Category: words

Meet Our Authors

Psalmslife is written and maintained by two people, Bryan Lowe and Jonathan Coe. These Christian brothers have formed a relationship of more than 30 years. They have come together as partners to study the Book of Psalms. They have two separate voices, but they strive to hear from one God. We really hope Psalms Life will bless you as you personally workout the Psalms in your own life.

Bryan Lowe graduated from Alaska Bible Institute in 1984. He served with SOS Ministries in San Francisco, and with NLM in Mexico. A bonafide rascal with definite issues, who is seeking to be authentic in his faith to Jesus Christ. An avid reader and a hopeful writer. Husband and father. A pastor and Bible teacher.  Diagnosed as Bipolar Depression and disabled. Hepatitis C and also a brain trauma survivor. Enjoys life in Alaska.  Email: flash99603@hotmail.com. His other websites are www.Brokenbelievers.com and www.crossquotes.org.

 

flourish-small

Jonathan Coe is a graduate of Bethel University and Bethel Theological Seminary and has served in both pastoral and campus ministry. In 2004 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church and now lives in Colville, Washington working as a writer in the area of Christian spirituality. He writes for audiences across denominational lines and will be coming out with a book with Tate Publishing later in 2013 presently titled “Letters from Fawn Creek: Wisdom for the Journey to the Gold Rush.” His personal site is http://www.openheavensblog.com/wp/.

The Flourish: the Finish

The conclusion of Psalm 92, NLT.

12 But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

13 For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.     They flourish in the courts of our God.

14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.

15 They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock!     There is no evil in him!”

What an ending. I do confess, I do like watching good movies– and the final scenes can make, or break a good movie. Is it believable, does it flow into the plot, does it carry us beyond the moment?

The very way this Psalm ends intrigues me. The perfect summary for this is found in verses 1-11, which we have already covered. Verses 12-15 is our ending point. We arrive here if we will just follow the conditions of the first 11 verses.

*

Commentary

V. 12, “But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.”

What audacity, what boldness! We must recognize that there is a certain place for these ‘flourishers.’ They just explode with a core central growth. We see them, but we are not intimidated. Instead they push us to a higher love.

The strength of us is that we can grow strong all the way through. That is just the way it works, and we take anything that we can get. Envision for a moment, the tallest cedars. I remember seeing for the first time the California Redwoods. It was astonishing, and I got a crook in my neck looking up all the time.

V. 13, “For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.     They flourish in the courts of our God.”

No matter where we are, the Father will bring us closer to Himself. We may think we are “out-of-the-loop”. But He sees it all. He does “transplant,” but only within our true calling. And a “flourishing” is part of the package.

How do we process this? We are brought out of a senseless and desperate life, directly into a full life of intimacy with the Lord Jesus. In this place, we start to grow branches, and new buds. Life is not just a great idea–but it starts to flow through our very being.

V. 14, “ Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.”

Old age seems close to us. We age, and we determine that it works out to us in obsolescence and defeat. When we hit 60, we determine it is all over, and finished. God promises that as believers we will be green, and fresh–even in this crazy margin of age. But as it works out, we are incredibly “vital.”

I suppose that the truth of this can transform the way we see ourselves, and the way we live out our lives, Old-agedness can never be an excuse to backing out of a true and real spirituality.

V. 15, “ They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock!     There is no evil in him!”

Much of what I have shared with you is solid, but simple. We all end up at this verse though. From here we start to focus directly on all that is plain and level. After all, He is the rock and as we start to focus on this, we are ‘pulled’ into His presence.

We can see no evil in this, and yes it may seem we are in a kind of “pinball machine.” We are bound to voices that try to direct us into its version of deceit. We could be pulled even into “denial” of our faith. But never, or ever is there the slightest sense of evil that comes to us from God.

*

ybic, Bryan

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Praise is How We Grow: Psalm 111:1-3

1 “Praise the Lord!

I will thank the Lord with all my heart
    as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.

    His righteousness never fails.”

Psalm 111:1-3, NLT

This is a “teaching” psalm thats purpose is to instruct or educate. This Psalm is a strict acrostic, with each line having an “ABC…” pattern. The first line (V.1) is the Hebriac phrase, “Hallel-jah” which we use in English, but it means “praise the Lord”.

Psalm 111 was part of a group of hymns sung while celebrating the Jewish feast of Passover. It is very possible that Jesus sang this song with His disciples just before His arrest in Gethsemane.

Because this psalm is constructed so well and so precisely we can safely assume it should have a honor and reverence among both Jews and Christians.

Commentary

V. 1, “Praise the Lord!”

“I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.”

