November 4
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UNTIL YOU ENTER GOD’S SANCTUARY
Therefore his people return here,
And abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
And washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken all day long,
And punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought of understanding this,
It was troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
18 You indeed put them on slippery ground;
You dropped them into ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image.– Psalm 73:10-20
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In this psalm, Asaph seemed frustrated with how the ungodly were prospering and continuing in their ways. In verse 11, the psalmist was bothered by how God was quiet and allowing these wicked people to mock Him. They think God can’t know or see what they are doing. We hear Asaph’s shallow view of life when he envied those who are wealthy and uncaring with the world. In verse 13-14, we hear his remorse and repentance. In verses 16-16, Asaph showed reliance on his own understanding but in verse 17, he realized how different his view changed when he went to the house of the Lord. His view of this life became eternal. He prophetically saw how it will all end.
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REFLECTION
• Why do some people tend to miss seeing life in an eternal perspective?
Tag Archives: ILMA BARAYUGA-DOHERTY
GOD IS GOOD TO THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE PURE ILMA’S VLOG
November 3
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GOD IS GOOD TO THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE PURE
God certainly is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are not in trouble like other people,
Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
9 They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. – Psalm 73:1-9
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In this verse, Asaph compares the wicked with the pure. In verse 1, he acknowledges the goodness of God who blesses and favors those who are pure. In verse 2, he confesses that he was tempted to sin and in verse 3 he admits the envy he had over those who were prosperous and proud. In verses 4-5, he continues to admit his jealousy over the seeming conveniences and easy lives these wicked people live. In verse 6-7, he enumerates his observations of the proud people. They show off their arrogance as if it were a jewelry to boast about. In verse 7, he exposes how you can clearly see their lusts of the belly and how they feed so much on their own imagination. In verse 8 Asaph adds on to the character of the wicked. They love to put down and belittle others and put themselves high up on a pedestal. In verse 9, he exposes how they blaspheme God and rebel against all that God represents. It is important to recognize the ways of the wicked, so we can examine our lives and guard against impurities from them.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it important to stay pure as a believer?
MY TONGUE SHALL PROCLAIM YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ILMA’S VLOG
November 2
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MY TONGUE SHALL PROCLAIM YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26 May those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and dishonor.
27 May those who shout for joy and rejoice, who take delight in my vindication;
And may they say continually, “The LORD be exalted,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall proclaim Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long. – Psalm 35:25-28
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David Guzik comments on this part of Psalm 35 on verse 26 that David simply and powerfully asked God to be his defense before his enemies. Spurgeon comments on the second part of this verse as “He will shame them for shaming his people, bring them to confusion for making confusion, pull off their fine apparel and give them a beggarly suit of dishonor, and turn all their rejoicing into weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Truly, the saints can afford to wait.”
In verses 27-28, Guzik says that David is asking that the people of God take joy in his vindication. Through the psalms in general, we see that David did not think of himself as perfect in a sinless sense. Yet in many of the disputes with his enemies, he had no problem seeing that he was on God’s side and they were not. In many of these conflicts, we don’t sense that David was troubled by self-doubt.
In verse 28, Poole writes “Mine enemies’ great design is to magnify themselves, but my chief desire is that God may be magnified.”
This psalm is focused on asking God for defense and yet it also pleads God so that the glory will be to praise and glorify God for his faithful defense of those who are faithful to serve Him.
How often do we ask God to stand up for us and defend us? In our current world, we automatically defend ourselves and fight for our rights. Then we wonder why we never have victory. The enemy wants us to forget our dependence on God who is the only one who can deliver His people from any form of evil or schemes of the enemy.
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REFLECTION
• Why do we need to speak of God’s righteousness often? What does that do to us?
DO NOT LET MY ENEMIES REJOICE OVER ME ILMA’S VLOG
November 1
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DO NOT LET MY ENEMIES REJOICE OVER ME
Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
My only life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty people.
