are those who would dismiss it as little more than pious platitudes (a remark or statement, esp. one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful). And these teachings are often repeated in Scripture, which might put them into the “platitude” category; but, listen, just because something might be classified as a platitude doesn’t mean it isn’t true! They get repeated often, because we need to hear them — and often.

“Trust in the LORD…Delight in the LORD…Commit your way to the LORD.” It’s an easy three point sermon, but here’s the catch — do we really do those things? The wicked will face God in the judgment one day — but are we factoring that in, when we see their advantages and envy them? Or do we need reminding? The LORD does take care of his people’s needs — but do we still worry about being able to live in the manner to which we’ve become accustomed? Or do we still need to hear, “Consider the lilies of the field…?” Again and again.

As a preacher I sometimes get criticism from those who believe themselves to be way beyond the need for hearing the basics. And there is a need for meat for those who are mature — I understand the need to preach “meat”. But I also understand the need to keep the basics “shored up”. Some things just need reminders. When I was a high school basketball player, I and other team mates would complain to the coach that we needed to get beyond the basics of dribbling, passing, and lay-ups. He disagreed, and although he did give us new skills, he also kept us well practiced on the basics (despite our groanings). The coach was right; our varsity team went all the way to quarter finals in Texas and lost by a mere point. Not bad for a team that never spent much time on behind-the-back passes, shooting from way too far out, or fancy plays. Not bad for a team that spent a lot of time in simple dribbling, passing, and drilling a simple pick-and-roll play for an easy shot. No doubt it is for a similar reason that Peter wrote, “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.” 2 Peter 1:12, NAS95. I’ve known folks who knew Hebrew and Greek, who’d gotten advanced degrees, and knew all the latest theological lines of thought — but who were poor disciples of Jesus. They knew all the fancy stuff, but had dismissed the simpler things as mere “platitudes”, unworthy choices for their reflection.

The weight of guilt — In Psalm 38 we find what I thing is one of best descriptions of guilt in the Bible. And there is only one cure. The cure isn’t denial; that only makes things worse. The cure isn’t “absolution” from a psychiatrist or psychologist — no matter what they say it’s not “all good.” The cure isn’t found in how many other people are also doing it; it’s still wrong. Trying to overwhelm the sin with good deeds (working your way to Heaven), doesn’t work either. The true cure is confession and repentance and relying on the LORD for forgiveness. Want to feel light as a feather? Receive forgiveness God’s way.

Forgiveness for an outburst — I bet you’ve been here before: promising yourself that you would control yourself this time, that you wouldn’t say something you’d regret later, and you actually are controlling yourself — then, something was said, something was done, something that just broke the camel’s back, and your all your fine intentions were rubble in an outburst of anger or words. That’s where David (who is the ascribed psalmist) appears to have been, and interestingly enough he finds a different, a moderating perspective to help him not burst out again in knowing how temporal man (and the rest of creation) really is. He seems to be saying that so many of these things that we “blow our tops” over are all temporary and unworthy of “blowing our convictions” about. And isn’t that the truth? After we get so angry, isn’t it true that after we’ve had a chance to cool off we often judge the thing we got so angry about was really pretty “small potatoes”? Keep it in mind next time you’re tempted to blow your top.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

First of all, happy July 4^th to my American readers. But to all my readers, I hope your Lord’s Day yesterday was a great one of praise to our Lord and encouragement to and from brethren.

I’m back from Gander Brook Christian Camp in Maine now and will be back into my routine again, so you can expect (Lord willing) that these posts will be a little more predictable in their arrival on the web. And today’s reading continues with the broad themes of praise for rescue, plea for rescue, a contrast of the wicked to the LORD. However, even though these themes are familiar in Psalms, we shouldn’t expect them to be just a rehash of the same old thing. To the contrary, there continue to be great and fresh concepts and insights that we will benefit from. I’ll be taking a look at a few of these in a few verses today.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth — Psalm 34:1 is a song that is sung in many a congregation: “I will bless the LORD at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” It is something written in joy over deliverance, but it promises much more than just a day’s worth of praise, which is as it should be. Both Job and David are great examples of such loyal praise — praise, whether enduring terrible troubles or enjoying wonderful blessings. Why should we bless His name in trouble? For the same reason that we wish our children could understand the discipline that we impose on them. It is for their good, not because we don’t love them or don’t care about them. Quite to the contrary! So also our God really does care about us and has our best interests at heart.

O taste and see that the LORD is good! — Psalm 34:8 throws down the challenge to anyone daring enough to take it. “Taste” refers to trying the life of righteousness. Sadly, few are courageous enough to give it a real trial; many give it only a half-try, a shallow test, hedging their heart’s affections cautiously. “Oh, I tried Christianity; I went to church, when I was a kid, and it didn’t do much for me.” That’s it; that’s your trial? You sat in church one hour a week, and that’s your trial? That’s not tasting it; that’s not even smelling it. “I went to parochial school, and got a bad taste in my mouth about religion.” And that’s your taste test? That’s like eating the advertisement picture of a steak — it looks like a steak, but it tastes nothing like the real thing. “Tasting” is about living it for a while and letting it bless your life. Let me throw down the challenge and let my readers throw down the challenge in their own lives — O taste and see that the LORD is good! How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted (34:18) — What a wonderful revelation! If I may venture a guess, I’d say it’s because the LORD Himself has had His great heart broken a number of times Himself. He not only has sympathy, He has empathy. And we’re not talking about a heartbreak from some juvenile crush; we’re talking real betrayal, spousal unfaithfulness (see Hosea), great disappointments, and the anguish of watching one’s own son die unjustly for others’ sins. He is the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), because He has been the God of all heartbreak, too. When you’re betrayed, when you’ve been disappointed by another, when you’ve been crushed in spirit; realize that the LORD is near, and take heart!

 Contend with those who contend with me (35:1) — We all want to think that in a fight the LORD will be on our side. But to have God on our side, we need to be on His. Sometimes our fights and contentions are the results of our own unrighteous decisions; God will not fight on the side of wrong. Align your life with right, like David, and contend for the truth in the knowledge that the LORD is contending on your side.

 The dimensions of God’s nature (36:5-9) — In Ephesians 3:17,18 there is a great passage that invites us to use our imagination about the size of God’s love. In this psalm we find a challenge to imagine the dimensions of other aspects of God’s nature: covenant love that reaches to the heavens, faithfulness that reaches to the sky, righteousness like the great mountains, judgments as deep as the depths of the ocean! Majesty, awesomeness, vastness — these are the impressions the psalmist wants to leave with us as we consider enormity of the virtues and integrity and character of our God in its many aspects. Think on this too long and you could get lost in wonder! May we all get so lost.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing