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Psalm 3:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 26, 2018

Psalm 3:4 “To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.”

[Note that this does not say, “answered,” but “answers,” meaning all the time. You are the listening, watching and active God, all-present, all-seeing, all-knowing. In your faithfulness you are always there, you always answer as you see fit, in your time–as you always know what is best.

When trouble comes, you give the grace to go through it. In fleeing here from his traitorous son, Absalom, David arrived at his place of safety to find that you, Lord, had arranged true friends to came and supply his needs of food, drink and shelter (2 Sam. 17:27-29). It was there that he wrote this Psalm.

During his forced march out of Jerusalem, David was tired, discouraged and then cursed by one of his enemies. It didn’t look like much help was being given, but you were there, Lord, at work, preparing everything, doing what was right.

So I can have confidence that you will answer in the issues before me, in the dark night of Barbara’s depression, in the great physical weakness I’m experiencing, in the uncertainties of our future. I can make a long list of negatives, and in the process praise you for what you are doing and will do to help and protect me in each one.

Selah

[I must consistently think about those truths of your faithfulness, power and goodness, Lord, choosing to trust in you no matter what.]

Psalm 3:5 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.”

[David did just that, even though he knew he would be pursued, he slept and awoke refreshed because you, O Lord, protected and kept him safe in the night.

So it is with us, as you surround us like a wall, you hold back the enemy, you give us rest and keep us safe. I praise you, Lord, and thank you for your goodness and faithfulness. You surely are worthy of our worship and obedience.]

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Psalm 3:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 25, 2018

Psalm 3:3 “O LORD, how many are my foes!…But you are a shield around me, O LORD;”

[You are always there, O Holy One, Mighty in your glory, Strong in your righteousness, Powerful in your wisdom. You surround us, watch over us, and deliver us. There is no one greater than you, no other refuge so sure, no other help so near. I praise you, Lord, for your love, your faithfulness, your power, and your presence.]

“you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”

[Not only do you save us, but you share the glory of your triumph with us. You promise to bring forth our righteousness (from you), revealing it in the light of your presence, along with our vindicating judgment as the noon day sun (Ps 37:6). You encourage us, you give us guidance and insight, you grant us honor and lift us up before men. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3:4)

I praise you, Lord, that you, the Holy One, are willing, that you are pleased to share your glory in some mysterious way with your children–we who previously opposed you so bitterly, who brought shame on you, who even now bring grief to your heart every day in our selfishness and unbelief. Truly, there is no love like yours, O God: full-orbed, powerful, ever flowing, unaffected by anyone’s response.

You are the Source of all love, the Well-spring of all grace, the Headwater of all goodness. You overwhelm us with your undeserved, beyond logic, contra-conditional, unending love, continually pouring out grace, goodness and help—in spite of what we are and do.

Praise you, Lord, for what you will do today in the midst of all that will come. I give you glory and honor now for the unseen, unsuspected, unimagined goodness you will sweep into my life today, whether it be clearly so, or disguised as difficulty, disappointment or desperation.

May you be glorified, honored, lifted up and exalted by my responses in all today–in my thoughts, words and actions. For certainly You are worthy!]

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Psalm 3:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 24, 2018
 
Psalm 3 A Psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
 
3:1 “O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!”
 
[In David’s case, many of his own officials and supporters had abandoned him and gone over to Absalom. For us, there are many across the globe who speak loudly against Christians, against the Word, against the Truth, against God, against freedom of religion and worship, against freedom to spread the gospel and the freedom to believe it.
 
Many speak in support of what God calls evil–ignoring the plight of the poor, promoting abortion, sexual immorality and perversion, spending huge amounts on promoting what is destructive, in limiting biblical influence, in perverting justice.
 
But, in spite of the numbers who oppose you with their supposed power, you, Lord God, are the One in charge, your might far surpasses anything they have, you will win in the end!]
 
