Psalm 93

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“The Lord reigns.” A solid focus on God was essential for the life of Israel as a worshiping nation. The weapons of a powerful enemy might have seemed more real than the divine King that they could not see. It was vital for their continued well-being that they sing about the power of their God. “He is robed in majesty.”

Belligerent displays of strength by Israel's enemies were easily seen by everyone, but would Israel know the glory of the Almighty One who had given them the land of Canaan? “He has put on strength as His belt.”

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the Creator of the heavens and the earth. There was no power among the nations that escaped His sovereign dominion. He was not merely the God of the small territory that He had given to them. “The world is established.” The Creator's extensive realm was established from of old. “You are from everlasting.”

The clamor of powerful armies and very populous countries might be directed against the Lord's people. God's own beloved children might be vastly outnumbered by those all around them. Their enemies might seem to cover the face of the earth like a flood. Yet Israel could rightly sing these words: “Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!”

The Lord God still reigns over all today. Though many people may raise their voices against Him, the Son of God has all power and authority. He has a plan which He announced to His apostles long ago. “Make disciples of all nations.” He told the first leaders of His church that they were to teach the entire world “to observe all that I have commanded you.” He promised to be with them until the end.

Though opposition against Him may seem to be overwhelming, the evidence of the centuries tells a very compelling story: God's plan is working. The Lord's church is everywhere. His “decrees are very trustworthy.” He is raising up a holy temple with Christ as the Cornerstone. “Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.” Yes, the Lord reigns!

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, You rule over all. You are the Creator and Sustainer of the world. There are so many people on this earth, but You are far above the most powerful and numerous mobs of Your enemies. Your holiness will endure forever.

Psalm 92

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“It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” Psalm 92 was called a “song for the Sabbath.” On that day when the Lord's people gathered in His Name they would sing praises to Him as the Most High God. They would remember the steadfast love of the Lord and His wonderful covenant faithfulness.

Every worshiper would have his own particular cares or joys, yet they were able to join together in their appreciation for the Lord and His works. They considered the great thoughts of the Almighty as they listened to His Word. Yet there were many who could not extol the glory of a God that they refused to acknowledge. They were missing the pleasures that come from the contemplation of the Most High, and they could not see that evildoers were “doomed to destruction.”

Those who would gather together to worship the Lord enjoyed the great privilege of thanking God. What enemies had the Lord defeated for them? They had cried out to Him in prayer. How had they experienced deliverance? It was good for them to remember His many benefits together and to appreciate the privileges that they enjoyed from knowing and loving God.

The Lord's people had a settled Sabbath experience that involved worship. They sang songs like Psalm 92. They experienced the joys and heartaches of life together and learned how to face good times and bad times as followers of God. As they came to the end of their days, they were able to say together that every good gift had come to them from the hand of the Almighty. They declared together, “He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

This practice of Sabbath worship was a settled pattern in the life of our Messiah (Luke 4:16). Eventually the day came when He stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and revealed Himself to be the Hope of Israel. He was their Rock, yet He was also the Stone that the builders rejected. Now He has become the Cornerstone of a holy temple in the Lord (Psalm 118:22). Because of His resurrection, we gather together on a new day of rest—the first day of the week. He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and through Him we offer up our praise to God. This is the Lord's commandment. Now it has also become our custom. It is good for our souls.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, what a joy it is to praise You! You have done great things. Your thoughts are deep and wonderful. You are far above all idols. You have blessed us in great ways. You have planted us in Your kingdom and we are growing in Your righteous love.

Psalm 91

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“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Israel had a special relationship with God. God was to be their dwelling place and He promised to abide with them. Each follower of the Almighty could sing with joy, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

This did not mean that faithful worshipers would be immune from all danger and temptation. Yet the Lord would be aware of “the snare of the fowler” and “the deadly pestilence.” He would deliver His children from evil.

Because of the assurance that Israel had of the Lord's abiding protection, they could walk in the midst of a dangerous world with strong confidence. They did not need to shrink in fear from all of the terrors of their enemies or the very real troubles that were part of life in a world under the Lord's judgment. Even though thousands might fall, God would never withdraw His covenant love from them.

“You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.” But what if Israel abandoned her God and joined in the evil of those who served idols? What if they rejected the Lord? How would they escape God's righteous indignation?

