The Open Hand of God

You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

(Psalm 145:16)

The Hebrew word for “open” means “wide open.” The opening of the hand is an act of great generosity. God is a giver and He opens His hand wide to pour out His gifts to us.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

(Psalm 84:1)

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

God satisfies the desire of every living thing. To satisfy is to fulfill, or fill full. There are no voids, no nooks, no crannies — everything is completely filled in with nothing left lacking. The Hebrew word for “desire” speaks of pleasure or delight. God does not try to satisfy us with junk but gives us good things, things that are pleasing and delightful — things that are truly satisfying. Brenton’s English Septuagint (a translation of the Septuagint, which is an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew text) has Psalm 145:16 as, “Thou openest thine hands, and fillest every living thing with pleasure.”

Some people think that God is interested only in our needs, not our desires (if He is interested at all). But the truth is that He is interested in both. Now, of course, our desires are not always what they should be. We do not always want what is good and sometimes we crave things that are harmful to us or others. But God wants to heal our desires so we hunger after those things that are good and healthy and prosperous. He does this through personal relationship with Him.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

As we delight ourselves in the LORD, the desires, or requests, of our heart begin to line up with what is in His own heart — and the desires of His heart are always good and pleasant. Then He is happy to give us the desires of our heart because they are what He has wanted to do for us all along.

God’s hand is opened wide to be gracious and generous to us in every way. In the next couple of posts we will look at two ways to experience all the good things He wants to pour out on us: 1. Open Wide Your Mouth 2. Open Wide Your Hand

The Door of My Lips

LORD, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.

(Psalm 141:1-3)

This is a psalm of David. He cries out to Yahweh; he needs God’s help and he needs it in a hurry. He has no incense to burn, no sacrifice to offer, but he asks that his prayer be heard and answered just as if he did.

His urgent need? There are wicked people coming against him, setting traps and snares for him (v. 9). Even now, the bones of his own people lay scattered at the grave (v. 7). But notice his prayer: “Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

What is striking about this is that he does not first ask, “Set a guard over me,” or, “Keep watch over the door of my heart.” No, his primary request and the thing that concerns him most is his mouth and his lips — his words! He realizes that it is these, above all else, that needs God’s attention.

Words are very powerful and vitally important. The author of Hebrews says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). In the beginning, when God saw that darkness was over the face of the deep, He spoke into existence what was needed: “Light, be!” Words are the basis of reality.

When God formed man from the dust of the ground, He breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and man became a “living being.” Targum Onkelos, an ancient translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into its cousin language, Aramaic, says that man became a “speaking spirit.” Man, made in the image of God and created to be like Him, has the ability to speak words just as God does. Indeed, we were created to speak in agreement with the words of God.

Proverbs teaches us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Our words can be live-giving or death-dealing, so if we want to live and enjoy life we must choose our words with great wisdom and care. This is especially true when we are in difficult situations and the pressure is on us to “do something” (anything is something, so the pressure is to “do anything”). We are tempted to speak in haste (see Don’t Be Hasty), and that can end up causing much harm to ourselves and others. So David’s primary request in the midst of his troubles is, “Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

This does not mean, however, that he has nothing to say about the wicked and their deeds, but he says them to God: “For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked” (v. 5). Indeed, his prayer is not so much against the wicked themselves as it is against what they are doing. In fact, he recognizes that these are people being led into opposition by treacherous leaders. When such leaders are thrown over — sometimes quite literally, and sometimes by the people themselves — there will be a vacuum. Let that vacuum be filled with wise words, life-giving words, words that agree with the words of God. That is what David wants to bring, instead of words spoken in anger and haste. “Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, and they hear my words, for they are sweet” (v. 6).

Perhaps that will bring his enemies to their senses and lead to reconciliation. However, a positive result will not come about by a mouth that is volatile or lips that are indiscreet. Set a guard and keep watch over them, O LORD.

Salvation with the People of God

Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have
    toward Your people.
Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.

(Psalm 106:4-5)

Christians in the West often think of salvation in individual terms. When I was in Bible college, we used to hand out little leaflets that asked, “Am I Going to Heaven?” It was very individualistic and pretty much oriented to the next life. It was good as far as it went and I am very thankful for all who came to know Jesus through it.

Salvation in the Bible, however, is not merely an individual thing nor is it just about what will happen to you when you die. God’s plan has always been about redeeming a people out of all nations. God’s promise to Abram was not to bless just individuals but families and nations through him: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. (Genesis 17:5-6)

God’s purpose for the children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, was that they would be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). The role of a priest is to represent the people before God and God before the people. Israel’s role, as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests, was to represent the nations before God and God before the nations, that all the families of the earth might be blessed.

Though Israel, as a nation, failed to do this, it would be fulfilled in the Messiah, who would represent Israel before God. In Psalm 2, God says to Messiah:

You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

(Psalm 2:7-8)

It is in the context of God’s people, then, that the psalm writer thinks of salvation.

Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people.
Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.

It is about the people of God, His chosen ones, His nation, which are His inheritance. The favor of God, the benefits and the rejoicing belong to them as a people. The psalm writer wants to participate in it all, not apart from the people of God but with them.

In the Old Testament, the people of God were identified with the Law of Moses, the Temple and the land of Israel. In the New Testament, in Jesus the Messiah, salvation is offered apart from those things. The new law is the commandment of Jesus to love one another; the new temple is the people of God, the body of Messiah; the new land is the entire world. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel [proclaim the good news] to every creature,” Jesus said (Mark 16:15). “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Now the people of God are identified by faith in Israel’s messiah, Jesus.

We were created for fellowship, not only with God but also with each other. Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). So our salvation is not just as individuals but as part of the people of God. It is together that we know the favor of God, see the good He has for His people, rejoice in His glad nation and share with His inheritance — and indeed, we are His inheritance.

