Savoring the Scripture

Restore Us, O Lord Psalm 80 It is not so much said, "turn our captivity, "but "turn us." All will come right if we are right. The best turn is not that of circumstances but of character. Charles Spurgeon Psalm 80 is a cry to the Lord, the Shepherd of His people, for His deliverance and restoration. Three times the psalmist prays, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!” The people have suffered harm. Their walls have been broken down. The vine, representing the people of Israel, has been burned with fire and they are perishing. So the psalmist is crying in desperation for the Lord to “have regard for this vine” (80:14), to give them life (80:18), and restore them to His favor (80:19). In our spiritual lives, sometimes we are flourishing and growing. We’re gaining strength and communing with our Savior. Other times, we are not flourishing spiritually, but rather we seem to be dry and wilting, uncommitted or lacking zeal for the things of God. A...

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...

Holy Habits Psalm 71 Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex. Norman Vincent Peale What patterns are you developing in order to walk more closely with your Savior? Some patterns happen more naturally while others take intentional effort. Some patterns must be broken and others strengthened. The hardest patterns or habits to change are the ways we think and respond. Those inward thoughts and wrestlings, which are then manifested in our words, facial expressions, and actions, are the habits that have been developed over a lifetime and must be transformed by Christ for the remainder of our life.  The fleshly thoughts and responses happen naturally as we have all been born with a sin nature that is in rebellion against God. And these are the habits that must be broken. Even after we have been saved, there is an intense battle for our affections, desires, and thoughts. Paul knew this struggle ...

Revive Me! Psalm 69 LORD, revive Your work. Habakkuk 3:2 For the believer, the word “revive” has a two fold meaning. In one sense, we have been revived by our Lord in that we were once “dead in our trespasses and sins” but God “made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1,5 NASB). We were dead spiritually, but God gave us new life in Christ. He revived us by redeeming us and paying the ransom price, the debt, we owed. “The price we owe to the Lord is the price of our very lives, which we ourselves cannot pay, but Jesus paid this price in the place of all who trust in Him alone for salvation” (Tabletalk, June 2020). The second sense in which we as believers can be revived is in gaining new strength, increased vitality, to our spiritual life and walk with Christ. We must first be brought into a new life with Christ, and then the power of His Holy Spirit invigorates and revives us in an ongoing basis so that we can continually be increasing in our nearness and intimacy with the Savi...

Courage in Times of Deep Water Psalm 69 I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. Psalm 69:2 In our psalm today, David expresses his hardships in vivid language. We can sense his desperation when we read the first few verses that describe his difficulty with phrases like “the waters come up to my neck,” and “I sink in deep mire.” He continues, “I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.” He’s weary with his crying. His throat is parched  because of his continual cries. He is weary with waiting on God. We do not know the circumstances that have brought David to this place where he feels like he is drowning in affliction, but I’m thankful we do not have all the details. In his commentary on the Psalms, Longman says, “The troubles are not specific, which is in keeping with the purpose of the Psalms to provide templates of prayers for later worshippers who have similar, though not identical, issues.” Without specifics, we are able to insert ourselves ...

Protector of Widows Psalm 68 He is…the Protector of Widows. He is so glorious that he rides on the heavens, but so compassionate that he remembers the poor of the earth. How zealously ought his church to cherish those who are here marked out as Jehovah's especial charge. Charles Spurgeon The context of Psalm 68 is God as the Divine Warrior of His people. He scatters His enemies and all those who hate Him flee. The analogy the psalmist uses is that of wax melting before the fire, and so shall God’s enemies be. And because of the great deliverances He procures for His people, He is their Divine Warrior and their Great Champion. He is described as having chariots twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands (68:17). He is the God of salvation, who daily bears up His people, summoning His power on their behalf (68:19-20,28). And in this context, God declares Himself to be the Protector of widows (Psalm 68:5).  “Loss of a spouse is one of the most negative life events, next only to the ...