Psalms 13:6

"I will sing to the Lord,

for he has been good to me."

This is the end verse to Psalm 13 and it makes no sense if you actually read Psalm 13.  The Psalmist begins in lines 1 and 2 "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"  This is a LORD that is good?

But this is what it means to trust in the LORD.  David was clearly depressed and anxious, and yet through thick and thin he trusts in God.  He never gives up hope because he knows who God is.  He trusts in his salvation and his unfailing love, even though it seems his love is failing.  And he nonetheless sings his praises as he reflects on every good thing God has given.

In your depression, remember your blessings.  Jesus, while dying on the cross, also sang the opening lines of Psalm 22, praising God in his distress because of the salvation he trusts in even though he lay dying and knew he would not survive.  And what did God do?  He raised him to life and saved him even from death!  Death is not the end for those who trust in the LORD's salvation and sing.

Psalms 44:3

"It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them."

We have so many victories in life because of He who causes us to be victorious.  We have a champion who fights for our sake though we esteem him not.  He fights for us regardless of whether or not we praise him for he loves those whom he has made.  By his arm, his strength, and his face (that is, his presence) that our salvation is won.  He has procured it for us.  He has snatched us out of the devil's hand.

What a mistake it would be to turn around and accept credit for things we have not done!  Surely we have victories, but we have victories because of Christ who gives us victory.  The armor of God is his very presence.  As long as we walk in the light darkness will not touch us and evil will not overcome us.  It may attack us but never will it prevail over us.  Those who walk in darkness will not understand us until they step into the light.  But surely without God, we would fall for who then protects us?  Who then fights for us?  But praise be to the One who triumphs for our sake!

Psalms 22:3

"Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."

Psalm 22 starts out with a cry for help.  It is the same cry Jesus called out before he breathed his last on the cross. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  These words have been a mystery to scholars for centuries.  Did God temporarily abandon Christ on the cross?  But if you realize what Jesus was quoting, you realize that his last words were song lyrics.  Reread Psalm 22 as if it were Jesus speaking on the cross and you will understand why he started to recite this song, why he started to sing.

It is because the LORD, the LORD, the holy God of Israel, is enthroned on the praises of his people.  The King James translates that he inhabits the praises of his people.  God is made king by praise and worship.  It is while we are in worship that God is most present to us for he inhabits our praises.  Jesus sang God's praises, and his Father was right there with him as he lay dying.  As Jesus sang, he knew God would deliver him.

And in your times of trouble, praise God all the more.  When you are weak, praise God.  If you are near death, praise God.  No matter what your situation is, praise God, and he will be given all authority in your situation.  He will inhabit your praise and he will be with you until the very end of the age.

Psalms 30:14-15a

"But I trust in you, O LORD; 
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in your hands;..."

 We must not forget that God is not only the God of all there is and all that exists (namely the God of Space), but he is also the God of Time.  He set into motion the cycle we call day and night.  So important was time to him that he set apart an entire day for rest.  Every moment of every hour was created for his glory.  Every second of every minute has been ordained according to his purposes.  So know God is there with you orchestrating every event to the good of those who love him.

God is in the midst of time to the point where Jesus was sent to us not as a fully grown man but as a tiny infant who grew up in time.  When God created the world, he created all of it from start to finish.  Everything that is happening now was actually set in motion at the beginning of time and creation.  Our times is in His hands.

And we know God is good and just because he has been revealed in Jesus Christ to be so.  So we trust in him that in every decision he makes is the right decision to bring the perfect outcome.  Even though we have free will, the one who is truly free is the one who realizes he doesn't need it.

Psalm 131:1

"My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me."

Our position in life is that of humility.  Our hearts are not proud but instead laid low.  Conversely, our eyes are not haughty.  We do not look down on others but instead we lift them up and consider them better than ourselves.  But how often does our pride cause us to interfere and stick our noses in places they don't belong?

In a sense, robbing someone else of their privacy is an act of dominance and of pride.  A mother snooping in the affairs of her teenage daughter's room asserts her higher position, whether rightly or wrongly.  When you personally see to it that all of your brothers and sisters in Christ are being kept "accountable", you also act in pride.  With your actions you say, "They will sin if I am not keeping them in line.  They cannot be trusted."  When you assert yourself in places which do not concern you, you show your eyes to be haughty and your heart proud.

In the same way, there are some mysteries not meant to be understood, but just simply accepted and marveled.  The pride for knowledge is a dangerous game, for the more wise (and I mean in a worldly sense) one becomes, the more the foolish things will be used to shame them.  But true wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD.

Psalms 12:8

"The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men."


Evil doers are everywhere.  They walk about on the streets going about their business.  They are in your homes, at your workplace, sitting on benches in your parks and serving you the very food that you eat.  What's more is that they go unnoticed, even to themselves for the evil that they do is praised among mankind.


