Psalms 81/88/92-93

Psalm 81– A Psalm by Asaph. This Psalm is a holiday hymn, possibly used during the Feast of Tabernacles. The hymn celebrates the exodus from Egypt showing God’s goodness and Israel’s rebelliousness. It reminds us that God is our DELIVERER even in our wanderings….verse 7—“In your distress you called and I rescued you.”

Asaph goes through Israel’s history to remind them how God provided for them. He also reminds them …”IF you would but listen to ME…you shall have no foreign god among you…not bow down to an alien god…IF my people would but listen to me, IF they would follow my ways.” God shared with Israel in many scriptures exactly what HE wanted from them… in the 10 commandment…in listening to, returning to HIM, and obeying HIM in Exodus 20, Exodus 23:22-27, Leviticus 26: 3-13, Deuteronomy 7:12-26, 28:1-14, AND HE tells us in the NT in Matthew 22: 37-40– “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The bottom line with the 10 Commandments is that EVEN IF we could PERFECTLY keep ALL of the commandments…THAT will NOT, nor were they ever intended to be our entry into heaven. (The Pharisees tried that!! Their TOTAL focus was on the LAW. They worshipped the LAW and NOT GOD and TOTALLY missed Jesus!! There is a shocker for you!!) There is ONLY ONE entry into heaven and HIS name is Jesus Christ. If today is your first day reading the blog and you don’t know Jesus Christ, click on the WHAT IF blue tab at the top of this blog page and it will tell you more about how Jesus can be The Lord and Savior of your life.

Once we pray and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, and once we know Jesus we come to understand there are rules to guide us, keep us safe, keep us close to HIM, and keep us focused ON HIM. My Pastor Dave Bowman says: “God NEVER gave us The 10 Commandments as a CONDITION of relationship and love. HE gave them as a CONFIRMATION of relationship and HIS love. CONFIRMATION NOT CONDITION FOR/OF.” WOW!!

Psalm 88 — Heman is credited as being the author of this Psalm and was a son of Korah (sons of Korah were the musicians in the temple/tabernacle.) It is about how deeply God understands even our deepest pain …. especially when there is no relief in sight.

Low points in our life are part of life. The low points can be totally devastating. We can be grieving the loss of a loved one, in deep depression over circumstances, or at a point in our life where we believe it is too late for anything to happen. This is where Heman was. He is believed to be the one mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:19; 16:41; 25:4-5. He held NOTHING back and pour it all out before God. God KNOWs us and KNOWS we will go through the “valley of the shadow of death” probably more than one in our lives. He desires for us to come before HIM honestly.
Even in the darkness of this Psalm, the psalmist STILL cries out to God. “But I cry to you for help, O LORD in the morning my prayer comes before you.” Somedays that may be all we are able to do … and it is OK. However, WE… unlike Heman DO have Jesus Christ, the Word, and the Holy Spirit to fall into. The MORE we KNOW God’s Word (not as a thing to worship like the Pharisees did, but to help us keep our focus on Jesus Christ) then the more our faith is increased, and the deeper our peace from HIM grows because we SURRENDER IT ALL TO HIM…. over and over and over again.
Psalm 92– Psalms 90-106 are psalms that remind us to submit to our Almighty God…. to our Abba Father… a submission that opens us up to receive more of HIM. I think of submission as placing my self in the right place. Think about the “old fashioned wells” the ones you had to pump before water would come out. When people wanted water from these wells, they had to place a vessel beneath the spout that could receive and hold the water. We are vessels placing ourselves in the right place (submitting) so God can pour Himself into us.

Thankfulness is such a wonderful thing!! It can change the attitude of our hearts and our minds and place us into a place where we can receive MORE of HIM. Psalm 92 is such a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving. The three things that stood out to me in this psalm were: how important worship music is to God, that HE IS EXALTED FOREVER, and then possibly an odd thing to you…that touched my heart…and proclaim “your faithfulness at night…” In my “natural” mode I am NOT a morning person, but realize some things simply have to be done. However, in the times when I can stay up late…my mind and spirit become carefree….thankfulness and gratefulness abound…and my creative side pours out. I LOVE the reminder in this verse about faithfulness at night.

And of course the last verses TOTALLY ROCK!! None of us are getting any younger yet God promises that the righteous will FLOURISH in our old age…. bear fruit…stay fresh and green!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

Psalm 93– Another anonymous author who reminds how wonderful our God truly is…unchanging…almighty… and we can see in all of nature that surrounds us … if we stop and look and soak it all it. And the last verse reminds us that God is HOLY…this is NOT a characteristic or a trait… it is WHO HE IS. Did you know that God is described as “Holy, Holy, Holy” only TWICE in the bible….once is in Revelation. Can you find the other??

Did anything touch you today? Did God speak to you in any particular verse…or in a special sight you were blessed to behold?

Sharing HIS love,