Test Me

Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 

Psalm 26:2

Lord I want to be

the man You will make of me:

In heart... a love for you;

in mind... thoughts that are true.

My prayer shall be...

Test me.

Is is easy to be

what I want to be.

But sin pulls me away

from what I should do and say,

so with intensity

test me.

If fire touches me

it will set me free

from self and sin's control

so I can let it all go.

You will set me free...

Test me!

A love not for me

and a passion to serve Thee

should fill all my heart

and in my thoughts should start

a desire to worship completely...

Test me!

owning sins, finding mercy

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! 

Psalm 25:7

David worshipped a God who forgave sins. And the faithful love of The Lord was better than David's own spotty faithfulness to The Lord. This is why David could repent and ask for God's merciful treatment of him. David acknowledged his sins and transgressions. He appealled to the steadfast love of The Lord for God's sake, and not his own. In other words, David sought forgiveness so that God would be glorified, and not for David's own reputation.

David admitted his failings. He confessed his sin. He pleaded for God not to bring up his past sins and youthful failings. He asked for mercy so that the goodness of The Lord might be seen in him. He knew that God was loving and merciful to repentant sinners. For David to truly worship, he had to pray like a broken and repentant sinner.

I humbly learn from David's example of worship. I am also a painfully consistent sinner. I transgress God's Law. I am filled with self importance and pride. I struggle with the results of the sins of my youth. And I pray for God to forgive them in Christ and to not remember my sins. I want God's goodness to be all that is left in me for others to see. I ask, O God, for Your glory to shine through this cracked and broken sinner. May people see less of me and only You!

Amen

the King of glory

Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah 

Psalm 24:9-10

Have you ever wondered what was going on in the command to open the gates and doors in this Psalm? I know I have thought about it. This psalm was written by David and it seems to be a psalm of liturgy... a specific religious ceremony was associated with it. It was fitted for a specific occasion, perhaps to celebrate the ark of the covenant being brought to Jerusalem by David.

The question and answer format starts in verse three when the ark is being brought to its destination. "The hill of the LORD" is probably in reference to Zion, where ultimately a temple will be built for the worship fo The Lord. The question as to who is worthy to ascend that hill is answered with the outline of the effects of loving and obeying God's Law in Psalm 24:3-6.

Then twice (Psalm 24:7; Psalm 24:9) the priests with the ark call out to the gatekeepers of Jerusalem to open the gates so the procession can carry out the mission of bringing the ark into the city. The gatekeepers respond with the liturgical question "Who is the King of glory?" The priests answer in worshipful reply exalting God as the fighter of Israel's battles and the God of angel hosts. God is the true King of Israel. This is a royal procession.

The ancient liturgy is a piece of solid theology. It also draws the heart to worship the power of God as the glorious king. Imagining the procession going through the crowded city has me worshiping with that crowd this morning!

not a burial psalm

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Psalm 23:5

The twenty-third psalm is perhaps the best known and most loved single passage of scripture the world knows. It is read and seen thousands of times each day. It provides for many the only scriptural support they may ever receive. It is the mainstay of countless funeral programs and services. It is read to comfort people in pain. It is embroidered on casket linings and I am sure thousands of people are buried with its message every day.

Yet this psalm was not meant to be a burial psalm. It was meant to be a song of life. It is written in the present tense: the LORD is my shepherd. He leads me. He restores me. You are with me. You comfort me. You prepare a table. You anoint. My cup overflows... all in the present tense of right now.

There is then a powerful and beautiful shift in the psalm that calls us to contemplate the future with such a powerful presence with us in the now. "Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of The Lord forever." The twenty-third psalm explains the relationship God has with us right now and the glory we can expect with Him for eternity.

It is good to rescue this psalm from its cultural captivity as a funeral hymn. It is a song of life. It encourages us today and prepares us for tomorrow. And that is what God always wants to do for us with His Word. It is a source of strength for every day so that our cups overflow.

the big picture

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 

Psalm 22:27

In the hustle

and the cycle

of daily human

activity

it is easy

and self-serving

to forget about

eternity

the world You made

for Your glory

will proclaim 

Your might

and all the people

of this planet

were created to

praise You right

one day the heavens split

You came down

to save us

from sin

some future day

You'll come again

to judge the world

for their sin

Lord help me see

the things

You care about

that matter

When every knee

will bow

tongue confess the glory

of the Father

praise for His power

Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power. 

Psalm 21:13

So today I am going to take that admonition to praise God's power to heart. This is where I have seen God's power at work:

1) God's saving power is known in the gospel. Jesus saved me and every other Christian who has ever lived. That is a great power beyond my own. When I was without saving merit, dead in my sin, Jesus saved me.

2) God's sustaining power is displayed in my every breath. I am kept by Him. The world was made by His Word. The universe is held together by Him. In Him I live and breath and have my being. This is more than just common grace. It is the reason that everything that there is exists in the universe.

3) God's power changes me. I grow in faith. I minister to others with what God does in me. And all with my imperfections and His sanctifying work changing me. I am not perfect. I fail Him. But His power, Word, and Holy Spirit still work on me until I am home with God forever. He began the work and He will complete it.

Praise God for His power!

in ______ I trust

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. 

Psalm 20:7-8

The temptation to put all my stock in the things of this world is strong. It always has been. But it was the same for King David. As a Bronze Age warrior king, the heighth of military technology for him was the horse and the chariot. And it would have been easy for him to tell Israel to trust in military strength. But he did not do this. His faith was not that might makes right. His trust instead was in God.

David knew that all human systems break down. He knew that to trust in anything or anyone other than God was not only idolatry, it was really weak. It was doomed to collapse. People will let us down. Things will break. But God saves us forever.

So I take these words to heart. I face the temptation to trust in the strength of human ability. It could be money or a job or a standard of living that pulls me from faith in God. I live in a place where that is the main emphasis. Or it could be national pride or a political leaning (liberal or conservative... both are often idols) that steals my faith. It could be blind ambition and selfish overconfidence that eventually lead to personal collapse. I know God will never fail me. And for stability I will throw all my trust upon Him. People will hurt me and things will fail me but God will never let me down.