Tag: Psalm 19

I Am a Student; ‘Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and truly means.’ 2 Timothy 2:14-18

2 Timothy 2:14-18 Holman Christian Standard Bible

An Approved Worker

14 Remind them of these things, charging them before God[a] not to fight about words; this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness. 17 And their word will spread like gangrene; Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. 18 They have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are overturning the faith of some.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

One of Christians’ most important responsibilities is to study the Scriptures.

Church is essential, and we learn a lot from the man of God in the pulpit, but it is up to us to study and grasp what God says: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

2 Timothy 2:15 teaches us five things about studying the Word of God:

1. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God,”

We get God’s approval when we think it is important enough to study what God has written for us in the Bible’s preserved words.

Notice that it says “study” and not “read.”

We are to delve into it like we want to pass life’s tests and know God’s mind.

It is the only source that will help us get through life’s difficulties and learn more about the Father.

Reading is different from studying.

We read scriptures on their surface for a short time, while studying requires much more time for rereading, comparing Scriptures with Scripture, and so much prayer.

It takes “work,”, a labor, a commitment, and a determination to get the most out of God’s Word diligently.

2. “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed ”

When we study the Bible, we will not be embarrassed by believing the wrong things. God will show us what is the Way, Truth, Life. And as we are not afraid to suffer shame for Christ’s now, we will not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

3. “rightly dividing the word of truth. ”

In studying the Word of God, “rightly dividing” implies handling the Scriptures accurately, not just as an intellectual exercise but guided by the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 declares, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Through the Holy Spirit, we can understand how the Word is divided and then allow His Word to divide us (Hebrews 4:12). Thus, proper digging into God’s Word will expose our sinful nature and shape our lives to abide in His Word.

God’s Word is called the “word of truth.” It is not a collection of accurate statements, but it is the truth from our Creator.

It is the TRUTH, and we don’t need to justify it because the TRUTH requires no justification. It is the only source of truth on Earth, and God has preserved it for not just the select few but for all to read!

David declares in Psalms 12:6–7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

The reverse teaching of 2 Timothy 2:15 is that, if one does not study God’s word, he is not approved of God! — That is a hard truth to swallow. Looking at it that way, one should put a higher priority on one’s Bible study.

As we diligently study, rightly dividing the truth, we learn the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ. 

John 1:14 echoes this truth: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

Every page turned, every chapter we study, and every verse pondered points to the living Word, who brings grace, truth, and the fullness of God’s revelation.

Brethren, as born-again believers in Christ, we are called His “ambassadors.”

We are His “workmanship” (Ephesians 2:8–10). 

God expects every Christian to be His “workman”! We are to study the word by rightly dividing the truth, and then allow the Truth to divide us (Hebrews 4:12).

May our studies be more than just academic exercises; let it be a faithful work, digging into the depths of God’s wisdom and the beauty of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 2:1-5 The Message

Climb God’s Mountain

2 1-5 The Message Isaiah got regarding Judah and Jerusalem:

There’s a day coming
    when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
    solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
    people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
    let’s climb God’s Mountain,
    go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
    so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
    God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between nations.
    He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
    their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
    they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
    let’s live in the light of God.

I Am a Student

Always Begin With God…

In the first two to three decades of life, most people are students.

The instruction we receive during that time provides us with the building blocks we need for a productive life.

As believers in Christ, we are also students. We need to learn God’s Word and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.

We need to absorb God’s Word continuously in order to be transformed by the power of his Spirit, who works in us, teaches us, the truth and wisdom of God.

On a daily basis we need to walk in step with the Lord and his Spirit, growing to know God and to share his love with others everywhere.

There’s a tale of a man on a stroll who hears a voice say to him: “Gather some pebbles.” Though he sees no one, the voice persists: “Gather some pebbles and put them in your pocket, and tomorrow you will truly be both glad and sorry.”

Intrigued, the man thinks, “Why not?” So he picks up a few pebbles and puts them in his pocket. The next day he discovers they have all been transformed into diamonds. Then he feels gladness for taking some, and he is sorry for not taking more.

Similarly, our study of God’s Word may not reveal its benefits right away.

Yet over time, nuggets of truth and wisdom will prove to be invaluable treasures—blessing our lives in countless ways.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Praying …

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible

The Works and the Word of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The Law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be innocent,
And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Bound to the Book; ‘The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road.’ Psalm 19:7

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The Law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be innocent,
And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What should motivate us to read the Bible? 

Reminding ourselves of the benefits of reading the Bible may help us to make it a priority in our lives. 

In this post, I discuss the beauty of God’s Word, based on Psalm 19:7-11. 

Today I’ll visit verses 7 and 8 to identify four important benefits we receive when we read the Scripture (based on the NIV Bible).

 1. God’s Word refreshes the soul (v7).

The idea here is “being brought back.” 

If we are not actively seeking God, we will drift away from Him, leading to a spiritual drought. 

As we become more focused on the world around us and less on spiritual things, God may feel far away. 

Our prayers may not seem effective. 

However, as we spend more time in God’s Word, our focus will return to God, and our souls will be fed. 

Our relationship with God will be renewed.

James 1:5-7 New International Version

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

2. God’s Word makes the simple wise (v7).

Who couldn’t use more wisdom? 

Sometimes we all have questions about marriage, parenting, or just life in general.  We may read self-help books, ask our friends for advice, or attend seminars or conferences, hoping to have our questions answered. 

However, the Bible seems to be the last place we go. 

There’s nothing wrong with books or our friend’s advice, as long as they point us to the Bible. 

God has given us the answers to all of life’s important questions in His Word (2 Peter 1:3). 

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

3. God’s Word gives joy to the heart (v8).

Sometimes, joy may be lacking in our lives, due to the pressures and demands of life. 

We may be in a particularly hard or sorrowful time. 

However, we are commanded to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). 

We are to be joyful no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. 

That is really hard to do when we are not spending enough time in God’s Word. 

As we read God’s promises in the Bible, we can find many reasons for joy. 

You can find a list of 10 Bible promises to bring you joy here.

4. God’s Word gives light to the eyes (v8).

Have you ever stumbled your way through a dark room, only to trip or bump into something? 

A light is extremely useful in the darkness. 

It lets us see clearly what is around us and it keeps us safe.

The Bible does this for us as we try to stumble our way through the dark world. 

Only in the light (John 8:12) of the truth of Scripture can we see the sinful world as it really is.  If we obey God’s commands, we will stay safe on the right path.

With benefits like these we can’t afford not to spend time in God’s Word. 

Reading our Bible regularly keeps us close to God. 

It also gives us wisdom, joy, and guidance. 

I know my days are far better when I’m consistently spending time with God. 

Whether you read it in a book or on your phone, an iPad, whether you listen to it on an app, whether you read a lot or a little—any time, every time you do spend in God’s Word will absolutely benefit you, and in turn, benefit those around us. 

