Psalm

The Implications of Imprecation

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To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net;
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence. – Psalm 140:1-13 ESV

This psalm reflects David’s reliance upon Yahweh as he pleads for deliverance from his enemies. There is no indication when this psalm was written, so it is impossible to know which adversaries or circumstances David had in mind when he penned these words. But David was a warrior and well accustomed to facing all manner of foes, including lions, bears, and even giants. David was an accomplished soldier with a track record of success, yet he called on Yahweh to deliver and guard him from those he describes as evil, violent, and wicked men.

The first word he uses is raʿ, which in Hebrew means “evil” or “malignant.” Whoever these individuals were, David viewed them as thoroughly evil. They were predisposed to causing pain and suffering, using everything at their disposal to “stir up trouble all day long” (Psalm 140:2 NLT), including their words. 

Their tongues sting like a snake;
    the venom of a viper drips from their lips.  – Psalm 140:3 NLT

According to David, their evil hearts were the source of their venom. They were inherently evil at their core, causing them to conspire and plot the downfall of others for their own perverse pleasure or self-promotion. But their words were more than hurtful; they were inherently violent. David describes them as ḥāmās, another Hebrew word that conveys the idea of cruelty and injustice. They weren’t simply out to ruin David’s reputation; they were plotting his destruction and would use everything at their disposal to accomplish that goal.

In verses 4-5, David repeats his less-than-flattering assessment of his enemies by calling them wicked (rāšāʿ) and arrogant (gē’ê). The Hebrew word rāšāʿ describes someone who is morally wrong or guilty of a crime. In essence, they are sinners who have violated God’s law and are worthy of His condemnation. To David, these men were anything but God-fearers. They weren’t just an annoyance for David; they were inherently ungodly and deserved to be punished for their crimes.

Like a prosecuting attorney in a trial, David gives further evidence of their guilt by describing them as arrogant. The Hebrew word gē’ê paints the picture of someone being “high and lifted up.” To put it plainly, these men were full of themselves, holding undeserved thoughts of their own grandeur and greatness. The Proverbs provide an apt description of these kinds of individuals.

My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.” – Proverbs 1:10-14 NLT

These are the kinds of men David was dealing with, and he longed for Yahweh to mete out well-deserved justice and judgment on them. But first, he asked to be delivered from them.

O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:1 NLT

O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:4 NLT

If this psalm was written while David was king, he would have had the full weight of the crown at his disposal. He could have mustered his troops and ordered the arrest of his adversaries. He could have declared war and eliminated the threat through violent means. But instead, David called on Yahweh and asked for His divine rescue and protection.

David was predisposed to trust Yahweh and reluctant to take matters into his own hands. During his days of fleeing from King Saul, he was presented with several opportunities to take Saul’s life, but he refused. Encouraged by his own men to kill his nemesis, David said, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the LORD’s anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him” (1 Samuel 24:6 NLT). 

Years later, when David became king and was forced to flee the city of Jerusalem because his son Absalom had staged a successful coup, David was confronted by a relative of Saul, who cursed him for usurping the Benjamites’ rightful claim to the throne of Israel. When one of David’s men heard this man’s violent threats, he offered to take his life, but David responded with patience and understanding.

“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16:12-13 NLT

David believed that Yahweh was sovereign over all things, including his life and the fate of his throne. That is what led him to turn to Yahweh for help.

“You are my God!”
    Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me,
    you protected me on the day of battle.
LORD, do not let evil people have their way.
    Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
    or they will become proud. – Psalm 140:6-8 NLT

David knew he needed God’s mercy, protection, and rescue. His hope was not based on his own strength or self-reliance, but upon Yahweh. David had experienced Yahweh’s rescue in the past, and he knew it was the best solution to his present problem.

But this psalm is more than a prayer for intervention; it is also a request for imprecation (cursing). David wanted his enemies to be dealt with severely, and he felt free to provide Yahweh with his opinions about the fate of his adversaries.

Let my enemies be destroyed
    by the very evil they have planned for me.
Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
    Let them be thrown into the fire
    or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
    Cause great disasters to fall on the violent. – Psalm 140:9-11 NLT

David’s words are difficult to read because they seem to lack any sense of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. They certainly don’t reflect the teachings of the Proverbs.

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
    don’t be happy when they stumble.
For the LORD will be displeased with you
    and will turn his anger away from them. – Proverbs 24:17-19 NLT

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
    If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
    and the LORD will reward you. – Proverbs 25:21-22 NLT

David’s request seems to contradict the message that Jesus would later deliver in His Sermon on the Mount.

“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” – Matthew 5:44-45 NLT

David’s prayer of imprecation or cursing is understandable but not necessarily acceptable. Just because it appears in Scripture and comes from the pen of the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), it does not mean that David’s request was either acceptable to or answered by God. In his mind, David was reciting the moral code of lex talionis, which was found in the Mosaic Law.

But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25 NLT

David was under the impression that the wicked deserved exactly what they had planned for him. It seemed only just and fair that the tables be turned and Yahweh pour out on them the troubles they had planned for David. This all made sense to David, and he felt free to share his honest assessment with Yahweh. But in his summation of the psalm, David provides a hint as to what he was really interested in: Justice.

But I know the LORD will help those they persecute;
    he will give justice to the poor.
Surely righteous people are praising your name;
    the godly will live in your presence. – Psalm 140:12-13 NLT

David knew that whatever the outcome might be, Yahweh would be the one to dispense justice as He saw fit. As human beings, it is only normal and natural for us to consider retaliation and vengeance as non-negotiable outcomes of Yahweh’s justice. We want to see the wicked suffer. We demand that evil people get what they deserve. But, in the end, we must trust the LORD to do what He deems best. In another psalm, Ethan the Ezrahite points out that Yahweh alone has the right to determine what justice looks like and how it should be delivered.

Powerful is your arm!
    Strong is your hand!
    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. – Psalm 89:13-14 NLT

David was free to share his thoughts with God. He could wish for the worst on his enemies, but when all was said and done, he would have to leave justice in the hands of his sovereign LORD.

Father, I don’t always understand Your ways, and there are times when I grow weary of the wicked, violent, and evil people that populate this world. I find myself wishing nothing but ill-will on them. I want to see Your justice delivered — on my terms. But Your Son called me to pray for them. He told me not to worry about they can do to me, but focus my thoughts on Your righteousness and Your expectations that I live up to the holy standard to which You have called me. I want to trust You with my life and leave the fates of my enemies up to You. Hep me to live by the trust found in Psalm 118:6-7. “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.” Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

To Be Known By God

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! – Psalm 139:1-24 ESV

In this well-known psalm, David shares his amazement at Yahweh’s attributes of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. But this is not an academic paper dealing with deep doctrinal issues regarding God’s nature; it is a song that praises Yahweh’s all-pervasive presence in his life.

David is blown away by the knowledge that the all-powerful God of the universe has not only chosen to have a relationship with him, but knows everything about him. Yahweh is infinite, yet intimate. The God who is powerful enough to have spoken the universe into existence uses His unparalleled strength to intercede on David’s behalf. And the God whose knowledge is limitless knows David better than he knows himself.

David was genuinely awe-struck by God, yet strangely drawn to Him. This psalm reflects his well-balanced outlook on Yahweh’s sheer immensity and surprising familiarity. David knew God, and more importantly, he knew he was known by God. That was enough to prompt David to compose this song of praise.

He begins with a simple prayer of admission, stating his understanding that Yahweh was aware of everything about him.

O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.– Psalm 139:1-3 NLT

There were no secrets with God. David’s life was an open book to the Almighty, with no areas off-limits or hidden from His all-seeing eyes. David understood how futile it was to try to keep God in the dark. He knew from past experience that a life of hiddenness was hopeless before the all-seeing eyes of Yahweh. When he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed so he could marry her, the prophet Nathan let David know that God had seen it all.

