1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

14 Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

15 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

26 Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

In the first section, verses 1-3, the Psalmist thinks back about God’s past deliverances of Israel and acknowledges that those deliverances were indeed of God and not through their own strength. In the second section, verses 4-8, he acknowledges that he is even now trusting in God for deliverance, not in his own weapons or prowess. But in verses 9-16 he confesses that not only are they not experiencing deliverance, they are scorned and held in derision. He confesses his confusion and shame. Whatever true cause of this break, in verses 17-22 the psalmist feels it is not because of sin on their part; they have maintained their faith in God and not turned aside. And in the concluding verses he cries out in anguish to God for help.

What I love about this Psalm is that probably every Christian has felt this way at some point in time —  forsaken, forgotten by God. We know from other Scripture that God will not forsake us, and does not sleep, but it can sure feel that way when we are faced with the mystery of unanswered prayer.

Mary and Martha waited for several days for Christ to come and help Lazarus when he was sick, yet Jesus did not come until after Lazarus was dead and had been buried for days. The Israelites cried out to God for 400 years before He sent Moses to deliver them. Job was in anguish many days before God ministered to him and restored him. Sometimes God delays answering because of the exercise of faith that is needed. Sometimes, as in Mary and Martha’s case, He delays because there is a greater need and purpose involved than the one aspect they are concerned for. They wanted their brother restored to health: God wanted people to see His glory and see and trust in His power. Sometimes sin is the reason for unanswered prayer.

Whatever the reasons though, God wants us to grow in our faith and dependence on Him. We can encourage ourselves in His Word, in past history of His dealings in the lives of people in the Bible, in lives of people we know, and in our own lives. We acknowledge that we need His strength and deliverance, that our own can’t save us. We examine ourselves to make sure sin isn’t blocking God’s blessings. We cry out to Him in faith. And we wait for His perfect timing.

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:25-26

To read more thoughts on this Psalm or share your own, please visit Erica our hostess for Psalms Sundays, at Butterfly Kisses.

(Our Psalms Sunday hostess, Erica, is needing to put Psalms Sundays on hiatus for a while due to her schedule, but I wanted to go ahead and post this one since I had it ready a couple of weeks ago. I have enjoyed studying through the Psalms more than a usual read-through.)

Because of the length of Psalm 18, I am going to refer to the link to it here rather than copying the whole thing here. This Psalm appeared in II Samuel 22, a song David wrote “in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.”

I love the way this Psalm begins: “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” With a God like that — how can we help but trust in Him? The more we meditate on Him, His greatness, His character, His ability, I think that generates even more trust.

Verses 3-6 speak of David’s calling out to God in his distress; verses 7-19 tell of God’s answer. What a powerful, majestic God!

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.

We need to picture God coming to our aid in just the same way.

16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

In verses 20-24 David says that God rewarded him according to the cleanness of his hands — there was no unconfessed sin in his life that would hinder God’s deliverance.

These verse have been some of my favorites for years, especially the first one:

28 For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

31 For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.

As I read those, I can’t even think of any appropriate commentary — they are so expressive and beautiful.

Verse 34 says, “He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Ecclesiastes 3:8 speak of “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” When it is a time of war, if it is His will and your cause is His, He will give wisdom and strength for it. Verses 35 – 42 continue on in that theme of God giving him victory over his enemies. Verses 43-45 speak of God’s making David the head of nations and making foreigners submit to him as their new leader.

Verse 46: The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

The rest of the chapter gives acknowledgment and praise to God for His deliverance of David.

It is sometimes when we’re “backed into a corner” and there is no deliverance except from God that we see how truly powerful and able He is. We see just glimpses now of His majesty and power — I can’t imagine what it will be like to see Him one day in all His glory.

And these mere glimpses of Him are more than enough to inspire our confidence that He can take care of any problem His children have!

Psalm 17 (New King James Version)

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O LORD,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.

13 Arise, O LORD,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O LORD,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.

15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

The first few verses here are convicting to me. I can pray knowing that my cause is just and my prayer is sincere (v. 1), but the thought of God testing me and trying me and finding nothing to reprove (v. 3) seems almost impossible — it seems there is constantly something that needs to be corrected in my life.

We know from other Scripture that harboring sin in our hearts can block God’s answers to our prayers. ” If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Thankfully God shows us these things not just to get after us, but so we can get it taken care of and have a clean slate before Him. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9).

The last part of verse 3 reminds me that one step in keeping my mouth from transgressing is to “purpose” that, to determine it in my heart. I can still only resist it by the Lord’s grace. I might still slip up, but I will do so less.

By God’s Word we’re kept from the path of the destroyer (v. 4). By prayer we’re kept from slipping (v. 5). Verse 6-9 expand on that prayer, pleading for the Lord’s help, care, and protection from the enemies who are described in verses 9-12.

