Oct 17 - Psalm 1:1-2

Happy are those who ... delight ...

in the law of the Lord

Psalm 1:1-2

 

What seems to be the highest goal in our world today? People want to be happy, right?

           

The highest goal seems to be self.

           

People chase after pleasure.

 

But this is not a new phenomenon. Three thousand years ago the richest man in the world, King Solomon, said, “I will make a test of pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:1).

 

So he ate the richest foods, drank the sweetest wines, built the most magnificent buildings, and married the prettiest women (700 of them!). He said, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

 

The result? Solomon says, “I became great and surpassed all who were before me ... [but] then I considered all that my hands had done ... and all was meaningless … a chasing after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:9,11).

 

Coming to the end of his life, Solomon was suddenly shocked and humbled. He could take none of his accomplishments or accumulations with him. His wanton, gluttonous pursuit of happiness had been as elusive as trying to hold onto the wind.

           

Solomon’s depression could be the fate for all of us … or we can opt for the freedom of the very first Pslam.

 

“Happy are those who ...

delight ... in the law of the Lord”

Psalm 1:1-2

 

Wait! The law offers happiness?

 

I know! Nobody likes to be told what to do. But have you ever been in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, and gotten the wrong result?

 

The law is wisdom. Therefore, it is freedom. It is life … because it points us to God. It is help … because it puts us in the right place, at the right time, with the right Person – God himself. Indeed, the law is the true secret to consistently getting the right result.

 

God, therefore, is showing us the path to true purpose, happiness, life, and joy.

           

Even Solomon finally figured this out. When he finally quit “chasing after wind,” the old king discovered that “pleasure is [only and ultimately] from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:11,24).

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who watched his wife

raise three sons of faith

and character,

using this motto:

“God’s way is the best way!”

 

Oct 16 - Psalm 1:1-3

Those who ... delight is in the law of the Lord

... are like trees planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

 

What’s brown ... with green dots ... and streaks of yellow?

 

No, that’s not the beginning of a bad joke!

 

That’s what much of northern New Mexico looks like. The valleys where I lived for 10 years are brown with occasional evergreen dots of juniper and piñon. But in the fall, the cottonwoods turn a brilliant yellow.

 

And it isn’t just an occasional cottonwood. It’s long, glorious ribbons of yellow. These leaf bearing trees can grow only one place in the desert. They line the stream beds, announcing the only abundance of water in the otherwise parched terrain.

 

Much of Israel looks like much of northern New Mexico. And as this Psalm suggests, about the only place where trees can “yield their fruit in its season” and where their “leaves do not wither” is indeed “by streams of water.”

 

With this image, the very first Psalm tells us something very important about God: 

 

He is water.

He is life!

 

Throughout the Scriptures, water symbolizes God’s cleansing, forgiveness, and healing. But it’s more than that …

 

·         Not only did God create life (Genesis 1) ...

·         Not only did God knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139) …

·         Not only does He breathe life into all creation (Genesis 2) ...

·         But God, like water, is what is needed to truly sustains us daily.

 

He gives us hope. He is the author of love. He is the wellspring of true joy. God, indeed, is life! The true rich and abundant kind of life that we all ultimately crave.

 

And yet ... it is still even more than that …

 

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, when Jesus talks about “living water,” he says that it “14 will become in [us] a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” God is life … today and eternally! And when you learn to say, “the Lord God is my strength and my might,” then “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2-3

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s lived in deserts

and whose soul has been

occasionally parched

and can’t wait to see, therefore,

“the river of the water of life ...

flowing from the throne of God”

Revelation 22:1

 

Oct 15 - Psalm 50:6

The heavens declare

his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.

Psalm 50:6

The heavens declare God's bigness.

 

The heavens declare God's power.

"The heavens declare the glory of God!" (Psalm 19:1)

But what else to the heavens declare? As it says in today's Psalm, "The heavens declare his righteousness."

God invented this universe! He is in charge of this world! He gets to decide what is right and righteous – not us.

