November 26
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GOD IS OUR SALVATION AND VICTORY
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation. 20 God is to us a God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong ways of escape from death.
21 God certainly will shatter the heads of His enemies,
The hairy head of one who goes about in his guilt.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 So that your foot may shatter them in blood,
And the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.” -Psalm 68:19-23
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Verse 19 is praise to God for keeping up with our fallen nature. David recognizes that only in the Lord God it is possible for us to free and receive our redemption. Verse 20 according to enduring.com commentary speaks much of the ark coming to Jerusalem, but that only happened after David defeated Israel’s surrounding enemies. David thought of how God rescued him in those conflicts. In doing so He used the somewhat uncommon but wonderful phrasing of Yahweh Adonai (GOD the Lord). Verse 21 gives an illustration of God’s victory. David used an image from Genesis 3:15 where God promised that the Messiah would strike a fatal head wound against Satan. The victory would be total, with God’s people walking as winners over the field of battle. Poole comments on verse 21 regarding hairy head because in ancient times, many people used to wear long and shaggy hair, that their looks might be more terrible to their enemies.
Studylight.org comments on verse 22: David remembers God’s promise that the Israelites will be delivered and recovered from the depths of the sea, which means great danger. Numbers 21:33 mentions the great conflict with Og of Bashan and Exodus 14:22 illustrates the passage through the Red Sea.”The depths of the sea” is a proverb for imminent risks. Maurer, taking this view, makes the sea mean the Mediterranean on the west, as Bashan is on the east. Amos 9:3 then explains the language. But it is plainly Israel that is brought “from the depths of the sea” by ‘the God of salvation, her God, unto whom belong the issues of death’ (Psalms 68:19).
All the people of God must remember that we cannot take salvation in our own hands and bear all our burden. God is the only source of our salvation and victory.
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REFLECTION
• Why do we humans often think that we have any contribution in our salvation?
Tag Archives: Christian devotional
LIKE THE WINGS OF A DOVE COVERED WITH SILVER ILMA’S VLOG
November 25
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LIKE THE WINGS OF A DOVE COVERED WITH SILVER
When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon.
15 The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of God;
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks,
At the mountain God has desired as His dwelling?
Indeed, the LORD will dwell there forever.
17 The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among people,
Even among the rebellious as well, that the LORD God may dwell there. – Psalm 68:13-18
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Enduringword.com comments on verse 13 as: The people of God come from humble circumstances (they lie down among the sheepfolds), but they share in God’s great victory over their enemies and are graced with great blessings and gifts. “The wings of a dove, flashing silver and gold, have been taken to refer to Israel basking in prosperity (Delitzsch), to the enemy in flight (Briggs), to the glory of the Lord manifested at the battle (Weiser), or even to a particular trophy seized from the enemy.Verse 14 mentions snowing in Zalmon which is another name for Mount Ebal in central Israel, which many would consider more of a high hill than an actual mountain. The meaning of this line is not entirely clear and has been the source of much speculation.VanGemeren comments that “According to Judges 9:48, Zalmon (‘the Dark One’) is one of the mountains by Shechem.” “A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan which was an impressive mountain. Yet it and the other mountains seem to fume with envy when they see how God has favored Zion where He seats Jerusalem. Paul quoted Psalm 68:18 and applied it to Jesus, in Ephesians 4:8. Paul applied this to the ascension of Jesus into heaven and His sending of the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His Church. David reflects on God’s great generosity to His chosen people. He equips them all with gifts for His kingdom.
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REFLECTION
• How are we using God’s gifts to further His kingdom?
GOD THE PROVIDER ILMA’S VLOG
November 24
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GOD THE PROVIDER
God, when You went forth before Your people,
When You marched through the desert,
8 The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You made plentiful rain fall, God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
In Your kindness You provided for the poor, God.
