Bible Truth Daily Devotion

August 22, 2010

The Comfort of Familiarity

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 71

 

 

Going into a strange place, it would comfort us if we know that we have done something similar and had good result before. Life comprises of many different twists and turns and takes us into unfamiliar territory.  When we encounter difficulties, it is good to know that we have something reliable—the word of God.  Read on and discover this important truth.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 71:1-4.  The psalmist here proclaimed that he had taken refuge in the Lord.  He relied on the righteousness of God to save him (v. 2), and he followed God’s commandments (v. 3).  Here is an important truth: God’s commandments are there to save us.  It is not some arbitrary list of do and don’t.  Observance of God’s laws brings life; disobedience brings suffering and pain. 

Psalm 71:5-7. The psalmist recalled that God had been faithful in protecting him from his birth (v. 6) onto his youth (v. 5).  God had performed miracles in his life (v. 7).  The word marvel can also be interpreted as miracle. 

Psalm 71:8-11. The psalmist was now old and weak (v. 9).  His enemies were still plotting to destroy him (v. 10).  In his weakness or other reasons, they perceived that God had forsaken him (v. 11).

Psalm 71:12-13.  The psalmist came to God and asked for help (v. 12).  He was specific in the request of his deliverance (v. 13). 

Psalm 71:14-18.  The psalmist resolved to praise God with words and deeds (v. 14).  By his mouth, he would tell and declare God’s righteousness (vv. 15-16), God’s commandment (v. 17), and God’s power (v. 18).  By his action, he would enact the mighty deeds of the Lord (v. 16).

Psalm 71:19-21. The psalmist then moved to envision the deliverance.  He visualized that God would be praised (v. 19). His troubles would be an uplifting experience (v. 20) and an opportunity to increase his greatness and to comfort him (v. 21).

Psalm 71:22-23.  With the preceding vision, the psalmist burst into a joyous praise.  He would sing praises with the lyre.

 

Meditation:

The psalmist declares that God’s commandments are there to save him.  It is an important truth for all Christians.  Often we look at the commandments of God as something that Jesus has abolished.  If we recall, Jesus actually said that not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Matt 5:18).  The commandments of God are there and will be there because it is meant for our good.  If we do them, we will have life.  If we neglect them, we will have danger.  

For example, think about the commandment of adultery.  Not observing it will lead to all kinds of diseases and emotional pain.  The momentary happiness will bring pain and shame for years to come.  That commandment, like all other commandments, is there to protect us from those pain and shame.  

In addition to protecting us, the commandments also reveal the characters of God.  They are there for us to see what kind of God we worship.  They let us know what the Lord loves and hates.  The word of God also let us know what the Lord would do in different situations.  Therefore, familiarity of the word of God would help us participate in God’s plan and anticipate in God’s deliverance.  As we become intimate with God’s law, we can request ways of deliverance that is consistent to God’s will.

That should give us confidence in facing trial in life.  Trials are inevitable for Christians (James 1:2), but joyous attitude or despair is optional.  Judging from the psalmist, we can certainly have joy when we know that we will triumph and come out better at the end.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.  We pray that we read it daily and meditate on it.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 21, 2010

God’s Three Major Reponses

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 70

 

 

This little psalm packs a lot of theology about the world we live in.  In the short five verses, we get a map of how God would respond to the people around us. 

 

Commentary:

Psalm 70:2. God’s first kind of response is made toward the people who actively seek to harm God’s people.  God would cause them to fail or their wicked plans to be revealed.  The failure would turn them back and would humble them.  The revelation of their wicked plan would dishonor them and put them to shame. 

Psalm 70:3.  The second group of people is the one who take pleasure at the demise of God’s people.  The phrase “aha, aha” means what it sounds like—as expression of joy.  Given at a time when God’s people suffer, that expression has the element of scorn and despise.  God would cause this group of people to experience failures of their own and to turn back.  The phrase “turned back” is the word sub in Hebrew; it literally means to turn around and to return to the starting point.  God would cause the scornful people to experience hardship and would frustrate them, so they recognize their wrongs and repent of their wrongs.  That way they can get to know God.

Psalm 70:4. The last group of people is the ones who are after God’s heart.   They long to find God’s salvation in Jesus.  This group of people would triumph because God would let them find the eternal life.  They will rejoice and be glad because God has given them the provision.  They will give praises to God. 