So these days, I do not think of salvation so much in terms of “Am I Going to Heaven?” That is really just part of a larger question and is answered within that larger question: “Am I Part of the People of God?” It is together with the community of faith, the people of the Messiah, Jesus, that we experience salvation and participate in the benefits of God, not only in the life to come but in this present one, as well.

Don’t Be Hasty

For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

(Psalm 31:22)

Nobody likes turbulence. When things get rough, it is natural to quickly engage all of our senses to assess the situation. Often we panic, because we believe our senses are giving us the truth instead of just facts. There is a difference: facts change; truth does not. It may be a fact that today there is a storm on your horizon, but the truth is that it may be gone by morning. What we do in those difficult moments is very important. It is the difference between being driven by the facts and led by the truth.

David begins Psalm 31 with a declaration of trust, “In You, O LORD, I put my trust.” And a request, “Let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness” (v. 1). He affirms that God is his rock, his fortress, his strength (vv. 3-4) and entrusts himself completely to Him, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit,” and follows with this a confident assertion, treating his request as already answered: “You have redeemed me, O LORD God of Truth” (v. 5).

The troubles he has been experiencing are not new but have been going on for a while, ebbing and flowing. But he has always come out on top. “You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place” (v. 7-8).

Now trouble has arisen again, and stronger than ever, it seems. Or maybe it just feels stronger because David is worn out: “My eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing” (vv. 9-10). The voice of guilt takes a toll on him: “My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away” (v. 10). Not that there is some specific transgression in his life from which he has not yet repented, but the memory of sins past and the tendency of human nature haunt him. He feels the reproach of enemies and friends alike, and that he has become repulsive to all who know him, or just know about him (v. 11). He is forgotten and broken, slandered and surrounded (vv. 12-13).

Had he stopped there, the picture would have been relentlessly bleak. He has described the place for us, but he does not dwell there. He returns, instead, to declarations of trust in Yahweh: “But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand” (vv. 14-15). He calls again for Yahweh to deliver him, to make His face shine upon him (vv. 15-16). Let it be the wicked who are ashamed, not David. Let it be them whose lips and lies are silenced, who speak arrogantly and contemptuously against the righteous (vv. 17-18). He follows this with a declaration of God’s goodness and assurances of deliverance for the righteous (vv. 19-20). And then — there it is! — the outcome for which he has been believing:

Blessed be the LORD,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

(Psalm 31:22)

Yes, he had been in a panic, and had spoken out of anxiety, saying something that on better days he knew was not true. He had not been cut off from before the eyes of Yahweh — not by his circumstances, not by his enemies, not even by Yahweh Himself. Fear held him for a brief time and might have swallowed him up, except that he returned once again to words of faith, speaking light in the dark. “I trust in You; You are my God. My times are in Your hand.” God heard his prayer and his cry, which is to say that God answered and delivered him, just as He had intended all along.

You see, there is very often a period of waiting between the time we first pray and entrust a matter to God and the time the answer shows up. And sometimes, between “Amen” and “There it is!” we are tempted to become impatient and lose heart. But that time differential (I hesitate to call it “delay” because that assumes we always know what the correct timing should be) does not mean that God has not heard or has not already arranged what is needed.

Don’t be hasty and speak out in the panic of the moment. Keep your mouth shut and meditate on the faithfulness of God, who has never forgotten your or cut you off from before His face. “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD,” is the advice David gives at the end (v. 24). Then let the words of faith return once again to your lips. All will be well.

The Chosen Inheritance

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

(Psalm 33:10-12)

Ancient of Days ~ by William Blake

When presidents, kings or heads of state rise up to declare their counsels, whether they be good or evil, do not get excited. They will not last for long. Kings come and go; movements rise and fall. They are only here for a season.

More importantly, they cannot stop the counsel of Yahweh. Rather, He brings the counsels and plans of the nations to nothing, and He does it so that He may establish His own counsel and the plans of His heart. The counsels of the nations bring chaos. The plans of the peoples cannot bring about the wonderful destiny God has for the world. Only the counsel of God can establish it.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. In the Old Testament, Israel was that nation, the people He chose as His inheritance. God chose her to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). Through her He would gather in all the nations (see Isaiah 2:2-4 and Isaiah 60-62). In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, Son of David, Israel’s King.

Jesus came into the world and announced, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel [good news]” (Mark 1:15). He taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come. Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 JVD). This is the purpose of God — heaven on earth! Now all who receive King Jesus, whether Jew on non-Jew, have a share in this plan and are described in this way:

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10; see A New Kind of People)

Before Jesus ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, He gathered His disciples and gave them this charge:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20)

God’s heart is for all nations and all generations. His plans and purposes are as wide as the world and as deep as time. His counsel endures forever. His kingdom has come into the world and will come to completion when King Jesus returns. Blessed is the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the people He has gathered as His own inheritance.

Silent and Still

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.

(Psalm 62:5)

Once again, David has come before the Lord. He waits silently before God. It is not that he is settled in the midst of calm. Quite the opposite. He is surrounded, once again, by those who seek his downfall, false friends who pretend to bless him while inwardly cursing him (vv. 3-4).

But David comes quietly before God. It does not happen naturally. He has to remind his soul, perhaps even repeating it over and over to himself: “Soul! Wait silently for God alone.”

“Wait silently” translates one word, not two. The waiting implies silence and the silence implies patience. The word also speaks of stillness. David is not scouring his heart, trying to come up with some sort of plan to deal with all the treacherous pretenders on his own. No, he has instructed his heart to sit quietly and still before God alone. Nothing else will do. Only God can help him.