2 Timothy 3:14-17 New International Version

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Will you covenant with God, making the reading and studying and praying and application of God’s Word an absolute priority in your day, every single day? 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit,

Praying …

Psalm 119:9-16 Complete Jewish Bible

ב (Bet)

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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The Lord our God wants all of us to respect Him and do what He says. He wants you to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 10:12

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 GOD’S WORD Translation

Israel Encouraged to Follow God’s Guidance

12 Israel, what does the Lord your God want you to do? He wants you to fear him, follow all his directions, love him, and worship him with all your heart and with all your soul. 13 The Lord wants you to obey his commands and laws that I’m giving you today for your own good. 14 Remember that the sky, the highest heaven, the earth and everything it contains belong to the Lord your God. 15  The Lord set his heart on your ancestors and loved them. Because of this, today he chooses you, their descendants, out of all the people of the world.

16 So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don’t be impossible to deal with any longer. 17 The Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, powerful, and awe-inspiring God. He never plays favorites and never takes a bribe. 18 He makes sure orphans and widows receive justice. He loves foreigners and gives them food and clothes. 19 So you should love foreigners, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God, worship him, be loyal to him, and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your glory. He is your God, who did for you these spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds you saw with your own eyes. 22 When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were 70 of them. Now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

As the book of Deuteronomy begins, Moses and the people of Israel are standing at the edge of the promised land on the other side of the Jordan River.

Joshua will lead them across the Jordan and into the land after God commands Moses to die for his disobedience in striking the rock twice instead of just once.

In obedience to the Lord’s command, Moses hands authority over to Joshua.

But, before the change of leadership happens, the people take a long pause to listen to Moses explain the law, “Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law.” Moses is now 120 years old. God will let him rest.

In fact, the word Deuteronomy means “second law” or “repetition of the law.”

Our Verse for this devotional comes from chapter 10 of Deuteronomy just after Moses reminded the people of their parents’ failure when they fashioned and worshiped the Golden Calf.

In response to their idol worship, God was ready to wipe them out, but Moses plead with the Lord, appealed to the glory of his name. God graciously relented.

And, in Deuteronomy 10:10 Moses says, “The Lord was unwilling to destroy you.”

In other words, the mercy of God is on full display as we come to Deut. 10:12-13.

“The Mercy of God was on full Display”

“The Love of God was on full Display.”

“The Glory of God was on full Display.”

These truth’s are really important to remember when memorizing this passage.

These words of truth accurately describe what God deserves from his people and demonstrates our chronic inability to ever live up to it, all at the same time.

God demands and by His actions, by His works, He deserves our obedience and every affection locked away in our hearts. And, by God’s grace, and only for His Glory alone we should daily strive to give Him all of what is 1000% rightly His.

Why should we hesitate?

Why do we hesitate?

Why would we hesitate?

As we strive to live this out and labor toward obedience and fight for the godly affections of our hearts, we can also rest in the gospel truth that Christ has already achieved this obedience in our place. Jesus has feared the Lord our God.

He walked in all His ways without ever wavering. He walked, hungered, thirsted 40 long days and nights through the truly most extreme temptations that Satan could ever willfully inflict on Him.

Still, after all of that, He persevered, He still loved His Father with a perfect love. He served his Father with quite literally last every beat of his heart and every portion of his soul. He kept every commandment and statute of the Lord.

He walked the earth completely sinless.

It seems so natural to love God because he first loved me (John 13:34; 1 John 4:19).

But I remember all too vividly when I didn’t love God with all my heart and soul.

In that way each one of us is like the ancient Israelites.

There are people, things, and situations that both rigorously and vigorously compete for our maximum love and attention. They often start subtly and cause our love for God to shift, fluctuate, fragment. We take our leap from the Temple.

Our love for God ought to be a instinctive response to his love for us. Obedience is an excellent indicator of our love.

Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15).

Love for God and obedience to God are to be considered inseparable. We know very well that loving God goes far beyond mere words.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we follow the Lord by leaving our old life behind (Philippians 2:1-18). Our Lives are no longer all about us but all about our love relationship with the Lord.

We deepen our love by getting to know God’s character, who he is, his ways, and what he does.

We do this by reading the Bible, observing God’s presence in our lives, and being around people who love him. Love comes from a heart of gratitude.

So, as we hide this portion of the word in our hearts this week, let it be a call to obedience and an occasion for thanksgiving for the gospel, all at the same time!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 19

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
and his circuit unto the ends of it:
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors?
cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,
my strength, and my redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A New Years Resolution: How Does Your Relationship with God Shape Your Identity? Colossians 3:1-4

Colossians 3:1-4 Amplified Bible

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. 3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Knowing God and Knowing Ourselves

2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].

What does it mean to be habitual?

1. : regularly or repeatedly doing or practicing something or acting in some manner : having the nature of a habit : customary. habitual candor. habitual behavior. habitual drug use.

What is the meaning of habitual behavior?

Habitual behavior is a form of automatic and routine behavior. It is behavior that people repeat, because this behavior is easy, comfortable or rewarding.

Habitual behavior’s automatic character is demonstrated by the fact that it is often started by a cue or a change in the situation.

What does habitual mean in humans?

If the same behavior is performed more frequently in response to specific situational cues, this may become more automatic, or quicker and easier. As a result, it may be experienced as “automatic” by those who perform it (Verplanken & Orbell, 2003), and categorized as “habitual” by researchers.

Examples https://www.merriam-webster.com/sentences/habitual

Augustine wisely, habitually prayed that he might know God and then himself.

Christ is your Maker. Therefore, to know Him is to know yourself: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)”

The better we know Him, the more we’ll grasp who and whose we are.

And the more we see who and whose we are, the more secure we are.

We all have fundamental personal worth needs: a need for security, a sense of unconditional love and acceptance by other people, and a sense of significance—the assurance that our lives absolutely matter. Finally, we need satisfaction and purpose. Is there anything we can accomplish for God that will endure?

Because God Himself endowed us with these needs, they cannot be satisfied in the temporal realm of this world.

People habitually turn to others for their sense of security and worth. But other people habitually let us down, and we, in turn, habitually let them down.

We habitually look to wealth and prosperity for our sense of significance, but soon, the hollowness of hoarding worldly possessions becomes all too real.

Luke 12:16-20 Amplified Bible

Parable of the Wealthy Fool

16 Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; now who will own all the things you have prepared?’

We often turn to performance, position, popularity, and prestige to gain a sense of true satisfaction in this world. Once again, these will all let us down. The only place where we can find those needs fully met is in our relationship with Christ.

Empowered to Love Others Compassionately 

Our relationship with Christ empowers us to love others compassionately.

Grasping our true identity in Christ is not a one-off once in a lifetime event but an ongoing journey of habitual discovery. But the more we come to grasp who and whose we are, the more we begin to realize that we are people who have a new identity and a new purpose. We’re no longer in Adam; we are in Christ. We have a new spiritual DNA, as it were. We have been adopted into His family.

We now have a foundation for understanding our true position in this world. At the beginning of the upper room discourse in John’s gospel, we get to listen to Jesus’s most intimate words to his disciples. Here, we discover that Jesus’s hour of departure was soon coming upon them, that He loved His own until the end. 

