Posts Tagged ‘Reflections on the Psalms’

January 4 Psalm 4

Posted: January 4, 2013 by Pam Larson in Bible Passages, January Bible Readings, Psalms
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January 4

Psalm 4 (ESV)

Answer Me When I Call

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4:1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2 O men, [1] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

4 Be angry, [2] and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Before the throne of God above

Posted: May 9, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, May, Psalms
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Sam Storms, Enjoying God Ministries,  on Psalm 103:

Were ever more beautiful words penned than these?

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:10-12).

Consider for a moment how we “deal” with others. We keep fresh in our minds their injustices toward us. We nurture the memory of their faults and failings. We never let them forget what they did and we often make sure others are mindful of it as well. We seek every opportunity, often secretly and surreptitiously, to make them pay for their transgressions. We hold it in our hearts and over their heads and persuade ourselves that it’s only fair that they be treated this way.

Now consider again this description of God in his “dealings” with us: “He does NOT deal with us according to our sins” (v. 10a). Our sins do not constitute the rule or standard or plumb line according to which God makes his decisions on how to treat us. He does not recall or bring to the fore or publicly announce our history of hatred and lust and blasphemy and greed and pride before he formulates his plan for our life or before responding to something we’ve just said or done.

Better still is the second statement in v. 10, namely, that God does NOT “repay us according to our iniquities” (v. 10b). It’s certainly not because our iniquities do not deserve repayment. They are deep and many and heinous and are deserving of the most severe, indeed, eternal judgment. But those who “fear him” (v. 11b) need never fear that he will exact payment or demand suffering or insist, according to the rigors of his law and unyielding holiness, that we endure the penal consequences of violating his will and ways.

In fact, so far is it from the realm of possibility that we might ever be dealt with “according to our sins” or repaid “according to our iniquities” that David compares it to the distance between earth and the highest heavens and the distance between east and west.

The Hubble Telescope has given us breathtaking pictures of a galaxy some 13 billion lights years from earth. Yes, 13 billion light years! Remember, a light year is 6,000,000,000,000 (six trillion) miles. That would put this galaxy at 78,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles from earth! In case you were wondering, we count from million, to billion, to trillion, to quadrillion, to quintillion, to sextillion. So, this galaxy is 78 sextillion miles from earth.

If you traveled 500 mph non-stop, literally sixty-minutes of every hour, twenty-four hours in every day, seven days in every week, fifty-two weeks in every year, with not a moment’s pause or delay, it would take you 20,000,000,000,000,000 years (that’s 20 quadrillion years) to get there! And that would only get you to the farthest point that our best telescopes have yet been able to detect. If the universe is infinite, as I believe it is, this would be the mere fringe of what lies beyond.

My point, the point of the psalmist, is that the magnitude of such distance is a pathetically small comparison to the likelihood that you will ever be dealt with according to your sins or repaid for your iniquities! If you were ever inclined to pursue your transgressions so that you might place yourself beneath their condemning power, 78,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles is an infinitesimally small fraction of the distance you must travel to find them!

Now, here’s the question: Why does God not deal with us according to our sins? Why does he not repay us according to our iniquities? In other words, on what grounds does he take such magnanimous and marvelous action? Does he simply wave the wand of mercy and dismiss our guilt? Does he merely shrug off our rebellion and unbelief and hostility as if they were nothing and of no consequence? Does he ignore the dictates of his holiness when he forgives us? Does he pretend that justice matters little or that love trumps righteousness?

Clearly the answer is no! The reason why God does not deal with usaccording to our sins is because he has dealt with Jesus in accordance with what they require! The reason why God does not repay us according to our iniquities is because he has repaid his Son in accordance with what holiness demands (in perfect harmony, I might add, with the will and voluntary love of the Son himself)!

