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Psalm 5:11

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 17, 2018
Psalm 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.”
 
[Yes, you, Lord Jesus, are the source of true Joy. To know you brings belonging, worth, power, meaning, purpose, direction and rest. All that we long for is in You.
 
You are our Refuge and Strength, our Mighty Rock, our Fortress in the day of evil. You invite us into your protection, you open the way to safety, and for those who come, you give joy.
 
Truly, knowing you is wonderful; you are the Mighty Shepherd, the Powerful Creator, the Strong Sustainer, the All-knowing King, the Majestic Victor over all evil–who in the end will right all wrongs–and you are our High Priest who lives forever to intercede for us. Yes, knowing you is enough for joy!]
 
You “Spread your protection over them,”
 
[You yourself are our our tent of refuge over us every day, every minute: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”!!! (Psalm 91:1).
 
As we choose to live in the grace of your presence, your light banishes darkness, your power defeats fear, your plans erase confusion. You are our personal protection, our gracious guide, our constant keeper and our persistent provider.
 
We can praise you for whatever comes, good or ghastly, delightful or difficult, nice or nasty, for you are wise and good, powerful and protecting, allowing only what can be used for growth, good and your glory!]
 
“that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
 
[It is such a privilege to love your name, Lord Jesus. You are Yahweh, the Eternal One, the Holy I AM. You are Elohim, the Triune Creator and Faithful Redeemer. You are Adonai, the Lord of all who has the right to demand full obedience and faithfully provides all we need so we can do so.
 
We love your name and with all our being rejoice in you wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, willfully! May this bring you much honor today as we continually offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving in whatever you allow.]
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Psalm 5:9-10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 16, 2018

Psalm 5:9 “Not a word from their [my enemies] mouth can be trusted;”

[Satan is the father of lies: his native language is deception, so nothing he says can be trusted. Just look at how he dealt with Eve in Genesis 3. Every statement was a twisting of truth either by insinuation (“Did God really say….?”), by outright contradiction (“You will not surely die….”) or by accusation of God (…for God knows that when you eat…you will be like God….”). Not one word from Satan or his forces is reliable.]

“their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.”

[In our enemies there is no life or light or love, all is rebellion against what is true, right and good. The words and thoughts of Satan and his hordes are destructive, debilitating and demonic. Yet we somehow naturally believe the lies of the devil, like, “If you do this, you will be happier than in denying yourself for God,” and “Don’t miss this one, you’ll never have another chance to indulge yourself like this.”

We are drawn like moths to the flame, to the illusion of comfort and power, excitement and fulfillment. But we end up getting burned and having, as the Psalmist says, a mouth full of gravel, broken teeth and ongoing pain. Such is the result of listening to advice from the kingdom of darkness.]

Give us wisdom and insight, Lord, so that we might discern willfully reject the lies of the enemy and walk instead in the light of Truth and Righteousness and Grace, so that your Spirit can have full reign in our lives, bringing you ever more glory.

Psalm 5:10 “Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”

[You are the One who must deal with my enemies, O Lord, whether they be demons or people being used by the devil. And praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have vanquished them through your incarnation where you were weak and vulnerable as a man.

You have defeated them through obedience, humility, meekness and self-denial. In doing so, you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into your Kingdom of Light

What a wonder, what a joy, what security, safety, purpose and freedom–freedom from the evil of the enemy, the lies of Lucifer, the seduction of self and the rot of rebellion! Help us to rest in your protection today by walking in obedience and praise.]

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Psalm 5:8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 15, 2018

Psalm 5:8 “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make straight your way before me.”

[Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are my Shepherd, who faithfully, consistently, without fail, leads me. Praise you that you guide me in your righteousness, meaning that you never lead me to make a mistake or a wrong turn, never cause me to get lost. If I do go wrong, it’s my own decision to not follow you.

In your leadership you are sinless and pure, your motives are good, your purposes are positive, your plans are constructive, your decisions are right, your help is powerful. You are the One to be trusted.