And if he is a good God, he WILL one day judge what is right and what is wrong. Either that, or he doesn't truly care about what is right and what is wrong. But fortunately our God is a very good God. He not only cares about right and wrong, but he also cares about you and me.

Yet there's a part of us – admit it – that really doesn't like the thought of God being a judge. That is for two reasons ...

·       First, we are like willful children. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it. (Rebelliousness.)

·       Second, we don't like the thought of God as a judge because deep down we know that we sin ... and we feel guilt and shame. Therefore, we worry. We are afraid that if God is a judge, he will judge us and find us guilty. (Fear.)

Here's the bad news: God is a judge and you are guilty.

Here's the good news -- Romans 8 -- though God is our judge …

"31 God is [also] for us.

“33 [Therefore] who will bring any charge

against [you. me, and any of] God's elect?

It is God who [who, instead of damning us,

[lovingly] justifies [us].

34 [And] who is to condemn [us]?

It is Christ Jesus, who [instead] died [for us ...

and] is at the right hand of God

[and instead of condemning us]

intercedes for us."

Romans 8

It's called "imputed righteousness."

On our own, we are guilty. On our own, we are not righteous. But on His own, Christ died for us and "input" His righteousness upon us.

Yes, on our own we are guilty. But when we plead the blood of the Lamb, His bloody sacrifice covers the blood-guilt caused by our sin in its entirety, and his righteousness -- "input" onto us -- allows us to be justified (declared just) when standing in front of the eternal judge.

And because of that, I cheer with the Apostles in Ephesians 2: "8 by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't have to fear

because "Jesus paid it all"

... and yet, I'm the one who has to

work on the second discomfort

in having a judge: my rebelliousness.

(Jesus had better help me with this too

... and He and the Holy Spirit do

as I learn to give my life over to them.)

Oct 14 - Psalm 49:5

Why should I fear

in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of my

persecutors surrounds me

Psalm 49:5

On the day that I happen to be writing this, I am up early. I am waiting in the cell phone lot at the airport. And all morning, as the flight was repeated delayed, I’ve been listening to sermons on the book of Job. As I turn now to the Psalms, Psalm 49 is an eerie and wonderful echo of Job. Let me walk you through it ...

Verses one and two are a call for all of us to listen and pay attention: “Hear this, ... all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together.”

The Psalmist acknowledges that on this earth things are not always fair – at least as we might describe fair. Sometimes the poor in character prosper, while the rich in character struggle. But fear not -- the folly of “6 those who trust in their wealth" is about to be exposed. 

How? Why? Because at least in worldly terms, death has the final answer to our worldly circumstance. As it says in verse 10, "the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others." In other words, an earthly focus on prosperity will perish as surely as our earthly bodies will perish.

And if one's focus is only earthly, then "11 their graves [will be] their homes forever."

Indeed, as it says in verse 14, "Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol [let's call this abode of the dead, 'hell'] shall be their home."

"13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot. ... 17 For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them."

So where is the hope? 

And here is what is remarkable ... And here, indeed, is the truest echo of Job. Here is the hope that we often miss when reading this otherwise discouraging book ... I believe that Psalm 49 prefigures the coming of the Messiah, we know to be Jesus Christ.

Verse seven says, "Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it." Read that again. "There is no price [we] can give to God for [our own lives]." We cannot possibly be good enough in the eyes of a perfectly holy God. And our earthly riches surely cannot pay an infinite God nearly enough of a ransom. "8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice, 9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave."

So where is the hope? 

It begins with what are frequently the most joyful words in scripture, "but God"! "15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me." 

We can't pay a ransom high enough (verses 7 and 8). “But God" can! "15 God will ransom my soul from the power of [death, hell, the grave] and Sheol." Indeed, how "will" God "receive" a sinner like "me"? That is the gospel, which I believe this psalm is prefiguring. God himself – the son of God, Jesus Christ – will give his life as a ransom for me. 

Thanks be to God!