They take vengeance when vengeance belongs to the Lord.  The have premarital sex when sex belongs to the covenant of marriage.  The victimize their brethren in order to make financial gains in business.  They overlook the needs of the poor in order to satisfy their own self-indulgence.  Their hearts lust for violence as they seek to be entertained.  Americans love all these things but they are vile in the eyes of the LORD.

And instead of being filled with grief, we are instead proud!  We encourage practices which seem normal culturally but are in no way God fearing practices.  And so the wicked walk about freely and unrepentant for they do not know what they do.  They feel accepted when in reality they are condemned and if we as the Church live the same way, do we not encourage the same practices?  Do we not condemn ourselves?  But let God judge those outside the church and let your life shine to show men the error of their ways.

Psalms 73:3-5,12

"For I envied the arrogant
     when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
     their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
     they are not plagued by human ills...
This is what the wicked are like—
     always free of care, they go on amassing wealth."

Those who prosper are not necessarily well off.  One may look at a rich man and say "Oh, you have been blessed by God!  He has surely shown you favor!" but it is not so.  Prosperity is no gift to those who are perishing.  Wealth is no blessing to those who need salvation.

For them, God has extended grace and they have refused it, choosing instead to chase after material wealth.  They amass riches by their own strength, not through God's blessing. They acquire health through their wealth, not by divine favor or fortune.  God has shown them salvation and they have slapped away his hand.

As Christians, the more money we desire from God, the less we desire God himself.  God does indeed bless his children, and sometimes with wealth, but those he has blessed with wealth have already proven they can use it appropriately for God's kingdom.  Those trustworthy with a little money can be trusted with larger and larger amounts.  God always blesses so that we in turn can bless in kindness and generosity.  God gives so that we can give back, not to amass wealth and be carefree.  Such is wickedness.

Psalms 73:20

"As a dream when one wakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies."


The wicked have no real place in the world, just a blip in the existence of a structure vast and great.*  Simply put: In the grand scheme of things they do not exist.  The pain, suffering, and oppression they cause is real (or at least appears real) but only terribly temporary just like the riches and the power and the pleasures they seek.  They will become just like their idols, lifeless and insatiable.

But when the Lord comes again in his full power and majesty, the wicked will fall away like they had never existed.  All suffering, all pain, and all strife will pass like a bad dream when the Lord lifts his hand against them.  In the blink of an eye they will be destroyed and swept away, forgotten like a dream in the mind of God.

But those who are in Christ will last forever.  Theirs is the inheritance of eternal life.  When God arises, they will remain with Him for all eternity.  What do we have besides God?  The Earth has nothing for us that we can keep, but the Lord God is ours forever.  Hallelujah!

*phrasing borrowed from a band called Say Anything.  Their lead singer, Max Bemis, recently became a Christian because of his wife (he used to be Jewish) and I've been enjoying his new album.

Psalms 148:5

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created."


There is no other justification needed other than this to praise God:  that you even live and breath, you who were once dirt and water (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen) and now is able to feel, and think, and dance.  If you saw a statue come to life you would be amazed, and yet how can you find the birth of a child anything less than a miracle?  Where there was no life, now there is.

Try as they might, no biologist can ever figure out what makes a man alive, what animates his cells and causes them to divide and grow.  At any given moment there are billions of different processes occurring inside your body simultaneously, all of which work together and the resulting harmony is called "life".

Miraculously, it is this life which keeps every function running in oder to sustain and produce more life which sustains every function... and so on ad infinitum.  It is this breath of life which overflows from God onto his creation and so all things great and small praise God for without Him we would have no voices at all.  As easily as God has breathed life into a man so too can he take it away.

So let everything that has Breath praise the Lord for this is the reason it was given!

Psalm 77:9-11

"Has God forgotten to be merciful?  Has he in anger withheld his compassion?  Then I thought, 'To this will I appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."  I will remember the deeds of the LORD; Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago."


Despite a whole list of doubts David has in verses 7-9, David ultimately has one source of comfort:  that God never changes.  David reflects on God's track record, on how he has proven himself time and time again to be the God who performs miracles.  And of course, we see that it is the Exodus account that gives David cause for faith.

Even though things look bad now, David trusts God never changes and in so doing knows what God will do.  The only surprise with God is in how he does something, not if he does something, but when he acts you can be sure it will be mighty.

God is the only thing in this world which never changes, a solid rock and firm foundation we can hold onto.  It is this trust in God's unchangeable character that forms the backbone of our faith.

Without great doubt, there cannot be great faith.  The more doubts you have, the more we must rely on the truth of God, in his unchanging character.  But don't just take my word for it, God's actions speak for himself.  Everything rests on the belief that God is who he has revealed himself to be.

Psalms 46:4-5

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day."