And I do desperately need your leadership, because I am the opposite of these qualities: I am small, ignorant and sinful; I have mixed motives, have no control over the future and do not know what is best.

Plus I am faced with powerful spiritual enemies who desire to bring me down. As it says in Psalm 62: 2,3, “How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place….”

The devil and his demons want to defeat God’s plans by destroying my spiritual life, my witness, my marriage, my family, my future. Alone I am helpless against them, lost before the battle begins.

But you, Lord Jesus, are the mighty Victor. You have conquered Satan and his forces, and I must flee to you for protection: “My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge” (Ps. 62:7).

You, Lord, equip me, empower me, employ me in your grace and might against the forces of evil, and in your armor and strength I can “resist the devil and he will flee” from me. (James 4).

Help me follow you as you lead, Lord Jesus, to be strong in you and the power of your might, to keep on and use your full armor through each day. Help me to fight the right enemy with the right weapons so that I may join you in what you are doing, and that you may be honored in my life today.

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Psalm 5:6-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 14, 2018
Psalm 5:6 ‘You destroy those who tell lies;’
 
[To lie is to reject truth, to reject you, Lord Jesus, for you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. To lie is to rely on self, elevating my intellect over your Word; it is to take the short-term, easy way out. What a wonder to know that your truthfulness, Lord, is not superficial conformance, but what permeates your whole being: it is part of your essence, your essentialness, your heart.
 
Lies automatically destroy those who use them, leading them away from reality into a web of delusion and insanity where the devil keeps them captive.
 
“bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.”
 
[This is far more than just disliking—you are repulsed, repelled by lying and murderous men who lightly take the lives of others, who live in deceit, using, hurting others for their own personal benefit.
 
Today’s human traffickers come to mind, living off the brief and miserable lives of others they have essentially condemned to death. ISIS is a more urgent example: men who enjoy killing and try to deceive others into thinking this is good. Khomeini, Saddam Hussein, the leaders of Sudan and Egypt, China and Russia also come to mind. In such leaders and their brutal followers there is no stability, no goodness, no redeeming factors. They are the opposite of what you are, Lord, and you abhor them.
 
At the other end of the scale is gossip–which is also deceitful and destructive, killing reputations if not bodies, and we must avoid it.]
 
Psalm 5:7 “But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house;”
 
[Before you called us into your family, each of us was one of the abhorred: liars mired in evil and deception. We all had the potential to be what these blood thirsty, murderous and deceitful men were, we just didn’t have the gall or opportunity to act it out.
 
I praise you that you abhorred what we were in our natural state, but at the same time loved us, redeemed and transformed us by your great mercy.
 
This is an unbelievably wonderful and great turning of the tables, an incredible restoration of reality, far beyond what any human being could imagine or create. You are a wonder, O Lord of love, God of goodness, King of kindness!
 
“in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.”
 
[What other response could there be than worshiping before you, in awe, in adoration, in thankfulness, in joy, in peace, in submission, in belief, in willing, wholehearted obedience.
 
You are God, you are Great, you are Good, and therefore right now I bow before you. May you be glorified in my life today in each decision, each word, each thought, each response, for you are entirely worthy of this honor and much more!]
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Psalm 5:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 13, 2018

Psalm 5:4” You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;”

[Praise be to you, Yahweh, for you are holy and wholly good: you hate evil, you abhor wickedness, you are repulsed by sinfulness and will punish it.

It is wonderful that You, O Lord, are the opposite of evil, being pure, pristine, kind, loving, gracious, righteous, forgiving, merciful and positive. You do no evil, wish no evil, promote no evil. You are good through and through.]

“with you the wicked cannot dwell.”

[In your holy presence, in your blinding, shining light of purity, the wicked are excluded, unable to stand before you. This is a marvelous truth, because it means that in the new Heaven and the new earth there will be no wickedness!

Even in this world, those who choose to remain wicked– rejecting your offer of forgiveness in Jesus and cleansing from sin, receiving the righteousness of Christ–cannot live with you. They cannot be in your family, they cannot dwell in your light, they cannot live in your joy because they choose not to do so. “Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19,20).