David wrote these words of hope and life from within the context of the Old Testament sacrificial system. He could confidently speak of such grace and kindness because he personally knew of the Day of Atonement, of the blood sacrifice, of the scapegoat onto whose head his sins were symbolically placed and transferred (see Leviticus 16).

In our case, on this side of the cross that forever and finally fulfills these old covenant types and symbols, we can confidently rest in the freedom of forgiveness because God has “put forward [Christ Jesus] as a propitiation by his blood” (Romans 3:25).

God did not willy-nilly cast aside our sins as if they were of no consequence. Rather, he “laid on him [the Son, our Savior] the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6b). God did not casually ignore the dictates of his holiness and righteous character. Rather, he “wounded” Jesus “for our transgressions” and “crushed” him “for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5).

This, and this alone, is why we can sing and celebrate that God does not and never will “deal with us according to our sins” or “repay us according to our iniquities”. The measure of God’s “steadfast love” (v. 11) is the depth of the sacrifice he endured in giving up his only Son to suffer in our stead (cf. Romans 8:32).

I hope all can see why the current debate over penal substitutionary atonement is so eternally important, for if God did not deal with the Lord Jesus Christ according to your sins, he will deal with you in accordance with them. And if God did not repay in his Son what your iniquities deserve, he will repay you. It’s just that simple.

Psalm 103 begins with the exhortation that we not forget all the many benefits that God has graciously bestowed, chief among which is that he “forgives all your iniquity” (v. 3a). Now we know how. Now we know why. So let us all sing:

“Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea.

A great high Priest whose Name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart.

I know that while in Heaven He stands,

No tongue can bid me thence depart.


When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free.

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.


Behold Him there the risen Lamb,

My perfect spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I AM,

The King of glory and of grace.

One in Himself I cannot die,

My soul is purchased by His blood,

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ my Savior and my God!” (C. L. Bancroft, 1863)

Breathless,

Sam

To read more from Dr. Sam Storms, click here:

Unlimited Praise for a Limitless God!

Posted: July 24, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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Here is Part 2 from a commentary on Psalm 148-150 by Sam Storms of Enjoying God Ministries:

Second, the focus of such adoration is always and ever God alone for who he is and what he’s done. We do not worship the world or revere the reflection. We fix our hearts on the Original, the Source, the First Cause of all subsequent causes (see Ps. 148:5-6, 13-14).

We are to “praise him for his mighty deeds” and “according to his excellent greatness” (Ps. 150:2). There is a limit to praise only if there is a limit to God. Ah, but there is an infinite plenitude to his greatness that our worship could never exhaust.

Third, worship is an exhilarating experience, both for God and us! We are to “be glad” in our Maker and to “rejoice” in our King (Ps. 149:2). We are to “exult in glory” and “sing for joy” (Ps. 149:5a), even while on our “beds” (Ps. 149:5b). Whether as we go to bed, or perhaps during seasons of sleeplessness, or as we rise up in the morning, or even when laid prostrate from affliction, let praise fill our hearts and mouths.

Why is worship so pleasing and satisfying? Because, as C. S. Lewis noted,

“all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless . . . shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. . . . Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible” (94).

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy, said Lewis,

“because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed” (95).

In worship we see and God is seen, and in both is unrivaled pleasure, ours and his! We enjoy him who is eternally enjoyable and he enjoys being exalted in our enjoyment!

God commands that we “praise his name with dancing” and make “melody to him with tambourine and lyre” (149:3) because he “takes pleasure” in his people when they do (149:4a).

Sam Storms: “Worship is a universal privilege.”

Posted: July 23, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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Over the course of the next three days, I will post parts of a commentary on Psalm 148-150 by Sam Storms of Enjoying God Ministries.  Here is Part 1:

Psalms 148-150 are too lengthy for me to include in the text of this meditation, and too important for any of us to ignore. So I encourage you to open your Bible and read them now. After you are finished, consider these four themes that emerge.

