Holy harmony. [ Psalm 19 v14 ]

The last verse of Psalm 19 reads, /Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord my strength ,and my / It is C.H. Spurgeon, who writes of the ,/ Harmony of heart and lips, needed for acceptance/. If we are honest so often our words are not in harmony with our thoughts, we say one thing with our lips, but in our hearts we think another.David wants his words and his thought life to be acceptable in Gods sight,we listen to many entertainers , who want their words to be acceptable with man , but often what they say is not acceptable in Gods sight. David writes about his thought life, what does our minds dwell on?, lust/purity/hate/anger/self/or ,love/purity/pleasing God,Gods word. How is it possible to speak aright , and think aright?the answer only with Gods help. [ Dear God help me to speak , and think in ways that glorify You, may my words and my thought life be acceptable in Thy sight, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen. ]

Heed the warnings. [Psalm 19 v11]

David ends the 19th Psalm v11-14, with a deep concern,that he may be kept from sinning, in v11,he stresses the importance of Gods word,/Gods word warns us of danger [T M]. How important for Christians to read the word of God, to be imformed by the word of God , to be directed by the word of God, and not the changing standards of our society. Irrespective of what society is doing fornication is still fornication, adultery is still adultery, blaspheming is still blaspheming,stealing is still stealing.In a changing world sin does not change, idolatry is still a sin, the word of God is there for all His children ,to take heed of, and avoid. The word of God informs us, but it also warns us, of the consequences of sin , let us all remember that sin must carry with it consequences, that effect our relationship with God, and that is very, very ,serious. In Psalm 119 v 92, we read, /Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction,/ [ You saved my life with those wise words T M ]. [ Dear God we thank You for Your word that informs ,instructs , and warns us,as regards sin and its consequences, help us all to be guided by Your word, and most of all to obey it, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen ]

Gods written word. [Psalm 19 v 7-11 ]

Yesterday we considered Gods voice in creation, that it is not something just to be admired ,but it is something that is speaking to all mankind ,of a creator. Psalm 19 now moves on to Gods word ,and its effectiveness in the hearts and lives of those who hear and respond to it. In the church where I ministered ,in the pulpit ,was a little rug with these words on it, Preach the Word,for it is the word of God that is able to make us wise unto salvation [ 2 Timothy 3 v15 ],it is the word of God that guides us[ Psalm 119v 105 ], it is a powerful and effective weapon in contending against the devil[Ephesians 6 v 17 ]. The word of God can cut through our defenses,and touch our hearts [Hebrews 4 v12 ],it is light ,exposing those wrong things in our lives, and teaching us to walk aright, it equips us to serve God. [2 Timothy 3 v 16-17 ]. No wonder the Psalmist declares it is of more value than the most pure gold [Psalm v19 v10 ], to ignor it ,endangers us,to neglect it, impoverishes us, to respond to it ,enriches and blesses us, and most of all the word of God reveals Christ to us, who alone can save us [ John 14 v6 ] [Dear God thank for your word, helps us to hear its message and respond ,and obey it ,in Jesus name. Amen ]

Creation ,Gods voice. [Psalm 19 ]

Let us consider Psalm 19, written by dear David, it commences by pointing us to creation, / The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handywork[v1]/ Times have changed evolution is the god of the so called Christian countries, but the Psalmist holds not to such nonsense, so he confidently declares that as we look up we see Gods handywork. He tells us that Gods creation is preaching to all the earth,it is the great apostle who takes up that theme in Romans 1v18 -23, v20 ,reads,/ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made,they can clearly see His invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature./ and then he adds this very telling statement,/ So they have no excuse for not knowing God/.Today God is speaking to His world, through His creation, but unfortunately,they are not listening, it is a reminder just how much sin has affected mankind. WE will finish with the words of a Russian hymn as a prayer[ O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul , my Saviour God to Thee. How great Thou art, how great Thou art . Amen ]

An awful big adventure [Psalm 23 v 4 ]

It is Peter Pan who declares to his arch enemy Hook,/To die would be an awful big adventure/. How should we view death?, should we ignor it, should we ,think about it?, is that not just being morbid to think on death?. I wonder if the person in the street thinks about death, I think children do, the adult population are to busy living ,and trying to stay alive, so they appear to ignor it. It is said that there are two certainies in life ,death and taxes, as regards the latter, it is really foolish to ignor paying your tax to the goverment, many have,to their cost. So is not also foolish not to giving consideration to death that other certainty?,is it not foolish to think it will not happen,because it will. As a Christian I believe death will be an awful big adventure,something more wonderful than my most wonderful thoughts. For the Christian death is not something we need fear, it was Jesus who declared , that He was the resurrection and the life,and those who put their faith in Him, though they die would live [ John 11v25 ]. [ Dear God help us not to ignor deaths reality, help men and women, to think upon their latter end, and trust Jesus your Son. Amen ]

By the rivers of Babylon. [ Psalm 137 ]

Who would have thought Psalm 137 would have made the hit parade, but it did, I was reminded of this when I listened to the song,/By the rivers of Babylon /,the music is very lively and attractive, the words are both a lament and a prayer. This Psalm is borne out of suffering, suffering that should never have happened, Israel had a history of forsaking God , it was a very bad habit that they never broke. Time after time they would forsake God, God bore with them, pleaded with them ,chastised them, but to no avail, it came to a head under king Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah kept pleading with the nation , to change there ways, but to no avail, so God acted in judgement against the nation,by sending the Babylonion army to invade the land, killing most of the population, and taken a remnant to Babylon, where they stayed for 70 years. As I said this need never have happened, if only, they had been faithful to God and His ways.[ Dear God help us to be faithful to You, help us not to get into the habit of going our own way, knowing that if we do ,you in mercy will deal with us, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen ]

The glory of God. [ John 12 v23 36 ]

As a Christian the most important challenge in my life is to glorify God,our Saviour declared,I have glorified Thee on the earth [John17 v4 ], in every aspect of His life He glorified God, and especially in His death on a cross. It is understandable that we want to be free from problems in life , and so we pray for there removal, but the reality is ,they may not be removed [2 Corinthians 12 v 8 ff],we may not recieve the healing we prayed for ,or that perfect family, or that perfect marriage. Our Saviour prayed as He was facing death on a cross, if it was possible that He may not have to go through with it, have we not all prayed such prayers?. This is often where we stop praying, and yes in the will of God it may happen, but Jesus did not stop praying ,for the removal of the cross, He went on to pray, /Yet, I want your will not mine/. In John 12 v28 ,our Saviour prayed ,/Father glorify your name/, Ezekiel Hopkins wrote the following on this, /Though life is naturally dear,and the cup which I am to drink, very bitter,and the wrath that I am to undergo, heavy and infinite, yet all these things are not so considerable to me as your glory, and therefore , though it will bring agonies, by death, by the cross, yet, Father, glorify your name/. [ Dear God help me to see that the most important thing in my life is your glory,help me never to loose sight of this, in Jesus name Amen ]