“For my expectation is from Him.” Some versions translate this as “For my hope is from Him.” In the Bible, hope is expectation. What is especially interesting here is that David says, “My expectation is from Him.” Not in but from, as if to add a layer of specificity. David does not have just a general hope in God, or that things will somehow turn out okay. No, he expects something from God, for God to move specifically on his behalf. He has a personal relationship with God, so his expectation is for God’s personal attention.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I will not be shaken.
My salvation and glory depend on God;
My strong rock, my refuge, is in God. (vv. 6-7)

Though surrounded by disloyalty and deceit, David stills his heart before God. The longer he remains in that inner quiet, the more he realizes how much he needs God, but also how much God is for him. Now the assurance rises up in him: He will not be shaken. His position is secure, for God really is his strong rock of refuge. Now he turns to those who have remained loyal to him, and who are disquieted by the dangers that have threatened him—and them.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.

Selah.

The world does not slow down, nations do not cease their striving, obligations do not go away while we quiet out hearts before God. We must quiet them anyway, reminding our souls that our expectation is from God alone, that He is our rescue and refuge, and that our glory, every good thing in our lives, comes from Him. It is in that realization that we come to know that whatever is happening in the world cannot shake us, for we are not founded on the world but on God.

Though the world does not know what do with it, Advent is a season for quieting our hearts and setting our expectation on God. For He comes, as He did so many centuries ago and has so many times since, bringing His salvation and releasing His glory. In the quiet of Advent, our hearts are refreshed as we wait for expectation to be fulfilled anew.

When God Seems Absent and His Hand Still

So I say, “It is my sorrow
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

(Psalm 77:10 HCSB)

The psalm writer has been in a severe time. “The day of my trouble,” he calls it. He has been afflicted somehow. He is in deep distress. By what, we do not know. He calls out to the God — loudly. “I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs” (v. 1, The Message). All day he lifts his hands to the Lord in prayer, but finds no comfort (v. 2). He remembers God, but his trouble remains. He meditates, but he is overwhelmed and weak (v. 3). Whatever this thing is, it is keeping him awake — and God is silent about it. His pain becomes too deep for words and his voice gives out (v. 4). He thinks of earlier days and happier times (v. 5). In the night, he calls to mind the song he used to sing, the music he used to make. He ponders in his heart, diligently seeking an answer (v. 6). He asks himself,

Will the Lord reject forever
And never again show favor?
Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is His promise at an end for all generations?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion? Selah.

(Psalm 77:7-9 HCSB)

These kinds of questions are easier to answer when things are going well than when everything seems to be falling apart. They emerge from the psalm writer’s deep pain: Has he been rejected by the Lord? Has the favor of God come to an end in his life? Has God stopped loving him? Has the promise of God failed? What about grace — has God forgotten to hear and answer prayer? Is God holding back His compassion?

Selah, indeed. Quick and easy answers won’t do here. He has come to the end of those. The anguish of his heart is too deep for shallow, thoughtless responses. He needs something that will sustain him.

It is characteristic of many psalms that the climax comes in the middle, not at the end. That is the case here. The turning point in the next section, verses 10-12, brings the climax of the psalm. It divides the psalm into two, roughly symmetrical, halves.

So I say, “It is my sorrow
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
I will remember the LORD’s works;
Yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.
I will reflect on all You have done
And meditate on Your actions.

(Psalm 77:10-12 HCSB)

He concludes the first half with the words, “It is my sorrow that the right hand of the Most High has changed” (v. 10). Of course, as he was going through his distress, he probably did not realize it was just the first half of the story. He has presented the intensity of his anguish, and he is in rough shape, perched on the sharp, painful edge of sorrow. His answer to the earlier questions he posed is, “Yes, God has changed toward me.” It is an emotional response.

But then, in verse 11, he takes an unexpected turn. He begins to speak in a different way. He does not tell his soul, “That’s just the way it is, get used to it.” Though all seems dark, though God seems absent and His hand seems still, the psalm writer makes a critical decision: “I will remember the works of the LORD.”

Up until now, he has spoken only of “God” and “the Most High” and “Lord.” The name “God” is a title; it does not tell us who God is but what He is. “Most High” is an honorific, and “Lord” (Hebrew, Adonai) is a name of respectful address. But now he speaks of “LORD” (all capitals). We often forget that this is a personal name there because it is usually disguised in English translations by the word “LORD,” in all capital letters. But the Hebrew name is — Yahweh, the personal name of by which God reveals Himself in covenant relationship with His people.

Until now, the psalm writer has wallowed in his distress and how he called on God but found no help. But now, he remembers that his God is Yahweh, with whom he and his people are in covenant. He has gone from thinking generically and religiously to leaning into personal relationship with Yahweh. And he makes a definitive choice: “I will remember the works of Yahweh!”

He confirms that with, “Yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders” and follows it up with, “I will reflect on all You have done and meditate on Your actions.” Before, he spoke about God. Now he speaks to Him. Before, God felt distant to him. Now, he is stepping into intimacy with Him.

Understand, God has not moved anywhere throughout the psalm. He did not go away; He has not just now come back. God has not changed, but the psalm writer has. He has stepped away from how things seemed and the way he felt, into the personal relationship with Yahweh that was waiting there for him all along.

In the first half, the psalm writer thought about the “good old days,” his thoughts switching back and forth between the way things were then and how they were now. In the second half, he makes a choice: “I will remember Yahweh’s works.” Before, it was all about him and his misery. Now it was all about Yahweh and His works, His miracles and wonders, and all the ways He came through for His people.

The psalm writer made a definite choice. It was a willful, intentional act. To remember is to call to mind. “I will call to mind the works of Yahweh,” he said. More than that, he pondered them, meditated them, reflected upon them, and spoke of them, uttering them with his lips.

The second half of the psalm is all about Yahweh, His wonders, His strength, His power and the redemption He brought for His people. Specifically, he talks of God’s great redemptive act: When God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness into the Promised Land. It is the touchstone of salvation in the Old Testament. It points us toward the New Testament and the greatest redemptive act of all: The Cross and Resurrection of King Jesus the Messiah.