The trials that true Israelites experienced were not ordained by God to destroy them, but to test them. The ultimate Worshiper of the Almighty faced very difficult times when He came to win our salvation. The angelic adversary that tempted Him in the wilderness even dared to quote Psalm 91:11-12 in an attempt to thwart the mission of the Messiah. Satan wanted to entice Jesus to put His Father to the test. He said, “He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

The Lord did not fall for this trap. As Psalm 91:13 boldly states, “The serpent you will trample underfoot.” This is the destiny of all who have Christ in them. As our Captain has defeated the enemy, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Our hope is grounded in the ability of Jesus to pass His test of faith and obedience. Because the Son of God held fast to His Father in love, He was delivered from death. His resurrection has become our victory. When we call to God as our Father, He will answer us. He will satisfy us with “long life.” He will show us His salvation.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Strong Deliverer, You are our refuge and our fortress in the most horrible danger. You are so faithful, O God. Even if we die, we shall live. We will see Your great deliverance with our own eyes. We will see angels, who help us in a day of trouble. You have spoken great promises to us in Christ. What a blessing it is to live in the light of His glorious resurrection!

Psalm 90

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“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Moses wrote a psalm that helped many of God's faithful to maintain a proper perspective on the brevity of life. Israel needed to remember that God was the Eternal One. It was in Him that His people lived and moved and had their being. When the Creator of the mountains determined that their days under the sun were completed, then they would return to dust. For the Lord, a thousand years were completed and swept away like “a watch in the night.”

This did not mean that God ignored the details of that millennium. He had a most exhaustive understanding of all things, including the hidden faults of His beloved people. They lived their seventy or eighty years according to His plan, and He remained aware of every moment of their lives. He was more than able to stand as the holy Judge over all their thoughts, words, and actions.

Who among the thousands that comprised Israel in the days of Moses was able to face such a great and frightening God? Even the man who wrote Psalm 90 was prohibited from entering the Promised Land because of his own transgression. Thousands died in the wilderness because of their rebellion against the Lord's commandments and their insurrection against the leaders that He had given them.

What was the point for Israel of these musings on life and sin? “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

A heart of wisdom insisted on God's presence with His people. “Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!” That same wise mind would always seek the steadfast love of the Almighty. True worshipers of the God of Moses would reject the temporary pleasures of sin, and ask the Lord to make His people “glad” for all their days. This eternal gladness would have to come through the works of the Lord. Only through the God of glory would Israel have a solid future and a lasting hope.

The longings of Moses could only be fulfilled through the coming of Immanuel, God with us. Christ alone is the solid Rock on which His kingdom is built. In His works we have a lasting redemption and a life of resurrection joy that will never fail.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Eternal Father, in You we live and move and have our being. We are here for a season and then return to dust, but from the dust You call us back to life. Who can stand before You? You know all our secret sins. We live for our seventy or eighty years, and then we are gone. Have pity on us. Help us to rejoice in You forever, so that we will consider our current troubles a light affliction when compared with the glory that will soon be our life and portion without end.

Psalm 89

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“I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever.” The author of Psalm 89 was determined to compose a psalm through which his testimony of God's faithfulness wound endure “to all generations.” He believed that God's covenant love through the line of David was established in the heavens, and that His faithfulness to His own Word would be experienced all over the earth.

The psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, wrote of the glory of the Lord in the heavenly assembly of holy angels. In His place of perfect dominion, God was greatly feared and continuously worshiped. From that seat of honor, God ruled over the entire earth. “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” Creatures that would have moved the most courageous man with terror were easily mastered by the Almighty. The Lord's enemies on earth were no match for His “mighty arm.”

Any great king among the Lord's people, any gathering of faithful worshipers, any mighty men of valor, walked “in the light of Your face.” They could do nothing apart from the Lord. God alone was “the glory of their strength.” His authority extended far beyond the Promised Land. “The heavens are Yours; the earth also is Yours; the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.”

The psalmist wrote of God's promise to David as something from “of old.” While some of the words contained in Psalm 89 could be about the reign of David himself, others demanded a bolder interpretation. Only the Messiah, the promised Son of David, could fulfill all that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote. It would be the reigning Messiah King who would have “His hand on the sea and His right hand on the rivers.” Only Jesus would be the “highest of the kings of the earth.”

Lesser descendants of David might not keep the commandments of God. Jesus would fulfill the Law perfectly. Lesser kings in the line of David would face discipline for their faults. Jesus would never suffer for his own sins. He had none. His death on the cross was for us. He is the one Son of David who shall reign as King forever.