Psa 3:2 “Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’ ”
 
[Most people operate on the level of the seen. Faith, however, operates on the higher plane of the unseen, of eternal Truth, of the reality of your character and presence, Lord. When all seems hopeless, when there are no positive possibilities on the horizon, we can know that you are there, that you have a plan, and that you are already answering, as you did with David.
 
So in the midst of my present sickness and weakness, I can trust in you, knowing that you are doing many good things which I cannot yet see.
 
As it says in Psalm 145:17-19, “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made. The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to those who call upon him in truth. The Lord delivers those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 86:7 echoes this: “I will call upon the Lord in the day of trouble, for he will help and deliver me.”
 
 
Selah
 
 
[think on that, on the contrast between people’s weakness and God’s power, between people’s selfishness and God’s faithfulness, people’s foolishness and God’s wisdom. As Proverbs 21:30 says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” We are secure in Him, even when all crumbles down around us.
 
So help us this day to live in the shining truth of your glorious character, Lord Jesus: you have a plan, you have laid out a race for us, and you are running with us. Help us to look to you, the Author and Finisher of our faith, trusting you to guide us through the twists and turns, the ups and downs of today. And in doing so, may we find our rest in you alone, thereby giving you honor before all who are around us.]
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Psalm 12:12b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 23, 2018
 
Psalm 2:12b “Blessed are all who take refuge in him [the Son].”
 
[You are THE Refuge, Lord Jesus–of forgiveness, of grace, of goodness, of provision, of love, of care, of delight, of rejoicing, of hope, of protection, of growth. In you we are blessed, made whole, fulfilled, given purpose and peace, meaning and joy as well as hope and grace–and all this in whatever circumstances we are found.
 
In you there is no evil, no darkness, no negativeness, no sin or harm. In you, our Refuge, there is only goodness and grace, light and love, positiveness and purity, stability and surety, provision and protection. We praise and glorify you for your pardon, purity and power.
 
You, Lord Jesus, are worthy of our bowing before you, of our giving you the praise of our lips, the glory of our faith, the honor of our trust, the joy of our obedience, and the adoration of our full worship of your marvelous character.
 
There is no reason to hold back, and there are endless reasons to surrender to you, the True Teacher, the Powerful Provider, the Good God, the Loving Lord, the Saving Shepherd, the Gracious Guide, the Eternal Emanuel, the Triune Team, the Utterly Other, and the Sovereign Savior.
 
I bow before you now, Lord Jesus, resting in your refuge, trusting your Word, praising your goodness, giving you honor. I commit myself to dwelling in your shelter, obeying your commands, waiting on your timing and trusting in your wisdom, that I may rest in the shadow of the Almighty, and thereby glorify you in my life today, O Lord.
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Psalm 2:7-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 19, 2018

Psalm 2:7 “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’”

[These mysterious words, written in 1000 BC, are quoted again in Hebrews 1:5, and clearly refer prophetically to the Lord Jesus. I praise you, my Savior, that you are not only the Son from eternity past, but that you became the Son in a more specific way by being born as a baby, fathered supernaturally, living as both the human and heavenly Son of your eternal Father.

Your relationship was and is doubly unique in a trinity of ways: twice the Son (in eternity and in time); twice the Savior (saving us from our sins in your death, saving us from eternal separation in your resurrection in giving us everlasting life); twice incisively entering this world (once as Savior, once to come as Judge and Conqueror).

I praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for your deep and long wisdom displayed here, for your unshakable commitment to your love and your perfect follow-through on your promises and predictions. You are The Trustable One.]

Psalm 2:8 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”

[Even though Satan knew this statement to be true, still he tempted the man Christ with the offer of having it all. This temptation was actually an offer to take a shortcut, to avoid the suffering needed to inherit all. But Jesus knew the truth, resisted and rejected it, standing firm in righteousness.