But the key verse to highlight, and one that’s often overlooked, is John 13:3, which tells us, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he’d come forth from God and that he was going back to God.”

That little verse is the basis for what he was actually able to do.

He performed a visual parable when his disciples were too busy jockeying for higher positions regarding who was going to be first in the heavenly kingdom.

As His disciples are bickering over who will sit at His right hand, Christ lays his garments aside, putting on the clothing of a servant, began to wash their feet.

Though this was an integral part of Oriental hospitality, it appears that there was no “lowest” servant on hand to perform the ritual during the Last Supper.

Certainly, none of the disciples were going to do it if they were arguing, fighting and debating over what they believed was coming: highest honors and prestige.

So Jesus, to humbly, quietly, decisively settle the matter, took up the towel and the basin and began to wash their feet, giving them their model of servanthood. 

Even today, too many of us are visibly repulsed, too much like Peter who was almost too embarrassed “no, not ever, my feet” to let Jesus wash his feet.

What gave Jesus the real security and the power to serve in this manner, even knowing that his arrest, humiliation and crucifixion was so very imminent?

My conviction is that Christ focused on these three things:

1) He knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and this was the true source of his dignity

2) He knew he’d come forth from God

3) He knew that he was going back to God.

This was His security.

Because of these three great truths, He was able to serve—to wash the disciples’ feet as they were fighting for their greatness and as he was awaiting crucifixion.

As Jesus shows, true greatness consists in service to others. Once again, the washing of the disciples’ feet is a visual parable of this astonishing insight. 

Mark 10:32-45 Amplified Bible

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

32 Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were perplexed [at what Jesus had said], and those who were following were alarmed and afraid. And again He took the twelve [disciples] aside and began telling them what was going to happen to Him,  33 saying, “Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed  and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans). 34 They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead].”

35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” 39 And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”

41 Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John.  42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. 43 But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a [a]ransom for many.”

Imagine if Jesus listened to what people said about him.

He would never have been secure enough to serve.

People would say, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Why is he eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners? The son of man came eating and drinking.” They went on, “Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Even His own siblings refused to believe in him. 

We Have the limitless Resources of Christ

Jesus was continually the subject of scorn, criticism, and abuse.

If He’d listened to what people said about Him, He would not have been secure enough to serve—to love others compassionately.

Instead, Jesus chose to allow His Father’s words to define Him.

His true dignity, His true security, and His true destiny then empowered Him to be a habitual servant of other people.

And He invites us to do the very same thing because, astonishingly, His resources have now become our resources. When we think about the fact that we’ve become children of God and have been given the security and destiny that comes along with this knowledge, nothing can separate us from the love of God.

If I had to stop and sum up the entire Bible in one word, it would be the word relationships. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture is all about relationships.

It’s about knowing the love of Christ that liberates us to love others. Once again, there’s a tremendous risk involved in this.

People can be habitually painful and we can be habitually painful to them, and yet, we are able to serve them because we know who we are and whose we are. 

The great American theologian Jonathan Edwards was profoundly right when he said that real wisdom is for us to treat things according to their true value.

The perennial human temptation is to mistake the temporal for the eternal.

We habitually seek fulfillment in human relationships, wealth, fame, and power, only to have our hopes habitually shattered again and then again.

True wisdom, however, involves the recognition that you’re going to give your life in exchange for something.

As Paul, the apostle, informs us in Galatians 2:20,

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

If Christ authentically loves us and willingly, with no second thoughts, gave Himself for us, how can we not live for Him and for others? (Philippians 2:5-11)

5 Have this attitude [a]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He  already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be [b]grasped, 7 but [c]emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and [d]being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death [e]on a cross.  9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If we leverage the temporal for eternal gain, what we’re really doing is treating people according to their true value.

We are going to give our lives in exchange for something, and we’ll be wise if we give in exchange for something that’s never going to let us down in the end.

God will never fail us, Christ will never fail us. Holy Spirit will never fail us.

Embracing this crucial truth allows us to forgive others when we’ve been wronged. It liberates us to accept both the people who are gifts to us and those we find to be draining. If we’ve been forgiven all, we ought to forgive others. 

Christ invites us then to treat people with mercy, forgiveness and to relinquish the demand for ultimate justice. Justice is getting what we richly deserve. Never ask God for justice. Not a one of us could ever hope to endure God’s real justice.

Rather, ask Him for mercy—not getting what we deserve—and ask Him for grace. When this is our habitual posture, we are freed to be people who navigate through this brief earthbound sojourn with an habitually eternal perspective.

In the coming year of our Lord and Savior 2025, habitually take the time to pray about your relationship with God and honestly pray how it shapes your identity.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The Law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be innocent,
And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Our Walking through our Valley, Our Walking through the Fires; Finishing our struggle, Surrendering unto God. Psalm 51:10-17

Psalm 51:10-17 Common English Bible

10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
    put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
    please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
    and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
    and sinners will come back to you.

14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
    so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
    If I gave an entirely burned offering,
    you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.[a]
    You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Our Continually Struggling to Surrender to God

Psalm 51 was written by King David after he committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed to cover his sin (2 Samuel 11).

It has been said of David that he sinned big, but repented bigger.

But only after he was ‘publicly’ caught by Nathan in David’s throne room. One has to wonder how this scripture would read if Nathan never confronts David.

But God, who sees everything no matter how hard or deep we try to hide our actions, was not blind to David’s severest of transgression – his Capital Crime.

God sent Nathan to David’s throne room and fortunately so – lest the wrath of God be meted out without any scriptural announcements – a bolt of lightning strikes David on his throne with no witnesses to testify or witness the event.

David is consigned to a violent death and we probably do not have a lineage that would have been steadfastly honorable, or noteworthy to proclaim as Psalm 51.

Let us shout “Thanks Be to God” for sending Nathan with God’s message of life!

Because now generations of men, women and children are blessed by Psalm 51.

David became for us an inspiring, empowering model to us of what real heart felt repentance looks like. He mightily struggled with his sin, so much so that he took off his crown and regal regalia, and surrendered his throne which God granted to him and walked sullenly to the tabernacle to take a lonely seat before God His Judge for his righteous Judgment – keep the throne or be publicly tried.

He had no promises that God would permit his return to the throne, he might well have done the same as he first did to Saul, to remove His Spirit from Him, essentially permanently remove His support, from which Saul never recovered.

David understood the gravity of his crime against God and understood that God could do the same to his as Saul, and nothing short of absolute surrender would be acceptable sacrifice. Psalm 51 is David’s agonized cry to God for forgiveness.

Psalm 51:17 says, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

The meaning of this is connected with Verse 16 says, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.”

David is stating that there is nothing we can offer God to appease Him when we have sinned. When we have strived more mightily to stay in control. More not superficial but well intentioned animal sacrifices were not what God was going to be looking for nor even .00001% accept as our God desires true repentance.