I praise you, God, that with you there is righteousness and justice to deal with the problem of evil and eliminate it. You offer your righteousness to all who will come; we desperately need your forgiveness which brings the righteousness of Christ into our lives.]

Psalm 5:5 “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”

[The proud, trusting in themselves, in their own power, wisdom, work and worth, think they can make it on their own. They think they know better than you and reject your counsel, your wisdom, your way (Lord show me when I have such an attitude so I may quickly repent!). They cannot enter your sanctuary and in the end they will be cast out because, in their pride, they have rejected your Son and chosen to get justice (what they deserve) over receiving mercy and grace (the opposite of what they deserve).

Praise be to you, Lord God, for you take no pleasure in evil, but have great joy in forgiving, cleansing, adopting and loving those who come to you through the blood of Jesus! May our wonder at your great and gracious heart ever grow and deepen, leading us to new depths of surrender and heights of worship.]

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Psalm 5:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 12, 2018

Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

[Each day, when I awake, you are there, O LORD, waiting, wanting to interact with me. Because of your great love, you want to hear my voice, you want me to lay my requests before you. You desire to have me join you in your plans for today, you want me to look to you for all I need.

There is no other God like you, who hears my prayer, who answers in wisdom and goodness, whom I can expect to always do what is right. You are the Great I AM, the everlasting Holy God, glowing with glory, shining in purity, sparkling in wisdom, enlightening all around you.

To you belongs exaltation and honor, praise and power, adoration and awe, the bowing of our knees and hearts, the flowing of eager obedience.

Today may you be glorified in my life: help me to follow in the footsteps of the second Adam, obeying you with all my heart so that I may give you glory, please you in every way, and honor your name before men. I wait with great expectations, praising you now for how you will answer me today, for you are faithful, the God who hears and fulfills prayer.]

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Psalm 5:2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 11, 2018
Psalm 5:2 “Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.”
 
[Praise you, Heavenly Father, that with the help of the Spirit, we can come any time to you through Jesus in prayer. Praise you that when we don’t know how to pray or what to pray, you, the Holy Spirit both guides us and intercedes for us.
 
Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you also pray for us. Prayer is your idea, it is your invitation for us to join you in your great work; it is your invitation into your throne room, into your heart.
 
Praise that you give ear to us, consider our heart’s desire, listen to our cry for help—and that you will answer. “In the day of my trouble I will call to the Lord, for he will answer me” (Psa. 86:7). Yesterday I got a very large, unexpected bill, and could turn to you, call to you for help, and and rest in you, knowing that you will answer—although I don’t know how at this point, I do know that, “The Lord fulfills the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them” (Psa. 145).]
 
[The One we pray to is our King and our God, not to some far away deity, not to some heartless, capricious, unconcerned god like that of Is.lam. No, our God is the Ruler of the universe, the Sovereign over all, the Creator and Sustainer, the final Authority, the Beginner and Ender of all—and we belong to Him!
You, Lord Jesus, are my Shepherd, my Lord and my Savior. You are intimately interested in and concerned with your children, you are present with us wherever we are, you go before us, you keep your hand on us, you guide and direct in the smallest details.
 
You are my wonderful, warm, wholly good and strong God! In you I can trust, rest, believe and praise, in and for all things. I can be at peace, full of hope, overflowing with joy and surrounded by grace no matter what difficulties come into my life today.]
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Psalm 5:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 10, 2018

Psalm 5:1 “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.”

[Praise you, LORD Yahweh, for you are the prayer-hearing God: you listen to my sighs, and are  glad to hear about my being burdened, my unrest, my fears, my disappointments, my tiredness. You hear my thoughts and understand them fully. You know my needs and have prepared provision for me, for you are loving and faithful: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made” (Psa. 145:13b).]

“Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.”

[You, Lord God, are the One we must come to first; prayer is our greatest recourse, our first step, our wonderfully great privilege, the most we can do.