Indeed, as Jesus himself said -- Mark 10:45 -- "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

In Christ's Love, 

a guy who sings along with Job

who himself prefigured the coming

of a ransomer (a redeemer), singing,

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; 

and after my skin has been thus destroyed, 

then in my flesh I shall see God"

Job 19:25-26

Oct 13 - Psalm 48:9-10

O God, we meditate

on your unfailing love

as we worship in your Temple.

As your name deserves, O God,

you will be praised

to the ends of the earth

Psalm 48:9-10

Have you ever heard anyone say, "I didn't get much out of worship today"? Have you ever said it yourself?

Many people treat worship like a performance. The pastor and the choir are the performers and we in the pews are the audience.

Wrong image.

In worship, we are the actors and God is the audience!

Worship isn't about us. It's what we owe Him … and what we are privileged to do for Him. "As your name deserves, O God, you will be praised."

And this Psalm tells us in part how to do this. It says ...

as we worship ...

we [will] meditate on

your unfailing love

Look at what this tells us ...

·       Who is God? The one who loves … unfailingly.

·       What should we do in response? Worship.

·       How should we worship? By celebrating, recalling, and meditating upon his love, goodness, and grace.

·       And what else should we do? Praise Him ... and not just a little ... and not just privately ... but publicly ... to the ends of the earth.

In Christ's Love,

a grateful worshiper

Oct 6 - Psalm 45:1

My heart overflows

with a goodly theme

Psalm 45:1

Do you remember the old TV theme songs?

In the sixties, seventies, and eighties when I grew up, the theme song often defined the show as much as the acting and plot lines. (Indeed, often the theme song was better than the acting and plot lines!)

Let me ask ... What is the theme song for your life?

Indeed, what is the theme of your heart? What tickles your fancy? What principles and priorities do you keep returning to? Do you have a vision or goals?

It's one question to ask: What do you WANT to be the theme of your life. But probably a better first question is: What really IS the theme of your life? Is it goodly and godly? Is it mediocre and slothful? Is it tainted too much by sin? Is it so busy that you can't even hear joyful music?

In your life, do the words of Mufasa to his son in The Lion King ever ring true? The king says, "[Child,] you are more than what you've become."

In your life, might that be a call to personal self-examination? I hope you see it as a call to action. I hope you resolve to have your heart overflow with a more goodly and godly theme.

It is a choice.

And it is a blessing.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants to go …

where everybody knows your name

and they’re always glad you came

Oct 4-5 - Psalm 44:23

Rouse yourself!

Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Awake, do not cast us off forever!

Psalm 44:23

Re-read yesterday's devotion. It is also from Psalm 44.

It talks about discouragement that’s also in our world today.

Though written 3000 years ago, it uncannily reflects some of the ways that we have defocused our lives -- at least collectively in America -- on God.

Now read some of the rest of the psalm. Modern America has not quite reached the extent of this pit. Nevertheless, see if it doesn't describe how many of us are feeling today about our world and about our nation:

9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, 

and have not gone out with our armies.

10 ... and our enemies have gotten spoil. 

12 You have sold your people for a trifle ...

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, 

the derision and scorn of those around us.

15 All day long my disgrace is before me, 

and shame has covered my face

23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? 

Awake, do not cast us off forever!

24 Why do you hide your face? 

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For we sink down to the dust; 

our bodies cling to the ground. 

26 Rise up, come to our help. 

Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. 

Sound familiar?

Israel did prosper again. The discouragement did not last forever. But it started with faithful people, crying, "Rouse yourself, O God."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who want

to start the cry

Oct 3 - Psalm 44 several verses

Re-read yesterday's devotion.

 

It is also from Psalm 44. It talks about discouragement in our world today. It talks about the ways that we have defocused our lives, at least collectively in America, on God.

 

Now read some of the rest of the psalm. We have not quite reached the extent of this pit. Nevertheless, see if it doesn't describe how many of us are feeling today about our world and about our nation:

 

9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, 

and have not gone out with our armies.

10 ... and our enemies have gotten spoil. 

12 You have sold your people for a trifle ...

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, 

the derision and scorn of those around us.

