Psalms 34 (Part IV)

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

Come to me and learn, I have a lesson to teach you if you are seeking God.  Check your attitude today.  Check your speech.  Check your actions.  Embrace peace. ... Notice that the first one is how you are and the other two is how you interact with others.  Start with getting your attitude right then be careful how you talk to others, follow that with good actions, then look for peace. 

We have all encountered at one time or another, that guy.  He's always upbeat.  He seems to wake up today even more excited than he was yesterday, which you thought couldn't possibly be done.  You doubt everything he says because you know that no one is really that way.  At some point reality will crash upon them and they'll be down where the rest of us are.  ...  Why are we like this?  I think we should truly examine ourselves and wonder why we aren't more upbeat and excited about the gift of a new day.  The first point in this lesson is about attitude.  Do you desire your life?  Do you love each day and look for the beauty in it?  Check your attitude.  Is there a problem God can't overcome in your life today?  Really?  We should wake up in full faith, knowing our God is encamped around us, our enemies turn upon hearing His name, He will deliver us, He is for us and will not forsake us.  WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE, HOW CAN WE NOT WAKE UP SEEING A GREAT DAY TO LIVE AND BE WATCHFUL FOR THE BEAUTY OF GOD'S HANDIWORK?

What are we saying to those around us?  Is it pleasant, kind, uplifting, courteous, and loving?  There are many verses on the dangers of our speech in James.  Romans 14:19 says, "Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another."  1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another".  As nice as it is to be around pleasant and nice conversation, let me interject some testosterone into it.  Frankly, I think I'd just pass out from nausea from too much of that playing nice.  When its sincere and done from a heart overflowing with love, we recognize it and we accept it and it makes us better.  Otherwise, it's just repulsive.  But my real interjection is I'd rather be in constant righteous conversation where there is a continual weigh on the words in how each of us is lifting, pushing, considering how to help each other grow, move, think closer to God and how our actions might be modified, altered, encouraged in how they represent the character of God.  Sometimes this is not pleasant, but it is uplifting and loving.  Certainly it's more fulfilling.  So, check your speech.

With a right attitude and good speech, we can turn from sin and do good.  If what's inside is good, and what is coming out is good, then our bodies can do good.  Jesus told the Pharisees this very thing in Matthew 23:25-26, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."  And Jesus also said in Mark 7:14-15, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man."  Note that He was speaking regarding food only as a thing that enters and doesn't defile.  He explained further in verses 21-23, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."    These evil things all come out in speech or action.  How do we not do these things?  We get our attitude right first.  Then our speech.  then we can check our actions.

But isn't this the exact opposite of how we teach those who want to come to God?  And isn't this why so many see religion as a "Don't do" list and not as a relationship with God.  We look at their life and it's easy to say don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't cuss, don't yell, be calm, don't hate, etc.  But what we should be saying is do you pray, do you read, let's pray together, let's read together, what does God say about that, etc.  The inside of a person should be our first and only concern because the outside will never be right until the inside is right.

So many people today look at their marriages and wonder if they married the right person.  The right question is, "Am I the right person?"  When God has our insides and makes us a whole person again, as He intended when He created us, then our speech is right and our actions are right.  That is when peace comes.  This is what we should be seeking.  And when it comes, it is important to embrace it and live in it.  Jesus said, "My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  

Live in full faith.  Let God have all of you; let Him rule.  His peace will come.

Psalms 34 (Part III)

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

(v8) When the young Jewish children start school, they are given a special lesson on the very first day.  On their desk is the Jewish Bible.  On top of God's Word is a small candy made of honey.  They are taught on the first day that God's Word is always sweet and good.  It never changes and remains sweet and good.  With that lesson, each child picks up the candy and eats it to remind them that God's Word is sweet and good. 

I have always thought that this was an awesome way to teach our children how to think and treasure God's Word.  And further, it is something that I should remind myself every time I eat something sweet.  If we come upon a time when God's Word isn't this way per our perception, then we can be assured something is wrong inside of us. 

David says, "taste and see that the Lord is good."  Try Him and find out!  Blessed are you when you try Him and trust in Him.

(v9) In God is all our satisfaction.  Taste and see that the Lord is good and be filled!  For those wise people who fear Him have no wants.  David writes this again in Psalms 23, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."  When our faith is right and we are getting stronger in it, we know the Lord takes perfect care of us in our circumstance, no matter what we might see with our physical eyes.  We know that no matter what great or small (I would debate that there are no small calls) call or purpose we might have at that moment, in that situation, He will deliver us.  We know our enemies, even Satan himself, can't harm us without our Father's allowance which will be for His will's purpose. 

If God's thoughts are greater than our thoughts, His ways greater than our ways, and so it is not possible for us to know it, then how can we want?  In truth, we know not how or what to ask for even regarding our own growth towards Him.  Paul wrote in Romans 8:26 this very thing saying that "we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." 