 

Meditation:

God is not a robot.  His response changes slightly in order to achieve the results that He intends.  As in the psalm, God has already had two different subsets of response for the first group.  In a society where wrong is celebrated, revelation of plans sometimes do not frustrate the wicked people.  For example, pregnancy out of wedlock used to be a big disaster and embarrassment; the society now increasingly embraces it and sometimes even celebrates it.  The element of shame is no longer in existent for pregnancy out of wedlock.  The same can be said with many other issue—sex change, adultery, or gambling.  Hence, instead of revealing the plans, God may choose to crash the plans outright.  Hence, sometimes, there are new diseases appearing to curd the wrong behaviors.  Sometimes, there is shocking news.  These are warnings that the “acceptable” ways of life in our society are no longer acceptable to God.

As Christians, we need to be mindful of the desire of God.  He wants all men to be saved.  It is our calling to influence the people around us through our action and words.  Ask ourselves this question: Am I a little Jesus in what I do and what I say?  Little Jesus is what the word Christian means.  If we fail to be little Jesus in our life, we will fail God in reaching the people around us. 

Let’s repent.  Let’s seek God and let God be magnified in our own life.  Let our life be a light in this dark world, so more would repent when God works in their life.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you would help us see your work around us.  We pray that we would give light as well, so others can see the Jesus in us.  We ask that you purify us, so we ever seek you more.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 20, 2010

The Zeal and the Scorn

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 69

 

 

Every faithful servant of God would have a time in their life where their zeal for God would bring scorns.  David is no different.  In this psalm, he would detail his experiences, his resolutions, and his praise.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 69:1-4. David described the urgency of his petition.  He likened his situation to being in deep mire, something similar to quick sand, or in deep water (v. 2).  In either case, he was drowning (v. 1).  He has waited a long time for God to deliver him (v. 3).  His enemies, making him pay for things that he did not steal, were oppressive (v. 4).

Psalm 69:5-12. David surely knew that God knows everything. Therefore, he began with a confession that he had wrongs (v. 5).  His plight, however, had nothing to do with his sins.  He was zealous for God (v. 7).  It was his zeal that attracted others to attack him (v. 9).  Everything that David did for God became reasons for scorn and jeer.  He asked God to deliver him, so other people of God would not be discouraged (v. 6). 

Psalm 69:13-18.  David appealed to God’s character as the most important reason for deliverance.  God has lovingkindness, the saving truth, and compassion (v. 13, 16).  For those reasons, God would not leave David at the hand of his enemies.

Psalm 69:19-21.  David was certain that God was aware of his suffering.  In fact, David said that God knew his every enemy (v. 19), his every heartache (v. 20), and his every suffering (v. 21).

Psalm 69:22-28.  Though David was the king, he did not take up vengeance on his own.  He turned to God and asked God to repay his enemies (vv. 21-25, 28).  This was consistent with God’s command that we should leave the vengeance to God (Deut. 32:35).  

Psalm 69:29-36. Trusting that God would uphold justice, David changed his tune and started praising God.  God’s judgment on the wicked would make the humble glad; the humble people could also refer to the afflicted and the oppressed poor (v. 32).  God would not despise His own people who are imprisoned (v. 33).  Finally, David petitioned God to save Jerusalem, which was also called Zion, and let the people of God to dwell in the Holy city.

 

Meditation:

David worked so hard for the Lord and only got scorns for his zeal.  Have you been to a point in your life feeling the same?  You are a leader in the church.  You try so hard to get the people involved in reading the word of God, there is hardly any response.  You try to get people heart right in worshipping God, the people become angry at you for enforcing some accountability measure.  You have given up your family time to serve, but there is no appreciation for the hard work.  You become willing to be taken advantage of, only to be despised by them.  

Tears flow backward, and life is wasting away.  The feeling of sinking lower only heightened as time goes by.  When will the Lord hear and when will the Lord answer?  The fear is that more of this disobedience would render the church useless. 

Give it to God, for the Lord knows what you have done is for Him.  In His lovingkindness, His saving truth, and His compassion, He will bring everything to pass.  God is not mock, so the labor in Christ will never be in vain. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are omniscient.  We trust that you will take vengeance on the enemies of the cross.  We pray for the strengthening of the church body.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 19, 2010

The Grace and the Righteous Deeds of God

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

The Grace and the Righteous Deeds of God

Psalm 68

 

 

This psalm is a recounting of deeds that God has performed in leading the Jews from the slavery in Egypt to the monarchy reign in the Promised Land.  God’s work includes the blessing and the directing into a path of righteousness.  The psalm has many difficult similes and some prophecies. It is best to read the psalm along with the commentary.  

