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Psalm 36:5-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 11, 2018
 
Psalm 36:5 “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
 
[Praise you that there is no limit to your love, no frontier to your faithfulness, no end to your endurance. Your wonderful grace flows from you nonstop–so your love is always present, ever persistent and all pervasive.]
 
Psalm 36:6 “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.
 
[Thank you that your Love encompasses righteousness and justice, where you are fully faithful to your Word, to your Ways, to your wonderous Character. You are faithful in the midst of whatever you allow into our lives, be it pleasant or painful.
 
I thank you that, in your wisdom and goodness, you have caused mercy to triumph over justice. I give you honor and glory for the protection you provide as you mercifully act righteously and exercise justice. Help us, too, to be righteous and just.]
 
“O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.”
 
[You are the One who keeps us alive, giving us breath, food, water and protection; without you we would perish immediately. And we, in our old nature, deserve to be immediately snuffed out, with no recourse.
 
But you, in your inscrutable love, keep us alive, watch over us and invite us into your plans in spite of our inabilities and liabilities. May we consistently remember our weakness and be humble and obedient before you.]
 
Psalm 36:7 “How priceless is your unfailing love!
 
[Love is not only the outstanding, fundamental quality of your being, Lord God, but more deeply, unfailing love is what you are. You are Love itself, therefore you can never not love! Praise you for this powerful, unending Truth which influences every aspect of our existence.
 
Living in this love is the basic desire of our hearts, for you created us to exist in such a relationship with you. And through Christ you have restored us to it, rescuing us from exile, from extinction, from extermination, while bringing us into your wonderful presence, your warm embrace, your wide-ranging plan.
 
Help us be ever in awe of your glorious grace, to remain in your lavish love, loving you back well. “This is love for God: to keep his commandments, and his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3]
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Psalm 36:4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 10, 2018
 
Psalm 36:4 “he [the wicked man] has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.”
 
[This can also be true of believers–those who at one time committed themselves to be followers of Jesus, but now follow their own way. I think of an acquaintance in ministry who has run roughshod over a multitude of relationships, and has been confronted about this by multiple people, but refuses to admit any wrong doing.
 
He sees no sin even though he has ceased to do what is wise and good. He has committed himself to a sinful, self-protecting and self-promoting course.
 
Fear of God brings the opposite: humility and a teachable spirit. This is in stark contrast to this believer’s independent, self-justifying attitude, manifesting itself in pride and rebellion.
 
The outcome of failure to fear God is described in James 3:16: “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Not a pretty picture, and, unfortunately, what often happens in individuals and churches who fail to fear God.
 
In contrast is the picture James 3:18 gives us: “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” And we can become peacemakers by fearing God as is described in James 3:17, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
 
As it says in Psalm 34:12, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,” fear the Lord, for it is the beginning of wisdom.
 
So let’s check ourselves regularly: are we caring deeply what God says, standing in awe of His wisdom, and submitting ourselves to His Word? Or are we going by our own twisted hearts, convincing ourselves that we know best, but actually leading ourselves into the fires of failure? Big consequences flow from each course!
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Psalm 36:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 9, 2018
Psalm 36:3, “The words of his [the wicked man’s] mouth are wicked and deceitful;”
 
[Such a person deceives himself, as well as others. He is good at giving a positive spin on whatever he desires to do. Just as Satan deceived Eve by making himself look good while implying that God was not, that He wanted to keep something positive from her (“when you eat of it…you will be like God, knowing good and evil” Gen 3:5). In the same way, a person without the fear of God can convince himself that, doing the opposite of what God commands, is good.
 
We see this every day around us, as people attempt to use Scripture to support abortion, unbiblical forms of marriage, living together, or putting unqualified people into church leadership. What they are actually using as a measure is culture rather than God’s Word. They let their desire to fit in and be accepted, to be up-to-date and sophisticated, deceive them into rejecting God’s wisdom for that of the world.
 
In contrast is the one who fears God, spends time in His Word, learns to think God’s thoughts and puts them into practice. God’s perspectives are consistently the opposite of our natural ones (“Love your enemies.” “Do good to those who persecute you.” “Forgive as you have been forgiven.”)—and we could never come up with such beautiful ideas on our own. Each command is God protecting us from unnecessary negatives and uncalled for harm, such as bitterness, worry and fear.
 
A “God fearer” will check his desires and plans before God and in relation to His Word, rather than trust his own devious heart. One way to do this is to wait on making a decision, while taking time to think it through, asking God for wisdom, looking for direction in His Word, listing out the pros and cons. George Mueller described “God fearing” as bringing his heart to the place where receiving a “yes” or a “no” to his prayer was the same to him, for he wanted God’s will, not his own.
 
