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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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Psalm 5:11

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 24, 2015

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 open the way, 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 and 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, ever 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 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 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. 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 obedience and faithfully provides all we need so we can obey. We love your name and with all our being  rejoice in you wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, persistently! May this bring you much honor today as we continually offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.]

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Psalm 5:9-10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 23, 2015

Psalm 5:9 “Not a word from their [my enemies] mouth can be trusted;”

[Satan is the father of lies: his native language is deception, so nothing he says can be trusted. Just look at how he dealt with Eve in Genesis 3. Every statement was a twisting of truth either by insinuation (“Did God really say….?”), by outright contradiction (“You will not surely die….”) or by accusation (…for God knows that when you eat…you will be like God….”). Not one word from Satan or his forces is reliable.]
“their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.”

[In them there is no life or light or love, all is rebellion against what is true, right and good, bringing death, darkness and hate. The words and thoughts of Satan and his hordes are destructive, debilitating and demonic.

Yet we somehow naturally believe the lies of the devil, drawn like moths to the illusion of comfort and power, excitement and fulfillment. But we end up getting burned and having, as the Psalmist says, a mouth full of gravel and broken teeth. Such is the result of listening to advice from the kingdom of darkness.]

Give us wisdom and insight so that we might willfully reject the lies of the enemy and walk instead in the light of Truth and Righteousness and Grace so that your Spirit can have full reign in our lives, bringing you ever more glory.

Psalm 5:10 “Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”

[You are the One who must deal with my enemies, O Lord, whether they be demons or people being used by the devil. And praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have vanquished them through your incarnation where you were weak and vulnerable as a man. You have defeated them through obedience, humility, meekness and self-denial.

You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into your Kingdom of Light! What a wonder, what a joy, what security, safety, purpose and freedom–freedom from the evil of the enemy, the lies of Lucifer, the seduction of self and the rot of rebellion! Praise be to you!]

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Psalm 5:8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 22, 2015

Psalm 5:8 “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make straight your way before me.”

[Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are my Shepherd who faithfully, consistently, without fail leads me. Praise you that you guide me in your righteousness, meaning that you never make a mistake, a wrong turn, never get lost, you are always right. And in your leadership you are sinless and pure, your motives are right, your purposes are right, your plans are right, your decisions are right. You are the One to be trusted.

I desperately need your leadership because I am the opposite of these qualities: I am small, ignorant and sinful; I have mixed motives, no control over the future and do not know what is best. Plus I am faced with powerful spiritual enemies who desire to bring me down: to destroy my spiritual life, my witness, my marriage, my family, my future.

Alone I am helpless against them, lost before the battle begins.   But you, Lord Jesus, are the Victor, you have conquered Satan and his forces; you equip me, empower me, employ me against them, and in your armor and power I can “resist the devil and he will flee” from me (James 4).

Help me to keep on your armor today, to fight the right enemy with the right weapons so that you may be honored in my life.]

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Psalm 5:6-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 21, 2015

Psa 5:6 ‘You destroy those who tell lies;’

[to lie is to reject truth, to reject you, Lord; it is to rely on self, it is to take the short-term, easy way out.  To lie is to be the opposite of God, who cannot lie, it is impossible for you, Lord, to go against what you are: Truth itself! What a wonder to know that your truthfulness is not superficial, but permeates your whole being; it is part of your essence, your essentialness, your heart.  You will eliminate evil by destroying what is the opposite of you in character.  And 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. You shine your Truth on them to show them the way, but they run from the light and die in the clutches of darkness and deception.]

“bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.”

[This is far more than just disliking—you are repulsed, you are repelled by 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; they are modern slave traders, living off the brief lives of others they have essentially condemned to death.  ISIS is a more urgent example: men who seem to enjoy killing and try to deceive others into thinking this is good. Past examples include the regimes of despots such as Kholmeini, Saddam Huseyin, the leaders of Sudan and Egypt, China and Russia.  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.]

Psa 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: mired in evil and deception. We all had the potential to be blatantly what these blood thirsty and deceitful men were, we just didn’t have the 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.  We do not deserve to come into your house, but you have pardoned, transformed and wholeheartedly adopted us into your family where we will live in security and significance for eternity! An unbelievably wonderful and great turning of the tables, an incredible 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 bowing before you, in awe, in fear, in adoration, in thankfulness, in joy, in peace, in submission, in belief, in willing, wholehearted, obedience.  You are worthy of our total surrender and complete obedience.  You are God, you are Great, you are Good, and 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 September 19, 2015

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 wickness, you are repulsed by sinfulness and will punish it.  You, O Lord, are the opposite of evil: you are pure, holy, good, 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 heaven there will be no wickedness!

Even in this world, those who are wicked (who have rejected your offer of forgiveness in Jesus and cleansing from sin, followed by receiving the righteousness of Christ) cannot live with you, they cannot be in your family, they cannot dwell in your light 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).