In v. 13 David asks God to confront and cast down the wicked “men of the world” (v. 14) who have set themselves against him and to deliver him. He comforts himself with the knowledge that some day he will behold the Lord’s face in righteousness.

We may not be hunted down by enemies in quite the same way David was (although we do need to remember that in some parts of the world Christians are still persecuted severely and we need to pray for them). But try to take any kind of stand for the Lord in your community, and you’ll face ridicule, misrepresentation, sometimes ostracism, sometimes falsehoods being told about you, not to mention just general negative reactions. It can be frightening to read letters to the editor full of vitriol against Christians, and I wonder where it will lead in the coming years. The ungodly in this day and time fight against us in different ways. Yet our recourse is the same as David’s: our care and defense is of the Lord. We search our hearts, consult God’s Word, pray, appeal to Him to show His lovingkindness, keep us as the apple of his eye, hide us in the shadow of His wings, confront and cast down the wicked, and deliver us.

Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.

You can see more mediations of this Psalm at the site of our hostess, Erica of Butterfly Kisses.

Psalm 16 (New King James Version)

A Michtam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.

5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16 is one of my favorites.

From his prayer for preservation and declaration of trust in the Lord in verse 1, David reminds himself that he has no goodness of his own to trust in or to base his appeal on. He declares his delight in the saints, those who follow God, and states by contrast that he will not follow after false gods. He knows enough of Israel’s history even at that point to know what happened when Israel forsook the one true God to follow false gods and the multiplied sorrows that followed them until they repented.

I love verses 5-6. It hearkens back to the time when Israel finally came to the promised land and every tribe received their inheritance, the “lot” that fell to each. Our inheritance, our lot, is the Lord Himself. Truly the lines fall fallen to us in pleasant places and we have, as the KJV puts it, a “goodly heritage.”

We can bless and thank the Lord for the counsel He gives us through His word and by directing our decisions as we pray. David often writes of meditating on God and His word at night. Many times in bed at night I’ve thought over a problem, prayed about it, and thought on God’s Word in relation to it. What better way to fall asleep — spending time quietly with Him without all the distractions of the day, committing our way to the Lord, and seeking His wisdom, resting in His care.

Verse 8, to me, seems to work in kind of a cycle: “I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” The way not to be moved off course is to set Him always before us. Therefore — because He is before us and will take care of us — our “hearts [are] glad, and our glory rejoices; our flesh also will rest in hope.” His care extends beyond the grave — some day He will resurrect us to a new body (though I know this is specifically talking about the coming Messiah whose flesh would not decay at all.)

I don’t have a “life verse” per se, but verse 11 would be one I would consider if I did. I put that verse on graduation cards because people are then seeking the “path of life” in which they should go at that time, but all of us need to follow along God’s path each step of the way. “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Amen! What a glorious statement! There is a sense in which we are in His presence all the time, but it’s a different thing to consciously abide in His presence. And when people don’t want to give up the world’s pleasures, I wish they would remember the last line of this Psalm, that at His right hand there are pleasures forever more — pure, holy pleasures, more wonderful than they could imagine.

Thanks again to Erica at Butterfly Kisses for beginning and hosting Psalms Sunday.

Psalm 15 (New King James Version)

A Psalm of David.

1 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

2 He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
3 He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

I think most of us would nod our heads in agreement at the rightness or wrongness of the things listed here, but there is one I want to highlight that we tend to gloss over. Verse 4 speaks of one who “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” That is a really rare characteristic these days. Usually if one promises to do something, then finds it is going to cost more time or money or commitment than he planned, he gets out of it as soon as possible, even if it means breaking a contract or leaving someone else hanging. Someone who promises to do something and keeps his promise even when it hurts displays a high level of integrity and character.

This list of characteristics of who may abide or dwell in the Lord’s house reminds me somewhat of a similar one in Revelation 21 where it says “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (verse 8 ) and “But there shall by no means enter it [the new Jerusalem] anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (verse 28).

It could almost make one despair, because all of us have faults and failures — sin — that would disqualify us.

Thank God for Psalm 130:4-5: “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

And for I John 1:7-9: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I was reading in II Samuel 22 in my devotions earlier this week a passage that parallels Psalm 18 which David wrote after having been delivered out of the hands of Saul and all his enemies. In Samuel this is recorded near the end of David’s life just after some giants in Gath (Goliath’s relatives?) are taken care of. So I don’t know if this Psalm was written earlier and just recorded at this point or if it was written and recorded near the end of David’s life: if the latter, it is remarkable that he can talk of his blamelessness and cleanness in verses 21-25 after the sins involving Bathsheba and Uriah. That’s just a testimony to the saving, cleansing grace of God.

I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. (Psalm 44:22).

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19).