Why is praising God so important? Why should we thank Him? I suppose the answer can be found in His worthiness. Our relationship is with a Someone who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. In other words, He is all powerful, present everywhere, and all knowing.

Verse 1 also carries the idea of an existing fellowship of the “godly.” When we meet with each other to worship and praise, we activate and fortify each other. The Holy Spirit gives His gifts, and we will find a way to encourage each one.

V. 2, “How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.”

We are cordially invited to wrap our heads and hearts around “the deeds of the Lord.” These are actions that God has done. These are things creative and redemptive. Our past, present and future are full of them. These deeds can be understood by those who delight in God, and ponder what He is doing.

Pondering is not ‘a piece of cake.’ You have to be motivated to ponder, and that takes a certain discipline. This Psalm has praise embedded all through it– so perhaps that is where we must begin.

V. 3, “Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails.”

When we are exhorted by our elders to seek the Lord, that is a good thing. But how do we start? Remember, this Psalm is a teaching psalm. If we only listen to it, very closely, we will understand what we are to do.

The writer explains that we seek God by looking at what God does. (His actions speak louder than words.) He is creative– stars and galaxies, hummingbirds and salmon, snowflakes and monsoons. He created people and culture– Africans and Asians, Eskimos and Puerto Ricans. Indeed the whole earth is filled with the glory of the Lord.

To love Him is to honor His acts. To ponder all that He has done, or is doing, to save us from our sins and free us from our bondage. What He did to free the Hebrew slaves from Egypt is the story of us all. We should be people of joy, set apart to the Glory of God.

ybic, Bryan

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Loving the Unlovely: Psalm 35:14-16

14 “I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.

15 But in my stumbling and limping they rejoiced and gathered together [against me]; the smiters (slanderers and revilers) gathered against me, and I knew them not; they ceased not to slander and revile me.

16 Like profane mockers at feasts [making sport for the price of a cake] they gnashed at me with their teeth.”

Psalm 35:14-16, Amplified

For today’s reading, I march out the Amplified Version (AMP.) It has a pretty dynamic history, and fills a niche of a translation that reveals shades and nuances of the original languages. (It can seem a “bit wordy” though for everyday reading.) It was built off the work of the ASV (1901) and its first edition came out in 1965. Since then, it has had over 30 printings.

The AMP handles these three verses quite adroitly and delivers much to strengthen our understanding.

David is a deeply troubled man. It seems he treats his enemies like dear friends. And his friends are sometimes overlooked. His love ‘kicks-off’ his vulnerabilities. I will use the term “idealistic” (but not ‘spacy’ or crazy.) You could say that he loves too much, and he refuses to call his old friends as the enemies they have become.

A love like this is truly astounding. It is called “agape” love in the New Testament. It is a special word that means that it loves its enemies in spite of being mistreated, ignored or slandered. It is a “Jesus style” of love, that His followers must share.

Commentary 

V. 14, “I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.”

I suppose it would be useful to read my previous post from PL, The Dark Pain of Slander: Psalm 35:11-13 

David describes his painful grief over his enemies illness. This isn’t what people normally do. But David isn’t normal– he is supernatural as he grieves deep down. David taps into a vein of understanding that Jesus would declare centuries later. From Matthew 5,

“God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.” (v.4)

“God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.” (v.5)

“God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.” (v.7)

V. 15, “But in my stumbling and limping they rejoiced and gathered together [against me]; the smiters (slanderers and revilers) gathered against me, and I knew them not; they ceased not to slander and revile me.

David has now become a magnet for haters. They watch him stumble, and see him limp. They are drawn together to mock and slander. They have joy over seeing King David the Buffoon stumbling about.

Evil has its special way of organizing itself for evil purposes. Just as the Godly have special gifts and ministries, the evil ones have their specialties as well. Some will be liars, others will be murderers, adulterers, abusers and thieves. You could say that Satan has “gifted” them to do his work.

“These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. 9 But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.”

2 Timothy 3:8-9

Just as Paul had been gifted, he encountered others as gifted, but to do evil. This should make a young pastor or missionary aware and careful of these evil counterparts. But Paul tells Timothy that this charade will not last long.

ybic, Bryan

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The Dark Pain of Slander: Psalm 35:11-13

Norman Rockwell, “Gossip,” 1948

11 “Malicious witnesses testify against me.
    They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good.
    I am sick with despair.
13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
    I denied myself by fasting for them,
    but my prayers returned unanswered.”

