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Psalm 7:9-19

Published by S.M. Wibberley on October 8, 2015

Psalm 7:9 “O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts,”

[You, Lord God, know the full truth, for from you nothing is hidden as you see our thoughts and intents right to the bottom of our hearts. Your judgments are fully informed and righteous, true and just. To you be praise, honor and glory for your perfect, pure, powerfully positive heart, leading you to act in full knowledge and wisdom, in love and grace to do what is right and best.]

“bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.”

[Praise you that this is your desire, Lord, to end evil and violence, setting limits on them now, then at the right time locking them up in Hell for good. You are our only hope in the darkness of this world, in the flood of evil, in the failure of human hearts, in the power of the devil to deceive and delude. You are Light and Love and Life in the midst of darkness, hate and death. Praise you for your goodness and the hope you bring.]

Psalm 7:10 “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.”

[Yes, you are our hope, you are the Most High, you are the Great and Final Authority. You have the last word in every situation; no one can counter your judgments. And in your authority we are safe, for in your love you have shielded us, you protect us from Satan, sin and self. We can rest in your shadow, for you are the Almighty One, undefeatable, all wise and victor in the end of every situation.

I praise you now, O Lord Jesus, for the protection you provide, past, present, future. You are worthy of worship, worthy of our total obedience, worthy of our full affection. May you be honored in my life today in attitude, thought, word and action.]

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Our Astounding God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on October 7, 2015

Thank you, Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–for your persistence and faithfulness: you remain rock-solidly the same no matter what happens. Your character, your values, your actions, your grace all continue on the same powerful and positive path, uninfluenced, untouched, unswayed by what any of your creatures do.

You are never taken by surprise, you always have a solution and you always follow through. As king David wrote in Psalm 18, “You reached down from on high, you took hold of me and drew me out of deep waters. You rescued me from my powerful enemies, my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me on the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. You brought me out into a spacious place; you rescued me because you delighted in me.”

When you make up your mind, Lord, you will do it, no matter what the effort, no matter what the cost will be.  With king David, you moved powerfully to spare him from Saul. With us, you left the comforts of heaven, came down to live on the sin-twisted earth among unwashed and unclean people who ended up torturing and killing you. Why? To redeem all and save those who are willing to accept your offered forgiveness and eternal life by surrendering to you.

Truly you have brought us out into a spacious place, filled with grace and goodness, strength and transformation, love and provision. And why do you do this? Because you delight in making your enemies your children. You love to take your foes and bring them into your Kingdom as partners in your great plan to end time, eliminate evil and bring in a new heaven and earth.

All this shows again what a good God you are: how gracious, kind and forgiving. It shows what a wise God you are, able to be both just and merciful at the same time. It shows what a persistent God you are, following through on your commitment to send a Savior. It shows what a loving God you are, sending your Spirit to convict the whole world of guilt, even though you know that all will not respond and believe. It shows what a faithful God you are, following through on your promises, always.

It is such a powerful privilege to be your child, to live in your love, to experience your patient forgiveness every day, to join you in your great plan. May I live today in a way worthy of you, bringing you honor before all those I will meet and see.

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Psalm 7:6-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on October 5, 2015
Psalm 7:6 “Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies.”
 
[Praise you, Lord God, our Heavenly Father, that you hate sin and injustice, that your anger and wrath is directed against evil and wrong-doing. Praise you that you act against sin at the right time and in the right way, whether it be in us or our enemies.]
 
“Awake, my God; decree justice.” [This is our hope: that you, O God, are just, that what you decree and judge will be right, pure and good, done in full knowledge of peoples’ motives, thoughts and deeds. Therefore we can trust you fully.]
Psalm 7:7 “Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples.”
[In you, O Jehovah, is safety; you only are our refuge. You look down from your throne and see the hearts of every person on earth, you observe all that they do, so you know and judge correctly. You are the One we can trust.]
 
Psalm 7:8 “Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.”
[Praise you, O Lord God, that you do not judge me according to my own righteousness–for I have none–but that you judge me according to the righteousness of Christ, in the goodness of Jesus that He has bought for me. You have given me this righteousness in qualifying me to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light! (Col. 1:12) In you I am called, cleansed, transformed, adopted, commissioned and dearly loved.
 
With you there is hope of forgiveness, acceptance, love and grace. I can freely confess my sin to you, for you are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy and truth to all those who call upon you (Psa. 86:5). And I can stand tall and sure at your side, knowing that I am in the shelter of the Most High; no one can accuse me of anything that you, Lord Jesus, have not covered with your blood.
 
