Psalm 35 -- David's Cry In Less Than Ideal Circumstances

David cries out for God to battle those who battle with him.  In his longing for God's help, he cries, "Tell me, 'I will save you.'"

Some of these people may have been his friends, thinking they were right and he was wrong.  I've been there, Father.

"For no reason ... for no reason they ..."  David can't understand why he is being attacked so.  But he knows His Lord, and says, "Then I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy when He saves me.  Even my bones will say, 'Lord, who is like You?'"

David continues about his enemies -- "They repay me with evil for the good I have done, and they make me very sad.  Yet when they were sick, I put on clothes of sadness and shaved my sorrow ... I acted as if they were my friends or brothers ... But when I was in trouble ... they gathered to attack before I knew it...  Lord, how long will You watch this happen?  Save me from their attacks ... My God and Lord, fight for me! ... defend me ... they were happy when I hurt ... they thought they were better than I was."

But David knows God will win, and looking forward to that day, he says, "May my friends sing and shout for joy.  May they always say, 'Praise the greatness of the Lord, who loves to see His servants do well.  I will tell of Your goodness and I will praise You every day."

Father, do this for me.  You know the circumstances.

Psalm 34 -- Confirmation from God

I'd wondered if we would have troubles here, but it has been great.  So what I read today was like a confirmation from God:

"I will praise the Lord at all times ... His praise is always on my lips.  My whole being praises the Lord ... Glorify the Lord with me, and let us praise His name together ... I asked the Lord for help and He answered me.  He saved me from all that I feared.  Those who go to Him for help are happy ... The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God, and He saves them.  Examine and see how good the Lord is.  Happy is the person who trusts Him ... Those who fear Him will have everything they need ... Those who look to the Lord will have every good thing ... The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers ... The Lord hears good people when they cry out to Him ... The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed ... People who do what is right may have many problems, but the Lord will solve them all."

Father, thank You for watching over my boys while I've been gone.  Thank You for lifting their spirits.  Thank You for reinvigorating my spirit and giving me kids here to get to know and love and tell about You when I can.  Bless us as we finish this week of ministry, and use it to grow Your kingdom here.

Back from our Central Asian trip & catching up some -- Psalm 33 -- Away From Regular Worship

Away from normal Sunday worship, how special this psalm is:

"Sing a new song to Him; play well and joyfully."  Being on the other side of the world, 12 time zones away, I loved reading this:  "The Lord's love fills the earth... All the earth SHOULD worship the Lord; the whole world SHOULD fear Him ... The Lord upsets the plans of nations.  He ruins all their plans.  But the Lord's plans will stand forever; His ideas will last from now on...  The Lord looks down from Heaven and sees every person.  From His throne He watches all who live on earth.  He made their hearts and understands everything they do ... We rejoice in Him, because we trust His holy name.

Lord, show Your love to us as we put our hope in You on the opposite side of this planet.

Psalm 32 -- The Blessing of Confession

What an awesome psalm!  We all dread having to confess to God what we’ve done – David waited almost a year to do so – and here he tells us of “the freedom of forgiveness” he experienced.

My commentary called verses 1-2 “The Blessing of Acceptance”.  God blesses the disobedient who have been forgiven, my commentary said.  “When we confess our sins, God cancels the debt and it’s no longer on the books … Jesus paid the debt on the cross, and His blood cleanses the record AND the heart of the offender.”

It calls verse 3-4 “The Folly of Impenitence”.  “David honestly admits what a fool he had been to hide his sins for almost a year … God does not permit His children to sin successfully… Sin is a serpent, and he that covers sin does but keep it warm, that it may sting the more fiercely, and disperse the venom and malignity thereof the more effectually.  The Lord chastened David … and made him miserable until he stopped lying, humbled himself before God, and confessed his sins … God’s chastening is proof that He loves us and that we are genuinely His children.”

Verses 6-7 are called “The Way of Deliverance”.  I read, “David’s confession ‘I have sinned against the Lord’ was answered with, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin.’ … all he had to do was sincerely confess his sins, and the Lord forgave him … Guilt is to the conscience what pain is to the body:  it tells us something is wrong and must be made right, or things will get worse … we must confess our sins immediately, when we find them out and while God may be found.”

