Hobart Herd Devotional – 108-110
This great Psalm of thanksgiving is opened with our hearts and souls being firmly established, being firmly anchored (Vine’s) in worship, praise and thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness, mercy, love, singing and making music to the Lord.(vs. 1-4) I was challenged with the thought of having my heart fixed, cemented, firmly anchored in the Lord. Do I really worship Him with my soul, or am I just doing lip service? I have the privilege of spending time with my 3 yr. old grandson and listening to him sing. It becomes very evident that being in tune is of little importance right now, but oh does he sing from his heart and soul. Even the words aren’t always right, but there is no doubt it comes from his very being. So many times I am so concerned with the notes, harmony and sound that I fail to sing from my heart. The whole world should know that my worship and praise comes from my soul. In verses 3-5 we find the worship chorus, “Be Exalted, Oh God”. We often start our service with this chorus as we prepare “fix” our hearts on Him singing from our souls a song of thanksgiving, honor and praise.
David is calling on God to save, deliver and show His lovingkindness and power for all of Israel. David cared and cried for the unity of the tribes in their worship and obedience to the Lord. God answered His cry as He allowed David to bring the greatest unity, power and subjugation of their enemies in all the history of Israel. Only when Christ returns and sets up His kingdom will Israel realize a greater control of the Promised Land. While this only came with great struggle and many battles where God came through for David and Israel, verses 12-13 reveal the faith of David in God’s victory and assistance in overcoming the enemy. Psalms 108:12-13, 12 Oh give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain. 13 Through God we shall do valiantly; and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.(NAS) We should never forget that it is God that gives us the victory and power to do valiantly and bring deliverance from our enemies.
There is another great connection that the Lord brought to my heart, and that is the connection between the worship of the soul in praise and thanksgiving, and the victory and deliverance of the Lord over the enemy. We will only have victory as we worship and have faith in God’s ability to have love, mercy, forgiveness as we “fix” our hearts and souls on Him. Worship and Warfare are connected, and we will only see God’s help and deliverance as we reconnect and “fix” our heart, soul, and eyes on Him!
Father, many times in the battles of this world I lose sight of the connection of worship and warfare. Forgive me for only crying “help” and not singing praise and thanksgiving to You. Thank You for providing the deliverance from sin and the power over our adversaries as I fix my heart on You. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob
Psalms 109
As a loving husband of 40+ years, I can assure you that there is nothing more frightening than a silent wife! While I am joking about my wife, there truly is nothing worse than a silent God. In our personal walk with the Lord, we strive daily to hear from Him through His Word as the Holy Spirit communicates love and convicts us of sin as He leads us into His truth. As a pastor, I pray continually for God to speak to me through His Word so that I have the Spirit’s truth and power in sharing His Word with my congregation and community. In Psalms 109, David finds himself in the frightening situation of facing his accusers and enemies without the reassuring sound and direction of God’s voice. Even more so than today, David would not have had all the Scripture of God’s Word, like today, to read and hear the Spirit’s voice. We are so blessed to have the finished canon of God’s Word to give us everything we need for life and godliness.
As David faced His enemies, without the reassurance of God’s voice of promise and blessing, he continually prayed for God’s justice and vengeance against those who were trying to destroy him. In verses 2-20, David calls on God to do to his enemies according to their actions and hatred against him. One of the strengths of David’s life and walk with God was a faith and trust that God was a righteous and just God. So he had no problem giving suggestions to God about how He should deal with his enemies. From death to poverty and the end of future posterity, David calls on God to judge and avenge him.
In verses 21-31 David calls on God to hear him and answer his prayers for care, lovingkindness and deliverance.(vs. 21) In verses 22-26 David lists the weakness of his heart, knees, and overall strength. He asks that the enemy may see that God has lifted him up, helped him, and saved him according to God’s lovingkindness. Psalms 109:27 And let them know that this is Thy hand; Thou, LORD, hast done it.(NAS) Often I fail to remember that God wants to work on my behalf as I allow the enemy to know that it is the hand of God that works on my behalf, not my power with a little of God’s assistance. Psalms 109:30-31, 30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; and in the midst of many I will praise Him. 31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.(NAS) May the world know from my mouth that it is the Lord Who stands by me and has made me Who I am in Him. Praise God He never remains silent for long, but always has a Word from His Word directed by His Spirit to lift me from the discouragement and depression caused by the enemy.
Father, most times when You seem silent, it is because my mouth is moving so much that I can not see the answer from Your Spirit through the Word of God. I have many directions to give You, but refuse to listen intently to Your directions found in Your Word! Help me to wait patiently in silence, listening, so that I can see with eyes of faith Your directions for me. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob
Psalms 110
This is one of the Greatest prophetic Psalms in all of Scripture. It is a Psalm of David as he is given a prophetic glimpse of God’s fulfillment of the promise of David’s throne ruling forever over all Israel and the world. It is a picture of the fulfillment of prophecy for David and all God’s children in the sending of the Messiah to set this world right for all eternity. Psalms 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”(NAS) It is a picture of the conversation between God the Father, and God the Son as they discuss the eternal plan for the establishment of David’s eternal throne, and the salvation and reigning in righteousness and peace for all eternity.
Jesus, Himself quotes this verse as He explains to the disciples and people that He is both, Son of God, Messiah, and Savior of the World.(Mark 12:35-37) In Matthew 22:42-46, Jesus ask the Pharisees, Who the Christ, Messiah, is? They answer, the son of David. And Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 to prove to them that He is both Messiah, the Christ, and the Son of God! The disciples got the message as the first sermon preached by Peter, after the Holy Spirit came and resided in them, used this passage as the key verses to prove to the Jewish people that they had truly crucified the Messiah, Savior. The great thing was that He had risen from the dead to was seated at the right hand of God providing salvation, mediation and right relationship with God for all who would repent of their sin and put their faith and trust in Him.(Acts 2:32-39)
The other great prophetic truth that comes to us is found in verse 4: “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”(NAS) In Genesis 14 we find the account of Abram fighting the kings of the area who had taken captive Lot, his nephew. God gave Abram a great victory and King of Salem (peace) and Priest of the Most High God, Melchizedek came out with food and wine, blessing Abram as God’s chosen people. In Genesis 14:19-20 we are told that Abram gave a tenth, a tithe, of the spoils to Melchizedek recognizing him as God’s priest and king. Hebrews 7 builds on this and explains that in Jesus Christ we have both Priest and King brought together so that the sacrifice for sin and the Ruler of the universe could be ours in Christ Jesus, providing for the eternal kingdom and eternal life promised all those who put their faith and trust in Jesus.
I know that this is a lot of information to take in, but I want to end by saying that verses 4-7 concentrate on the promises of Jesus Christ reigning as King over all the earth, nations and eternal kingdom forever. What a great truth to hold on to and put your faith and trust in during this time of chaos and trouble. Just know that God’s eternal plan was completed in Jesus Christ, and our hope is in Him!
Father, thank You for this precious passage reminding me of the coming of my Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Thank You that in Christ I can trust in the Great High Priest and the coming King to bring about Your eternal plan for my life. May I never lose the awe and wonder that You were thinking of me and providing for my salvation and eternity. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob