Psalm 36

 Psalm 36

Long before a person's life is ruined by sin, there was a secret conversation that took place in their heart. As I recall people whose lives ended up in a sort of a Hell on Earth as a result of their sin, I knew that much earlier they had talked themselves into bad behaviors. At that moment these bad behaviors seem to be inconsequential shortcuts to what they wanted. Objectively they may have known they were wrong, but in the silent moments of their lives, they convinced themselves in their hearts and by means of words from themselves to themselves to engage in a sinful act. That sinful act led to another and to another and to a truly nasty divorce, a term in prison, or a gun muzzle in the roof of their mouth. Verses 1-4 describe the inner heart and conversation of sin.

Thankfully there is an alternative. The mercy and loving kindness of God is available.  It is as expansive as a universe, higher than the mountains, and deeper than the oceans.  The psalmist describes God's mercy that is beyond measure. It is more predictable than the sunrise. The whispers of darkness will lead us to ruin. The intervention of mercy will lead us to life. Which voice will you listen to and adhere to?

“Help me, Lord, to never listen to the dark voices in my own heart, but to Your voice of mercy. AMEN.”

Psalm 35

 Psalm 35

When we believe that people are basically good and will inherently respond with fairness, justice, and kindness to our lives of right behavior, we will sooner or later be disappointed. More realistically, we have the examples of David, Jeremiah, the martyrs, and our Lord. Sinful people sooner or later will sin against agents of righteousness. The old adage is true: “Hurt people hurt people.” It is a broken, sinful world in which we live. 

This psalm is descriptive of the treacherous actions of evil people. but also gives an appropriate and hope-filled response. In verses 1-8 there is a prayer or complaint about evil and a request for intervention. In verses 11-16 there is perhaps a prophecy of the trials of Jesus. In 17-28 there is praise for God's goodness and it concludes with a plea for those who befriend the accused. 

But in the middle, in verses 9 and 10, there is the key to how we deal with the misery of persecution. There is an expression of confidence and praise. To the core of his being, the righteous person is certain of God's power and goodness. That is why despair is such an evil thing; it denies both. Evil and hardship are real, but God is both good and able.

“Lord, in this messed up and crazy world, help me to never lose hope but always remember You are good and able. AMEN.”

Psalm 34

 Psalm 34

This Psalm used in its context indicates that following God is not for the faint of heart. I once heard a man, who had been caught in serious misbehavior, revealing a deep pattern of sin and hypocrisy, say, “I want the Lord to break me.” Only God knows if that was sincere or mere playacting. But in Psalm 34:18 David describes the man with a “broken spirit.” "Broken" is not a soft or gentle word. It means to shatter into splinters, to destroy, or to burst. There is no sense of anything left intact that we might hold on to. This is no broken picture frame that we can glue back together. Think of a fragile glass ornament on an anvil that is smashed by a huge hammer. I'm not sure I would be able to say, “I want to be broken.” But when we need to be broken, if we are wise, we accept and embrace what God does. We suffer the affliction, the crushing of verse 18, and we are thankful on the other side. To a great degree we determine how deep that affliction is and how massive the hammer stroke. The more tenaciously we hold on to our sin and pride, the heavier the hammer stroke will need to be to break the hard heart.

“Lord, help me to repent of sin sooner rather than later. AMEN.”

Psalm 33

 Psalm 33

As a nation we have become aware of and passed laws to oppose Stolen Valor, the practice of people pretending to be war heroes or servicemen when they are not. Perhaps we need to apply that same principle to worship. In verses 1-2 we have a passage often applied to music in our churches. Good and well. But verse 1 ends with “Praise is becoming to the upright.” That word “becoming” is critical. The concept of “becoming” or “befitting” was tied to the Covenant relationship between God and His people. It meant to live in a way that reflected His character and commands. In other words, it is unbecoming for a person who is living an unholy life to practice or “act out” a relationship that is not real. Worship is not for the perfectly holy; it is for those who want and desire to be right with God. But for the person who lives an ungodly life and goes through the motions of worship for the sake of self-gratification, praise is unfit. It is actually worse than stolen valor.

“Lord, break my heart if I am worshiping out of a life that is willfully unholy. AMEN.”

Psalm 32

 Psalm 32

If one wants to develop a solid foundation to understand the truth and doctrine of sin, Psalm 32 is an excellent starting point. A detailed study is time well spent. But for the moment, let us consider one major theme: the union of joy and holiness. The contrast between verses 1-2 and 3-4 is powerful. Of all beings in the universe, who is most holy? Who is most joyful? Joy can be described as a pervasive sense that all is well. That is clearly descriptive of God. Evil men, evil spirits, or events will not ruin him or his plans. 

In sin we attempt to gain happiness in the wrong way.  But instead of happiness, we are miserable. When that effort fails, we try more of the same, and the cycle is repeated. The least joyful place on Earth would be jails, a place filled with people who have pursued the wrong path to joy. Holiness and joy are bound together, even two sides of the same coin. How could it be different in a moral universe that God created? He has also welded together sin and misery; you will not find one without the other. Happy is the person who is forgiven.

“Lord, help me understand the joy of holiness. AMEN.”

Psalm 31

 Psalm 31

This song covers a full range of the life of a disciple as we face resistance and opposition. The psalmist's life faces false friends and overt enemies, circumstances of hope and fear, possible treachery, and loyalty. Some think this song came from David while under Saul's persecution. Others think it reflects the life and ministry of Jeremiah. The words of the Psalm were among the last words of our Lord before his death as recorded in Luke 23:46. For centuries Christians would repeat these words as they perceived death approaching: “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” We see supremely in the life of our Lord, to a lesser degree in David's or Jeremiah's lives, and also in the lives of godly people that when every day is committed to the Father, it is filled with prayer so that on the last day we would commit ourselves or our spirit to Him. Only about 15% of people die suddenly. Most of us will see death coming. May we live in such a way that as it comes, we can say, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit."

“Lord, help me to live every day getting ready for that last day. AMEN.”

Psalm 30

Psalm 30

This is a challenging Psalm in that without knowing the historic context, we can’t say what prompted this emotional outpouring of David's heart.  Some scholars believe it was the occasion of David’s sinful census. (2 Samuel 24)  We can, however, learn some vital general principles for our lives.  In verses 1-3 we see David in great distress nearing death.  In God’s great mercy, He rescues David.  Out of that rescue comes the praise of verse 4 and the beautiful lines at the end of verse 5.  “His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”  What great and wonderful hope-filled words.  But before we come to this great exaltation, we must pass through the hardship of the first lines of verse 5.  We must deal with the first line of that verse.  God’s anger and corrective punishment must be endured, and from it we must learn our lessons.  We want to leap to the shout of joy, but not so fast—have we learned the lesson God wants to bring us in His anger?

In verses 6-9 we see an important progression.  This is, perhaps, a retelling of the story with new insights.  In verses 6-7a there is pride; David becomes arrogant in his God-given prosperity.  Then there is a harsh awakening in the second line of verse 7.  From pride to dismay in a moment.  Interestingly, these are both conditions without God.  Then in verses 8-9 we see repentance.  

There is a dramatic difference in the pride we see before dismay and the humility we see after.  The Psalm concludes with a hope-filled note.  The Lord is gracious, and in place of mourning and sackcloth, there is dancing and gladness. God is both just and merciful; in fact, His justice is used to bring us to repentance so that His mercy is set free to rescue us.  Sometimes that is a long road, but His intent is always mercy.

“Lord, thank You that You are merciful.  Help me never, in my pride, to presume upon Your mercy. AMEN.”