The next question is, how can we want for anything if we are filled with God?  Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  Lecrae sings an awesome song entitled, God Is Enough.  God is enough.  How can we possibly think some part of His creation is necessary apart from Him?  Be filled with God, then let God direct our wants.

(v10) The Message Bible interprets as, "Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but God-seekers are full of God."  "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  "Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."  There is a direct connection here to our faith.  I believe all roads lead to faith.  

If we truly trust the Lord and fear Him as the only living God: What shall we want for?  How shall we not be filled?  He delivers us, He protects us, our enemies turn upon hearing His name, He is for us, He shall never forsake us.  I want what He wants for me.  I want more of God so I might become a whole person.  I want more faith.

Psalms 34 (Part II)

4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

In Psalms 56 David wrote twice, "In God I trust and am not afraid."  He learned that when he felt fear he needed to turn to God and be sure that his faith in God was secure.  Then he stated it boldly and confidently and followed that transition of fear to faith to praise to God for answering his prayer and being his fortress, his safe haven.

Here, David is testifying to those times.  Again, referring back to Psalms 56:9, "On the day when I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back, of this I have knowledge, for God is with me."  compare to "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."  He can proclaim to others that when he looked to God, called His name, cried out to Him, God heard him and delivered him. 

Can you testify the same?  Can you boldly proclaim that when you called upon the Lord, He heard you, and delivered you from all your fears?  If you cannot, then you are not living in faith.

⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

This is testifying about the others who also look to God for help.  The people around David who looked to God were radiant and there were not ashamed of crying out to God to deliver them.  Why exactly would David write this?  I can only consider that then, as now, everyone who doesn't call out to God sees those who do as weak.  Because of this and our need to feel accepted by others, we sometimes are less than boastful about our Christianity, I believe that Jesus describes this condition as "lukewarm" in Revelation.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes" (Ro 1:16).  The movie, God is Not Dead, has this verse as a central point.  David echoes this here by saying, we called upon the Lord and He answered, He delivered us, and we are radiant with joy, exploding with praise and not ashamed that we depend upon our God.

It is debatable whether he is referring to himself with the description of "poor man" or to another.  Most text seem to think he is referring to himself.  David, the leader, humbles himself and describes himself as a poor man who cried out and the Lord heard him, and further, saved him out of all his troubles.  Again, is this your testimony Christian?  Or do you look back at all you have done?

Verse 7 is one of my favorites.  I love word pictures.  That's the way I think, in word pictures, so this is something I can grab and hold onto, envision, and take home to myself.  The Lord doesn't just save us from all our troubles, but he sends an angel to encamp around us while we fear Him, and delivers us from our enemies.  What's my role here?  To fear Him - to acknowledge that He is the only living God, that He loves me and is for me, that His answer is the only right answer, His protection is the only real protection, and His delivery from my enemies is the only safe delivery. 

When Satan approached God in heaven in the book of Job, his reply to God after God asked him to consider Job was that God protected Job.  How did he know that?  My guess is that Satan had run into that angel that encamped Job's household many times.  I pray that I might stay fearful of God, constantly in awe of Him, and always acknowledging every day, not just in times of trouble, that if God doesn't do something I'm not going to make it, so that I can rest knowing that we are encamped by God's protection and He will deliver us from our enemies.

Psalms 34 (Part I)

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

I first read this Psalms in the NIV and it seems to alter the meaning of the verses in a way I do not like.  This is the NKJV and I think this more closely reflects the verse intentions.  For instance, in verse 2 the NIV says "let the afflicted hear" whereas the NKJV says "the humble shall hear".  These two interpretations have different meanings to me.  There is a difference in the way I perceive the words afflicted and humble.  In addition, saying let the afflicted hear is like saying we, of a higher class, shall allow those poor down trodden to also hear of our great God.  This is offensive to me.  Whereas, saying the humble shall hear, tells me that humble men shall hear.  It's not that they won't hear.  And humble men can be of any class of person.  This reflects my perception of my God. 

Back to the actual verses.  (v1,2) Do I bless the Lord at all times?  Is praising Him continually on my lips?  Of what do I boast?  Is my heart so full of praise that my only boasting is of how great my God is?  If not, why not?  It is imperative to me to release my worry, release my burden, and let the joy of the Lord flow from my heart into my being, into all others around me, and into my day (that the Lord has provided).  When I let this happen, the humble, those who also love the Lord, will hear my praises and be glad - they too will also rejoice!  For we are all humble before our God.  

(v3) David prays, that everyone will magnify the Lord with him so we can all exalt, lift up, worship, and praise His name together.  I hope we all pray this same prayer as well.