15 All day long my disgrace is before me, 

and shame has covered my face

23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? 

Awake, do not cast us off forever!

24 Why do you hide your face? 

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For we sink down to the dust; 

our bodies cling to the ground. 

26 Rise up, come to our help. 

Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. 

Sound familiar?

Israel did prosper again. The discouragement did not last forever. But it started with faithful people, crying, "Rouse yourself, O God."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who is crying

 

Oct 2 - Psalm 44:5

Only by your power

can we push back our enemies

Psalm 44:5

 

Before turning to the scriptures this morning, I glanced at the headlines. 

There are tensions around the world. And the US is involved in many. Will we, for example, put "boots on the ground"? Or will we limit our involvement to just air strikes? What does victory even look like anymore?

Because of superior firepower, the US will probably win the majority of skirmishes. But we're clearly losing the war. 

Why?

Because we don't understand the battle we're in anymore. 

The Psalmist says, verse 6 and 7, "I do not trust my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me. It is you who gives us victory over our enemies."

But who or what is our real enemy? Ephesians 6:12 famously reminds us that "our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh." Yes, our enemy is not boldly sweeping across Iraq (ISIS) or hiding in the caves of Afghanistan or subtly destabilizing us through cyberattacks (China). Our greatest enemy in America is ... ourselves. 

There is no unity in our country. Why? Because we've spent the last few generations teaching children that Truth is relative -- a personal construct, an individual opinion. We've bought into the lies (and liar) that Paul warned us about in Ephesians 6. We've become a nation of proud individuals, seeking our own comfort and glory. And there is no unity when 300 million individuals view their own personal happiness as the highest ideal.

If we want victory in America it won't come from our military in Iraq or our government's war on poverty or our bank's economic policy. Our help comes from the Lord. Indeed, "only by your power[, O Lord,] can we push back our enemies."

And, let's be clear ... the enemy in America is self-centeredness. By decentralizing God, we've created a nation of 300 million lower-case gods. And healing -- much less victory -- starts with confession and repentance. 

Yours. 

Yes, we'd like the whole nation to repent, but it starts with you and me. We must first confess our self-centered individualism ... then we must witness boldly (and lovingly) to an alternative. 

And we must not be discouraged. The Psalm says correctly, "Only by your power can we push back our enemies." That's not a "maybe." That's an invitation to call on the name of the Lord. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who believes Romans 8:37 --

"We are more than conquerors

through him who loves us"

Oct 1 - Psalm 43:2,1

For you are God, my only safe haven.

Defend me against these ungodly people.

Psalm 43:2,1

 

In my Bible reading this morning, I was reading about Elijah. The story is familiar. And a pattern repeats. 

 

·         According to the word of the Lord, Elijah declares a drought. 

·         The he runs and hides from an angry King Ahab. 

·         And God provides for Elijah in the wilderness. The ravens feed him. Then a widow's miraculously bottomless jar of meal feed him. 

 

·         A few years later, Elijah, by the word of the Lord, brings trouble to King Ahab again. He challenges. Queen Jezebel's priests to a "duel" on top of Mount Carmel. Which god -- the real God or Baal -- can set an altar on fire. 

·         When the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus prevails, Elijah runs again from these angry monarchs of rebellious Israel.  

·         And again, God provides for Elijah in the wilderness. This time it was an angel who fed him. 

And then -- after my scripture readings in 1 Kings -- I turned to the next Psalm in our sequence. And while this Psalm surely wasn't written about Elijah, a pattern repeats. 

 

Psalm 43 is very short. I'm going to invite you to read the whole thing. 

I'm going to invite you to invite you to imagine that they were written specifically for Elijah -- because in a sense they were. The Psalms are written for every one of God's children, encouraging, alternately, courage in the midst of trials, hope in the face of despair, and praise in seasons of blessing and joy. 

I'm going to invite you to contemplate being like Elijah: 1) Confronting evil and lies; 2) expecting opposition from wrong-headed authorities; 3) trusting that God will provide for you his servant when you have stood up for his name; and 4) praying this desperate Psalm, pleading for God's rescue and victory to finally reign. 

