“their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” Psalm 33:6b

[You, Lord Jesus, are the Star Breather, exhaling stars great and small, each burning at incredibly high temperatures, giving out light and heat to all around them. Then you ushered them into their proper places, into galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, placing them purposefully in your universe.

You breathed billions of stars, placed them billions of light years apart, yet you can measure this all with the span of your hand. The closest star to our solar system is Alfa Centori. If we could travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second—meaning we could circle the earth 7 times in a scond!), we would travel 1 week, then 1 month, then 1 year, and be only a quarter of the way there! We would have to travel 4.5 years to reach that star, longer than it takes for a high school education!

Many of the “stars” we see at night are actually whole galaxies made up of billions of stars. Some of the stars in these galaxies are 10,000 times larger than our sun—so large they contradict the know laws of physics! Our God is great beyond our grasp, powerful beyond our perception, mighty beyond all we can imagine.

Yes, you, O Lord God, the majestic and mighty One, the wise and good One, the Creator God, you are worthy of worship and love, worthy of awe and fear, worthy of obedience by all your creatures.

May I walk in wonder before you today, living in your light of your presence, serving you in the shadow of your splendor.]

Psalm 1 is one of  my favorites, giving very clear direction on how to be successful as God defines it. It tells what to avoid and what to do, leading to “and whatever he does will prosper.”

What are these directions?

1 Avoid the counsel of  the ungodly, including our own hearts!

2. Don’t stand in the way of sinners, watching and envying them.
3. Don’t sit in the seat of the scornful, noting, rejecting our tendency to be critical

The positive ones:

1. Delight in God’s Word
2. Meditate on it day and night.

I am so thankful for my mentor who taught me early on about memorizing and meditating on Scripture. And, following his advice, the first one I memorized was Psalm 1!

So what are the results of avoiding the 3 negatives and implementing the 2 positives?

1. We will be able to consistently draw on the water of the Word.
2. No matter what comes, our leaves will stay green and fresh.
3. We will bear fruit when it is needed: the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our lips, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the fruit of good works, the fruit of influencing others to believe
4. And whatever we do in implementing all the above will prosper.

One place where the “whatever you do will prosper” showed up in our boys. We made plenty of mistakes in our parenting, but in spite of this, God worked in their lives and brought them to good places. We cannot take credit for this outcome, except for obeying Psalm 1 and seeing God fulfill his promises. We are thankful.

Picture: little Nat with his local friend; we called them chocolate and vanilla.

Psalm 33:4 “For the word of the LORD is right and true;”

[Praise you, Lord God, that your Word is flawlessly correct, fully trustable, totally right and true. Praise you for speaking it, preserving it, presenting it to us so we can read it, study it and memorize it, learning to think your thoughts.]

“he is faithful in all he does.”

[Faithfulness is your character! You tie yourself to your qualities, never straying outside the boundaries you have set: you are always good, always wise, always helpful, always present, always protecting, always powerful, always patient. You are faithful to the end: completely, entirely, purely, perfectly faithful. Therefore, you are the One to be trusted.]

Psalm 33:5 “The LORD loves righteousness and justice;”

[Your love, O Lord, is so comprehensive and wide, encompassing all that is good. Praise you that you are passionate about righteousness and do only what is correct and pure and good. Thank you that you love justice and will always judge sin, never condone evil. So, there is hope for a positive future, for an end to evil and for a Heaven where there is only goodness.

“the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

[Praise you, Lord, that in your great love you are merciful. If you interacted with us only on the basis of righteousness and justice, we would be blown away in a moment, sent into an eternity separated far from you and all that you are.

But in you, Righteousness and Justice are accompanied by Love. Mercy triumphs over Justice because you are Love itself, providing a way for forgiveness, even though it cost you greatly, and continues to bring you pain and suffering as unbelievers reject you and we believers often choose to live in rebellion and unbelief.

“Blessed is the man who delights in God’s Word, meditating on it day and night.” Psalm 1.

It never fails to amaze me how the Word can continue to have a keen cutting edge in our lives, even after we’ve gone over and over a passage and it seems to have gotten dull. But it’s our own perception that has become dull, not the Word. God uses difficulties to sharpen both our perception and our appetite for the Word.

In confronting the problems God allows into my life, I like to use what I call “God’s medicine chest”, a set of chapters dealing with specific topics. Some of these are:

• Psalm 1 –God’s road to success.
• Psalm 23 –God’s shepherding: provision and protection.
• Psalm 37 –Dealing with difficult people.
• James 1 –Wisdom and dealing with sin.
• James 4 –War and peace.
• John 15 –Growth.
• Romans 12 –Guidance.
• 1 Thessalonians 4 –A Pure Life.
• Hebrews 12:1-17 –Difficulties: why and what to do with them.
• 1 Corinthians 13 –God’s Love, my love.
• Colossians 3 –Transforming our thoughts.

I am in the process of rememorizing and meditating some of these, spending a week or so on each one. Such wonderful insights come from spending this time of soaking in the Word

While we were living overseas there was a person of authority who has been opposing our work. At first I prayed  like David asking for her downfall.

But, while meditating on Romans 12 verse 14 jumped out, “Bless them that persecute you, bless them and curse not!”  So, instead of praying for her downfall, I prayed for her promotion, up and out of the way!. That set me free from frustration. Now it was in God’s hands. To meditate on the Word in the midst of such problems is certainly profitable, freeing  and joy-producing.

Prayer: “Lord, help me to consistently meditate on your Word, thinking your thoughts, praying your prayers, doing your work in your way.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”  Isaiah 40:28

What a wonder you are, O Triune God: the Mighty Ruler, Gracious Savior and Powerful Shepherd. Isaiah wrote of your greatness in chapter 40, starting in verse10, “See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him.” You, Lord God, the King of Glory, Almighty Ruler, Powerful Creator and Eternal Sustainer, are faithful to govern rightly with overwhelming power. No one can withstand you, no one can successfully resist your overall glorious plans. You will come at the perfect time to right all wrongs in grace and justice. Glory be to you.

“See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” You are a generous and rich God with endless resources, who pours out blessing and grace and goodness on all people, and especially on your children. You gift us with salvation, forgiveness, grace and goodness when we actually deserve punishment, suffering, death and destruction. Glory be to you. You have rewards, crowns and blessings in heavenly places awaiting those who love and follow the Lord Jesus.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd:” You are the Faithful One who protects your sheep at all costs. You watch over us with care, with compassion, with competence, with completeness. In your sight we are `not just possessions but your beloved children.

“He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart;” You are tender with us when we are weak. You love us graciously, kindly, gently. You think of each of us continually, aware of our needs, protecting and guiding us through the difficulties and joys of life.

What a privilege to know you, be your child, your lamb. Help us to live in the light of that reality, reveling in the goodness of your love.