Fearing God is standing in awe of His majestic power, marvelous wisdom and mighty goodness. It is caring deeply what He thinks about each thing in our life. Fearing God will protect us from the deception of the world and of our own heart; it will bring wisdom and open the way to His greater working in and through us. Why would anyone ever want to reject His way?
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Psalm 36:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 8, 2018
Psalm 36:1 “An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
 
[Fear of God means, among other things, to care deeply what God has to say, which leads to obeying Him. In the words of Psalm 34,13,14, fearing God means to “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.” The practical outworking of valuing His Word.
 
In contrast, the wicked person elevates his own intellect and emotions above God’s Word, deciding what is right and wrong himself—a dangerous and destructive practice, for we were created to follow God’s definition of what is right and wrong, and thereby be protected from much harm.]
 
Psalm 36:2 “For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”
 
[Two acquaintances of mine died shortly before I wrote this. Both of them had heard the gospel from me and others multiple times, but both felt they were just fine on their own. One said, “My conscience is clear.” That can only be so if you have very low standards of right and wrong.
 
This reminds me of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21, who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to obtain eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
 
What!!!??? Who was he kidding? He thought he had never lied, never was disobedient to his parents (dishonoring them), never looked at a woman with lust, never stole anything, never hated anyone? In order to convince himself of this, he had to have exceedingly low standards, rejecting God’s measure for his own to justify himself. No fear of God here.
 
The reality is that, when measured by God’s holy standards, every single person is guilty before God. To flatter ourselves by thinking we are fine on our own has only one result: entering an eternity without God, separated from all good forever.
 
How much better it is to lay aside our pride and self-centered thoughts, bowing to God’s beautiful and protective ways, living in the light of His Word, in the warmth of His love and the reality of true life, eternal life.
 
For those who have not yet bowed their knee to Christ and for those of us who have, to be teachable, humble, and fear God is to be wise, and leads only to what is good. Let’s all cultivate our fearing of God, praying daily, “Lord, I give you my will and take yours in its place.” Along with memorizing and frequently praying Psalm 34:13-14: “…keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.”]
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Lifting My Soul to God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 7, 2018
Today is an example of “lifting my soul” during the team conflict that occurred several years ago, which I mentioned a few days earlier. Lifting our souls is telling God what we are thinking, feeling and wanting, then measuring these against God’s Word and character. It is the way to get things out, to give ourselves perspective, to remember who the real enemy is and to seek God’s help, surrendering to Him.
 
Had trouble getting to sleep, then was awake often, struggling with negative thoughts about the team’s conflicts. Praise you, Lord Jesus, that in the midst of this turmoil, you led me to think about you and how incredibly powerful, wise and faithful you are.
 
You are the star Breather, the galaxy Arranger, who put our solar system in just the right place under one arm of the Milky Way, so we can observe the universe and see the works of your hands.
 
You hung the earth on nothing, put it in just the right orbit at the perfect speed, tilted its axis exactly and spun it perfectly, so each day and night are of optimal length. You set each condition of the solar system precisely so that carbon-based life could exist on earth. Praise be to you for you great wisdom and power displayed in that.
 
So it is with our lives: in your mighty power, your deep wisdom, your gracious love, you bring or allow what you will use for good. This present painful situation, these messy and hurtful circumstances have all come with your permission and you are using them to develop us as leaders and give opportunity to develop our followers.
 
Lord, help us to let go of our feelings of failure and frustration, and instead to stand firm in Truth, such as, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing this, that the trying of our faith works patience. And let patience have its perfect work that we may be perfect and mature” (James 1:2,3).
 
Help us to swim in the current of your Truth, Lord, letting you carry us along in the right direction. Help us to reject despair, feeling sorry for ourselves, to reject the embarrassment of failure along with our weariness and to instead embrace what you bring by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Help us to thereby honor you and open the way so that you can show us the salvation of the Lord.
 
I thank you now for what you will do with this mess, for how you will work in and through it to bring growth, transformation and deepening for us as leaders so that you can bring the same thing to all involved in the midst of this situation.
 
I praise you in faith, Lord God, our Great Shepherd, our Glorious Transformer, our Wonderful King. As you used the sins of Joseph’s brothers to provide a way of salvation for the Jews and many others, so you can use the sins in this situation to bring about good and progress for us all. Do that Lord, move in your might, defeat the plans of the enemy, bring glory to yourself. Answer us out of your faithfulness, your righteousness, your goodness and your power. Answer to bring glory to your name, honor through your might and maturity to your children. I praise you now for the answers you will send. Amen.
 
Epilogue: God did not resolve the situation as I desired, but He did answer to deepen and mature most of us through it.
 
