Considering Our Prayers

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 66:17–20 (ESV)

¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. ¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. ¹⁹ But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰ Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Understanding and Applying the Word

These verses conclude Psalm 66. Here we read that the psalmist called out to God. This is a way of saying that the psalmist prayed for God’s help. This is no surprise, especially given the verses that we have been reading in the rest of the psalm. But notice what accompanies the psalmist’s petitions: praise and repentance.

Praise and repentance should always be a part of our prayer lives. When we come before the holy God of creation, He is deserving of praise and it is through our praise that we are reminded of the privilege of prayer as it produces humility in our hearts. Also, when we confess our sin with a sincere desire to turn from it, our focus shifts from ourselves to God’s grace and His overflowing love. When we come before God in this manner, we can be sure that God does not reject our prayer, but that He hears and He answers according to His will.

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Come and Hear

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 66:13–16 (ESV)

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, ¹⁴ that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. ¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

Understanding and Applying the Word

In these verses, the psalmist promises to publicly worship and praise God for all that He has done. He will tell others of what God has done for him.

Worship is always a response. It is a response to our understanding of who God is and our knowledge of what He has done. As such, our worship is a witness and testimony to others of what God has done. We worship and we tell others why we worship, We proclaim God’s praises because He is worthy of praise and then we tell others why He is worthy. And our worship is centered on the salvation we have in Jesus Christ, who died in order to give us life.

Let us worship the Lord for all He has done and let us tell the world of His greatness!

Praise God for Testing Us

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Tim Farley

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Reading the Word

Psalm 66:6–12 (ESV)

⁶ He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, ⁷ who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah⁸ Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, ⁹ who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. ¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. ¹¹ You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; ¹² you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

Understanding and Applying the Word

This psalm begins with a call to praise God for who He is and all he He has done. In verse 6 we get an specific example of what God has done: He has delivered His people from Egypt by bringing them through the sea on dry land. Let the people praise Him!

That is wonderful, but verses 10-12 give other reasons to praise God. We should praise Him because he has “tested us” and “tried us as silver”. As we continue to read we find that God has “brought us into the net” and “laid a crushing burden on our backs”. He has “let men ride over our heads” and taken us through fire and water. How is this worthy of praise?

The words of Psalm 66:10-12 reflect the same thought as James 1:2-4:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

God, in His sovereignty, brings things into our lives, even difficult things, for our good. He uses these experiences to help us grow to Christian maturity and learn to trust and depend on Him more and more. If we look back on our lives, it is most likely true that our greatest times of spiritual growth have come not in the times of ease, but in the times of hardship and difficulty. So, in the words of James and Psalm 66, we can count these times as joy and give praise to God for them!

Give to Him Glorious Praise

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 66:1–5 (ESV)

¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth; ² sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! ³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. ⁴ All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah⁵ Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

Understanding and Applying the Word

Psalm 66 calls for all people to praise God for who He is and for what He has done. His name is glorious and He has displayed His great power for all to see. In the context of this psalm, God displayed His power when He brought the people out of Egypt and led them across the sea on dry ground (Psalm 66:6). He then delivered the people into the Promised Land that was overflowing with abundance (Psalm 66:12).

We too are called to marvel at who God is and to praise His wondrous deeds. We can give praise and thanks for His daily provision in our lives, for how He has brought us through specific trials, or for the promises that He has made to us for the future. These are all great things. But let us not forget our great deliverance. Psalm 66 looks back to the deliverance of the people from bondage in Egypt. We must continually look back to the cross and our deliverance from bondage to sin. Christ died to set us free and to deliver us into eternal life in a new heaven and new earth. Let us praise the name of our great God and remember His awesome deeds!

The God of Harvest

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Tim Farley

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Reading the Word

Psalm 65:9–13 (ESV)

⁹ You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. ¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. ¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. ¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, ¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Understanding and Applying the Word

As we read these verses we get a picture of God’s generosity. We read of how God waters the earth to provide for an abundant grain harvest and so that the fields yield the growth necessary to provide for the flocks that graze in them. God is pictured as the generous provider.

Verses 9-13 can be taken alone to show how God provides for our daily needs, but there is something greater to be found in these verses. In the opening of Psalm 65, we read of how God has provided for our spiritual needs by making atonement for our sins. Now, at the end of this psalm, we see an concrete example of how God provides for our physical needs. He is the God who meets our every need and we are reminded every time we sit down to eat. Let us remember to give thanks to him for His provision, especially His provision of our Savior.