As a side note of trivia, the Jewish Bible has the word Sh'mo there in verse 3.  It is in the place that translates "His name".  As I wondered what that might mean as a possible alternate name of God that might be significant to the verse, I Googled it for a meaning.  The word shmo means dull, boring, dumb in a traditional dictionary.  I then had to wonder, has Satan purposely found a way to alter the meaning of a Hebrew or Yiddish word meaning His name to meaning dull, dumb?  Wouldn't surprise me.  So every time someone makes fun of another using that word, they are essentially saying that a reference to His name is a dull dumb person.  Sounds about right in what Satan would want and in how our culture pushes to consider Christians.

Psalms 56 (Part III)

¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise—
¹¹ in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can man do to me?

"On the day when I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back, of this I have knowledge, for God is for me."  I know this because You, my God, have told this to me.  It is written and You have made it known in my heart.  Because of this, "In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise."  I praise Your Word because Your Word says You are for me and I know when You enter my life, my enemies turn back.  Who can stand before the Lord?  This is a re-write of verses 3 and 4.

"In God I trust and am not afraid."  I think it would do me well to reassure myself every morning with these words.  It is important to have these words near our lips during the day so we can be assured immediately when that unknown pressure or event threatens.  "In God I trust and am not afraid."  This is standing before Satan and hell and declaring your faith.  This is standing at the foot of God and declaring that you are His. 

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. ... On the day when I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back, of this I have knowledge, for God is for me. ...  In God, whose word I praise -  in God I trust and am not afraid.  What can mere mortals (man) do to me?"

This is great spiritual logic.  Sometimes faith seems so opposite of logical, but here it is very deductive.  Let's follow it.  I'm weary from battle and afraid.  I shouldn't be afraid.  So, I put my complete trust in my all knowing, all seeing, all powerful God.  I know that when I cast my cares upon Him trusting upon Him and Him alone that my enemies will turn away because they too know who my God is and that He is for me, lest they should have to battle against Him.  I praise His Words that declare His love for me.  I trust in God and am not afraid.  Because He is for me, what can a man do to me?

¹² I am under vows to You, my God;
    I will present my thank offerings to You.
¹³ For you have delivered me from death
    and my feet from stumbling,
    that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

I declare my life as a son to my God, thanking Him for being my Lord.  He delivers me from Satan and hell.  The Jewish Bible states the next sentence as, "Will not You deliver my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" It is a prayer to the Lord asking Him to help David with the daily walk so he might be righteous before God. 

So many years before Jesus, and David writes on a level of understanding that Jesus so often taught.  "Do not worry about tomorrow ... each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34); "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12); "The one who believes in Me will live" (John 11:25); "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness." (John 12:46).  When I think of light as it is used in the Bible, I think of Jesus and his many references, not David.  Yet, David clearly was writing in the mind that the only life comes from God and it is as a light in a dark world.

I am so thankful, as David was, to be delivered from death.  I pray that the Lord will keep my feet from stumbling so I might not only kneel before Him proclaiming His Lordship, but walk before Him as His son.

Psalms 56 (Part II)

⁵ All day long they twist my words;
    all their schemes are for my ruin.
⁶ They conspire, they lurk,
    they watch my steps,
    hoping to take my life.
⁷ Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;
    in Your anger, God, bring the nations down.

The enemies take his words and say them in ways that are not his intended meanings.  Satan did the same with Jesus while tempting Him.  He misquoted God's Words by the slightest bit so as to alter God's intentions. He also did the same to Adam and Eve while tempting them.  "Did God really say ..." he teases as he spreads confusion.  Today we could easily quote Satan as saying "Surely God doesn't want you to not be happy!  You deserve to be happy and God wants you to be happy!  If He loves you and wants you to be happy, then you should do (write in that thing that opposes God's Word)."  Misquotes and missed intentions leading to confusion and the death of saint influences and the saints themselves.  This is the goal of hell itself. 

Much like how Psalms 59 is written, the enemies here are described as being on a constant watch and wait to catch David open to an attack so he might be killed at the first opportunity.  David prays for his enemies to be consumed by their wickedness that they do not escape and that God brings not just them down but their whole wicked kind (nation).

⁸ Record my misery;
    list my tears on Your scroll—
    are they not in Your record?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    when I call for help.
    By this I will know that God is for me.

I believe David is saying to God, "You know what has happened.  You have seen my heartbreak and dread of these attacks.  You have watched my fight."  It is as if he is calling upon God to review the record and know that he has fought on the side of God doing the right things.  He is calling upon God to know the pain he has suffered and the extent of himself he has given to this fight.  "God look upon my suffering and what has been done."  The only thing missing is a request for mercy - oh wait, that's in the first verse, "be merciful to me".