You, Lord Jesus, later received back the whole earth and all that is in it as your inheritance, rightfully gained in great suffering. You do things correctly, for you are righteous: no shortcuts, no avoiding the difficult, no impatience, no false ways. You are the One to be trusted. You are the One to be imitated in our lives.

Help us to be like you in whole-heartedly denying self, taking up our cross daily and following you, eagerly acknowledging you as the great Ruler of all.

To you we must bow, both because of your lovely and pure character, and because of your inexorable greatness. No one can prevail against you, so we might as well willingly and whole-heatedly bow before you now, rather than later under duress.

Praise be to you that surrendering to you is a good thing, for you are the God of goodness, the Lord of Love, the King of kindness, the Shepherd of surety and the Ruler of righteousness. To you be glory, to you be honor, to you be obedience, to you be praise both now, today and forevermore. Amen!

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Psalm 2:5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 18, 2018
“Then he [God] rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath,”
 
[You, O Lord, hate sin, so your wrath will be poured out upon it, and upon anyone who refuses to accept your protection of pardon. Your wrath is terrible, overwhelming and total. No man, no creature can stand against it.]
 
Psalm 2:6 “I have installed my Kings on Zion, my holy hill.”
 
[God has chosen His regents and no one can oppose. He installs His rulers, so no one can throw them down without His permission.]
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, King of all, Ruler of the universe, the inexorable, unquenchable, all-knowing and all-loving One. You unfailingly do what is right: you act at the optimum moment, moving swiftly and precisely, bringing good to pass–and part of that is to destroy wickedness. “The Lord watches over all those who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” (Psa. 145).
 
I praise you that you not only offer us all that is needed to fight in the evil day, and having done all to stand (Eph. 6:10-18), you have also commanded us to do this. You make full provision and you call us to full obedience.
 
In this day, I want to join you in the battle, Lord. In the midst of my present physical and mental weakness following my illness, to keep on the full armor and stand in your strength against the evil in and around me, against my corrupt natural heart, against the devil and his forces. Without your provision, your power, your presence, this is impossible.
 
Help us today to heed your call, to bow down in worship and to rise up in submission, to be filled so full with your Spirit that He spills over on those who meet us, washing wickedness from relationships, bringing peace and grace. Praise you, Lord Jesus, for what you will do in our lives today.]
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Going Home

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 16, 2018
Good morning! I didn’t post anything yesterday because didn’t have the energy and used what energy I had with Nat as he helped me work with the rehab facility to go home today!
 
I am now fully able to function independently, although still lack energy. Not only did this sickness steal my strength, it altered my body’s chemical situation so that I react differently to my medications. The biggest challenge has been in my inability to sleep. However, the Lord guided me in asking the right questions and an adjustment was made that resolved my sleeplessness. How wonderful to sleep again and get a little surge of strength!
I must say that my every response in this process has not been one of praise; the Lord has been uncovering my impatience, my love of having control in my life and my dislike of being told what to do right down to what to eat and wear. Hmmm, amazing how I can hide my natural desire to be independent.
Well, I am thankful for God’s gracious patience, kind firmness and persistent working in my life. And for Nat’s being here now to help with the transition home and care for Barbara. It will be a big adjustment for us all as I move home today, so would appreciate your prayers. Warmly, Steve
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Back again

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 11, 2018
Well, I guess some of you wonder what happened to me when I fell off my facebook pages. So here’s the brief story
Suddenly one afternoon in late May I began to go down hill in every way, lost my mental state, my physical strength, my ability to walk or sit up; was out of it, unable to think and talk. I could not communicate, nor interact with anyone. One whole night they worked on me and were just able to save me. At the end of 5 days I could only interact very minimally and was in great pain. It was another some days before I could eat and talk again and interact intelligently, even then I couldn’t find words easily. It was like I had demensia. I lost 17 lbs and weigh the same now as I did in high school. Now I can talk again, am able to walk with a walker and can eat pretty normally.
After 10 days in the hospital, I am now in a rehab. The multiple doctors who worked on me were not able to figure out what was happening, even after 2 MRIs, 2 Cat scans, dozens of blood tests, a spinal probe and other tests. They talked about meningitis, encephalitis, Lymes, but the only things for certain were pneumonia and an unknown virus.
I’d appreciate your prayers for Barbara as this is a big trial for her. Our very good friends from Callvary Chapel, esp. Tom n Tina Mitchel, have watched over her wonderfully. And pray 4 me to have a speedy recovery and that I’d take up n use the Lord’s patience in the process. I’m ready to move on but my brain, body and emotions are lagging way behind–a chance to live Psalm 50:23
Take care. Steve W
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Psalm 1:6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 25, 2018

