Thursday 26 June 2014

PSALM 96 Vision of Worship

Psalm 96:1  NIV
Sing to the LORD a new song
       sing to the Lord all the earth.

First of all, how do we sing a "New" song?
and secondly, how do we do that in unity with "all the earth"

Are we all going to be inspired simultaneously
to sing a fresh new song in harmony with" families of nations."
...in harmony with the rejoicing heavens
...in harmony with the jubilant fields
...in harmony with all the trees of the forest singing for joy ?
The answer is that we do it "One in the Spirit"

Ephesians 5:18-19 NASB
be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody
with your heart to the Lord.

Such lively expectant worship, full of anticipation
and joy might fulfill the psalmists vision in
Psalm 96:11-13 NIV
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
    they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his truth.

Ephesians 5 talks about "speaking" in the Spirit
and "singing" in the Spirit
and" making melody with your heart",
the prerequisite for which is;-
being " filled with the Spirit".

Singing in the Spirit does make us one
with people of all nations who are also
"One in the Spirit"
We are one in the Spirit with the angels of heaven
when singing in the Spirit.

We  know that this psalm 96 was sung when the arc of
the covenant was placed in the newly built tabernacle
in Jerusalem.
We know that psalm 96 was a regular part of the liturgy
in Jerusalem for hundreds of years, even in the days
when Jesus walked in Galilee.
So there is already a good crowd of people up there
who are completely familiar with psalm 96.

When we sing psalm 96 in Spirit and truth,
again enthroning Jesus as King in our own lives,
we assert our citizenship of the Holy Nation
and Royal Priesthood of the Children of God.


PSALM 96 One Lord of All

Psalm 96:10 NIV 
       Say unto the nations, "The LORD reigns".
       The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved
       he will judge the people with equity.

Acts 10:42 NIV
       He commanded us to preach to the people
       and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed
       as judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 17:31 NIV
       For he has set a day when he will judge the world
       with justice and by the man he has appointed.
       He has given proof of this to all men
       by raising him from the dead.

The Creator of all,
The Redeemer of all
and Judge of all.

Creator, Redeemer and Judge
are true images of the Lord our God

The oppressors cruel smile will turn to trembling
when he looks up at the cross
to see who his victim was.

PSALM 96 Unity in worship

Psalm 96:1 NIV Sing to the LORD a new song;
       Sing to the Lord all the earth.

The call to worship is to all nations.

Psalm 96:3 NIV Declare his glory among the nations
       his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

The worship of God is to be universal.
This Psalm is attributed to David ( 1st Chronicles 16:23-33 )
this Psalm of David is most inclusive
and is not at all exclusive.

Psalm 96:7 NIV Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations
       ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psalm 96: 9 NIV Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness
       tremble before him, all the earth.

The vision of this psalm is of sweet unambiguous unity
in which individuals have really pledged their obedience and loyalty
to the Lord our God.
By definition, all who truly stand in the same obedience and loyalty
are in most joyful unity.

Friday 20 June 2014

PSALM 95 Verse 11

Psalm 95:11 NIV
So I declared an oath in my anger,
"They shall never enter my rest"
     =                  =              =
                      Why?
Psalm 95:10 NIV
They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they have not known my ways.
Psalm 95:10 NLT
They are a people whose hearts turn away from me
they refuse to do what I tell them.

The thing about turning away from God is, that by not listening
and not doing what was right, they never actually came to put
His ways into practice.
By never practicing His ways
they were not familiar with God's ways.
They never developed Godly habits and practices
and so did not develop into grace filled children of God.

Psalm 62:5 NIV
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.

PSALM 95 Verses 5 and 6

Before our Creator.
Our relationship with God our Creator
is expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 95

Psalm 95:5-6 NIV
5  The sea is his, for he made it
         and his hands formed the dry land.
6  Come, let us bow down in worship
         let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

I believe in one God, the Father almighty
     maker of heaven and earth
     of all things visible and invisible.....

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ.......
     through him all things were made.

I believe in the Holy Spirit , the Lord, the giver of life...

The attitude of the individual believer is totally personal, when,
as the Lord's creature, he turns his own heart towards the
tender love of his creator. We stand in the Love of the Lord.
Come, let us bow down in worship
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Thursday 19 June 2014

PSALM 95 Verses 1 and 2

Psalm 95:1-2 NIV
Come , let us sing for joy to the LORD;
       let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
       and extol him with music and song.

In the wholehearted prayer described in Psalm 95:1-2
we are invited to throw ourselves into exuberant ,
heartfelt expression of our joy in His presence
and fully express our thankfulness, in music and song.
It is clearly not appropriate to participate half-heartedly
in public worship and praise.

Psalm 22:3 AV
But thou art holy, O Thou
     that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

1 John 2:27 NLT
But you have received the Holy Spirit,
and He lives within you,
so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true;--
For the Spirit teaches you all things,
and what he teaches is true.
So continue in what he taught you,
and continue to live in Christ.