Many people miss this truth. Rather than repent, they try to rush in with their superficial “clean up their act,” give more, pray more, or busy themselves in other religious activity in hopes God will finally “get over” being mad at them.

In Psalm 51, David is saying he knows that God wants none of that. External religious activity cannot replace internal, heartfelt contrition (1 Samuel 16:7).

Psalm 51:17 points out the one and only thing God desires more than any other: brokenness over our own sin. When we agree with God about how bad our sin is, we take the first baby steps toward a sincere heartfelt reconciliation with Him.

As long as we try to “pseudo-surrender” justify, excuse, or rationalize the evil of our own sin bent hearts, we will never find our way back into God’s presence.

Something Jesus Himself made a point of declaring at the start of His Ministry;

Mark 1:14-15 Amplified Bible

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

14 Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and [a]taken into custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God, 15 and saying, “The  [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation].”

Nothing less than 100% surrender and repentance is our doorway to freedom.

Satan knows this better than us, does everything he can to detract us from it.

He suggests things that our selfish nature likes to hear:

“Your sin wasn’t that bad.” “Compared to others, you’re okay.” “God has forgotten it already. No need to confess it.”

When we listen to the devil’s cunning oily words, we will veer away from the doorway to freedom and remain in bondage. We may feel remorse or regret, but neither is sufficient substitute for true repentance (Genesis 3, Hebrews 12:15-17).

Hebrews 12:15-17 Amplified Bible

15 See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 and [see to it] that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single  meal. 17 For you know that later on, when he wanted [to regain title to] his inheritance of the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance [there was no way to repair what he had done, no chance to recall the choice he had made], even though he sought for it with [bitter] tears.

David reminds us in Psalm 51 that the only path to forgiveness is a broken heart and a humble spirit (cf. Matthew 5:3).

When we throw ourselves on the mercy of God, He delights to lift us up (Luke 18:13-14). When we openly acknowledge our sin against God, turn from it, and cry out for cleansing, God promises that He will hear us and forgive (1 John 1:9).

It is interesting to note that, although David sinned against Bathsheba and her murdered husband, Uriah, David surrenders this stunning confession to God:

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4).

David gets straight to the heart of why God so hates sin. It is an abomination, a hardcore heart hardened willful malicious pre-meditated violation of His very nature. We are each created in that image, but our sin mars it (Genesis 3), like a giant smudge of blackest tar on a mirror. Our broken spirit, our contrite heart, invite God to clean that smudge and restore us to right relationship with Him.

Now, Ponder long and hard the 100% authentic state of your “contrite” heart!

Now, Ponder long and hard the words “utter surrender.” then “Before God!”

Then … “prepare ye, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make your paths straight.”

OMG … Stand still, Quit striving against Him, “What will God wrought now?”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, (investigate my life) and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 19 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10 
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13 
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

From before the beginning of all Creation, our hopes began in great darkness and greater emptiness and inexorably surges forward, yet today. Genesis 1:1-2

Genesis 1:1-2 Amplified Bible

The Creation

1 In the beginning God ([a]Elohim) [b]created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was [c]formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Beginnings are important. Backgrounds about characters in novels and movies help us see the start of situations that have helped shaped them. Sometimes we introduce ourselves by telling about our ancestors or about relevant events that have shaped our family history. We pray that we recognize that who we are has a lot to do with the array of situations, the diverse people who came before us.

We ourselves have no memory of our beginnings. Memories do not begin to take shape until we are 4 years old-mine is the memory of my mom making my bed.

However, God was there at our very beginning when we were conceived in the darkness inside our mother’s womb (Psalm 139) in greatest detail, weaving us together within that darkness into who and where we all are walking today.

Similarly, the Bible’s first words about the earth are that it was “formless and empty” and that indescribable “darkness was over the surface of the deep”—a poetic way of saying that the world did not exist before God started creating.

Have you ever been in a cave without any flash lights on? It can be so dark that you can’t see your hands even when you touch your nose. The Bible begins with a darkness that is deeper than that. It’s the deepest darkness the Bible writers could possibly imagine: the depths, empty darkness, of the world not existing.

As we begin our time through this Advent 2024, looking forward to the light of Jesus’ coming, there is something very comforting about the Bible’s beginning.

John 1:1-5 Amplified Bible

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

However heavy and impossible our current circumstances may feel, the Bible reminds us that our story begins with the God who creates life in the midst of the deepest darkness imaginable. In other words, with God there is always hope the light of our salvation is already there, has always been there, will always be there and there is nothing even the darkest of darkness can do to change that.

Contemplate the Darkness as it was in the beginning of all things before God spoke and Creation responded – How the darkness could do nothing about it.

Contemplate the Hope before God spoke creation into being, the hope that began to be revealed as creation responded and the hope which surged like biggest Tsunami we could ever conceive of in our finite minds that despite the greatest efforts of the darkness to overcome that surging hope, it did not work.

Even in the greatest darkness anyone could conceive today – God has long since proven that hope has existed from the very beginning, Jesus is alive, is eternal!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10 
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13 
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Deal with your servant in accordance with your grace, and teach me your laws. I am your servant; pray, give me understanding, give me discernment so that I can know your instruction. Psalm 119: 121-128

Psalm 119:121-128 New American Standard Bible

Ayin

121 I have done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be a guarantor for Your servant for good;
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation,
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your servant according to Your graciousness,
And teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant; give me understanding,
So that I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
For they have broken Your Law.
127 Therefore I love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above pure gold.
128 Therefore I carefully follow all Your precepts concerning everything,
I hate every false way.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In this section of Psalm 119 we find some of the most memorable words in the entire psalm, as the writer declares that he loves God’s Word “more than gold, more than pure gold.”

But if we lift this Psalmist’s beautiful confession out of its context, we miss a more subtle truth in these verses: the psalmist’s plea to understand God’s Word.

In declaring how he deeply treasures all of God’s Word, the psalmist is not merely offering a beautiful senti­ment. He offers this like evidence in a court of law, as if he is testifying like a plaintiff. Because he loves God’s words above all else and seeks to follow them all, God should rescue him from his oppressors.

Knowing that we sinfully tend to see only our own point of view and that we often fall short, most of us would hesitate to put God on trial in a way like this.

Nevertheless, we can learn so very much from the psalmist’s wise request. He acknowledges his 100% need for help in understanding God’s precious Word.

Though we may not all dare to call God to account in pleading for his help, we all 100% need guidance in discerning the authentic truth of God’s Word. We hear God’s voice most clearly when we wholeheartedly ask him to remove our distractions and as far as the east is from west, reveal himself and his will to us.

And when God does speak to us through his Word—as he certainly will—we must then strive to wholeheartedly apply God’s teaching unto our daily lives.

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The first half of this stanza showed one reason that the psalmist was certain that God would deliver him. The rest of this passage gives two more reasons.

 Take a look at this passage in Psalm 119:125-128:

God is a loving God. Of course, that goes hand in hand with his holiness and the need for righteousness in our lives. As the psalmist has discovered and revealed in this stanza of Psalm 119, God will deliver his people because of his love; and, in fact, God will deliver the psalmist because of that love.

