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Psalm 7:3-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 24, 2017
Psalm 7:3 “O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands–”
 
[David faces the possibility of unconfessed sin being a factor here; there is none he knows, but there is always more sin in our lives than we are aware of. Help us, Lord, to be open to the conviction of the Spirit as He points out the next sin you want us to confess and repent of and lay aside.]
 
Psalm 7:4-5 “if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe, then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.”
 
[This is a powerful prayer of surrender to God’s judgment, a declaration of David’s innocence in these two possible crimes of attacking a man in peace or without cause robbing someone.
 
How sure could I be so sure of my innocence as to make such a strong claim of being without guilt? There is much in my life below the level of consciousness–as well as above it–to confess and forsake! Sins like impatience, fear, worry, gossip, pride and unkindness—small things according to human thinking, but all sin is significant in your sight.
 
Yet in you, O Lord, I am forgiven and cleansed. I must deal only with what you show me—and I want to do that. Help me to be alert and open to the work of your Spirit as He convicts, reveals and teaches me about the sins I need to confess and reject.
 
Help me to be confident in you and your forgiveness while being realistic and transparent before you and myself about my natural depravity–daily dealing with sin in eager confession and wholehearted repentance.
 
Help me then in receiving and embracing the forgiveness and cleansing within that flows from Christ’s sacrifice. Help me to walk in the confidence that I am accepted, dearly loved and holy in your sight (Col:3:12) as I stand in the righteousness of Jesus. I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your resurrection, redemption and righteousness, all shared with us so graciously! ]
 
Selah
 
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Psalm 7:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 23, 2017
Psalm 7:1 “O LORD” [You, O LORD, are Jehovah, the God whose glory is in His holiness.]
 
“my God,” [You, O God, are my Elohim, the incredibly powerful One, who showed your might in creation, and the absolutely faithful One, who showed your faithfulness in providing salvation.)
 
“I take refuge in you;”
 
[This, Lord is what you desire: our full trust, our consistently taking shelter in your great power, mighty wisdom and unending faithfulness, for in doing so we bring great honor to you. This is what we must do as our first response to danger: fleeing to you, acknowledging our weakness and your power, our inadequacy and your total competency, trusting in you, not in ourselves.]
 
“save and deliver me from all who pursue me,”
 
[You, O Lord God, are to be our first recourse, our first and final aid. Before any other action, we need to come to you in prayer–as David has done here–and seek your help, for salvation comes from you alone, you who have the power to prevent anyone from pursuing us successfully.]
 
Psalm 7:2 “or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.”
 
[Our enemies, both supernatural and often human, are too strong for us; we cannot succeed against them–we would be destroyed if we sought to save ourselves. David was a mighty warrior, never defeated in battle, to my knowledge, yet he did not trust in himself, but fled to God here, begging for His help and intervention.
 
In Psalm 18:17-19 David said, “He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”]
 
Lord, help us to remember how desperate a battle we are in each day–fighting against the world, the flesh and the devil–and to turn immediately to you when difficulty, disappointment and danger enter our lives.
 
May our trust be in you, not in ourselves or others. May you be our Rock, our Fortress and our Defender. We praise you now for what you will do in our lives today.
 
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Psalm 6:8-10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 22, 2017
Psalm 6:8 “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.”
 
[Here is a statement of pure faith—nothing has changed, there is no sign of an answer, yet David, after looking to God in prayer, is ready to trust, to act on unseen Truth and believe in the faithfulness of his heavenly Father.]
 
Psalm 6:9 “The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.”
 
[He is certain, sure, convinced of God’s faithfulness and mercy, so he can state with trust that Jehovah has heard him and will answer. He looks to the character of God, the heart of his Lord, and is sure of an answer in the right time and right way. “I will call upon the Lord in the day of trouble, for he will answer me” (Psa. 86:7). ]
 
Psalm 6:10 “All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”
 
[David ends his psalm with the statement of conviction and confidence. He does not have any visible sign of help yet, but he is sure of the outcome because he knows the living God who can and does act in power.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, for your great and wonderful character, full of unfailing love, unfailing wisdom, unfailing grace, unfailing help. You see all that is going on in our hearts, you know all our troubles, you hear all our prayers and you always answer in wisdom, power and grace.
 
We praise and thank you for your wonderful provision out of your glorious riches, your endless grace and your loving heart. May we live today in the light of these truths, bringing honor to you through our trust and confidence in you. Amen.]
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What a God!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 21, 2017
“The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.” Psalm 93:1,2
 
You, O Yahweh, are the Holy One: Pure and Powerful, Sinless and Sincere, Just and Judicious, Rich and Righteous, Glorious and Good. You are majestic, magnificently robed in light, riding on the wings of the wind, commanding the stars, guiding the planets, towering over all heavenly beings in total otherness.
 
You move in wisdom and grace, you are thorough in your thoughts, powerful in your plans, precise in your purposes. You are never shaken, never flustered, never hurried, never late.
 