“The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.” – 2 Samuel 12:7-10 NLT

David thought he had successfully covered his tracks, but while he may have fooled others, he had failed to hide his sin from the one who mattered most. However, this psalm suggests that David viewed this as a positive rather than a negative experience. His attempt to conceal his sin resulted in guilt and condemnation. He could try to ignore it, but Yahweh could not and would not. David’s sin had to be exposed so his relationship with Yahweh could be restored.

When David states, “You know everything I do” (Psalm 139:3 NLT), he isn’t complaining or accusing Yahweh of being a busybody and know-it-all; he is expressing amazement at Yahweh’s omniscience. What he says next can come across as comforting or concerning, depending on how you take it.

You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.– Psalm 139:4 NLT

God is not relegated to the role of an external observer with limited capacity to discern what is happening. He knows the heart, mind, and soul of a man. It’s as if He has X-ray vision and can peer inside the darkest recesses of the human psyche, ascertaining the hidden motives, thoughts, and intentions. Yahweh knew David so well that He could predict David’s words before David had even formed them. This thought may disturb or frighten us because it sounds invasive and intrusive, but David found it comforting.

Even if he wanted to hide something from God, he couldn’t; it was impossible. Yahweh could see into his heart and mind. His thoughts and actions were completely exposed to God, and David believed that Yahweh was with him, even when life’s circumstances took a turn for the worse.

Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.– Psalm 23:4 NLT

David knew that God was all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present. He knew that God was always there, and that God knew every single detail of his life, including what he was thinking and what he was going to say, even before the words came out of his mouth. David also understood that God had a plan for his life and that God was working that plan each and every day, regardless of what David’s circumstances might have looked like. This prompted David to write, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” (Psalm 139:6 NLT

Yet, we can find this news about God both encouraging and scary. The fact that God knows everything about us can be either intimidating or comforting. David was prone to the latter. He understood that, along with God’s divine attributes of omniscience (He knows everything), omnipotence (He is all-powerful), and omnipresence (He is everywhere at once), God was also all-loving, always faithful, and a God who keeps all His promises all the time. The fact that God knew all of David’s thoughts didn’t scare him; it provided him with peace.

David might not have fully comprehended the reality of God’s all-knowing, all-powerful presence in his life, but he DID appreciate it. David knew that God had created him; he was a byproduct of God’s imagination and creative capabilities.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16 NLT

David’s life was not an accident or a matter of chance. This understanding of God’s intimate relationship with him caused David to invite God to do something that appears risky. It sounds like an invitation that could yield some less-than-satisfactory results. However, keep in mind that David knew God loved him and had a plan for his life. He trusted God. There was nothing God did not know about David. So he asked God to do an extensive and all-inclusive examination of his life, starting on the inside.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 1139:23-24 NLT

David was asking God to expose the secrets of his life. The patient was requesting the doctor to determine the actual state of his health. David knew how easy it was to assume that all was well. He could take a cursory look at his life and conclude from the evidence that he was in great shape. But he knew better.

He asked God to reveal to him things about his life that he was incapable of seeing or even knowing. As men, we often struggle to understand our own hearts, and we can’t fully understand our motives. We are blinded by pride and self-righteousness, and we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are better than we are. So David goes to the one source that can see past the facade and look into the inner recesses of his heart. He asks Yahweh, the all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-loving God, to do an MRI of his life and reveal the results. David knew that God loved him and had a plan for his life, but he also recognized that he was a man prone to sin. His heart was not to be trusted. So he asked God to examine, test, and prove him. He wanted Yahweh to point out anything and everything that was an offense to Him.

Scary? Yes. Risky? Not really. David was simply learning what God already knew. David was tapping into God’s limitless understanding and relying on God’s unfailing love. He wanted to know what God knew because he wanted his life to please God. David’s own heart was a mystery to him, so he asked the LORD to expose what he could not see. He wanted to know because he understood the danger of hidden sin.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the LORD, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT

No one likes to go to the doctor because there is always the chance that they might receive bad news. But when it comes to physical health, ignorance is not bliss. The same principle applies to our spiritual well-being. David wasn’t content to assume that his relationship with Yahweh was healthy and whole, so he asked to be examined. It was Jesus who said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do” (Matthew 9:12 NLT). David knew he was sick because he recognized his own sinfulness. It wasn’t a question of whether he had a spiritual illness in need of exposure; it was a matter of allowing the Great Physician to do what only He can do: Make the correct prognosis and prescribe the proper remedy.  

Yahweh told the Israelites, “I am the LORD who heals you” (Exodus 15:26 NLT), and David had found that promise to be true.

He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases. – Psalm 103:3 NLT

He heals the brokenhearted
    and bandages their wounds. – Psalm 147:3 NLT

David was counting on the fact that his all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present God was also all-loving and ready to restore him to spiritual health. All he needed to do is ask.

Father, You love me. And what’s amazing is that You love me even though You know everything there is to know about me. There is nothing I can hide from You. I can’t fool you with my pious activities or acts of religious pretense. I can’t fake faith in front of You. You know me just as I am and yet You love me anyway. Give me the heart of David, that I might ask You to search me, know my heart, test me, know the cause of all my anxious thoughts, and point out everything in my life that offends You. The sooner I see the truth about myself, the sooner I can confess my sins and get back on Your path for my life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give Thanks Where Thanks Is Due

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

Of David.

1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
    for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands. – Psalm 138:1-8 ESV

There are times when I don’t even know myself. I do and say things that surprise even me. I can never be certain how I will react to a given situation. I may respond in calmness and patience one day, then explode in anger and impatience the next. I have a limited understanding of what motivates me and why I act the way I do. Sometimes words come out of my mouth that catch me off guard. I can be disappointed in my own response to people and circumstances. There are those moments when I can appear as a stranger – even to myself.

But God knows me. In fact, He knows me better than I know myself. David understood this prescient aspect of Yahweh’s character. He knew that God was all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present. He knew that God was always there, and that God knew every single detail of his life, including what he was thinking and what he was going to say, even before the words came out of his mouth. In the following psalm, also penned by David, he expresses his astonishment regarding Yahweh’s omnipotence.

O LORD, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, LORD. – Psalm 139:1-4 NLT

David also understood that God had a plan for his life and was orchestrating that plan every day.  From David’s perspective, things might not have always looked like God was in control, but he had learned to view his circumstances through the lens of Yahweh’s faithfulness.

Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me. – Psalm 138:7 NLT

This psalm is a song of thanksgiving from a grateful God-follower. In reflecting on his life, David had seen ample reasons to give Yahweh praise for His unfailing goodness and grace.

I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honor of your name. – Psalm 138:1-2 NLT

David’s recollection of Yahweh’s faithfulness prompted him to declare his thankfulness in tangible ways. Despite being surrounded by nations that worshiped their false gods with equal enthusiasm, David was willing to sing Yahweh’s praises in their hearing. He wasn’t afraid of the pagans and their idols hearing his adoration and elevation of the one true God: Yahweh.

One of the ways David displayed his reverence for Yahweh was through worship. He made it a habit to come before the LORD, offering prayers, offerings, and sacrifices in His “holy temple.” At this point, the Temple was still an unrealized dream in David’s mind. He had desired to build a house for the LORD, but it would be his son Solomon who would construct the Temple. The Hebrew word David used is hêḵāl, and it can be translated as “sanctuary” or “palace.” When David moved the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, he ordered that a tent be erected in which to house this focal point of the Israelites’ sacrificial system. It remained there until Solomon completed the construction of the permanent and more palatial Temple.

But David didn’t allow the humble nature of his hêḵāl to diminish the quality of his worship. He approached it as if it were the palace of the King and a holy sanctuary where the God of the universe chose to dwell among His people. It was to this hêḵāl that David went to pray to Yahweh, whom he found to be attentive and quick to answer.