Picture of what it looks like this morning, April 7, in Maine (although the picture is from CT–after a system update on my phone, I can’t figure out how to upload my new photos to my computer!)
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Maine View

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 6, 2018
We are in Maine today, visiting very good friends, a healing time for Barbara–when she lets it be.
 
On the way up we visited old friends from Egypt in lower MA, then to Gloucester to visit my cousin and her husband, where we had a very positive and profitable visit spiritually; the next day into Boston to Harvard Square to visit one of my disciples, then up here to Maine where I’ll speak in church on Sunday, returning to Canterbury in the afternoon.
 
God watched over us each step of the way, helping when the power on my phone was about to give out, leaving us without gps help, waking me when I fell asleep while driving and getting us to a gas station just in time when we needed it. Great God, great help, great peace.
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Making Good out of Failure

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 5, 2018
 
I praise you, Lord God, for your great Love, your persistent Faithfulness, your mighty Power, your wide Wisdom, your deep Knowledge, your pure Righteousness, your perpetual Perfection.
 
You are the One I can trust today, the One who rules every day, who rights what is off, who redeems what is lost, who restores what is broken, who reigns in every circumstance. You are God, you are Great, you are Glorious and you are Gracious.
 
I commit myself to praise you with all my heart, with all my being, all the time. I choose to embrace what you bring, what you reveal, what you allow. I thank you for my failures, which point me away from myself to you, breaking me of self-reliance, of pride, of independence, of selfishness.
 
Thank you for your very specific working in my life, your personal, careful, exact plan to fashion me more into the image of Christ. While I do not like it when this includes breaking, I do love the outcome of seeing you more clearly, of worshiping you more deeply, of growing in trust, of seeing your great power at work.
 
In thinking about my inability to bring a good resolution to the group conflict mentioned earlier, you used my failure in this to reveal my unhealthy desire for success and praise, my pride, my selfishness, my wanting a specific time table.
 
Well, all that cannot be changed now, but I can repent, change and grow through it all. To you be glory in it, Lord. I see right now that this failure is a blotch on your name, but praise you that you can turn it into a positive as you desire.
 
Thank you for helping me to recognize my weakness, my smallness, and to see more clearly your greatness and power. It is such a wonderful thing to be your child, to be your servant, Lord, to join you in what you are doing. Help me, help all of us to be humble, to discern what you are doing and to join you in it so we can bring you glory and honor.
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And that is what we are!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 4, 2018
Today’s devotional in EDIFIED! is so uplifting, I want to share it with you.
 
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1
 
Heavenly Father, I share John’s wonder at this astounding truth: that you, the Holy God, the Righteous One, the Just Judge, the Good Creator King, would want to take your enemies, meaning every human being–evil, depraved, ugly, stubborn, rebellious and destructive as they are—and, if they are willing, to transform them into new creatures and adopt them as your children! What a turn-around: to bring your adversary into the palace and place him into your family, making him your heir!
Your astounding act of justification is the great gem of Truth in the New Testament—you, the Just Judge, by the propitiation of Christ’s shed blood, satisfied the law and bought for us, your enemies, complete forgiveness, restoration, eternal life and a place in your plan. By your work, Lord Jesus, we stand justified before the court of heaven.
 
Adoption, however, is another matter altogether. Justification is a forensic idea, meeting the demands of the law, coldly correct, handed down in court. In contrast, adoption is a family idea: warm, welcoming, accepting, being offered to a new position of privilege and grace. And this is what you offer!
 
This Agape love of yours is astounding. In one way, it is a brutal love–brutal to you the Lover, who gives and gives, unswayed by the lack of positive response from the rebellious, self-centered, unbelieving, negative objects of your love–us. This love, so painful to you as you are grieved daily by our rebellion, is so gracious to us: caring, kind, forgiving, correcting, guiding, rebuking, nurturing, providing, directing, cherishing.
 
In making us your children, Heavenly Father, you have invited us into the deep, intimate relationship you have with the Lord Jesus, giving us what you gave Him in His time on earth: grace, affection, fellowship, honor, and authority. As you loved your only begotten Son, so you love your only adopted children. “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”!!! (1 John 1:3).
We must stand in awe, in wonder, in thankfulness, Lord God, at your desire and ability to love us so. You have made us those in whom you delight and rejoice. You are gloriously great in your patience and goodness as you faithfully work in us, suffering grief every day at our hands as we, in our laziness, selfishness, pride, rebellion and unbelief, choose to disobey you and do our own deadly deeds according to our own puny plans. And this instead of responding to your invitation to join you in your glorious and great plans for restoring the universe to its pristine pre-fall condition. But you forgive us and continue to work lovingly in our lives.
 