Finally, verses 8-11 are called “The Joy of Obedience”.  One sentence said it all – “God doesn’t forgive us so that we can go back and sin.”

Father, I know what it’s like to labor under the weight of unconfessed sin.  I thank You for making me uncomfortable until I do confess it to You.  Thank You for not allowing me to sin successfully and for reminding me that You don’t forgive me so that I can go back and sin.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 30 -- A Day Late, But Worth Sending

God had rescued David.  From what he wrote, it was a dangerous situation, but we don’t know exactly which one.  He was near death, and God had been angry with him.  It apparently involved disobedience.

David learned that God Himself sometimes lifts us out of our depression.  God’s grace is the source of His help.  My commentary also said, “God doesn’t replace sorrow with joy; He transforms sorrow into joy.”

David needed a new heart because pride had done a number on his old heart.  God was teaching him humility.  My commentary said, “Prosperity is a constant temptation to believers.  God permits trials so that we might not get comfortable in our faith and stop growing.”

Another thing it pointed out was the seven times David said, “Thou hast …”, “Bearing witness to the strong and gracious hand of the Lord working on his behalf.  Even God’s chastening of David was an expression of His love.”

Rather than having a pity party when hard times come, instead, David wants us to focus on “the lifetime of grace God gives to prepare us for an eternity of glory.”

Father, thank You for walking through the hard times with me, for lifting me out of my own emotional pit and for giving me a reason to praise You.  Help me not to forget Your love and not to doubt Your rescue is always on the way.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 31 -- Asking God For Mercy

David faced a time when everyone was against him, and Christ echoed these words on the cross.  My commentary listed three valuable lessons David learned: 

                When others do evil, trust God for His strength.

                When others cause pain, ask God for mercy.

                When others see victory, give God the glory.

“The emphasis is on trusting (taking refuge) in the Lord, no matter how difficult the circumstances might be … Along with God’s protection, David needed God’s direction so he would avoid the traps the enemy had set for him.”

Because he was having to endure such a huge assortment of attacks, David asked for the mercy he desperately needed – asking God to give him ease from his depression caused by these attacks.  “He had committed himself into God’s hands, and now he committed his circumstances into God’s hands,” my commentary noted.  “We would say, ‘All the affairs and details of my life are in the Lord’s hands.’”

In verse 22, David may have been ready to give up.  “I am cut off from Your sight.”  “It wasn’t the enemy that frightened him but the thought of being abandoned by the God he trusted and served.  He did what all of us must do when we sense that God is no longer near:  he cried out to the Lord for His mercy, and the Lord answered.”

Father, I’ve felt overwhelmed lately myself.  I know that I trust You.  I know that You will not desert me.  Yet You use trials like this to build my faith.  Please show me Your mercy, too, Father.  I know You will answer.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 28 & 29 -- God's Delays Are Not God's Denials

My commentary spoke of David’s concern about unanswered prayer in verses 1-5  “In verse 1 he called on the Lord, and in verse 2 he cried out to Him in desperation, but the Lord didn’t answer.  The unchanging Rock had changed … According to God’s covenant with Israel, David’s idolatrous enemies should have been judged and condemned, but the Lord was doing nothing.  How could God treat His appointed king like a criminal?  (Remember He did the same to His Son to save us.)  David’s prayer was not an expression of personal revenge but a call for God to fulfill His covenant and bright righteousness and peace into the land.”

His whole attitude turns on a dime in verses 6-7, and we hear:  “My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.”  My commentary said, “Faith in Jehovah made all the difference …When David believed God and lifted up his hands in prayer, then God’s hands went to work and met the need.  Faith moves the hands of God, and God’s hands control the universe … His testimony was clear:  ‘God heard me and God helped me!  I trusted Him and now I praise Him!’  David now had the strength to obey God’s will, no matter what the enemy might do.  He also had the Lord as his shield.  David had God’s power and protection … God has not forsaken His people.”

Father God, I thank You for taking me to see my son this weekend and for showing him, in his anxiety, everything that You have done for him despite his rebellion.  Like David he was feeling powerless and needed to be reminded that the powerful God of the universe had been personally intervening in his life for years.  Heal him, Father.  Let him experience the joy that David rediscovered himself in this chapter.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford