Sunday 3 March 2024

More Than A Morning Prayer: Psalm 5

“Morning by morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation” (v. 3). These are the words which have led to Psalm 5 being described as “a morning prayer.” It should, however, be noted that this is the only mention of “morning” in this Psalm. This Psalm is not only for the “morning”! Psalm 5 leads us to the Lord. It gives us a profound understanding of His character, It speaks to us about His holiness. In the first ten verses of this twelve-verse Psalm, we see two contrasting pictures. We see the believer before God. We see the unbeliever before God. We see the faithful. We see the faithless, We see the righteous. We see the wicked. We see ourselves standing in the presence of the holy God.
Here’s a summary of the Psalm: vs. 1-3, vs. 7-8 - a picture of the believer; vs. 4-6, vs. 9-10 – a picture of the unbeliever; vs. 11-12 – a statement of confident expectancy concerning the rich blessing of God which alone can bring joy to the hearts of God’s people.
vs. 1-3, 7-8 - Here, we see the believer as a man of prayer. In prayer, we see the believer’s true relationship with God. (a) It is a relationship of dependency. The believer depends on God. He depends on God because he needs God. We see this need for God and dependency on God in the intensity of the Psalmist’s prayer. He unburdens his heart to God. He speaks of his “groaning” (v. 1) and his “cry” (v. 2). This is not the comfortable prayer of a man who hardly cares whether or not his prayer is answered. This is “the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man” (James 5:16). This is the kind of prayer that God hears and answers. This is the kind of prayer that has “great power in its effects” (James 5:16). (b) It is a relationship of submission. It couldn’t be said that the Psalmist’s God was too small. It couldn’t be said that he took God for granted. It couldn’t be said that he brought God down to his own level. Look at how the Psalmist speaks of God – “my King and my God” (v. 2). He worships God. He praises God. He bows down before His God and King. Do we worship God like this? (c) It is a relationship that is personal. The Psalmist is aware that the Lord is God. He knows that the Lord is King. He doesn’t think of God as the unknown God. He doesn’t think of God as a dictatorial and tyrannical king. He speaks of my God and my King. Do we know God like this? (d) It is a relationship marked by regularity. The Psalmist didn’t regard his relationship with God take or leave. He didn’t just come to God when he felt like. He prayed regularly. Being a man of faith was a full-tine commitment. “Morning by morning”, he came to God in prayer. “Morning by morning”, he waited on the Lord. Do we seek God like this? (e) It is a relationship of grace. This is the most important thing that we can say about our relationship with God. The Psalmist knew that he had this relationship with God only “through the abundance of God’s steadfast love” (v. 7). Because of this grace, he had learned to fear the Lord. “‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” In John Newton’s hymn, we hear an echo of the words of Psalm 130:4 – “there is forgiveness with Thee that Thou mayest be feared”. The Psalmist seeks to live his life in (i) the assurance of forgiveness (his fears are relieved); and (ii) the fear of God (with a true humility of heart and reverence towards God). Do we know the true fear of God which relieves false fears?
vs. 4-6, 9-10 - Here, we see the unbeliever. More than that, we see the God of perfect holiness, and we learn that He is also the God of perfect love. God is holy. He is opposed to all that is evil. God is the Holy One. He is the enemy of all wickedness. We are not only concerned with the unbeliever. We learn about God’s verdict concerning sin. The words of verse 9 – “Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit” – are quoted by Paul in Romans 3. These words are applied to every one of us. Concerning all of us, God’s verdict is “guilty.” We dare not allow ourselves to be swept along by the worldly attitude, which doesn’t take seriously. We must learn to see our sin in the light of God’s holiness. At the Cross of Christ, we see the anger of God in the service of the love of God. We look at Christ, crucified for us, and we learn that “God is not willing that any should perish. He wills that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We learn of God’s judgment upon sin and His love for sinners. God speaks to us about the seriousness of our sin. Why does He do this? Does He want to drive us to despair? No! He wants us to see the seriousness of our sin so that we will turn from our sin to Him. He wants us to see how much He loves us. He calls us to “turn our eyes upon Jesus.” He wants us to look at Jesus Christ, crucified for us. He wants us to see that His love is the greatest love of all. He wants us to begin a new life with Christ at the centre. He wants us to turn from all earthbound thinking and living. He wants us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” vs.11-12 - “But let all who take refuge in Thee rejoice. Let them ever sing for joy.” We turn from our sin. We turn to God. In Him, we find true joy, true love and true blessing. What the world cannot give to us, we find in Christ. We come to Him in our emptiness. He fills us with His fullness. Christ is our great Saviour. The Name of Jesus is the Name that is above every name. In Him, we have received “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). His love is the greatest love of all. He fills our hearts with true and lasting joy. In Psalm 5, we have a more than a morning prayer which we offer to God. We catch a glimpse of something that is far wonderful than that. We catch a glimpse of the eternal salvation which God has provided for us, through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of sinners.