I'm going to invite you to read this whole short Psalm ...

1 O God, take up my cause!

Defend me against these ungodly people.

Rescue me from these unjust liars.

2 For you are God, my only safe haven.

Why have you tossed me aside?

Why must I wander around in darkness,

oppressed by my enemies?

3Send out your light and your truth;

let them guide me.

Let them lead me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you live.

4There I will go to the altar of God,

to God -- the source of all my joy.

I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!

5 Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again

-- my Savior and my God!

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants to be known as Elijah

-- standing up for truth regardless of the consequences

... and trusting just as boldly in God's provision

Sept 30 - Psalm 42:4

My heart is breaking

as I remember how it used to be:

I walked among the crowds of worshipers,

leading a great procession to the house of God,

singing for joy and giving thanks –

it was the sound of a great celebration!

Psalm 42:4

When I read this verse, I wondered immediately what David was "remember[ing]." His "heart" was obviously "breaking." He was missing the "great procession" of yesteryear.

What was it? That was my first question.

It turns out that this was the wrong question. "Who was it?" would have been a better first question.

Who? While David wrote most of the Psalms, he didn't write them all. The "descendants of Korah" wrote 25 -- or a sixth -- of the Psalms, including Psalm 42 (see scripture's annotation at the beginning of this song/prayer).

Korah was an infamous member of the family tasked with caring for sacred items in the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant. Korah was infamous because of a minor (and fatal to himself) rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16.

God, nevertheless, did not abandon the descendants of Korah. From this line would come Samuel, the great prophet who, seven generations later, would anoint David as king over God's people.

The descendants had a more general job as well. They were doorkeepers (gatekeepers) to the tabernacle. Still handling the holy things, they may have been the ones who carried the ark -- in "the great procession" -- up to Jerusalem. Certainly, they were part of David's great band of musicians and song leaders, who devoted their life to helping God's people praise the Lord.

The annotation at the beginning of this Psalm does not give any indication as to why these song leaders are not currently able to lead God's people in praise. Was this Psalm written after David's death and a new king in a new generation would not permit them to lead the song? Was this written when Absolom rebelled against his father, David, causing the king (and his musicians) to flee the holy city?

The cause doesn't matter as much as the fact that ministers had their song silenced ... and it hurt.

I'm a minister of the Lord. I'm accustomed to singing God's praise (more through preaching and teaching than through song). And I can't imagine the grief of not being able to preach, teach, praise, and proclaim. I certainly enjoy a few days of vacation ... but I'm bored and empty if I go more than a few days without leading the praise in one form or another.

It's like trying to imagine Rhonda, our music director, NOT SING. Praise is part of her. It is part of me. It was a joyful addiction experienced by the descendants of Korah. They longed to praise God "as the deer longs for the water brooks" (verse 1). They are dry without it.

Are you dry and incomplete without praising God and proclaiming his name?

If you're reading this, my guess is that there really is a hunger in you. Don't be content to satisfy that hunger with junk food. Keep pushing through until prayer, praise, and/or proclamation becomes a joyful addiction.

In Christ's Love,

an honorary descendant of Korah

-- my "heart is breaking"

whenever I am not

"among the crowds of worshipers"

"leading" and "singing for joy"

Sept 29 - Psalm 42:1,2

As the deer

pants for the water brooks,

So pants my soul for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God

Psalm 42:1,2

Do deer pant?

I don’t know.

 

But here’s what I do know. My dogs pant. Run them in the field, and their tongues are hanging out. They look totally happy. And totally goofy. Their eyes say, "Thank you," for the simple pleasure of play. 

And then as soon as we walk inside, they make a bee line for the water dish. 

And they get the whole floor all wet because they're lapping so furiously. 

So what about a deer? When humans are hot, our bodies cool themselves by sweating. Dogs cool themselves by hanging their tongues out, panting, and running eagerly to the water dish after a joyful moment of play. 