19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those who hate me for no reason wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
22 You have seen it, LORD, do not keep silent;
Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, LORD my God, according to Your righteousness,
And do not let them rejoice over me. – Psalm 35:17-24
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In this psalm, we hear David asking God to vindicate him from his enemies It sounded like he was confronting God to take action and not have a passive stand on what is going on in his life. In verse 17, he mentions lions which probably represents the fears he was facing and how fierce his enemies were at eating him up with fear. In verse 18, he faithfully promises God that he will thank Him publicly and among His people. In verse 19, we hear David confidently requesting God to not allow his enemies to mock and make fun of him nor any of those who plot evil against him triumph over him. In verse 20, he exposes further what these evil people do, they destroy peace and seek conflict amongst those who are God’s people. Verse 21 further declares what was done to him, they have seen his weaknesses and exposed it. In verse 22, David kept pleading God not be silent anymore and to come to his rescue. In verses 23-24, he confidently call on God to defend him and to examine him according to His righteousness, reminding God to not allow the enemy to trample on him.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it important to come to God to defend us? Why can’t we fight on our own?
MY SOUL SHALL REJOICE IN THE LORD ILMA’S VLOG
October 31
________________________________________MY SOUL SHALL REJOICE IN THE LORD
So my soul shall rejoice in the LORD;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one who is too strong for him,
And the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
But my prayer kept returning to me.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
15 But at my tumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth.- Psalm 35:9-16
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In verse 9, David promised that his soul would be appropriately happy in the LORD. Spurgeon comments on this verse as “We do not triumph in the destruction of others, but in the salvation given to us of God.” Smyth (cited in Spurgeon) suggested several reasons why God might allow such a sorrowful trial.
· To humble His people.
· To cause them to seek Him in urgent prayer.
· To prevent them from pursuing the very thing falsely accused of.
· To test whether His people will rely upon Him in all things.
· To teach them how to behave toward others when they are falsely accused.
· To warn them against making false accusations against others.
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REFLECTION
• How can David still rejoice in the Lord despite all the plots of the enemy and how all these people have gathered against him?
MY SOUL SHALL REJOICE IN THE LORD ILMA’S VLOG
October 31
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MY SOUL SHALL REJOICE IN THE LORD
So my soul shall rejoice in the LORD;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one who is too strong for him,
And the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
But my prayer kept returning to me.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
15 But at my tumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth.- Psalm 35:9-16
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In verse 9, David promised that his soul would be appropriately happy in the LORD. Spurgeon comments on this verse as “We do not triumph in the destruction of others, but in the salvation given to us of God.” Smyth (cited in Spurgeon) suggested several reasons why God might allow such a sorrowful trial.
· To humble His people.
· To cause them to seek Him in urgent prayer.
· To prevent them from pursuing the very thing falsely accused of.
· To test whether His people will rely upon Him in all things.
· To teach them how to behave toward others when they are falsely accused.
· To warn them against making false accusations against others.
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REFLECTION
• How can David still rejoice in the Lord despite all the plots of the enemy and how all these people have gathered against him?
PRAYER AGAINST THE ENEMY’S SCHEMES ILMA’S VLOG
October 30
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PRAYER AGAINST THE ENEMY’S SCHEMES
Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up as my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4 Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the LORD driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 For they hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very destruction.- Psalm 35:1-8
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According to enduringword.com, this psalm is simply titled A Psalm of David. This is one of what are commonly known as the Imprecatory Psalms, which in strong terms ask God to defeat and destroy the enemies of His people. As you read through the book of Psalms, the Imprecatory Psalms become more intense. Psalm 7 is perhaps the mildest, while some count at least 30 curses in Psalm 109. It is difficult to assign this psalm to any particular period of David’s life. However, the phrasing of Psalm 35:1a is similar to what David said to Saul in 1 Samuel 24:15, so it may be linked to the period of David’s life when Saul pursued him. In the first few verses of this psalm, David asks God to fight for him against his enemies. It is interesting how David gives God suggestions how to attack his enemy for him. He is even saying to God to tell his soul “I am your salvation in verse 4. Why would a man ask his own God such detailed things? Because David has a long intimate relationship with God, He knows very well that God would be true to His promises for deliverance to those who are faithful to him. It is where he gets confidence.
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REFLECTION
• Do you think it was wrong of David to tell God what to do with his enemies? Why?