The psalmist definitely has enemies, and his enemies are the enemies of God.

When we consider the whole of this Psalm, this is perhaps the lowest point in the entirety of Psalm 119, and we see the writer cry out for deliverance. His first reason for requesting that deliverance is because of God’s love, in verse 124.

The second reason the psalmist gives here is because he is God’s servant. The writer is basically declaring, “I belong to you, God! Help me because of that!”

And like any good earthly master, who cares deeply for that which belongs to him, should God do any less than completely care for those who belong to him?

The psalmist also seems to understand that God’s deliverance can be seen in the Word. He asks for deliverance, and he asks for it in the form of discernment to understand God’s statutes completely. You can see this clearly in verse 125.

Finally, the third reason the psalmist gives, in verse 126, is simply because it is time for God to act.

This has nothing to do with the writer’s timeline, or because time is somehow running out before the psalmist will be overwhelmed by those who are against him. No, here, the writer is more concerned with God’s reputation than his own temporary needs. His cry is that God should act because his law is being broken.

This is a quality that is rare in our world.

We tend to place our own needs and values ahead of all else.

But the writer here has shown in what order the priorities should be.

Our desire should be for God, and for his Word, above our own needs.

In the closing verses of this stanza, the writer gives a contrasting statement, one that depicts a deep hatred of what is wrong against a love for what is right.

In our age of relativism, this is a hard statement for many to accept.

We would rather believe that what is right for you may not necessarily be right for me.

We would rather not have a definitive right and wrong, a moral, ethical absolute because it brings with them guilt and conviction.

But that is what the writer gives us here. He states that there is a definite right path and a definite wrong one. There is the whole truth and there is the whole lie. There are things that God detests, that we should detest as well. And there are definitely things that God deeply loves that we should seek after to love also.

There is an absolute truth, and we must hold to it firmly. We must avoid every wrong path and cling to the one thing that is true above all else. We must hate what God hates, or we will never learn to love God fully. And the best way to know what God hates and what God values can be found by reading his Word.

I strongly encourage you the reader to 100% take the time daily to invest in the pursuit of God’s heart. I strongly urge you to spend quality time in his Word on a daily basis. It’s the only way that we can discover the truth and grow in it fully.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The Law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be innocent,
And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

But who would dare to discern their own errors? Forgive hidden faults? Who can discern unintentional sins, can satisfy their own Debts? Psalm 19

Psalm 19 Names of God Bible

Psalm 19

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of El,
    and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
    One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
    without words,
    without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
    their message to the ends of the earth.
    He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
    Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6         It rises from one end of the heavens.
            It circles around to the other.
                Nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect.
    They renew the soul.
    The testimony of Yahweh is dependable.
    It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct.
    They make the heart rejoice.
    The command of Yahweh is radiant.
    It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure.
    It endures forever.
    The decisions of Yahweh are true.
    They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
    They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
    There is a great reward in following them.

12 Who can notice every mistake?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
    Do not let anyone gain control over me.
        Then I will be blameless,
            and I will be free from any great offense.

14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
    be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Psalm 19:7-14 Easy-to-Read Version

7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
    They give strength to his people.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
    They help even the foolish become wise.
8 The Lord’s laws are right.
    They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are good.
    They show people the right way to live.

9 Learning respect for the Lord is good.
    It will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are right.
    They are completely fair.
10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold.
    They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.
11 His teachings warn his servants,
    and good things come to those who obey them.

12 People cannot see their own mistakes,
    so don’t let me commit secret sins.
13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong.
    Don’t let sin control me.
If you help me, I can be pure
    and free from sin.
14 May my words and thoughts please you.
    Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.

David, summing up all that he said about the Word of God, declares that the only thing which can interfere with the Word having its full effect is us.

We are the problem.

If we cannot benefit from the Word, it is not because there is anything wrong with it. It is us who are the problem. Who can discern their own errors? 

We are all victims of hidden failure in our lives.

Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version

23 God, examine me and know my mind.
    Test me and know all my worries.
24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

Contemplate for a time if these ancient words of scripture excluded “God”

23 ME, examine me and know my mind.
    ME Test me and know all my worries.
24  ME Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    ME Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

If we are the only one’s who are examining ourselves …

If we are the only one’s who are trying to know our own minds …

If we are the only one’s testing ourselves to get at the core of our worries?

If we are the only one’s who are investigating our own “wicked ways?”

Then making sure we where smart enough, wise enough, brutally honest enough, tough enough on ourselves, to hardcore “tough love” ourselves, to accept, heartfelt confess, the .0000001% chance we are going the wrong way?

“Knowing” exactly how much a PhD we are in knowing ourselves, caring for ourselves, instantly perfectly completely correcting, and directing ourselves?

What gets accomplished?

Who accomplishes what?

Who makes sure they get all of the credit for what was accomplished?

If we examine ourselves, we usually look fine – in our view of our facts, we are perfectly fine – no worries – no anxieties – as we set off to swim all the oceans?

Everybody, including themselves, thinks what he does is right. We cannot see, refuse to see, our own errors, we won’t acknowledge these errors, yet these hidden errors are constantly affecting us so we cannot see truth the way it is.

How big a 100% fool can we make of ourselves in the privacy of our homes?

Strutting around in public like some fluorescent tie dyed Peacock in full bloom, How big a 100% fool can we put on the world’s biggest most vivid movie screen?

If we aren’t ourselves becoming even .0000001% self conscious of these errors?

Therefore, we desperately need to be delivered from hidden errors by someone eternally, infinitely, more wise, more honest, more sacrificing of self than we are capable of being or would even entertain one thought we would want to be.

That is what severely hinders our desire for the Word — these hidden errors.

The Psalmist faces the fact that something is wrong with us, so he concludes this Psalm with a wonderful prayer: Forgive my hidden faults (Psalms 19:12b).

Are you so fully and completely contrite of heart to confess with all of your soul and all of your so called strength all of your alleged might that is your prayer?

We know what will happen to ourselves, by ourselves, by our indomitable self wills, dare ourselves to pray for that forgiveness, wait on ourselves to answer.

NOTHING OF ANY AUTHENTIC VALUE OR ANYTHING OF ETERNAL WORTH!

Do you know what will happen when you pray that way AND also include God?

One might allow themselves to fantasize that God will take a sponge and wipe around inside you so that you will not even know what those hidden faults were.

But God does not do that.

Isaiah 55:8-11 Easy-to-Read Version

People Cannot Understand God

8 The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
    Your ways are not like mine.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky
    and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow,
    and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
11 In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
    and they don’t come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen.
    They succeed in doing what I send them to do.

His way of dealing with hidden faults is either to send somebody to point them out to you – someone like Nathan who entered David’s throne unannounced.

To bring them out, shake them out through some circumstance in which they are suddenly confronted with what they have done or said, and suddenly realize that it is 1000% ugly and they have been caught not by man, but by God himself.

