[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (PTS) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
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"And he will be
like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."
Each line of Psalm 1 is a bed of
gold. Well, these days, v3 has been having a strong impression on my
mind.
What a metaphor, a planted tree!
Not growing on its own. Someone (God) planted it.
Growing firmly against
all winds and odds of life.
Yielding fruits.
What are fruit trees worth without fruits? Jesus cursed the fig tree, which btw,
wasn't at its season. God will cut off the branches that do not bear fruits. A
blessed man bears fruits. Btw, Tree's fruits are for others, not for itself!
Prospers in whatever he does!
Joseph was! This last line is something to evaluate!
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"He who sits in
the heavens laughs,
The Lord mocks them."
Whenever I think of Psalm 2,
the ears of my memory always hear v12: “Kiss the Son lest He be angry
and you perish;” but the eyes of my imagination always see v4: The
Lord, laughing with those who laughed at Him.
Sinners mocked God. Wicked people
oppressed the people of God. And some people like Stalin clenched their fists
against heaven. Some people like Ehrman, Darwin, and Nietzsche want to hurt God
by going against Him.
Well, God is LOL with them! What a
joke (pitiful sight) puny humans are, especially when they do not kiss the Son
(adore Jesus Christ)!
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"Many are saying
of my soul,
‘There is no salvation for him in God.’ Selah."
Wow! I have read Psalm 3
every single year of my Christian life, but it occurs to me as if I have seen
this verse only today! This is the beginning of Psalm. Psalms 1&2, being
the introduction to the whole book of Psalms. Psalm 3 is the representation of
the blessed man of Psalm 1, the representation of all believers, and what a
Psalm is this!
The title says fleeing from Absalom
and that reminds us what a wretched man David was. And how God drove him away
for his sin. What an irony! Blessed man, a wicked man?
Indeed, people said [notice the
word "many"] that David couldn't be a believer, he was such a
terrible sinner that God will not deliver him physically and spiritually! Indeed,
David could not be possibly saved if not for v8, that "Salvation
belongs to Yahweh!"
David was under intense conviction,
pressure, spiritual attack, and physical attack. Yet his faith in faithful
covenant-keeping Yahweh assured him peace. Notice the word "lay down
and slept" He slept peacefully [like Jesus on the boat] when he was
hunted by his own son and the rest of the nation.
And what does Hebrews 11 say about
Faith? Faith is the assurance. We live by faith, not by works. We are assured
by faith. Faith is the ally we cannot forsake.
And God answered David when many
thought David was unsavable! It reminds me of another greatest sinner, Paul!
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"Tremble, and do
not sin;
Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."
A few days ago, I read a news
headline about Tokyo Olympics. The organizers would like to discourage sex
between athletes. And so, they build a bed made of cardboard, which can bear
the weight of only one person. I thought it was interesting until I read the
contents. It was not because sex outside marriage is bad, but because of
coronavirus.
Whatever be that, bed plays a role in
sexual immorality, Tokyo Olympics Organizers knew that. A bed is indeed a
dangerous place. So, they are made of cardboard.
Now, no surprise, David mentioned Bed
in Psalm 4:4.
I don't think David is talking
about sexual immorality here though he had with Bathsheba. I think he is
talking about a place of thinking.
A bed is a school of life. You
close your eyes there and you open your eyes there. Your last thought about
anything is upon there, and your first thought about anything is upon there.
David wants us to fear, hate,
abominate, loathe, and tremble at any kind of sins. It's a picture of
repentance to God and committing one's soul to God. Who knows whether he will
open his eyes the next day or will be closed forever?
Blessed is a man whose last thought
and the first thought is God. I thank my parents for teaching me to maintain
that the last person and first person I talk to is God in prayer. I was able to
do that until the smartphone came into my life! WhatsApp, text messages, email,
alarms, etc... seem to be the last and first things many times, unfortunately!
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"O Yahweh, in the
morning, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly
watch."
Morning, Morning, Morning!
David is a morning praying man. Job
is a morning intercessory praying man. Abraham is a morning praying man. Isaac,
Daniel, Asaph, Paul, on and on, and Jesus is a morning praying man!
The church history is full of
morning praying men. Wesley, Spurgeon, Brainerd, Bounds, Edwards, on and on.
Even the politician William Wilberforce and the Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa.
My mother, as well, is a morning praying woman.
While most are morning blanket-loving
people! π¬
Would we bring back morning to our
life! Would we bring back, "Early will I seek Thee" into our
confession!
Lord, make us a morning praying
people!
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"I am weary with
my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I flood my couch with my tears."
David, a man after God's own heart
panting for God. What a picture of longing after God!
Jesus used to go to the mountains
to pray all night long.
No wonder there's not much power in
our life, no great transformation in our life, nobody knows us. No history will
remember us if we don't long after God. When was the last time spent wrestling
with God in prayer all night long like Jacob, David, Moses, Jesus?
Perhaps, have never and might
never. Even an hour-long prayer is so difficult for us, is it not? π¬ But it reminds
us to often spend time with God alone. To take delight in God.
Or we may want to stop singing that
song "As the deer panteth for the water"