God's Word For Every Day

Here, we have David's spiritual autobiography. God is saying to us, "What about you? Do you have a spiritual autobiography?" Here, we learn about David's distress and David's deliverance. God is saying to us, "Come to Me in your distress. Come to Me and receive your deliverance." This Psalm can be subdivided into four two-verse sections.  vs. 1-2 - his complaint; vs. 3-4 - his confidence; vs. 5-6 - his security; vs. 7-8 - his prayer and his rejoicing.  The Psalm begins with David's distress. Every one of us knows what this is like. We have been where David was. As we look at this Psalm, let's note how David handled his experience of distress. He took it out of his own hands. He placed it in the hands of God.  vs. 1-2 : David's complaint was not addressed to man. He brought his complaint to God. It was not a bitter complaint, spoken against God. It was a humble and honest plea for understanding and help. In the context of w...

Burdensome religion and joyous faith are worlds apart. They are exact opposites. “I have to” – How shallow and superficial is “I have to” religion. The man or woman who thinks like this hasn’t even begun to appreciate the great love of Jesus Christ. What a far cry this is from a truly heartfelt and joyful Christian faith! When someone is really interested in something, it’s never a matter of “I have to.” - Does a young man, desperately in love, “have to” meet his sweetheart? - Does a football fanatic “have to” travel miles to watch his team? - Does a music lover “have to” buy the CDs and go to the concerts of his favourite band? - Does a keen golfer “have to” play golf? Do you get the point? The real question is not “Do I have to?” It’s “Do I want to?” It’s much better to do something good because you want to – not just because you have to! Have you begun to appreciate something of the great love of God, which is revealed in His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Chris...

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for Thou alone, O Lord, makest me dwell in safety” (v.8). Here, in its closing verse, we find the central theme of Psalm 4 – peace, the peace of God. This Psalm can be divided into four sections: v. 1 - prayer for help; vs. 2-3 - reproof of his enemies; vs. 4-5 - exhortation of his enemies; vs. 6-8 - confidence in God.  It is in the closing section (vs. 6-8) that we come to the heart of this Psalm’s message for us – the peace of God and confidence in God. The Psalm points us to the peace of God so that we might have confidence in God. Before we come to the Psalmist’s confident affirmation of the peace of God, we must first take a look at his struggle to cope with the opposition that comes from those who mock him (v. 2). He is able to cope with this opposition because he has come to rejoice in God as a prayer-answering God (v. 1). v.1 : prayer for help The Psalmist had learned that his own experience of the divine mercy was t...

“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 ca...

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 Hi...

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...

"Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (1). This question can be turned around. God puts the question to us, “Why, in your times of trouble, do you stand far off?” In this Psalm, God is inviting us to think about the kind of people we are becoming. Are we turning away from God? Or Are we turning towards Him? It’s either one or the other – turning towards God or turning away from Him. * We read about “the wicked man” who “hunts down the weak” (v. 2). He thinks only of himself – “He boasts of the cravings of his heart.” There is no place for the Lord in his life – “he reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked does not seek Him: in all his thoughts there is no room for God”(vs. 3-4). Things are going well for him – “His ways are always prosperous.” He doesn’t give thanks to God – “he is haughty and Your laws are far from him.” He thinks that everything will keep on going his way – “He says to himself, ‘Nothing will shake...

Reading the words of the Psalmist, “The words of the Lord are pure words” (Psalm 12:6), brought to mind the words of the Apostle Paul – “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). God’s Word is pure. God’s Word is trustworthy. Take these two thoughts together. We think of the perfection of God’s Word. Let’s also give thanks for His perfect love. There is no love like the love of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. He loves us with the greatest love of all. There can be nothing more perfect than this – the love of Jesus. Where do we learn of His love? We learn of His love as we read God’s Word – “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”, I am so glad that my Father in heaven tells of His love in the Book He has given. Wonderful things in the Bible I see. This is the greatest that Jesus loves me.” In reading the words of Paul, I note that he describes himself a...

 * The Psalmist worships the Lord (Psalm 9:1-2).  * He does not speak proud words. He sees all things in the light of the holy God (Psalm 9:3-8).  * At the heart of this Psalm, there is a declaration of the character of God (Psalm 9:7-8).  * The majesty, righteousness and judgment of God - Have we lost these important aspects of God's character? Have we turned God into a sentimentalized 'god' of our own making? Let's not take God for granted. Let God be God. This is very different from insisting that God must be what we think He should be.  * We read about God's trustworthiness (Psalm 9:9-10).  * We praise God. We make it known that He is to be praised (Psalm 9:11-12).  * In our worship, we speak of God's judgment as well as His salvation. (Psalm 9:12).  * In our worship, we look to the Lord for mercy and, with joy, we praise Him for His salvation (Psalm 9:13-14).  * As well as emphasizing that God is trustworthy, we ...

The book of Psalms has been a precious possession of the Christian Church and the Christian believer. More than any other book in the Bible, the book of Psalms has influenced the life of the worshipping congregation and the life of the individual believer. The Psalms have become an integral part of Christian worship. The Psalms have provided numerous patterns for the believer’s personal prayer life. Again and again, the Psalms point beyond themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is especially true of Psalm 2, which is one of the Messianic Psalms, one of the Psalms which point clearly to the Christ. This Psalm has been called the “Messiah’s Psalm.” It is the Psalm of “God and His Anointed” (or God and His Christ). This twelve-verse Psalm can be broken down into four three-verse sections. The first section introduces us to “the kings of the earth.” The second section introduces us to “the heavenly King.” The third section introduces us to God’s Anointed (or Christ). The...

(1) The Psalmist’s need of salvation He comes to God in his need – “My soul is in anguish” (v. 3); “I am worn out from groaning” (v. 6); “My eyes grow weak with sorrow” (v.7). He looks to the future, and all that he sees is “the grave” (v. 5).  (2) The Psalmist’s prayer for salvation He looks to the Lord for salvation – “Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love” (v. 4). He prays that God will not come under the judgment of God – O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath” (v. 1) He prays that God will have “mercy” on him – “Be merciful to me, Lord” (v.2) He trusts in God’s “unfailing love – “Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love” (v. 4).  (3) Repentance and Faith In the Psalmist’s prayer, there is repentance - “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping” (v. 8) – and faith – “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer” (v. ...

Charles Cameron's Sermons & Illustrations

Luke 1:1-4 We begin with the first four verses of Luke’s Gospel. In our first look at Luke’s Book, we ask four questions: (1) What is Luke’s story about? (2) Where did Luke get his story from? (3) How are we to read Luke’s story? (4) What can we learn from Luke’s story? —– (1) What is Luke’s story about? We might ask this question differently: Who is Luke’s story about? The answer is Jesus. Luke is the writer of this Gospel. Jesus is the Theme of the Gospel. Jesus is the Gospel. He is the Good News. Luke tells us many things about Jesus. The first thing he tells us is this: Luke’s Gospel is “an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1). “Fulfilled” – This is not the beginning of the story. It’s the fulfilment of a story which has been many centuries in preparation. Long before the birth of Jesus, the prophets were speaking of the Messiah or Christ who was to come. The story told by Luke is part of a much larger story – the Sto...