Yet long before the coming of the Messiah, these eternal promises of God seemed to be in serious jeopardy of failing. The king who was serving in the days of the psalmist was “cast off and rejected.” The city where David had once reigned was in ruins.

The righteous cried out to God in a faithful lament: “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” Ethan wrote of the brevity of life. He wondered about the future fulfillment of the Lord's steadfast promises. How would the line of David even continue?

The words of the psalmist have fresh meaning today in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Ethan asked, “Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” We know now that Jesus can. The disgrace that the psalmist wrote about was carried by the Lord when He died for us. Jesus was “mocked” by Jews and Gentiles. He faced “the insults of ... many nations,” not only the Romans on the day of His death, but all over the world as His servants have brought the good news of salvation throughout the earth.

Now we are called to follow in the “footsteps” of the Lord's “Anointed.” This Christ is our Savior and our Lord. We will sing of His mercies forever, and we will make known His faithfulness to all the people groups that inhabit the world that He has made. Even when His promises seem to have failed, we know that Jesus is coming again with the fullness of His resurrection kingdom.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, Your love is steadfast forever. Help us to believe Your Word today. We feel alone in misery and trouble, but You are surely a mighty God. Father, the waves of grief and danger are too much for us. Come and save us. Come in all Your righteousness and love. Encourage us now with Your glorious Spirit. When we come to You in weakness and anxiety, let us be sent forth again in peace. Our life is in Him who is the perfect Son of David. He is the answer to the removal of all our fears. He is King of kings, and there has never been anything lacking in His obedience. You chastise us out of love, but we are safe in our great Messiah King. Lord, You know our secret tears and our many faults. Your people are in great trouble now, but Your wrath came upon Your Son for us. He has delivered our souls from hell. We are mocked by men, but You are surely faithful. Blessed be Your holy Name forever.

Psalm 88

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“O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.” The writer from the sons of Korah was in a very low condition. “My soul is full of troubles.” He suspected that death could not be far away. In his despair he could not see anything beyond the grave.

Yet he had enough faith in the Almighty to cry out to God personally. “You have put me in the depths of the pit.” He was near death, but not as the result of impersonal forces of disease or treachery. He knew that God was sovereign over all and that the Lord was angry with him. “Your wrath lies heavy upon me.”

The psalmist expressed his sense of extreme abandonment and attributed this also to the hand of God. He was trapped, and his lonely life was slipping away. Yet he continued to call out to the Lord for deliverance night and day. He could not approach death with peace. The only life that he knew would soon be gone.

Almost every psalm in the Bible ends with some note of hope, but not Psalm 88. The psalmist's words complete the full range of human emotion by providing us with this example of a man who cried out to God at his very lowest moment. He was like a Jeremiah or a Paul who despaired of life itself and was utterly at the end of his strength. The only sign of spiritual life remaining in him was the simple fact that he was still addressing the Almighty.

Yet the psalmist's last cry to God in despair was a word of enduring faith. Like the Messiah on the cross, He called out to God when all was lost. In the words of Psalm 88, “O Lord, why do You cast my soul away? Why do You hide your face from me?”

All was not lost. Out of the final wounds of our Redeemer came the greatest and most powerful hope that humanity has ever known. Because of Him, there is a future even for those who have nothing left. As we learn from the resurrection, when Jesus cried out to His Father, “He was heard.” (Hebrews 5:7) From the darkest corner of a dying world, the Son of God has won for His people the glories of heaven.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God of Our Salvation, You hear Your children when they call upon Your Name. We cannot trust in our strength, for it is almost gone. We cannot trust in our companions, for they have rejected us. Make us to praise You in resurrection life. Those that lie in the grave cannot sing praises to You. We are helpless unless You speak life again into our mortal bodies.

Psalm 87

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“On the holy mount stands the city He founded.” The Lord founded a “city” on Mount Zion. The mountain of Old Testament worship was the place where God lived with His worshiping people.

According to the Law of God, access to the holiest place on that mountain was severely restricted during the time of the Old Covenant. Yet the sons of Korah wrote a song for Israel to sing that celebrated the many people groups that would one day inhabit this land of worship.

How would Rahab from Jericho, and men and women from Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush come to be residents of this glorious realm so loved by God? The answer became a part of Psalm 87: “This one was born there.”

There is a Zion redeemed by Jesus Christ in the heavens. All who have come to believe in Him have become residents of this great “city of God.” While the facts of their physical birth enable us to distinguish the Babylonian from the Cushite, a better story is told regarding their life together as sons of God in Zion: “This one and that one were born in her.”

Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, but the Lord Jesus has established another Zion by His own blood. He lives there forever as King. He is the one who registers every citizen of His kingdom. He says, “This one was born there.”

Whatever else may be happening in that glorious realm, Psalm 87 tells us that there are “singers and dancers” there. As they worship the Lord, they testify to the truth that a heavenly river of life empowers them in their dedication to the Almighty. They say, “All my springs are in You.”

Even today in this time of persecution and tribulation on earth, people from all over the world are worshiping the God of Israel with both joy and tears. Their “springs” originate in the everlasting God and in His eternal city.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Merciful Lord, You have built up Your holy Zion in the praises of Your people. Even those who were far off have been drawn near to You in Christ. We joyfully confess a new birth, for in Him we were born in Zion. We will rejoice in You forever.

Psalm 86

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“Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” David cried out to God in prayer. He knew the greatness of the Almighty and was aware of his own poverty. Only the Lord could preserve his life.

David called out to God as a godly man should. “Save your servant, who trusts in You—You are my God.” He also knew that he needed the Lord's mercy. “Be gracious to me, O Lord.”

As he lifted up his soul to God in his time of need, he looked for the Lord to give him joy as well as deliverance from his enemies. He spoke about the character of Almighty God—about God's own goodness, mercy, and steadfast love. He expected that God would hear him and answer him.

David did not believe that all the gods of the nations were the same. “There is none like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours.” He believed that all the nations of the earth would one day worship the God of Israel.

David prayed to God about the Lord's greatness and not just about his own troubles. He also pledged his own obedience to God and asked for help from on high, “that I may walk in Your truth.” He was not content to be a double-minded man who gave halfhearted devotion to the Lord. “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Even as he composed his prayer, he knew that God was hearing him and lifting him out of his sorrow.

“O God, insolent men have risen up against me.” As he closed his prayer, David reminded the Lord about the ruthless people who wanted to kill him. Yet even as he continued to speak to the Lord his words of petition, he was aware that God had already helped him and comforted him.

Anyone who would serve the Lord in any place and time needed to pray to God as David prayed. This was certainly the custom of David's great descendant, Jesus. Even though He was fully God, He cried out to His Father with earnest petition. He prayed with the good conscience of One who knew His Father's love.

When His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, Jesus invited them to begin with the words, “Our Father.” He invited them into His own perfect relationship with the Almighty. Through His death and resurrection for us, we boldly lift up our voices to the Lord. As we do so, God will surely help us and comfort us in our distress.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious God, we come to You in great need. Day by day You move us along in a most holy faith. We call upon You and ask for Your grace. You are the only true God. Your works are amazing. Teach us Your way. Unite us together in Christ. There is danger in this age. It comes so close to us. Help us, O Lord, for You know all things, and have promised to be our God.

Psalm 85

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“Lord, you were favorable to your land.” The sons of Korah knew that God had been very good to Israel. He had restored them from disaster in the past. He had forgiven their iniquities and had turned away from his “hot anger” concerning their sins. Would He help them now? “Restore us again, O God of our salvation!”

The Lord was right to be angry with their unfaithfulness. They were still His people. The Almighty was a God of “steadfast love.” His covenant mercy toward Israel included many episodes of fatherly discipline, but they would not have been able to survive if His anger continued forever. The sons of Korah led Israel to cry out for God's grace. “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”

Then the prophetic Word of God came to one of the Lord's servants: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” The Lord their God would grant His salvation to those who approached Him in holy fear. His glory would dwell again in the Promised Land. But would they walk in His wisdom?

How long could this covenant last between a holy God and a sinful people? “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” His salvation would not come from some pretense that His holy demands would continue to be ignored. Somehow Israel's God would receive the perfect righteousness that He was due and His servants would experience true peace.

What was God's perfect solution? The Righteous One would come down from “the sky.” Through His life and death a true offering for the sins of His people would be received. But how could a Messiah who died ever live again? Would Israel have salvation but forever mourn the loss of the Christ who saved them? “Faithfulness springs up from the ground” in the resurrection of the Lamb of God. Jesus lives forever. He shows us the way to go as His followers. Our fellowship with the Father and the Son is now eternally secure. The old cycle of failure and restoration has been broken. Our Lord has won heaven for us. We will be blessed in that new land, and we will walk in “His footsteps” forever.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Sovereign Lord, You have been so kind to us. We have the fullness of forgiveness in Christ. Please revive us again. Speak peace to us through Your Word. May we have growth in holiness that could only come from You. Your Son is the King of Righteousness. We trust in Him.