 

Commentary:

Psalm 68:1-4. This portion of the psalm summarizes what follows.  It gives praises to God because the Lord favors the righteous and defeats the wicked.  The name of God is Yahweh, commonly shown in capital letters and written as the word “LORD.” 

Psalm 68:5-6. God looks after the fatherless, the widow, the lonely, and the prisoners, but the Lord punishes the rebellious.  The word “prisoners” describe the Jews under the slavery in Egypt; they had no freedom and were abused by the Egyptians.  The lonely people are the Jews who were able to enter into Canaan from the desert.  The rebellious are the unbelieving Jews who refused to enter into Canaan; as a result of their rebellion, they wandered 40 years and died in the desert. 

Psalm 68:8-9. During the wandering years in the desert, God performed miracles that caused the earth to shake and that sent rains in the parched land.

Psalm 68:11-13. This passage is a general statement of how God provided for Israel.  It describes the enemy armies fleeing before the homes of the Jews.  Consequently, the women at home were able to collect spoils of war, which usually belonged to the soldiers.  There was no recorded event prior to David’s time matching the description here; the closest one would be the story of Deborah (Judge 4).  An event during the time of the divided kingdom was similar to this passage (2King 6:24-7:20). 

Dove is the animal emblem of the Jews.  Verse 13 describes the provision of God through the abundance of the spoil.  The spoils covers Israel like the wings of dove being covered with silvers and gold. 

Psalm 68:14.  Zalmon is a mountain close to Shechem.  The word Zalmon can also mean “dark, black.”  This verse can be either a literal description of the winter time in which snow fell in Mt. Zalmon or a figure of speech about white bones scattered on a dark hillside.  Since there is no recorded event of either, it is difficult to determine what this is. 

Psalm 68:15-16.  The passage here personalizes the event which David picked Jerusalem as the temple site.  Surely, there were other more famous mountains than Jerusalem in the land of Judea.  Bashan, the region east and northeast of the Sea of Galilee, was depicted as a worship center in v. 15. Yet God chose Jerusalem, which figuratively became the envy of all other mountains. 

Psalm 68:18-19.  Verse 18 is quoted in Eph 4:8, describes that Jesus has descended into hell and taken captives with Him into heavens.  As such, v. 18 is a prophecy.  Verse 19 then perfectly describes what our Savior has done on the cross.  Our daily sins have been borne by His suffering on the cross.  Our Lord is surely our God and our salvation (the word “salvation” is yeshuah, see Ps 67:2).  

Psalm 68:22-23.  The depths of the sea and Bashan are figures of speech (v. 22).  The depths represent the deepest part, while Bashan is the highest peak in Judea.  Together they form the merism, which is everywhere on earth.  In v. 23, the dogs are drinking the blood of the enemies.

Psalm 68:27.  David here recalled that the tribe of Benjamin ruling Israel with the tribe of Judah supporting it.  These two tribes were in the southern end of the nation.  In the north end were the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun.  That encompassed the whole kingdom.

Psalm 68:30-31. The phrase “the beasts in the reeds” refer to Egypt.  The phrase “the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples” refers to the cohorts that came with Egypt for the wars and the spoils.  God would defeat these kings.  They would send tributes to God (v. 31). 

 

Meditation:

This psalm is a good illustration of what we can mediate on in our silence.  For the awesome deeds of righteousness, God caused the rebellious generation to wander in the desert, so the Lord made a nation out of the obedient people.  For the blessing, God sent rain and defeated the enemies in miraculous proportion.  When the psalmist recounted these deeds and blessings of God, God became real and awesome to him.  He spontaneously praised God joyously and loudly. 

The next time you are going to the worship, have a time of silent and wait for God. During the waiting period, recount the blessings and the awesome deeds of righteousness of God like David did.  Keep doing that until God becomes real and awesome to you.  Then you start the worship.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace.  We especially thank you for leading us to walk in the path of righteousness for your name sake.  We pray that we will give you our best worship all the days of our life.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 18, 2010

The Purpose of Blessings

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 67

 

 

Blessings of God are like jewels in life.  They sparkle and stand out as the highlight of our life.  We all know that they are precious, but do we know what is the purpose for them?  Today’s psalm offers an excellent perspective of the purpose of blessings.  Read the psalm and read the commentary to find out what it is.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 67:1. This verse is a shortened version of Number 6:24-26

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

The Israelites would recognize it as a blessing right away.  The blessing onto the Jews has a purpose.