PSALM 93-94-95 Consequences

Psalm 93 speaks to us of the kingship of The Lord Our God
and causes us to reflect on His authority in our own lives and
His hand in the destiny of our nation.
Exudus 12:41 says that the Israelites were in Egypt 430 years.
Jeremiah 29:10 shows that the Israelites had 70 years of
captivity in Babylon
.
Psalm 95:10  For forty years I was angry with that generation.

40 YEARS ! That means that of those who entered the promised land,
nobody under 40 had known Egypt and of the rest, most would
 have been children when they left Egypt !
So the nation which turns away from God
may see serious long lasting consequences .

Psalm 94:10
Today if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts 
as you did at Meribah
Does he who disciplines nations not punish ?

Abortion, Adultery, Gambling, Immorality and Perversion,
is a short list of things which add up to rejection of God.

Sunday 15 June 2014

PSALM 93 MY KING

The LORD reigns   Ps. 93
In Majesty God is powerfully enthroned.
Because of His rule ( as King )
the threat of enemies is put into perspective.
We get a lot more than a general notion of well being.
Our gracious ruler manages and reigns very well.
He provides for us, protects the weak,
and intervenes for the helpless.
It is He who;-
            who executes justice for the oppressed
            who gives food to the hungry                Ps 147:7
God does and so do the godly people.

There is a Jewish blessing for when you see anything of great beauty.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
who has such beauty in Your World.

 Christians who have experienced the life changing power of God
in their own lives, can testify to the Sovereign power of the King of Kings,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Psalm 93:1 ESV
The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; 
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Psalm 43:7 ESV
For God is the King of all the earth
              sing praises with a psalm!
Psalm 92:2 ESV
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Psalm 96:7 ESV
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!

The people who can testify to the power of the living God
are the people who have experienced it personally
and are therefore motivated to tell of His salvation
from day to day.
I once was lost but now I'm found........
My chains fell off and now I'm free........
Into Thy freedom gladness and light......
                                                            Jesus, I come to Thee.
There is a past tense, present tense and future tense to our witness
because our King continues to reign in our hearts
and in our circumstances.
We are an up to date witness to the power of God
in our day..........
Hath not God chosen the poor of this world
rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.          James 2:5 KJV

What we have heard and know,
what our ancestors have told us
we shall not conceal from their descendants,
but will tell to a generation still to come:     Psalm 78:3 NJB

Our ancestors, John Newton, Charles Wesley and William T.Sleeper
bear witness with us
to the sovereign power and majesty
of the Lord of lords and King of kings.

Wednesday 11 June 2014

PSALM 92 Spiritual Victory

Psalm 91:8 NLT
But you will see it with your eyes:
       you will see how the wicked are punished.
Psalm 92:7 NLT
Although the wicked flourish like weeds
       and evildoers blossom with success
       there is only eternal destruction ahead of them.
Psalm 92:9 NLT
Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish;
       all evildoers will be scattered.
Psalm 92:11 NLT
With my own eyes I have seen the downfall
       of my enemies;
With my own ears I have heard the defeat 
       of my wicked opponents.

Psalm 92 is a song of VICTORY for God's people
The wicked and evildoers are destroyed.
Enemies perish.
Evildoers are scattered.
Adversaries are defeated
and wicked foes are routed!

Psalm 92 talks of God's people as;-
       those who live in the shelter of the Most High
          and who find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
There is the promise in verse 10 that;-
          if you make the LORD your refuge and
          if you make the Most High your shelter
          no evil will conquer you.
We know now (in the light of the  New Testament )
          that our empowerment for spiritual victory
          arises in the triune nature of our God.
Acts 1:8 NLT
When the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
          you will receive power.......
Romans 5:5 NLT
For we know how dearly God loves us,
          because he has given us the Holy Spirit
          to fill our hearts with his love.
1st Corinthians 12:4 NLT
now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts,
       but it is the same Holy Spirit
       who is the source of them all.
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
when the Holy Spirit controls our lives,
       he will produce this kind of fruit in us;
       love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
       faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Psalm 92:14 NLT
Even in old age they will still produce fruit .

Saturday 7 June 2014

PSALM 91 Dwelling in the help of the Highest

Knox Translation from the Latin Vulgate
Psalm 91 : 14-16
      He trusts in me,
                    mine it is to rescue him;
      he acknowledges my name,
                    from me he shall have protection;
      when he calls upon me,
                    I will listen
      in affliction,
                    I am at his side, to bring him safety and honour.
      Length of days he shall have to content him
                    and find in me deliverance.

These are God's thoughts about you, me, each of us
who trust in him, who acknowledge his name,
who call upon Him.     He is at our side.