As soon as I pray, you answer me;
   you encourage me by giving me strength. – Psalm 138:3 NLT

One of the reasons David was willing to praise Yahweh “before the gods” (Psalm 138:1) was so that the kings who worshiped these false gods might understand that “the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him” (Isaiah 4:35 BSB). By singing Yahweh’s praises and verbally declaring His greatness, David hoped to influence those who placed their hope in non-existent, impotent figments of their imaginations. He envisioned a day when “all the kings of the earth” (Psalm 138:4) would give Yahweh thanks.

While David didn’t see this happen in his lifetime, his son Solomon did. The Book of 1 Kings records that Solomon’s fame spread throughout the known world, even reaching the throne room of the Queen of Sheba.

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. – 1 Kings 10:1 NLT

She had heard rumors of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth, but when she saw it all with her own eyes, she was blown away. The size of his kingdom, the beauty of his royal palace, and the opulence of the Temple to his God left her breathless, but not without words.

“Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” – 1 Kings 10:6-9 NLT

When she witnessed the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom, she praised Yahweh. She attributed Solomon’s success to his God. She even viewed Solomon’s reign as an expression of Yahweh’s love for His people. She sang “about the LORD’s ways, for the glory of the LORD is very great” (Psalm 138:5 NLT).

David knew he had been greatly blessed by Yahweh, and he wanted everyone to know about it. He was determined to sing Yahweh’s praises so everyone, from the lowliest peasant to the highest officials in the land, could understand that there is no one like the LORD.

But David provides a warning to all those who discover Yahweh’s superiority and supremacy.

Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud. – Psalm 138:6 NLT

This great God is no respecter of persons. “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11 NLT). He is not impressed by anyone’s credentials or accomplishments. In fact, according to James, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 NLT). James expanded on this idea in the opening chapter of his letter.

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. – James 1:9-11 NLT

David understood this aspect of Yahweh’s nature, having experienced both the blessings of Yahweh as a lowly shepherd and the righteous judgment of Yahweh as a mighty king. David had learned the invaluable truth that humility was a non-negotiable requirement for those who want to experience Yahweh’s presence and promises.

Even as a king, David had experienced many trials and setbacks. His crown did not immunize him from difficulty. His power and wealth could not inoculate him from suffering and sorrow. He had his fair share of enemies, problems, setbacks, roadblocks, disappointments, and moments of discouragement, but he had learned to lean on God.

You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me. – Psalm 138:7 NLT

A humble king is a blessed king because he is willing to submit himself to the one true King. He had learned the same great truth that James included in his letter: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor” (James 4:10 NLT).  Despite his apparent success, David had become increasingly dependent on the LORD. He didn’t allow his palace, power, and possessions to feed his pride and boost his ego. He understood that, without Yahweh, he was nothing, which prompted him to pray:

The LORD will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me. – Psalm 138:8 NLT

Father, I want to become increasingly more dependent upon You., but not is some weak and passive sense. You have blessed me with gifts and abilities, and you expect me to use them — for Your glory. You have provided me with wisdom through Your Word and power through the presence of Your indwelling Holy Spirit, and You want me to put them to use. But I don’t ever want to become cocky or overconfident in what appears to be my own strength or capabilities. David knew he was nothing without You and I want to share his perspective. I want to sing Your praises for all to hear. I want them to know that I am completely reliant upon You because You have been incredibly gracious to me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord‘s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock. – Psalm 137:1-9 ESV

This psalm is a song of lament, written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian invaders in 587 B.C.. After a 30-month-long siege, the city’s inhabitants were on the brink of starvation, a fact that the prophet Jeremiah describes in great detail in the Book of Lamentations.

See how the precious children of Jerusalem,
worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like pots of clay
made by a common potter.

Even the jackals feed their young,
but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children’s cries,
like ostriches in the desert.

The parched tongues of their little ones
stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.
The children cry for bread,
but no one has any to give them.

The people who once ate the richest foods
now beg in the streets for anything they can get.
Those who once wore the finest clothes
now search the garbage dumps for food.

The guilt of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,
where utter disaster struck in a moment
and no hand offered help.

Our princes once glowed with health—
brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
their appearance like fine jewels.

But now their faces are blacker than soot.
No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
it is as dry and hard as wood.

Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of hunger.
Starving, they waste away
for lack of food from the fields.– Lamentations 4:2-9 NLT

Eventually, the Babylonians breached the city’s walls.

By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians… 2 Kings 25:3-4 NLT

After a slight delay, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the wanton destruction of Jerusalem and the capture of many of its citizens, who were taken back to Babylon as slaves.

On August 14 of that year,which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.– 2 Kings 25:8-12 NLT

The psalmist picks up the story sometime after the exiles arrived in Babylon. He describes them as weeping beside the rivers of Babylon, as they considered the full weight of their devastating circumstances. The depth of their sorrow is reflected in their decision to ban all music.

We put away our harps,
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
For our captors demanded a song from us.– Psalm 137:2-3 NLT

Mocked relentlessly by their Babylonian overlords, the exiles mourned and wept in silence, refusing to assuage their grief with songs. This sad state of affairs should not have been a surprise to them, because Yahweh had warned it would happen.

“And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out.This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Ezekiel 25:8-11 NLT

The former citizens of Jerusalem justified their actions, saying, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:4 NLT). From their perspective, they had no reason to sing. Their city had been destroyed, their homes burned, the Temple plundered and reduced to rubble, and they had been chained and forced-marched all the way to Babylon, where they would spend the next seven decades as slaves. Even if Yahweh’s promise was true, and they would return to Jerusalem after 70 years, many of them knew they would never live long enough to see that day. 

Yet, the psalmist refused to give up. He couldn’t bring himself to give up and give in to despair. He wasn’t minimizing their situation; he was simply attempting to remind himself and his fellow exiles that they still had reason to hope.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.– Psalm 137:5-6 NLT

When the Babylonians shouted, “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 137:3 NLT), they were mocking the Israelites’ practice of singing the songs of ascent as they made their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the feast days. The psalms were designed to remind the Israelites of the unique status of Jerusalem, not just as their national capital, but as the home of the Temple, considered to be Yahweh’s earthly dwelling place. As they made their way up the paths to Mount Zion, they could see the glorious Temple, which stood as a reminder that they served a holy, all-powerful, and covenant-keeping God.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!– Psalm 121:1-2 NLT

The LORD keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.– Psalm 121:7-8 NLT

What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
What if the LORDhad not been on our side
when people attacked us?
They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.– Psalm 124:1-5 NLT

But now, they sat by the rivers of Babylon, engulfed and overwhelmed by the reality that their God had not saved them. He had not been on their side. As they had walked away from Jerusalem in chains, their minds were seared with the parting image of their once-glorious Temple in ruins and their impregnable city reduced to rubble.

But the psalmist wanted to remember Jerusalem as it had been before the Babylonians arrived. He longed to relish the halcyon days when Yahweh’s Shekinah glory dwelled above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. He still held out hope that their God had not completely abandoned them. While their circumstances were bleak and their chances for survival seemed slim, he believed that Yahweh was still on His throne and would remain faithful to His covenant promises. He offered up a prayer to the LORD, begging Him to remember what the Edomites said as they gleefully witnessed the fall of Jerusalem.

O LORD, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
“Level it to the ground!” – Psalm 137:7 NLT

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, and thus blood relatives of the Israelites. But the Edomites held a long-standing grudge against Jacob’s progeny, and rejoiced in their destruction. The sight of Jerusalem being invaded by Babylonian troops spurred the Edomites to demand its complete destruction. They wanted the Israelites and their capital city wiped off the face of the earth.

The psalmist called on Yahweh to act. Surely, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not stand back and allow His chosen people to suffer permanent extinction. He had heard the cries of the prophets, warning the Israelites to repent of their sins or face God’s judgment, and he had lived to experience it firsthand. But he had also heard the prophets speak of God’s promise to redeem and restore them.

This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14 NLT

He might not live to see that day, but he was willing to trust that the LORD would bring it about. With the words of the prophet Jeremiah ringing in his ears, the psalmist expressed his belief that Yahweh would do what He promised to do.