Verse 9 is the most important verse to me.  I do not like how The Message Bible interprets it.  It says, "If my enemies run away, turn tail when I yell at them, then I'll know that God is on my side."  I think this is very opposite the intention of David's writing and heart.  Is David presenting a Gideon type of fleece here to God?  He will only know that God is with him if he yells at the enemy and they run?  This does not represent David's method in any other writing, at least to me. 

I read this in a different context and timeline.  First, David calls out to God for help and then his enemies turn back.  The Jewish Bible presents this as "On the day when I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back."  Isn't this the way our life actually works?  How many times have I experienced this?  God is simply waiting on me to get my life back into order (again) and call out to Him as my only refuge, my only safety, THEN HE starts working everything out for me.  I have to put my faith out front.  I must live by faith first.

This Jewish text continues, "of this I have knowledge, for God is for me."  When I cry unto God, then my enemies turn away; I know this from God's Word that God is for me.  The Jewish word for knowledge there is a reference to the knowledge of the Torah.  This is an important distinction to make here in this text.  We do not know this fact of God's response because of our experience first, but because God says He hears our cry and is for us.  This is the way it should be.  Unfortunately for me, experience has to often teach me.  But, casting that aside, the most important aspect to accept here is that "God is for me" and I know it.  I believe it.  And "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom 8:31) 

Psalms 56 (Part I)

David is once again in battle, but this is ultimately only because Saul pursues him and doesn't allow him to settle into his homeland.  Later, when he is king, it is because of the blood of his hands that he isn't allowed by God to build the Temple, even though, perhaps no one honored God more than David describes in his writings.  There was definitely a special relationship between the Lord and David.  David's heart obviously ponders and dwells upon the Lord.  I wonder if David would have been able to write so thankfully, so humbly, so confidently, about God if he hadn't been through so many trials and so many battles.

¹ Be merciful to me, my God,
    for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
    all day long they press their attack.
² My adversaries pursue me all day long;
    in their pride many are attacking me.

The enemy is in pursuit.  They are at your heels.  You have fought and fought and fled but they stay behind and do not stop.  When will this stop?  You are tired, weary.  The battle is long and there is no end.  "Be merciful to me, my God."  My God, I am pursued.  I am fighting.  I keep Your precepts; I follow Your instruction; yet the enemy is chasing me down.  "Be merciful to me, my God."

I don't anyone who does not know how this feels.  Everyone can relate to this idea, this event of being stressed and beaten down by a pursuing enemy.  The enemy might be the rat race of success, parenting, leading, dullness of everyday duties, alcohol or other temptations, or just plain laziness. 

Why do these enemies attack us?  "In their pride".  Why did Satan leave the presence of God?  In his pride he believed that he was greater than God is.  And so, our enemies attack because they believe they can defeat you and they are greater than your faith is.  Unfortunately, they are sometimes correct.  They can defeat us unless we have faith that depends upon God and God alone to protect our hearts first, then our actions.  Our faith must know, not think, but know that God does and will always hear our call and answer it.  Our faith must know, not think or hope so, but be confident that God will protect our essence and everything that happens is at His direction.

³ When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise—
    in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?

David wasn't always afraid.  But here he admits honestly before the Lord that he is afraid.  Do you ever admit your fears to God?  Can you be honest to God?  We should all pray and talk to God plainly, hiding nothing, especially our fears since that is where our faith is lacking. 

David follows this admission of fear to say that when he puts his trust in God, he is no longer afraid.  That is an important admission of faith.  In the same conversation, David has moved from his own declared fears to a transference into faith.  The fears disappear as long as he trusts in God.  Further, when we trust in God, we no longer fear any man.  For what can a man do to me who is in the care of God?

Take a moment and allow your thoughts to carry you into this place.  What can men do to me while in the care of God?  When I trust God completely I have no fear.  What can men do to me while in the care of God? ... This is where we should always reside.  Our faith should have this as a cornerstone.

Psalms 59 (Part V)

¹⁴ They return at evening,
    snarling like dogs,
    and prowl about the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food
    and howl if not satisfied.
¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength,
    in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
    my refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁷ You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
    you, God, are my fortress,
    my God on whom I can rely.

David contrasts his enemies and himself.  One is demanding, gritting his teeth, looking for a way to kill like a pack of wild dogs.  The other is singing about the strength of God and how much He loves.  This contrast is striking.  To be singing, praising God in the morning while in the face of an evil enemy outside your door is a testimony of faith. 

He sings because God is His safety and defense and cares for and covers him in times of attack.  I get the idea that he is residing into the care of His Lord.  He is depending upon the Lord and the Lord alone for an escape.  This one thing, this one aspect of relationship with our glorious God, is what makes us strong.  No matter how weak we are here, when we realize and accept that our strength can only come from God and only God can deliver us, defend us, decide for us what is our best today and tomorrow, we gain strength. 