Praying the psalms makes us open
to let the word of God inform and transform us.
Singing the Psalms together is charismatic.
"Charismatic" because it is one to one in the Spirit,
with no intermediary,....... no choirmaster,
no worship leader and nobody to tell us what to think....
just our heart alive in the Spirit,  in the presence of God
by the grace of our Lord Jesus.
From our experience of prayer
some knowledge of God transpires.
    This translation of these verses reveals 
the very personal relationship which God has with each of us.

Through our praying of this Psalm and singing it,
our own experience of God's protective love for us
is felt and felt more deeply.
This is one of the psalms for which the process of
Lectio Divina can be most powerful.

Repeating the lines which speak of God's loving
attitude towards us, to ponder on that, to feel it
and internalize it deeply, touches our souls and
we realize that we can be lifted up in the hands of angels,
and we will be !
We will be lifted up in the hands of angels.

In the meantime,
in the length of days we shall be given,
we take refuge in the God in whom we find deliverance,
in whose shelter we have learned to trust.
We live in the shelter of  The Most High .
We abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
We say to the Lord;-
      "My refuge and my fortress
       my God in whom I trust."

Wednesday 4 June 2014

PSALM 91 At one with the angels of God

Psalm 91  RSV
5    You will not fear the terror of the night
              nor the arrow that flies by day
6     nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
              nor the destruction that wastes at noonday
7     A thousand may fall at your side,
              ten thousand at your right hand.

Soldiers in the First World War referred to Psalm 91
as "The Trench Psalm" because they were experiencing
danger, and terror and destruction !
Thousands did fall by their sides !
and tens of thousands close by !

In prosperous countries, in peacetime,
such physical violence and danger
is not the experience of churchgoers.
We may be fortunate enough to be separated from
these experiences by many years or by many miles
 ( in 2014 civilians are victims of military conflict in many countries).
BUT .....
There is still only one body of Christ !
and true members of the body of Christ
identify with those in pain, in danger and suffering.

Psalm 91:11  RSV
For he will give his angels charge over you
       to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up...........

To day true members of the body of Christ
are one with the angels of God
in guarding the afflicted in all their ways.
Psalm 91 tells us what is the Godly thing to do.

Psalm 91:15 RSV
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble
I will rescue him and honor him.

This "rescue and honor" applies to refugees from violence anywhere.....
Hungry people, homeless people, oppressed and dispossessed
are our neighbours.
And when it comes to healthcare, education and security,
there is only one class of person.
We all have one God,and one Creator and
there is one Saviour for us all.....Jesus Christ.
When we realize that our actions or attitudes fail to reflect God's truth,
in Christ we find forgiveness and grace to live in harmony with his will
and loving purpose for us....
Then we can unite with the angels of God in our actions
 to guard the children of his creation in all their ways
and to bear them up in our hands.

Monday 2 June 2014

PSALM 90 Some Last Things

Psalm 90 has been part of preparation for death
               for millions of Christians.
Preparing for a good death has been , in every century
               except our own, an acceptable goal in life.

Psalm 90:1
KJV         
 LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
NLT 
 LORD, through all generations you have been our home.
GNB TEV
Lord you have always been our home.

The names, titles and epithetes for the Lord our God,
are both numerous and interesting,
Psalm 90 gives us " Eternal Home"

Hymn No 878 in the
Methodist Hymnbook
From Psalm 90
By Isaac Watts 1674- 1748

O God, our help in ages past                    
Our hope for years to come                      
Our shelter from the stormy blast,              
And our eternal home.                                

Psalm 90:12 KJV
.....teach us to number our days,
That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 NLT
Teach us to make the most of our time
so that we may grow in wisdom.

In the first line.....the numbering of our days is about
making the best use of our time.
The second line is about spiritual growth,
not just about accumulating knowledge,
but applying our hearts to the revealed truth
and growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord

The first word of verse 12 in each of these translations
is ;- "Teach us"  It is a prayer in which we are asking our Lord
to teach us to make what He considers  is the best use
of the time he is giving us.
      We might ask the Lord to show us where we have made
 the best use of our time----this morning, this week so far,
in the last year and in recent years.
      When we come to see what has been most pleasing
 to the Lord, that might effect our motivation for this afternoon
and to-morrow, for the coming year and for life ahead.
If we have time, we might ask the Lord how to make
the best use of our time..............................................

PSALM 89 TRINITY

2 Sam 7: 13/14 RSV
....and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son.

This is prophecy that Yahweh is father of the king of the eternal kingdom.

Psalm 89: 26/27  RSV
He shall cry to me, "Thou art my Father, my God and 
the Rock of my salvation" And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the Kings of the earth.

Although this verse referred to David
we know that Jesus is the firstborn, the true Son of God.

Psalm 2:7 RSV
I will tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to me,
"You are my son, today I have begotten you"

Hebrews 1:5 RSV
For to what angel did God ever say,
"Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"?