Psalm 67:2.  The purpose of God’s blessing is to make known the way of God to all people on earth.  The way of God is also the salvation of God.  Who is the way of God?  Jesus proclaims that He is the Way (John 14:6).  The word salvation is yeshuah in Hebrew or Jesus in English.  Jesus is the salvation and the way of God.  The job of the Jews and Christians now is to make Jesus known to all the earth.

Psalm 67:3-4.  The ultimate goal is to bring people into praising God.  Jesus came to look for worshippers on earth (John 4).  The people who are saved would praise God with gladness and joy. 

The word judge can also mean govern.  During the millennium reign, Jesus Christ will govern all people and guide all the nations on earth.  This prophecy of millennium is sure, found even in the psalm.

Psalm 67:5-7.  The blessings of God are seen through the abundant harvest (v. 6).  As surely as God blesses His people, His authenticity becomes self-evident to people on the earth (v. 7).  All people of God should give God the praise (v. 5).  That way, we will accomplish our purpose of making known God’s way to all people.

 

Meditation:

Are we making known what God has blessed us?  Blessings are not something to be hidden for our fond memory at old age.  It is to be shared and proclaimed, so that the way of God is known.  Blessings are evident of the might of our Lord.  When we give testimony of our blessings, it opens door to share the salvation of God to others.

The purpose of blessings is to share about the ultimate blessing of God—Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the salvation of God.  Through the Way, all men can come to the Father.  God has not provided another way; Jesus is the only way. 

When people come to receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, they then know how to worship God.  Only through the forgiveness of sins then we are worthy to present ourselves in front of God.  Only when we are cleansed from our sins, then our worship is acceptable.  Let’s all praise God for the salvation through Jesus Christ—the Son of God.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us tremendous blessings.  The most important of them is the salvation through Jesus Your Son.  We should also count the wonderful blessings that God you have for us and share them with our friends and family.  We pray that we will use the testimonies of your blessing and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 17, 2010

Instruction on Proclaiming the Name of God

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 66

 

 

More than just soul-smoothing or spirit-uplifting poems, psalms can be important teaching tool.  This psalm teaches us how to proclaim the name of God, both internally at the church and externally in the world.  Read the psalm and then the commentary to reflect on the teaching from the Lord.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 66:1-4.  This section of the psalm is a command to all the earth to praise God.   It gives specific ways on how to praise.   The psalmist calls all to praise with a shout, not just any shout but a joyful shout (v. 1).  Then he calls everyone to sing (v. 2).   In case people do not know what to shout or sing for, the psalmist tells people that we should tell God of the wondrous work and His power (v. 3).  

An obvious observation contradicts the command of the psalmist.  Not everyone on earth worship Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords.  Further reading shows that people of the earth would worship not out of reverence or love but out of fear.  Even the enemies of God will give feigned obedience to the Lord (v. 3; Dt. 33:29).  Hence, in the name of Jesus, all knees shall bow and all mouth will confess (Phil 2:10-11).  But this will happen when the millennium arrives. 

Psalm 66:5-7.  The next section reveals to us what we should ascribe to God.  The work of God is shown in external and internal perspectives of the Jews.  Internally, the Jews were delivered through the crossing of the Red Sea (v. 6).  Externally, all nations are ruled by God (v. 7); this fact is proclaimed in Is 44:7 and deduced by Job in Job 12:23. 

Psalm 66:8-15.  The psalmist does not stop at calling all people on earth to praise God.  He specifically calls on the people of God to perform their God-given duty—making known His name in all the earth (v. 8).  This section gives specifics about proclaiming God’s name among God’s people. 

These specifics are often overlooked by today’s church.  We are too busy singing songs that other people make or watching powerful testimonies given by someone do not know personally; we have forgotten to give praise to God about ourselves in front of other Christians. 