So what about a deer? One that lives with the Psalmist in the Judean desert. It’s hot. It’s dry. Are they probably aren't playing like my dogs. For a deer in the wilderness, life is more about survival. And in the desert, water is necessary. It is literally life. 

Has your life ever been more about survival than about play? Has your hope ever been dashed and your soul parched as dry as a desert? Have you ever needed "something" ... desperately? Desperately! Have you ever been thirsty for "something," and not realized that your greatest hunger was really for God?

I can imagine David … being chased by Saul through the desert, like a deer is chased by a lion. His mouth is parched. His soul is desperate. And yet, even while his fugitive physical needs mount, he realizes that his greater need is for God's provision: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."  

Indeed, did you ever stop to think that David's logic here is the reason that people fast and pray. We intentionally put ourselves into a place of physical hunger so that … in our state of vulnerability, we might start attending also to our deeper thirsts: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

The next time you’re hungry for "something" and desperate for peace, sing this Psalm!

In Christ's Love,

a guy who sings ...

Here in this worn and weary land
Where many a dream has died
Like a tree planted by the water
We never will run dry

So living water flowing through
God, we thirst for more of You
Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known
We lift Your name on high
Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide
We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
Its time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive

 

. 

 

 

 

 

Sept 27-28 - Psalm 41:12

But you have upheld me

because of my integrity, and

set me in your presence forever

Psalm 41:12

Do you know my favorite definition of "integrity"?

It's what you do

when no one is looking.

Isn't that a great definition?!

And yet as much as I love definition, do you notice the one thing it forgets?

God is always looking!

So what if we define integrity -- instead of as an action done in secret – as “an action done for an audience of One”?

What do you think of this definition: Integrity is bringing glory to God.

 

When we act out of concern for what God thinks (rather than what man thinks), we're living with integrity. We’re following in obedience. We acting on our faith.

And this isn’t legalistic. Indeed, it’s not about our actions. It’s about the attitude of our heart!

And guess what God promises in response. Read the rest of the verse: When we live with an integrity that is based on a genuine faith, heart, and obedience … God then rushes joyfully to reward us, "set[ting us] in his presence forever."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who hopes you'll

close your eyes and

quit looking at others

(because only God's opinion

ultimately matters)

Sept 26 - Psalm 40:10

I have not hidden your

saving help within my heart,

I have spoken of your

faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed

your steadfast love and

your faithfulness from

the great congregation.

Psalm 40:10

What is the most important word in this verse?

Most modern Americans would say that it is "I."

Look at it. There are essentially three sentences in this one verse.  And (at least in this translation) each of these "sentences" starts with the word "I" -- "I have done this," and "I haven't done that," and "I sure won’t do the other thing."

It would be natural, therefore, for us modern Americans to suppose that this verse is about “me,” “myself,” “I,” and “each of us individually.”

But before we rush to focus on "our," "ourselves," “me,” and "we," let's stop for a moment and notice the second "person" in this verse. Yes, before we point to ourselves, let's focus first on God's role in this Psalm (and in our lives).

According to Psalm 40:10, what does God offer to us?

·       His "saving help" for us

·       His "faithfulness" to us

·       His gift of "salvation" upon us

·       and His "steadfast love" toward us

God is generous to us. Indeed, although every one of these "sentences" begins with "I," the actor in these "sentences" is not "me," "us," or "we." The actor is God. He is saving, helping, loving, and faithful. And the "I" in this verse simply responds to this generosity ...

·       because God is faithful (first), I, therefore, should speak of his generosity and integrity (in response).

·       because God saves (first), I should (in response) proclaim God's powerful, saving work.

·       because God (first) rescues me, I shall never keep this help hidden (in response).

·       and because God's love is (first) steadfast and true, I shall never (in response) conceal the wonder of his grace.

God initiates … and we respond.

Here’s the point: Scripture is always and ultimately about God. Our place is not a starring role. At best we respond. And our response of worship, service, proclamation, and truth telling is truly the best we can ever give.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who responds by

shifting my praising mouth into drive

(instead of my brain into neutral)