In your magnificent being you are awesome in power, overwhelming in scope, fearsome in glory, blinding in beauty, astounding in wisdom, infinite in knowledge. You are the One to be worshiped, the only One to bow before, to surrender to, to live for.
 
You keep all in place until your plan is fulfilled, when you will end time and history, creating a new heaven and new earth. Your faithfulness is our certainty that the world cannot be moved without your permission.
 
Truly, we can say with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25). We bow before you, Lord God Almighty, we praise you for your majestic, wise, pure, just and gracious being.
 
Prayer: “Lord, I give myself to you in offering, bowing in surrender, rising up to obey you in trust, to glorify you in wholehearted application of your Word. To you be glory today in all my motives, attitudes, thoughts, words and decisions. Amen.” — From EDIFIED!
 
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God Sightings

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 20, 2017
Each day I pray Ephesians 3:17-19, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, Eph 3:19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
 
One powerful way to “know this love that surpasses knowledge” is to note the “God sightings” He gives us each day. It is so easy to take them for granted, hardly noticing them at all. We have to cultivate the ability to see them, and when we do, our faith increases because we do see more of God’s love. Here are a some examples from my life to help you see them in yours.
 
When wanting to do some very needed work on the barn this winter, but having no help for it, one of my former part time helpers turned up out of the blue and wanted to earn a bit of money. And, as a second God sighting, he said he’s been thinking about all the spiritual things I shared with him and wants to start going to church and see his life turned around!
 
Then, while working in the old barn, we jacked up a beam to put a support under it. However, just as we got it near the right height, the jack kicked out and the heavy timber we were using to jack it up was thrown to the side with great force, but missed us completely. The only damage done was that it bent my level, but even then it was still usable! We could have been badly hurt but were graciously protected.
 
In another God sighting, a friend sent me an email, asking if I had two copies of EDIFIED! she could buy. If she had written a day earlier, I would have said, “No.” But the evening before she wrote, another friend returned a copy he’d borrowed, so I had at least one. Then on the day she came to pick up that one, a new shipment of EDIFIED! I’d ordered more than two weeks before finally arrived, just in time so I could have two books for her. God provided at exactly the right time!
 
In another incident, when returning from an appointment, we talked about making two stops on the way back, then decided not to and went straight home, arriving at 4:30. Then Barbara remembered that a neighbor said she’d come at 4:30 to get some hay! We’d forgotten, but the Lord had not, and guided us in getting home just in time!
So look for God sightings in your day, may it be as ordinary as making it safely home from shopping, and praise Him for them as you get to “know this love that surpasses knowledge.”
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From EDIFIED!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 19, 2017
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.”
Psalm 92:12,13
Praise be to you, Yahweh, the great I AM, the self-existent, eternal, unchanging, holy and perfect One—and paradoxically, the Lover of sinners. While your qualities of righteousness, holiness and justice dictated the necessity of judgment, condemnation and punishment, you chose, through your own suffering, to have mercy triumph over justice, to have grace trump punishment, to have love overrule wrath. You called us rebels to yourself, cleansed us, transformed us into new creatures and adopted us into your family, making us righteous in Christ.
 
You planted us in your courtyard, making us flourish, sprouting lush, green leaves of praise, and succulent, delicious fruit of the Spirit. You make it possible for us to get our roots deep down into the wonderful water of your Word so even in drought we can remain green, bearing our fruit in its season, and being successful in whatever you call us to do (Psalm 1:3).
 
You are the great Giver of good, supplying what is needed to keep your children growing, maturing, bearing more and more good fruit. You have provided all that is necessary for living a godly life and for overcoming the evil of the world (2 Peter 1:3). Yet in your wisdom and grace, your great patience and kindness, you leave it to us, your children, to draw this living water up through our roots of reading, to remain in your courts, to abide in the vine and to bear your fruit.
 
To those of your children who keep their roots growing down into the water of the Word, you promise: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” (Ps. 92:14).
 
As we grow old, lose our physical abilities, have less strength, hear and see less, and may seem to dry up on the outside, we will still bear good, rich, delicious fruit for those around us: the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of good works, the fruit of people coming to Christ—which is just the opposite of what happens if we live naturally rather than supernaturally. And you cause us to remain fruitful so that we can declare “the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Ps. 92:15).
 
To you, O triune God, be honor and glory and praise. To you be worship, adoration and magnification. To you be power, might and exaltation. You are worthy, you are glorious, You are Elohim.
 
Prayer: “I bow before you, Heavenly Father in admiration; I rise up in enthusiasm; I go forth to worship you through obedience. May your name be honored today in all I think, say and do, my beloved God. Amen.”
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Psalm 6:5-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 18, 2017

Psalm 6:5 “No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?”
 
[While he is right that the dead cannot praise in this world any longer, David here did not seem to have a clear view of what came after death. We as believers will praise you, Lord, after we die physically. We will see you face to face, exalt you, and bring you honor as we see your glory more clearly. What a marvelous truth!]
 
