Have Mercy on Me

I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

Psalm 41:4

Today I explore Psalm 41. The first thing I notice is that the first three verses are written in the third person. David is talking about a person who has regard for the week. Then, in verse four he switches to the first person. In verse eight he returns to the third person and in verse nine to the first person again. Is this a translation error? I looked at on online commentary, which did not even mention it.

In verses 1 -3 is David talking about himself? Is he referring to himself as weak? Who does the LORD deliver; the weak or the person who has regard for the weak? Either way I am inclined to believe that this Psalm is 100% about David.

In it, he laments that not only are his enemies set against him, but even his close friend is pitted against him. Yet, his faith ib God remains strong! He interprets the fact that his enemies have not triumphed over him as God being pleased with him: even though he has sinned. He has acknowledged his sin and begged for mercy; then trusted that he has received the requested mercy.

Could we do that? It’s easy to think of God as a judge who will punish us for every transgression. But can we think of Him as a friend who will stand by us even when we have offended Him greatly? Do I have that much faith?

Pray for an increase in faith!

Inheritance

The Bible mentions inheritance over 200 times. It must be important somehow. The online Bible dictionary says that there are two types of inheritance: legal and spiritual. almost all references to inheritance in the Old Testament are theological, not legal. The Scriptures transform the concept of inheritance to include the acquisition of spiritual blessings and promises from God.

In the theological sense, to inherit means to “received irrevocable gift”. This meaning infers a special relationship relationship between the benefactor and the recipients. The Old Testament speaks of the nation of Israel’s inheritance from God. But it also states that the nation of Israel is the inheritance of God. Put another way, God receives blessings from the nation of Israel. Looking at the Old Testament, that seems unlikely! After King Solomon, the nation was a rebellious one.

Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.

Psalm 39:6

What struck me this morning in Psalm 39 is that David laments both the shortness of life and the futility of amassing wealth. Even though Israel had very specific and strict inheritance laws (Numbers 27: 8-11), a person never really knew where their wealth would end up. It appears that in this instance, David was speaking of material wealth. Could he have been referring to spiritual blessings? I don’t think so!

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinners wealth is laid up for the righteous.

Proverbs 13:22

I found the above quote and thought it would be good here. But I have know idea why I included it. God knows!

Psalm 38

Today’s reading was impacted me very much. David displays intense sorrow over his sin. He confesses his iniquity.

Too often I try to hide my shortcomings. Sometimes even from myself. So much emphasis is placed on self esteem in these days. Humility is seen as weakness. I think it’s because of this that people are so quick to denigrate each other.

The only thing that we can truest be proud about, and humble about at the same time is that God loves us. He loves us in spite of ourselves.

God’s grace and love is truest amazing!

Delight in the Lord

Psalm 37 , my devotional reading for today, Seems to contain some of the pitfalls of life and some sound advice for life.

It pretty much starts by acknowledging that there is evil in the world; and that you will encounter evil. Often it seems that those evil doers enjoy a great deal of success and earthly pleasure. This Psalm assures us that the evil that they do , and success they enjoy is temporary (and temporal?) In spite of all the evil we encounter, we should trust in the Lord and do good. The Psalm states “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”

Verse 4 grabs much of my attention:

Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

I have always thought that the corporal man misinterprets this. I envision a person thinking the desires of their heart are silver and gold. If you take delight in the Lord, you will get whatever your want. I think that is backwards. If you take delight in the Lord, a closer relationship with Him is the desire of your heart. I think you are already as rich as possible.

Finally, is it just me or does verse 21 imply that we should not borrow? It seems to me that the person who borrows is in want and the person who gives generously is blessed with more that he needs.I’ve heard it said that God blesses us so that we may bless others. Is this true?

Introspection

In reading Psalm 36 today, I realized that I place myself in the Psalm. I am prone, as I suspect you are, to consider myself on the positive side of the text. So when the text talks about the wicked; that is not me! That refers to others around me.

What happens if I turn that around? What if I read the text so that I am the wicked one. Maybe even just ask the question, “Could I be included in the wicked? What wicked way in me can be found?” As I write this I think of the words in Psalm 139:23-24. More on that later! Today’s text is:

I have a message from God in my heart
    concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
    before their eyes.

In their own eyes they flatter themselves
    too much to detect or hate their sin.

The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
    they fail to act wisely or do good.
Even on their beds they plot evil;
    they commit themselves to a sinful course
    and do not reject what is wrong.