“Listen to this message from the LORD,
    you nations of the world;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:
The LORD, who scattered his people,
    will gather them and watch over them
    as a shepherd does his flock.
For the LORD has redeemed Israel
    from those too strong for them.
They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 31:10-12 NLT

Notice the emphasis on songs of joy. While the Babylonians mocked the Israelites’ songs of ascent, the psalmist focused on the day when singing would be renewed because of God’s faithfulness. The highways and byways surrounding Jerusalem would once again ring with joyful praise as the Israelites made their way to a restored city and a rebuilt Temple, where they would enjoy a renewed relationship with their God. This news, coupled with Jeremiah’s prediction of Babylon’s eventual fall, produced hope in the heart of the psalmist.

“How Babylon is fallen—
great Babylon, praised throughout the earth!
Now she has become an object of horror
among the nations.
The sea has risen over Babylon;
she is covered by its crashing waves.
Her cities now lie in ruins;
she is a dry wasteland
where no one lives or even passes by. – Jeremiah 51:41-43 NLT

The tables will be turned, and the fortunes of Israel and Babylon will be reversed, which led the psalmist to end his song with an exuberant, if not macabre, refrain of praise and rejoicing.

O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks! – Psalm 137:8-9 NLT

Father, when times get tough, it can be difficult to sing Your praises. Suffering seems to cause short-term memory loss, leaving us unable to recall Your many acts of grace, mercy, kindness, and love. Dark days can produce a cloudy recollection of Your power and providential provision of all our needs. We can find ourselves sitting by our “rivers of Babylon,” whining about our lot in life rather than singing about Your glory and goodness. Help me keep a song on my lips at all times because You are forever faithful, all-powerful, never unaware of my circumstances, and . always ready to act on my behalf. I have plenty of reasons to sing Your praises even when I can’t sense Your presence. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

His Love Endures Forever

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1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

17 to him who struck down great kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever. – Psalm 136:1-26 ESV

This psalm appears to have been written in conjunction with Psalm 135 because they share many of the same themes. Either they were written by the same individual, or Psalm 135 had a significant influence on the author of Psalm 136. The key difference between the two is their musical style. Psalm 136 was meant to be sung antiphonally, with every other verse being sung responsively. The repeated phrase, “For his steadfast love endures forever,” was to be sung by the congregants while the alternating verses were sung by the Levitical singers.

David also ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals. – 1 Chronicles 5:16 NLT

The similarities between these two psalms are evident when you examine the various themes they share. Both psalms are Hallel songs, praise songs that elevate the goodness and greatness of God. Here are just a few of their shared sentiments regarding Yahweh.

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good… – Psalm 135:3 ESV

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good… – Psalm 136:1 ESV

…our LORD is above all gods. – psalm 135:5 ESV

Give thanks to the God of gods… – Psalm 136:2 ESV

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth… – Psalm 135:6 ESV

to him who alone does great wonders,
to him who by understanding made the heavens… – Psalm 136:4, 5 ESV

He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt… – Psalm 135:8 ESV

…to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt… – Psalm 136:10 ESV

This pattern is carried through both psalms, with Psalm 136 echoing each aspect of Yahweh’s glory in the same basic order. The only difference is that the author of Psalm 136 inserts the phrase, “for his steadfast love endures forever,” which is repeated 26 times, once for every verse of the song.

Every example of Yahweh’s goodness and greatness is accompanied by a declaration of His steadfast and enduring love. These historical events from Israel’s past are proof of Yahweh’s unfailing mercy and undiminished commitment to His covenant promises. The term “steadfast love” is derived from the Hebrew word ḥeseḏ, which is most often translated as “mercy” in the Hebrew Scriptures. This word, which appears some 250 times in the Old Testament, was used to convey an essential aspect of Yahweh’s character. In an encounter He had with Moses, Yahweh used ḥeseḏ to describe Himself.

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love [ḥeseḏ] and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love [ḥeseḏ] for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” – Exodus 34:6 ESV

The term was intended to emphasize Yahweh’s covenant relationship with the people of Israel, stressing His faithful and unwavering loyalty to them. The author of Psalm 136 viewed each example of Yahweh’s intervention in the lives of His covenant people as a demonstration of His loyal love for them. The repeated antiphonal refrain was added so that the people might verbally remind one another that Yahweh’s love was enduring and unchanging. Despite Israel’s repeated acts of disobedience, apostasy, rebellion, and unfaithfulness, Yahweh had never stopped loving and caring for them.

Every miracle, victory, act of deliverance, and display of divine mercy was evidence of Yahweh’s covenant commitment to His people. He had certainly disciplined them for their sins and punished their displays of abject rebellion, but He had never abandoned or forsaken them. It was the prophet Jeremiah who expressed sorrow over his lot in life, but placed his hope in the unfailing love of the LORD.

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love [ḥeseḏ] of the LORD never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:19-23 ESV

In this psalm, we are encouraged repeatedly to give thanks to God for His unwavering commitment to those He calls His own. But the psalmist isn’t content with demanding praise; he wants to make sure we understand the basis for our praise.

Over and over again, the psalmist provides numerous examples of God’s love that we encounter every day. That love shows up in the form of “the grace, favor, and mercy of God toward man.” That is the definition of ḥeseḏ, and the psalmist uses the stories of Yahweh’s past acts of grace, favor, and mercy to prove that His love is indeed steadfast and enduring. 

God’s creation of the universe and the earth upon which we live is an example of His grace, mercy, and favor. His redemption of Israel from captivity in Egypt was His ḥeseḏ on display. So was His splitting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army. In each instance, Yahweh was demonstrating His love for His people by pouring out His undeserved grace, mercy, and favor.

The Israelites didn’t deserve His love. They hadn’t done anything to earn His favor or merit His gracious treatment. In fact, after delivering them from captivity in Egypt, He let them know why He had saved them.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love [ḥeseḏ] with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…” – Deuteronomy 7:6-9 ESV

The LORD loved them and was keeping the commitment He had made to their forefathers. Those two things are inseparable. His love and commitment to His covenant promises are indelibly linked together and nothing can ever change that fact. Yahweh’s ḥeseḏ is more than an emotion or feeling, and it is not a response to the love of another. Yahweh’s love was not based on Israel’s love for Him; it was centered on His unwavering commitment to keep the promises found in the covenant He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His love was an expression of that covenant commitment.

The apostle John reminds us that Yahweh’s love is one directional and never dependent on our ability to love Him back.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. – 1 John 4:10 NLT

Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant commitment to Abraham.

“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:2-3 NLT

Jesus was the means by which the families of the earth would be blessed. As John 3:16 states, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” Jesus was the greatest expression of Yahweh’s love and provided a way for the undeserving and unworthy to be restored to a right relationship with Him.

This entire psalm is meant to remind God’s people that He is faithful, loving, gracious, merciful, and kind, not because we deserve it but because He is committed to His covenant promises. His love is not reactionary or responsive; it is purposeful and pointed at accomplishing His divine objective. God’s love is an expression of His faithfulness, not a response to the faithfulness of men. John said, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 ESV), not the other way around. Our love for God doesn’t earn us brownie points with Him. Our love for God is an expression of our gratitude for all that He has done for us and all that He intends to accomplish on our behalf as a result of His covenant promises.

Over and over again, the psalmist paints a picture of God’s unending grace, mercy and favor expressed to the people of God in a variety of ways. And what should our response be to all this? Thanks! Gratitude! A recognition that God has been and is at work in and around our lives in so many ways. Some obvious, and some not so obvious. The very creation of the world in which we live is an expression of God’s love for us. The provision of the food we eat is an expression of God’s love for us. But how often do we thank Him for our meals or for the beauty we see all around us? We tend to take it all for granted.

One of the problems the Israelites faced was that when they finally got into the land and enjoyed all that God had given them, they took credit for it all and forgot God. And God knew this was going to be temptation for them. Listen to the warning He gave them just before they entered the land.

