Tuesday, February 28, 2017

A Divinely Providential Leading

March 11, 2016

Worship:
TEXT:

MUSIC:

1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

4. Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet
©1998, Kevin Twit Music (ASCAP). Used by permission. All rights reserved


Ps 25:1-3

25 Toa you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
NIV
Ps 25:1-3

25 To you, O LORD, Io lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you Ip trust;
q let me not be put to shame;
r let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed,s none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who aret wantonlyu treacherous.
ESV

Ps 25:1-3

25 1 O LORD, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.
 Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:1-3

25 To You, O LORD, I alift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You aI trust,
Do not let me bbe ashamed;
Do not let my cenemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, anone of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
1Those who bdeal treacherously without cause will be ashamed

NASU


Witness & WORD


Usually, I keep this section separate. My witness section does not always interact with the WORD section. However, circumstances that have arisen all this week and come to a head today, have led me to combine the two. It is a divinely providential leading. My soul has been very troubled, beginning with my not being able to go this week to talk to my wife, and today my son-in-law shoving my daughter in the wall and the trouble brewing there. My sleep has been interrupted and I haven’t felt like sitting down to journal tonight. Yet I felt compelled, as I entered my room and cried out to God, to remember the words of Psalm 25:1-3. Like David I cried out to God asking not to be put to shame and that my enemy might not triumph over me. Yet I am reminded of the confident declaration that follows which declares that no one who hopes in the LORD will be put to shame, but the treacherous will be put to shame. So, I was comforted by this prayer and promise. As I sat down to worship I was going to sing “It is well with my soul”, but God put a different song before me just when I sat down. It was playing in the background on my computer. The song above is that song and what a blessing and comfort and answer to prayer it was as well.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

"God's People Need Lifting Up"

March 9, 2016
Worship:      
Psalm 25 Part 1
 v.1–11
Meter: S. M.
Waiting for pardon and direction.
I Lift my soul to God,
My trust is in his name:
Let not my foes that seek my blood
Still triumph in my shame.
Sin, and the powers of hell,
Persuade me to despair:
Lord, make me know thy cov’nant well,
That I may ’scape the snare.
From the first dawning light
Till the dark ev’ning rise,
For thy salvation, Lord, I wait
With ever-longing eyes.
Remember all thy grace,
And lead me in thy truth;
Forgive the sins of riper days,
And follies of my youth.
The Lord is just and kind,
The meek shall learn his ways,
And every humble sinner find
The methods of his grace.
For his own goodness’ sake
He saves my soul from shame:
He pardons, though my guilt be great,
Through my Redeemer’s name.1

 Watts, I. (1998). The Psalms and hymns of Isaac Watts. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Psalm 25

LORD, to You My Soul Is Lifted



LORD, to you my soul is lifted.
Let me never be ashamed.
Look at me in your forgiveness
for the honor of your name.
Guard my soul and rescue me;
on your path I humbly follow.
Save me from my enemies;
see me, feel my pain and sorrow.
Turn to me in grace and mercy
as I suffer all alone.
Take away my sin and sadness,
all the trouble I have known. 
You alone are fair and just;
you will honor and protect me. 
In your goodness I will trust.
On your people, LORD, have mercy.
Words: Lee Ann Vermeulen-Roberts, 2010, after Stanley Wiersma in the Psalter Hymnal 1987.
Music: Eelco Vos, based on the tune for Psalm 25 in the Genevan Psalter, 1551. 
© 2010, The Psalm Project
Witness:
Time flies by and it is 2:04 am Wednesday morning. I have struggled with rest and keeping my spirits up. The failure to connect with my wife on Monday and the subsequent virtual silence on her part has caused a deep wound in my soul. I cannot deny this nor should I. I cannot experience true healing and deliverance from God if I suppress the truth and lie to myself. It also reveals the hidden pride that dwelled inside of me. Was I giving lip service to the Lord concerning my reliance on His strength? So, this “setback”, as I saw it, was really God’s chastising Love towards me.
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.
Prov 3:11-12 NIV

Therefore, I lift my wounded soul to my God. I confess my pride and receive my Heavenly Father’s loving discipline.
In Him, I put my trust. In Him, I hope. In Him, I have received forgiveness through the blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

WORD:

Ps 25:1-3

25 Toa you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
NIV
Ps 25:1-3

25 To you, O LORD, Io lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you Ip trust;
q let me not be put to shame;
r let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed,s none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who aret wantonlyu treacherous.
ESV

Ps 25:1-3

25 1 O LORD, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:1-3

25 To You, O LORD, I alift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You aI trust,
Do not let me bbe ashamed;
Do not let my cenemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, anone of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
1Those who bdeal treacherously without cause will be ashamed

NASU

I have camped out on this verse for several days now. It is a pivotal declaration in the life of the believer. It should be, but rarely is, the daily cry of the believer from the very inception of the faith in Christ. I share a devotional from Spurgeon and will expand further into the Psalm on Friday, two days from now. Band of Brothers meets tomorrow night and I need to prepare for it today and tomorrow.