Psalm 35:11-13, NLT

“Slander is worse than cannibalism,” St. Chyrosostom

It is so frustrating when you are misjudged. For the most part, we find ourselves on a discouraging treadmill to try to regain your reputation. It is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do. Proverbs 18:19, NLT,

“An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.
    Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.”

We are mixed-up in all of this because of their personal rancor or hostility. They imagine offences where none exist. In Psalm 59:3, David declares his frustration,

“They have set an ambush for me.
    Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord,
    though I have not sinned or offended them.”

Commentary

V.11,“Malicious witnesses testify against me.
    They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.

David becomes a ‘lightning rod’ for all kinds of malicious slander and gossip. His claiming that he has done nothing to merit such hatefulness. It maybe David was taken to court over some of these things: the words “witness,” “testify,” “accuse,” “crimes.” These all are words used in a criminal court.

“Malicious” is such a unhappy word; it means to be spiteful, noxious, nasty and vicious. These are strong words, and each one adds another layer of hatefulness, which David can’t do a thing about.

V. 12, “They repay me evil for good.
    I am sick with despair.”

What a hard place to be. People that you have been good to in all your dealings to them, turn on you. In times of apostasy, this kind of meanness will become the expected normal. Jeremiah 9:3-6,

3 “My people bend their tongues like bows
    to shoot out lies.
They refuse to stand up for the truth.
    They only go from bad to worse.
They do not know me,”
    says the Lord.

4 “Beware of your neighbor!
    Don’t even trust your brother!
For brother takes advantage of brother,
    and friend slanders friend.
5 They all fool and defraud each other;
    no one tells the truth.
With practiced tongues they tell lies;
    they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6 They pile lie upon lie
    and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”
    says the Lord.’”

One more thought. David said he was sick with despair. Often emotionally ill people are not considered sick by our standards. But they should be. And they should be helped.

V. 13, “Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
    I denied myself by fasting for them,
    but my prayers returned unanswered.”

David reveals the character of the Lord Jesus. When vilified, he blessed. When hurt by his enemies, David loves them. The natural man would consider that they were getting what was coming to them.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Matthew 5:43-44

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Romans 12:20

One more thought. The Last Days are described as the most challenging in the history of mankind. One of its marks will be unloving, uncaring and ungodly people. David is one who loved even when he was mocked. Jesus prayed for His murderers from the cross.

 “I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 3:17

ybic, Bryan

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New Songs, and Parasites: Psalm 144:9-11

Sing to Him

9 “I will sing a new song to you, O God!
    I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
10 For you grant victory to kings!
    You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.
11 Save me!
    Rescue me from the power of my enemies.
Their mouths are full of lies;
    they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.”

Psalm 144:9-11, NLT

When something is ‘new’ it just seems better. When you drive a new car off the lot, the feeling you have can’t be compared to anything else. Several months ago, I bought a pair of red shoes. (I liked them so much I wanted to wear them to bed.) A new jacket, or snazzy shoes and life is just more enhanced somehow.

There are a lot of ‘new’ things in the Bible. New wine, new name, new covenant, new clothes, new king, new creation, new heavens, new earth, new life and there are many others. Suddenly having something that is fresh and new, can be a bit of a challenge. We are unfamiliar with this ‘new thing.’ (And we were just getting comfortable with the old!)

Commentary

V. 9,  ”I will sing a new song to you, O God!
    I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.”

David’s heart was a singing one. He sings when things are ‘good.’ He sings when things are ‘bad.’ I’m sure as a proficient musician he understood music– what it could do, its innate power to lift. I would also imagine that David was a walking musical library. He knew all the songs worth knowing; the chords and melodies used.

David wants to sing “a new song to you,  O God!” Nothing but a new song would do. I suppose old songs are fine and good, they often evoke something from our past experiences. I love to sing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” I draw from it, and my spirit and eyes are lifted up.

But there are times– special moments, when we venture into the new moment. That spot is dewy fresh and different, it has just come into being. It is also strange. (I think this is the place where a “new song” is at its best.)

V. 10, “ For you grant victory to kings!
    You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.”

There is nothing like a ‘near-death’ experience to swell our shrunken hearts with  gratitude. And David was given “victory” for a present. He unwraps it, and decides the moment is perfect to write that “new song” he’s been thinking about. He knows that God is fully responsible for this victory, and saving him from certain death.

V. 11, “ Save me!
    Rescue me from the power of my enemies.
Their mouths are full of lies;
    they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.”

David doesn’t just ‘get up and brush himself off.’ Rather, (almost in a parasitical way) he latches unto God and won’t let Him go. We can go and drain this verse of its deep feelings, but we would be poorer for it– perhaps missing its true meaning.