“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land,  be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NLT

Cities you did not build, good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, vineyards and groves you did not plant … all of these things were provided by God as an expression of His grace, mercy, and favor. They were evidence of His ḥeseḏ – His steadfast love for them, and it was totally undeserved and unmerited. God gives us so many things each and every day of our lives that we do not deserve. So much of what we enjoy in this life is a result of His unmerited favor toward us, and our response should be (1) a recognition of it as an expression of God’s love, and (2) a demonstration of thankfulness for His undeserved love, mercy, and grace. God’s love is everlasting and everywhere we look. It surrounds us. It protects us. It provides for us. It sustains us. And for that, we should be eternally grateful.

Father, thank You for Your everlasting, undeserved love that You shower on me day after day in so many ways. Thank You for my health, my home, my cars I drive, the clothes I wear, the wife I love, they children You have given me, the job I go to each day, the paychecks I cash, the food I eat, the friends I enjoy … they all come from You. Because You love me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy of Praise

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1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD,
    give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2 who stand in the house of the LORD,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the LORD is great,
    and that our LORD is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
14 For the LORD will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
    O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
    You who fear the Lord, bless the LORD!
21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
    he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 135:1-21 ESV

Psalm 135 is yet another example of a Hallel or praise psalm. These psalms derive their designation from their repeated use of the word “praise,” which in Hebrew is hālal. It means “to praise” or “to boast,” and in these psalms, the focus of that praise is always on the LORD.

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good… – Psalm 135:3 NLT

The psalmist’s call for praise begins in the house of the LORD and is directed at the Levitical priests, musicians, and caretakers of the Temple. These men had the privilege of serving Yahweh by performing their sacred duties in the house that bore His name. Their jobs were essential for administering the sacrificial system that Yahweh had ordained. Without it, the people of Israel would have no means of receiving atonement for their sins. The entire religious apparatus of Israel was built upon the sacrificial system, which depended on the abiding presence of Yahweh. Centuries earlier, long before there was a Temple or the city of Jerusalem, Yahweh had commanded Moses to construct a Tabernacle in which He would reside.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.” – Exodus 25:8 NLT

Within the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, Moses was to place the Ark of the Covenant, a gold-encrusted box containing the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s staff, and a jar of manna. The lid on this sacred piece of furniture was called the Mercy Seat, and Yahweh said, “I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:22 NLT).

Yahweh provided Moses with the plans for the Tabernacle as well as the instructions for administering the sacrificial system. Nothing was left to chance or up to the whims of the people; it was all divinely ordained, from the nature of the burnt offerings to the design of the priests’ robes. Yahweh had determined every detail concerning the Tabernacle and its functionality to ensure that His people could enjoy His ongoing presence, but, more importantly, experience the atonement for their sins that made a relationship with Him possible.

“These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. Offer them in the LORD’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you.  I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence. Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.” – Exodus 29:42-46 NLT

The psalmist reminds all the people of Israel of their unique status as Yahweh’s treasured possession.

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel for his own special treasure. – Psalm 135:4 NLT

He uses the two names of their ancestral progenitor, reminding his audience that they were the beneficiaries of the promise Yahweh had made to Jacob.

“I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.” – Genesis 28:13-14 NLT

Years later, Yahweh reaffirmed His covenant promise to Jacob and provided him with a new name in the process.

“Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.

Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” – Genesis 35:10-12 NLT

The psalmist reminds his fellow Israelites that they were the fulfillment of that promise. Yahweh had kept His word and produced from Jacob a great nation that occupied the land He had promised as their inheritance. Because of Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness, the psalmist declares, “I know that the LORD is great, and that our LORD is above all gods” (Psalm 135:5 ESV).

Everything in Israel’s history pointed to the reliability and supremacy of Yahweh. He wasn’t just another god among many; He was the one true God, and was worthy of their praise, honor, and worship. And as if to jog their memories and renew their understanding of Yahweh’s greatness, he recites the tales of His past acts of intercession and deliverance.

He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home,
    both people and animals.
He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt
    against Pharaoh and all his people.
He struck down great nations
    and slaughtered mighty kings—
Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan.
He gave their land as an inheritance,
    a special possession to his people Israel. – Psalm 135:8-12 NLT

From their days of captivity in Egypt to their conquest of the land of Canaan, Yahweh had been with them, proving His presence through indisputable displays of power and provision. The ten plagues, the Red Sea crossing, the defeats of the armies of Egypt, and the victories over the nations of Canaan had all been Yahweh’s doing.

These stories were well-known to the people of Israel, but were intended to be more than tales from the past. They were to serve as evidence of Yahweh’s unchanging character and unwavering commitment to His people. Times may have changed, but their God had not. He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Your name, O LORD, endures forever;
    your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation. – Psalm 135:13 NLT

What Yahweh did for Moses and the ragtag remnant of Israelites who escaped Egypt and conquered the promised land, He could do again for His chosen people. The victories over superior enemies that Joshua and the people of Israel experienced were still possible because Yahweh remained just as powerful and capable as ever.

For the LORD will give justice to his people
    and have compassion on his servants. – Psalm 135:14 NLT

Yahweh is worthy of praise because He is the just, righteous, compassionate, faithful, and covenant-keeping God. He never reneges on a promise or fails to keep His word. He is reliable, trustworthy, personal, mighty, consistent, patient, and loving.

The very next psalm echoes this idea of Yahweh’s goodness and enduring, never-failing love.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever. – Psalm 136: 1-3 NLT

He is “the God of gods,” a distinction that Psalm 135 amplifies by comparing Yahweh with the worthless, unreliable gods of the nations.

The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and mouths but cannot breathe.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 135:15-18 NLT

These mute, blind, and powerless figments of men’s imagination aren’t gods at all. They are helpless, hopeless substitutes for the one true God. In his letter to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul disclosed the genesis behind mankind’s love affair with false gods by exposing their rejection of the real God.

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:19-23 NLT

The psalmist points out the idiocy of idolatry, not to ridicule their pagan neighbors, but to remind the Israelites of their own sordid track record of pursuing the same powerless substitutes for Yahweh. From the very beginning, Yahweh had warned them about making replacement gods.

“You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:3-5 NLT

But they had disobeyed. Yet, Yahweh still considered them as His treasured possession. He had punished them for their sin and rebellion, but had not abandoned them. He remained their God, and they remained His people. And this amazing fact led the psalmist to issue a corporate call to praise Yahweh for His faithfulness, patience, and love.

O Israel, praise the LORD!
    O priests—descendants of Aaron—praise the LORD!
O Levites, praise the LORD!
    All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! – Psalm 135:19-20 NLT

This psalm reflects an understanding that Yahweh alone is the source of all hope and deliverance. It is a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness. He has been and always will be worthy of praise. His promises never fail because His nature never changes. The psalmist was convinced of Yahweh’s unchanging character and prepared to praise Him for not only His past providence but for the fulfillment of His promises that lie in the distant future.

According to Yahweh’s word, He will once again establish the city of Jerusalem as His permanent dwelling place. The day is coming when He will restore His people to their land and dwell among them. Despite their unfaithfulness, He will remain faithful. He will once again prove to be their refuge and strength. Because that is the kind of God we worship and serve. He is reliable and trustworthy. He is faithful and true. He is a covenant-keeping God who never abandons those He loves. No matter how bleak the circumstances may look, God is there. He is working behind the scenes in ways we can’t see. He is faithfully and perfectly working out His divine plan. He is our refuge and strength.

Father, You can be trusted. You are always faithful. Your love for us never fails. Your plans for us never get derailed. You are and always will be our refuge and strength in times of trouble. So there is no reason for us to fear. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Unseen, But Far From Unappreciated

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A Song of Ascents.  

1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
    who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the LORD!