"Lift them up for ever."
— Ps 28:9

God's people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward. O Lord, "lift them up for ever!" David himself said, "Unto Thee, O God, do I lift up my soul," and he here feels the necessity that other men's souls should be lifted up as well as his own. When you ask this blessing for yourself, forget not to seek it for others also. There are three ways in which God's people require to be lifted up. They require to be elevated in character. Lift them up, O Lord; do not suffer Thy people to be like the world's people! The world lieth in the wicked one; lift them out of it! The world's people are looking after silver and gold, seeking their own pleasures, and the gratification of their lusts; but, Lord, lift Thy people up above all this; keep them from being "muck-rakers," as John Bunyan calls the man who was always scraping after gold! Set thou their hearts upon their risen Lord and the heavenly heritage! Moreover, believers need to be prospered in conflict. In the battle, if they seem to fall, O Lord, be pleased to give them the victory. If the foot of the foe be upon their necks for a moment, help them to grasp the sword of the Spirit, and eventually to win the battle. Lord, lift up Thy children's spirits in the day of conflict; let them not sit in the dust, mourning for ever. Suffer not the adversary to vex them sore, and make them fret; but if they have been, like Hannah, persecuted, let them sing of the mercy of a delivering God.

We may also ask our Lord to lift them up at the last! Lift them up by taking them home, lift their bodies from the tomb, and raise their souls to Thine eternal kingdom in glory.
(from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 1999, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)





AMEN!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Hear Me When I Cry ...

March 5, 2016

Worship:  Hear Me When I Cry by me

Hear Me When I Cry


Hear me when I cry
Hear me when I pray
Hear me when I speak
Hear me when I say

All I want is You, Lord
All I want is You
All I want is You, Lord
All I want is You

And as I cry
and as I pray
And as I long for
You every day

And as I walk
And as I live
And as I seek for
You, my life to give

All I want is You, Lord
All I want is You
All I want is You, Lord
All I want is You

Witness:

These are unsettling times. War and famine abound. Politics are taking a front seat by many, though often with an eye focused on celebrity, coarseness and a stick it to the establishment mentality, but all this at the expense of truth and ethics. In my own life, there is the sense of absence because my wife is not present. I am going to visit her this coming Monday and that is very unsettling to me. I don’t know what to expect after a year of absence and actual interaction in person with her. I am tired continually, which adds to the disturbance in my soul. I could easily slip into despair and depression if it were not for the Lord whom I seek daily, desire continually, and in whom I constantly delight.

Lord may my simple song above
lead me continually to Your Love.
May I be filled with Your strength and peace
and may my praise for you never cease. Amen!

As I typed this prayer a song was playing and as the words began to filter through I realized that it complimented what I was saying. Here are the lyrics to the song:

Praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the evening
Praise Him when you're smiling, praise Him when you're breaking
Praise Him in the sun and praise Him in the starlight
Praise Him every season, praise Him through the dark times

[Chorus]
Celebrate, celebrate
Shout it from the mountaintops
Celebrate, celebrate
Even with a broken heart
Till dawn awakes, we'll sing Your praise, dancing in the dark
For all our days our song will say, "Lord how great You are!"

Praise Him with your hands and praise Him with your face down
Praise Him with the trumpet, praise Him with a loud sound
Heaven is a party, join the celebration
Come on everybody, time to start dancing!

(Lyrics abridged)
Read more: 
http://artists.letssingit.com/rend-collective-lyrics-celebrate-ghgbpz8#ixzz426K6YXxb
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community 

WORD:

Ps 25:1-3

25 Toa you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
NIV
Ps 25:1-3

25 To you, O LORD, Io lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you Ip trust;
q let me not be put to shame;
r let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed,s none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who aret wantonlyu treacherous.
ESV

Ps 25:1-3

25 1 O LORD, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:1-3

25 To You, O LORD, I alift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You aI trust,
Do not let me bbe ashamed;
Do not let my cenemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, anone of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
1Those who bdeal treacherously without cause will be ashamed

NASU

We have seen from the previous day that this is a psalm of lament.  Specifically, it is called a psalm of individual lament. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says, “This is an individual lament with strong similarities to a prayer of confidence, especially vv. 1-3, 8-15.”
(The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Copyright 1991, p. 226)

While many do not consider it as part of those psalms listed as penitential psalms, there are some similarities which make some include it as one.

