In Korean, there is an expression for the worst body ache one can experience. It is called "Gol Byong" and may be loosely translated as aching down to the bones. This is the type of ache and pain that one gets after being beat up with rods by a gang of enemies. Your body is half dead and, because of the unbearable pain, is actually wishing it were dead.
In Psalm 6:2, the psalmist talks of his bones being in agony. His soul is in anguish. He has been groaning so much that he is worn out from groaning. His eyes grow weak with sorrow. In other words, he has sunk to the very bottom, the pit, the depth of the valley of death, that there is nowhere he can go down further. At that point, he is crying out to the Lord. He is begging for salvation and deliverance. He is appealing to the Lord's unfailing love.
The blessed assurance that he gets is that the Lord hears his cry for mercy and accepts his prayer.
When I am feeling as if my bones are in agony, as if I am beat up, I am assured of the Lord hearing my prayer, when I cry out to him. I know that the Lord will not forsake me, but will be with me always to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Even in the middle of a tempest, I know God is with me and in control. Even in the middle of the worst storm, I know God is with me and in control. Or even in the middle of a desert, I know God is with me and in control. Rain or shine, he is in control and looks after me. I need only to cry out to him and ask for his unfailing love and mercy... because he is my Father and I am not an orphan.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Psalm 3 & 4
Psalm 3 is David's song, when he was fleeing from his son Absalom. Absalom had risen in rebellion and treason against his own father and marched into Jerusalem, fully intending to capture and kill his own father and publicly humiliating his father's concubines. David barely escaped from Jerusalem and crossed the Jordan. He was deeply troubled and cried aloud to the Lord, who answered him. Even though men had abandoned David, the Lord was still with him. The proof of the Lord's answer was that David did "lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me." (Psalm 3:5).
Virtually everyone has had an occasion or occasions when he spent the night tossing on the bed, unable to fall asleep because something was troubling and anguishing him. Something at work, something in the family, something with friends, or even something that happened with strangers could bother and trouble us. Ideas race around in the head, seemingly with no hope of resolution.
What is the cure for the sleepless night? The cure is with the Lord. The Lord grants sleep to those he loves (Psalm 127:2). When I lie down, I will not be afraid; when I lie down, my sleep will be sweet (Proverbs 3:24).
Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink or what to wear. These are the things that the nonbelievers worry about. Believing and trusting in the Lord, the believers should not worry, but seek his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6). He tells us not to be afraid, for he gives us peace, unlike any peace that the world can give (John 14). "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6).
Let the light of your face shine on me, Lord. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)
Virtually everyone has had an occasion or occasions when he spent the night tossing on the bed, unable to fall asleep because something was troubling and anguishing him. Something at work, something in the family, something with friends, or even something that happened with strangers could bother and trouble us. Ideas race around in the head, seemingly with no hope of resolution.
What is the cure for the sleepless night? The cure is with the Lord. The Lord grants sleep to those he loves (Psalm 127:2). When I lie down, I will not be afraid; when I lie down, my sleep will be sweet (Proverbs 3:24).
Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink or what to wear. These are the things that the nonbelievers worry about. Believing and trusting in the Lord, the believers should not worry, but seek his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6). He tells us not to be afraid, for he gives us peace, unlike any peace that the world can give (John 14). "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6).
Let the light of your face shine on me, Lord. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)
Psalm 2:9
Psalm 2 is clearly about the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ of the Lord. The King on Zion is said to rule with an iron scepter and dash the nations to pieces like pottery. In several places in the book of Isaiah and in the book of Jeremiah, the Lord is compared to the potter, who can do with the potsherd as he pleases. He is our Maker, our Creator, our Potter, who has found the clay pot to be wanting, breaks it to pieces, and can form a different pot. Take the lesson of the potter's house in Jeremiah 18.
The sinful we must be broken to pieces. The sacrifice that God is pleased with and does not despise is the broken spirit, the broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). We must pray like the tax collector in Jesus's parable: He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (Luke 18:13). Indeed, Lord, I am a sinner. I must be broken. Forgive me and renew me.
When we are broken, God will create us anew. He will make us into a new pottery. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17). We will be born again, born of the Spirit and water, so that we can be children of God, worthy of citizenship in the heavenly kingdom of God. We from all nations, all languages, all peoples can be made into new potteries, new beings.
Then, the nations will indeed be the Anointed One's inheritance, as spoken about in Psalm 2:8.