Psalm 84

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“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!” The sons of Korah, like Asaph, were associated with the worship of the Lord in the days of King David and beyond. Their love for God and for divine worship was expressed in songs of praise that Israel would sing for many generations.

God's temple, built by David's son, was the place where the Lord would dwell with Israel. The devout would rightly long for everything associated with that holy place. Their affection for the temple was an expression of their sincere dedication to “the living God.”

Even the birds were blessed to be able to have their nests where the God of Israel met with His chosen people. What a great privilege for people created in God's image to be able to sing His praise according to the direction of the king! “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!”

Those who found their strength in Israel's God found power for living. They had a highway to Mount Zion in their hearts. Though they might even be far away from Jerusalem, they were able to receive spiritual nourishment as they suffered in “the Valley of Baca,” a dry and weary land. They were able to make the desert into “a place of springs.” With the refreshment that came to them in their praise of Almighty God they went “from strength to strength.” Though they might live very far from the Lord's sanctuary, “each one appears before God in Zion.”

The sons of Korah and all the devout from the twelve tribes of Israel longed for this holy experience of sincere worship. They waited for the Lord to hear their prayers. Because they were aware of their failings, they called upon God's “Anointed,” which means “Christ,” to be their shield. They asked God not to see them, but to “look on the face of Your Anointed.”

Because the Christ has come, true worshipers from all over the world are now singing this song from the sons of Korah. They have become a part of the living temple of the Holy Spirit. They have seen the riches of Christ as greater gain than all that they could ever have in “the tents of wickedness.” Jesus has become their all in all, and they are convinced that He will give them the solid joys and lasting treasures of the Jerusalem that is above.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, we long to be with You. We rejoice in the opportunity to be together in worship even in this age, but we especially look forward to the age to come. We long for a day in Your courts above. Help us, O Lord. You have blessed us, and we trust in You.

Psalm 83

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“O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!” God may have seemed very silent to His people in distress. Their enemies were clearly not quiet. They were making an uproar.

The evil that Asaph heard and saw was the result of secret scheming. Foes had made a plan against the Lord's servants, and they were executing that plan. They hated the name of Israel. They sought to “wipe them out as a nation.”

Asaph identified this group of enemy nations. They included Edom, Moab, Philistia, Tyre, and other tribal groups. They were joined by the Assyrian Empire.

Asaph called upon the Lord to bring them all down as He had humiliated other threatening powers in previous generations. In the midst of his call for immediate justice he added this fascinating plea: “Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord.”

All these people groups who hated the Lord and His people might yet have hope. If they were humbled by Israel's God, they might actually turn to Him. Asaph looked for them to be “dismayed forever,” but only as followers of false deities and as treacherous enemies of the Lord's chosen flock. He ended Psalm 83 with a plea that even these hostile people groups might see the truth: “that they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.”

This request is now being fulfilled through Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. People all over the earth are coming to know Israel's God through the strong Savior who died for their sins.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord Almighty, where are You? Please speak to us through Your Word. Help us to survive when enemies attack Your covenant people. You will surely come in the Day of Judgment. What shall we do until that day? We will trust You, and we will remember that You are at work even now. You are the Most High God, over all the earth.

Psalm 82

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“God has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods He holds judgment.” The Lord is not alone in the heavens. He is surrounded by holy angels. Even Satan, according to Job 1, has heard the voice of the Lord above. God is over all angelic beings. He is also above all the human judges who are called to execute justice as “gods” upon the earth. The Almighty will not allow injustice to prevail among the nations of the world forever.

God demands that human judges rule according to the truth. They must not favor the wicked, no matter what the unrighteous can do for them. Someone may be powerless in his community, with no living relative who will protect him in his hour of need, yet God expects all judges and rulers to give even that weak person a fair hearing.

When powerful people abuse systems of governance, the Lord is displeased. He can make the earth shake. There are many ways that He is able to remind the hardhearted that He is very aware of their dishonesty. Such powerful citizens may be godlike as Jesus acknowledged in John 10:34, but the God over all gods will surely show them that they are not beyond His oversight. Like all people on the earth, they will one day die. Like Satan and the fallen angels, they may yet face the second death of the lake of fire.