The psalmist specifically tells us to give details of the trials that we receive (vv. 9-12).  The psalmist also reminds us to pay our vows in front of others (vv. 13-15).  All these need to be done among brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Psalm 66:16-20. Continuing the thought of proclaiming God’s name, this section describes what we should present to the outsiders.  We should focus on the prayer and praise we have given (v. 17).  Do not forget to make the righteous character of God known (v. 18).  Then we declare the answer we receive from God (v. 19).  Finally, we proclaim the lovingkindness of God and His willingness to hear the earnest prayer of the needy.

 

Meditation:

When the millennium comes, everyone will submit to the lordship of Jesus.  By then, it is too late for the non-believers.  They will not enjoy the love of God given through Jesus Christ for them. If we say we love our friends and family, we will have to do something for them now.  We need to proclaim the name of God to them. 

The process of proclaiming is both external and internal.  Let’s practice them in the church through testimonies and thanksgiving.  Then let’s reach out to the world through our bold proclamation.  The world may not like what we tell them, but they can never accuse us in front of God for not ever telling them.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this psalm instructing us how to make known your name.  We ask that the Holy Spirit within us strengthening us and emboldening us to do this work of love.  We pray that your name be worshipped everywhere in love.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 16, 2010

Preparing for Worship

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 65

 

 

How do we prepare our hearts for worship?   The psalmist has given us some guideline for worship preparation. 

 

Commentary:

Psalm 65:1. The word silence is duwmiyah in Hebrew.  It only occurs four times in the OT.  It also means to wait.  Putting the two together would mean a silent wait for God.  That comes before the praise and thanksgiving. 

This is how we should come to worship, both corporately and privately.  Have a time of silence and wait for God’s presence before worship.  Then we will sing praises to Him.

Psalm 65:3. The original literal translation of this verse is, “the words of iniquities overwhelm (above) me; you forgive the transgressions.”  The psalmist speaks of how the forgiveness of God is real and precious to him at times when he is overwhelmed by the enormity of his sins.  This thought connects with the observation or proclamation cited in the preceding verse.  

Psalm 65:4.  The feeling of being forgiven expands in this verse.  Describing the forgiveness in picturesque terms, persons getting pardons are compared to dwelling in God’s courts.  God’s court is like the palace of a king; the persons would enjoy the food and the provisions from the king.  They will surely be satisfied.  God’s court is also in heaven.  For anyone mired in the utter despair of sins, God’s forgiveness of sins is indeed heavenly. 

Psalm 65:5. The verse can be read as “by awesome deed of righteousness, you answer us.”  God expresses Himself through the work of His hand; the deed of righteousness describes how fitting God gives to the Jews.   God is trustworthy because of His fitting reward.  Examples of God’s deeds are in the following verses. 

Psalm 65:6-13.  Verses 6 and 7 cover the mountains and the seas.  Verse 8 encompasses the whole earth, including the rising and the setting of the sun.  Verse 9-10 describes how God contributes to the growth of crops in the land. Verse 11-12 summarizes the blessings of God in the land.  Verse 13 personalizes the abundance experienced by the meadows and valleys. 

 

Meditation:

Are we too busy before we worship?  I mean if we spend any quiet time waiting for the presence of our Lord or we do things right up to the moments of worship whether we are at home or in church.  Too often we chat, check email, or read up on the latest before worship time.  What we should do is to give that moment of silence to wait for the presence of the Lord.  Feel the real presence of God before we spend anytime singing praises to Him.  Review His forgiveness and know the joy before we shout joyfully in His name. 

Worship is not empty headed action.  It is rooted in an out-flowing of gratitude.  When we are full of thanks, it spills out from our mouth.  We cannot help but sing praises to the Lord. 

So before each worship, spend time dwelling on the blood of the cross. Retract the steps of the sufferings of our Savior.  See how his hands and feet were nailed for our sins. Count that stripes on His back; each one is for the sins that we have yesterday and today.   Experience His forgiveness when He cried out to the Father, “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”  The word of the cross is the power of God.  Let God’s power thoroughly transforms us before we worship.

