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Category: What does this PSALM sing to you?

Psalms - 150 songs of worship from the Old Testament
Psalms praise the Lord

Psalms is a hymn book, full of praises and pleas of emotion. Share a favorite Psalm and tell us what it means to you. Do you have a link to a contemporary Christian song with a lyric from Psalms? Please share that with us as well. Share a hymns text. PRAISE THE LORD in our Christian Social Witness for Jesus. COMMENT on a verse or an entire Psalm. How does it affect your? (These speak to so many of our daily troubles and God’s availability to His created ones. How does this Psalm sing about Jesus Christ? What is your WITNESS of Christ Jesus to your SOCIAL friends through this Psalm or song? We praise you for your Post and WITNESS for the LORD.

  • The Mystery of Melchizedek

    Psalm 110:

    A Psalm of David.

    The Lord says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
    until I make your enemies your footstool.”
    2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
    3 Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
    from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.

    4 The Lord has sworn
        and will not change his mind,
    “You are a priest forever
        after the order of Melchizedek.”

    5 The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
    6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
    he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.
    7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.

    Why would King David of Israel write a song about him? Who is this Melchizedek?

    In fact, note the beginning of David’s Psalm: “The Lord says to my lord…” Even Jesus quotes this Psalm with a question to the Scribes:

    But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
    “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
    “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ – Luke 20:41-43

    לְדָוִד מִזְמֹור נְאֻם יְהוָה לַֽאדֹנִי שֵׁב לִֽימִינִי עַד־אָשִׁית אֹיְבֶיךָ הֲדֹם לְרַגְלֶֽיךָ׃

    Yĕhovah  nĕ’um ‘Adonay

    (The impact loses something in the English.)

    Jehovah = “the existing One.” the proper name of the one true God.

    אֲדֹנָי ʼĂdônây, ad-o-noy’; an emphatic form of H113; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only):—(my) Lord.

    To understand the full impact of Jesus’ challenge you must understand and accept the principle of lordship and hold reverence for the authority of God.

    Hear some of the synonyms for ‘adown, the root word of Ădônây:

    firm, strong, lord, master, superintendent of household or of affairs, king, prince, governor, captain, the Lord God, Lord of the whole earth, master, husband, prophet, father, Moses, priest, theophanic angel,
    general recognition of superiority, Lord of lords (probably = “thy husband, Yahweh”)

    AND one more definition which may help us in understand the mystery of Melchizedek:
    proprietor of hill of Samaria

    Talk of Abraham or Moses by the jews was reverence to the traditions of worship of the One God, the Lord YHWH. Kings of Jerusalem (once known as Salem) like David and Solomon were held in high honor and respect for our own heritage of leadership anointed on  a man by the One God – a man appointed by God as the Lord’s authority over all men.

    Therefore, for Jesus to speak of Abraham as if He Is over Abraham in authority is the very point of the discussion of the order of authority of kings and priests appointed by God, of whom Melchizedek is both!

    If Melchizedek is a proprietor of the hill of Samaria שמרון (Shomron), a proprietor of Salem שָׁלֵם Shalem, what is the meaning of this mystery?

    שמר I

    The verb שמר (shamar I) means to keep, guard, observe or give heed. HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament sums up this verb with “to exercise great care over”. This ubiquitous verb is used to literally mean keeping a watch out or guarding:

    Psalm 110:

    5 The Lord ‘Adonay  is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
    6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
    he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.

    Have you considered why Abraham worshiped Melchizedek?

    Have you considered the proprietary authority of Christ over every hill of the earth, over every soul who walks ever-so-briefly over the wide earth?

    Have you considered the sudden return of Christ upon the clouds above all nations?

    To be continued…

  • Follow After Me -10 – Take Heed

    Psalm 2:

    Why do the nations rage
        and the peoples plot in vain?
    2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
        and the rulers take counsel together,
        against the Lord and against his Anointed…

    7 I will tell of the decree:
    The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
        today I have begotten you.
    8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
        and the ends of the earth your possession.
    9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
        and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

    10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
        be warned, O rulers of the earth.

    [ctt title=” Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” tweet=”Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Ps 2:11 ” coverup=”e5hT_”]

    12 Kiss the Son,
        lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
        for his wrath is quickly kindled.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

    Have you considered the justice of Jehovah? For the LORD will judge the unrighteous who will not bow down to the SON, He who IS and for our sake was sacrificed on the Cross.

    The Son “בַּר bar, bar; borrowed (as a title) from H1247; the heir (apparent to the throne):—son.

    Christ Jesus is heir apparent to the Throne of the Father. Hear what Jesus tells us. Take heed to some of the cautions Jesus sets before Christians seeking the His Kingdom of heaven.

    Matthew 7:

    13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

    21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

    Luke 13:

    Repent or Perish

    There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish…

    23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”

    And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

    Sobering isn’t it, to think that you might claim to be a ‘christian’ and not be accepted at the Throne of Jesus?

    “Follow me,” Jesus said; or by context you could translate the Lord’s calling into at expected action of a disciple, a true follower, into the words of the Master, Teacher and Rabbi, “Follow after me.”

    You must take up your cross. You must obey.

    You must trust the risen Christ with your eternal and present life!

    In Christ we are no longer bound to the Law, yet by His will we are obliged to adherence to the narrow path of righteousness. In Christ we are not excused to pursue false prophets nor covered by the sheep’s skin of cheap grace.

    Jesus IS a most high and perfect standard for those seeking to follow after Him. We are drawn to Christ by the Spirit of truth and the Way of love, redemption offered at no cost only to sinners like you… to sinners like me.

    Take heed, that you do not offend the Son of Man. The Biblical caution, ‘take heed‘ of the old covenant still applies here.

    to be on one’s guard, take heed, take care, beware
    to keep oneself, refrain, abstain
    to be kept, be guarded

    Jesus uses the expression, ‘take heed’ in many examples for our consideration. (Some versions of the Bible use other less impactful expressions than the KJV or NKJV which follows:)

    “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. – Mat. 6:1

    “Take heed that no one deceives you. – Mat. 24:4

    “Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. Luke 11:35

    “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” – Luke 12:15

    Are you following after Jesus? Every day? Unto eternity?

    [ctt title=”And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me – Mat. 10:38″ tweet=”Jesus said: “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Mat. 10:38″ coverup=”65FL0″]

    Luke 21  (NKJV)

    The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

    7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

    8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.

    9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

    10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven…

    The persecuted preacher, John Bunyan, probably summed it up best in “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Through Evangelist he cautions Christian, who was briefly misled by false men of religion. Evangelist also offers the love of Jesus, the Son of Man for mankind, this same Anointed who will judge the world and every soul (living or dead).

    Thy sin is very great, for by it thou hast committed two evils: thou hast forsaken the way that is good, to tread in forbidden paths. Yet will the man at the gate receive thee, for he has good-will for men; only, said he,

    take heed

    that thou turn not aside again,

    lest thou “perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.”

    +

     

  • Follow After Me 7 – Despondency

    Follow After Me 7 – Despondency

    When we last looked at a view of a Christian following after Jesus we had met one of many pliable Christians. Perhaps you saw a few of these unfamiliar faces in church Easter Sunday. (Perhaps you are one of them.)

    We get inspired to join the crowds following Jesus with a commitment not unlike those who laid palms before the Lord then shout ‘crucify him,’ a few days later.

    Our faith and spirit are lifted in a brief moment, then disappointment deserts our hope and brings us down into our despondency of futility. The same Prophet Isaiah who predicted Christ speaks the word of the Lord:

    My servants will sing for joy, but you will cry in sorrow and despair. – Isaiah 65:14

    Have you not sung of the great joy of the resurrection? Yet as soon as you turn from the path near to our Lord you falter in despair and cry out loud in sorrow that the Lord has not brought you through the slough of despond.

    Are we not often, my fellow brief believer, caught in the bog of our own view of the world the Lord has made when apart from the company of other believers for twenty-three other hours of Sunday and six other days?

    From the Easter service we venture back into the thick darkness of this fallen world and quickly stumble into the bog of hopelessness from which our hearts had been lifted for a time.

    What now, we ask? What now, even though I am trying to follow after Christ?

    Bunyan explains the doubtings of the new believer. … it is called the Slough of Despond; for still, as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there arise in his soul many fears and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place: and this is the reason of the badness of this ground. 

    Compared to the glory of the resurrection, compared to the joy of Christ’s victory over sin and death our daily walk in the old mire of our sin cause our hearts to bear a sluggish weight of sin we have never before considered.

    Yet by the mercy of the Lord we have a great hope the moment we look forward rather than quickly back toward our sinful inclinations left behind.

    From the garden of despair

    And the slough of despond

    We cry out to the Living God.

    He hears the hopelessness of our plea.

    He answers the longing of our prayer.

    His mighty Hand

    His gentle touch

    Will embrace the heart

    Of the broken.

    His love reaches even

    To the depths of the darkness.

    Psalm 40:

    I waited patiently for the Lord;
        he inclined to me and heard my cry.
    2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
        out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
        making my steps secure.
    3 He put a new song in my mouth,
        a song of praise to our God.

    …

    11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
        your mercy from me;
    your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
        ever preserve me!
    12 For evils have encompassed me
        beyond number;
    my iniquities have overtaken me,
        and I cannot see;
    they are more than the hairs of my head;
        my heart fails me.

    13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
        O Lord, make haste to help me!

    …

    17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
        but the Lord takes thought for me.
    You are my help and my deliverer;
        do not delay, O my God!

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

    According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…

    In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials..

    1 Peter 3:3,6