In verse 4 we see a happy river flowing through the city of God in contrast to the raging waters of verses 2 and 3.  We see that despite what chaos may be going on outside, those in God's kingdom experience peace.  David, who wrote the psalm, would have also understood rivers to be places of abundance and provision.  Imagine the stark contrast between the desert he and his men were fleeing through with the lush green foliage around the riverbanks and the fresh water for his men to drink.  Not only is God's kingdom peaceful, but it is also abundant and full of life.  In short, it is a paradise, an oasis in the midst of chaos.

It is this way because the Most High lives there and because He lives there, it will not fall.  The phrase "God will help her at the break of day" can also be translated "will help her see the dawn", that is He will see her through the night safely.  Traditionally, the place where God dwells is the Temple.

But the best part is this:  You are the temple or "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1 Cor 6:19)  With God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, we have inner strength and peace when the world around us crumbles.

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted  among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."


You may have heard this verse many times applied in this way, "Stop being so busy and take time just to be with God." or "Settle down and meditate on God and His Word."  It doesn't make sense, though.  Psalm 46 isn't about reflecting on God's attributes like some other Psalms nor is it about being quiet or less busy.  The verse when applied in this way seems out of place for a Psalm mainly concerned about war, violence, uproars, shattering spears, burning shields, and how throughout it all God remains an ever-present help in times of trouble.

This isn't to say "have a quiet time with God" at all.  Why would God be exalted in that?  God isn't actually doing anything here, rather it is you doing something.

This verse is to say "Stand back and watch me work!"  The army is poised to fight, but God has told them to do nothing except watch Him work, to see his desolations he has brought upon the earth.

"Be still and know that I am God!" is His battle cry.  Watch him gain for himself glory, you need not do a thing.  Watch Him defeat every foe! It is a wondrous sight to behold!  How can we help but exalt his victories?  He is our mighty fortress, our protector and our strength, a genuine war hero.

Psalms 104:24

"How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have made them all;
The earth is full of your creatures."


How amazing is the Earth and all of God's creation?  Everything has been designed to work together in harmony.  We can consider the mighty rivers that flow from the mountains or how the grass of the field grows to feed the cattle.  We live on a planet that overflows with life of all sorts, all of it amazing and beautiful.  And it is God who makes it all move.  God does not create lifeless beings as we create, but rather everything that the Lord touches is alive!

But do you see it?  When you walk around on Earth, do you take the time to appreciate a leaf or marvel at the intricacies of an insect?  Do you take for granted every perfect sunset painted by the Creator, or simply tread upon the flowers in His fields?  In all these things God has displayed the magnitude of his splendor, yet these very things are unacknowledged in favor of our own devices which do not live.  No one can create like our God.

But above it all lies God's prized creation.  Above all things has God valued this one thing.  That thing is you.  Us.  All of humanity was been made in the image of God himself, both male and female.  To God, you are much more beautiful than any sunset on any beach and much more valued than any forest or mountain.  God has redeemed you so that he can once again enjoy you.  That's how precious you are to Him.

Psalms 71:14

"But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more."


What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, or so the saying goes, but what do you do when the very thing that is killing you is life?  Life never gets any easier to live and burdens are just as burdensome.  The rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous.  What reason can you have for hope?

It turns out, God doesn't make you any stronger to bear hardship and endure struggles.  Every death is painful, every broken relationship hurts, and every persecution is insufferable.  These things are very real and do not disappear with faith.  So what reason can you have for hope?

It is because in our weakness God shows up.  He does not prevent pain's sting, but he bears it for us.  God becomes strength for us.  The weaker we are, the more God lifts us up and bears for our sake.  If we were to collapse under the weight, God would bear us up as well.  God's glory shines when our own glory diminishes so that everyone might say "The Lord has done it!"

So this is the reason for the hope that we have:  that God has come alongside us to deliver us from the weight we carry, not that he prevents us from carrying weight. And we will praise him more and more for what doesn't kill you only brings you closer to God, our strength.

Psalms 51:1

"Have mercy on me, O God, 
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion, 
blot out my transgressions."


To what good work can we appeal to?  To what righteousness do we have to stand before God justified and able to defend ourselves?  Are we not hypocrites and liars?  Murderers and thieves?  What amount of good works can we say will be enough to atone for one act of selfishness?  Has not the damage been done?  Who can say to the shattered mirror, "Be repaired!" or "Put yourself back together!", expecting the word would bring restoration and atonement?  What amount of good works can fix a broken life damaged by sin?  Sin done cannot be undone by any earthly power and the penalty of sin is death.

But Jesus is Lord.

