November 9
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MAN WILL PERISH BUT GOD ENDURES FOREVER
He has broken my strength in the way;
He has shortened my days.
24 I say, “My God, do not take me away in the middle of my days,
Your years are throughout all generations.
25 In time of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 Even they will perish, but You endure;
All of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away.
27 But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You. -PSALM 102:23-28
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The psalmist ends this psalm declaring how disposable our lives are but God is everlasting. In verse 23, he humbly recognized that our lives are in the hands of God. We are at God’s disposal. In verse 24, he pleads God not to shorten his life and gives God praise for watching over His people throughout many generations. In verse 25, he brings glory to the only creator of the whole earth and the heavens which are all still in existence based on God’s plan. In verse 26, he gives praise to the truth that all of creation can be snapped out because God is sovereign and all-powerful. He can do anything He wished with it. It shows that all things are fleeting and only God can decide which ones He wants to keep long. In verse 27, it declares God’s unchangeable nature and His infiniteness. In verse 28, the psalmist promises continued service to the Lord with the descendants of His people.
What a humble way the psalmist ends this psalm! He declares God’s limitless being and that all creation will be at God’s disposal. Many people think that they are in control of their lives and do everything they can to prolong their lives. This psalm is a reminder to us all how fleeting our lives are and God will do what He needs to do to make his plan come to fruition. We humans become so preoccupied with the way we see things when we need to be able to see God’s perspective in our life here on earth. We need to be able to focus on being used by God to make His plan be realized.
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REFLECTION
• How can we be able to maximize the life God gave us?
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YOU, LORD, REMAIN FOREVER ILMA’S VLOG
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November 7
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YOU, LORD, REMAIN FOREVER
My enemies have taunted me all day long;
Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mixed my drink with weeping
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, LORD, remain forever,
And Your name remains to all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion;
For it is time to be gracious to her,
For the appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,
And all the kings of the earth, Your glory. – Psalm 102:8-15
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In verse 8, according to enduringword.com, the psalmist’s affliction came from more than poor health; he had enemies set against him. They opposed him with constant disapproval and rejection. In verse 9, he seemed to be in constant mourning. The marks of mourning such as ashes and weeping were as familiar to him as food and drink. In verse 10, the mourning was all the more bitter because of the sense that this affliction came as some kind of punishment from God. Spurgeon comments on verse 10 says that “He felt that God was treating him as wrestlers treat one another, when a man deliberately lifts up his opponent in order that he may give him the worse fall.” In verse 11, the psalmist was overwhelmed with a sense of divine rejection; he felt that his life was short and had little meaning. In verse 12, the psalmist’s tone changes. We note the contrast between the first 11 verses, which were filled with personal references (I, me, and my) and verses 12 and following. With the words, but You, the focus changes and is set on God. What a difference it makes when we change our focus from ourselves to God!
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REFLECTION
• Why do we need to focus on God’s infiniteness instead of our fleeting lives?
LIKE AN OWL OF THE RUINS ILMA’S VLOG
November 6
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LIKE AN OWL OF THE RUINS
Hear my prayer, LORD!
And let my cry for help come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me; On the day when I call answer me quickly.
3 For my days have ended in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart has been struck like grass and has withered,
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the loudness of my groaning
My bones cling to my flesh. 6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins. 7 I lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop. – Psalm 102:1-7
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This psalm is entitled “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD.” According to a commentary from enduringword.com, this afflicted one borrowed his tone and some of his phrasing from Job, who is the Old Testament’s greatest example of affliction. Many phrases also match others in the psalms.
This psalm describes Jerusalem (Zion) in a state of ruin. If this is taken as literal ruin, the psalm may have been written by those in exile who mourned over both their personal and national affliction. Adam Clarke followed this thinking and suggested the author could be Daniel, Jeremiah, or Nehemiah. However, it may be that the ruin of Zion described is more poetic in nature and the psalm is pre-exilic. In traditional Christian liturgy, this has been regarded as one of the seven penitential psalms (along with Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 130, and 143).
In verse 5, as in Job 19:20, he was so weak and thin that there seemed to be nothing between his bones and his skin. He felt like a lonely and restless bird. According to Spurgeon, the psalmist likens himself to two birds (pelican and owl) which were commonly used as emblems of gloom and wretchedness.”
Being overwhelmed is the state of the author of this psalm. When we allow the world to run our whole being, we become confused and discouraged, we resort to complaining. It is interesting how the psalmist compares himself to the owl in the ruins.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it okay to complain and run to God rather than to men?
THE NEARNESS OF GOD IS GOOD FOR ME ILMA’S VLOG
November 5
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THE NEARNESS OF GOD IS GOOD FOR ME
When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within,
22 Then I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like an animal before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your plan,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
So that I may tell of all Your works.- Psalm 73:21-28
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In this psalm, Asaph continue with his confession to the Lord. In verse 21, he repents of bitterness that actually pierced him inside and in verse 22, he admits being foolish and compared himself to an animal before God. We tend to be savages when we forget how God has created us. He made us in His own image. In verses 23-24, he turns around with giving God credit for his faithfulness to Him, despite all his natural tendencies to sin. He looks up to the promise of being with the Lord when he is faithful. Verse 26 declares his submission to God. He declares that God is the source of all his strength and that he is his portion. In verse 27, he cautions those who are turning their backs on God and who is far from him. Destruction is the consequence of such rejection of the Lord. The highlight of the whole psalm lies in verse 28. He declares that abiding in God is the only way we can receive our salvation. He made a decision that he will only serve God and that He will rely on Him for his safety. He will shout to all of God’s goodness and all that He has done for His people.
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REFLECTION
• Why is the knowledge of God being near to you essential in our lives?
UNTIL YOU ENTER GOD’S SANCTUARY ILMA’S VLOG
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?
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?
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?