Personal Salvation (Psalm 7)

The Psalmist was being pursued by enemies who were intent on his full and final destruction. He puts his trust in the Lord. He looks to the Lord for salvation – “O Lord my God, I take refuge in You; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me” (vs. 1-2). Following his opening words, we read about human sin – “O Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands – if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe - then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust” (vs. 3-5) – and divine judgment – “Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around You. Rule over them from on high; let the Lord judge the peoples. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked” (vs. 6-9a). In thinking about what God is saying to us through this Psalm, we do not limit ourselves to looking at David and his pursuers. We look at human sin and divine judgment. This is the bad news concerning ourselves. We look also at personal salvation. This is the Good News concerning our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Human Sin * “O Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands – if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me” (vs. 3-4). Looking beyond the immediate situation of David and his pursuers, we ask, “What are these words saying to us?” Here, we must be honest with ourselves, and we must be honest with God. There is no “if” about it! We are sinners. we are guilty. * “Let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust” (v.5). We do not look only at David and his pursuers. We look into our own hearts. We have a pursuer. His name is Satan. He is the devil. He is our “accuser” – he “accuses us before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). When we are honest with ourselves, and honest with God, we must confess that Satan has every right to accuse us. “Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). Satan has won the victory over every one of us. This is the bad news concerning every single one us – without any exceptions. Divine Judgment The bad news continues. Sin brings judgment. We cannot escape God’s judgment. We must confess our sins. We are “the wicked” (v. 9). “God is the righteous Judge.” God’s wrath “rests upon us (v. 11). We hear the bad news about human sin and divine judgment. We wonder, “Can ‘the wicked’ become ‘the righteous’?” (v.9). Is there a way in which guilty sinners can escape the righteous judgment of God? Is there a way in which we can be victorious over our pursuer? Personal Salvation We come to God with our questions. We ask about salvation – “Can my sin be forgiven?” We ask about victory – “Can I triumph over Satan?” God gives to us His answer. Yes! There is a way of salvation. Yes! There is a way of victory. Here, in this Psalm, we have God’s answer to two very important questions - “What must I do to be saved?“ - “What must I do to be lost?“ * In verses 9-10, we learn that it is the “righteous God” who “makes the righteous secure” – “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” What must I do to be saved?” – “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31); “God is righteous and He declares righteous those who have faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Trusting in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), we receive the forgiveness of our sins – “the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin” (1 John 1:7). We also enter into Christ’s victory over Satan – “They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb … ” (Revelation 12:11). Personal salvation is not about ourselves. It’s about our Saviour. We don’t save ourselves. Jesus saves us.
In verses 11-16, we have God’s answer to the very important question – “What must I do to be lost?” “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses His wrath every day. If He does not relent, He will sharpen His sword; He will bend and string His bow. He has prepared His deadly weapons; He makes ready His flaming arrows. He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.” We don’t enjoy reading this kind of thing. It doesn’t make us feel good about ourselves. It makes us realize that we have no right to feel good about ourselves. Before we can begin to appreciate the Good News of our Saviour’s love for us, we must give up on trying to feel good about ourselves and start listening to the honest truth about ourselves. What must I do to be lost? Do nothing. Just keep on trying to feel good about yourself. Just keep on turning a deaf ear to what God is saying to you about your sin. Just keep on refusing to take seriously God’s call to repentance. Just keep on living the way you have been living. God speaks to us with many warnings. He speaks of His righteous judgment. God speaks to us of His undeserved love. He calls us to return to Him. What happens when we keep on refusing to listen to what God is saying to us? We dig a hole for ourselves – ” He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made” (v. 15). We bring judgment upon ourselves – “The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head” (v. 16). The way of sin is a hopeless way – “He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment” (v. 14).
Is there a better way? Is there a way of salvation? Is there a way of victory? Jesus is the Way. He is the true and living Way (John 14:6). Thank God that this Psalm doesn’t end with the dark words of verse 16 – “his violence comes down on his own head.” Beyond the bad news concerning human sin and divine judgment, there is the Good News concerning personal salvation – “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High” (v. 17). The Psalmist moves from the inevitability of divine judgment (v. 16) to the assurance of personal salvation (v. 17). This is the work of divine grace. What are we to say about this? Is there a smooth passage way from divine judgment to personal salvation? No! Between divine judgment and personal salvation, there is the Cross of Jesus Christ. This is costly grace – Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. It is also free grace. We come in the emptiness of our sin and we receive the fullness of God’s salvation. At the Cross of Christ, we see both the judgment of God upon sin and the love of God for sinners. From the Cross of Christ, we hear the call to turn from sin and receive salvation. We look at ourselves. We see human sin. We look at the outcome of our sin. We see divine judgment. We look at the Cross of Christ – “We see Jesus … He suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). This is love. This is the greatest love of all. This is divine love. It’s sacrificial love. It’s victorious love. It’s eternal love. “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is God’s answer to human sin. We look at our sin and our hearts are sad. We look at our Saviour and He makes us glad. How does our Saviour turn bring us our sadness and into His gladness? Is it an easy passage way – from sadness to gladness? No! For Jesus, it meant going to the Cross. It meant going to the place where He cried out, in deep spiritual agony, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). When we hear the words, “God so loved the world … “, let us never forget what it meant for our Saviour who “loved us and gave Himself for us” (Galatians 2:20) – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we consider our personal salvation, let us never forget our Saviour’s costly sacrifice, and let us say, from our hearts, “Hallelujah! What a Saviour!”