David discerns correctly the ‘spiritual landscape’ of this moment. He hangs on to the Lord. David understands the power that wants to destroy him. His biggest enemies don’t carry a sword but instead they use their tongues– their words, and speech to press an attack on David.

Sing the old songs, but consider singing a new song as well.

888

ybic, Bryan

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Listen to Me: Psalm 34:11-14

11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
    and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
    that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Psalm 34:11-14, NLT

How much like a child are you? Children are packed full of innocence, teachableness, humility, honesty and faith. They are perfect examples for us as believers. These ‘little ones’ have a great deal to teach us. These verses are shaped around the idea of being eager to do what is best, and a childlike heart is our first step.

In our introduction to Psalm 34, we read the background of this incident, “A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.” This was a harrowing experience for him, we see David dusting off his improv skills, and acting very much like a mad man.  Crazy! An Introduction to Psalm 34 

In 1 Samuel 21:10-15, we find the narrative of this weird and wild situation. David is afraid, and fear is a powerful motivator. But, it is not sin. However, fear can and does lead to sinful acts. In a sense it is one of  the best mediums for sin to flourish. David survives and comes through this without stain or sin.

Commentary

V. 11, “ Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.”

Being a child is an intrinsic place for learning “godly fear.” This kind of fear, clean and good, is only really learned from this place. “Come” implies moving towards, and “listening” suggests becoming aware.

The fear of the Lord must be taught. I can teach my child about honesty, as he is not naturally honest. In much the same way, we really aren’t afraid of God, it takes sometime before we can really come to that point. David could have taught many different skills: archery, the spear, or the affairs of state. But instead he chooses to teach “children” the fear of the Lord.

“I can know if I truly fear God by determining if I have a genuine hatred of evil and an earnest desire to obey His commands.”  Jerry Bridges

V. 12, “ Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?”

This strikes me as the “recipe” of a life of quality. What you believe has an effect on our earthly life. True religion should be teaching the saints to enter into this. We need to be concerned about how to live, and also how to die. This should be the aim of efforts the Church should be taking. We need to learn exactly how to make the best of both worlds.

V. 13, “Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!”

The tongue. So very much rests on this ability to speak! A quick scan of Scripture exposes the danger of words spoken out of a poisoned heart. We often corrupt everyone we meet with our tongue. The Book of James should be taken quite seriously by the Church. James 3:8,

“…but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

 V. 14, “Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”

Reduce it all, and it comes to this. It’s funny how we complicate discipleship. It seems in some circles you need a Ph.D to figure it out.

Turn away. Do. Search. Work to foster peace. Essential things of intense simplicity. Profoundly easy and yet challenging. But in this saintly reductionism, we will find the life we really want to live.

My sense is that the “fear of the Lord” is the imperative. Once this is established and growing, verse 14 follows. Fear God.

ybic, Bryan

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Full Throttle Praise: Psalm 34:1-3, NLT

1 “I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
    let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
    let us exalt his name together.”

Worship should be something we do all the time–it is a perpetual focus on the Lord God. David refers to a lifetime of continual praise. But what does this “look” like? How is this done? Is this realistic?

I would suggest that our definition should adjust to broaden “praise and worship.” If you think about it, praise and worship is far more than Sunday morning at your Church. (And yet that is a major part of it.) There must be an eagerness on Monday afternoon and on Tuesday morning.

Commentary

V. 1, “I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.”

“All times,” “constantly speak,” must elevate our standards of praise. There is a certain fervency, and desire that compels David in his approach to his life. I find it fascinating that he says twice, “I will.”  Sometimes we end up weakening the will seeing it as “bad Christianity.”

Our wills are simply “brothers” to obedience. We dare not extract will from our lives. There is an obedience, subject to faith that will allow us to become “fire Christians.”

V. 2, “I will boast only in the Lord;
    let all who are helpless take heart.”

This is a great verse! When we praise our Lord, do we boast? It is nothing more then “bragging” or “showing off” our God to a watching world. (And it’s entirely biblical!) This bragging in David’s context, belongs to God exclusively.

Being helpless suggests weakness understood. People will dismiss you if your weak and pathetic. David exhorts that those who are feeble and incapable, to take heart–God has not forgotten you, by no means.

V. 3, “Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
    let us exalt his name together.”

David was a shepherd long before he was a king. He never lost those skills from working out in the pasture. We see him gathering people, of bringing them for a common purpose.

Perhaps our gathering times could be strengthened, by these two vital words– tell and exalt. Both of these are potent words for a heart that is His.

ybic, Bryan

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Please, Rebuke Me: Psalms 141:5-7, NLT

 

5 “Let the godly strike me!
    It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
    Don’t let me refuse it.

