Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 31:9-10    "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.  (10)  For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." Quite honestly, this 31st Psalm is a sad one to read.  David feels himself to be all alone in the world and among a nation that he loves dearly. Some of the people that he tried to help have turned against him. We know Saul turned against him and tried to kill him. There was strife among his own family. People of the nation were taking sides. David had strife within himself that he was constantly having to battle.  David literally felt the weight of the world of Israel upon his shoulders. Recently, we saw David stretching himself out before the Lord. "Into thy hands I commit my spirit." .... "Lord, my life is in your hands. The world around me seems to be falling apart and I can't do anything...

Psalm 31:5   "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth." We will see these are words of prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus as He hung upon the cross. But David had a very real need as he wrote these words in his prayer unto the Lord. The verses previous to this one speak of David's trust and confidence in the Lord.  "Lord, I place my complete confidence in you." That's such a wonderful expression of faith in the power and grace of our Lord; yet, immediately he speaks of the possibility of his being disappointed.  There are certain people in the Bible that we can more readily identify with. David is one of them. He experienced both highs and lows of life. He knew what it was to have God use him in such a mighty way. But he also knew what it was like to have disappointment and regret in his life.  His prayers expressed the reality of both extremes. David used an expression in this Psalm that he also used in the 23rd Psa...

Psalm 30:11-12   "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; (12)  To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." We talked recently of the joy that comes at the dawning of light.  Let's stop just now for a moment to remember the song of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist.  A portion of that prophetic song says this, "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;  (77)  To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,  (78)  Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,  (79)  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1:76-79) At a casual reading, this ...

Psalm 30:6-7    "And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.  (7)  LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." In the weakness of our human nature, we sometimes are tempted to think life as we know it on earth will go on forever. We especially go that direction in thought when everything is going our way. David said, "I am at the top of my game and nothing can change it."  But then something happened. We aren't certain what his "mountain" was that stood strong and disrupted his plans, but something caused his life to come to a place where he could go no farther. He was troubled. It seemed even that the Lord had hid his face from him. Yet in this time of upheaval, David was blessed to see the Lord's favour (grace) in his life even by making that "mountain to stand strong."   In that time of darkness, David held to this fact, "weeping may endure a night, but...

Psalm 30:4-5    "Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.  (5)  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Remember the holiness of the Lord.  Those are wonderful words of instruction for us today.  We live in such a time that with all the wonderful "gadgets", we tend to place our dependence upon things rather than the Almighty God.  The cell phones we hold in our hands have more operating capacity than the first computers that sent men into space. We have knowledge at our fingertips that we cannot begin to fathom.  We use GPS to give us directions from one place to another.  We live in the world of instantaneous results. And as a result of all that, we may have lost some of our dependence upon God. We must bring ourselves to the place of trying to honor Him in our lives and through our actions.  "Sing un...

Psalm 30:1    "I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me." David had much opposition to his becoming king of Israel. Even after he began to reign, there were many who tried to overthrow him. But through it all, the Lord God Almighty held him in place. "Lord, you have not allowed my foes to rejoice over me."  The Lord protected David throughout all this time. We know he was not a perfect man, but his heart was bent toward worshiping and serving the Lord in gratitude. David understood the value of being king of Israel. He knew where he had been in life, but more importantly he understood who held him in His hands.  "Lord, you have lifted me up."  The Lord established David in this position and David was not going to forget to give praise for this wonderful grace and favor bestowed upon him.   As a result of all this, David was determined to "extol," or lift up, the name of the Lord.  W...

Psalm 29:4    "The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty." This has been one of my favorite verses for many years. We confess that we serve the Almighty God - the same God who gave the Promised Land to Abraham and his seed.  He is the ever living and unchanging God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yes, that is true of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.   David wrote of the same Lord and the same voice who spoke Light into the universe. This same voice spoke creation into being in six days. This same voice  spoke to Noah concerning the ark. This same voice spoke to Moses concerning the exodus of His children from Egypt. This same voice gave young David courage to go out against the lion, the bear, and the giant named Goliath.  This same voice inspired the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. This same voice spoke the words, "Peace, be still" to the angry sea.  This same voice ...