First, worship is a universal privilege. I could have said “obligation”, for worship is a duty we are commanded to fulfill. But I don’t want to give the impression that it is burdensome or oppressive. Exulting in the exaltation of God is an unparalleled privilege that is permeated by joy and satisfaction. But it is the universal dimension that I want you to note, especially as it is delineated in Psalm 148.

There are no people who are excluded, or a place where praise is not proper. In vv. 1-6 the whole of the celestial or heavenly universe is called on to praise God and in vv. 7-12 it extends to the whole of the terrestrial or earthly universe.

He is to be praised both “from the heavens” (v. 1) and “from the earth” (v. 7). “All his angels” (v. 2a) form an innumerable choir and join in the song (cf. Rev. 5:11). Even the “sun” by day and the “moon” by night (v. 3a) declare his power, never leaving their Creator without a witness.

All “shining stars” (v. 3b) add their voice to the chorus of praise! Billions and trillions and quadrillions of thriving heat and energy and blinding brightness testify to his immeasurable power and artistic skills. The Babylonians, from whose captivity these worshipping Israelites had recently been released, believed the stars were deities that controlled their destiny. But here we see that they are but one section in the celestial choir that echoes the glory of their Maker!

Every “creature” of the “sea” (v. 7) has a song to sing: whether diminutive perch or massive whale, be it the majestic dolphin or the ravenous shark. Stingrays and moray eels and starfish and barracudas and bass and trout and salmon together draw attention to him who is worthy of all worship.

As we saw in Psalm 147, so also in 148 “fire and hail, snow and mist,” even “stormy wind” fulfill his word (v. 8). “It is a grand orchestra which contains such wind-instruments as these! He is a great leader who can keep all these musicians in concert, and direct both time and tune” (Spurgeon, 3:B:439).

By means of “mountains and all hills,” whether the towering Himalayas or the foothills of central Kansas, be it Everest or an ant hill, God is glorified (v. 9a).

“Fruit trees and all cedars” (v. 9b) testify to his splendor: yes, apple trees and cheery trees and sycamores and oak and elm and sweet gum and weeping willow and sequoia and pine and, well, you get the idea.

Let us not forget the “beasts and all livestock” (v. 10a), both longhorn and lion, both jersey and jackal, even simbrah and stallion.

For some of us it’s hard to imagine that “creeping things” (v. 10b) such as tarantulas and ticks could praise God, but indeed they do; as also do all “flying birds”, both bluejay and buzzard, whether cardinal or crow.

Of course, we mustn’t forget the human race! “Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers” (v. 11), “young men and maidens” together with “old men and children” (v. 12) are to praise the name of the Lord!

All that have “breath” (Ps. 150:6) should praise him with every breath until they are out of breath!

“We sing the greatness of our God that made the mountains rise,

That spread the flowing sea abroad and built the lofty skies.

We sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day,

The moon shines full at His command and all the stars obey.” (Isaac Watts)

Lord of the Stars, Healer of Hearts

Posted: July 22, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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The Lord builds up Jerusalem;  he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. —Psalm 147:2-6

Sam Storms, of Enjoying God Ministries:

The reference in v. 2 is surely to the actual events that transpired in Nehemiah’s day when the people returned to rebuild the city. What’s truly remarkable is that God is not simply concerned with physical walls but with spiritual wounds. Earthly kings distance themselves from the lowly, but our God condescends to bring aid to the shattered and suffering. Said Spurgeon:

“Behold, the Most High has to do with the sick and the sorrowful, with the wretched and the wounded! . . . Few will associate with the despondent, but Yahweh chooses their company, and abides with them till he has healed them by his comforts. . . . He himself lays on the ointment of grace, and the soft bandages of love, and thus binds up the bleeding wounds of those convinced of sin” (3:B:415).