2 Samuel 12:1-14 Easy-to-Read Version

Nathan Speaks to David

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men in a city. One man was rich, but the other man was poor. 2 The rich man had lots of sheep and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb that he bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and the lamb grew up with this poor man and his children. She ate from the poor man’s food and drank from his cup. The lamb slept on the poor man’s chest. The lamb was like a daughter to the poor man.

4 “Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to give food to the traveler, but he did not want to take any of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler. No, the rich man took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor.”

5 David became very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! 6 He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy.”

Nathan Tells David About His Sin

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I chose[a] you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from Saul. 8 I let you take his family and his wives, and I made you king of Israel and Judah. As if that had not been enough, I would have given you more and more. 9  So why did you ignore my command? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You let the Ammonites kill Uriah the Hittite, and you took his wife. It is as if you yourself killed Uriah in war. 10 So your family will never have peace! When you took Uriah’s wife, you showed that you did not respect me.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am bringing trouble against you. This trouble will come from your own family. I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it![b] 12 You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will punish you so that all the people of Israel can see it.’”[c]

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan said to David, “The Lord will forgive you, even for this sin. You will not die. 14 But you did things that made the Lord’s enemies lose their respect for him, so your new baby son will die.”

That is the way God cleanses us from hidden faults.

He hardcore pries open the secret places.

Usually he does it through other people, because we cannot see ourselves but other people can see us.

These faults are hidden to us but not to others.

They see them very plainly.

And we can see their hidden faults better than they can.

You say, I don’t see how they can be so blind. 

Well, someone is thinking that very same way about you.

We do not see ourselves.

That is why it is always proper to say, Lord, forgive my hidden faults.

Help me to see myself through the eyes of a friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth.

David closes this psalm with these often quoted words which are so wonderfully penetrating that we should pray them often: 

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:14).

That is a wonderful prayer, is it not?

This is the attitude that will open the Word of God to us.

When you pray that kind of prayer before you read the Word, you will find that God will (gently in God’s way, hardcore our way) talk to us in a marvelous way.

Deliver Me From Evil

Psalm 19:12 Amplified Bible

12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.

When I was in grade school, there were many times that I thought a teacher or a parent had eyes in the back of their head.

I could not get away with anything I was not supposed to be doing.

Sometimes my hidden thoughts were identified by those who were not even looking at me. And to prevent me from even trying something out of line, they loudly whispered for all to hear, “Just remember, God sees everything you do.”

Having someone watching our every move can help to keep our secret actions in check, but what about our thoughts and the things we are tempted to say?

When we allow the bright light of God’s law to shine into our inner self, it truly illuminates our hidden faults and lights up a warning.

Without God’s law we are blind to what separates us from God.

The psalmist knows that he cannot see his faults by looking into a mirror.

He looks instead into God’s law and asks God to forgive not only his visible sins but also his hidden faults.

And the God of the Bible does forgive.

Knowing the fact of God’s forgiveness assures the psalmist that he will be blameless in God’s sight. Not completely perfect yet, but blameless now.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 Amplified Bible

God Sustains His Servant.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
3 
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the Lord.

4 
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.
5 
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.

6 
Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.
7 
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 
“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”

9 
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
10 
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

11 
Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

13 
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14 
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
15 
Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”
16 
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 
Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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How well DO we recall how from our childhood we have known the Holy Scriptures, which give us the wisdom that leads to our deliverance through our trusting in Yeshua the Messiah? 2 Timothy 3:14-17

2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible

14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The authority, sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture are doctrines that are absolutely foundational to the ongoing work of God and His church.

We well can we authentically engage a slowly disintegrating, lost and hurting world with the gospel truth unless we are 100% convinced of its divine origin.

As Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) wrote, without the Bible as a “divine book to turn to as the basis of their doctrine and practice,” Christians “have no solid ground for present peace or hope, and has no right to claim the attention of mankind.”[1]

1 Bible Inspiration: Its Reality and Nature(William Hunt, 1877), p 6.

Apostle Paul towards the end of his life, addressed this very issue when he sternly reminded Timothy that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.”

In other words, the Bible is not a human product infused with divinity; it’s a divine gift produced through human instrumentality. Its every book, chapter, sentence, word and syllable was originally given by God’s inspiration.

The doctrine of Scripture, like many other Christian doctrines, can be hugely challenging to grapple with.

But the fact that something is difficult to understand does not undermine its depths of authentic hardcore truthfulness.

Furthermore, when it comes to the doctrine of Scripture, there are matters that we can consider objectively.

For example, it’s easy to see that the Bible is a completely harmonious work.

While it was written by more than thirty authors over a period of about fifteen hundred years, all the writers tell the same story, giving the same account of this world, the character of its Creator, and the problem of the human heart, and broken spirit all pointing to the same wonderful way of salvation through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God—all the way from Genesis through Revelation!

The Bible also transcends time, culture, gender, wealth, power and intellect.

Some books may fit a certain person, a certain era, or a certain place, but there is no other book that perfectly stands up to the challenges of every day and of every age and to the myriad and myriad of questions that confronts life itself.

The brightest minds, the greatest thinkers, charismatic of speakers, cannot exhaust the riches of God’s word, and yet, at the same time, even young girls and boys can read their Bibles and discover its truth transforming their lives.

Try to plumb for yourselves the utter depths of Genesis 1:1 Amplified Bible

The Creation

1 In the beginning God ([a]Elohim) [b]created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth.

Your efforts may be so vast, so comprehensive, so mind boggling, so fully enriching, so empowering, overwhelming, you may never get to verse 2.

2 The earth was [a]formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

Once you look up at a clear star filled night sky or through a telescope, at the pictures from the Hubble and James Webb Space telescopes, try to calculate what it means to go from one end of the universe to the other or trying to find the exact center of an ever expanding universe then hearing that it would take you tens of trillions of light years (look that up) if not more to accomplish it.

Who else but God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit can ever hope to speak of it in such a way that the finite intellect and wisdom of mankind can grasp even .01% what our own finite eyes can observe and thoughts grasp?

Psalm 19 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10 
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13 
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

The authority, sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture are the grounds on which we must stand; and we have divine help in order to do so.

The same Spirit that inspired the word of God illumines the word of God and illuminates our sin darkened wisdom, convinces us that it is 100% the word of God, given to us so that we may believe in Him who is the Word made flesh.

It is as the Spirit does this work in you that your belief in the divine authorship of Scripture is undergirded and moves from only being an intellectual assent to becoming a doctrine raising to becoming an active starvation level hunger for more of the word—and more of the one who is both its author and its subject.

The Power of the Word of God, the Word of Truth

Acts 6:5-8 Amplified Bible

5 The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected [a]Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch. 6 They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].

7 And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

8 Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people.

It is tucked away almost like a fleeting footnote within the biblical story of the rapid growth of the church of Christ in the first months after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven.

And yet, recalling the rejection and betrayal Jesus experienced from his very own people, these so few words in today’s verse come as a surprise: “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

Perhaps for a while these priests had gone along with the efforts of their leaders, thinking that if they could force people to stop talking about Jesus, the whole matter would just go away.

