January 19, 2022
Worship in WORD
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Ps 31:23-24 23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who
acts in pride. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take
courage, all you who wait for the Lord! ESV |
Ps 31:23-24 23 Love the LORD, all his faithful
people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in
full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
The New International
Version. (2011). Zondervan. |
|
Ps 31:23-24 23 O love the LORD, all ye his
saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer. 24 Be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
KJV |
Ps 31:23-24 23 Love the Lord, all you
godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. 24 So be strong and
courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! Holy Bible, New Living
Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. |
I. Hope – vv. 1-8
A. Action – v. 1
B. Appeal – v. 2
C. Acknowledge – vv. 3-4
D. Abandon – v. 5
E. Abhor – v. 6
F. Acclaim! – vv. 7-8
II. Help! – vv. 9-18
A. Sorrow – vv. 9-13
1.
Soul sickness – vv. 9-10
2.
Societal scorn – vv. 11-13
B. Sovereign – vv. 14-18
1.
Surrender – vv. 14-15
2.
Shine – v. 16
3.
Shame – v. 17
4.
Silence – v. 18
III.
Hail – vv. 19-22
A.
God, for His Great Goodness – v. 19
B.
God, for His Sheltering Presence – v. 20
C.
God, for His Hesed [ds#j# ]#]
– V. 21
D. God, Who Hears and Answers His
People – v. 22
IV. Heart – vv. 23-24
A.
Love – v. 23
B.
Long – v.24
Thought
flow: Hope→Help!→Hail→Heart
A.
Love— v. 23
As David approached the end of
his composition of what we call Psalm 31, I think he looked back at the journey
he had been through. He reflected on the times of trusting when he found
himself experiencing tribulations. Of periods of doubt and depression and
feelings of abandonment by those he thought were his friends – and maybe even
God Himself. And the goodness and steadfast love of God through it all. Praise
and thanksgiving must have filled his heart at this last thought.
And this praise and
thanksgiving must have an outlet, for joy restrained dies quickly and is
forgotten. Nor can love and gratefulness go unexpressed and be genuine. A
believer must express their joy and gratitude verbally or at least
conscientiously inside of themselves to make their joy complete and for God to
receive the highest glory. Praise should also be shared in the company of other
believers. Not only is God exalted, but God’s people are encouraged as well.
But believers are also edified
through personal and public praise. And I believe that is what David is doing
in verses 23-24. He accomplishes this by employing an exhortation to “Love the
Lord.” But wouldn’t “love” be characteristic of God’s saints already? Yes, it
should, but I believe he does so because the saints of God can become complacent
or forgetful. And the true believer’s life is never static but ever being
shaped by the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Here are three reasons
why I think God’s people need such exhortations:
1. They can take God’s love for granted
or as an entitlement.
2. They can become fearful and
forgetful in the face of trials.
3. Though they love, it is never
perfect and must continue to grow.
So for at least these three
reasons, and maybe especially the third one, David says, “O love the LORD, all
ye his saints (KJV).” To illustrate point number three, we can look at what the
Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica:
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.
1 Thess 4:1 NASU
As you can see from this
passage, the Thessalonians were walking in a way that was pleasing to God. Yet
Paul exhorted them to “excel still more.” Perhaps David felt it necessary to
encourage God’s people to “Love the Lord” amid all the trials and struggles
they have and will face in the future. He did this because only a growing love
for God will be sufficient to meet them.
And all God’s people realize
this is shorthand for the greatest of all commands:
Worship
in Witness:
The spirit of the saint of God
responds with delight to this command. To them (us), it is not a burden to bear
but a blessing to enjoy. It is not a drudging duty to perform but a precious
privilege to carry out. Ultimately they (we) will respond because of the prior
love of God for them (us).
We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 (from Holman Christian Standard
Bible® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 by Holman Bible Publishers.)
Worship
in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise
A
Prayer For Perseverance
Lord,
May
my love never grow cold
Nor
delight in You grow old
May
I never give in
To
this world’s pleasure in sin
Help
me fight for joy in You
And
keep eternity in view
Enduring
every trial I face
With
Your power, truth, and grace
--Amen
Move My
Heart
Heavenly Father,
Who Loved me before the
foundations of this world were laid.
Who set Your affection on me
before all time.
So move my heart to Love You
more and more each day.
May tribulations and troubles
not spread fear in my heart and choke out my Love for You.
Or desires for earthly
pleasures infiltrate my soul and crowd out my Affection for You.
Remind me again and again when
I begin to forget Your Love for me or take It for granted.
Reignite the Passion in my
spirit to Love You when It begins to wane and grow cold.
I ask this in the Name of Your
Son,
Who Loved me and gave Himself
for me.
— Amen
Love The
Lord
Verse 1:
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength [x2]
Chorus 1:
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength
Verse 2:
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength [x2]
Chorus 2:
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all my strength
I will serve the Lord
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength
Bridge:
I will love You (I will love
You)
I will praise You (I will
praise You)
I will serve You, Lord (I will
serve You)
I will trust You, Lord (I will
trust You)
Chorus 3:
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all my strength
Verse 3:
I will love You Lord
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind (x3)
Writer(s): Lincoln Lee Brewster
AZLyrics L Lincoln Brewster
Lyrics
Lyrics: (With some editing and added
titles): https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lincolnbrewster/lovethelord.html
Video:
https://youtu.be/EAbeFfsqLdc
For
Further Thought or Study
Psalms
31:23
O love Jehovah, all ye his meek ones! In my
opinion, the Psalmist does not here exhort the saints to fear and reverence
God, as many think, but encourages them to confide in him; or, in other words,
to devote themselves wholly to him, to put all their hope in him, and to rely
entirely upon him, without seeking to any other. Whence is it that our own fond
devices delight us, but because we do not delight in God so much as we ought,
and because our affections do not cleave to him? This love of God, therefore,
comprehends in it all the desires of the heart. By nature, all men greatly
desire to be in a prosperous or happy state; but while the greater number are
fascinated by the allurements of the world, and prefer its lies and impostures,
scarcely one in a hundred sets his heart on God. The reason which immediately
follows confirms this interpretation; for the inspired Psalmist exhorts the
meek to love God, because he preserves the faithful, which is as if he had
desired them to rest satisfied with his guardianship, and to acknowledge that
in it they had sufficient succor. In the meantime, he admonishes them to keep a
good conscience, and to cultivate uprightness, since God promises to preserve
only such as are upright and faithful.
(from
Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright ©
2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Amen
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