When we put the fight in the Lord's hand, that's when the real fight begins.  David knew this from his experience with Goliath.  "The battle is the Lord's" he declared.  And so we must also.

Psalms 59 (Part IV)

11 
11 But do not kill them, Lord our shield,
        or my people will forget.
        In your might uproot them
        and bring them down.
12 For the sins of their mouths,
        for the words of their lips,
        let them be caught in their pride.
        For the curses and lies they utter,
13 consume them in your wrath,
        consume them till they are no more.
        Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
        that God rules over Jacob.

David calls these men waiting to kill him his enemies, evildoers, fierce men, they wander like dogs snarling conspiring against him, and they spew sharp words. 

Yet here, David asks the Lord in the confidence that God will most definitely protect him and go before him to not kill them.  Instead, he wants the people to see these men fall for being the kind of men that they are.  Let their own lack of fear for God, their own immorality, their own actions entangle them and cause them to strangle.  Then everyone will see what causes the downfall of man and their need to listen to God and follow Him.  David doesn't ask for a quick kill and speedy death for these enemies and evildoers.  He asks for Gods wrath to fall on them in a steady beat to their own evil actions so that they'll not just be consumed physically, but in every way so that they exist no more.  Why?  So the people will see and remember that there is a God that rules their land.

I find these thoughts striking.  For one, he is so absolute confident in God's resources and action on his behalf that whether God will destroy these men is no longer a question at all.  And second, he wants them to fall in a way that is complete and teaches the people to trust in God and His ways and know that any other way leads to destruction.  Truly this is the heart of God.  Complete trust in Him and pursuing only His will in everyone.

Do I pray for my enemies?  If so, I should pray for them to find God or to be utterly destroyed by their own wickedness so others will find God.  While I find praying for enemies the hardest possible thing on earth, somehow this thought or type of praying seems better.  David prayed for his enemies, but he wanted them to be used for the righteousness of others and for their evil actions to consume them so everyone would know there is a God. 

Psalms 59 (Part III)

⁹ You are my strength, I watch for You;
    You, God, are my fortress,
¹⁰ my God on Whom I can rely.

    God will go before me
    and will let me gloat over those who slander me.

When I read this, I get the sense that time has passed between verses 1 - 8 and these verses, but they are written together.  David is exposing the greatest of praying truths that Jesus spoke to while teaching.  ²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Hebrew 11:22-24

Wow.  When we pray, we should KNOW that the things we need to do the will of our heavenly Father have already been given to us.  The only thing we need more of is faith.  "Have faith in God."  These verses are striking to me because they do not disseminate for what we ought to pray.  It does not say that only if you pray for this or that will it be done.  The assumption I see is that if you have faith in God and are therefore close to Him you would only pray for those things that you know are in His will, but that is an assumption not stated in these verse.  It simply says that if you ask with no doubt, it will happen.  But if you have the slightest doubt, even as much as a mustard seed, don't count on it.

David exhibits this type of prayer here.  He prays about what his situation is then he says confidently, "You are my strength" and "You are my fortress".  He says confidently "I watch for You" knowing that God WILL intervene.  "God WILL go before me", there is no doubt in that statement.  And then the pinnacle of trust in His Lord he declares, before it has happened, "God ... will let me gloat over those who slander me."  He speaks as though it has already happened or as if it is definitely going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

How do you pray today?  What doubts continue to creep into your thoughts and prayers?  Work to keep them away.  Reaffirm to yourself all that God has done for you, how much He loves you, that He listens to you, that He is on your side  and for you, that He will never forsake you.  Know these things, then pray confidently, reaffirming your confidence in God between each request.  We must learn to trust God, to increase our faith in His deliverance, to increase our faith in His Word.  If we do not doubt in our hearts but believe that what we ask will happen, it will be done for us.

Psalms 59 (Part II)

⁵ You, Lord God Almighty,
    You who are the God of Israel,
    rouse Yourself to punish all the nations;
    show no mercy to wicked traitors.

⁶ They return at evening,
    snarling like dogs,
    and prowl about the city.

David sees men waiting to kill him at all times of the day and night.  Likewise, the wicked one sits outside my door and waits for the time to strike me.  He looks for any crack, any weakness.  And my cry must be for God to awaken and not to sleep on my plight.  But I find even asking in boldness, as David cries out here, is so very difficult for me.  How can I speak to God to awaken or be aware of those who seek to destroy me?  Of course He knows, I reason to myself, He'll deal with them if He wants.  But David does more than that with his conversation.  David is like the kid pulling on the pants leg of a father, he just keeps on trying to call the father's attention to him, the father continues working, but he keeps pulling on that leg, "Daaaddd!"   Soon, the father pays attention to him.  Is the child in error for wanting his father's attention?  Of course not.  And, of course the father will do as he wants.  David spoke to God plainly.  Something I need to be willing to do as well.