Perhaps for a while they had tried to go along with covering up the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

It was probably very difficult for some of these priests to change; after all, they had spent their whole lives serving in the temple worship, bringing sacrifices and doing many other rituals on behalf of the people. But now they were called to fulfill new previously unknown roles as believers in Jesus, whom they had opposed but who was also acknowledged the Messiah they had been waiting for.

This little footnote note reminds us how the penetrating virus of self-deception can be overwhelmed and healed by the medicine of simply admitting the truth.

As Jesus himself promised, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Are you ready acknowledge Jesus as God’s Messiah? 

Are we ready to acknowledge the Word of God as being 100% authentic?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 29

A psalm by David.

1 Give to Yahweh, you heavenly beings.
    Give to Yahweh glory and power.
2 Give to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.
    Worship Yahweh in his holy splendor.

3 The voice of Yahweh rolls over the water.
    The El of glory thunders.
        Yahweh shouts over raging water.
4 The voice of Yahweh is powerful.
    The voice of Yahweh is majestic.
5 The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars.
    Yahweh splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6         He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf
            and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of Yahweh strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of Yahweh makes the wilderness tremble.
    Yahweh makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.
9 The voice of Yahweh splits the oaks[a]
    and strips the trees of the forests bare.
        Everyone in his temple is saying, “Glory!”

10 Yahweh sat enthroned over the flood.
    Yahweh sits enthroned as Melek forever.
11 Yahweh will give power to his people.
    Yahweh will bless his people with peace.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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From Generation to Generation, One Great Cloud of Witnesses to Another; Praise God to the Heights of Heaven! Psalm 145

Psalm 145 Names of God Bible

Psalm 145[a]

A song of praise by David.

1 I will highly praise you, my Elohim, the Melek.
    I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and ever.

3 Yahweh is great, and he should be highly praised.
    His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will praise your deeds to the next.
    Each generation will talk about your mighty acts.
5 I will think about the glorious honor of your majesty
    and the miraculous things you have done.
6 People will talk about the power of your terrifying deeds,
    and I will tell about your greatness.
7 They will announce what they remember of your great goodness,
    and they will joyfully sing about your righteousness.
8 Yahweh is merciful, compassionate, patient,
    and always ready to forgive.
9 Yahweh is good to everyone
    and has compassion for everything that he has made.
10 Everything that you have made will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
    and your faithful ones will praise you.
11 Everyone will talk about the glory of your kingdom
    and will tell the descendants of Adam about your might
12 in order to make known your mighty deeds
    and the glorious honor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    Your empire endures throughout every generation.

14 Yahweh supports everyone who falls.
    He straightens the backs of those who are bent over.
15 The eyes of all creatures look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand,
    and you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 Yahweh is fair in all his ways
    and faithful in everything he does.
18 Yahweh is near to everyone who prays to him,
    to every faithful person who prays to him.
19 He fills the needs of those who fear him.
    He hears their cries for help and saves them.
20 Yahweh protects everyone who loves him,
    but he will destroy all wicked people.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh,
    and all living creatures will praise his holy name
        forever and ever.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

David’s Generational Psalm of Praise

A. The Psalmist David, speaking on our behalf, on behalf of all generations to come, makes a vow to bless the name of the LORD “forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1); “Every day” to bless Him; to praise His name “for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:2). This is the only Psalm in the book with the words “of praise” in its title.

A lone voice opens the Psalm:

“I” will extol thee; “I” will bless (Psalm 145:1); “I” will bless; “I” will praise (Psalm 145:2).

“I” will speak and declare (Psalm 145:5-6).

The singer refers to the LORD as “my God, O king” (Psalm 145:1), and speaks “of the glorious honour of thy majesty” (Psalm 145:5).

This song of repeated praise is addressed to no earthly king, but to One King whose kingdom ‘is an everlasting kingdom’ (Psalm 145:13).

It is wonderful when, in our alone times with God, in our study and our prayer times, in our worship times, in our fellowship times, meal times, husband and wife times, family times, camping under the stars, we become thus enamored with singing His praises: but what we’ll discover about God, what we discover God to be, is not only for our alone times, but is also to be shared with others.

This is the role of ours and heavens testimony. “Generations” shall praise and declare, one to another (Psalm 145:4). We must not only pray for our children, and children’s children, etc.; but must teach them the great works of God, and obediently pass on to them the mantle of praise down through the generations.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Names of God Bible

4 Listen, Israel: Yahweh is our Elohim. Yahweh is the only God. 5 Love Yahweh your  Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 Take to heart these words that I give you today. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. 8 Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The word ‘men’ is not in the Hebrew of Psalm 145:6a, but by the next verse there is a reference to a plurality of persons – “they” – who shall utter and sing (Psalm 145:7).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/6/t_conc_623006

Let the congregation of the Lord’s people, join in the praises of our great God!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/7/t_conc_623007

The reasons for praise are based in the Person, the virtues, and the works of the LORD. He is my God and King (Psalm 145:1; cf. Revelation 19:16).

When we “bless” the LORD (Psalm 145:2) we add nothing to Him, but He shelters us with His Presence (Psalm 145:18; Revelation 7:15).

The “great” LORD, whose “greatness is unsearchable” is still “greatly to be praised” (Psalm 145:3; cf. Job 5:9; Romans 11:33).

We must adopt the attitude: I will praise Him, no matter what (Philippians 4:4)!

His “works” of Creation and Providence are matched by His “mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4; cf. Exodus 12:26-27 and the miracles of Jesus).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/4/t_conc_623004

The “glorious honor” of His majesty is shown forth in His “wondrous works” (Psalm 145:5; cf. Creation story (Genesis 1,2) the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection of Jesus, His Ascension, His intercession at the right hand of God, His Coming in Glory; also, the day of Pentecost the shedding abroad of the Holy Spirit).

“The LORD is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy” (Psalm 145:8).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/9/t_conc_623008

This is similar to the self-revelation of the LORD unto Moses (cf. Exodus 34:6).

It is an integral part of Israel’s understanding of their God (cf. Numbers 14:18;  Nehemiah 9:17; Jonah 4:2).

The last Hebrew word in Psalm 145:8, ‘hesed,’ speaks of covenant love, God not dealing with us as we deserve, but dealing with us as we are in Christ Jesus.

The long-suffering of God is the last thread of hope for a perishing generation (cf. 2 Peter 3:9).

We encounter a word which is translated “all” or “every” seventeen times throughout this Psalm.

There is a sense of inclusiveness here, but also the particularity of “each” (Psalm 145:9).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/9/t_conc_623009

To say that the LORD is good to “all” could be quite general: to say that His tender mercies, or compassion, are over “all” His works, or “all” that He has made, is more specific, much, much deeper in its “heart-soul” implications.

We read in the New Testament about the whole Creation groaning (cf. Romans 8:22), eagerly awaiting the revelation of the children of God (cf. Romans 8:19).