GIVE THANKS TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN ILMA’S VLOG
October 29
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GIVE THANKS TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Who remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
24 And has rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
25 Who gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting. – Psalm 136:23-26
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This psalm is written to enumerate the various things that God delivers us from and for all the provision that He has showered us with. Enduringword.com gives us some commentaries on these psalms. The song makes a sharp yet skillful transition from God’s great wonders of the past to His faithful help in the present. It is good for us to look to the past for evidence that His mercy endures forever, but even better for us to see the evidence in our own day.
KIdner comments on this part of the psalm: “After all, ‘his steadfast love endures forever’, and the refrain is designed to show the relevance of every act of God to every singer of the psalm.” Spurgeon says “Sin is our enemy, and we are redeemed from it by the atoning blood; Satan is our enemy and we are redeemed from him by the Redeemer’s power; the world is our enemy, and we are redeemed from it by the Holy Spirit.”
Spurgeon suggested many things that Psalm 136 as a whole teaches:
· The past, present, or future will not end His mercy.
· The storms of life will not end His mercy.
· Distance from loved ones will not end His mercy.
· Death itself will not end His mercy.
· God’s never-ending mercy should make us merciful to others.
· God’s never-ending mercy should make us hopeful for others.
· God’s never-ending mercy should make us hopeful for ourselves.
Shouldn’t our gratitude also be everlasting as much as God’s faithfulness is? Giving thanks to the God of heaven is the only way we could respond to God’s everlasting faithfulness.
Without gratitude, we cannot praise the Lord and remember his unfailing love.
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REFLECTION
• How can gratitude to God change our attitudes in life?
PSALM 136 THE GOD WHO DELIVERS ILMA’S VLOG
>October 27
________________________________________THE GOD WHO DELIVERS
To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
11 And brought Israel out from their midst,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
15 But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting. – Psalm 136:10-15
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According to a commentary on enduringword.com, the previous psalm mentioned the deliverance from Egypt and the striking of the firstborn (Psalm 135:8-9). Here again God is praised as the One who rescued Israel from their slavery and degradation in Egypt-another expression of His never-ending mercy. The singer recounted God’s great wonders flowing seamlessly from the work of creation described in Genesis 1 to the work of deliverance described in Exodus. We rightly regard (or should regard) the Exodus account as historical, describing what really happened. Therefore, the context and flow of this psalm demonstrates that what God described in Genesis 1 really happened. The psalmist does not treat them differently, as if one were a legend and the other actual history. God did not only bring the Israelites out of Egypt, but He also delivered them from Pharaoh’s attempt to re-capture them. In mercy to Israel, God overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. God’s use of history in this psalm is important. As in countless other places in the Scriptures, God used His work in the past to give hope, faith, and confidence to His people both for the moment and for the future.
It is necessary for all believers to recount all that God has done for them so that they will be focused on his lovingkindness that is overflowing. By constantly remembering such mercies and grace, we begin to have that love for what is right and for praising God for all that He continually showers us with.
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REFLECTION
• Why is history important to magnify God’s wondrous works and miracles?
GOD’S LOVINGKINDNESS IS EVERLASTING ILMA’S VLOG
October 26
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GOD’S LOVINGKINDNESS IS EVERLASTING
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
4 To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
5 To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
7 To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
8 The sun to rule by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.- Psalm 136:1-9
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According to an internet sources, this psalm, extremely similar to Psalm 135, closes the Great Hallel. Unique to all the psalms, Psalm 136 uses the antiphonal refrain “For His loving-kindness is everlasting” after each stanza, perhaps spoken by the people in responsive worship. The author and occasion remain unknown.
Verse 1 declares the goodness of the Lord and his lovingkindness that is everlasting. Verse 2 praises God’s sovereignty and power over all other gods. He is incomparable to any other gods. In the third verse, Lord of lords is the attribute that is praised. He is Master of all masters. Verse 4 exults his creation and miracles. He is the only one who can create out of nothing and with Him all things are possible. Verse 5 reiterates verse 4 but explains how creative God is. He makes all things beautiful. In verses 6 -9, the author talks about how God placed boundaries in His creation and how He has placed order in all the things He has made.
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REFLECTION
• Why should all believers reflect on God’s lovingkindness daily?