Psalm 57:10

Psalm 57:10

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

God's unfailing love is manifest to man in three mains ways: His goodness, His kindness, and His faithfulness. He is completely righteous, yet He is also merciful. God upholds His justice against sin, yet He is still forever loyal to His people. His divine wisdom in the truths of the Gospel is profound. "His understanding is unsearchable" (Is. 40:28).

These core attributes of God - His goodness, kindness, and faithfulness - are what lead us to praise Him internally and externally (see vv. 8-9). They are the deepest source of our hope and our motivation for evangelism. They cause the believer to sing, praise, and give thanks to God. They lead us to desire God's glory to be magnified over all (vv. 5, 11).

It is only when we stop treasuring God's lovingkindness that we sin. And yet it is then that the very same steadfast love draws us back to Him.

Psalm 116:15

Psalm 116:15

Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his saints.

The most detestable thing to the heart, soul, and mind of a natural man is death. Because man is temporal-minded, there is no greater thing to fear. Death takes away all we have in life. It separates us from loved ones and pulls us from riches. It is truly the Grim Reaper.

But for the saints there is ultimate hope because God rescues from ultimate fear - the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15). Christ's resurrection on our behalf eliminates any need of fear. His power over the grave is our hope of eternal life; death is merely a means to get there, so death is our gain (Php. 1:21). All in this life pales in comparison to the life to come (Pss. 63:3; 116:9).

It is fitting then for God to count the death of His people as a positive thing. It is not discouraging in His sight; it is not hopeless, dark, or terrible; it is not a tragedy. It is precious. And it is precious because death - spiritual then physical - is the gateway to life.

Psalm 115:8

Psalm 115:8

Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them.

Man has sinful conflicts. He desires a god but craves control; wants the supernatural, but he must see it; he craves a deity but lusts after human form. And so man creates god in his own image. Men make god a smorgasbord of their personal tastes and so deny the true and living God.

These sinful pleasures reveal themselves in a variety of ways today. TVs, hand-held electronics, computers, musical instruments, books, houses, and cars all represent examples of inanimate idols. In and of themselves, they are harmless matter, but man makes gods out of them.

The tragic consequence of idolatry is becoming as dead as the idols worshiped. When man replaces the only true God with a god created in earthly image, he loses his spiritual senses (see vv. 5-7). His awareness of God and Heavenly things is replaced by a false sense of security in his idol. All spiritual life runs dry.

May the living and true God awaken our hearts and our senses to the reality of His eternal truth.

Psalm 54:4

Psalm 54:4

Behold, God is my helper;

the Lord is the upholder of my life.

Oftentimes when we most need something, we see that God is that something. There are two ways we can go about this. The incorrect way is to make God into who we want Him to be so that He can fill our needs. A right approach, however, is one in which we realize that we are far too weak to do anything about our circumstances but that God is not; He is the Remedy. Therefore in our time of need, He is the helper; in death He upholds us.

David could not get a firm grasp on this until his life was in danger (v. 3). He needed a Savior, and that Savior was the Lord. It was not merely God's help that David sought; it was God, the Helper, the Upholder.

We need not seek individual gifts. It is unsatisfying and foolish. Rather, at all times let us seek that Giver, the God who sees and satisfies. He will be an unfailing Refuge amid times of evil. He will bring comfort by His own goodness and faithfulness. He is the Upholder.

Psalm 53:1

Psalm  53:1

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

There is no person in the world who truly believes there is no God - only those who say it. In order to convince themselves of God's nonexistence, fools much preach to themselves because God has permanently branded on every heart His existence. His truth is undeniable in every conscience (Ecc. 3:11). So man suppresses it (Rom. 1:18).

This suppression of truth leads to evil deeds. Man does not want to be judged, so he claims there is no Judge and does the evil his flesh desires. A sinful worldview leads to sinful actions. Ultimately all men are born prone to this. All sin is the denial of God's holiness, justice, mercy, and existence. And all have sinned.

Because man declares a corrupt message to his heart, the heart becomes evil, and deeds follow. The only remedy to this corrupt preaching of lies can be righteous preaching of the truth. And that truth is the Good News.