1 The Lord gives the command;
The women who proclaim good news are a great army:
12 “Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will divide the spoils!”- Psalm 68:7-12
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Enduringword.com comments on this psalm: David continued his thoughts on God’s presence with and care for Israel through the wilderness on the way to Canaan. You went out before Your people emphasizes the idea that God was with Israel; He did not abandon them despite the many ways they provoked Him. Spurgeon comments “We may speak, if we will, of the ‘wanderings of the children of Israel,’ but we must not think them purposeless strayings; they were in reality a well-arranged and well considered march.” Verse 8 says that the earth quaked As God was with Israel in the wilderness, they were protected. His might was on their side. No other nation could defeat them when they walked with God. Verse 9 mentions that as God was with Israel in the wilderness they were provided for. They would never suffer hunger or thirst as they walked in God’s presence. As part of that provision, God sent them a plentiful rain in a needy time. This care for them was a way God confirmed the special place Israel had in His heart and plan. They were His inheritance.“ Kidner says that verse 8’s allusion to Sinai is from the Song of Deborah in Judges 4:8. According to Horne for verse 12: Thus, in the spiritual war, apostles, confessors, and martyrs went out to the battle, fought and conquered…the benefits of victory extended to thousands and millions, who, without being exposed to their conflicts and torments, have enjoyed the fruit of their labours.” This psalm praises the Lord and give thanks for all His provision to His people.
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REFLECTION
• Why is praising the Lord and thanking Him important in our lives?
GOD MAKES A HOME FOR THE LONELY AND LEADS PRISONERS FREE ILMA’S VLOG
November 23
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GOD MAKES A HOME FOR THE LONELY AND LEADS PRISONERS FREE
May God arise, may His enemies be scattered,
And may those who hate Him flee from His presence.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before a fire,
So the wicked will perish before God.
3 But the righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God;
Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Exalt Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is the LORD, and be jubilant before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy dwelling.
6 God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious live in parched lands. -Psalm 68:1-6
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Based on a commentary by enduring word.com, most commentators believe this psalm is connected with the coming of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), celebrating not only that event, but also the faithfulness of God to give Israel victory over her enemies, and to make Jerusalem secure enough to bring the ark into the city. Verse 1 uses the phrasing of Numbers 10:35, David proclaimed the triumph of God over all His enemies. When God goes forth, no opponent can stand against Him. They are all scattered. Since Moses said those words when the ark of the covenant led Israel from Mount Sinai, David knew it was appropriate to say the same words as the ark came to Jerusalem, its resting place. As David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), he made a dramatic historical connection.
These first 6 verses emphasize what God does for His own people and how they should exalt him and sing praises. In verse6, I was particularly struck how he cares for the lonely and leads prisoners out of captivity into prosperity. We live in a very isolated and lonely world and in bondage to this world system and sins. We are admonished to give up rebellion in verse 8 for they are not blessed by God.
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REFLECTION
• How can you help the lonely and the captives from their helplessness?
HELP ME AND SAVE ME ACCORDING TO YOUR MERCY ILMA’S VLOG
November 22
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HELP ME AND SAVE ME ACCORDING TO YOUR MERCY
Help me, LORD my God; Save me according to Your mercy.
27 And may they know that this is Your hand; You, LORD, have done it.
28 They will curse, but You bless; When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your servant will be glad. 29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And may they cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD;
And I will praise Him in the midst of many.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who judge his soul. – Psalm 109:26-31
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According to a commentary on this psalm, in verse 26, David’s plea was straightforward and simple. Like the woman of Canaan with the demon-possessed daughter (Matthew 15:21-25), he asked God for help. As in verse 21, he asked for it on the basis of God’s mercy, not his own merit. It was very important to David that his enemies and all who looked on him knew that his rescue was from God’s hand; the LORD had done it. He didn’t want deliverance only for his own sake, but also for the glory of God. What a servant David was! He is loyal to credit everything to his Master and Lord. He never wants to be praised; instead, he points to God, the Almighty. Spurgeon says that “Ungodly men will not see God’s hand in anything if they can help it, and when they see good men delivered into their power they become more confirmed than ever in their atheism; but all in good time God will arise and so effectually punish their malice and rescue the object of their spite that they will be compelled to say like the Egyptian magicians, ‘this is the finger of God.’”