Psalm 36:1-4

Verse 2 identifies what I said in the first paragraph, “In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect their own sin.” I need to be on my guard to discern my own failure. It occurred to me that I should earnestly pray Psalm 139 on a daily basis. Also, daily I should pray the Prayer of Examine. The fact that I haven’t been doing this may be an indicator of my depravity.

My God, show mercy to me and forgive my sin. Show me Your ways and cause me to walk in the path of righteousness!

Sing Joyfully

I started reading Psalm 33 this morning and immediately was taken aback. Joy is the last thing I feel this morning! How can you sing joyfully to the Lord when there isn’t an ounce of joy in your body? I didn’t realize I felt this way until I read the Psalm. I have to see if there is anything in the rest of the Psalm that will instill joy in my heart.

I acknowledge that it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Maybe the fault is in me. Maybe righteousness is far away from me! The Psalm says that the Lord loves righteousness and justice and the the earth is full of His unfailing love. I feel His love! Still, I have no joy!

I will heed the words of the Psalmist and wait in hope for the Lord because He is my help and my shield. I do trust in His Holy name, so why is my heart not joyful?

He has thrown me a lifeline! it occurred to me that I should listen to the song “Shout to the Lord”. I did! Several times. The words brought me to tears. The song lifted my spirit! I realize that the whole earth sings joyfully to the Lord; even when I don’t hear it; even when I don’t feel it! But when I do listen, I can’t help but get caught up in the praise of God Almighty.

Listen to the “still small voice”! Listen to the song of the universe singing joyful praise to its creator.

God’s message to all of us this morning? “Be still and know that I am God!”

Repentance and Forgiveness

When I kept silent

about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

Psalm 32:3-4

When I read these words pen to buy David in some 32 I think that maybe I’ve been wrong about confession. We think that confessing our sins is the source of gods forgiveness and it is! But I think what is more important that we realize that we have sinned against God.

For me, it is expedient that I keep my sin hidden. I don’t want anybody to know of my moral failure. What we forget is that God knows our sin even before we commit it. If God knows our sin then why do we have to confess to him?

Until we expose our sins to ourselves, we may not recognize that we had a moral failure. Until we acknowledge our sin we cannot change our behavior so we don’t commit it again. Until we reveal our sin to our self we cannot be sorry and repent!

I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said.”I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:5

Show confession proceeds repentance and repentance leads to forgiveness. I think the Lord for his many mercies.

Steadfastness

Yesterday I watched a movie about Paul the Apostle. It was about his conversion. The fear in the eyes of the first Christians was plain to see. Yet, they would not renounce Jesus! The more they were persecuted, the more people were compelled to believe.

Those early Christians died for their faith! Psalm 31 tells us that the Lord preserves the faithful. How were they preserved?

“Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.”
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Psalms 31:23-24

Heal Me

Sometimes, Scripture is just words on a page, devoid of any meaning; ink on paper, contrasting pixels on a screen. It is in these times I need You Lord! It is in these times I feel abandoned! Is my faith in You in vain? David says, “You are my refuge and my strength.” I have no strength! I have no protection, I am totally exposed. Heal me my God!

God’s Voice

In today’s reading, Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord is mentioned six times in seven verses starting in verse three. In verses one and eleven, the last verse in the Psalm, he mentions God’s strength.

Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of HIs holiness.

Psalm 29:1-2

In verses 3 through 9 David ascribes the following attributes to the Voice of God:

• It thunders
• It is powerful
• It is majestic
• It breaks the cedars of Lebanon
• It strikes with flashes of lightning
• It shakes the desert
• It twists the oaks
• It strips the forests bare

It occurs to me that all of the attributes David mentions are destructive. They are descriptive of the power wielded in just the voice of God. Why does he not mention the creative power of Gods voice? Genesis 1 describes the creation of the universe. God created everything with just the spoken word. It seems to me that there is more power in creation than in destruction.

The work of creation is finished! the Bible tells us so! The work of destruction hasn’t started yet. Destruction speaks of judgement. In it I am reminded of my own sinfulness. What is it that speaks of mercy, love and forgiveness?

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Kings 19:11-12

God revealed Himself to Elijah in a still small voice when Elijah was near despair. It is almost as if God was saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”

We need to learn to listen to God. We need to train our mind to hear the still small voice of God. We also need to learn to turn our troubles over to Him and when we do we can be assured of His love and mercy when He says, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”