Savoring the Scripture

In Wrath Remember Mercy Psalm 79 Whenever God visits us with the rod, and our own conscience accuses us, it especially becomes us to look to His hand. John Calvin What is the goal of the Lord’s discipline? For what purpose does He chastise His children? Does He discipline in a punitive sense, dealing out retribution to His people? Does He delight to give us what we are due in light of our disobedience? When under the discipline or chastisement of the Lord the answers to these questions help us to persevere when the hand of the Lord seems heavy upon us.  Hebrews 12:5-11 is a great text to turn to when considering the chastisement of the Lord. The text is rich, but we will just consider a few helpful reminders about the discipline of the Lord.  The Lord disciplines those He loves, and disciplines them because they are His sons (12:6-7). When we are under the discipline of the Lord, we should be thankful that we are not left to our own ways. If we remain without discipline, it wo...

God’s Compassionate ‘Yet’ to Our Unfaithfulness Psalm 78 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14 When I’ve spent time reading through Exodus and Numbers, there are a couple of things that amaze me. One, God performs many wonderful things on behalf of His people. The plagues executed on Egypt to deliver His people, the parting of the Red Sea, the miraculous provision of water and food are just a few of the ways God worked for the people of Israel. If that wasn’t enough, His very presence went with them and dwelt with them, guiding and protecting them. The second thing that is always amazing is the number of times, despite God’s mighty works, the people rebel against Him and grumble against Him. Numerous times they cry out that they would rather have stayed in Egypt the land of their affliction than to be brought to the place God led them. But however wondrous ...

The Next Generation Psalm 78 Those who know the name of the Lord will set their hope in him, and that they may be led to do so is the main end of all spiritual teaching. Charles Spurgeon It is a special privilege and burden to tell the next generations the wonderful deeds and ways of the Lord. It is a privilege because we as parents and grandparents, or those discipling or mentoring, get to share the wonders of what God has done for us and what He has taught us in His Word. It is a burden because we are commanded to train up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and we want to be sure we are fulfilling that mission and directive from the Lord.  One way we will be ready to fulfill this calling is if we ourselves have a sincere and authentic relationship with the Lord. If we see Christ as wonderful and glorious, we will talk about Him. If we are spending time each day acquainting ourselves with the Word and with the God of the Word, we will build a repository of truth ...

In the Day of My Trouble I Seek the Lord Psalm 77 “I just can’t take it anymore.” Have you ever wept those words? Have you been in a situation that feels hopeless or life keeps stacking more and more on you and you are exhausted and your spirit is feeling crushed? The pressure from outside you and the weariness from within you combine to leave you feeling like you can’t bear up under the weight any longer. You are overwhelmed with the circumstances of your life. What do you do in those moments when your feelings seem supreme and they affect your thinking?  In Psalm 77, we see the psalmist overwhelmed by his trouble. He asks hard questions like, “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?” He’s feeling weak and angry, disappointed and sleepless. But at the end of his psalm, his confidence in the Lord has been renewed and he is hopeful once again. How did he move from distress to hope? We will walk through section by section so that today when our own thoughts and fee...

Radiantly Reflecting His Resplendence Psalm 76 Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:29‬ ‭ESV‬‬ God, in His goodness and kindness toward us, created a world we could see and touch, a world we could perceive with our senses. He did this, not only for our enjoyment, but so that through these things we could begin to understand the magnitude of His glory and get a taste of His beauty. The greatness of the sun in its splendor is one example of God’s creation that just begins to show us the “fringes of His ways” and is a “small whisper” of how great our God is (Job 26:14).  Habakkuk, in his prayer, said of God, “His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power” (3:4 NASB). He uses a familiar object, the sunlight, and helps us to get a glimpse of the radiance of God. We cannot even look directly at the sun without the risk of damaging our eyes. To us, the ...

It is God Who Lifts Up Psalm 75 “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you”  (1 Peter‬ ‭5:5-6‬). The striking part of these verses to consider is, do I want God’s mighty hand for me or against me?  Peter is clear: God opposes the proud. The word ‘opposes’ is a battle term and means to set an array against, and an array is the strategic arrangement of fighters and weapons in battle. However, clothing ourselves with humility and humbling ourselves under God’s mighty hand will lead to Him giving us His grace. Do I want the King of kings standing in opposition to me because of my arrogance, or do I want His grace given more abundantly and His mighty hand working on my behalf? The answer is obvious, but I must also be obedient to the command to clothe myself in humility. I must have a correct estimat...

My Body His Temple  Psalm 74 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:16‬  “My body my choice” has been a slogan among feminists to champion body autonomy. In essence, they are heralding their right to do whatever they want or don’t want with their own bodies. But for the believer, one who has been bought by the precious blood of Christ, we are no longer our own. The governing slogan of our lives must be My Body His Temple . “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬).  Psalm 74 is believed to be written concerning the invasion of the Babylonians and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The psalmist cries out for the Lord to consider how “the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary” (74:3), “set the sanctuary on fire” (74:7), and rev...

All is Not Vain Psalm 73 O my God, however perplexed I may be, let me never think ill of thee. If I cannot understand thee, let me never cease to believe in thee. Charles Spurgeon Have you ever been tempted to think, “It is vain to serve God. What profit have I gained by obedience?” There was one time in particular that I was briefly tempted during a time of suffering to wonder what profit it had been to me to be faithful to what God had called me to when I was not getting the expected result, when the work I had done seemed fruitless. I say ‘briefly’ because the Lord quickly brought to my mind these verses from Malachi where the Lord rebukes these words as arrogance against Him. “Your words have been arrogant against Me. Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God…’” (Malachi 3:13-14). In Psalm 73, the psalmist faces a similar dilemma. He said his feet had almost stumbled and his steps had nearly slipped because he saw the wicked prospering a...

Prayer for Those in Authority Psalm 72 Everyone lives under some kind of authority. In our homes, jobs, cities, and countries, God has ordained order within relationships. He established many relationships of authority and submission and gave instructions on how to live within those relationships.  He has directed that we submit to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). He told wives to submit to their husbands and children to their parents (Ephesians 5:22; 6:1; 1 Peter 3:1-6). He gave instructions on how servants were to submit to their masters, which we now apply to relationships of order in the workplace (Ephesians 6:5; 1 Peter 2:18). There is order in the church and God tells us in Hebrews 13:7, 17 to obey and follow our elders/pastors. And, ultimately we all live under the authority of God. We do not always get to choose those in authority over us. But what we can choose to do is pray fervently and faithfully for them. Whether they are Christians or not, we ca...

Tune My Heart Psalm 71 I can whine -or- I can worship! Nancy Leigh DeMoss At night, when I tuck my younger ones into bed, we read a portion or a chapter from the Bible. Currently we are reading through Exodus. We just read about God’s great deliverance of the people of Israel out of the hand of Pharaoh. The Israelites have been brought through the Red Sea. Moses has sung his song of God’s great power. Now they are on their way to Mount Sinai. And we begin to see the hearts of the people. “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,” (Exodus 16:2). The people are hungry, so they grumble. But God graciously hears their grumblings and provides bread from heaven. Then shortly after God provides manna, the people get to Rephidim, but there is no water there. The people again quarrel with Moses and grumble against the Lord (Exodus 17:2-3). And the Lord has Moses bring water from the rock for the people to drink. Even though the peopl...