This is your God: he lovingly heals the crushed in spirit and powerfully assigns the stars their place in the heavens! He knows every hair on our heads and calls the stars by name (cf. Isa. 40:26)! Spurgeon again says it best:

stars“From stars to sighs is a deep descent! From worlds to wounds is a distance which only infinite compassion can bridge. Yet he who acts a surgeon’s part with wounded hearts, marshals the heavenly host, and reads the muster-roll of suns and their majestic systems. O Lord it is good to praise thee as ruling the stars, but it is pleasant to adore thee as healing the broken heart!” (3:B:415).

How wonderful that he is both the Lord over stars and the healer of hearts, but if he had to choose one or the other, there would be no hesitation. Our God would let every star in every galaxy disintegrate and disappear before he would abandon or neglect so much as one of his children, struggling and immature and frail though they be.

The Unsearchable Splendor of God (Psalm 145)

Posted: July 20, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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Sam Storms’ meditation on the greatness of God can be found at Enjoying God Ministries:

David begins with God’s greatness (vv. 3, 6b), a word that is horribly overused in our day and applied to anything from deodorant to the most obnoxious professional athlete. Historically, many have taken the adjectiveGreat and made it part of their name: Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and in our own day the comedian Jackie Gleason simply went by the title, The Great One.

I beg to differ. God alone is Great! Furthermore, his greatness is unsearchable (v. 3). No one ever has or ever will fully fathom the depths of his greatness. Not all the minds of all the ages using the most advanced scientific equipment can capture all that God is. He is utterly beyond and infinitely past finding out.

David also points to his majesty (v. 5), or better still, the glorious splendor of his majesty. There is a great light or luster or spiritual brilliance that emanates from the magnificence of his majesty. God’s majesty is blinding and breathtaking and beyond comprehension or calculation.

Ah, but he is also good (vv. 7a, 9a). Can you envision how horrific it would be if this great and powerful and awesome God were bad? Don’t take his goodness for granted, but joyfully celebrate it and declare it aloud and rest confidently in it.

Our God is also righteous (v. 7b). To say that God is righteous is not to say he conforms to human standards of right and wrong. Rather he conforms perfectly to the standards of his own perfections. But if he is wholly and holy righteous, how can unholy and unrighteous people like you and me enter his presence? The answer follows.

According to v. 8, God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Yes, God has a holy temper, but he has a very long fuse! Even those who deny and blaspheme his name are recipients of his patience and long-suffering. He permits his enemies to live, to spew forth their horrid sacrilege, all the while blessing them with food and air and earthly pleasures, affording them even more time and opportunity to repent (cf. Romans 2:4-5).

“Steadfast love” is the translation of the Hebrew word hesed, elsewhere rendered by such terms as mercy, goodness, loving kindness, loyal love, and occasionally by the word grace. Its primary emphasis is on God’s covenant love, his steadfast commitment to his people.

All these qualities of character inform his deeds and give shape to his providential oversight of creation. So let’s look briefly at what this great and majestic and good and righteous and gracious and merciful and longsuffering God does. 

For one thing, he works (vv. 4, 5b, 6a, 9, 12a). David goes even further and speaks of his mighty works, his wonderful works, his merciful works, and hisawesome acts!

More specifically, he rules (vv. 11-13). But unlike every other ruler or potentate, God is in office for life (see Daniel 4:3, 34)! There is no transition team to move from one heavenly administration to another. There are no inaugural ceremonies (God has always been on the throne). There is no concern over the qualifications of a Vice-God should the Almighty be unable to serve out the full extent of his term. There are no tearful good-byes to the staff, no waving “so-long” from the steps of a helicopter, no cleaning out of the desk in the heavenly oval office to make way for his successor.

Among earthly kings, especially in British history, we hear of James I and James II and Charles I and Charles II and Charles III, etc. Not in the heavenly kingdom. There is no Yahweh I and Yahweh II, for God is first and last and there is no other. None preceded him and none shall succeed him.

