Bible Reading Reflection from Psalms 58-72

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (MPG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟠:𝟞-𝟟

"O God, break the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!

Let them vanish like water that runs away;

when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted."

David prayed that the wicked will be destroyed. What happened to "Love your enemies"? God loves the world, but He is going to destroy the world. Do we question God's love, then?

If you love light, you will hate darkness. If you want silence, you will hate noises.

A man is not only known by what he loves but also by what he hates; not only by what he does but also by what he doesn't; not only by where he is but also by where he is not.

Righteous people hate wicked people. God the righteous God has a perfect hatred for the wicked! Well, we won't go and kill them, so it's most right to ask God to do so. David won't kill the bloodthirsty Saul. He just asked God to watch over the situation.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟡:𝟙𝟛

"Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;

That men may know that God rules in Jacob

To the ends of the earth. Selah"

From the title we see the enemies of David were the men of Saul, and Saul himself. Look at David’s prayer and desire. And compare that with his action and life! He had the opportunity to kill Saul and his men at least two times. He didn't kill. But the Philistines killed him [Saul].

Those who are critical of David's prayer do not know anything. They are those who pretend to be nice, kind, cool, but serpents in real life. Maybe you should start praying that God would destroy some people, and live a life like David who won't take that opportunity by your doings! 🙂

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟘:𝟙, 𝟙𝟚

"O God, You have rejected us.

You have broken us;

You have been angry;

O, restore us."

"Through God we shall do valiantly,

And it is He who will tread down our adversaries."

Look at the way how it began and ended. He felt the rejection of God but still committed himself to trusting God. That's what genuine faith does. Like Job, saying, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." So, let that be our motto in everything we are praying for, hoping for, targeting for, desiring for.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟙:𝟜

"Let me dwell in your tent forever!

Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah!"

I love David's desire for godliness. He wants to always walk with God. He knows how weak he is. He often disqualifies himself, failing, falling, going astray, transgressing. He sometimes sins deliberately, sometimes unintentionally. However, he longs to be back home. His home is God, his dwelling place, his tent, his refuge, is under the shelter of God!

David is addicted to God's love. Be addicted, not to drugs, not to social media, not to mobile games, but to the joy of God!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟚:𝟝

"For God alone,

O my soul,

wait in silence,

for my hope

is from him."

·        God alone.

·        Wait.

·        In silence.

·        Hope.

·        What a confession of trust!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟛:𝟙         

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;

My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,

In a dry and weary land without water."

Have you ever been on a long journey where you got dehydrated and longed after nothing but water? Have you ever thirsted after God like that?

What's the most dominant desire in your life? And have you ever desired God like that?

He who desires after God will be satisfied. Because that's the only quenchable thirst God has put into our longing hearts!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟜:𝟙𝟘

"The righteous man will be glad in the LORD and will take refuge in Him;

And all the upright in heart will glory."

If you are not glad in the LORD, well you aren’t a righteous person. If you're disappointed with God, you aren't glad in Him. If you are angry with God, you aren't disappointed with Him. If you aren't walking with God daily, you aren't glad in Him. If you aren't glad in reading His word and praying regularly, you aren't glad in Him.

Because when you are happy with someone, you know what you would like to do with that person.

The righteous person is glad in the Lord.

And if you're not a righteous man, you are a wicked man according to the theology of Psalter.

Sing that hymn

🎵 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice🎶

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟝:𝟚

"O You who hear prayer,

To You all flesh comes."

Is it not wonderful that God is described as one who hears prayers? That's why anyone can and will come to God.

Interestingly, it doesn't use the word, "answer" or "grant" but it implies those meaning as well!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟞:𝟝

"Come and see the works of God,

Who is fearsome in His deeds toward the sons of men."

One of the repeated words and ideas in this Psalm is "Come", a call to worship. The psalmist is calling people to know God and worship Him. He made a universal call and a specific call to those who fear God (v16).

Do we call people to know God and worship Him? Do we invite people to come to church?

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟟:𝟙

"God be gracious to us and bless us,

And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah."

A good Psalm to read today, as you wait for your exam tomorrow🙂

Maybe good to read tomorrow as well! 😉

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟠:𝟛-𝟜

"But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;

And let them rejoice with gladness.

Sing to God, sing praises to His name;

Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,

Whose name is Yah, and exult before Him."

What the believers must be doing:

1. Be glad

2. Exult before God

3. Rejoice

4. Sing praises

5. Sing songs

6. Again rejoice.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟞𝟡:𝟚-𝟛

"I have sunk in deep clay, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.

I am weary with my calling out; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God."

If there's one thing that most of us need in our Christian walk, it's perseverance. Persevering in faith. Never giving up. Exercising patience. Consistency.

David wouldn't have sunk just like that. It must have taken a lot of time. It was a journey of affliction and he wrote this when he was or almost in its climax. He had been praying, crying, needing God's help. It hadn't come yet. But he would keep trusting in God.

And we give up so easily on praying. We give up so easily on others. We want everything quick and available, making it a perfect environment for all miseries in our life!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟘:𝟜

"Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

And let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified.’"

One of my chief aims in life is to live for the fame of God's name, especially among the people of God because praise from the upright is comely.

David had this desire too!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟙:𝟚𝟙

"May You increase my greatness

And turn to comfort me."

Is a desire to be great bad, sinful, and selfish? No.

The psalmist is praying for that. Most probably written by David. And if it's not written by David, it's better, to take it as a positive example.

So, I better pray: "Lord make me be a great person. And increase my greatness. And comfort my present disappointments. Amen!"

PS: But remember the confession of John the Baptist as well!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟚:𝟟

"In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more."