Before the worship, think of the awesome deed of righteousness God had worked in our life.  Count how God renew us and put us on the right path.  There is no substitute for the work of God in us.  Each one is unique and worthy of praise.  Worship God for He is worthy of all our praise.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for you have indeed work mightily in us.  We pray that we give you the worship that is worthy of your sacrifice. We give you thanks and adoration.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 15, 2010

The Evildoers and Their Characteristics

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 64

 

 

Have you considered the ways of the evildoers?  Perhaps we can describe the atrocity of Hitler or Chairman Mao in their slaughtering of many, but we may have trouble naming their plot and their characteristics in details.  The psalmist may not have Hitler or Chairman Mao in his mind when he wrote this psalm, but his description of the evildoers fits them and any other evildoers in around us.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 64:1.  The word “complaint” is siyach in Hebrew.  The word can also be understood as meditation or consideration.  Is it a complaint or a consideration?  The majority of the translation calls it a compliant, but I think consideration is a better translation.  No doubt the first part of the psalm fits the pattern of a complaint by emphasizing the lack of judgment in the deeds of the evildoers.  Nevertheless, the psalm ended in the thought that God would uphold justice.  The psalmist has considered what it means when there is an apparent lack of judgment in evildoers and calls on God to judge.  He prompts God to act and to cause the eventual fall of evildoers, so the people of God can declare righteousness in the world. 

Psalm 64:2-6.  The weapons of the evildoers are lies and bitter speech.  Like their father, Satan, the evildoers would hide in the dark and come up with scheme to entrap righteous people.  Hence, the spiritual warfare is never limited to the spiritual realm.  Satan would use men to spread rumor and carry out attacks on godly people. 

Who are the evildoers?  There are some characteristics listed here to identify them.  They do iniquity (v. 2).  They are bitter (v. 3).  They conceal their dislike of the blameless until they are ready to fire (v. 4).  They have an evil purpose; in other words, their words are not aimed to achieve good result (v. 5).  They also have a plot in attaining their purpose (v. 6). 

Psalm 64:7.  The psalmist says that God would intervene.  The Lord would wound the evildoers with an arrow.  It is unclear rather the wound here is physical or spiritual.  But God surely would intervene. 

Psalm 64:8-9.  The result of the intervention is a public recognition and denunciation.   The people would see the evil purpose and the plot of the evildoers.  They would come to grip that God oversees and is in control of all things. 

Psalm 64:10.  The righteous, godly people would rejoice.  They would know that their faith is not in vain.  They would give praise to God. 

 

Meditation:

The evildoers are not necessary dressed in military suite or in evil costume.  They can be the normal Joe sitting next to you and me—in the church.  It may be hard to believe it, but such is the case of the psalmist David.  People close to him were plotting evil scheme against him.  Likewise, there can be schemes already at work against you or me.

Fortunately, we know the weapons of the evildoers and their characteristics.  As children of God, we should watch for signs of evildoers.  Then we need to be careful, so we do not fall into their scheme and become their mouthpiece to propagate the lies and bitter speech.  We need to shake our head at the evil purpose and champion others to follow God and to do the right things.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you be the center of our life.  So we become the light and shine into darkness.  Let the evil scheme be exposed around us.  Let us be the source of truth in our community.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 14, 2010

The Acceptable Worship

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 63

 

 

Worship is a major part of Christian living.  Exactly what type of worship is God looking for?  This psalm provides a good look of an acceptable worship. 

 

Commentary:

Psalm 63:1.  Situation drives our thought.  The followers of Christ should aim to achieve the highest thought in all situations.  Surely, the psalmist shows us that the highest thought is to think of God even in life’s most unpleasant situation. 

The psalmist was situated in the wilderness. He described it as dry and weary.  Overcome by thirst, he did not think of the wine in his palace but thought of God.  In fact, he said his flesh yearned for the Lord. 

Psalm 63:2. How did David come to that?  A better question is how can we come to that point in our life?  It turns out that David had experienced God in a real way.  He said that he saw God in the sanctuary.  The sanctuary was the worship place in the OT.  There in the worship, David had seen the power and the glory of the Lord. 

Almost all Christians have been to worship.  Someone has defined worship as when a participant experiences God. If that is the case, perhaps only a few of us has been to a real worship because few has experienced God like David had.  Likewise, only a few of us have been transformed to be more like David. 

Psalm 63:3. Exactly what kind of worship did David have?  David proclaimed that the lovingkindness of God is better than life.  Wow! That attitude is refreshing in today’s electronic craze culture.  David was weighing the world on one end of the scale and God on the other.  There was no toss up; God and His lovingkindness won hand down.  David was totally committed to God.  He would praise Him all day long. 

Psalm 63:4.  The psalmist said that he would bless God and would lift up his hands in God’s name.  The action of blessing God is to give praise to Him or to thank Him.  The action of lifting the hands is a motion to pray (Ps 28:2).  When the hand is lifted up in worship, it signifies an attitude of praying. 