The everlasting ruler sustains (v. 14) all he has made. We should read this verse in connection with v. 13 and “admire the unexpected contrast: he reigns in glorious majesty, yet condescends to lift up and hold up those who are apt to fall” (Spurgeon, 3:B:380). He also supplies (v. 15) food and life andsatisfies the desires of his creation (v. 16).

He is altogether righteous in his dealings with us (v. 17a). Of course, that’s easy for us to believe when things are going well. But God is righteous in allhis ways, not just in the circumstances that favor us. Nothing is more difficult to acknowledge when we are in trouble, or when he afflicts us, or when we feel he has been unfair.

And we must never forget that he is not only righteous but also “kind in all his works” (v. 17b). We don’t typically put those two words together, for it’s difficult to be both at the same time. We swing to one or the other extreme and are either rigid and demanding or excessively lenient and tolerant. But in God they find perfect harmony, as seen most readily in Jesus, who was simultaneously high and humble; both strong and tender; righteous, yet gracious; powerful and merciful; authoritative, yet tender; holy, yet always forgiving; just, yet compassionate; at times angry, yet also gentle; and firm, yet friendly.

Finally, he answers prayer (vv. 18-19), preserves the righteous (v. 20a), and destroys the wicked (v. 20b).

How does one respond to such a God? Needless to say, such splendor, majesty, mercy and might call for the loudest and most passionate of praise.

We are to extol him (v. 1a), which literally means “to be high.” God is high and we acknowledge and declare it so. To extol is to exalt above all others, to set as pre-eminent over every other thing. We also bless (vv. 1b, 2a, 10b) and praise (v. 2b), and commend and declare (v. 4, 6b) and meditate (v. 5) and speak (v. 6a) and pour forth praise of his abundant goodness (v. 7a).

As if that weren’t enough, we sing aloud (v. 7b) and give thanks (v. 10a) andmake known (v. 12) his mighty deeds. And let’s be diligent to do it every day(v. 2a), forever and ever (vv. 1a, 2b, 21b):

“Through all eternity to thee,

A joyful song I’ll raise;

But oh, eternity’s too short

To utter all thy praise.”  (Adam Clarke; quoted in Spurgeon, 3:B:384)

A heart flooded with thoughts of the splendor of God and what he does can no more conceive of an end of praise than it can conceive of an end of God himself!

One final thought, and I close. Above all else, may our praise and honor and joyful celebration of this God be great, for “great is the Lord, and [therefore]greatly to be praised” (v. 3a). True worship must always be proportionate to the object of adoration. Great praise for a great God. “No chorus is too loud, no orchestra too large, no Psalm too lofty for the lauding of the Lord of Hosts” (Spurgeon, 3:B:376).

So much more could be said, and more will be said, as we continue our focus on worship in Psalms 147 through 150.

Sam

Finding God in the Cave

Posted: July 17, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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Sam Storms, of Enjoying God Ministries:

Just when I think I might have God ever so slightly figured out, he pulls a surprise on me that shatters and confuses and discombobulates what little understanding I have of him.

I’m a theologian by trade, so its my responsibility and calling (and joy) in life to do what I can to connect the dots of divine revelation and hope that the resultant picture at least looks vaguely similar to the God I read about in Scripture. But sadly, that picture all too often ends up looking more like me than it does God, and reflects more what I think should be true or false rather than accurately portraying what God says is true or false, good or evil. The fact is, when God and his ways are looked at from a merely human point of view, he can often appear quite strange. 

Whenever I use that language I’m compelled to pause and say, “Hey, Sam, hold on. Be careful. You don’t want to be guilty of sacrilege or, worse still, blasphemy in talking about God in such terms.” But then again, God is a bit strange, in the sense that I don’t understand why he does not do things the way I would do them if I were God!

Of course, the problem isn’t that God is strange but that I am sinful. The warped perspective I have of the Almighty is due, not to his being odd or out of line, but solely to the selfish and often corrupt way in which I filter and interpret the data of human experience. 