⁷ See what they spew from their mouths—
    the words from their lips are sharp as swords,
    and they think, “Who can hear us?”

So often I am appalled at what I hear on radio or TV.  We can't believe what people are willing to say or do nowadays with absolutely no shame, but even more repulsively, they do these things with pride!  They think, who can hear us, because they do not know or they do know and choose not to believe that there is a God.  And if they convince themselves that there is no God, offending Christians becomes a sport.

⁸ But you laugh at them, Lord;
    you scoff at all those nations.

Who is man that he can threaten God?  In Psalms 8 David asks God, "What is man that You are mindful of him?"  God does not fear man, in fact, God does not fear.  Likewise, perfect love has no fear.  Why then does man speak as if to threaten God?  Only to hope to convince himself that there is no God.  The person who curses God or God's children is the most fearful person, living dead in their sins with no hope for a chance out.

I do not read this verse with the idea that God laughs or mocks even His evil children.  I believe God wants and is willing up until their last breath to offer them salvation.  I read this in the context that God has absolutely no concern regarding the threatening words of man.  They are empty; they have no power; they have no weight.

Psalms 59 (Part I)

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
    be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
² Deliver me from evildoers
    and save me from those who are after my blood.

David wrote this while Saul had sent men to watch his house and look for a time to kill him (1 Samuel 19). 

³ See how they lie in wait for me!
    Fierce men conspire against me
    for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
⁴ I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
    Arise to help me; look on my plight!

Today, in America, this isn't necessarily the situation in relation to other men.  Very few of us have people waiting outside our homes to kill us.  But this is very much the way it is in relation to our enemy, Satan, who "lies in wait" conspiring against us.  He attacks us every and any where he can find a way.  He is ready at all times and he is after our blood, our life.  He desperately wants to take everything from you, materially, physically, mentally, and especially spiritually.  The sin binds our hands, then Satan blinds us.  His goal is your ruination.  And in so doing he wants, more than anything, his single most desire, the thing that drives his passion and his pursuit, is for you to not have faith in the living Lord.

Our faith begins with a cry to our God, "Deliver me from my enemies, O God!!"  Through this cry we shout that only God can protect us; all of our faith is in Him and Him alone.  We are in the battle of fear vs faith.  We want to know that our God will deliver us but we also can feel the attack in our bodies and the doubts in our thoughts.  So we cry out desperately to stand on faith asking God to be true to His Word that He is always for us and will not forsake us, no matter how everything around us looks and what everyone around is saying.  We choose to believe and to say "I will put all of myself into my Lord's hand that He may do what He wills to do."

Our God is faithful.

Psalms 8 (Part II)

³ When I consider Your heavens,
    the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which You have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that You are mindful of them,
    the son of man that You visit him?

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of Your hands;
    You put everything under their feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

I have talked to many people who have had those moments when looking at the awesomeness of God's creation.  Several were sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon and said the view was so awesome and they felt so small by comparison.  And it was there that they realized how vast the Lord our God is and grand is His creation - "what is mankind that ... You visit him?".  I am blessed to say I've had several of these quiet, peaceful times sitting in a special place of creation.  One such place was Eagle Rock on the Appalachian Trail early one morning.  I shared this time with my good friend, Justin. 

Last night there was a unique lunar eclipse and although the moon, earth, and sun were in a straight 180 degree line, due to the atmosphere bending light rays, it was possible if you were at the right place on the earth to see the sun rise and moon set.  The moon also turned a rust color, but they called it "blood red".  I find that amazing.  The work of God's hand in creation is overwhelming.

Just as impressive for me is sitting on my front porch swinging with my wife on these cooler beautiful fall mornings.  As impressive as God's creation is, nothing is grander than to be close to her and be in absolute awe of God's forgiveness, extended grace and love when He blesses me to have a single minute with her.  Something I certainly don't deserve. 

Who are we that God is mindful of us?  That we should be given the glory of creation as tools for our benefit and enjoyment, that we are allowed domination over animals and plants to use for sustenance, that we are blessed in obedience and forgiven in disobedience?  Who are we?  ...  We are God's children, the glory of His creation with a breath of life that comes intentionally from Him alone.  We are the object of His intense and everlasting love.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Oh how majestic is His name indeed!!!

Psalms 8 (Part I)

¹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

You have set Your glory
    in the heavens.

Are there times when you don't think the name of the Lord is majestic?  I have certainly had those times.  Was it because the Lord wasn't majestic?  No.  It was because I was covered in sin.  Did I know the Lord ruled all His creation?  Yes.  Did I know that nothing can be done apart from Him?  Yes.  Did I know that Jesus came and bore my sin on His cross?  Yes.  But I still avoided my God and Savoir.  Anytime we find ourselves with a lack of reverence for the glory of our Lord, we need to take the time to look inside and discover what's wrong with us.