The Glory of the Lord in His Creation (Psalm 8)

This Psalm is a hymn of praise. It proclaims the glory of the Lord in His creation. The focus is not so much on the glories of nature. The great theme is the glory of Him who created nature. The Psalm begins and ends with the praise of God – “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (v. 1); “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (v. 9). The whole Psalm is filled with the fear of God and joy in God. The words of verse 2 – “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger” – are quoted in the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem – “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ” ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” (Matthew 21:16). The reference to “children and infants” refers also to those who are without spiritual learning since they have not received spiritual instruction. How are we to receive real spiritual understanding? Each of us must become a babe in Christ by being humble before God, our Creator and Redeemer. The way of humility is the way in which we come to a proper understanding of God and ourselves – “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (vs. 3-4). In verse 3, the emphasis is upon God rather than nature. This leads us on, in verse 4, to the question, “What is man?” This question is grounded in the question, “Who is God?” – ” Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19). How are we to come to a right understanding of ourselves? We must not come to God as know-it- alls. We are to come to Him as worshippers. We learn, from this Psalm, that God’s revelation and our self-understanding are intimately related. The revelation of God enlightens our self-understanding. A true understanding of ourselves cannot be achieved if God is disregarded. By faith, we see ourselves from God’s perspective. He is our Creator. We are His creatures. We learn, from this Psalm, that God is midful of us. He cares for us. He is gracious towards us. He loves us. How are we to respond to God, our Creator? – We come, with awe, before His majesty. We come, with joy, because of His love. From verses 5-8, we learn that human dignity is a gift of God. This isn’t a song of praise to man. It’s a song of praise to God – “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). May God help us to worship Him with both awe and joy. As we rejoice in the Lord, let us not forget that He is the awesome God. As we bow before His majesty, let us not forget His love. Remembering how much He loves us, our hearts will be filled with true and lasting joy.

