[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (PTS) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
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"Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe
to Yahweh glory and strength."
Ascribe to Yahweh the
glory of His name;
Worship
Yahweh in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of Yahweh is upon
the waters;
The
God of glory thunders, Yahweh is over many waters."
Spurgeon says that if Psalm 8 is
most appropriate to be read under moonlight, and Psalm 19 under the rising sun,
then Psalm 29 is to be read in the tempest when it's raining, or thunderstorm.
God is the God of moon, sun, and
storms. If Thor is the god of thunders, Yahweh is still above him! Indeed,
Psalm teaches us to ascribe glory to God at all times!
Who doesn't stand in awe of
thunderstorms? Even the busiest street in the busiest city stands still when rain
and storm are coming.
James Hamilton wrote: "There
is no phenomenon in nature so awful as a thunderstorm, and almost every poet
from Homer and Virgil down to Dante and Milton, or rather down to Grahame and
Pollok, has described it."
We have Psalm 29. God is over the
storm. He rides on it. And is over the most awful thing! God is to be held in
awe above all things!
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"For His
anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for
a lifetime;
Weeping may last
for the night,
But a shout of
joy comes in the morning."
Saints of God may weep, but they
cheer too. They are the joyous people. The fruit of the Spirit is... Joy...
Christ wants to complete our joy.
Joy is a character of believers.
This verse is framed in such a way that weeping is shorter than the joy
experienced. Also seen in v11-12. Wow!
It's said that John Newton was one
of the happiest Puritans of his days. I admire prophet Jeremiah, but certainly,
I don't want his lifestyle, he was only weeping!
Well, I am sure none of us
[WhatsApp group members] are called to live like Jeremiah or John the Baptist.
But somewhat like David, a life of weeping and joy. But we hardly weep in front
of God yet, and so our experience of divine joy is also not much still!
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"How great
is Your goodness,
Which
You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which
You have worked for those who take refuge in You,
Before
the sons of men!"
We see David as he prayed, he moved
from sorrows to songs of praise; from anguish to assurance. However, we can
identify with his prayer. Even our Lord Jesus identified Himself with the David
of this Psalm (v5), then why wouldn't we?
What a comfort in v29! Indeed, a great
motivation to fear God and dwell in Him!
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"How blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into
account,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!"
When it comes to David and his
psalms, Psalm 32 is one of the most outstanding psalms I can ever think of!
Every verse of it is beautiful, but
the opening and closing are matching and striking!
v10-11. "Many are the sorrows
of the wicked,
But
he who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.
Be
glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And
shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart."
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v1.
"Sing for joy in Yahweh, O righteous ones;
Praise
is becoming to the upright."
This Psalm has no title and no
attribution. It's neither an acrostic Psalm though it has 22 verses and is
beautiful! It's strangely interesting!
Praise is comely for godly ones,
and how uncomely it is from the ungodly! Praises from wicked ones are like
sticking a flower in a dunghill, someone said!
We who are made upright by the
blood of our redeemer must make our delight, business, job, work, and effort to
praise God! In the words of Adam Clark, "To be without praise is to miss
our comeliest adornment."
One of many ways we praise God is
by singing songs unto God.
v3. "Sing to Him a new song;
Play
skillfully with a loud shout."
Open your Spotify, YouTube, and
iTunes! πΌ
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v8. "O taste and see that Yahweh is good;
How
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
v18. "Yahweh is near to the brokenhearted
And
saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Another Psalm with 22 verses, and
is an acrostic Psalm, each verse beginning with the Hebrew alphabet. And this
further proves the beauty of this Psalm.
One of the earliest songs I was
taught in a school was "He is my everything" which was taken
out from this verse and Psalm 81:16, possibly even from 1 Peter 2:3 and Malachi
3:10. Even, now, I am humming that song after a long, long time again, and I
love it!
Taste the Lord.
Peter would go on to say that if you have tasted, you would keep desiring like
babies for milk. And Malachi would say, Test (try) the Lord.
The British philosopher and
literary critic, G.K. Chesterton was right when he said, "The Christian
ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and
left untried."
Try the Lord. Test the Lord! Taste
the Lord!
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"Let them
shout for joy and be glad, who delight in my righteousness;
And
let them say continually, “Yahweh be magnified,
Who
delights in the peace of His slave.”
Righteous people always have
enemies and friends. And yes, many enemies and few friends. As the enemies want
the downfall of a righteous man, the friends of the righteous man wait for his vindication.
David knew this. Saul wanted to
kill him; Jonathan wanted to see David King of Israel!
Many people wanted to shut down
churches in this lockdown. The government imposed this and that mandate upon
churches. It's so good to see some of those churches in America winning against
the government, not only legally, but are being rewarded millions of dollars.
Vindicated!
David's prayer is being answered
when I and we shout for such good news! π Grace Community Church is also
expected to get over 800,000 dollars very soon! Hmm!