Then, as we’re cleansed, we can seek His grace and His power to live as He wants us to every day.

See Butterfly Kisses to read more on this Psalm or to link to your own thoughts about it.

I am late with Psalm Sunday this week. We were busy til late Sunday evening, and I had fully planned to do this yesterday morning and just forgot, I guess because my Monday morning I usually already have it done.

Psalm 14

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.

5 There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.

6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.

7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
This is another of those Psalms that seems pretty straightforward — there is not much to say about it — it says it all! 🙂

Verse 1 did remind me of Romans 1:16-32, which traces the progression of people who “do not like to retain God in their knowledge” (v. 28) and are then “given over to a reprobate mind.” I used to think “reprobate” meant “really sinful” unto it was explained to me that it meant “unable to make sound judgment.” That explains some of the weird and unreasonable views and decisions in this day and age, I think. Sometimes I hear and read things that make me shake my head in wonder at the blindness. I think when people do not acknowledge God, as the first verse of this Psalm says, that opens them up to corruption, abominable works, and a lack of doing good.

Romans 1 also says,

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Man tends to glorify himself and his own “reasoning” powers these days. “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…” God showed evidence of Himself clearly, yet people refuse to see it, choosing rather to explain away God’s majestic and marvelous creation by contrived theories of evolution.

Is there no hope then? There is always hope until the Lord returns again. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three…” (I Cor. 13:13a). There is hope in the mercy of God, shown to all of us. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9). And there is hope in His Word: “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalm 119:130). May we faithfully share God’s Word, praying that it will give light to darkened hearts just as it did to ours.

More thoughts on this Psalm can be found at Butterfly Kisses.

Psalm 13

1 How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

In the midst of trouble, one of the first things people tend to think is that God has forgotten them or is angry with them. We know from other Scripture passages that there are many reasons for suffering and trouble and that God has promised not to forget or forsake His own. In Dr. Jim Berg’s book Changed Into His Image, he refers to “reasoning yourself back to reality” — taking your thoughts and feelings and applying Scripture, reminding yourself of what God has said, and depending on that instead of your feelings. David does that so often in the Psalms.

David is also completely honest with God. In the midst of feeling forgotten, he knows where to go: he cries out to his God for help. I am reminded of and old song Hale and Wilder used to sing that goes something like:

Where shall I run, Lord, when all around me
Sorrow and strife seem to be everywhere?
Have you not said that you would protect me?
Safe in your hand I will evermore be.
With such protection, none can alarm me
Though the storms of life almost kill.
Ever to this shelter I will be fleeing;
No other one can provide these for me.

I was struck by the faith evidenced in the last two verses. David trusts in God’s mercy and looks ahead to God’s deliverance: he says with certainty his heart “shall rejoice in God’s salvation.” And the last verse doesn’t seem to be saying that he will sing unto the Lord because God has in the past dealt bountifully with him, though that is always a good thing to do — and maybe he is doing that both to praise God and to encourage himself in the Lord’s coming deliverance. But it seems to me to be looking ahead with the eye of faith, trusting that God will deliver him out of the present trial and that he will then sing to Him because of His bountiful dealings with him. Either way, David always remembers to praise the Lord for His deliverance. He doesn’t just shoot up quick prayers for help and then go on about his business after the help comes: he remembers to thank and praise God, not out of duty, but with a heart overflowing with love and gratitude.

One exercise Dr. Berg mentions in one of his books (I forget which one — it’s either Changed Into His Image, which I mentioned above, or the video series Quieting a Noisy Soul) he recommends looking up the definitions to key words in a passage, even words we’re familiar with, to enrich our study of the passage. I didn’t do that with this whole passage, but I did look up the word “bountiful” at Dictionary.com. Some of the words used in the definition were “liberal, munificent, generous, ample, abundant.” Isn’t that just like the Lord? He doesn’t just barely answer prayer with the minimum requirements: He answers “exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20).

Thanks to Erica at Butterfly Kisses for beginning and hostessing Psalm Sundays. You can find more meditations on this Psalm there.

Psalm 12

To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp^. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

I love the contrast here between with “flattering lips” and “double heart” of the wicked and their tongue “that speaks proud things” with the pure words of the Lord. He doesn’t flatter with them; He tells the truth even when it hurts; there is nothing deceitful or “double-hearted” about them. They are pure in their meaning, their motive, and in their freedom from sin. We can trust Him to keep them.

My understanding of the process of refining silver is that it is melted, then all the “scum” or dross is scooped out. But God’s words in themselves are already purer than silver that has gone though that process seven times.

Once again David encourages himself in his God. Others fail, but He will never fail. Poor and needy, we cry out to Him, and He sets us in the safety we yearn for.

Thanks to Erica at Butterfly Kisses for hosting Psalms Sunday. You can see more thoughts on this Psalm or add your own there.