Not only so, but those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit (Christians) are also groaning within ourselves as we await the redemption of the body (cf. Romans 8:23). Even the sufferings of the present time become more endurable when we consider the glory of our Savior God yet to be revealed in us (cf. Romans 8:18).

This psalm shows us the other side of that coin.

All of Creation shall praise the LORD, all His faithful shall bless Him (Psalm 145:10). This “all” is comprehensive, it is extensive, but it also comes down to the level of the ‘each’ as well as the ‘every’ on the uniquely individual level.

As David says in Psalm 103:1, ‘Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy Name!’

Psalm 103:1-5 Names of God Bible

Psalm 103

By David.

1 Praise Yahweh, my soul!
    Praise his holy name, all that is within me.
2 Praise Yahweh, my soul,
    and never forget all the good he has done:
3         He is the one who forgives all your sins,
            the one who heals all your diseases,
4             the one who rescues your life from the pit,
            the one who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5             the one who fills your life with blessings
                so that you become young again like an eagle.

As well as praise, there is conversation (Psalm 145:11).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/11/t_conc_623011

The Creation speaks forth God’s glory (Psalm 19:1).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/19/1/t_conc_497001

It is also the case that those who are His saints, His faithful, do speak to one another the Word of God (cf. Malachi 3:16; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

Sharing our testimony is part and parcel of the Christian life.

Sharing heaven’s testimony is part and parcel of the Christian witness.

Psalm 29 Names of God Bible

Psalm 29

A psalm by David.

1 Give to Yahweh, you heavenly beings.
    Give to Yahweh glory and power.
2 Give to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.
    Worship Yahweh in his holy splendor.

3 The voice of Yahweh rolls over the water.
    The El of glory thunders.
        Yahweh shouts over raging water.
4 The voice of Yahweh is powerful.
    The voice of Yahweh is majestic.
5 The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars.
    Yahweh splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6         He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf
            and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of Yahweh strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of Yahweh makes the wilderness tremble.
    Yahweh makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.
9 The voice of Yahweh splits the oaks[a]
    and strips the trees of the forests bare.
        Everyone in his temple is saying, “Glory!”

10 Yahweh sat enthroned over the flood.
    Yahweh sits enthroned as Melek forever.
11 Yahweh will give power to his people.
    Yahweh will bless his people with peace.

This conversation is not only for the mutual encouragement, edification of those within the church (1 Thessalonians 5:11), but also for those who are outside the church.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1th/5/11/t_conc_1116011

“The sons of men” (Psalm 145:12) is also a comprehensive expression, meaning (as some translations have it) “all people”!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/12/t_conc_623012

Those who study Creation may well conclude that there is, after all, a God (and praise His Name, many have); but those who are exposed to genuine Christian conversation have an even better opportunity of discovering just Who He is!

There is also a comprehensiveness of God’s kingdom (Psalm 145:13).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/145/13/t_conc_623013

It is both eternal and extensive (cf. Psalm 72:17).

Psalm 72:17-19 Names of God Bible

17 May his name endure forever.
    May his name continue as long as the sun shines.
    May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.

18 Thank Yahweh Elohim, the Elohim of Israel,
    who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
    May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
    Amen and amen!

This is the same ‘kingdom of God’, or ‘kingdom of heaven’ about which Jesus speaks; and it belongs to Him, and all who are found in Him (cf. 2 Peter 1:11).

The LORD cares for the weak and vulnerable (Psalm 145:14).

He heard the cry of the children of Israel in their captivity and set His mind to deliver them (cf. Exodus 3:7-8).

Thereafter He taught His people to care for strangers, widows, and orphans – and the poor (cf. Exodus 22:21-23; Exodus 22:25).

This care is continued in the church (cf. Hebrews 13:2; James 1:27; Galatians 2:9-10).

The LORD cares for those of His own who may otherwise fall (cf. Psalm 73:1-2).

He works ‘all’ things together for good (cf. Romans 8:28), for the good of His ‘peculiar’ people (cf. 1 Peter 2:9).

Whether they know it or not, all flesh is dependent upon the LORD for their daily provision (Psalm 145:15).

Whether they will acknowledge it or not, no man can find sufficient sustenance without the LORD.

It is better therefore to seek Him first, knowing that He will add to us ‘all these things’ (Matthew 6:33).

If God provides for the birds of the air, how much more for you (Matthew 6:25-27). It is good, therefore, to acknowledge God’s hand in all these things, and to gratefully receive His bountiful provision (Psalm 145:16).

Our trust in the LORD is not based in our individual ability to believe, but in His perfections. He is righteous in all His ways: He is just. He is kind in all He does:

He is holy (Psalm 145:17).

It is good that we can view the LORD as a God who is not only transcendent, but also immanent.

He is present within His Creation.

He is “near” to all who call upon Him (Psalm 145:18).

We should, therefore, ‘Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near’ (Isaiah 55:6).

The one true God, God of all integrity (Deuteronomy 32:4; John 14:6; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 19:11) draws “nigh” unto all who call upon Him “in truth” with a matching integrity of heart (Psalm 145:18).

It is of the LORD’s mercy that He also hears our petitions (Psalm 145:19).

This is particularly addressed to “those who fear Him” – those who revere His Name.

We may not all presumptuously or blasphemously call out His Name at every approach of trouble: but when we nurture a relationship with him, He is there for us, always.

He grants our desires because our desires are consistent with His. He hears our cry because we are His people. He ‘saves to the uttermost’ all that come to God via Jesus Christ, who forever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

The LORD preserves all who love Him (Psalm 145:20). This is the other side of our own perseverance: ‘he who endures to the end shall be saved’ (Matthew 24:13). Yet we may not presume upon His grace: the God who is slow to anger (Psalm 145:8), is also the God who will punish the unrepentant (2 Peter 2:9).

The “each” and “every” of God’s 100x% comprehensive care find their final expression as the Psalmist speaks the praise of the LORD, and “all flesh” replies by “blessing” (speaking well of) His holy Name (Psalm 145:21). The groaning Creation (Romans 8:22) at last finds relief in the “for ever and ever.” Amen.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Names of God Bible

Psalm 19

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of El,
    and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
    One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
    without words,
    without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
    their message to the ends of the earth.
    He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
    Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6         It rises from one end of the heavens.
            It circles around to the other.
                Nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect.
    They renew the soul.
    The testimony of Yahweh is dependable.
    It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct.
    They make the heart rejoice.
    The command of Yahweh is radiant.
    It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure.
    It endures forever.
    The decisions of Yahweh are true.
    They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
    They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
    There is a great reward in following them.

12 Who can notice every mistake?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
    Do not let anyone gain control over me.
        Then I will be blameless,
            and I will be free from any great offense.

14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
    be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.

What is a go el in Hebrew?

: redeemer, reclaimant. especially : a next of kin upon whom according to ancient Hebrew custom devolved certain family rights and duties including the avenging of a murdered kin’s blood and the redemption of the person or the property of a relative in debt or helpless circumstances.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/