Psalm 13. It’s interesting to see David’s plee to YHWH in this Psalm and how much it matches Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. We can learn from both men of The Book that the strongest and most humble thing we can do when face troubles is seeking God’s help on our knees first. It is a joyous mystery that the Creator of the universe is mindful of us. Let us rejoice and be glad!
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Psalm 8. As we launch into our weekend, let us join Pastor John Samuel Barnett and King David as they show us how to exalt the name of our Lord and our God. Let His name be on our lips at all times. Let His Spirit guide us in all things. Let us praise His holy name to all people.
Psalm 32. One of the facts we have to deal with living in a fallen world and being fallen ourselves is that we still sin. The world, if it ever admits to even any wrongdoing, uses excuses or language that diminishes action or obfuscation.
The Christian follows David example in the psalm and freely admits to wrongdoing. There is no pride in this. Coming before a holy God voids that approach. But coming before God is the only way to deal with the sin to be forgiven. Do we stand in the midst of the ungodly in sin or do we humbly fall to our knees in contrition?
Psalm 8. It is interesting to compare Psalm 8 with Romans 1 and see the juxtaposition of a proclaimer of God’s might works (David) and those that refuse to glorify God and instead supplant the image of corruptible creation (unbelievers). The duality of life comes down to this choice – are we lovers of God and proclaim His holiness or are we haters of God and proclaim lies of man’s corruption?
Psalm 142. Probably one of the scariest times of David’s life. He’s hiding in a cave and being chased by King Saul and his army. David knows that Saul is God’s anointed and so will not take action against him. David is at one of his lowest points. The first part of this Psalm describes just that level of forlornness.
David doesn’t rely on others for there is no one else there. He does not rely on himself because there is nothing he can do. He does not rely on luck because it doesn’t exist. He doesn’t rely on tactics or intelligence because the circumstances are completely against him.
He does cry out to the Lord; the Lord of time and space and circumstances and powers and kingdoms and providence. It is fully in YHWH God’s hands he commits himself. And we read further that his trust is not in vain.
Where is your hope and trust reside? Let it be in the Lord’s so that you “may give thanks to Your [God’s] name”.
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an angry God”. In it Edwards preached on God’s sovereignty in a way that caused people to understand that “fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.
Likewise, in Psalm 139, David speaks of two other attributes of God – God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience. Because of David’s relationship with God, he does not fear these qualities but takes even more confidence in the Lord and His Will. All God’s attributes are declared here as perfectly balanced and we see God’s sovereignty and His Lordship declared with confidence from David. Also declared is the fear and terror those without a relationship with God should have from the Holy Ruler.
The question to ask yourself is do you delight with fear and trembling in the hands of a perfectly holy God – gaining confidence in doing His Will because of who He is – or will you tremble with fear when He judges you, “Depart from Me for I never knew you?”
Psalm 132. If someone were to ask you about what you needed to do today, what would be on your list? Go to work, get the kids around, finish the project, laundry, dinner, mow the grass, etc. We have those things in mind because they are important to us and we need to get them done.
Where is spending time with the Lord on that list of priorities? Is it at the beginning or end? Maybe it’s at the top. In Psalm 132, David reveals his priority by needing God throughout his entire day. His priority is God and from there, all else flows. When we, like David, draw closer to God we change our priorities to reflect those of our Lord.
Pastor John Samuel Barnett challenges us to reflect on Psalm 132 and ask ourselves, “Am I truly relying on God for all things throughout my day?”
Here’s a fun one from all the way back to the first Q&A. Pastor John Samuel Barnett explains his preaching style. However, it is a very good resource on how one can exegete (pull out of) a text instead of eisegete (read into) and how to do proper Bible study.
Enjoy, and next week, we’ll be starting something a little different that we hope you’ll enjoy.
(2011JUN26 – Q&A-01)
Recently, Pastor John Samuel Barnett, took a trip to the Holy Land for part of his teaching video series. The link below is to an updating blog that chronicles the stories and videos he took during this trip. Enjoy!
This week, we look at relying on God for everything in our lives.
We know that we are to measure every piece of information, evidence, and advice against the Word of God to see if it worthy to be followed or taken. But does The Bible, in Psalm 1, tell us that we can never take advice from unbelievers? Pastor John Samuel Barnett gives us the answer in this short clip.
(2014DEC28 – Q&A-83)
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