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth! – Psalm 134:1-3 ESV

Just three verses long, this psalm seems to be a short, simple conclusion or benediction to the Song of Ascents, the hymnbook used by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the annual feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Booths. The songs of ascent included Psalms 120-134. In this final song, the unidentified psalmist turns his emphasis toward those who serve God in the Temple at night.

Care for the Temple and its courtyard was an around-the-clock affair. While the people slept, the priests were busy protecting, cleaning, purifying, and preparing the Temple for the following day’s activities. According to the Book of 1 Chronicles, there was a group of the Levites assigned to perform some of the more mundane and less-than-glamorous responsibilities associated with the Temple.

The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.  They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening, and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them. – 1 Chronicles 23:28-31 NLT

This psalm was meant to be an expression of encouragement to those who served the LORD at night, in relative obscurity. They were to do so joyfully, offering Him praise even while performing their unseen and unappreciated nightly duties. It was a reminder to the pilgrims and the priests that the role these priests played was far from unimportant. While no one witnessed their nocturnal activities, Yahweh was watching. Their duties were just as essential as those of the priests who offered up the sacrifices in the courtyard. Without their careful purification of the utensils and objects used in the sacrificial system, the offerings made to Yahweh would have been considered unclean and unacceptable. One can only imagine the cleanup job required after a full day of sacrifices, with the Temple grounds and courtyard covered in the blood of thousands of sacrificed animals. Everything had to be cleaned and purified. These men played a critical role in the sacrificial system of Israel, and their efforts were a blessing to Yahweh and, far too often, an unrecognized and underappreciated benefit to the people of God.

What a reminder to us that there are those who serve the body of Christ in obscurity, doing roles that many of us would think are unglamorous and even unimportant. I think of the countless men and women who serve each Sunday in churches all across the world. Their names are unknown, and the tasks they perform are often taken for granted. Some, tasked with the responsibility of leading God’s people in worship, arrive long before the average congregant is awake, so they can practice the music they will play so that our worship is rich and meaningful. Others serve in the nursery and children’s ministries of their local church, faithfully imparting the Word of God to children who are not their own but whom they love and care for as if they were.

There are volunteers who assist with everything from overseeing the flow of cars on and off our parking lots to brewing coffee and preparing rooms for Sunday School classes and services to be held. Without their efforts, the chaos that would ensue would be unbearable. Yet many don’t even notice that these people exist. Hundreds of Sunday School teachers and volunteers serve each and every week throughout the year, and we tend to take them for granted. We come to church knowing they will be there to provide our children a safe environment in which to learn and grow in their knowledge of God and His Word. What about the maintenance staff who work all throughout the week, caring for the buildings and grounds, ensuring they are clean and that everything works correctly? They operate behind the scenes, invisible and unknown to most of us. But consider how their efforts enhance our worship of God on Sunday.

The psalmist was grateful for all the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into making the Temple a well-run and worshipful atmosphere for every congregant. But he not only wanted these unsung heroes to know that their work was appreciated, he wanted them to do their jobs with the proper mindset, “as to the LORD” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Lift your hands toward the sanctuary,
    and praise the LORD. – Psalm 134:2 NLT

They were serving Yahweh by making His house a holy and hospitable place where His presence was welcome and His worship was unhindered. But the psalmist wanted them to never lose sight of the sacredness of their work, no matter how mundane it may have felt. Even in serving as night guards on the Temple grounds, they could turn their job into an act of worship to Yahweh. While some priests had the privilege of serving as God’s intermediaries, offering sacrifices on behalf of the people, others were tasked with cleaning up the aftermath of their efforts. But the psalmist wanted these men to see their roles as sacred. In his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century French Carmelite monk, spoke of the necessity of serving God with joy and out of worship, regardless of the perceived worthiness of the task.

“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”
“We can do little things for GOD; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, Who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of GOD.” ― Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

This mindset of selfless service to God is as needed today as ever before. Each child of God needs to learn to practice His presence and conduct their lives in such a way that their every action is done for His glory. No matter how mundane the task may seem, if done for His glory, it will ultimately be for our good.

From those who design and print the worship folders each Sunday to those who brew the coffee and turn on the lights, countless individuals serve behind the scenes to make our worship of God as comfortable and hassle-free as possible. May God bless them for their efforts, and may we learn to thank them for all that they do. If we happen to be one of those faithful servants of God, may we do our work as unto Him, giving him the glory He is due and rejoicing in the privilege we have to serve Him.

Father, thank You for reminding me of all those who serve You selflessly each week. Create in me a heart of gratitude, expressing my thanks to them for all that they do to enhance our worship experience each week. May You bless them Father for their willingness to serve in ways that many would deem beneath them or unworthy of their talents. Help me have a more sacrificial and selfless attitude toward all that I do, so that You are honored as much by my attitude as by my actions. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A God of His Word

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A Song of Ascents.  

1 Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor,
    all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the LORD
    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
    we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us worship at his footstool!”

8 Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
    do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath
    from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
    I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall sit on your throne.”

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;
    he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
    I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.” – Psalm 132:1-18 ESV

This psalm of ascent opens with a prayer for David, the king of Israel, who arranged to have the Ark of the Covenant moved to his capital city of Jerusalem. David’s intention was to relocate the Ark and then to build a Temple dedicated to Yahweh in which to place it. His dream of constructing a “house” suitable for Yahweh is described in 2 Samuel 7.

When King David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!” – 2 Samuel 7:1-2 NLT

This story really begins during the days when Samuel served as the judge of Israel. He was their de facto leader and served as the spokesman for Yahweh. During one of their many battles with the Philistines, they experienced a devastating and unexpected loss.

After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.” – 1 Samuel 4:3 NLT

To sway the conflict in their favor, they decided to send for the Ark of the Covenant, which was kept in Shiloh. By bringing the Ark into battle with them, they treated it as a talisman or idol, hoping it would assure them of Yahweh’s presence and power. But instead, the Ark was captured by the Philistines. It remained in their possession for seven months and was later returned to the Israelites when Yahweh sent a devastating disease on the Philistines. After its return, the Ark was placed in the home of a man called Abinidab, who lived in Kiriath-jearim.

So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them. – 1 Samuel 7:1-2 NLT

Years later, when David had become king and relocated his capital to Jerusalem, he made the decision to move the Ark and planned to construct a glorious Temple in which to house it. But God had other plans, and He ordered Nathan the prophet to inform David that his dream of building a Temple would not happen.

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’” – 2 Samuel 7:5-7 NLT

The psalmist opens his psalm by reminding Yahweh of David’s good intentions. He repeats what appears to be an oath David made regarding his plans for building the Temple.

“I will not go home;
    I will not let myself rest.
I will not let my eyes sleep
    nor close my eyelids in slumber
until I find a place to build a house for the LORD,
    a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.” – Psalm 132:3-5 NLT

But David later gave his son and heir, Solomon, the real reason why his dream would never come to fruition.

“My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God,” David told him. “But the Lord said to me, ‘You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name.” – 1 Chronicles 22:7-8 NLT

Whether the psalmist was privy to this information is unclear, but he focuses his attention on David’s attempt to do the right thing and bring the Ark into the royal city.

We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah;
    then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
Let us go to the sanctuary of the LORD;
    let us worship at the footstool of his throne.
Arise, O LORD, and enter your resting place,
    along with the Ark, the symbol of your power. – Psalm 132:6-8 NLT

For 20 years, the Ark had resided in obscurity in the home of Abinidab. The psalmist recalls the day when the Israelites, under David’s leadership, made the decision to restore the Ark to prominence by relocating it to the city of David. These verses help to explain the Israelites’ fascination with and reliance upon the Ark as the symbol of Yahweh’s presence and power. They were thrilled to have it back in their midst because it provided them with assurance that Yahweh was with them. The day the Ark arrived in Jerusalem had been one of celebration and joy.

David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns. – 2 Samuel 6:15 NLT

The psalmist reflects the hearts of all the people of Israel when he prays to Yahweh, “May your priests be clothed in godliness; may your loyal servants sing for joy.
For the sake of your servant David, do not reject the king you have anointed” (Psalm 132:9-10 NLT). He expresses gratitude for David’s efforts in bringing back worship and sacrifice to the people of Israel. Because the Ark was near, so was their God, and they had David to thank for it. 