Psalm 29:1-2    "Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.  (2)  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." If we are honest with ourselves, most of our prayers consist of, "Lord, give me...."  We might be asking God to give us blessings of many different natures, but the bottom line is prayer is often seen as a "request line" for God to meet our needs.  I'm not saying that is wrong, for we do need the Lord's blessings in our lives. We are daily blessed beyond measure with many things that we take for granted. I just stopped to fill my lungs with air. What a true blessing that is from our Lord for which I worship and praise His Name. As we spend time realizing how much our Lord does indeed bless us, we should stop to give unto Him. What can we possibly give unto Him? David gives us some answers in this Psalm.  First of all, we give glory and honour to Him. We see the...

Psalm 28:7-9     "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.  (8)  The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.  (9)  Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever." It is very important to be able to place ourselves in the Word of God as we read it. If we only see it as a history lesson and something that took place a few thousand years ago, then we might be tempted to disregard it when the going gets tough for us. But if we can place our situation and our circumstance in the Word, then we can see the grace of God at work in our own lives. For instance, David began this Psalm by letting us understand his position when times were rough for him. What did David do?  He cried out unto the Lord. All pride as king of Israel went out the window. He humbled himself befor...

Psalm 28:1     "Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." Too many times, I skim over a verse of Scripture without stopping to think about the underlying thoughts and needs that are being expressed by the writer.  "Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock." David is saying in these few words, "Lord, I am pouring my heart out to you because you are the only One that I can truly trust and place my dependence on."  There is a saying that goes something like this, "It is lonely at the top."  We are not told David's position when he wrote this Psalm. He could have still been that shepherd boy that sat alone on the hillside as he watched his father's flock.  He may have been the leader of the band of men who followed him as he waited his turn to be king. Or, he may have already ascended to the throne of Israel at this point. Wherever he was in his life, ...

Psalm 27:13-14    "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  (14)  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." We all are subject to discouragement. We all face times when it seems the world is against us. If we allow ourselves to dwell upon those things, we would be tempted, and even prone, to throw up our hands and just give up.  When we look into the deepest recesses of our minds, we know this is true. We know it is true of others and we know it is true of ourselves. It was true of David and it is true of me.  We would have just given up if God had not given us this beautiful gift of faith that comes with salvation.  As Paul states in Romans 12:3, God has given to us "the measure of faith." "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD."  Aren't you thankful that God has given to us this precious ability to...

Psalm 27:5-6   "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  (6)  And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD." The things listed in these two verses are the direct result of David's desire to be in the house of the Lord.  When we can behold the beauty of the Lord in His House and we enquire of Him those things which we want to understand, God blesses us with His wisdom and understanding. He does this for us even when we do not understand what He is doing.  That might sound like double talk, but the truth is that we do not always have to understand what God is doing.  If He is our Light and our Strength and our Salvation (deliverance), then all we need to understand is this:  God is God.  The writer of Hebr...

Psalm 27:4-6     "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.  (5)  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  (6)  And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD." There are times in our lives when we say either out loud, or to ourselves, "If I only had ______..." (You can fill in that blank.)  Our minds take us on emotional highs and lows. We say when we feel that ecstatic high, "If I could only feel like this all the time."  We say when we are down in the valley of despair and decisions and struggles, "If I could only get that feeling back that I had yesterd...

Psalm 27:1-3    "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  (2)  When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.  (3)  Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." I've often heard it said of certain people, "You are strong and will make it through this situation."  I understand the sentiment behind the statement, but I also know there are times when we just are not strong enough to get ourselves through a period of time in life.  So, how do we make it? How do we know what decisions to make and when to make them? How do we get beyond obstacles that are placed in our path? As I read today's verses, the Lord gave me a new understanding concerning them. When I say a new understanding, I'm not saying He has shown me something tha...