List of Penitential Psalms (7): Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. To these, I would also add Psalm 25 and 39. The Penitential Psalms, also called the Psalms of Confession, is a name designation given by Cassiodorus in the 6th c. A.D. in his Exposition of the Psalms for these seven psalms. They refer to those psalms that are especially expressive of sorrow for sin. Four of these psalms were known as “penitential psalms” by St. Augustine in the early 400s. The name belonged originally to the fifty-first Psalm (Miserere), which was recited at the close of daily morning service in the primitive Church.
dailyqt.org/docs/Psalms_Lesson6.doc

The Naves Topical Bible includes this Psalm in its list:

Ps 6
Ps 25
Ps 32
Ps 38
Ps 51
Ps 102
Ps 130
Ps 143

David is looking at his present situation as well his past and it depresses him, so he turns to the Lord in confidence, confession, and contrition. This is where I must begin when depression seeks to control me and confine me to useless anxiety and the empty feeling of hopelessness. As a side note, this is where I must start when I am full of self-confidence and conceit.

The problem too often with the believer, struggling with anxiety and depression over circumstances and personal sin, is a focus on the problem and not on the One Who is the solution. Notice I said, “One Who is the solution” and not “One Who has the solution”. Certainly, the latter is true, but it is only true because of the former. It is true because it is tied up in the very nature and being of the Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipresent (everywhere present), Omnisapient (all wise), and Omnicaritative (all loving) God. When we place the latter before the former it is nothing more than idolatry and self-centeredness. This is also true if we look at the solution without relying on the source of the solution.

When I refuse to consider the source of my deliverance from anxiety and hopelessness and doubt and depression; I become nothing more than an “unbelieving believer” and practice, albeit subtle, a form of idolatry as well. David’s response to his anxiety and depression and hopelessness is a confidence in the source of his deliverance from such things. It comes in the form of worship:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
in you I trust, O my God.
Ps 25:1-2 NIV

We will be delivered when we worship the Lord. When we give ourselves to Him; when we lift our souls in dependence, devotion, and delight to the Lord our Savior. When we focus on Him and not our problems. However, there is another subtle danger, which I alluded previously, of seeing the Lord and the worship of the Lord as the means to an end – i.e. our deliverance from anxiety, hopelessness, doubt, despair and depression. That is idolatry and self-serving. We must rather see that our present circumstances are the Lord’s means to His end, that is to the praise of the glory of His name (Isa. 48:10-11; Psalm 43:5)

There then are two dangers we face in our circumstances:

In our afflictions, there are two especial dangers -- that of despising them, as if they came fortuitously; and the danger of being encumbered and weighed down by them, looking at the circumstances, and not at the God of the circumstances.
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

There is one solution:

The believer has but one remedy. The world talks of its many remedies, but all are ineffective. A general view of God, in the power of faith and by the power of the Holy Ghost, lifts up the soul. Nothing so lifts us up against soul trouble as when we are enabled to say, "O my God, I trust in Thee." Is there anything above God's promises? Yes, God Himself is above His promises, and the very substance of them. Our trust is in Him.
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.

When we lift our soul, we will be lifted up. James says something like this in his epistle: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8 ESV)

When we lift our souls to God,
the shackles of our
anxiety and despair
fall away.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the ultimate means to the Glory of God if you have not done so yet, and that is to repent and believe the good news of the salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)

You take what is
And you make it beautiful
When love floods in
We're restored forever more
With breath that brings the dead to life
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame
And nail it to a tree You alone
Hold the power to redeem.
No guilt competes
With innocence crucified
No grave can hold what your grace has justified
With breath that brings the dead to life
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame
And nail it to a tree you alone
Hold the power to redeem
Rejoice oh child of God
Lift your eyes to see
With every morning light
Again we are redeemed
Rejoice oh child of God
Lift your eyes to see
With every morning light
Again we are redeemed
With breath it brings the dead to life
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame
And nail it to a tree you alone
Hold the power to redeem.
Oh you alone, hold the power to redeem
Oh you alone, hold the power to redeem
Songwriters
PAUL MABURY, JUSTIN EBACH, LAUREN DAIGLE
Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Read more: 
Lauren Daigle - Power To Redeem Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Video:  https://youtu.be/r47ux0RhLMQ?list=RDr47ux0RhLMQ