² Through the praise of children and infants
    You have established a stronghold against Your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.

I've struggled with this verse.  How would the praise of children and infants establish a stronghold against enemies and silence them?  In Matthew 21:14-16, just after Jesus cleared out the Temple is this story. 

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”

But the leaders were indignant. ¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures?  For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give You praise.’”

Here is a direct reference and example of this verse.  The praise of the children, who saw Jesus as He is and accepted Him (ref Matt 19:14) and shouted praise to God burned the religious teacher's ears.  The children didn't see someone who had just turned over tables and run people out of the Temple, they didn't see someone doing work (miracles) in the Temple, they didn't see someone who wasn't more than man.  The children didn't see these and shouted praise to God, the religious did see these things and were offended.  God was at their doorstep and they only thought of themselves.

As you follow this story, it isn't until the children are shouting praises that the religious get offended.  But what can they do against children?  Here Jesus is healing all who come and the children are singing praises, how can they say that He isn't God?  Can they heal?  No.  So, they are silenced and cannot rebuke the children. 

I believe that this verse was written to show again how Jesus fulfilled the Law.  I also believe it is a reminder to us to constantly be looking for His miracles and perfect work, then to be as the children, shouting praise to Him for being our God.  We do not want to see His work and be critical and offended thereby making ourselves an enemy to God.  But when we do see His work and shout praises, God establishes a stronghold against His and our enemies and He silences them.

Psalms

While I have been wanting to go through each book of Psalms, when I got to chapter 5 I realized that they weren't in chronological order and it didn't make sense to me, especially when reading the ones that David wrote. So, I've decided to try to find the chronological order of the Psalms that David wrote and review those.

In case you're like me and have always wondered what the heck the word Psalms means or how it relates to these writings: The Hebrew designation of Psalms is Tehillim, meaning "praises," a term that reflects much of the book's content. The book's name in Latin and English Bibles, however, comes from the Greek, Psalmoi, which means "twanging [of harp strings]," indicating that many are songs sung to the accompaniment of harps. This can also mean they are poems read or reflected to the music of harps. An alternate title, Psalterion, meaning "psaltery," and is a collection of harp songs, from which comes the English term "Psalter."

Most scholars seem to agree that David wrote 73 of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. The chronological order of David's psalms are hard to figure out. It depends which other book describing David's life you use to try to put them in order, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, or Chronicles. One such order of some of the psalms is like this: 59, 56, 34, 142, 63, 52, 54, 57, 7, 18, 60, 51, 32, 3, 30. But there are many versions for the order for these and the rest. Many of the other psalms contributed to him can be applied at more than one event in his life so knowing exactly when it was written is up to interpretation. The psalms contributed to him are 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-66, 68-70, 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 138-145.

I guess I'll try the most basic of orders and go out from there.

Lessons from Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio?

Are there any lessons from this catholic story?

The method of addressing fear is a good lesson. Saint Francis went ahead of the people, as Christ would go before us even unto hell, and "Making the sign of the holy cross, and putting all his confidence in God" Saint Francis walked directly towards the fear (being eaten by the wolf). He then confronted it, "As he approached, the saint, making the sign of the cross, cried out: 'Come hither, brother wolf; I command thee, in the name of Christ, neither to harm me nor anybody else.'"

In the name of Christ he commanded the fear and the fear obeyed.  If we have a fear, reasonable or unreasonable, we are also to ask Christ to go before us and confront it on our behalf.  Everyone and all living things will bow before Christ and know that He is Lord.  If Christ goes before us, on our behalf, what ever we fear will bow before Him and yield.  We must be in persistent prayer for Christ to go before us and deliver us from our fears and enemies that seek to devour us.  Our confidence must be in Christ and Christ alone.  When we are left to our own defenses, as the people of the village carrying their own swords, we continue to live in fear and can't defend ourselves properly.

Another lesson might be that any fear we have here, apart from the fires of hell itself, are pretty insignificant.  There is certainly a small mention of this in the story.

In my constant observation and education on healing from emotional injuries, it seems to me this story shows how it is necessary to force yourself to maintain FAITH in God’s protection and guidance despite your fears of admitting your own helplessness and despite your impatience with things not happening as quickly as you want.  Dear God, I am helpless, defenseless, and vulnerable to the attack of the wolf and fear consumes me.  Yet will I seek for and search for every ounce and crumb of faith within myself to know that You will protect and guide me.  Lord, help my unbelief!  Amen.

Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio

From The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi, chapter XXI

At the time when Saint Francis was living in the city of Gubbio, a large wolf appeared in the neighborhood, so terrible and so fierce, that he not only devoured other animals, but made a prey of men also; and since he often approached the town, all the people were in great alarm, and used to go about armed, as if going to battle.