Psalm 8 - A Harvest Sermon

There is a physical harvest. There is a spiritual harvest. Can we expect a spiritual harvest in this generation? Or Must we give up hope and turn our backs to the wall? Ours is a time when nothing can be taken for granted. Many people are entirely dismissive of the whole idea that there is a God to whom we ought to offer our praise and thanksgiving. If ever there was a time for Christians to stand up and be counted as those who belong to Christ, this is it. If Christians remain silent, if Christians are ashamed of their Lord and Saviour, there will be a harvest, but it won’t be a godly harvest. It will be a harvest of unrighteousness.
What is happening in our time? – It’s the same thing that’s happened so many times before. It’s the same old story, a story which can be read in the pages of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. There is a great turning away from the truth. People only listen to what they want to hear. Everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Can this situation be turned around? It will not be easy, but we must not be discouraged. Our God is the living God. He is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable in His love for us. He is mindful of us. We matter to Him. He is the God who forgives sin. He is the God who delights to show mercy. He is the God who longs to reveal His compassion to a generation that needs Him so much, but doesn’t know it.
To understand the character of God, we need to go back to Genesis 1. God is our Creator. He created us because He loves us. To understand the state of the world today, we need to go back to Genesis 3. There, the choice is made – my will rather than God’s will, “I did it my way” rather than “Let go and let God have His wonderful way.” This what produces a harvest of unrighteousness. Reversing this trend will not be easy, but we must not lose hope. We must learn to say, with the Psalmist, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy Name in all the earth” (Psalm 8:1, 9). Unless God’s people are deeply committed to praising Him, we cannot even begin to hope for a real spiritual harvest in this generation.
Our attitude towards God should be a combination of two qualities which are often set against each other. They are fear and joy. There is to be the fear of the Lord. There is to be the joy of the Lord. We must never forget that God is our Creator, and we are His creatures. We must never forget that He is holy, and we have fallen far short of His holiness. We are “less than God” (Psalm 8:5). We must never forget this. We dare not take things into our own hands and try to “play God.” There needs to be the fear of the Lord. Without this, there will never be a harvest of righteousness.We must never forget that God loves us. He is the God of love, grace and mercy. The Psalmist tells us that this God, the God of love, grace and mercy, “crowns us with glory and honour” (Psalm 8:5). We must learn to rejoice in the Lord our God, the God of our salvation. There will only be a harvest of salvation where God’s peole are learning to rejoice in Him and give thanks for His salvation.
The Psalmist speaks about nature – the “heavens … the moon and the stars” (Psalm 8:3). He speaks also about dominion – “God has put all things under our feet.” In our generation, understanding of nature has increased enormously. Read scientific books. They are so much more sophisticated than books which were written even one generation ago. Our power to control our world has never been greater. We can do so much more than was even thought possible a generation ago. What has been going on in recent years? Some would say, “Progress, progress, progress, almost unlimited progress.” We must, however, be awkward and ask, “Is this the whole story? Has it been nothing but progress?” The honest answer must be, “Yes. There has been progress, but all is not well.” The world has become a very man-centred place. Many people have forgotten God. He has been left behind. So many have no time for Him. What must we do to stop our society going down the drain? What must we do to stop our society going to the dogs? We must give to God the place of highest honour.
The world has its idea of what it means to be wise. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). If we are to use the fruits of our physical harvest, the results of our scientific and technological progress, in a way that leads to a  truly spiritual harvest, we must not forget God. We forget God at our peril. We lose sight of God, and we lose sight of all that is really important in life. We lose sight of God, and we lose sight of all that is truly wholesome. Putting God at the centre of our life – personal life, life in the family, life in the Church, life in society – , this is the way to a spiritual harvest which brings glory and praise to God. If, in today’s world, we are to enjoy a spiritual harvest which will be both satisfying to ourselves and glorifying to God, there are two things we must do. We must confess our sins. We must trust Christ for salvation. We look at our human situation – personally, locally, nationally and internationally – , and we say, “Apart from God, our situation is hopeless. Without Him, it will be nothing else but the downward slope.” We look then to the Cross of Christ, and we see that there is hope. If the Cross of Christ teaches us anything, it teaches us this, “No situation is too hopeless for the grace of God. However hopeless our situation may seem, it can be changed by the power and love of God.” There can still be a spiritual harvest, even in our difficult and distressing times, but it will not come unless we put Christ at the centre of our lives.

Single-Minded Devotion To Jesus Christ

Numbers 27:1-23
The daughters of Zelophehad were concerned about the continuation of the father’s name (1-11). Our first concern must be the glory of God, our Heavenly Father. We are to honour our parents, loving them deeply. We must not allow such love to compete with our love for Christ. He must come first. We are called to a life of single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ. Joshua is chosen to succeed Moses as the leader of God’s people (12-23). Soon, Moses would be gone. The Lord was preparing His people for the future. God had His man - Joshua - waiting to continue the work which Moses had begun. For each place and time, God has His ‘Joshua’. The work of God will go on. His work requires more than a ‘Joshua’. What part will you play in God’s ongoing work? Will you take up the challenge?

Be Open To The Life-Changing Love Of Christ ...

"Jesus ... was deeply hurt because their minds were closed" (Mark 3:5). "Whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin" (Mark 3:29). "Whoever does what God wants is My brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:35). These are challenging verses, They call us to be open to the life-changing love of Christ, to draw back from the evil way of unbelief and disobedience, to allow the Lord to change us into "new creatures In Christ Jesus" and inspire us to live as "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Whole-hearted dedication

Jeremiah 50:1-28
‘The people... will go in tears to seek the Lord their God... They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten’ (Jeremiah 50:4-5). Lord, You’re calling us to come to You. You’re calling us to commit ourselves to You. We’re to come to You Lord, with ‘tears’: ‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation’ (2 Corinthians 7:10). Our commitment to You is not to be a half-hearted thing. It is to be a whole-hearted dedication of our lives to You. You love us. You have blessed us so much. You have drawn us to Yourself. You have heard and answered our prayer for salvation. How are we to respond to Your love? Teach us, Lord, to give ourselves to You as ‘a living sacrifice.’ This is our ‘spiritual worship.’It is ‘holy and pleasing’ to You, Lord (Romans 12:1).

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More Than A Morning Prayer: Psalm 5

“Morning by morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation” (v. 3). These ...