This sets things in perspective for us. Paul, who was no stranger to affliction, distress and days of trouble, put it this way

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

When God seems absent and His hand seems still, it is time to remind ourselves of the mighty works of God, the victories He has won for us in King Jesus the Messiah. Even now, they are already being worked out in the world.

Filling the Space Between Heaven and Earth

Your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.

(Psalm 57:10 ESV)

David was in a tight spot. He wrote this psalm when he had fled from Saul and was hiding out in a cave. Though he is closed in, his faith is in God, trusting Him to be gracious to him. Even in the midst of his trouble, he knows that God is moving on his behalf.

He will send from heaven and save me;

He will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah.

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

(Psalm 57:3 ESV)

The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” is hesed. It speaks of God’s personal commitment, His covenant to love His people and show them His mercy and favor. God’s “faithfulness” (Hebrew, emeth) is His truthfulness, His trustworthiness, His reliability. It is the guarantee that He is always going to come through on what He has promised. It is David’s assurance, and this is his prayer:

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let Your glory be over all the earth!

(Psalm 57:5 ESV)

Isn’t this how Jesus taught His disciples to pray when He said, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? It is not an abstract request. Not in David’s case, nor in Jesus’ prayer. They both call for a tangible manifestation of God’s glory and holiness — on earth as it is in heaven. The Message Bible has the opening lines of Jesus’ prayer as, “Our Father in heaven, reveal who You are. Set the world right.”

That is what David, in his exile, is asking the God to do. He is looking for God to be exalted in the heavens, to reveal Himself, by might mighty acts of deliverance. To reveal His glory on earth by His saving deeds, and set the world right. David is so certain of God’s deliverance that he begins to sing the victory, even from the bowels of his hideout.

My heart is steadfast, O God,
My heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.

(Psalm 57:7-9 ESV)

God’s love is steadfast and David’s heart is fixed on it. The matter of his deliverance is settled; everything else is just details, and they will soon be worked out. All that remains now is to wake up the world with praise to God, and exalt him among the nations. So David stirs up his “glory” (Hebrew, kabod, every good thing within him) and pours it out to God. This is his song, his cause for rejoicing:

Your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds. (v. 10)

God sends out His steadfast love and faithfulness, filling the space between heaven and earth. It exalts Him above the heavens and fills the earth with His glory.

Smooth in the Day of Adversity

Happy is one who cares for the poor;
The LORD will save him in a day of adversity.

(Psalm 41:1 HCSB)

These are days of adversity for many people in the global economy. Many have lost their jobs, their homes, their savings and their retirements. And that is on top of all the many more who never had any of those things to begin with. While some continue to prosper, there are many who are “hanging by a thread.” These are ones the Bible calls “the poor.” The Hebrew word derives from a root that literally means to dangle, to hang down low. Though they may seem to have no help, God has not forgotten them. He is mindful of them and wants us to be mindful, too. God wants us to share His heart for the poor.

David understood this. “Happy is the one who cares for the poor,” he says. The NKJV says, “Blessed is he who considers the poor.” Young’s Literal Translation has, “O the happiness of him who is acting wisely unto the poor.” This speaks of a depth of joy, a joy that partakes of God’s own pleasure. When we share in His heart for the poor, we also share in His joy when they are helped.

It is an abiding joy, not a happiness that quickly fades away. Likewise, our concern for the poor is to be more than an afterthought or a sporadic, momentary act. The word for “care” means to give attention to, to look upon with insight, to have wisdom and understanding concerning the poor. It is a consistent mindfulness, a recognition that we are connected to the poor. They are not so different from us after all. They are experiencing a time of trouble, and we could one day find ourselves in a similar situation.

God makes a connection between how we treat the poor in their day of adversity and how we will fare in ours. He gives this promise to the one who cares for the poor: “The LORD will save him in a day of adversity.” Whenever a time of trouble comes upon us, God will save us, deliver us, rescue us. The Hebrew word speaks of smoothness, slipperiness, like one who slips out of a tight spot or escapes a snare. When we give to the poor and help smooth their way, God will likewise smooth our way and slip us through our time of trouble.

When we give of our resources and ourselves to help the poor, we are “laying up treasure in heaven.” That is how Jews of the Old Testament era understood it; we see that from some of the ancient apocryphal writings:

Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold. Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster. (Sirach 29:11-12 NRSV)

Give alms from your possession, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor, and the face of God will not be turned away from you. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity. (Tobit 4:7-10 NRSV)

We find this also in the New Testament, where both Jesus and Paul speak of being generous with one’s resources.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come.(1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Our open-handedness to the poor becomes treasure we lay up for ourselves in heaven. Not for the next life, as many think, but to be released as needed for this life. Psalm 41:2 says that those who are mindful of the poor will be blessed “in the earth.” The generosity we show is laid up as treasure in heaven for the sake of earth, so that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven. God’s desire is to smooth the way for both the prosperous and the poor in the day of adversity.

Do Not Be Agitated

Do not be agitated by evildoers;
Do not envy those who do wrong.
For they wither quickly like grass
And wilt like tender green plants.

(Psalms 37:1-2 HCSB)

Lately, I have found myself talking back — yelling, actually — at my TV set. Not that anybody I am yelling at can hear me, I know. But I have become weary of the lies, dissimulations, hypocrisies, frauds, empty posturings and arrogances of politicians and their media enablers. These days it seems that it has been a relentless stream. And I have let it bug me. Really, really bug me.

Yesterday, as I was praying this psalm — my habit is to pray through the book of Psalms each month (150 psalms / 30 days = 5 psalms a day), and Psalm 37 falls right in the middle of my group on day 8 — I was brought up short by this admonition: “Do not be agitated by evildoers.” The Hebrew word for “agitate” means to be hot, furious, burn, become angry, kindled, incensed, to blaze up and be heated with vexation. Yep, that’s been me. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

But David gives us this admonition, and also a very good reason for it: “For they wither quickly like the grass and wilt like tender green plants.” David was speaking from experience; he certainly had his share of opportunities to be agitated. Sometimes he may even have taken advantage of those opportunities — but he strongly recommends against it. Why? Because it doesn’t do any good. Quite the opposite.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
Do not be agitated — it can only bring harm.
For evildoers will be destroyed,
But those who put their hope in the LORD
Will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
Though you look for him, he will not be there.
But the humble will inherit the land
And will enjoy abundant prosperity.

