When we see injustice in the world we expect it to be made right in our eyes. There should be judgement and a penalty to pay.
James Van Cuyck, our guest teacher this week discusses how God’s ways are not our ways and His plan for resolving our lives includes mercy and grace. If we choose to accept it.
Why do we praise the LORD? According the the psalm, because it is good or the right thing to do. god also delights in our praises, and He deserves it. Even more reason is when we see what God does when we praise Him.
A clear example of this is looking at the history of the people of Israel. Through their praises, God lifted them up and delivered them from their adversaries.
We also look at nature for the wonderful beauty and care He provides for all creatures, realizing He is all powerful, His timing is perfect, and He can use anything to accomplish His Kingdom purpose.
This Psalm begins with how wonderful it is when brothers, or fellow believers, live together in unity. some things that draw us together in unity are the same Savior, same Master, same hope, same heaven, and we experience the same trials, temptations and sorrows. In His closing days on earth Jesus’ prayer was that we would live in unity as one body.
The number one enemy of unity is believing the lies of Satan about ourself or others. An enemy we are most familiar with is our flesh, which tries to tell us our way is better than God’s.
We need to remember that unity is like the anointing oil used for priests and kings in the Old Testament times. the oil was poured over their head and ran down their neck and clothing, proving a covering and fragrant aroma to show the blessings of God, including life forevermore.
This Psalm begins with a warning of “Unless the LORD…” telling us to focus on God and His plan, reminding us that if we do not follow Him what we do is in vain.
The passage above talks about having a trust in God that, like Mount Zion, cannot be moved. Many of us trust God to handle the good stuff, but when times get tough our trust begins to waver. Our trust is often based on what God can do for us physically, and when it doesn’t go our way we pull back and try to handle it our selves.
We need to look at God’s character to see what He provides to us the will never fail. Things like His love and mercy, along with salvation and peace. As we draw closer to Him through Jesus we become sanctified and the things of this world are less important.
This Psalm provides the many ways we should follow and serve God. The many layers provided here expand on more than just keeping His commandments. There is His Word ,His Testimony, His Commandments, His Laws, Precepts and Rules. we should take delight in all these areas to show how we honor our God.
These provide foundational building blocks for our lives, and the enemy works to chip away at the layers to draw us away from honoring God. In our nation today we see this has been happening for a while, and can see the results.
We need to be like the psalmist and not only be aware of these layers, but take delight in all areas of how God is working in our lives. Compromise is not an option.
These two Psalms are typically used before each celebration meal to praise God for who He is and what He has done. The following Psalms 115-118 were sung after the meal to thank God for His blessings. when speaking of what God has done there are references to people at their lowest point in their lives and praise for how God raised them up.
Many times it requires us to be at our lowest times look to God for help, when it really is an issue of willingness to die to self first. Jesus also spoke in Matthew 5 of times when people are at their lowest they will receive blessings. In Luke Jesus instructed us that we need to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily in order to follow Him.
Are you willing to die to self and turn over your spirit to the One who gives us victory?
The Psalmist opens up with praise for God’s steadfast love that endures forever, mentioning how He has redeemed us. The writer shows different ways where we have gone astray from God’s plan, and even though we have transgressed into sin, God is always there to call us back in love.
Once we have realized our sinful ways we cry out to God, and He is there to bring us back to the right path. We need to recognize the work God is doing and his love for us that will always be there.
David begins with blessing God for all the wonderful gifts He has provided. David’s blessing shows his respect and honor for God. David goes on to recognize the character of God and how He cares for us. David is clear on his role in the relationship with God by mentioning that these blessings from God are for those who fear Him.
This fear is not for us to be afraid of what God might do to us. It is the fear that shows honor and respect to one who is superior to us. It is knowing our place in creation, under the One who created us and everything around us.
NOTE: There was a technical issue capturing the video from this week. We apologize for the inconvenience.