It is his righteousness that we appeal to.  By his goodness can we ask for mercy.  Because of his unfailing love do we stand to hold victory before the Lord in judgment.  Forgiveness is that divine power to save us from death, forgiveness only possible because God is God and Jesus is Lord.  Because God is righteous, he will restore that which we have broken.  Because God is righteous, he will keep account of sin to act with justice.  Because God is righteous, we can trust he is able to save us and he alone and we can trust his judgment is correct.  Thank God God is God!  He is who He says He is!

Psalm 68:19

"Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation."


Daily we need his mercies and strength to carry on.  We come to him with our weakness and so he is made strong in us.  Each and every day is a new day and each day has troubles of it's own so there is no sense worrying about tomorrow's troubles in addition to todays!  God will bear you up daily but not before it is time.

God is our salvation.  There is no one like him and salvation is found nowhere apart from God (for God is salvation).  To be in God's presence is to be safe and secure from whatever might do you harm. God is our resting place.

With the weight of the world bearing down on us, God lifts our burdens so that we might find rest.  There is no sense living in the future for the future is not yet here and no sense living in the past for those moments are gone.  We can only live in the present, in the now for that's all we really can bear.

When you've had about all that you can bear, find rest in God.  After all, even God rested on the seventh Day.

Psalm 143:5

"I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands."

Today I turn 24 years old and I can hardly believe it.  So much has happened in those 24 years that I could spend all day reflecting on it, but even though I've been alive for 24 years, I've only been living for 3.

It all means nothing without Jesus.

In the 3 years that I've known Him, I've learned and grown more than the previous 21 years combined.  When I consider the work he's done in me, how through everything he has lead me to this point, I am amazed. In a certain sense I believe in free will, but I also believe in destiny.  Everything that's happened in my life has happened so that I might know Christ.  The same is true for everyone.

Now every new day is an adventure.  Everyday there is something new to learn or discover or experience and I am just happy to be able to enjoy it while I last.  Truly if not for Christ's suffering I would have no freedom to live and love life.

So here I am free to do whatever I love, but the only thing I could ever want to do is love Christ.  How could I not?  He has never betrayed me!

So here's to one more year serving in Christ!

Psalms 68:6 revisted

"God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."

Are you alone?  Do you feel abandoned, forgotten, or empty?  Waiting on that special someone to knock on your door and take you away?  No surprise there, you were not made to be alone (Gen 1:18).  You were made to be in a relationship and in community, both with yourself and with God, else why would he give you a mouth to speak and ears to hear?  By your very nature you were made to interact.

However it is God who sets the lonely in families.  It is God who is the only cure for that empty feeling you feel.  People are mortal and friendships may come and go, but God is the Eternal One, unchanging and unyielding in steadfast love.  We know that whoever has given up "home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields" for Christ's sake and for the gospel "will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age" (Mk 10:29-30)

Do you seek to satisfy these needs God has placed in you alone?  Do you rob God of a chance to bless you?  Do you forfeit the grace you could have had?  Seek out God and he will provide for you the rest.  God alone knows if you need to be married, and if he knows your needs he will fill them, but seek God first!

Psalm 91:14-16

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him;  I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."


Within these three verses, God promises to do six things all for one reason: "Because he loves me." How wonderfully abundant is God's love for us!  I wish every single one of us could love each other the way Christ loves us all the time.  You don't need to be married to practice this sort of love, although marriage is a perfect opportunity to learn how to love like this (truly you don't marry someone because you're in love, but because you want to love).

And what does our love for God look like?  Right from the text, we see a synonymous structure in verse 14.  We can relate the phrase "because he loves me" with "for he acknowledges my name".  We know what his name is, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.  To know his name is to know his reputation which saves us.  It is his salvation to give to us and his alone for salvation belongs to our God.

When we acknowledge Jesus is Lord, that He has authority in our lives, only then can we say we love Him.

Psalm 18:28

"Because you cause my lamp to brighten, O LORD my God, my darkness shines." (My translation)

There are a few other references to lamps in the Old Testament, referring to them as guidance (Ps 119:105) or as a metaphor for life (Job 21:17, 2Sam 21:17).  There is also a curious case in Ps 131:17 which has strong ties to John 5:35 (John the Baptist as the lamp set up for the Anointed, preparing his path).  There are also New Testament references to eyes being the "lamps of the body" (Matt 6:22), but again it ties into the direction metaphor (Your eyes will guide your direction as a lamp).  This is supported by Prov 21:4, which states that "haughty eyes and a proud heart" are the lamp of the wicked.  One other metaphor connects lamps to searching (Prov 20:27, Lk 15:8).  So why this talk about lamps?

It is the LORD who sustains us and guides us.  It is he who is the light of the world to bring us out of our darkness and he who can pierce into our darkness to search us.  The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness can not overcome it but instead retreats to secluded places where the light has not yet touched.  And so we are to be the salt and light of the earth, to sustain it and to illumine it.  Can you feel that light within you?  It is God which shines through you if you open your eyes.