The Hope of All the Ends of the Earth

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Tim Farley

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Thank you for reading Shaped by the Word, a daily Bible reading devotional. I do not publish devotional content on Sundays, but I do include a suggested Scripture reading for the day. Please subscribe to this page so you can follow along as we read through the Book of Psalms in 2018.

Reading the Word

Psalm 65:5–8 (ESV)

⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; ⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; ⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, ⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

Praise Is Due to You, O God

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 65:1–4 (ESV)

¹ Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. ² O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. ³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. ⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Understanding and Applying the Word

“Praise is due to you, O God.” What great words. This is how Psalm 65 begins. It then goes on to tell us why God is due praise. He hears prayer. He forgives sin. He brings us near to dwell with Him. And he shows us goodness in His house. What a great God!

It truly is amazing to think of the goodness and love of God towards us. Scripture and our hearts tell us that we are sinners, but God, who is holy, shows His grace to us by making forgiveness available through the cross at Calvary. Not only does God forgive us, but he welcomes us into His presence, not as servants, but as children! Amazing! Then He shows us goodness by His loving care for us. He truly is deserving of our praise. Let us lift our hearts and voices to Him. He is the great God!

Let the Righteous Rejoice in the Lord

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Tim Farley

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Reading the Word

Psalm 64:7–10 (ESV)

⁷ But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. ⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. ⁹ Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. ¹⁰ Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!

Understanding and Applying the Word

The world can often seem unfair and even cruel. Wicked and evil people seem to get away with their actions. Swindlers sometimes seem to prosper from their lies and deceit. And the innocent and weak may seem to be taken advantage of.

But Scripture tells us a different story. God’s word tells us that evil will be judged by an all-knowing God. In the end, truth and justice will prevail as God deals with all of mankind with perfect justice. In that day, the righteous will rejoice and the wicked will be brought to ruin. So, today we live by faith in God’s promise to judge evil as we live for him in a world that is always seeking to devour the weak for profit.

As you read this, you may be wondering how anyone will escape God’s judgment. That is a good question. The Bible says we are all sinners and stand condemned by our sin. Yet God in His grace has provided His Son as payment for our sin. He went to the cross as a perfect sacrifice. And Jesus rose from the dead in victory over sin. God’s word tells us that if we repent of our sin and trust in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, we will find forgiveness and salvation. This is the free gift of a loving and gracious God for all who will believe. Will you trust Him today?

The Secret Plots of the Wicked

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Tim Farley

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Reading the Word

Psalm 64:1–6 (ESV)

¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. ² Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, ³ who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, ⁴ shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. ⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” ⁶ They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

Understanding and Applying the Word

David calls out to God with a “complaint”. His enemies are secretly plotting to cause him harm. These evil doers are sure that there schemes will remain hidden and that no one can see their secret snares.

God sees what we cannot. There are no secrets that are kept from God. When we are faced with an enemy who is plotting evil, we can be sure that God sees the truth of the situation. We can be encouraged because we know that God is good and He is just.

God sees into our minds and hearts. We may believe that our thoughts and feelings are hidden, but they are not. We may hide them from our fellow man, but God sees even into these deep places. This is a warning to us all. We will all give an account to the righteous Judge who knows every detail to the full, even the things we keep in the depths of our minds and hearts.

All Who Swear by Him Shall Exult

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 63:9–11 (ESV)

⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; ¹⁰ they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. ¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Understanding and Applying the Word

In these words, we read David’s confidence that God would defeat his enemies. David is the king of verse 11 and he mentions that God’s deliverance would result in rejoicing and exultation and that the mouths of liars would be stopped as a result of God’s judgment.

In the previous verses we heard David say that God’s love was greater than life as he was facing great danger at the hands of his enemies (verse 3). In the New Testament we see Jesus going to the cross and showing us what it looks like when the Father’s love truly is our greatest desire. Jesus went to the cross and died in submission to the will of the Father. And, as we read in our verses for today, the Father has given victory over the enemies of the King (i.e. King Jesus) through the resurrection. It is interesting to note that Psalm 63 begins by speaking of a desert without water and Jesus will later declare, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'” (John 7:37-38).

We can have confidence in God who has promised to be with and deliver His people. We see how he has delivered Christ from His enemies. We can be sure that we too will be saved. Let us trust in Him and let us praise Him for His great love!