The wicked don’t want to dwell with you, and you cannot accept them. I praise you God that with you there is righteousness and justice to deal with and end the problem of evil. You offer your righteousness to all who will come, for we are all wicked in ourselves; we desperately need your forgiveness through which comes 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.  You love the sinner, but if they reject your great salvation and remain wrapped in their sin, they will, by their own choice, be hated along with wickedness. 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 repent!). They cannot enter your sanctuary and in the end they will be cast out because they, in their pride, have rejected your Son and chosen getting justice (what they deserve) over receiving mercy. Praise be to you, Lord God, for you take no pleasure in evil].

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Psalm 5:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 18, 2015
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, full of 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 obedience from the heart. To you I give glory, to you I give honor, to you I surrender in praise.
 
Today may you be glorified in my life: help me to follow in the footsteps of the second Adam, to obey 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 in great expectations, praising you now for how you will answer, for you are faithful, the God who hears and answers prayers.]
 
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Psalm 5:2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 17, 2015

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 to you through Jesus in prayer. Praise you that when we don’t know how to pray or what to pray, you, Holy Spirit both guide us and intercede 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, to consider our heart’s desire and 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). “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. We have a God who is the Ruler of the universe, who is sovereign over all. We belong to THE God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all, the final authority and the Beginner and Ender of all.

And you, Lord Jesus, have made yourself my King and my God. I belong to you; you are my Shepherd, my Lord and my Savior. You are intimately interested and concerned with your children, you are present everywhere, 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 God! In you I can trust, rest, believe and praise you both in and for all things. I can be at peace, full of hope, joy and grace no matter what difficulties come into my life today because you are my God!]

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Psalm 5:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 15, 2015
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 sighing, and are willing to hear about my being burdened, my unrest, my fears, my disappointments, my tiredness. You hear my words 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 can come to; prayer is our greatest recourse, our first step, our wonderfully great privilege. And you, my King—the Ruler of all, Lord of my life, Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of heaven, Protector and Sovereign One—are 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).
 
You, O Lord, are my God–that is, my final authority, the decider of what is right and wrong. You call us every day to a 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 flesh, the world 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 in following your lead early on?
Think what would have happened if Adam had spoken up right away in that conversation with Satan, telling Eve to stop listening, telling Satan to talk to him, not Eve, leading Eve away from that temptation, forbidding her from taking 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.
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 that choice right now, 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 to 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, every moment, so you may be lifted up in the glory you deserve.]
 
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God Knows What He's Doing

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 14, 2015

“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand….” Daniel 1:1b,2

I’ve been going through the book of Daniel, which reveals a great deal about God and the way He works. The Lord accomplishes much with one stroke: in bringing judgment on Israel and sending them into captivity, He brought the Word of Life to a king and then to an entire empire.

Chapter four is clearly King Nebuchadnezzar’s personal testimony sent out to his whole expansive kingdom and beyond, urging others to believe: “To the peoples, nations and men of every language who live in all the world…It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me….Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven because everything he does is right and all his ways are just” (Dan. 4:1,2,37).

Look at how God accomplished this. He had, among the captives taken to Babylon, four young men who were fully submitted to Him. They very obviously knew the character of God and trusted Him to do what was right no matter what the consequences were for them—even though they had been captured, marched as prisoners to a foreign land and were forced into situations they hadn’t chosen. When three of them faced the fiery furnace they replied, “Our God is able to save us….But even if he does not…we will not serve your gods…” (Dan. 3:18). They did not complain, gripe or feel sorry for themselves—we can tell this because they were respectful and gracious in their interactions with those in authority.

And what means did God provide so they could be a witness? Crises: life threatening, impossibly difficult crises. In each one Daniel and his friends trusted God, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and saw God answer in spectacular ways, displaying His glory before many.

What does this say to us? How do we respond to crises? Do we know the character of God well enough to trust Him in the impossible, to turn to Him in prayer rather than to frantic action? Are we willing to be thrust onto the stage of witness where only God’s power can save us, seeing the unseen as reality? Or are we those who live in the natural: complainers, whiners, self-pitying victims, seeking to escape what is uncomfortable, unwilling to see how we are called to play important roles in the grand scheme of God?

One of God’s purposes in giving us the book of Daniel is to give us a sense of how He is moving history to a conclusion. He is able to weave into His plan even the myriad sinful actions of human beings done against His will, moving things inexorably towards the culmination of His goal.

Now when we see crises in our own lives, in the church or in international events we need to remember that we can trust God to use both the good and evil of man for His purposes. A fresh read through the first 6 chapters of Daniel does wonders for re-calibrating our thinking on God’s working in our everyday lives.

 

Prayer: “Lord, help me to grow in the knowledge of your character. Help me to respond in faith to the small every day crises and the big ones in my life with the sacrifice of thanksgiving so I may be a witness for you, opening the way to others for belief and growth. Amen.” –From the book “Edified!”

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