The Lord of all, who will one day come to judge the earth, is well aware of the demands of His own Law. When He suffered in our place, He took His stand for truth as no one before Him ever could have done. When He returns to judge the nations, He will bring forth a new world of sincerity and love. Never again will the poor man fall victim to the lies of the powerful. The same Jesus who demonstrated His victory over death in His own resurrection, will reign over all.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, what must it be like to be in the divine counsel above? You have an instruction for us here below. We must care for those in our charge. Come soon, O Lord. Rescue the weak from their foes.

Psalm 81

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“Sing aloud to God our strength!” Asaph called the Lord's people to worship. Israel was to “shout for joy” and use musical instruments and their own voices in exuberant praise of God. The Lord commanded His people to gather together for worship according to a calendar that He established. Why would they ever think that this commandment could be safely ignored?

The Lord reminded His nation that He had freed them from Egypt. They were once enslaved in a land where the people spoke a language that Yahweh refused to hear. The Almighty would hear the Hebrews, but He would not listen to the Egyptians.

The God of Israel had relieved the burdens of His people. Even after He brought them out of bondage, He remained involved in their lives. When they needed water and food in the wilderness, it was the Lord who provided for them. He also gave them laws, and He tested their devotion to Him.

What was Yahweh looking for? He demanded that they give Him the exclusive worship that He well-deserved. Yet even after He had rescued them with such great acts of deliverance, His people continued to call upon the names of other gods. These foreign deities had not helped the descendants of Jacob. Nonetheless, the Lord's people were continually enticed by the lure of spiritual adultery. They would not be fully committed to the only true God.

“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” But Israel would not obey God. They would not submit to His commandments. Therefore the Lord gave them over to their own ways. If they had only obeyed His voice, He would have speedily defeated all of their adversaries. He would have given them the “finest wheat” and “honey from the rock.” Yet they would not submit to Him as Father and Lord.

Would their persistent disobedience entirely thwart God's plan of grace? Far from it. The God of heaven and earth would one day send His own Son to provide the obedience that His chosen people lacked. Not only would Jesus die for the sins of His beloved children, He would grant to them new hearts by His Holy Spirit. Now the church throughout the world is called to hear the Word of Christ, and to follow the King. They will be characterized not by their stubborn resistance to His commands, but by heartfelt worship and obedience. They will be known by the fruits that come from His powerful saving grace.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God, we should praise You with fullness of joy and expectation. You have redeemed us out of the greatest distress. We should listen to You completely. Why should there be strange gods among us? Why do we not follow Your commandments? You have great blessings planned for us, even through times of trouble. Will we still continue to deny You?

Psalm 80

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“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock!” During the days of the Old Testament, God was enthroned above the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies. The Lord of the universe condescended to dwell between the images of angels that the Lord had told Moses to make as a covering for the ark. He called this space His mercy seat, and the psalmist who is identified with the ancient name of Asaph asked the Lord to reign from that most sacred space for the salvation of His nation.

Three times in Psalm 80, Asaph writes this earnest petition: “Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved!” People who ask to be restored have suffered some fall. Asaph knew that God was sovereign over the story of His people. If they had suffered, God was very aware of their troubles. They had been weeping before the Lord, but their enemies were laughing at them. Would the Almighty not shine His face on them and change their sorrow into joy?

Jehovah was the God of Israel. He had taken them out of bondage in Egypt and had led them into the Promised Land. They were His vine. He had replanted them in a new territory. His vine had grown, and had covered the land that God had given to them. But now the walls of the vineyard had been broken down by a powerful adversary. Asaph knew that the same God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt was ultimately the One who had broken down their walls. Gentiles were feeding off of God's precious vine like wild boars from the forest. This could only take place if God had ordained it. What was His holy purpose in this wrenching act of discipline?

With their great need for salvation came a very intense desire for God to help them. God was the Lord over their armies. If He would again regard His precious vine, they would be fruitful. If He would again be the Captain of their salvation, the people of Israel would defeat all their foes.

The day would eventually come when the only-begotten Son of God would come to earth to do battle against the worst of foes. He would defeat sin and death, not with the weapons of this world, but with the power of a holy life. His victory would not come by killing others, but by being killed. This Son of Man, Jesus, is the warrior that God has chosen for the ultimate battle of the ages. His coming was the perfect answer to the longing of God's people for many centuries. We shall call upon His Name forever, and He will hear us and be near to us in love. He has restored us. In Him, the face of God will shine on us forever. We have been saved.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, You are mighty. Look upon Your church in our day of great need. You have done so much for us already. Surely You will keep all of Your great promises. Have regard for us. You have chosen Your Son to be our King. This great Son of Man is our sure hope.