Psalms 79-83: The 'gods' Know Nothing

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
   They walk about in darkness;
   all the foundations of the earth are shaken. - Ps. 82:5 NIV

Lest we think we are living in extraordinary times, these words of Asaph illustrate that nothing has changed over the centuries.  Even then, there were 'gods' who thought they had arrived.  They had the adoration of man but even with power and recognition,  they were powerless when it came to doing anything that a real god could do.  They could not even protect the people.  They could not create enough laws to keep everyone safe.  They could not keep the people or themselves from descending into depravity.  They could not save their dollar or their coveted life style.  They couldn't even protect them from the vagaries of weather.  Yet they walked around, basking in their own glory, as if they were gods.   In their penthouses, limousines and designer clothes, they were immune from the laws that the 'little' people were subject to.

But they could not even save themselves, let alone the people who followed after them.  When God chooses to shake the foundations of the earth, all are shaken.  The 'gods' know nothing, they understand nothing.

2010 Post - Psalms 79-83:  Israel Then and Now

Psalms 73-78: Through the Mighty Waters

Your path led through the sea,
   your way through the mighty waters,
   though your footprints were not seen. Ps. 77:19 NIV

I thank God that he goes before.  How lost I would be if I were trying to navigate through this life on my own.  Even though he occasionally must lead us through the sea, through deep waters where we often cannot see his footprints, his children are never out of his thoughts. 

All we have to do is consent to being led, a more difficult task than it needs to be because most of us balk at getting our feet wet, let alone wading into a raging sea.  But those raging seas are our deliverance, they are often the only thing that stands between us and our enemy. 

2010 Post - Psalms 73-78:  Surely God is Good to Israel

Psalms 71-72: Wondrous Things

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. - Ps. 72:18-19 KJV

We used to sing this chorus years ago, and whenever I read the 72nd Psalm, the words echo in my head.

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel
Who only doeth wondrous things
Who only doeth wondrous things
Blessed be his glorious name forever

Let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen,

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel
Who only doeth wondrous things
Who only doeth wondrous things
Blessed be his glorious name forever.

It's a fitting end to the prayers of David, the son of Jesse and a fitting end to all of our prayers.  God only does wondrous things.  He can only do wondrous things.  Whether we believe it or not, whether we recognize it or not, he only does wondrous things.  When we think we have been abandoned, when we think he is never going to move on our behalf, he still only does wondrous things.  And in spite of what our eyes, our ears, all of our senses would tell us, the whole earth is filled with his glory.  Blessed be his glorious name forever.

2010 Post - Psalms 71-72:  When I'm Old and Gray

Psalms 66-70: The God of the Weak

Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
   extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the LORD—
   and rejoice before him.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
   is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
   he leads forth the prisoners with singing; - Ps. 68:4-6 NIV

What a contrast!  God rides on the clouds and yet he is a father to the fatherless and a defender of the widow.  He cares enough for us that he sets the lonely in families and for those who have been oppressed either by others or their own actions, he leads them forth out of their prison with singing. 

God is mighty and will exact retribution from his enemies, yet is that any more impressive than the fact that he cares for the lowliest of the lowly, the weakest of the weak, the smallest of the small. 

2010 Post - Psalms 66-70:  An Answer

Psalms 61-65: Strength and Love

One thing God has spoken,
   two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving. - Ps. 62:11-12 NIV

My mind has difficulty grasping this concept:  that God is strong and at the same time loving.  Usually my awareness is of one side or the other of God's nature, not both at the same time.  When I consider his strength...the strength and power of one who called forth light out of darkness and created our known world out of nothing, I feel small, unworthy, insignificant and hopelessly lost.  When I think of his love, of his forgiving nature, of how he chose me for his own, I have a tendency to start feeling wise and strong in my own power.  So, I'm caught in that dilemma we all face between the law and grace.  It's only by acknowledging that both are true that I am set fee to be what he desired when he created me.

2010 Post - Psalms 61-65:  God Is Love

Psalms 56-60: Pursued by the Enemy

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
   for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
   until the disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High,
   to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
He sends from heaven and saves me,
   rebuking those who hotly pursue me; - Ps. 57-1-3NIV

It's one thing to be pursued by your enemies as David was on many occasions.  It's another to be pursued by your own mind, but the evil thoughts and desires that would overtake us and result in an even more deadly ruin while thwarting God's purpose for our lives.  Some of us are haunted more than others, but we all have those evil thoughts cross our minds from time to time.  I take comfort in the fact that even the Apostle Paul was plagued by these warring factions.

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? - Rom. 7: 22-24 NIV

And whether the enemy is real or just internal, our response has to mirror that of Paul and David.  Paul when he said, that it was Christ who would rescue us and David when he said  With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (Ps. 60:12)  Instead of bemoaning the fact that we are constantly pursued on one front or another, we gain the victory by acknowledging that it is only God that can beat down all of our enemies.

2010 Post - Psalms 56-60:  Be Exalted O God

Psalms 51-55: The Joy of God's Salvation

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
   or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. - Ps. 51:10-12 NIV

Do I really want a clean heart or am I satisfied that everyone around me thinks that I am pure and good.  David was in a place where his sin was found out.  Not only was his sin not hidden from God, but it was exposed to the prophet Nathan as well.  Most of us are more fortunate than that.  Our sins, the most vilest sort as opposed to the obvious ones, remain hidden for the most part.  It is the secret sins of bitterness, pride, idolatry, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, and envy that usually remain hidden from most of those around us; yet they are the most egregious.

Regardless of what we may gain from these secret sins, they will never provide the thing we desire most, the joy of God's salvation.  To think otherwise is only one more self-delusion.

2010 Post - Psalms 51-55:  A Matter of the Heart