Praise be to you for the greatness of your gift to make me part of your family, your beloved child who is desired, treasured and deeply, dearly loved.
 
However, the real point of these monumental truths is not my acceptance, fulfillment or joy—and these are certainly some of the gifts you pour out on your children—no, actually the point of all this is that you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in your great, illogical, magnificent love, are worthy of praise and exaltation, worship and honor.
 
You are a wonder—no, you are THE Wonder of the world, of the universe, of all time and eternity, and I choose to praise you, the Eternal Ruler, Lord God, King of all time.
 
God, you are my Father and I praise you; Lord Jesus, you are my brother, my fellow heir, my Savior and God, and I praise you; Holy Spirit, you are the indwelling, transforming One and I praise you for your deep, patient work in me. I give you glory and honor, exaltation and praise, for that is what you deserve.
 
Prayer: “Forgive us for failing to marvel at, revel in, exalt in and glorify you for this great and uplifting privilege of being your children. I thank you, praise you, rejoice in you, lift you up and honor you. I commit myself to obey you, Father, just as my elder brother, the Lord Jesus, loved you in obedience. May glory be to you forever and ever. Amen.”
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Psalm 35:28

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 3, 2018
David, envisioning God protecting him and exonerating him before his foes, finishes his Psalm with this commitment:
 
Psalm 35:28 “My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.”
 
[At this point God had not yet acted to deliver David, but since he had appealed to the goodness and love of God, to the power and the faithfulness of his Lord, he was confident of help coming. So David promises to be a man of praise, continually exalting his Savior.
 
This must be my practice, too, whether things work out according my desires or not.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, that you are in control, that I awake each morning to your safeness, to your surrounding love, to your eternal faithfulness, to your indwelling, unceasing presence. You are always here, patiently unfolding the intricate plan you have for my life, giving me wisdom, direction, endurance, grace, love and joy.
 
It is only in you that we can have joy, for without you this world is meaningless, randomly dangerous and utterly pointless. You, however, are here as our Rock, our Foundation, our Fortress, our Shield, our high Tower and our Deliverer.
 
In you there is order, meaning and purpose. In you there is protection, power and provision. In you there is love, light and life. In you there is goodness, grace and greatness. In you there is caring, compassion and completeness. In you there is healing, help and hope. In you there are answers, reasons and wisdom.
 
To live without you is death in delayed degrees, ever spiraling downward towards eternal destruction. With you there is life with ever increasing light, love and joy, ever spiraling upwards towards our eternal home.
 
So, in you I can rest–for in you I am protected, in you there is rightness and clarity, even in the most difficult of situations. I thank you for the great privilege of being your child and praise you now for the outcome of the present challenges in my life, for whatever you will do in our situation with my wife’s illness and other adventures. You, O Lord, are trustworthy.
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Psalm 35:24-27

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 2, 2018
Psalm 35:24, 25 “Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me. Do not let them think, ‘Aha, just what we wanted!’ or say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’”
 
[A number of years ago, when I first wrote this devotional on Psalm 35, I was involved in trying to help a group resolve a conflict. The group’s leader, who had been confronted by his teammates on abusive leadership, maintained that he was blameless and everyone else, including those he asked to help him, like me, were wrong. He thought he’d “swallowed us up” as he steamrolled us with his logical arguments, not realizing that he was demonstrating exactly what his team mates objected to!
 
Lord, protect us from having such blind pride, such self-righteousness, such selfish ambition and self-deception. I am certainly capable of these, too. Expose such sins of ours to us quickly so we can, unlike this leader, immediately repent and avoid bringing dishonor to your name.
 
I thank you, Lord God, that your wisdom is much higher than ours: you are always firm and clear in what is best. I give you glory and honor for what you are doing in our lives.]
 
Psalm 35:26 “May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.”
 
[Lord, may Satan and his hordes all be brought to shame in their attempts to bring disunity and distress. Even years later this leader I mentioned has not accepted his fault and continues to hold a bitter grudge against those who tried to help him; this is distressing to all involved and dishonoring to you.
 
Thank you for leading us all to forgive him as you have forgiven us. In faith I give you praise now for what you are doing in the turmoil this man has caused, for you, Lord, are good and gracious, loving and wise.]
 
Psalm 35:27 “May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, ‘The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.’”
 
[Yes, may YOU win, Lord, vindicating your servants as you see best; may you be exalted as we obey you in humility; may you be the One who is lifted up in our joy and gladness at your goodness. We can trust you in all things, knowing that you lead us through the dark valleys, on difficult paths like the one in this picture, so that you can eventually bring us out into wider, greener pastures.]
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