Psalm 6:6-7 “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”
 
[David was overwhelmed with worry, with fears, with anguish over his difficulties, his problems, his many enemies. In the night his mind raced from one problem to the next and sleep eluded him. His attempts to deal with this have met with failure; his strength is too little, his resources too meager.
 
So he cried out to you, Lord, the only true source of help, the only actual salvation available. He poured out his heart, hiding nothing. In lifting his soul to you, he was able to get out his burdens before you and be open to a renewed filling of the truth.
 
In Psalm 46:5, speaking of Jerusalem, David wrote, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” That is, after the coldest, darkest time of the night, God will come in to help. We have to wait in faith, knowing He will come in the right way at the right time.
 
May we turn to you, Lord, early on and not wrestle with our worry and fear, not depend on our finite insight and wisdom. Help us to consistently lift our souls to you, telling you what we are thinking, feeling and wanting, and submit this all to your Word.
 
Lord, we praise you that you are our Rock, our Salvation and our High Tower. May we rush to you for help in each challenge so that you may be lifted up before men and angels as you save us yet again from our enemies who are too strong for us.]
 
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Psalm 6:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 17, 2017
Psalm 6:1 “O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”
 
[Our guilt is so great and your corresponding wrath is so heavy, we would be crushed in an instant if you disciplined us in your full anger. I praise you, O Jehovah, that while you are the holy, sinless, pure God who hates sin, yet you love sinners and have provided us a means of shelter, a way to escape your righteous wrath through the death and resurrection of Christ.
 
Praise be to you for your gracious, kind and forgiving heart, and for your mercy triumphing over justice. You, Lord Jesus, took the wrath and anger we deserved, and you, heavenly Father were willing to pour your righteous wrath on Him rather than us, opening the way for us into your Kingdom, into your family, into full forgiveness.]
Psalm 6:2 “Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?”
 
[You have made body, soul and spirit so intertwined that the anguish of one strongly affects the others. Praise you, Lord, that your healing touch in one area also brings healing to the others. You are the answer to our anguish, you are the healer of our hurts, the cure to all that troubles us.
 
You are merciful in our need and we can turn to you, knowing that our salvation comes from you, you only are our Rock, our Salvation and our high Tower. Our soul finds rest in you alone, and when our soul is at rest, so is the whole of our being.]
 
Psalm 6:4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”
 
[You in your wonderful wisdom bring us through dark valleys where all seems to go wrong, where we are overwhelmed with failure and anguish, where we must walk by faith. And in this torment, we can appeal to your unfailing love—which is the only ground of approach to you, for we in ourselves do not deserve to even think of speaking to you; naturally we have no access. But you opened the way with your love, your everlasting, unfailing agape love.
 
You, Lord God, are great in grace, glorious in love, marvelous in mercy, mighty in forgiveness. We bow before you in awe, surrender in thankfulness, accepting your grace, putting on the full armor, and then rise up to walk with you into this day, shining in the light of your love, bringing hope and truth and grace to all we meet through this day. Glorify yourself in us, through us, in spite of us, Lord.]
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Psalm 5:12

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 16, 2017
Psalm 5:12 “For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;”
 
[Yes, you do, Lord, you bless those who have bowed before you, have received your pardon, have been cleansed of their sin by the blood of Christ, have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ and have become members of your family.
 
You bless us daily with your presence, your love, your grace, your goodness, your wisdom, your power, your protection and your purpose. To be your child, to know you is to be blessed beyond conception, beyond imagination, beyond belief!
 
Truly you are worthy of our wholehearted worship: “Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).]
 
“you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”
 
[Every day we live in your favor as your dearly beloved children, deeply cared for, doted on and delighted in. You are enthused to meet with us each morning as we awake– are we as enthused to meet with Him? You are pleased when we come to you in prayer, you are delighted when we bring our problems to you, you are glad when we intentionally walk with you through the day.
 
Your favor surrounds us, covers us, protects us, guides us, provides for us. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 18:30).
 
You, Heavenly Father, Shepherd Jesus, indwelling Holy Spirit, are fully, truly, absolutely worthy of worship, obedience, exaltation and love. So I bow before you this morning, I give myself to you anew. I pledge my obedience to love and praise you for what you will bring today, no matter how it may appear to me. May you be glorified in my life today.
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Psalm 5:11

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 15, 2017
Psalm 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.”
 
[Yes, you, Lord Jesus, are our Refuge and Strength, our Mighty Rock, our Fortress in the day of evil. You invite us into your protection, you opened 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!]
 
“Spread your protection over them,”
 
[And you do this, Lord Jesus, putting your tent of shelter 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 light of your presence, your light banishes darkness; you are our personal protection and you are totally trustworthy in your provision. We can praise you for whatever comes, good or ghastly, delightful or difficult, nice or nasty, for you are wise and persistent, 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.”
 
[One reason for your protection is so that we may rejoice more in you. It is such a privilege to love your name, Lord Jesus, for 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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