(Psalm 37:8-11 HCSB)

Cease from “anger” — the Hebrew word pictures the heated flaring of the nostrils. Give up venomous rage and its poison. Do not be agitated — it only does harm! Liars and cheats and frauds — evildoers — will soon reap what they have sown, and become a byword of infamy. My agitation will not do anything to hasten that day; it will only hinder me. It is a stumbling block and if I let it trip me up I will no longer be making progress and moving forward. And, after all, I do want to move forward. So what should I do? David offers an effective strategy in verses 3-7:

Trust in the LORD and do what is good;
Dwell in the land and live securely.
Take delight in the LORD,
And He will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit your way to the LORD;
Trust in Him, and He will act,
Making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
Your justice like the noonday.
Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for Him;
Do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
By the man who carries out evil plans.

There are a lot of good bullet points here and they all work together for my good.

• Trust in the LORD. If I let myself become agitated by those who do what is wrong, I am not trusting in God and resting in Him.
• Dwell in the land and “live securely.” The ESV has it as “befriend faithfulness.” The NKJV says, “feed on His faithfulness.” To dwell means to abide. God has not gone off anywhere, and neither should I. If I stay put and feed on God’s faithfulness, I will befriend it and find it in myself.
• Take delight in the LORD. I can choose to be agitated by the faithless and feckless or I can choose to take delight in the Lord. Delight is better. The Hebrew word for “delight” here means to be luxuriantly happy. The promise is that He will give me the desires of my heart. The wicked cannot keep that from me, but allowing myself to be agitated by them can.
• Commit your way to the LORD. The word for “commit” literally means to “roll.” Whatever is bothering me, I can roll it over onto Him. “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). “Trust in Him,” David says, “He will act.” Whatever needs to be done, He will bring it to pass.
• Be silent before the LORD. Be silent, be still and rest quietly in Him. If there is anything I need to do or say, He will show me. And I certainly don’t need to tell Him what to do. His words will always be much better, and God-directed actions will always be far more effective than my own. But if I let myself become agitated, it will be much harder for me to hear His voice.
• Wait expectantly. Faith is the substance, the underlying reality, of things hoped for, the things we are joyfully anticipating (Hebrews 11:1). When we put our trust in God, He will bring about everything that needs to be done.

Relief from Troubled Times

LORD, happy is the man you discipline
 and teach from Your law
To give him relief from troubled times
 until a pit is dug for the wicked.

(Psalms 94:12-13 HCSB)

Most people do not find discipline to be a pleasant affair (we have a word for those who do — masochist). It is hard, it is work, it is discomforting. It pushes back against our natural tendencies. It does not stroke us — it slaps us!

But to those who yield to the discipline of the Lord, it brings cause for great happiness. It corrects us, keeps us from heading off into a deadly direction and a meaningless, fruitless life. It guides us back into our destiny, the purpose for which God created us from the beginning.

The Hebrew word for “law” is torah. It can just as well be translated as “instruction,” because that is what it is. God did not give it to us so He could lower the boom on us, but so He could release blessing to us. Not to enslave us but to enable us. In Psalm 1, we see that it is something to delight in and meditate on continually (v. 2). Why? Because it leads us into prosperity and fulfillment of purpose, a change of life that changes the world for the better (v. 3).

That is how the psalm writer takes it here; it is the path to great happiness. In his present situation, he was experiencing it as “relief from troubled times,” “rest from days of adversity” (NKJV), “a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil” (The Message).

He adds, “until a pit is dug for the wicked.” There is a day coming in which God will “balance the books” and set everything right. It is the final day, when His kingdom has fully come into the world and His will is being done everywhere on earth exactly as it is in heaven. Indeed, it has already begun, ever since King Jesus came and announced, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). We live between the time of its inauguration and its completion, a time many theologians refer to as “already/not yet” — already begun, not yet done.

In the meantime, there is still much trouble, much injustice, much evil. But there is often also a settling of accounts in the interim, when God lets the wicked experience the consequences of their evil actions. God will not forget us or leave us to their devices but will act decisively.

The LORD will not forsake His people
 or abandon His heritage,
For justice will again be righteous,
 and all the upright in heart will follow it.

(Psalms 94:14-15 HCSB)

The word used here for “justice” speaks of a verdict, as in a court of law. When God judges, He delivers verdicts that set things right and the upright, who walk according to His instruction and live according to what is right, will be satisfied. Though the enemies of God have come and gone, the people of God have endured, for He gives us relief from troubled times.

The Second Day

For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

(Psalm 16:10)

The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is traditionally called Holy Saturday. It is the Second day, stretched between the Cross and the Resurrection. It is a time of waiting. In the silence and stillness of this moment, it may seem like nothing is happening and that we have been abandoned, but it is in this in-between time that faith reaches its full measure.

David had prophesied this moment long before, in a passage deep with messianic hope. He speaks to God with calm assurance and in a voice bigger than his own:

I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:8-11)

It was a difficult time for David and he was in great need of God’s assistance, but the psalm begins, not with fear, but with a note of confidence. “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.” There is no sense of being forgotten or abandoned. There is only the recumbency of faith and the expectation of hope. God will reveal the path of life, fullness of joy and glory at His right hand.