But I pray constantly
    against the wicked and their deeds.
6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,
    the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
7 Like rocks brought up by a plow,
    the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.[a]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 141:7 Hebrew scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

These are great verses for the humble, and challenging ones for the interpretive acumen of the translator. Verses 6-7 typically leave them scratching their collective heads. And I admit that I like it that way. I do not need complete answers anymore.

The style of these verses is what we call, “imprecatory.” That word is defined  at dictionary.com as follows,

Definition: curse
Synonyms: anathematize, be foul-mouthed, bedamn,blaspheme, cuss, damn*, execrate, flame*, takename in vain, talk dirty, use bad language, utter profanity

Scan through this and see exactly how intense this word really is defined. There are several psalms that are written in this manner. On a personal note, I’ve learned to apply them not to physical enemies, but the spiritual ones. The New Testament does both actually. But more I suppose, it concerns us in our war with Satan and evil. (But I’m sure you can sort this out.)

Commentary

V. 5, I have been rebuked by the best of them! And I admit that I have almost always had to make a very quick  ”adjustment.” It’s like I had to “flip a switch” in my heart to listen to correction and receive the words. Every believer has a need to be corrected reasonably often.

“If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
    if you accept correction, you will be honored.” Proverbs 13:19

David has a therapeutic sense about this in v. 5. He makes his own adjustment to rebuke knowing it will heal his soul. If you think you can avoid this you will walk  in a crunchy and complete error. I was once rebuked by an 80 year old saintly woman, and she didn’t say a thing. Her actions alone pointed me to Jesus.

“Don’t let me refuse it.” David knows that he doesn’t need to receive it, but he wants God to act to make him willing. When we can’t will, we can ask to be made willing. There is a common proverb– “Let who rebukes me have rings on her fingers.”

V.5, continues, “But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds.” I really thing their is a proactive (almost aggressive) attitude toward all who do evil and do dark things. (I wonder if praying like this does something inside of us?) You might say that David separates himself, putting a distance from himself and wickedness.

Vv. 6-7, O.K. These are the “toughies.” The picture is the enemies of God, men who led all the others to be thrown off a high wall. In 2 Kings 9:33 we read of Queen Jezebel being hurled off a wall to her death. Same word, exactly. I believe that this was the standard way of killing the leaders off. Their crimes were brutal, because of their influence over others. Sin was distinguished, and death had to be public and “meaningful.”

ybic, Bryan

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God Inspired Holiness: Psalm 141:1—4, ESV

“O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
 Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
     keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
    and let me not eat of their delicacies!”

Psalm 141:1—4, ESV

I’ve gotten feedback, which is great, but it has been suggested that my posts are too long, and that maybe true. But I have decided to cut down the selection of verses handled to make it a bit easier on you. Teachers have a strong tendency to overwork their mules. LOL.

This is one of David’s.  We will just consider a couple of verses in this post.  There is a potency in these first verses. They are like “Miracle Grow” for our hearts and souls. After working it in the soil, everything gets very green, very fast.

Commentary

V. 1, I suppose “call” is the prominent word in this verse. When we decide to intiate contact with the Lord, we think it is we who start the dialogue. (There is a doctrine of Christian theology that teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that very often before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man.)

We are being sought, like a pesky salesman at our door, our Father is incredibly persistent. He wants in, and keeps ringing our bell, and won’t go away. He calls us, before we call Him. Continually throughout scripture, we are commanded to “seek the Lord.” But we are only responding to His efforts to reach us. God is always first.

V. 2, “ Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”

David equates his prayer with what was going on in the temple. Incense and  the sacrifice had a curious equivalence. Also, this would link his prayer life to the very essence of the priesthood. Prayer should be understood in this framework, but quite often we don’t acknowledge this reality. Offer a calf, or say a prayer, it is pretty much the same thing.

V. 3, Perhaps this is a weak point in his life. He is seeking help for guarding his heart and his mouth (don’t we all?)  and He goes directly into the presence of God for help. Quite often we need direct intervention on our tongue. The Almighty has to step in to restrain and guide our words.

V. 4, “Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
    and let me not eat of their delicacies!”

Some believers make their own personal holiness there primary life issue. They live to be holy, however this misses the mark. Now don’t get me wrong, holiness of life should be sought, but there is much more. The psalmist realizes that God must take quite a bit of responsibility. He is the active element in v. 4. He is doing the “heavy lifting” here. The desire that David has, all that he wants to happen is God’s action and grace. He works very hard to enable us to get through sin.

ybic, Bryan

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