This morning I read Psalms 33-40.  The pictures and imagery and descriptions of the Lord and of this life are so vibrant, so emotional, so raw.  Here are just a few that jumped out at me…

David asks and states in Psalm 39…

[Psa 39:4 ESV] - “O Lord , make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
[Psa 39:5 ESV] - “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

We lose sight of this.  The other day I mentioned how amazing that I have been sustained by the Lord 13840 some odd days.  That is amazing.  Because we are fallen, we lose sight of our sustainer (or sustainor).  We get stuck in the rut of our routine and another day is just another day.  We don’t see that they are limited, but we do not know how many we have, how long they will last or when the last one will arrive.  It could be today for me.  All I know is that I have awoken and been given another day to seek the face of the Lord.  I do not know what today holds.  But God knows my life and my days. (read Psalm 139:16).

Another psalm of David, Psalm 40:4-5

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! - [Psalms 40:4 ESV]
You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. - [Psalms 40:5 ESV]

Is the Lord my trust? Sometimes.  I strive for it to be more of the time, but I often get distracted and lose sight of what my trust is.  Why? Because I take my eyes off of my Savior, I take my eyes off of His word.  I fail to steadfastly pursue Him and then I buy into the lie.  What is the Lie?  The verse says that those who do not trust in the Lord turn to the proud, that they go astray after a lie.  Again, what is the Lie?  Here are a few…

• that you too can be like God.
• that your way is a better way.
• that you should do what you want.
• that life is about you.
• that happiness and comfort is the measure for the merit of something.
• that money and the amount of it should determine your vocation.
• that material things will satisfy.
• that your security can be in things, or man or work or possessions.
• that the Lord is not good.
• that you are perfect and know all and more than anyone else, even God.

think about it, we long to be blessed by God. But God’s blessings do not always appear as we would like them to be, so we often buy into a lie and pursue it instead of God.  We attempt to find our peace, our satisfaction apart from God.  He is the only one that can fully satisfy as He shall always be, infinite, unchanging, faithful, just, righteous. All other things, ourselves, our spouses, our things, this world, these heavens, all will pass away, but He will remain and we shall be with Him, those whose faith is in Him, in Jesus, who has bought us with His own blood.

Don’t believe the lie. trust in the Lord and be saved.

The Lord is good. Some think this is not so. Others think nothing else. God’s word is the final say.

Psalm 31:19 -Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you.

This is very much like

Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The Lord is Good and He works things out for our goodness.  Notice that it is for those who believe, who take refuge in him, whom He calls.  Let us not be haughty in our standing with God, for we were also once in the dark, far from Him and by His grace alone we have been brought into the light.  It’s not us vs. them, for we were all of the same cloth, the only difference is His grace, and His grace came to you through someone preaching the word.  Who are we sharing the good news with. Do we also hope in the good news for others and not just ourselves?  Let us not hinder others from Christ.  May He work out good for all that He has called.  The beautiful thing is that we do not know who He has called, so let us not make our selves the gate.

I read Psalm 19-26 today.

Psalms are full of wisdom, emotion, rawness of life. I can’t sum up in a few moments the vast array of things covered in a few Psalms, not when a verse or two can be expounded upon at great length.  But there are highlights that grab you as you read.

19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

It is a common habit of mine to walk out the front door before bed, check that the garage door is closed and then spend several moments looking upward at the heavens. contemplating the stars, the vast empty space, the glory of God.  It brings perspective to life I think.

19:12-14 Who can discern his errors? (I believe that would be the servant’s errors, not God’s)
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.  Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

God alone discerns errors, sees our hearts, knows us fully.  He knows the faults we have that we do not see.  We are fallen and blind in many ways.  He is merciful to us in this.  Those who have His spirit are kept back from bold and arrogant sins.  David is asking to be kept from them and that by the spirit.  David asks interesting things that one should pay attention to… he asks to be declared innocent, he asks to be held back, restricted from sinning and he asks to be declared blameless and innocent of transgression.  If you read about David in Samuel 1&2, you see that he was not a perfect man, but a man who pursued God and fell into sin at times and also dealt with the consequences of his sin.  But he quickly confessed and repented when his hidden faults or presumptuous sins were made known.  He knew that he was faulty and he knew that he would be tempted again so he asked for protection and innocence in both.  He knew who to ask for that.  God.  And later, when you see him proclaiming his righteousness, you are prone to think, but he’s a sinner just like everyone else, which is true, but I believe, if you look closer, David was fully resting on God for his righteousness and innocence and knew that was the only hope and source for him, not a righteousness of his own.  That allowed him to continue on boldly and strongly rather than being ruined by the knowledge of his depravity.  He knew he was depraved and he knew the one to fix it.

David goes a step further in that he not only asks for protection, mercy, forgiveness and innocence regarding his sins, but he then goes and asks for acceptance in the things he thinks and says.  He doesn’t ask that God would accept his junk, he asks that God would sanctify the things he is thinking and saying and going to think and say, that they would be acceptable.  That’s a big prayer to a God who is all light and is no darkness at all, to ask that all your words and thoughts be acceptable.  That God would work in him to make it so. Do we think about that before we think or speak? I think life would be much better if I did that.  If I prayed that and trusted God to work in me to bring it about.  I spend a lot of time thinking how hopeless I am and not about how the only hope is in God.

God is David’s only hope.  David in most cases had no plan B.  In our lives, do we see God as our only hope?  I want that to be more and more my consistent belief and prayer, not just words out of my mouth, but true faith.

Hasta la próxima, Si Dios quiere
(until the next time, if God wants)
tom

reading psalms again this morning. yesterday I read 1-12 and this morning 13-18.  In Psalm 18:25-27 I find this truth to ponder…

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

thoughts…

For who can be those things truly? merciful, blameless or pure unless they have been made so by the Lord?  One finds it difficult to show mercy or blamelessness or purity unless they have seen it, unless they have understood it or experienced it outside of themselves.

And conversely, those who have not seen it or experienced it or understood it, they remain crooked and therefore the Lord appears tortuous, unlike what He really is, that they would not believe in Him. To the crooked He “seems” that way, but He is not.

What grace it is that one even sees the Lord as beautiful, or pure, or merciful or blameless.  It is a blessing to see dimly as we do, that He is these things and that we are not deceived by our own corruption and crookedness.

Hasta la próxima, Si Dios quiere
(until the next time, if God wants)
tom

Psalm 3:5

I lay down and slept;

I awoke again, for the Lord sustained me.

What greater truth is there. How we take this for granted. I am sustained for the Lord willed it to be so and if He continues, I am sustained and when He doesn’t, I will cease to exist. To date, He has sustained me 13840 consecutive days, give or take a few.

another thought… I require sleep. The Lord never sleeps (Psalm 121:4).

I only awake because He willed it.  I breathe because He willed it. I am amazed that I have not been snuffed out.  so much death and pain in this world and my thoughts and worries are so minimal compared to that which others face daily. How blessed I am and favored, but not because of me, but because of His grace. May I live such that I would not waste that which has been given me, that which has been bought at a great price.

Hasta la próxima, Si Dios quiere
(until the next time, if God wants)
TXB