May I live for you today, trusting you in whatever comes, fulfilling the purpose of my life, giving you honor and glory continually.]
 
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Psalm 7:3-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on October 3, 2015
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 of, but there is always more sin in our lives than we are aware of. Help us to be open to the conviction of the Spirit of the next sin you want us to confess and repent.]
 
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 of my innocence to make such a strong claim? 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—help me to be alert and open to the work of your Spirit as He convicts, reveals and teaches me about the sin 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 as I stand in the righteousness of Jesus. I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your resurrection, redemption and righteousness, all shared with us! ]
 
Selah
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Psalm 7:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on October 1, 2015
Psalm 7:1
 
“O LORD” [Jehovah, the God whose glory is in His holiness]
 
“my God,” [my Elohim, the incredibly powerful One and absolutely faithful One)
 
“I take refuge in you;” [This, Lord is what you desire, it is what we must do, fleeing to you as our first response to danger, acknowledging our weakness and your power, our inadequacy and your total competency]
 
“save and deliver me from all who pursue me,” [You, O Lord God, are our first recourse, our first and final aid. Before any other action we need to come to you as David has done here, and seek your help, for salvation comes from you alone.]
 
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 human, are too strong for us; we cannot move 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.]
 
Lord, help us to remember how desperate a battle we are in each day 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 September 30, 2015

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 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,  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 certainty 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 our troubles, you hear our prayers and 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. Amen.]

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Psalm 6:5-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 29, 2015
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, for we will praise you, Lord,we will glorify you, we will see you face to face and bring you honor as we see your glory more clearly.]
 
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 what faced him: 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.In lifting his soul to you, he was able to pour out his burdens before you and be open to a renewed filling of the truth.
 
May we turn to God early on and not wrestle with our worry and fear, not depend on our finite insight and wisdom.Help us to 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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Seasons of Life

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 27, 2015

Another glorious September morning after a bright night with a full moon. Now the sun strokes the cool land, sending shafts of light and long shadows across it while drawing mist from the swamp and sending wisps of fog over the pond.

The landscape is settling, drooping, going from green to earth tones as the growing season is over and all is preparing for the coming of winter. The petunias are still blooming, but are a bit bedraggled from the cool night temperatures. Trees are beginning to show some color, more from dryness than cold. Change is coming, but clothed the sameness of seasons.

I have never liked the coming of Fall, for it signals the end of easier living, the beginning of shorter days, more darkness, more clothes and more expense. However, the Lord is teaching me to embrace whatever comes, to praise Him for it and to let go of what I cannot keep.

This is also true of my life, for I am in the Autumn of my years; I cannot remain perpetually in the Summer of my life. Old age is the process of losing things; maturity is letting them go. Certain things naturally fall away (strength, hair, sharpness of memory, quickness of reaction and drive). The leaves of life go from green to a blaze of color as we move from active, productivity to mentoring and coaching. Then the leaves will fall as we shed our areas of influence and we’ll be left with the bare branches of life, caring for our basic needs until the axe of God cuts into the trunk and we fall into the arms of eternity.

None of this can be thwarted, all of it is allowed by God as part of life in a fallen world. So why not embrace it with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, joining God in His great plan for ending evil and beginning perfection?

We praise you, Lord God, for your marvelous, majestic and mighty love that carries us through the seasons of life to the threshold of death and on into eternity with you. Praise you that we needn’t fear any of this, but can confidently follow you as our good Shepherd who knows where you are going. You, Lord God, are worthy of our trust, obedience, worship and praise at each stage, each step, each season. And so we submit ourselves to you today. Carry us on and bring glory to yourself in our lives in whatever season we are.

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Psalm 6:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 26, 2015
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 that we would be crushed in an instant if you so disciplined us in anger. I praise you, O Jehovah, that you are the holy, sinless, pure God who hates sin, yet loves sinners and has provided a way of shelter and escape from 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 6:2-3 “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 also brings healing to the others. You are the answer to our anguish, you are the healer of 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 we must walk by faith, where all seems to go wrong, where we are overwhelmed with failure and anguish. And in this, we can appeal to your unfailing love—it is the ground for 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 love, glorious in mercy, marvelous in grace, mighty in forgiveness. We revel in your goodness, we rejoice in your love and we rest in your grace.]
 
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Psalm 5:12

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 25, 2015

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 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!

“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 us each morning as we awake (are we?), 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, 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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