Having said that, I can’t help but think that David would have agreed with me. Having spent considerable time in many of his psalms, I’m convinced that he was occasionally (often?) just as confused about God as we are, just as befuddled and puzzled about what he does and why as we are these many centuries later.

In fact, I suspect that lingering beneath the words of Psalm 142 is David’s suspicion that God is strange. I say this not simply because of what is in the psalm itself but from what we read in the superscription: “A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.” 

What’s so unusual about that, you ask? More than unusual, it’s downright shocking. Remember, this is David speaking, David, the man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), the man singularly selected by the Lord, out of all the men of Israel, the man anointed by Samuel the prophet to be king over God’s people. King! Anointed! But here he is sitting, and probably sulking, in a cave! 

I could certainly understand this more readily if it were written by a few other odd characters in Scripture, such as Cain or Balaam or Saul or Jezebel or Judas Iscariot. We expect people like that to find themselves in caves, hiding from their enemies, fearful for their lives. But David? The man who waxed eloquently about “green pastures” and “still waters” (Psalm 23), the man who rejoiced to live in the presence of God where “fullness of joy” could be found, the man who wanted nothing more than to linger at God’s right hand where “pleasures forevermore” are experienced (Psalm 16:11) and to spend his days beholding the beauty of God (Psalm 27:4). David, in a cave? God, you’re strange.

As best we can tell, David twice found himself seeking safety in a cave. The first occasion was in a cave near Adullam, just west of Jerusalem. This is described in 1 Samuel 22:1. The second occasion was at En-Gedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea, described in 1 Samuel 24:1. In both instances he was there to escape Saul who had threatened to kill him. 

Psalm 142 is probably describing the first of these two incidents. What a contradiction must it have felt like to this man of God. I can almost hear him in protest: “God, this isn’t at all what I expected to happen when you anointed me king over your people. Hiding out in a cave for protection from my enemies wasn’t in the job description. I’m supposed to be honored and revered and respected. I’m supposed to be sitting on a throne with servants at my beck and call. So what am I doing here with the spiders and snakes and wolves in a cave hiding to save my life?” Strange God.

To make matters worse, we need to remember that the cave was David’s final destination, not his first. Before he ever got to the cave, he first had to jump out of the way when Saul attempted to impale him with a spear. He then had to escape a death threat by being let down from a window by his wife. After that he was forced to flee into the night to elude the soldiers who were dispatched to capture and kill him. For a time he hid out in the fields surrounding Jerusalem and eventually suffered the humiliation of being compelled to seek refuge in the city of Gath, the hometown of his old enemy Goliath! After all this, David sat down in a cave, . . . disconsolate, discouraged, possibly depressed, and no doubt confused about this God whom he loved and served. 

Before you dismiss all this as speculation, allow David the freedom to be human. Don’t you think he had his doubts? Don’t you think he wondered aloud about why God did what he did, as well as when and how and to what purpose this scenario had unfolded? Could it be that even David, on occasion, might have asked himself: “If this God to be trusted with my life?” I don’t believe this is speculation, because we have the words of the psalm that largely corroborate this perspective. We’ll turn to them in the next meditation.

The bottom line, then, is that this psalm is here to tell us how to pray when God seems strange. This psalm is uniquely suited for people who need encouragement in the midst of trial and suffering, people who are wondering if God even knows where they are. It’s a psalm designed to tell us what to do when we’re in a “cave” of our own. 

This “maskil” (a musical term) of David was a “prayer” he uttered while “in the cave.” May I suggest that at least part of its purpose is to tell us that God is attentive to our needs and hears us no matter where we are? Our prayers, like David’s, reach his ear and enter his heart whether we are on land, at sea, in the air, or stuck away in some desolate cave (whether literal or metaphorical). If God heard Jonah’s prayer from inside the belly of a fish and heard David’s prayer from inside a lonely cave, he will surely hear yours whether uttered in a church building or at home or in your office or car or while lying on your bed at night.