David understood that the curses of his enemies could never triumph over the blessings of God in his life. This would make David rejoice and his enemies be clothed with shame, wearing their disgrace as if it were a mantle. Maclaren says “The psalm began with addressing ‘the God of my praise’; it ends with the confidence and the vow that the singer will yet praise Him. It painted an adversary standing at the right hand of the wicked to condemn him; it ends with the assurance that Jehovah stands at the right hand of His afflicted servant, as his advocate to protect him.”
What a heart David has; constantly seeking God because he loves his Lord so much.
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REFLECTION
• How can we develop a heart that seeks out for God’s plan to be done in our lives?
DEAL KINDLY WITH ME FOR YOUR NAME’S SAKE ILMA’S VLOG
November 21
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DEAL KINDLY WITH ME FOR YOUR NAME’S SAKE
But You, GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
Because Your mercy is good, rescue me;
22 For I am afflicted and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like the locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a disgrace to them;
When they see me, they shake their head.- Psalm 109:21-25
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Enduringword.com comments on verse 21 as David understood that it wasn’t enough to have his enemy judged. David needed help from God, from Yahweh Adonai. He asked on the basis of God’s name and mercy, not on the basis of his own righteousness. How many of us ask God for His help for God’s sake and not for our own sake? This amazes me because only a few of us believers actually do serve God authentically. Most of us come to God for help so we can be comfortable and get delivered. In other words, we want to get something or a favor from God for our own benefits, whether it is a need or a desire.
Verse 22 says “For I am afflicted and needy” which is a confession of the state of his heart, how poor and needy it has become. David shows that he was the one broken in heart mentioned in verse 16. David’s misery was also physical. He felt his life was wasting away, complaining that his flesh was so weak. The hateful enemy either caused this physical weakness or took advantage of it. Being able to discern what the enemy’s tactics are is a clear indication of David’s intimacy with the Lord. He sees what these wicked people have done to him. They have depleted his energy and have somehow made progress at bringing him down. Yet, David knows that his Lord is faithful to deliver him and bring him vengeance and justice. Verse 25 says “I also have become a disgrace to them, when they see me, they shake their heads”. His enemies shook their heads in both pity and disgust when they look at him. How often do we automatically seek approval from man? In verse 25, we see David’s observance of how his enemies look at him. Should we be concerned how others see us or shouldn’t we only care how God sees us?
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REFLECTION
• How can we let go of “selfishness” when we ask God for help?
CURSES TO THOSE WHO CURSE ILMA’S VLOG
November 20
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CURSES TO THOSE WHO CURSE
May the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
And do not let the sin of his mother be wiped out.
15 May they be before the LORD continually,
So that He may eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the afflicted and needy person,
And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it entered his body like water, and like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly wears around himself.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
And of those who speak evil against my soul. – Psalm 109:14-20
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According to enduringword.com, In verse 20, David hoped that the sins of his enemy’s ancestors would also be held against his enemy, and that the remembrance of those sins would be continually before the LORD. In verse 16, David’s enemy and his companions despised the goodness David extended to them (which goes back to verse 5). Yet the hateful ways went beyond the wrong done to David; he also persecuted the poor and needy. This merciless cruelty to the broken in heart was completely contrary to the nature of God. Psalm 34:18 says that The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart and in Psalm 51:17, it says that God never despises a broken heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come to him: David’s prayer was rooted in simple justice. He wanted God to do to this enemy what that guilty man had done to others. David wanted the man to be clothed with curses. According to Spurgeon, retaliation, not for private revenge, but as a measure of public justice, is demanded by David and deserved by the crime. Surely the malicious man cannot complain if he is judged by his own rule, and has his corn measured with his own bushel.” David’s heart is full of compassion and mercy to the poor.
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REFLECTION
• Why is David so adamant at getting justice for injustice to the poor in spirit?
DAVID LEFT VENGEANCE TO GOD
November 19
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DAVID LEFT VENGEANCE TO GOD
May his days be few; May another take his office.