The sinful we must be broken to pieces. The sacrifice that God is pleased with and does not despise is the broken spirit, the broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). We must pray like the tax collector in Jesus's parable: He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (Luke 18:13). Indeed, Lord, I am a sinner. I must be broken. Forgive me and renew me.
When we are broken, God will create us anew. He will make us into a new pottery. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17). We will be born again, born of the Spirit and water, so that we can be children of God, worthy of citizenship in the heavenly kingdom of God. We from all nations, all languages, all peoples can be made into new potteries, new beings.
Then, the nations will indeed be the Anointed One's inheritance, as spoken about in Psalm 2:8.
Psalm 1
In Psalm 1, there are two types of people -- the blessed and the wicked. The blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
In the first 2 verses of Psalm 1, the contrast is between the blessed and the wicked. The contrast is also between the law of the Lord and the counsel of the wicked/the way of sinners/the seat of mockers. The question is whose law do you follow?
Life is full of choices and decisions. God created us with a free will to choose. We can choose. All major decisions of life such as school, career, marriage, buying a house, and picking the city or town to reside in and raise your family are choices we make. In choosing, we can either do so according to the law of the Lord or the counsel of the worldly. When one is blessed, he chooses to take delight in the law of the Lord. (Notice that I am not saying that when one takes delight in the law of the Lord, then one is blessed. Blessing comes first.)
Depending on the choice, one's life is vastly different. The blessed man is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
The blessed man is led by the Holy Spirit, who is the living water (John 7:38,39). Enlivened by the Holy Spirit, the blessed man bears the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Fruit borne of the Spirit is spiritually nourishing, while the leaves are healing (Ezekiel 47:12). The blessed man is not only blessed himself, but is a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2).
Whatever the blessed man does prospers. This is not a conditional statement. In all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Everyone born of God overcomes the world (I John 5:4). When Joseph was imprisoned on false accusations of Potiphar's wife, he was not disheartened. God was with him. Even in the prison, Joseph found favor in the eyes of the prison warden and was put in charge of all those held in the prison. The warden trusted Joseph and paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care. The Lord gave Joseph success in whatever he did (Genesis 39). In all things and under all circumstances, God watches over the way of the righteous.
On the other hand, the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away. Like the streams of water, I think the wind stands for the Holy Spirit (John 3). This time, however, the Spirit acts in judgment. He is like the wind, the storm that blows away God's enemies and foes. He is like the fire that consumes them (Psalm 83:13-15). Who can withstand God's anger? Who can survive God's judgment? Certainly not the wicked. The sinners will not be part of the assembly of the righteous, but will perish.
In the first 2 verses of Psalm 1, the contrast is between the blessed and the wicked. The contrast is also between the law of the Lord and the counsel of the wicked/the way of sinners/the seat of mockers. The question is whose law do you follow?
Life is full of choices and decisions. God created us with a free will to choose. We can choose. All major decisions of life such as school, career, marriage, buying a house, and picking the city or town to reside in and raise your family are choices we make. In choosing, we can either do so according to the law of the Lord or the counsel of the worldly. When one is blessed, he chooses to take delight in the law of the Lord. (Notice that I am not saying that when one takes delight in the law of the Lord, then one is blessed. Blessing comes first.)
Depending on the choice, one's life is vastly different. The blessed man is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
The blessed man is led by the Holy Spirit, who is the living water (John 7:38,39). Enlivened by the Holy Spirit, the blessed man bears the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Fruit borne of the Spirit is spiritually nourishing, while the leaves are healing (Ezekiel 47:12). The blessed man is not only blessed himself, but is a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2).
Whatever the blessed man does prospers. This is not a conditional statement. In all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Everyone born of God overcomes the world (I John 5:4). When Joseph was imprisoned on false accusations of Potiphar's wife, he was not disheartened. God was with him. Even in the prison, Joseph found favor in the eyes of the prison warden and was put in charge of all those held in the prison. The warden trusted Joseph and paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care. The Lord gave Joseph success in whatever he did (Genesis 39). In all things and under all circumstances, God watches over the way of the righteous.
On the other hand, the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away. Like the streams of water, I think the wind stands for the Holy Spirit (John 3). This time, however, the Spirit acts in judgment. He is like the wind, the storm that blows away God's enemies and foes. He is like the fire that consumes them (Psalm 83:13-15). Who can withstand God's anger? Who can survive God's judgment? Certainly not the wicked. The sinners will not be part of the assembly of the righteous, but will perish.
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