Notwithstanding these precautions, if any of the inhabitants ever met him alone, he was sure to be devoured, as all defense was useless: and, through fear of the wolf, they dared not go beyond the city walls.

Saint Francis, feeling great compassion for the people of Gubbio, resolved to go and meet the wolf, though all advised him not to do so. Making the sign of the holy cross, and putting all his confidence in God, he went forth from the city, taking his brethren with him; but these fearing to go any further, Saint Francis bent his steps alone toward the spot where the wolf was known to be, while many people followed at a distance, and witnessed the miracle.

The wolf, seeing all this multitude, ran towards Saint Francis with his jaws wide open.

As he approached, the saint, making the sign of the cross, cried out: “Come hither, brother wolf; I command thee, in the name of Christ, neither to harm me nor anybody else.”

Marvelous to tell, no sooner had Saint Francis made the sign of the cross, than the terrible wolf, closing his jaws, stopped running, and coming up to Saint Francis, lay down at his feet as meekly as a lamb.

And the saint thus addressed him: “Brother wolf, thou hast done much evil in this land, destroying and killing the creatures of God without his permission; yea, not animals only hast thou destroyed, but thou hast even dared to devour men, made after the image of God; for which thing thou art worthy of being hanged like a robber and a murderer. All men cry out against thee, the dogs pursue thee, and all the inhabitants of this city are thy enemies; but I will make peace between them and thee, O brother wolf, if so be thou no more offend them, and they shall forgive thee all thy past offences, and neither men nor dogs shall pursue thee anymore.”

Having listened to these words, the wolf bowed his head, and, by the movements of his body, his tail, and his eyes, made signs that he agreed to what Saint Francis said.

On this Saint Francis added: “As thou art willing to make this peace, I promise thee that thou shalt be fed every day by the inhabitants of this land so long as thou shalt live among them; thou shalt no longer suffer hunger, as it is hunger which has made thee do so much evil; but if I obtain all this for thee, thou must promise, on thy side, never again to attack any animal or any human being; dost thou make this promise?”

Then the wolf, bowing his head, made a sign that he consented.

Said Saint Francis again: “Brother wolf, wilt thou pledge thy faith that I may trust to this thy promise?” and putting out his hand he received the pledge of the wolf; for the latter lifted up his paw and placed it familiarly in the hand of Saint Francis, giving him thereby the only pledge which was in his power.

Then said Saint Francis, addressing him again: “Brother wolf, I command thee, in the name of Christ, to follow me immediately, without hesitation or doubting, that we may go together to ratify this peace which we have concluded in the name of God”; and the wolf, obeying him, walked by his side as meekly as a lamb, to the great astonishment of all the people.

Now, the news of this most wonderful miracle spreading quickly through the town, all the inhabitants, both men and women, small and great, young and old, flocked to the market-place to see Saint Francis and the wolf.

All the people being assembled, the saint got up to preach, saying, amongst other things, how for our sins God permits such calamities, and how much greater and more dangerous are the flames of hell, which last forever, than the rage of a wolf, which can kill the body only; and how much we ought to dread the jaws of hell, if the jaws of so small an animal as a wolf can make a whole city tremble through fear.

The sermon being ended, Saint Francis added these words: “Listen my brethren: the wolf who is here before you has promised and pledged his faith that he consents to make peace with you all, and no more to offend you in aught, and you must promise to give him each day his necessary food; to which, if you consent, I promise in his name that he will most faithfully observe the compact.”

Then all the people promised with one voice to feed the wolf to the end of his days; and Saint Francis, addressing the latter, said again: “And thou, brother wolf, dost thou promise to keep the compact, and never again to offend either man or beast, or any other creature?” And the wolf knelt down, bowing his head, and, by the motions of his tail and of his ears, endeavored to show that he was willing, so far as was in his power, to hold to the compact.

Then Saint Francis continued: “Brother wolf, as thou gavest me a pledge of this thy promise when we were outside the town, so now I will that thou renew it in the sight of all this people, and assure me that I have done well to promise in thy name”; and the wolf lifting up his paw placed it in the hand of Saint Francis.

Now this event caused great joy in all the people, and a great devotion towards Saint Francis, both because of the novelty of the miracle, and because of the peace which had been concluded with the wolf; and they lifted up their voices to heaven, praising and blessing God, who had sent them Saint Francis, through whose merits they had been delivered from such a savage beast.

The wolf lived two years at Gubbio; he went familiarly from door to door without harming anyone, and all the people received him courteously, feeding him with great pleasure, and no dog barked at him as he went about.

At last, after two years, he died of old age, and the people of Gubbio mourned his loss greatly; for when they saw him going about so gently amongst them all, he reminded them of the virtue and sanctity of Saint Francis.