A great Psalm to be used when one of us becomes a public leader. It was a coronation Psalm when Solomon became king—asking God to bless the king, the administration, the people, everything in his reign.

Read this Psalm for your MLA next year when they are elected. For someone who has newly joined the administration as DC or SDO.

[11:37, 15/10/2021] 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝟚𝕟𝕕 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕠𝕗 ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣! 

Sermon Tips from the text of 1 Peter 1:13-21

 Sermon Tips for Expository Preachers, Listeners, and Students

Bible Reading Reflection from Psalms 50-57

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (MPG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day] 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟘:𝟚𝟙, 𝟚𝟛

v21. “...you thought that I was one like yourself....”

1st Psalm of Asaph. And the only Psalm of Asaph outside Book III

God is not like us; nor are we like God. God is different from us. Just because we tolerate one another's sin or we are insensitive to sin, and just because we claim to profess faith in God doesn't mean that it's okay to live like that. God will unleash His discipline in a due time. Nothing escapes from Him.

BTW, years ago some of my friends invited me for a high school reunion, and they treated me thinking I was like them. Well, I was always way different from them. I refused to do what they did. And I've never accepted their invitation anymore. Blessed is a man who doesn't sit in the seat of scoffers. I'm sure, you have had such an experience as well.

The worst thing that can be said of "once a good man" is "Have you become like us?" (Isaiah 14:10). Recently, when a Hillsong pastor was disgraced, Joe Rogan, a famous podcaster commented "He's no more virtuous than anyone. He is just like anyone of us"

BTW, we don't want to be like the rest of the people. We are commanded by our Lord to not be like the world, to not be conformed to the world.

BTW, even in worldly things, we want to be somebody, right? Like an IAS officer, not just as a commoner. Is that good or bad, well, that, you know 🙂😎

v23. "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me"

Live differently: Live a life of gratefulness to God. If we are grateful to God, it will make us kind and gracious to everyone around us as well, yeah, even to customer care people!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟙:𝟙𝟟

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

This Psalm has some great verses having great theological truth.

But for tonight, instead of sharing my top 2 favorite verses of this Psalm, let me share my third favorite one. 😀 If you can guess the top 2 verses here, you are great! 😎

What's pleasing to God is an offering of a broken and contrite spirit. Hallelujah! We have nothing to offer God. He owned everything. What we only have is sin! And God wants it to be offered to Him that He can [may] wash us clean.

He wants us to acknowledge our sins, hate them, be sorrowful over them, and ask for His mercy and grace! That's the life God wants man to live.

To speak bluntly, God is our dustbin of sin, huh! We dump all our sins on Him. That's all we have, and we really don't like what we have. There's nowhere to throw off either. Only God willingly and lovingly offers to take away our sins.

We do that with a broken heart followed by a thankful heart (Psalm 50:23), the last verse of the preceding psalm!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟚:𝟠

"But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever."

The contrast between the wicked and the righteous. Saul and Doeg meant evil against David. They thought David will wither like the grass, be blown away like chaff. But David trusted in God that he was like a lively strong green olive tree.

Learn to be confident when enemies, troubles, and problems threaten you. Don't be intimidated. Not "I can do this" But "God shall help me"

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟝𝟛:𝟙

"The wicked fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God,’

They act corruptly, and commit abominable injustice;

There is no one who does good.”

Psalm 14 and 53 are very much similar. But there's a difference as well!

This fool is nothing to do with his intellect. He could be a doctor, a scientist, or a philosopher. This fool is everything to do with his morals. He doesn't want to submit to God. He is his own god. He knows God exists. Everyone knows BTW. But he says to his own heart (deceives himself) that there's no God. So that he can do whatever is right in his own eyes.

Sometimes, I think it's good and right in my eyes to steal food from the rich. Sometimes, it looks right to just kill some politicians. Sometimes, I think, it's good to beat up some women😅 You see, we can't afford to live by what we think is right. We live by God's standard.

This wicked fool denies God to do wicked things, like corruption, and injustices. But they won't say that. They will redefine them. Now, abortion is pro-choice. Bribery is buying jobs. Skipping church is loving one another to prevent infection.

These are intelligent people, but morally foolish. Wicked fool.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟜:𝟞

"With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;

I will give thanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good."

David wanted his prayers to be answered so that he may enjoy God always. He loved to thank God, praise God, sing songs unto God, bless God, and talk about God.

In trouble, in suffering, in pain, in affliction, it's not easy for anyone to do these things unto God. So, David's life is a life that demonstrates a life walking with God always!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟝:𝟚𝟚

"Cast your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."

If anyone betrays you, this is the Psalm to read! And the solution David has is in this verse: to cast your burden upon God.

There's a hymn "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares you" taken out from this verse. Our Lord himself was betrayed by the one who shared His meal. Don't be surprised if there's betrayal in life. God will take care of all. Judas' betrayal was actually bringing Salvation to all. Ahithophel's betrayal against David came to nothing; God let him and Absalom perish!

"Take it to the Lord in prayer," says a line from that sweet hymn, "What a friend we have in Jesus"

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟞:𝟛

"When I am afraid,

I will trust in You."

When we are afraid what do we do? David decided to trust God. Look at the word "will," he chose to trust God. We see that in David when his soldiers were wanting to stone him to death, he strengthened himself in God. Forget about your emotion. Use your brain, mind: to trust God!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟝𝟟:𝟡

"I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations."

David was asking for mercy and deliverance from Saul and his men because he had been forced into a difficult situation. He prayed but not without praises and thanks. Would we be thankful always like David?