Psalm 1:6 “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,”

[You, the infinite and eternal One, are abundantly able to care for and supply all for your children, whom you have made righteous in Christ.

You are actively, powerfully, intimately involved in protecting, providing and carrying us forward in this life. You lead us beside still waters.

As we walk in the way of the righteous, you give us multiple opportunities every day to fulfill the purpose of our lives in offering thanks in every situation—especially the ones we don’t like—and thereby honor you before all the unseen hosts as well as humans. You are our Good and Gracious Shepherd.

“but the way of the wicked will perish.”

[The way of the wicked spirals downward into ever increasing darkness, for they have rejected the light-giving Grace and Mercy offered. You, O Lord, want to watch over the way of all, but sadly not all will enter your path.

Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you came as Savior first, and that you will come again as Judge to end wickedness, sin, evil, suffering, pain, sickness and death.

In you only is what we need: the goodness, grace, love, care, protection, security, significance, peace, hope and joy that every human being longs for. How sad that so many, for the sake of feeling independent, reject all this and end up in utter darkness and total binding. The way of the wicked is certainly like deep darkness (Prov. 4:19).

You are the opposite, the Lord of Light, who is worthy of praise, for you shine your light upon every human being, you call all, you chose those who respond, giving us more and more light. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining on every more brightly til the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18).

Praise you for your grace, Lord Jesus, undeserved by us, but continually poured out on us in great waves of love. You are worthy of worship, of praise, of glory, of honor. I bow before you now in surrender, and I rise up to join you in obedience, to follow your leading today.]

 

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Psalm 1:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 24, 2018
Psalm 1:4 “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.”
 
[This shows that you, Lord are just, wise and good. You bless those who obey and allow those who rebel to live out the consequences of their rebellion. While those who surrender to you are like a fruitful tree, bearing good fruit, prospering in what you call them to do, those who don’t are like worthless leftovers on the harvest floor: abandoned as useless and blown away by the wind. They have, by their own choice, become of no purpose, are of no consequence and no value, frozen in the rebellion of their own decision.
 
The sad thing is that people choose to be in this situation, to devalue themselves. You offer them love, grace, worth, purpose, protection, a present joy and a future hope–but they reject this to feast on the chaff of this world, and they become what they feed on.]
 
Psalm 1:5 “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.”
 
[When judgment comes–and it will, for you are righteous and just–those who have rejected you will be swept away. They will suffer the rejection they have given you. As a consequence, they will be excluded from all goodness, banished from your presence and lost in darkness—by their own choice.
 
Praise you, Lord God, that this is not your desire. It is your will that “all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth…” (1 Tim 2:4). It is your desire that no one be condemned; but you give human beings the power of choice, first exercised by Adam and Eve in disobeying you, and then in a growing cascade of rebellion through the ages. And so, in the judgment to come, there will be consequences. As John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
 
John 3:18 adds, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
 
In spite of the ongoing rebellion of many, Our Heavenly Father continues to call all to repentance as Hebrews 4:7 states, “Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today…as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’”
 
So, we should be guarding our own hearts, while praying for and sharing with those who haven’t yet believed, so they may not condemn themselves, and so there may be more worshipers both here in this world frozen in sin, and in the sunshine of Heaven forever.]
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