“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””
Psalms 91:2 NKJV
Putting all your trust in God means just that – trusting Him for everything. That means faith – tremendous faith, but the Bible tells us over and over the indescribable power of faith.
“For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.”
Psalms 90:4 NKJV
This speaks a truth that is easy for me to forget. Time is irrelevant to God. A week, a month, even a year of pain and sorrow is not even a moment to Him. I feel like I need to be reminded of that, especially now, as I am in a time of anxiety where I am crying out to Him for relief, and while He has responded and given me hope, the source of my worry remains.
“Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth? Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed. Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen.”
Psalms 89:49-52 NKJV
The Psalmist here earlier writes of the goodness of the Lord and His promise to David, but then he writes about how the people, those He chose, have turned away from Him and thus provoked Him.
In these last verses of the chapter, I see where the Psalmist is asking for the Lord to return to His former kindness towards Israel. But in the end, he blesses the Lord forever more – whether the Lord turns His hand away from the affliction being brought on Israel or not, the Psalmist, in this case Ethan the Ezrahite, commits to continue to bless the Lord.
How hard this is – when things are not going well, to bless the Lord! But if we only praise and bless Him when things are good, that is easy – and He knows it.
“Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah”
Psalms 88:10 NKJV
I read this and am reminded of what Jesus said: that God is God of the living. The thing is, those who die in Christ, don’t really die – they go on to eternal life whether they contribute to praise God forever.
So I guess the answer to the Psalmist’s question above is, yes – if the dead are in Christ.
“Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah”
Psalms 87:3 NKJV
This short Psalm is about Jerusalem. I don’t know what I can add to it, other than to remind myself that this is the City of God, and that He loves her. With that alone, I feel to not support this city and the nation of Israel is to go against God’s will.
“In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.”
Psalms 86:7 NKJV
This is a prayer of David, and he expresses the truth – The Lord is there and He will answer us. It doesn’t say He is willing to answer us, but that He will answer us. That is faith. That is also truth.
“Yes, the Lord will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.”
Psalms 85:12-13 NKJV
My take on this is that the goodness of the Lord follows His righteousness. Not what we think is righteous, but what He deems as righteous. What His word tells us is true, and this path that He has set before us leads us where we need to go. If we only follow Him, His goodness will be ours.
“My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
Psalms 84:2 NKJV
There is longing for the Lord’s presence, and then there is longing to the point of fainting. Being at the point where nothing else matters at all! This is where one’s soul faints to be in the courts of the Lord.
But what are the courts of the Lord? They are no longer a physical place, thanks to Jesus. They are wherever He abides: our souls, in His word and through prayer for starters!
“As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire, So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.”
Psalms 83:14-16 NKJV
Asaph, in this Psalm, is looking for justice, but even in his quest for justice, his goal is for the Lord’s name to be sought.
“Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.”
Psalms 82:8 NKJV
I have heard much said about the Lord giving us the nations as our inheritance, but the reality is they are all His now because Jesus ransomed them to Him. Originally He chose the children of Israel, but His plan all along was to adopt the whole earth, through Jesus. I believe that is what this verse is telling us. He is asking God to arise (perhaps even meaning from the dead) and judge the world.
The Lampstand 