Reading Through the Psalms

David expresses his trust and confidence in the Lord in Psalm 26. The importance of walking with integrity is stressed and that wrongdoers will be judged.

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Psalm 46 is about having faith in God no matter the storms life brings beginning "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." A very present help, he is right there with us, not just something we are to keep in mind as we go through it on our own. But this is also a prophetic Psalm speaking about the Final tribulation, the time of Jacob's troubles.

The earthquakes and inundations by the oceans in verses 2 and 3 are described in detail in Revelation and Ezekiel 38. Verses 8 to 10 describe the Second Coming of Christ when wars are made an end to. This is a Psalm for those End Times, a voice of encouragment that no matter what the circumstances, God is faithful.

Psalm 96 is a declaration of that deliverance. That the Lord will be acknowledged throughout the earth and that he will judge in righteousness. Psalm 146 continues on the goodness and salvation of God, echoing Isaiah 42:7 in verses 7 and 8.

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In both the times of David and today, there are talkers and then there are doers . . . those who seek God with their whole heart. God doesn't want actions for show, he is looking for those with a sincere heart. Psalm 50 makes this clear. He will answer those who serve him in truth (v 15,) but those who are just making a show are doomed for destruction. (v 22) s97bf8bc

Jesus may have had this Psalm in mind when he was giving John the Beloved in his warning to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:16 when he told them their lukewarmness, their hypocrisy, would cause them to spew them out. This was also the same warning given to Israel in Leviticus 18:28 by God, if their actions and hearts weren't in line with his word the land would "vomit" them out.

God has always been looking for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24,) for those whose hearts, words, and deeds line up, for those who have an active faith like Abraham (Genesis 6:15.)

The key to becoming a man after the heart of God like David is given in Psalm 50 (v 14 and 23) and more clearly stated in Psalm 100:4, we draw near to God by thanking him for his goodness and all he has done for us, coming into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Psalm 150 the perfect capstone to a book about giving praise to God.

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Psalm 23 is probably the most well known out of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. It is a declaration of David's confident assurance that God will be with him no matter what the circumstances, whatever valleys life brings. But not many are familiar with Psalm 42 which is also about the valleys of life. If Psalm 23 is about God's faithfulness in the valley, Psalm 42 is what it actually feels like to walk through it.

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Psalm 91 is one of the most powerful of the Psalms written by David speaking of God's deliverance and salvation (Yeshua.) It is God's "911." Satan himself quoted the verse 12 of the Psalm when in the wilderness temptation, he suggested that he through himself off the cliff because angels would lift him up (Luke 4:11-12, Mattthew 4:6-7.) Psalms 41 and 141 both illustrate the characteristics of the person who can have that faith in the deliverance of God.

Jesus's response to Satan is one that every Christ follower should take note of, "Do not test the Lord your God."

Deception and misdirection often use truth to tell a lie. That was Satan's strategy in his temptation of Jesus, distort Scripture to justify what would have been a sin.

Which is why when using Scripture as a support, sometimes the most pernicious lies and horrific doctrine have one tent pole Scripture that they use as a single support. No doctrine, belief, or action should justify itself by one verse. The Bible as a whole has to be taken into account, it all fits together.

How many times do we as Christians follow Satan's wilderness path? We claim the promises and deliverance of God but ignore the rest. We reject God's discipline, his guidance, and go our own way instead of submitting to him. (James 4:7.)

We do what we know we are not supposed to be doing, throwing ourselves off that cliff, and then go to God, claiming the blood of Jesus and never truly repenting, and go back out and do the same thing again.

Dietrich Bonheoffer called that mindset "cheap grace."

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." - From the Cost of Discipleship

The Bible gives us powerful promises of deliverance that we can stand on, but they are for those who submit themselves to God and put their trust in him (Psalm 91:1-2.)

If you've been praying with no answer, if it seems like God doesn't hear, that this promise is a lie . . . maybe it is a heart issue . . . your heart, not God's. Have you made God your refuge? (Psalm 91:9, Psalm 141:8) Have you walked in integrity? (Psalm 41:12) Have you set your heart to do and speak right according to what God says and not what man says? (Psalm 141:1-4)

Have you truly set your heart after him and his salvation? (Psalm 91:14-16, Matthew 6:33, Luke 12:31)

Get real with God and he will be real with God. He will do exactly what he says he will do.

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There is an expression, "You can't take it with you." This sentiment is clearly expressed in Psalm 49. Not only can one not take their wealth with them, but it won't save them from the grave (verses 6-9) and it can't redeem another.

God gives us truths throughout the Bible. Truths . . . answers . . . that are waiting to be found if we only look for them. If we are seeking after God through his word. This particular Psalm was one that sparked to Martin Luther's 95 Theses and was a clear refutation of the selling of indulgences, for as verse 15 clearly states, it is God alone who can redeem a soul from the power of Sheol.

This Psalm also brought to mind the poem, "Richard Cory," by Edwin Arlington Robinson.

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked,

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich--yes, richer than a king--

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Yes, David and Solomon would both agree with Robinson's message.

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Looking at the headlines in the news, it seems bizarre that a little smidge of land and one spec in particular dominates so much of it. What is the nation of Israel, about the size of the state of New Jersey, and the city of Jerusalem that draws so much contention and strife?

It doesn't make sense unless one reads the Bible and takes it at its Word. Israel and the city of Jerusalem are the focal point of an epic battle, a play for dominance, between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the Lord of Hosts - and the spiritual forces of wickedness referenced in Ephesians 6:12. The principalities, two of which are named in Daniel 9, warring against God.

God has made his covenant promise to the Jewish people, to show his strength through them to the nations, and has said he will return there. He has even said how he would return, through the East Gate of Jerusalem. Which is why when under Muslim control, they walled it over in an attempt to prevent it If Jesus broke the chains of death . . . I don't think some concrete and a few bricks will hold him back.

Psalm 48 speaks of the confidence in the protection of God who has claimed Jerusalem and Mount Zion for his own. Psalm 98 speaks of his ultimate victory and when he will judge all in righteousness, and Psalm 148 again proclaims that all the earth praises him.

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Psalm 47, 97, and 147 are all three about the joy that is only found in God's righteousness. Romans 8:19-22 states that the earth groans under the wickedness of man, of sin that is ruling the earth. Psalm 97:1 states that the earth itself, the very land, rejoices when God's truth reigns.

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Psalm 45 begins a set of three Psalms in which David exalts in the glory of God throughout the circumstances of life. Psalm 45 is a wedding song, to be sung during a time of joy. Psalm 95 tells of God's great care for his people, even when they rebel. He praises God for his goodness and faithfulness and expresses the confident hope, that as Jesus assured in Matt xxx x, that all who seek God in truth will find him. (Psalm 145:18)

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In Psalm 44, David reflects on the works of God, of his goodness to the people of Israel and how he delivered them. He also acknowledges the righteousness and justice of God, that because of Israel's sin, they experienced judgment. Psalm 94 again speaks about the justice of God, that the wicked will get their due rewards. Psalm 144 is a confident praise that regardless of the circumstances, God will deliver those who put their trust in him.

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