In verses 11-12, the psalmist seems to remind Yahweh of the promise He made to David after having denied him the honor of building the Temple. 

“But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.” – 1 Chronicles 22:9-10 NLT

David would not have the privilege of building a house for Yahweh, but Yahweh would make a “house” for him – a royal dynasty that would last long after David was gone. But the psalmist adds the condition that God placed on this promise.

“If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant
    and the laws that I teach them,
then your royal line
    will continue forever and ever.” – Psalm 132:12 NLT

The presence of the Ark would not be enough. After all, its presence on the battlefront against the Philistines had done nothing to prevent defeat. Yahweh expected obedience. The Ark was not some kind of good luck charm or rabbit’s foot to be paraded out in times of trouble. It was to be a reminder of Yahweh’s presence and a symbol of His holiness and mercy. The Ark had always been intended to be kept within the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. It was there, in that sacred place, that Yahweh’s Shekinah glory appeared above the Mercy Seat. And it was on the Mercy Seat that the High Priest was to sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the Day of Atonement each year.

Yahweh had given the people of Israel strict instructions regarding the Day of Atonement and the need for cleansing from their sin and rebellion.

“Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites.” – Leviticus 16:15-16 NLT

The psalmist understood that obedience was a non-negotiable requirement if the people of Israel wanted to enjoy God’s abiding presence. He also knew that the Ark of the Covenant played a vital role in their ongoing relationship with Yahweh because it was the only way their inevitable and unavoidable sins could be atoned for and forgiven. The Ark provided them with an assurance of Yahweh’s ongoing presence.

And the psalmist reminds Yahweh of His promise to bless Jerusalem and its inhabitants.

“This is my resting place forever,” he said.
    “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
    I will satisfy its poor with food.
I will clothe its priests with godliness;
    its faithful servants will sing for joy.” – Psalm 132:14-16 NLT

In the end, the psalmist is expressing his confident belief that Yahweh will keep His covenant commitment to David and continue to bless His people. David had played a significant role in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem and had also made elaborate preparations for the construction of the Temple that would become its new home. In doing so, David had helped secure the favor of the LORD and solidify the Israelites’ status as His chosen people.

Little did the psalmist know that Yahweh would keep His word and fulfill every aspect of His promise to David. It would not turn out quite as the psalmist expected, but in the end, David would have a descendant who would sit on his throne, and his reign would be eternal.

“I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.” – 1 Chronicles 17:14 NLT

The Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of David, would come to earth in the form of a baby in a manger, but grow to be a man who served as the atoning sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Jesus, a descendant of David, would become the ultimate fulfillment of Yahweh’s promise, and He will one day return to Jerusalem and rule over the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem.

Father, Your plan is perfect. Long before the Temple was built and the Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, You were preparing a different Temple where the ultimate sacrifice would be made. Jesus, Your Son, became the Temple not made with human hands, that was destroyed and rebuilt. He gave His life as an atonement for the sins of mankind, so that we might have forgiveness and receive the promise of Your abiding presence. David was the foreshadow of something greater. The Ark was the symbol of a more permanent form of Your mercy that was made possible through Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice. And Jerusalem will one day be replaced with the New Jerusalam where You and Your Father will dwell with mankind for eternity. You work is not yet done, but You will keep Your promises. We’re counting on it. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The LORD Is Our Portion

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A Song of Ascents. Of David. 

1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore. – Psalm 131:1-3 ESV

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore. – Psalm 133:1-3 ESV

These two Psalms are also songs of ascent, a collection of Psalms that were sung as pilgrims made their annual journey to Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover. In Psalm 131, David places the emphasis on the individual by expressing his personal humility toward God. Though he was the king of Israel, he didn’t think too highly of himself or allow his high office and royal authority to go to his head. His robes and riches gave him an air of superiority, but he knew he was no better than any of his subjects.

But as one of his subjects, it might have sounded strange to hear your king say, “I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp” (Psalm 131:1 NLT). Wasn’t that part of his job? As the holder of the highest office in the land, wasn’t the king expected to surround himself with wise counselors and competent advisors who could help him deal with all the pressing matters that came with running a country?

But David isn’t declaring himself incompetent to carry out his role or disinterested in dealing with complex issues; he is trying to convey his dependence upon the LORD. It was Yahweh who said, “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:2 NLT). And David reflected his understanding of that truth when he wrote, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17 NLT).

From his own experience, David learned that God rescues the proud and humiliates the proud (Psalm 18:27). There was no place for arrogance in the life of a godly person. In another of his psalms, David professed his disgust with and refusal to tolerate anyone who displayed prideful characteristics.

Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
    I will not endure. – Psalm 101:5 ESV

In this psalm, David describes himself as “a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk” (Psalm 131:2 NLT). This imagery is meant to convey his satisfaction with Yahweh. In English, the word “weaned” means “to detach from a source of dependence” (“Wean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wean. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025).  A weaned child is one who no longer needs his mother’s milk to satisfy his physical cravings; he has found another source of nourishment. For David, the LORD had become his sole source of comfort, provision, protection, and strength. He needed nothing and no one else to satisfy him. 

That is what led him to write, “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7 NLT). It was Jeremiah the prophet who wrote, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him” (Jeremiah 17:7 BSB). In the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah repeats his unwavering confidence in the LORD.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” – Lamentations 3:24 BSB

The Hebrew word translated as “portion” is ḥēleq, and it conveys the idea of receiving a share of something significant, as in an inheritance. Jeremiah is saying that the LORD is all he needs. There is nothing else this life can offer that compares with having Yahweh as your portion. David used the very same word when he wrote about the wicked who seek their “portion” in this life.

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O LORD,
    from men of the world whose portion [ḥēleq] is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants. – Psalm 17:13-14 ESV

David had been weaned from that way of life. He had discovered something better and encouraged his fellow Israelites to follow his lead and put their hope and trust in Yahweh.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD —
    now and always. – Psalm 131:3 NLT

In Psalm 133, he turns his attention to the communal aspect of his faith. He recognizes that he is part of a collection of individuals who, together, make up the family of God. But it is about more than community, it is about harmony and unity.

How wonderful and pleasant it is
    when brothers live together in harmony! – Psalm 133:1 NLT

It’s impossible to have Yahweh as your portion and to live at odds with His people. David could boast of having a right relationship with the LORD, but it would mean nothing if he couldn’t get along with others. The apostle John expressed the non-negotiable nature of brotherly love among God’s people.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. – 1 John 4:20-21 NLT

In an earlier chapter, John expressed the same idea in slightly different terms.

If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. – 1 John 2:9-11 NLT

David understood that his “portion” was not his own. He was destined to share that inheritance with the rest of God’s family. And that still holds true today. Unity and harmony are two of the highest priorities for the church. In fact, in His high priestly prayer, Jesus asked His Heavenly Father to bring about the unity of the body after His death, resurrection, and ascension.

“Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.” – John 17:11 NLT

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” – John 17:21 NLT

Jesus prayed for our unity, harmony, and oneness. He longed to see His body, the church, united in their love for the Father and for one another. Long before Jesus prayed that prayer in the garden, He had told His disciples, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). And that message made it to the ears of the apostle Paul, who shared it with the church in Philippi.

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. – Philippians 2:1-5 NLT

He then goes on to describe the attitude that Christ had: One of humility, service, sacrifice, love, and obedience. Paul says that we are to have this same mindset. We are to pursue unity through humility.

In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul stressed the same idea:

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. – Ephesians 4:1-3 NLT

There it is again: Humility, unity, and oneness. Paul understood the wisdom in what David had written hundreds of years earlier. It truly is wonderful and pleasant when brothers live together in harmony. And because of what Christ accomplished on the cross and due to the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can love as no one has ever loved before. We have the mind of Christ and can love as He loved, sacrifice, and humble ourselves in the same way He did, and give our lives away in selfless service to others, especially within the context of the body of Christ.

