Psalm 51 Devotional

Key Verses: 1-4 "(1) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot our my transgressions. (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (4) Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that you may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge."

Spurgeon Insight: "Pardon of sin must ever be an act of pure mercy…The hypocrite is content if his garment is washed, but the true suppliant cries 'wash me'…When we deal seriously with our sin, God will deal gently with us."

David was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this Psalm after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba, one of his soldier's wives. He was totally convicted, repentant, and sorrowful over his sin. He confessed his sin to God asking Him to forgive and restore him as a man of God.

David's song makes an amazing point. He had sinned against Bathsheba and her husband whom David had murdered to cover up his sins, to say the least. There were a lot of people who fell victim to his spiritual crimes. In spite of that reality, David believed his sin was entirely against God alone (4)!

When I sin against people I ultimately sin against God. The reason sin against people is really sin, lies in the fact that I have violated God's desire as to how He wants me to treat them. So the reason it is a sin to murder another person is that God has told me not to do that to them. There is no sin I can commit against a person that doesn't go beyond the person and offend God. There really is no such thing as a sin that doesn't affect anyone else. Sin always affects, and is ultimately against, my God. It's truth like this that brings me back to an awe-filled gratefulness for the undeserved love and forgiveness of God I have everlastingly because Jesus has taken my sin and shame on His cross! He has put it away forever, and I have His forgiveness now, in real time! I hope that comforts you today! Pray with me…

Father, I pray that You would impress upon me the seriousness of all sin anew. Remind me, in the moment that I am tempted to think that my sin won't harm anybody but me, that all my sin affects You. Keep my ever tempted heart from wandering. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Psalm 42 Devotional

Key Verses: 1-2 and 11 "(1) As the deer pants for the waterbrooks, so my soul pants for You, Oh God. (2) My soul pants for God. For the living God. When will I come and appear before God? (11) Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I will yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."

Spurgeon Insight: "Debarred from public worship, (he) was heartsick. He who loves the LORD loves also the assemblies wherein His name is adored...The saddest countenance will yet be made to shine, if there be a taking of God at His word and an expectation of His salvation."

This Psalm was written by the Sons of Korah. It describes the longing a worshiper of God feels when when they are hindered from experiencing the fulfillment found in worshiping God, and experiencing His presence with His people by geography, and circumstances. They are pictured as thirsting after God with intensity like that of a deer who has been wandering in the wilderness with no way to quench it's thirst for days on end.

It is interestring to me that the worshiper described here isn't merely upset because they haven't engaged in formal worship in a while. It is really the fact that they haven't been able to worship the LORD in the presence of His people that has them upset. It is a time of group worship before God that they want to experience again.

I heard once that a person's joy isn't complete until it is shared with another. That makes sense. When I buy new music for example, I might really love the music, but what really gets me fired up is when I get to show music I'm excited about to someone else who I think will like it as I do. As they start to get into it the music brings me even more happiness. I'm filled with joy so much more sharing it with someone else than I would've been had I kept my joy to myself.

Worshiping God in unity with other followers of Jesus should be the same kind of experience for me to a greater degree. It was for the Psalmist. I should be totally jazzed as I get to share my enjoyment of God with other followers of Jesus as we worship Him together. That unified enjoyment of God should cause me to value the gatherings of the people of Jesus more than anything else. By God's grace I will have that heart as the Sons of Korah did.

This Psalm closes with a promise of hope for the follower of Jesus who has been unable to experience the type of gathering described above because of geography or some other circumstances. He tells his own heart to, "Hope in God. I will yet praise Him; the hope of my countenance is God." Whether the Psalmist got to worship in an assembly of God's people on earth, or they had to wait until they got to heaven, they knew they would have a corporate worship experience again soon. The God of hope would grant that to them in the future one way or the other.

Do you value worshiping Jesus in the gathering of His people? If not I hope God will create a passion in us both for those experiences. They are forstastes of heaven as imperfect as they might be. Don't approach the assembly of God's people in a spirit of criticism, but in a spirit of celebration for the grace that it is.

Do you feel like you can't be in the assembly of the people of Jesus as often as you like? One way or another God will bring you into communion with Him in the midst of His people again. Remember, this isn't heaven yet! "Hope in God." Pray with me...

Father, I pray that you would help me value times of gathered worship with Your people even more. Help me understand how awesome it is to experience Your presence and sing Your praises with other followers of Jesus. I pray You would renew Your church with love for gathering together to focus on You, and meet You in a special way all across the world. Help us honor you with an intense desire for the gatherings of Your people. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Psalm 37 Devotional

Key Verses: 1-4 "(1) Do not fret because of evildoers, or be envious of the worksers of iniquity. (2)For they will soon be cut down like grass, and wither as the green herb. (3) Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. (4) Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Spurgeon Insight: "To fret is to worry, to become vexed...Faith curses fretting...make Jehovah the joy and recoicing of your spirit...There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours...Those who delight in God ask and desire nothing but what will please God; hence, they may have what they will."

David wrote this Psalm after learning the valuable lesson of not envying the affluent lifestyles of those who don't know God. They may have even seventy years of happiness with their toys, but in the end, they tragically lose. They step into an eternity of judgment, at death, or the return of Jesus Christ. God will judge them because He is just and perfect, because of who they are, and because of what they have done and desired. That is what I would face in the future were it not for Jesus taking my shame on the cross.

But the follower of Jesus faces a different reality. If we know God in Jesus Christ we have the only thing that can truly satisfy the human heart for eternity; we have God Himself! We have His forgiveness and cleansing. As a Christian I will suffer in this life for sure. But in my suffering I am sustained by the presence of God in my life! In eternity my suffering will end and even greater heights of fulfillment will be mine in the unhindered presence of God, and the people of God.

I will choose in this life to delight myself in God, and not the fleeting pleasures of this world that tug at my heart competing for it's affection. I will never be dissapointed chosing God instead!

As an added bonus of delighting in Jesus, I will also find greater freedom to do whatever I want. If what I want is God, God will be happy to give me what I want because He wants to give me Himself! If I enjoy God above all other things all my prayer requests will be tempered with a call for God to accomplish His will in my life. Because God wants His will to be done in my life all my prayers will be answered in the way that I want, because God and His glory are what I ultimately desire. The trick is getting this tempted heart to delight in and enjoy Jesus above all things. This will take the grace and enabling of the Holy Spirit who lives in me today as a follower of Jesus.

If you want the things we've talked about in this Psalm like I do, go after God in prayer with me right now! He will give our souls the lift we need.

Father, satisfy this heart with enjoyment of You! Help me see the superior gift I have in You, above all other things this life has to offer me. Help me to feed on Your faithfulness day by day so I can deeply be satisfied in my spirit, with the touch of Your Spirit. I thank you for the work you will do in me today! In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Grace and Peace