On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” It is the beginning of Psalm 22, which depicts an intense humiliation — the rejection of Messiah. Halfway through, though, there is a turning point where He declares, “You have answered Me” (v. 21), and the psalm finishes with grateful praise. In the Jewish manner of recalling an entire passage by reciting the opening lines, Jesus had the entire psalm in mind. Though, at that moment, He experienced most deeply the sense of being forgotten by God, He also knew that God would answer Him and that He would praise God “in the midst of the assembly” (v. 22). He would not be abandoned; God would deliver Him. Before He breathed His last breath on the cross, He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

Now the Second day had come and the body of Jesus was enshrouded and buried in the tomb. The disciples were still reeling from the events of the day before. How forsaken, how abandoned by God — and even by Jesus — they must have felt. He had promised them the kingdom of heaven; now the King was dead. Though Jesus told them ahead of time, on more than one occasion, of how He would be delivered up to death, He also spoke of the resurrection that would follow. Now they were in the in-between time and, traumatized by the cross, they could not see the promise of the Third day. But God had not abandoned them, just as He had not abandoned Jesus. It was a time of waiting while the victory of the cross brought forth the victory of the resurrection (which revealed the victory of the cross).

It can be very easy to feel abandoned by God on the Second day, when life gets difficult and heaven is silent. When we cannot see what is happening “behind the scenes,” it so often seems like nothing is happening at all. But as Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The power of the resurrection is at work and there is always a Third day.

Because God did not abandon Jesus, He will not abandon you. Even in the silence and stillness of the Second day, we have the promise of the Third. What is needed for the in-between time is the patience of faith.

A Resolution of Praise

I will praise You everyday. (Psalm 145:2 HCSB)

Here is a resolution worthy of a new year, indeed, of a lifetime, even the lifetime of a great king. It is the resolution of David.

I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

(Psalm 145:1-2)

Then he lists the reasons for such a lifetime commitment.

• The incomparable greatness of God, which surpasses all understanding (v. 3).
• The magnificent works and mighty saving acts of God, which are to be told from one generation to the next (v. 4).
• The glorious splendor of His majesty, the weightiness of His beauty. Everything about Him is a source of wonder, to be treasured up and pondered (v. 5).
• The awesome power of His world-changing, life-changing deeds, displaying such a greatness that is worthy of proclaiming to the whole world (v. 6).
• The abundant goodness of God deserves to be told again and again. His righteousness and justice inspire shouts of joy and celebration (v. 7).
• The abundant compassion, grace and faith love and mercy of Yahweh (v. 8).
• The goodness of God to all, and the tender compassion, like that of a mother, which He has for all creation (v. 9).
• The glory of His kingdom and power (v. 11). His kingdom is everlasting; His rule and reign encompasses every generation (v. 13).
• Yahweh sustains the weak and the powerless when the world is too much for them, and raises up those who have been bowed down under its pressures (v. 14).
• He provides food for all, so that no one need ever go without. All eyes look expectantly to Him (v. 15).
• His hand is open to satisfy the desire of every living thing (v. 16).
• Yahweh is just in all His ways and gracious in all His works (v. 17).
• Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him with an open and honest heart (v. 18).
• He fulfills the desire of all who live in awe of Him; He hears their cry and rescues them (v. 19).
• Yahweh preserves all who love Him, and does away with evil and injustice (v. 20).

Having described the attributes and character of Yahweh, God of creation, King of Israel and Lord of All, the psalm writer reiterates his commitment (v. 21):

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

Let this be your resolution for this New Year and the rest of your life, to give God praise every day.

The Soul of Prosperity

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Psalm 1:2-3)

True prosperity does not come from outside us. It arises from within. It begins as delight in the Lord and in His ways, His instruction (torah, the Hebrew word for “law” can just as well be translated as “instruction”). That is, it starts as an attitude, an orientation of the heart. It grows and develops by giving diligent attention to the Lord and His instruction. In other words, it is a matter of the soul, the inner being.

God is big on that. Indeed, He promised that He would make a new covenant with us in which He would internalize His ways in our hearts.

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah … I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31, 33)

More than that, He promised He would give us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, so that we would not only be able to understand His ways but also to do them.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

God has fulfilled His promise. He has cut a new covenant with us in the blood of Jesus the Messiah. At the Cross, Jesus defeated all the powers that stand against us. At the Last Supper, He took the cup of wine and said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Then at Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection, God put His Spirit within us, to enable us to fulfill all that is required and do what is right. All who receive the Lord Jesus receive the Spirit of God. That now changes everything, for Paul tells us,

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What the law engraved on tablets of stone could not accomplish in us, because it was external to us, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us can. As we yield to Him, He brings forth this fruit in our lives. This positions us to live in divine prosperity in all things. The Apostle John’s prayer for Gaius in 3 John 2 shows that this is the desire of God for everyone of us:

Beloved, I prayer that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

When we are out of joint with God, we are out of joint with ourselves, with others and with creation as well. But as we turn to Him, we come into proper alignment. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The kingdom of God is His rule and reign; His righteousness is the rightness of His way of doing and being. When this becomes our priority, everything else will be taken care of itself. This is the prosperity of soul that prepares us for prosperity in all things.

Prosperity of soul is the soul of prosperity.

The Upright in Heart

My defense is of God
Who saves the upright in heart.
(Psalm 7:10)

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy all you upright in heart.
(Psalm 32:11)

Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
(Psalm 36:10)

The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.
(Psalm 64:10)

But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
(Psalm 94:15)

Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
(Psalm 97:11)

I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn your righteous judgments.
(Psalm 119:7)

The Hebrew word for “upright” is yashar and speaks of being straight, level, right, pleasing, just, fitting, proper. To be upright in heart is to be transparent, open before the LORD. David knew much about this. His heart was so opened up to God that he was called “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22).

David learned that there is no hiding out from God. He had tried that and it didn’t work — he became sick inside and out (Psalm 32:3-4). It was not until he became honest before God, confessing his sin, that he not only experienced relief but also an unexpected sense of elation, for he discovered once again the graciousness of God (see Surrounded by Faithful Love and Joyful Shouts). He recommends that same kind of transparency of heart before God, because there is gladness, and twirling and shouting for joy to be had (32:11).