May I also suggest that David is telling us that God hears and answers not only wherever we may be but whatever we may be experiencing? In other words, although David’s cave was quite literal, it also describes spiritually what David was feeling, most likely abandoned, alone, useless, defeated, helpless, embarrassed, but still hopeful, as we’ll shortly see.

So, if God’s seems a bit strange to you at times (or a lot!), especially when you find yourself in something of a “cave”, or perhaps even on those occasions when you actually wish you could spend some time in one just to get away from life and the constant hassles it throws your way, then this psalm is for you. We’ll look carefully at its content in the next meditation. 

Sam

It’s All a Matter of Perspective- Sam Storms on Psalm 73

Posted: April 2, 2011 by 4theloveofgod in April, Devotionals/Commentaries, Psalms
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This is the introduction and conclusion of Sam Storms’ (Enjoying God Ministries) commentary on Psalm 73. (Like an Oreo cookie, the middle is the best part, but it was too long to include the whole here.)

Some Christians would like us to believe that their faith in God is invulnerable to challenges from without. They act and talk as if their faith has never suffered a crisis of any sort, never been stretched or strained almost to the point of breaking. My opinion of such folk is that they are either pathetically naïve, dangerously dishonest, or perfect.

You simply can’t live long in this world and not experience crises in spiritual confidence every once in a while. Even the most mature believers will tell you that occasionally they have their doubts about God and his ability to run things the way the Bible says he does.

Challenges to faith come in all shapes and sizes: the devastation of a hurricane, the death of a child, genocide in Darfur, an unexpected bankruptcy; . . . need I go on?

Yet another challenge to faith is when good things happen to bad people. Are you ever bothered when the wicked become even more wealthy, when perverts prosper, or when atheists live long and fruitful lives? Is it unsettling to your faith when those who hate Jesus triumph and those who love him endure unspeakable tragedy?

It bothered Asaph. It got under his skin and was a thorn in his side and threatened to turn his soul sour. In fact, it got so bad that he was tempted to jump ship, to abandon his faith in God, to chuck it all in and join the other side.

Asaph, author of Psalm 73, was deeply disturbed and perturbed by the prosperity of the wicked and the oppression of the righteous. It led him to question God’s goodness and greatness. It stirred him to wonder if the pursuit of godliness was really the wisest path to follow.

His problem wasn’t with the traditional problem of evil. Asaph’s struggle was with why it so often seemed that those who do deserve to suffer don’t and those who don’t deserve to suffer do. The problem wasn’t whether or not God existed, but whether or not God was just…..

….”Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you [not even the opulence and apparent success of the wicked!]. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (vv. 23-26).

What is all the wealth of the world compared with the spiritual riches of God’s presence? Can the power and prestige of earthly fame trump the assurance and peace of God’s grip on our lives? Our having him and his having us is simply unparalleled, unsurpassed, and unfathomable. Intimacy with the Almighty transcends all earthly pleasure.

What it all comes down to, then, is a matter of perspective. So I close with these insightful words of D. A. Carson. Everything, says Carson,

“depends on where you start. If you begin by envying the prosperity of the wicked, the human mind can ‘interpret’ the data so as to rule God out, to charge him with unfairness, to make piety and purity look silly. But if you begin with genuine delight in God, both in this world and in the world to come, you can put up with ‘flesh and heart failing,’ and be absolutely confident that, far from being the victim of injustice, you are in the best possible position: near to the good (v. 1) and sovereign (v. 28) God” (How Long, O Lord? 143).

