Before the Gods

“I will praise you with my whole heart! 

Before the gods will I sing you praise!”

Psalm 138:1

The “gods” before whom David said he would sing praise to God were men who were in high positions on earth.  They were the wealthy rulers and judges in Israel.

Only a few are so consumed with love for God that they are not concerned with who is watching when it is time to pray or praise God.

Our Jerusalem

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,

if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

Psalm 137:5--6

“But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.”

Galatians 4:26

“And I [John] saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.”

Revelation 21:2

Nothing in this world compares to our hope of entering the new Jerusalem.  It is so precious that many have given up their lives for it.  In everything you do or say, remember the new Jerusalem, a place of perfect peace and joy, where there is no sadness, pain, or death.

What a happy day it will be when we enter into God's beautiful new Jerusalem!

Becoming Like What You Worship

“The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,

the work of men’s hands.

They have mouths, but they do not speak;

they have eyes, but they do not see;

they have ears, but they do not hear;

neither is there any breath in their mouths.

They that make them are like them;

so is every one that trusts in them.”

Psalm 135:15–18

You become like what you worship.  Your soul is shaped by the object of its praise.  Those who worship falsely become false.  Then, worship the true and living God so that you may become true, and live.

God is Ahead of Us

Talking with my wife Barbara early this morning about the section of the Iron Kingdom manuscript we read last night, my soul was awed, again, by a realization of how great God’s work is!  “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and inscrutable His ways!  Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” (Rom. 11:33–34).  I had to write and tell you about it.

It was about twenty years before Jesus was born that God changed Rome from a Republic governed by Senators into an Empire governed by one man, a king whom the Romans called an emperor.  In making this change, God was setting up a choice for His people between His dear Son and the Empire of man, a choice between the Spirit and the flesh.  We know that God’s New Testament people chose the flesh instead of the Spirit because they rejected Paul’s gospel of the Spirit and devised their own fleshly religion, Christianity, instead.  But the following portion of Scripture shows us that the Jews chose the Empire over the Son first, years before the believing Gentiles did:

John 19

13. Pilate led Jesus outside and sat on the judicial bench,

14. and he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 

15. But they cried out, “Away with him! Away!  Crucify him!”  Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priest answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Before God changed Rome into an Empire, there was no Caesar for the Jews to choose as their king instead of His Son.  Before God changed Rome into an Empire, they could not have said, “We have no king but Caesar!”  But decades before He sent His Son into the world, God had prepared an alternative king for those among His people who would not have His Son.

God is ahead of us all, creating paths for our feet that will accommodate the hidden desire of our hearts.  When we make our choice, whether it be right or wrong, the choice will seem right to us, whether we be among the few who choose the Son of God or among the many who choose the Empire of man.

No wonder David prayed that God would put right desires in his heart.  And he warned his son Solomon to make every effort to keep his heart pure, “for out of it”, he said, “are the issues of life.”

Somebody help me praise God!  Who would not fear Him?

The Power of Unity

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brothers to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious ointment upon the head

that ran down upon the beard,even Aaron’s beard,

that went down to the skirts of his garments.”

Psalm 133:1–2

The anointing oil that was poured on Aaron’s head made Aaron the high priest of Israel.  It gave him great authority.  In some cases, he even had the power of life and death over his fellow Israelites.

In this Psalm, David is saying that when the people of God are united in His light, their decisions carry weight equal to that of the high priest of Israel.  Unity in Christ brings the anointing of Christ to the body of Christ.

Jesus said it this way: “Again, I tell you truly that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything at all that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there, in their midst” (Mt. 18:19–20).

God’s Power To Forgive

“If you, LORD, should mark iniquities, O lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared.”

Psalm 130:3–4

God’s power to forgive sin is a reason to fear him, just as David said.  For if God can forgive, He can also choose not to, and the salvation of your soul depends upon your being forgiven.

Jesus was right, as always, when he warned his disciples, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Mt. 10:28).  In other words, “Fear Him who is able to forgive you.”

God’s Fear Blesses

“Blessed is every one that fears the LORD, that walks in His ways.

You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.”

Psalm 128:1–2b

“The transgression of the wicked says within my heart,

that there is no fear of God before his eyes.”

Psalm 36:1

Those who fear God will be blessed and happy because the fear of God keeps them from wandering away from righteousness.  When David saw someone living a wicked life, he knew that person had no fear of God, for he knew that no one who fears God can live in sin.

Pray to have, and to always keep, the fear of God.  It will save you.  Jesus feared God, and look at how blessed he is today!

The Invisible Hills

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help.”

Psalm 121:1–2

The eyes David lifted up were the eyes of his soul, and the hills were hills that human eyes cannot see.  David said in the next verse, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Children Facing the Enemies

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD,

and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man,

so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them.

They shall not be ashamed,

but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

Psalm 127:3–5

By “speaking with the enemies in the gate,” David meant that those children had matured in wisdom and integrity and faith to be able to fearlessly withstand the enemies of righteousness at the city’s weakest point.  It is a wonderful feeling for parents to see their child grow up and confront the enemies of righteousness, and deny the wicked access into the city.

Vain Works

“Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it;

except the LORD keep the city, the watchman wakes, but in vain.”

