Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+139

Psalm 139 English Standard Version (ESV)

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
  you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
  and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
  behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
  and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
  it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
  Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
  and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
  and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
  and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
  the night is bright as the day,
  for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
  you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
  my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
  intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
  the days that were formed for me,
  when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
  How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
  I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
  O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
  your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
  And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
  I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
  Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
  and lead me in the way everlasting!

Reflection

• David probed the nature of his relationship with God, and traced that relationship back to the Lord’s creation of his “inmost being”. However, David was not troubled by the paradox of a transcendent God who is also imminent. He acknowledged God as one who fills the entire universe, yet saw the Lord as constantly, pervasively present with his people. God was near, observing every act of David, conscious of his every thought. God is transcendent, far above the highest heaven. Yet God is also totally present in our here and now, giving each of us his undivided attention.
• God does know us even when we try to hide from him. And when we consciously open our hearts, and become totally honest with God and ourselves, he tests our hearts, cleansing us from “offensive ways”.
• David realized that God is bending close to express his love, not to catch us in some sinful act. He stays close to guard us, and to guide us into his best. When we sense him near and realize that what we feel is love, we, with David, will invite him to, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
• Why not invite God right now with the above verses 23-24?

Read chapter in full: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+138

Psalm 138 English Standard Version (ESV)

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

138 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
  before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
  and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
  for you have exalted above all things
  your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
  my strength of soul you increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
  for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
  for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
  but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
  you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
  and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
  your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
  Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Reflection

• David called us to focus thoughts of God on his “name”, and his “word”. When we do, we learn to trust his love and faithfulness. And when the word uttered in the name of the Lord, it should stimulate even the kings of the earth to praise him.
• David had personally experienced God’s love and faithfulness as the Lord preserved him in many troubles. What David understood, and we need to appreciate, is that each of us is important to God. His love has made our lives meaningful by linking it to his eternal plan. We may not know now what his purpose in us is. Yet God does have a purpose to fulfill in the lives of each of us. To him, we do count!
• Will you say with David the following verse as your prayer to God?

 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

Read chapter in full: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+137

Psalm 137 English Standard Version (ESV)

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

137 By the waters of Babylon,
  there we sat down and wept,
  when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
  we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
  required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
  “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
  in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
  let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
  if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
  above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
  the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
  down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
  blessed shall he be who repays you
  with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
  and dashes them against the rock!

Reflection

• The psalmist mourned the plight of the exiled Israelites. He expressed strong love for Zion and strong hatred for Israel’s enemies.
• In Babylon, far from their ancient homeland, the Jewish people felt crushed and isolated from God. Only when God acted again, to crush their oppressors and restore them to the Holy Land, would songs of joy again spring from their lips.
• It is only when we see God at work, in history and in our present lives, that we know real joy. Jesus put it this way, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24). Christ did not imply that receiving the thing we pray for will bring joy. His point was that in the answer to prayer we will sense God at work, and this – God active in our lives – gives us joy.
• Have you enjoyed this kind of joy – knowing God was active in your life and working for you? What was the situation? How did you feel about that? Find a chance to share it with another person, and the joy you experienced.

Read chapter in full: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+136

Psalm 136 English Standard Version (ESV)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
  for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
  for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;

17 to him who struck down great kings,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
  for his steadfast love endures forever.

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
  for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
  for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
  for his steadfast love endures forever.

Reflection

• Many scholars believe that the Israelites sang this psalm at Passover when they celebrated the Exodus. This psalm is unique because it repeats the same refrain in each verse. The Israelites probably sang this song antiphonally, with the leaders singing the first part of each verse and the people responding with the refrain. With this song, the Israelites praised God for His great acts and His loyal love that endures forever. It is a good one to read when we need to be reminded of God’s mercy.
• Do it with your family, or your cell group. Choose one person to read (or sing) the first part of each verse, and the rest of the people responding with the refrain, “for his steadfast love endures forever”.
• What do you think of praising God together like this?
• How did you feel when you were praising God with the others in this way?

 

Read chapter in full: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+135

Psalm 135 English Standard Version (ESV)

Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever

135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
  give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
  in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
  sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
  Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the Lord is great,
  and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
  in heaven and on earth,
  in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
  who makes lightnings for the rain
  and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
  both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
  sent signs and wonders
  against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who struck down many nations
  and killed mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
  and Og, king of Bashan,
  and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
  a heritage to his people Israel.

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
  your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
  and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
  the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
  they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
  nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
  so do all who trust in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
  O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
  You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
  he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!

Reflection

• The psalmist began by expressing his wonder that God should have chosen the Hebrew people to be his own. As the entire Old Testament testifies, this was a sovereign choice, not based on Israel’s merits. God, “who does whatever pleases him,” selected Israel simply because he wanted to.
• How good to know that God’s choice of you and me is also an expression of his free will. God loves us because he wants to, not because we deserve to be loved.
• God’s love counts. He, unlike the pagan’s idols, is able to act for us in the real world. No wonder Israel was moved to praise! God wrested Israel from slavery, struck down many nations, and gave his people their land as an inheritance.
• God demonstrates his sovereignty in nature and history. Truly there is no other God like Him.
• Can you think of a song to praise God’s sovereignty in nature and history – your history or that of another’s?