To be upright in heart is to know God (Psalm 36:10). Knowing God is not about having information about Him but relationship with Him. It is personal, not perfunctory. The focus is not on duty but on delighting in Him. Paul’s prayer for the Church was that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17), to know God more and more, deeply and intimately.

To be upright in heart is to trust in the LORD. It is the transparency of faith. We can depend on Him to defend and deliver us (Psalm 7:10), enlighten and guide us (97:11), instruct us in what is right and good (119:7). It is faith in God that actually pleases Him. Not that our deeds are unimportant, but they must come from an open and trusting heart that is turned toward God. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

For those who know, honor and love the LORD, who diligently seek after Him, who are transparent before Him and confident in Him, the rewards are really quite magnificent. He will spread out His steadfast love and faithfulness to cover them (Psalm 36:10, see The Prevailing Love of God). When He comes to set everything right, they will be around to see it (94:15) and their boast will be all about what He has done (64:10), with ecstatic praise, joyful shouts and wild dancing. These are the upright in heart.

The Prevailing Love of God

Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

(Psalm 36:10)

Exalting in the reach of God’s faithful love (vv. 5-6) and the abundant pleasures of that love (vv. 7-9), David now brings his song full circle to address the problem with which he opened up this psalm: wicked men and the evil they do (vv. 1-4). David is now moving from praise to petition: Continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You.

The Hebrew word translated “continue” means to prolong, stretch out, extend or draw. Young’s Literal Translation renders it as “draw out,” which is interesting, considering that the psalm writer describes the faithful love of God as a river and a fountain: Draw out of the fountain of life and the river of delights now to protect us from the wicked.

This love, this protection, belongs to those who know the Lord. To know Yahweh is to have regard for Him and His ways, which is what the wicked in verse 1 lacked. Those who love, honor and trust in the Lord can expect Him to deliver them when evil men come.

The righteousness of God is His justice. This prayer is for God to do justice — to set things right — for those who are upright, those who are doing what is good and right, in contrast to those who are doing what is evil. David now spells out his concern:

Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. (v. 11)

Then, having placed this before the Lord, David has a vision of what he has just asked for — he sees it as a foregone conclusion:

There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise. (v. 12)

When the faithful love of God arises to do set things right, the wicked and their evil deeds are no match. They go down for the count and are not able to get back up. This lovingkindness belongs to all who know, love and trust Him.

The Heart of Transgression

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.

(Psalm 36:1 English Standard Version)

David casts this psalm in four parts. The first (vv. 1-4) is about the motivations of the wicked. The Hebrew for the first line of the first verse is somewhat difficult to translate and there is a bit of variation among the existing Hebrew manuscripts. Consequently, there is a divergence among various translations: The NASB, the Amplified Bible, and the ESV render it like the above. The NIV, the HCSB and the NKJV translate it along this line: “An oracle in my heart concerning the wicked …” (NKJV).

Which ever translation is correct, the truth remains: Transgression is a matter of the heart. Neither God nor His precepts, nor anything external to a man cause make him to sin.

Let no one say when he is temped, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is draw away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)

Nor can satan make a man sin, for no one could be tempted to do evil unless the desire was already present deep in his heart. Why is the desire for evil so deeply embedded in the heart of the wicked? Because he has no fear of God before his eyes.

The fear of God is regard for God and His ways, respect for the one who made heaven and earth. It is the recognition that life and everything good comes from Him, and that we were created to know and fellowship with Him. It is the dread of missing out on God, the source of all life and goodness.

Our eyes were meant to be full of God, to behold the splendor of His glory. But the eyes of the wicked are too full of himself to see anything beyond himself. He flatters himself too much to understood what is good and hate what is evil, much less to identify and turn from his twisted ways (Psalm 36:2).

The mouth of the wicked is full of malicious lies (v. 3). So also his heart, for as Jesus said, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). The wicked is indifferent to wisdom and therefore to doing good — the things that lead to stability, success, beauty and bliss (v. 3). Instead, he lies on his bed at night scheming how he might inflict his hate on others and he is intent upon doing what is evil (v. 4). It consumes him.

David begins this psalm very darkly. However, his focus is not on wicked men working evil deeds. They are merely a source of trouble he has identified. He does not allow them to eclipse his view of life. Now, having described the problem, he turns to the solution. The existence of wicked men and evil deeds in the world is a fact of life, at least for now. However, there is a greater truth at hand, which will ultimately prevail: The faithful love of God. That is what the rest of this psalm is about.

The faithful love of God is more powerful than the heart of transgression and the evil deeds of the wicked.

Surrounded by Faithful Love, Joyful Shouts

Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
    at a time that You may be found.
When great floodwaters come,
    they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
    You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

Selah.

(Psalm 32:6-7 HCSB)

In Psalm 32, David expresses the deep happiness — the bliss — of being forgiven by God (v.1). There is no hiding out from God then, and no need to (v. 2). David had tried keeping his sin hidden, but it was tearing him up. Inside, he was brittle and dry, and his strength drained away “as in the summer’s heat (vv. 3-4). Then he turned to the Lord and acknowledged his sin, and to his joy discovered, “You took away the guilt of my sin” (v. 5).

Now he recognized that if God would do that for him, He will do that for anyone who quits hiding and turns to Him in faith. Though there is a time when God will bring forth justice into the world, there is still time for grace and mercy to be found. Then when calamity falls all around, those who are pardoned will remain.

There is a “hiding place,” a covering, a refuge, a secret place of safety. That hiding place is the Lord Himself. Before, David had been hiding from God but now he was learning to hide in God, for the Lord protects and preserves those who turn to Him. He watches over them like a shepherd, holding them near, to keep them in times of danger and guard them when adversaries and oppressors appear.