Psalm 63:5. The word “soul” can be understood as the life.  The phrase “marrow and fatness” is the choice food of David’s day; they are like the fried stuff or the beef stew of our day.  Here in the desert, the thought of God put the psalmist in high elation.   The thought of God satisfied his life like he just had the best meal of his life. 

Psalm 63:6.  Time was never a reason to stop thinking about God.  If the thought of God came late in the night, the psalmist would sit up and meditate. 

Psalm 63:8-9.  The righteous man would be upheld by God.  Hence, the psalmist was confident that he would be restored and that the wicked would perish.  

Psalm 63: 11.  Those rejoices in God would triumph ultimately.  There will be a crown of life waiting for those who will stand for their testimony with their life and proclaim that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior.  The liars would not be able to enter into heaven. 

In this psalm, David was talking about those who defamed him would be stopped. 

 

Meditation:

In reading this psalm, we need to ask ourselves this question: When was the last time that you and I are sold out to God?   The enthusiasm and the devotion of David were unprecedented at his time.  We can duplicate his intensity in our time and make our Lord and Savior pleased. 

When we can give God our best, our worship will be accepted by God.  There we shall meet God and experience Him.  Let’s make the acceptable worship an everyday experience because it is the best thing in life, just like the psalmist said. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you for your lovingkindness is better than life.  Let us lift up our hand and give thanks to you for your are good.  Let us rejoice over the thought of your grace.  Give us that boldness to proclaim your name in public.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

August 13, 2010

The Half-Truth

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 1:00 am

Psalm 62

 

 

There are two “Selah” in Psalm 62.  Selah is a musical notation in psalm.  It is believed to be a pause separating what comes before and after it.  Since there are two “Selah”,  Psalm 62 have three stanzas.  Separated by the Selah, verses 1 to 4 is the first stanza, verses 5 to 8 is the second stanza, and the remaining four verses are the last stanza. 

 

Commentary:

Psalm 62:1-2. The psalmist declared that he would wait in silence.  Instead of rebutting the false accusation that people lobed at him, he chose to depend on God.  God would be his protector (rock) and shield (salvation).  The declaration to trust in God

Psalm 62:3-4. Assail means to attack violently with blows or words.  In this case, David was likely being attacked by words.  These attacks consisted of lies and half-truth (v. 4).  Why half-truth?

It is not likely that people would believe in complete lie.  A lie is more believable if it has some elements of truth in it than an outright lie.  A half-truth is another way of describing a lie that has some element of truth.  It is difficult to discern them because the truth in it confuses people. 

He described that the attack was severe enough to murder him.  The defamation by Absalom was able to topple David from the throne.  It nearly cost David his life.  Surely the power of lie should never be underestimated.

Psalm 62:5-8. The refrain repeated the phrases in vv. 1-2.  Then it restated the psalmist’s allegiance to God.  It also called on people of God to trust in God. 

Psalm 62:9-10. Do not trust in the ways of men.  The world looks at the status, power, and wealth, but God repudiates them all.  God has no regard for the high class or the low class in society (v. 9).  God does not like the power that corrupts (v. 10).  God certainly thinks that riches are a stumbling block for people to enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 10; Matt 19:24).

Psalm 62:11-12. God reigns supremely.  Therefore, it is wise to aim to please God. Rather in word or deed, let do it for the ultimate reward in heaven.

 

Meditation:

Satan is the father of lie (John 8:44).  He uses the world to propagate his lies.  How?  Satan starts some half-truth. The half-truth can usually apply to some situation.  It is like the worldly wisdom.  It may be truth a good guideline, but Satan is making it an irrefutable truth.  Satan then uses the world to repeat the half-truth.  A lie that is said enough times soon becomes the “truth.”  Soon everyone accepts it as the truth.  The half-truth then must apply to everyone and to every situation.

Sadly, even the people of God believe in the half-truth.  They live their life with the half-truth and end up with messed-up lifestyle and/or wrong priority.  The lies sap their spiritual life away, and the people of God become powerless.  They have been deceived by Satan.  To dispel the lie of Satan, they need to read the word of God.  The word of God is medicine to the sick mind.  Even healthy people need the reading to maintain the spiritual vitality. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that your word is the truth.  We pray that we use it to fight in the war with Satan.  We ask that the Holy Spirit will show us the meaning of your word.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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