Psalm 26 — I Will Bless the Lord
Psalm 27 — The Lord is My Light and My Salvation
Psalm 28 — The Lord is My Strength and My Shield
Psalm 29 — Ascribe to the Lord Glory
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
“Test me, Lord, and try me” (Psalm 26:2) — be careful what you ask for! From our perspective this sounds like boasting, but only if we pluck it out of the center of the appeal for God’s vindication. He’s crying out to God for help, for deliverance. I love the imagery of 26:11, “My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.” What a beautiful picture, the “great congregation!”
Psalm 27:4 reminds me of the relatively old worship song from 1995 (based on Psalm 84), verse 2: “One thing I ask and I would seek, To see Your beauty, To find You in the place, Your glory dwells” [Matt Redman, “Better is One Day”].
Back to the scripture, the theme of “heart” runs deep: “whom shall I fear?” (27:1), “my heart will not fear” (27:3) and the closing verse, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (27:14). Such a prayer for faith. May the Holy Spirit pour out the gift of faith on his people today. It seems we really need it as a people so often distracted by the world.
In Psalm 28, David proclaims the “Lord is my strength,” then adds, “the Lord is the strength of his people” (v7 and v8). We’re in this together, this is our cry for God’s help, be my shepherd and carry us forever! (from v9).
The “VOICE” of the Lord in Psalm 29 reminds us that God is mighty, THE Almighty. Mike, Kee Hyon and Nate reminded us yesterday during the preacher/teacher time that we need to revere the Lord, respect his mighty hands. We may not use his name in vain by swearing or cussing, but we often use his name in vain by not honoring him, by not ascribing to God the attributes of God. “The voice of the Lord is powerful…majestic…breaks the cedars…in pieces” (29:4). “The God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters” (29:3). How great is our God! The closing verse affirms the Lord is for all, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace” (29:11).
The closing verses in each of these psalms are rich in imagery and inspiration. Here’s a summary to consider: May the great congregation stand on level ground and take heart, be strong and wait for the Lord. Know that he is our shepherd, the great voice of all people will give us strength and bless his people with peace. Amen.