9 May his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander about and beg;
And may they seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize everything that he has,
And may strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 May there be none to extend kindness to him,
Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be eliminated;
May their name be wiped out in a following generation. -Psalm 109:8-13
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Enduringword.com comments that this is a psalm of David, and is thought to be the strongest of what are known as the imprecatory psalms, David’s songs that call down curses upon his enemies. It is important to remember that these are prayers, committing vengeance unto God. With the greater revelation of grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, we understand that we are to pray for the good of our enemies, and not for their ruin. Yet, we remind ourselves that David refused to act upon these curses; he left vengeance up to God. This is especially relevant regarding David, who knew what it was to take life with the sword. When David withheld vengeance, it was because he chose to, not because he lacked the opportunity, skill, or courage. This begins a long and intense set of curses that David pronounced against his enemy. There are some who think that verses 6 onwards describe the lying words that David’s enemies spoke against him, and that the use of the singular in that section proves it – as well as later in verse.
Morgan had this opinion: “I entirely agree with those expositors who treat this passage as the singer’s quotation of the language of his enemies against him.” It is fair to note that the tone of these curses is generally in the form of prophecies rather than immediate curses. David predicted the righteous judgment to come rather than pronouncing it – though, he certainly wished for this judgment.
What is amazing with David is that even his vengeance, he lifts it up to God so that he won’t do the wrong thing. He leaves everything in God’s hand. He never operates on his own strength or understanding, something that is a novelty in our world today.
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REFLECTION
• How can we develop the habit of dependence on God on everything?
LORD, DO NOT BE SILENT, DEAL WITH MY ENEMIES ILMA’S VLOG
November 18
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LORD, DO NOT BE SILENT, DEAL WITH MY ENEMIES
God of my praise, do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a wicked and deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me without cause.
4 In return for my love they act as my accusers;
But I am in prayer.5 So they have repaid me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.6 Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an ]accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he come out guilty,
And may his prayer become sin. -Psalm 109:1-7
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Matthew Henry says: “Whether David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, or upon occasion of some other trouble that was given him, is uncertain; and whether the particular enemy he prays against was Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel or some other not mentioned in the story, we cannot determine; but it is certain that in penning it, he had an eye to Christ, his sufferings and his persecutors, for that imprecation (v8) is applied to Judas (Acts 1:20). The rest of the prayers here against his enemies were the expression, not of passion, but of the Spirit of prophecy. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven of the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies and with it, an appeal to the righteous God. He prays against his enemies and devotes them to destruction.
People may be wondering how David could pray this way to God, almost like giving God a command in verse 1 not to let these evil people continue their ways without being rebuked or corrected and punished. In verse 2, he files a complaint to God for their lies and wickedness. It only exhibits David’s dependence on a God he really knew very well. He knows that he belongs to Him and that the Lord hates evil. He is looking forward to be vindicated by God as he opens up his heart to God for all the evil done to him by his enemies. Like a little child, in verses 3-4, he tells the Lord what they have done to him and yet he repaid them good for the evil they did. In verse 6, he pleads God to bring justice to the evil they have done to him.
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REFLECTION
• How often do we come to God for deliverance like David does?
THOSE WHO SEEK THE LORD PRAISE HIM ILMA’S VLOG
November 17
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From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. May your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S and He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.30 A posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.- Psalm 22:25-31
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King David certainly knows how his God provides. In verse 25, he appreciates those who fear the Lord and acknowledges and respects them. In verse 26, he consoles those who are afflicted just as Jesus in Matthew 5 comforts those who are afflicted or poor in spirit as well as those persecuted for His sake. David encourages them to look up to God’s promise that He will provide for them and alleviate them of their pain and suffering. He says a blessing to those who are faithful to the Lord and pray that their hearts continue to submit and offer their hearts to the Lord.
In verse 27, he gives a hopeful perspective to all those who worships the Lord and passes on to their families such praise. In verse 28, he reminds us all that everything belongs to God and he is in control and rules all things. Verse 29 recounts the equality that God gives his creation. God treats everyone justly and that whatever we sow, we will reap. In verse 30, King David reminds us of the promise that God’s people made to God, that the next generation will know all the good deeds that the Lord has made. In verse 31, David says a prophetic prayer: that all those who live for God’s righteousness, many generations will rise from them and that they will all witness to the magnificence of God’s creation and His plan for mankind. David clearly tells us that those who constantly seek the Lord will never stop declaring their awe of God’s mighty deeds and goodness.
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REFLECTION
• How is praising the Lord a result of seeking Him?