You are my King—the Ruler of all, Lord of my life, Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of heaven, Protector and Sovereign One–able and willing to listen and hear and answer. “The Lord is near to those who call upon him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psa. 145:18-19).

And you are my God–that is, my final authority, the decider of what is right and wrong. You call us every day to play out a repetition of the Garden of Eden: will we choose to obey you, or to rebel? Will we choose to believe you or to listen to the siren call of the world, the flesh and the devil? Will we choose to make you the One to decide what is good and what is evil in our lives or do it ourselves? Will we just respond to what is around us, or will we be proactive early on in following your lead?

Think what would have happened if Adam had spoken up right away in that conversation between Eve and Satan, telling Satan to talk to him, not Eve, telling Eve to stop listening, leading Eve away from that temptation, forbidding her to take the fruit, pointing out the fallacies and inaccuracies that Satan was subtly inserting into her mind.

If Adam had kept God as his final authority, he would not have fallen; that was a very real possibility and is one that I also have now. Each day I will choose many times: will God be my final authority, deciding for me what is right and wrong, or will I usurp His right and lead myself down the path of the first Adam? I can actually make the right choice right now, ahead of time, before any temptation comes.

When I follow you, my King and my God, then I will give you glory. I will honor you before the hosts of heaven, exalt you before the hordes of hell, lift you up before the hearts of men. May I do that, Lord: with your grace and guidance may I give you honor and praise, glory and exaltation in the choices I make. Help me to surrender to you every day, especially today, in every moment, so you may be lifted up in the glory you deserve.]

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Being a Glory Giver

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 9, 2018

Lord, as your peace permeates more and more of my being, it would be easy to become complacent and lazy, unwilling to exert myself to work hard because the impetus to make myself feel good or to be significant by work is lessened.  May I continue to reject those negative, self-centered motives and act out of love for you, a desire to please you in the ways outlined in.

My prayer today is that Colossians 1:9-11 may be true in my life:

–Fill me with the knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding that I may live a life worthy of you, Lord, and please you in every way:

–bearing fruit in every good work [the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our lips in praise, the fruit of good works, the fruit of leading people to Christ],

–growing in the knowledge of God,

–being strengthened with all power according to your glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience,

–joyfully giving thanks to you, Father, who has qualified us to be share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of your Son, whom you love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I praise you that this is your great desire for us; I whole-heartedly accept and rejoice in these great truths, committing myself to obedience for your glory.  I reject being lazy and complacent, which is being a glory-stealer; I choose to be wisely diligent so I can be a glory-giver.]

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Psalm 4:8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 8, 2018

Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

[In you ALONE, Lord, is security! There is no true safety anywhere else! Nor in anyone else! You are the True God, the Only Creator, the One and Only Savior.

There is no one like you, no one else who is fully Holy, completely Good, eternally Existent, entirely Self-sufficient. There is no one else who is perfectly balanced, who brings together paradoxical characteristics in perfect harmony: Love and Justice, Grace and Truth, Pardon and Judgment, Patience and Wrath, Hatred for sin and Love for sinners.

You, Lord Jesus, are our great Shepherd, our patient Brother, our majestic King, our powerful Savior, our wise Leader, our great Navigator, our ever-present Guide, our loving Rebuker, our eternal Priest.

With you we can dwell in safety, knowing we are fully forgiven, absolutely accepted, warmly welcomed into your Kingdom of power and glory. We can sleep in peace, we can rest in security, we can dwell in joy, we can interact with others in love—all because you watch over us.

Therefore I bow before you in wonder, praising you with all my heart, all my strength, all my mind, all my soul, for you are worthy of this and much more. You are the perfect, shining, beautiful, good, wonderful God who has made yourself my Citadel, my Refuge, my Shepherd, my King.

To you be glory and honor today as I focus the spotlight of praise on you so that others may turn to you and enter the light of your presence! May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be continually pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my mighty Rock and my Refuge (Psa. 19:14.]

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