The Lord surrounds them with “joyful shouts of deliverance.” Not cries of fear. Not wails of despair. Joyful shouts of deliverance, the testimony of those who have seen the storm pass and find themselves still standing. They turned to the Lord and experienced His liberating power at every turn. They did not hide their sin from Him and they do not hide their praise from others — loud shouts and boisterous praise to the One who rescued them.

David did not hide his wrongdoing but confessed it to the Lord, and learned once again that “the one who trusts in the LORD will have faithful love surrounding him” (v. 11). The apostle John put it this way: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is no in us. If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (v. 7).

When we come out in the open with God, He surrounds us with faithful love and joyful shouts.

The Table of Covenant Revelation

Praying in the psalms this morning, as is my habit, this passage became my meditation as I went to the Table of the Lord.

The LORD is good and upright;
therefore He shows sinners the way.
He leads the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.

All the LORD’s ways [show] faithful love and truth
to those who keep His covenant and decrees.
Because of Your name, LORD,
forgive my sin, for it is great.

Who is the person who fears the LORD?
He will show him the way he should choose.
He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.

The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him,
and He reveals His covenant to them.
My eyes are always on the LORD,
for He will pull my feet out of the net.

(Psalm 25:8-15 HCSB)

First, notice that it is out of His goodness that the Lord shows us His way. Being a sinner does not disqualify anyone from receiving it (or else we would all be in trouble). The real qualification is the humility of faith — believing God. Those who are humble are teachable, but pride and arrogance keep one from being able to receive anything from the Lord.

God entered into covenant with Israel, offering them many wonderful promises and benefits (see Deuteronomy 28:1-14). All who kept that covenant — the way of the Lord — would enjoy those promises and benefits. For God always keeps His word, and when He commits Himself, as He does in covenant, to show His “faithful love” (Hebrew, hesed, steadfast love and mercy — covenant love!), He will move heaven and earth to reveal it. It is out of this great love and mercy that He forgives sin.

Who is the person who “fears the Lord?” To fear the Lord is to live in awe of Him, to love and trust Him with all our hearts. To honor what He honors and hate what He hates, to treasure His favor above all things and avoid His displeasure at all costs, to take pleasure in His word, His will, His ways and His works. (Psalm1is another way of describing this, and its benefits; see Two Paths.)

To those who fear the Lord, He will reveal the path they should choose, the one that will lead to a good life, and their descendants will inherit the earth, the blessing of peace and prosperity in the land. He will reveal His secrets to them and they will see His covenant promises fulfilled on their behalf.

Israel was meant to receive all these blessings and benefits, not only to enjoy for themselves, but to reveal and extend the salvation of God to all the world. The problem, though, was that she kept turning away from God and needed to be delivered from the terrible exile she had brought upon herself.

That was a big problem, but God had a big solution. Very early on in the story, God promised a Messiah, an Anointed King who would come and not only rescue Israel but also gather in all the nations as well to enjoy the pleasures of God. This Messiah was revealed, historically, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only one who ever faithfully fulfilled every obligation of God’s covenant with Israel. By His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave, He destroyed the works of the devil and defeated every power that stands against humanity — not only for the Jews, but for all the nations of the world. It is not only the taking away of sin but also deliverance from the power of sin, and from every enemy of spirit, soul and body.

It is that victory we find portrayed in the Table of the Lord. Jesus’ body was given and His blood shed on our behalf and for our benefit. In it, the new covenant between God and His people, foretold in the Old Testament (see Jeremiah 31:31-34), was instituted.

At the Table of the Lord, our eyes are always on the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who has pulled our feet out of the net. The secret counsels of God and the new covenant He has instituted with us are revealed in the signs of the body and blood of King Jesus.

The Name and the Promise

You have exalted Your name and Your promise above everything else. (Psalm 138:2 HCSB)

For the past ten months or so, I have been using the Holman Christian Standard Bible for my morning Bible reading and praying in the psalms. Over the years, I have heard this verse quoted often, from the King James and similar versions: “You have magnified Your word above all Your name” (NKJV). Much was made of the idea that God exalted His Word even above His name. This was not meant to take anything away from the name of God, but to demonstrate how valuable is His promise.

However, as I was praying recently through this psalm, I noticed that the Holman Bible renders it quite differently: God’s Word is not exalted above His name, but both the name and the promise of God are exalted above everything else. So I did what I usually do when I am intrigued by a verse or phrase or word in Scripture. I went checking through other versions to see how they have it.

The King James, the New King James and the Modern King James have “word” magnified above “name.’ So do the Jewish Publication Society Bible, the Douay-Rheims Bible, the Revised Version, the Literal Translation of the Bible, the Bible in Basic English, the Third Millennium Bible and Young’s Literal Translation. But here are how some of the other versions read:

You have exalted above all things your name and your word. (New International Version)

You have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. (New International Version 2011)

You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. (New American Standard Bible)

You have exalted above all things your name and your word. (English Standard Version)

Your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. (New Living Translation)

You have exalted your name and your word above everything. (New Revised Standard Version)

You have shown that your name and your commands are supreme. (Good News Translation)

Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word. (The Message)

You were true to your word and made yourself more famous than ever before. (Contemporary English Version)

The Amplified Bible has it both ways! “You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!”

Just goes to show that translation is not an exact science. Actually, there is a bit of an art to it. Many of the variations between the versions, once you get past the distinction between the dynamic equivalent translations (such as the NIV) and the more literal formal translations (like the NASB), is pretty much just a matter of style. But sometimes the text itself can be so nuanced (or, at times, even uncertain), it is not clear how it should be rendered.

I have lived with the one translation, where God’s Word is magnified above His name, for many years now, though the logic of it seems a bit disjointed concerning the being of God, and I have never been fully able to explain it, even to myself. So I think I will meditate on the other translation for awhile. It makes more sense to me that the name of God and the promise of God are on a par with each other, while they are both highly exalted above all else. That, it seems to me, is as it should be.