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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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Psalm 4:7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 7, 2018

Psalm 4:7 “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.”

[Having wealth, security and provision bring joy to the natural heart. However, Lord, you desire to give our hearts much greater joy than anything this world can offer.

This is clear in our undeserved and rich relationship with you, in your unbelievably warm and loving grace and goodness which are personal, pleasant, powerful and profound. “These things I have told you so that my joy might remain in you and your joy might be full” (John 15:11). Truly, to know you is enough for joy!

To be your child and to walk with you opens our eyes to see more and more of the unseen, enables us to praise you in the midst of failure, rejection, hurt and pain–for your greatness, goodness and glory continue to be poured out upon us during such times.

In fact, the flow may increase during these times as we exercise the privilege of praise when we don’t want to, offering the sacrifice of our lips, the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Help me, Lord, to do this consistently as we ride the unpredictable roller coaster of Barbara’s depression, and now the slow recovery from my bout with encephalitis as well as my eczema, itching terribly from ankles to neck

Oh, that we would practice this all the time, for then we will rise through the levels of growth to greater and greater intimacy with you, to more and more understanding of your Love, to a deeper and broader grasp of your greatness, to a wider and higher vision of who you are.

There is no end to our ever-expanding wonder at your beautiful Character, your loving Heart and your mighty Strength, for you, Lord God are infinite in every aspect and are constantly at work in our lives, giving us God sightings daily. I praise you for your care, protection and provision for us every minute. You only, O Triune Lord God, are worthy of our worship.]

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Psalm 4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 6, 2018
Psalm 4:6 “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’”
 
[This is because many are willfully blind to or continually distracted from, the constant flow of life-giving goodness you pour out on us every day, Lord–your unending provision of our basic needs, your wonderful protection, the great attention from your heart to the details of our lives.
 
There is so much goodness that we cannot begin to count it all! From your keeping the stars in place to holding together every atom in the universe, you are doing what is beneficial for all human beings on every level, in every situation. You are marvelous, you are majestic, you are forever good–powerfully, patiently, persistently, paternally so, and we praise you for it.]
 
“Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.”
 
[And so you do every day, Lord, every minute without ceasing, with love and grace and goodness. We praise you for the privilege of having you as our Heavenly Father.
 
You keep on giving everyone light through creation, events and believers. You speak through the Spirit and your Word, giving conviction, insight, wisdom, guidance and direction, and providing sun and moon, clouds and rain, seasons and years, crops and animals–even though people take them for granted, or complain about what comes.
 
Many choose not to see your light, even though they have it: “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:9,4). The people of the world prefer darkness because their deeds are evil: the light of Christ makes unbelievers uncomfortable.
 
You knew, Lord Jesus, that you would have such massive rejection when you came to live in the world as a man; you knew that from a human standpoint your time on earth would appear to be a failure, but you came anyway because you always know what is best, and do it, irrelevant of what people think.
 
Help us to see daily all the God sightings you give us, Lord, to live in the light of your presence, to walk in the light of your Word, to rejoice in the light of your love, seeing all that you provide every day, and give you honor for your generous, gracious and good heart.]
 
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Psalm 4:5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 5, 2018
Psalm 4:5 “Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.”
 
[In all things, including those that “make me angry,” (that is, actually reveal my own selfish agenda), I must make the right sacrifices, by trusting in you, O LORD.
 
It is so easy to do what comes by nature, to offer sacrifices that do not please you: to punish myself, deny myself to make myself better, try to earn your acceptance by my own “good” works.
 
In contrast, what are the sacrifices you desire? A major one is this: “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me…” (Psa. 50:23). Or as it is expressed in the New Testament, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb. 13:15).
 
This is what God desires, a response based on heavenly wisdom that honors Him with trust and faith. This means believing He has a good and loving plan for each of us and will use whatever He allows into our lives for good. Therefore, we can sacrifice our natural response to complain on the altar of trust, and instead praise in the midst of distress, thank in the midst of pain, delight in the midst of disappointment.
 
This is a right sacrifice, for it is done by faith, not by sight—and by offering this, all is transformed: suffering, disappointment, hurt, persecution, injustice, loss and difficulties–all become platforms for giving God glory, and bringing transformation in our lives.
 
As the Word says, “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him” (Heb. 11:6). Offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving is an act of faith, a wonderful way to please God.
 
No wonder Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 12:9,10, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Paul knew that praise brings power from God, that “he who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving…opens the way that I may show him the salvation of the Lord” Ps 50:23b).
 
Paul knew this because God told him directly: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul believed this so deeply that when he had difficulties, he rejoiced, he got excited, he embraced them as positive: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties….” (2 Cor. 12:10).
 
Paul’s understanding of God’s character, of His way of working, of eternal Truth, of the “right-side-upness” of God’s Kingdom compared to the “upside downness” of this world’s, led him to say, “…when I am weak, then I am strong.” That is a “faith sacrifice” that God wants.
 
Lord, may I live that today, understanding the unseen so clearly that the power and truth of your Word may flow out of my life in responses of thanksgiving in whatever comes, in a sacrifice of trust that will bring delight to you!]
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