Psalm 26:8     "LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth." David began this Psalm with words that made me stop and scratch my head.  "Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity."  I read that sentence and wondered why anyone would lay those words down almost as a challenge: "Judge me, O LORD."  Especially after reading some of David's confessions concerning his iniquity, why would he ask the Lord to judge him?  Then I realized he was asking this concerning a particular situation.  King Saul accused David of trying to overthrow his authority. David knew, and we know, he was not trying to overthrow Saul, even though he had already been anointed as the next king of Israel. In reality, David was trying to avoid all appearances of evil concerning Saul.  He had two opportunities to kill Saul but refused to touch him because the Lord had anointed Saul to be king. David was content to lea...

Psalm 25:9-10    "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.  (10)  All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." In more than one verse of this 25th Psalm, David asks God to forgive his sins and iniquities. In verse 11, he speaks of an iniquity being pardoned, "for it is great." Nestled into those verses, we find these two verses concerning the Lord's guidance for "the meek".  The world's definition of meekness would include the thoughts of someone who is weak. Actually, the Biblical definition is quite the opposite. You see, someone who we might consider to be "strong willed" and able to get themselves through any and every situation just might be a sign of weakness.  We might even think of that person as being bull-headed enough to just plow his way through every circumstance. It just might be there is "a weakness" to bring the carnal mind into...

Psalm 25:1-2    "Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.  (2)  O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me." Do you ever make a list of things to remind you of something? Psalm 25 seems to be a checklist for David concerning the mercies of God whether they were applied to him or someone else.  David is reminding himself to remember God's dealings with him up to that point in his life. When facing a situation in life over which we have no control, it is very important to keep our focus on the Lord rather than the situation.  Peter is an example of this when the disciples were on the boat in the storm. They saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. He said, "Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you."  Jesus said, "Come."  Peter hopped out of the boat and began walking on the water.  But when he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.   I do not write about Peter as a condemnation to him...

Psalm 24:6-10    "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.  (7)  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.  (8)  Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.  (9)  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.  (10)  Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." Everywhere we look, we see people searching, longing, trying to find something to satisfy the emptiness that is within. We all have a void within us that must be filled in order for us to have a life of contentment. The corporate world is constantly presenting new gadgets that promise a life of ease and fulfillment. But they fail to do that. If gadgets gave us what we are looking and longing for then corporations would go out of business be...

Psalm 24:6    "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah." Human nature is such that we learn to say even at a very early age, "I can do it myself." We want to think we can take life by the horns and maneuver our way around by our own power and ingenuity.  The wise man Solomon included the thought in his book of wisdom called Proverbs, "There are many devices in a man's heart." (Proverbs 19:21)  By this he is saying man always has ideas and thoughts to try to bring him to a satisfactory conclusion. In other words, he was saying, "I can do it myself." But his wisdom taught him that there is a better, more satisfactory conclusion:  "Nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand." (Proverbs 19:21) Today's verse gives reference to Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekkah, grandson of Abraham.  Jacob was one who used deceit and trickery to get his way in life. He deceived his own father into...

Psalm 24:1-3     "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  (2)  For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.  (3)  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?" We read later in the Psalms, "The works of the LORD are great."  I'm not sure that we can even begin to fathom just how great our God truly is.  Chris Tomlin wrote the contemporary song which says over and over, "How Great is our God!"  David surely understood to some degree the concept of God's greatness. But I'm not sure that I have even scratched the surface on His greatness. How about you?  Do we even stop to think about such things anymore?  As a child, I remember going outside and just laying in the grass and looking up into the sky both in the daytime and at night. But I don't think I understood the great truth of today's text.  All that we se...

Psalm 23:6    "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." Though each verse can be seen and appreciated on its own merit, there is a connection that runs throughout this Psalm. "The LORD is my shepherd." I have read and been told that a shepherd always goes before the flock. He cannot get behind the flock and drive them because that will cause the flock to separate and cause a division in the flock. So the shepherd goes before the flock and they follow him. So it should be with our precious Lord. He is my shepherd; therefore I want and need to follow Him. He leads me to green pastures and still waters where I can be rejuvenated and renewed in my walk with Him. He takes me in the right path which proves over and over that He is indeed my Good Shepherd and knows exactly what is right for me. Even when I feel I am in a place of darkness where fears are liable to overwhelm me, I can be stead...