Before He went to His death on the cross, Jesus spoke these words to His disciples: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35 NLT).

Jesus commanded His followers to love one another. That would be the distinctive characteristic that they belonged to Him. It would prove their relationship with Him. Yet, it is amazing how much emphasis we put on the Great Commission, because it conveys our mission to go out into the world and make disciples. But we rarely, if ever, talk about Jesus’ command to love one another. This is no less an expectation of Christ for His church than the Great Commission. He is commanding us to love as He loved – to the point of death. But are we fulfilling that command? Does the world know we are His disciples because of our selfless love for one another, or is it because of our acts of charity, generosity, evangelistic zeal, or organizational effectiveness? All those things are good and necessary, but they can be done without love. Is it our love for one another that acts as honey to the bee or light to the moth? Are the lost attracted to our love for one another? Do they see in us something that is missing from the world?

Christ has given us the capacity to love and be loved. He has created a new thing called the church, the family of God. In it, we are to live out the character of Christ in the context of community. What good is it to express our love for the lost when we struggle to love one another? How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony!

Father, as the church, we have failed to obey the command of Your own Son. We do not love one another as He has called us to love. We can be petty, selfish, divisive, competitive, and mean. We can attempt to do great things for Your kingdom while we refuse to love one another as we have been loved by You. Open our eyes and help us to understand that the church is a noun, not a verb. We are Your people. We are to live as such. We are Your children. We are to get along. We present You in the world. But if we can’t love one another, the Good News loses some of its power. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Waiting on God

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A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2     O LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
    O LORD, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities. – Psalm 130:1-8 ESV

The author of this psalm begins with an impassioned plea for Yahweh to show him mercy. While he doesn’t disclose the nature of his circumstances, he is in desperate need of Yahweh to intervene and rescue him. His request for mercy (taḥănûn in Hebrew) is a prayer of “supplication”  expressing his desire for unmerited favor. It would appear that he thinks his suffering is somehow tied to an undisclosed sin he has committed. This is not a confession of sin as much as it is a confirmation of Yahweh’s marvelous mercy and grace. The psalmist doesn’t follow David’s lead and confess a specific sin. In Psalm 51, written in the aftermath of David’s affair with Bathsheba and his sanctioned murder of her husband, David willingly acknowledged the gravity of what he had done.

For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight. – Psalm 51:3-4 NLT

This psalmist doesn’t minimize sin, but instead, he emphasizes Yahweh’s willingness to extend mercy despite our sins.

LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,
    who, O LORD, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness,
    that we might learn to fear you. – Psalm 130:3-4 NLT

This perspective coincides with that of David found in another one of his psalms.

He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. – Psalm 103:10-11 NLT

What an unbelievable reminder. Our God is not some kind of cosmic scorekeeper, keeping meticulous track of all our sins and waiting for us to balance our good behavior with our bad behavior. He’s not Santa Claus, “making a list and checking it twice” so he can determine “who’s naughty or nice.”

As the psalmist points out, if God kept track of all our sins, we’d be in big trouble, because our sins would far outweigh any righteousness we might have to offer. Isaiah put it in these graphic terms: “We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NET).

Instead of chronicling each of our sins and expecting us to right every wrong we have ever done, God offers forgiveness instead. Why? So that we might learn to fear and reverence Him (verse 4). When we begin to understand the magnitude of our sinfulness, His forgiveness becomes all the more precious to us because He is a holy God who stands diametrically opposed to our wickedness. Yet, in His grace and mercy, He reaches down and offers His undeserved favor and forgiveness.

That is they the psalmist declares that he is willing to wait on Yahweh.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the LORD
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning. – Psalm 130:5-6 NLT

He compares himself to a night watchman, someone whose job it was to stay awake all night and keep an eye out for any danger. These individuals were invaluable to the safety of a city as they patrolled the walls and watched for any signs of danger. But their greatest desire was to see the sun come up without incident. They waited or longed for the morning.

That is the psalmist’s perspective as he considers the darkened nature of his own predicament. He is willing to wait for Yahweh to show up with the rising sun and extend mercy. The prophet Jeremiah expressed this same hopeful perspective as he considered the faithfulness of Yahweh.

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!” – Lamentation 3:22-24 NLT

Jeremiah wasn’t putting his hope in his own ability to live a righteous life. He knew that was impossible. Like Isaiah, he recognized that all his righteous deeds were “nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT) in Yahweh’s eyes. No, his hope was in the faithfulness and forgiveness of the LORD. Yahweh’s mercies were new every morning, which is why the psalmist said he waits for the LORD like a watchman waits for the morning. There is an expectation and eagerness in his words. Despite his sinfulness, Yahweh was prepared to shower him with mercy and grace. 

But some of us have a different attitude when it comes to sin. We take the perspective that our sins aren’t all that bad. We seem to believe that our sins are less egregious and offensive than those of others. Somehow, our need for forgiveness is not that great, so we fail to recognize the unbelievable and undeserved nature of the gift Yahweh offers.

The psalmist seemed to understand both the magnitude of his sin and the magnificence of the one who offered him forgiveness. He writes, “O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin” (Psalm 130:7-8 NLT).

Unfailing love and overflowing redemption. The psalmist believed in both and was counting on the fact that Yahweh was prepared to redeem Israel despite their sin. Yahweh wasn’t waiting for His rebellious people to clean up their act and exhibit some form of sinless perfection. No, He was prepared to rescue them and forgive them, despite their inability to live up to His righteous standards.

That is a sobering reminder to all of us. Our God offers forgiveness from every sin, large or small, through His Son Jesus Christ. He isn’t keeping a list of all our sins and checking off the ones we successfully eliminate from our lives. Yahweh isn’t weighing our wickedness and righteousness in a balance in the hopes that our good deeds will somehow outweigh our evil deeds.

In one of his psalms, David expressed the futility of anyone trying to earn Yahweh’s favor through self-effort.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one. – Psalm 14:2-3 ESV

The apostle Paul quoted David’s words when writing to believers in Rome to remind them that their personal righteousness was not the key to their acceptance by God.

…for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.” – Romans 3:9-11 NLT

For Paul, acceptance by God had nothing to do with living up to a some kind of moral code and list of religious rules.

…no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

He goes on to explain the amazing nature of God’s plan for making us acceptable in His sight, and it has nothing to do with our futile attempts at self-righteousness.

God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:21-22 NLT

And he explains why Yahweh came up with this alternate plan for restoring sinful men to a right relationship with Himself.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT

In other words, sin wasn’t just a black spot on our resumé; it was a roadblock that prevented us from ever earning God’s favor and restoring our fractured relationship with Him. But Paul provides the good news.

Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:24 NLT

This news should cause us to stand in awe and reverence before our gracious, loving God. It should draw us near to Him, not push us away in fear. He should be where we run for hope and healing because He will not reject us because of our sins. Instead, He welcomes us with open arms. Long before Jesus came to earth and offered Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, David expressed his confidence in God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

The LORD is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever. – Psalm 103:8-9 NLT

Then he adds:

He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west. – Psalm 103:10-12 NLT

That was the confident assurance of the author of Psalm 130. He shared David’s belief that Yahweh was compassionate, merciful, loving, kind, and forgiving. He was well aware of his sins but counted on God to remove them as far as the east is from the west. There was no list of wrongs done. There was no demand for course correction or behavior modification to earn His favor. All God asked for was that His people place their faith and hope in Him. Which is why the psalmist ends his song with the words, “hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows” (Psalm 130:7 NLT).

Father, thank You for Your unfailing love and limitless forgiveness. Forgive me for not taking advantage of it and for sometimes thinking I don’t even need it! If You kept track of all my sins, I would be without hope. But instead, You offer me forgiveness and healing. Never let me forget that. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.