Sam

To read the entire article, please click here:

Sam Storms: “…the extravagant and exuberant nature of godly worship of God”

Posted: July 25, 2010 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries
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Part 3 of a commentary on Psalm 148-150 by Sam Storms, of Enjoying God Ministries:

OrchestraFourth, and finally, there can be no mistaking the extravagant and exuberant nature of godly worship of God. It involves not only singing (149:1,5) but also dancing (149:3; 150:4) and a wide array of musical instrumentation (149:3; 150:3-5). Said Spurgeon:

“Let the clash of the loudest music be the Lord’s; let the joyful clang of the loftiest notes be all for him. Praise has beaten the timbrel, swept the harp, and sounded the trumpet, and now for a last effort, awakening the most heavy of slumberers, and startling the most indifferent of onlookers, she dashes together the disks of brass, and with sounds both loud and high proclaims the glories of the Lord” (3:B:464).

As this series of meditations on the Psalms concludes, what might be said to have constituted the central and controlling theme throughout? I think the answer is obvious:

Big God! Beautiful God! Faithful God! Great God! Gracious God! Powerful God! Loving God! Loyal God! Righteous God! Merciful God! Majestic God! Enjoyable God! Joyful God! Judging God! Holy God! Happy God!

And to top it off, he’s our God! 

Sam

Forgiveness: the Foundation for Fear

Posted: July 7, 2010 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Ps. 130:3-4).

Sam Storms comments at EnjoyingGodMinistries.com:

gavel01On first reading, something seems terribly askew. Would it not have made more sense for the psalmist to have said: “But with you there is justice, that you may be feared”? Is it not the prospect of God exacting payment for our transgressions that evokes fear in the human soul? If God should indeed “mark iniquities” then fear seems the only appropriate response.

But the good news is that with God “there is forgiveness”! That being the case, would not all “fear” be eliminated? One would certainly think so. Yet the psalmist asserts that the result of forgiveness (perhaps even its purpose) is that we might fear God ever more fervently. So the meaning of this remarkable text must be found elsewhere.

Think deeply about what is being said. With God there is forgiveness. From him proceeds the grace that provides a propitiation for our sins. He has taken every step necessary to accomplish our redemption through his Son. As we saw in Psalm 103:10, he no longer deals with us according to our sins or repays us according to our iniquities. Indeed, our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).

This is why the “fear” of God mentioned in this text  cannot be fear of facing condemnation or fear of encountering and experiencing his righteous wrath. Do you see the psalmist’s logic? If what we find with God is forgiveness for our sins, what grounds remain for us to live in terror of his judgment or wrath? If God has wiped clean the slate of our sin and guilt, then clearly he has chosen not to “mark iniquities” and just as clearly all reason for fear is gone. Therefore, if the “fear of God” in this passage were a reference to the dread of impending destruction, forgiveness is emptied of all meaning and value.

But according to what we read in v. 4, forgiveness is the foundation for fear! The unshakeable knowledge that God will never “mark iniquities” (v. 3), which is to say, the assurance that our sins have been forever forgiven, is the reason why we fear God. There’s no escaping the force of the psalmist’s language: fearing God is the necessary fruit of forgiveness! This alone demands that fearing God entail something altogether other than being afraid of judgment.

Forgiveness, as much as any act of God, reveals his incomprehensible greatness and majesty. The infinitely transcendent God of holiness and truth has acted in grace on behalf of hell-deserving sinners. Once the reality of this is fully grasped, the only reasonable response is one of brokenness, humility, and breathtaking awe at such amazing love.

Certainly there is joy in the knowledge of our forgiveness, as well as gratitude and praise. But these are perfectly consistent with holy fear, that bone-shattering realization that it is by divine mercy alone that we are not forever consumed by divine wrath. One can simultaneously “taste” the goodness of the Lord (Ps. 34:8a) and “fear” him (Ps. 34:9a). In fact, “it is grace which leads the way to a holy regard of God, and a fear of grieving him” (Spurgeon; 3:119).

So let it never be said that holy reverence for the Almighty is incompatible with freedom and joy. For as Thomas Adams so perfectly put it, “no man more truly loves God than he that is most fearful to offend him” (cited by Spurgeon, 127).

Sam

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