Psalm 127:1

Nothing will stand or succeed unless God does it.  The grandest works and best ideas of man are doomed to eventual failure before they even begin.  Only God’s thoughts and deeds are eternal.

Glad for Great Things

“The LORD has done great things for us, for which we are glad.”

Psalm 126:3

You would probably be surprised to learn how many people the LORD has done great things for, and yet they are not glad.  Take a moment, and be glad for the great things that God has done for you.

The Truth Reveals the Truth

“My soul has long dwelt with him that hates peace.

I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.”

Psalm 120:6–7

The reason the wicked are for war when the godly man speaks is that when the godly man speaks, he speaks the truth.  The wicked often claim to be for peace, but what they really want is exposed when the truth is spoken.

The truth reveals the truth about everybody who hears it.

At Ease or At Work

“Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease,

and with the contempt of the proud.”

Psalm 123:4

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion!”

Amos 6:1a

To be “at ease” is to be over-confident in your standing with God; it is to be smug and proud.  Those who are “at ease” scorn those who are weaker than they, or who have less knowledge.  They are harsh in their attitude toward those who have failed.  They even despise them (Job 12:5).

The upright are slandered more by those who are “at ease in Zion” than they are by the world.  And it has always been that way.  My father told us that in God’s kingdom, you are either laboring and being persecuted or you are at ease and persecuting others.  There is no middle ground in spiritual warfare.

You will either attract with a holy life the envy and scorn of unwise believers, or you will be unwise yourself, persecuting those who are ahead of you in the Lord.  Every child of God on earth is either “at ease in Zion” or at work with Jesus, doing good and bringing light to souls lost in sin. 

Secure Forever

“They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion,

which cannot be removed, but abides forever.”

Psalm 125:1

Some things just cannot be changed.  God being God.  The Son being at His right hand.  The body of Christ being God’s family of sons and daughters.  And you, if you have put your trust in Jesus, being secure forever in God’s protective care.

“Look for Me!”

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep.  Seek your servant!

For I do not forget your commandments.”

Psalm 119:176

Even when David erred from righteousness, his love for God and the law burned in his heart.  David was not like those who wander from the right path and then forget about the truth they were graciously given.  When David sinned, he loved God too much to forget what righteousness felt like.

If you look around you; you will see some who have gone astray and are miserable because they still love God and His ways.  Their hearts are crying out, as David’s did, “I am your lost sheep, O God!  Look for me!”  And they will be grateful for anyone who works with God to find them again.

But then, if you look around, you will also see some who have gone astray and are happier than they have been in a long, long time.  They feel liberated.  They have lost their love for God, and for God to call them again would be an unwelcome interruption of their fun.

Pray that if you ever fall, you will still love God enough to remember how sweet it was to walk with Him in peace.

Hope

“LORD, I have hoped for your salvation, and done your commandments.”

Psalm 119:166

“Every man who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.”

1John 3:3

The hope that Jesus creates in our souls has power; it moves us to overcome the world and do the will of God.  Hope in Christ is not like wishing on a star; it is real and sure and strong.  “We are saved by hope” (Rom. 8:24) because God’s hope has real power.

Live and rejoice in your hope!  This whole world is hopeless, but God has called you out of the world and given you a precious, real hope.

Nothing Shall Offend Them

“Great peace have they who love your law,

and nothing shall offend them.”

Psalm 119:165

Those in the body of Christ who do not truly love God and His law will at some point look for a reason to walk away, and they will find it.  Jesus will make sure of that.  But as for those who love God, nothing will cause them to stumble and fall away.  They found themselves when they found the truth, and nothing can discourage them or drive them away.

My Lying Lips

“Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.”

Psalm 120:2

I do not know whose lying lips David was praying about in this Psalm, but this verse reminded me of the times I have pleaded with God to save me from my own.  Many, many times have I sincerely pleaded with God for my congregation to have a pastor who would not lie to them, and in my heart, God saw that I was praying for that even if it meant the pastor would not be me.

I believe that James told the truth when he said (Jas. 3:8), “No one among men can tame the tongue; it is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.”  And I believe that only Jesus can rescue us from our own lying lips.  That is why I have so often asked him, with all my heart, to save me, and those around me, from my own deceitful tongue.

Put It into Words

“I cried with my whole heart, ‘Hear me, O LORD!

I will keep your statutes!’ 

I cried out to you, ‘Save me, and I shall keep your testimonies!’ 

I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried out,

‘I have hoped in your word!’

Psalm 119:145–147

We do not receive what we need from God by wishing for it.  We are told to open our mouths and ask.  There is something about putting words to our hopes that pleases God.  I suspect that the reason it pleases God is that it takes more humility to tell God our feelings than it takes to simply feel them.

Eternal Righteousness

“Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.”

Psalm 119:142a

The kind of righteousness in the law of Moses came by the proper use of earthly things: fire, stone, and animals for the sacrifices; water, bowls, and special clothing for worship; etc.  That kind of righteousness is fleshly; it is not eternal because it is bound to natural things.

God’s kind of righteousness, on the other hand, is spiritual, not fleshly, and it will endure forever.   Jesus suffered and died to make that kind of righteousness available to us, and he succeeded!  The holy Ghost brings into our hearts God’s kind of righteousness, and that wonderful righteousness will continue in us long after this universe and everything in it has been destroyed.