Psalm 89:1, 7 KJV‬ [1] I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. [7] God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. ¶Do not flee from God in fear, but come closer. The "hesed" of the Lord, His everlasting, merciful, craveable love, draws us nearer to Him. We bow down before Him not in cringing fear, but in reverent worship.

  Exodus 34:30, 34-35 NIV‬ [30] When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.  [34] But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, [35] they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord. ¶When Moses came down from Sinai and presented God's law to Israel, it was a fearsome thing. Even his very presence required a veil. To us now, perhaps God's OT law just seems outdated and boring. But "we are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face,...we all, who contemplate the Lord's glory, and are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Cor 3:13,18) To us now, perhaps God's OT law just seems outdated and boring. But "we are not li...

‭ Exodus 34:6-7 NIV‬ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”  ¶‭A God abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness but who by no means clears the guilty? This makes no sense without Jesus. He, born of these people, gathered not the righteous, but sinners unto Himself. He Himself "bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed'". (1 Peter 2:24) O wondrous Love, to bleed and die,  to bear the cross and shame,  that guilty sinners such as I,   might plead the gracious name.   John Newton, 1779

Mark 7:20-23 NIV‬   He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”   ¶In the passage preceding this, Jesus gives us a nitty-gritty description of what comes out of a person's body. Jesus knew of the uncleanness and defilement of the ones He came to redeem. Getting down and washing His disciple's feet represents that kind of love. Have you ever bandaged a wound, or opened an abscess, or disimpacted a person's bowel? Yes, as a physician, I have. When we do, we reflect the love of Jesus that casts out the natural feelings of disgust and rejection at what comes out of a person. But doctors can only go so deep to remove corrupt flesh. Jesus, though, is the greatest physician. He can go deeper, to the heart of a person. As disgus...

Exodus 32:11, 13-14 NIV‬ [11] But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?   [13] Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ” [14] Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. ¶As He judges the nations in their idolatry, God's would justifiably send disaster upon these idolators. But Moses invokes a covenant, the one God made with Abraham.  Then does God's justice remain unsatisfied? Must God admit to some error in His judgements? No, Christ, the greater Moses, stands before the Father ready to take on the burden of all His people's sins. That judgement  has been satisfied, that God ma...

Psalms 86:1-4 NIV‬   Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. ¶In the first four verses the psalmist refers to himself in the form of  "…for I...", followed by eleven verses addressing the Lord in the form of  "...for you...", "...but you...", ending with "...because you...".  

Psalms 88:14-18 NIV‬ Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.  Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend. ¶Ever feel rejected by others? None have suffered rejection so completely and unjustly as Jesus did. Abandoned on the cross by friends, even by God the Father, His anguish is reflected in Psalms such as this. These Psalms are now here for us, showing us how to follow Him in our own moments of anguish and suffering. We have been given "...the same mindset as Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness". (‭Philippi...

1 Corinthians 2:9-10,15-16   [9] However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— [10] these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.   [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16] “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. ¶"The spiritual person" has been given "the mind of Christ". What does that look like? For that person, the things "prepared by God for those who love Him" are not  utilitarian, short-term fixes, but"deep things", things of eternal consequences, things that matter, things that endure, things like faith, hope, and love.

Psalm 84:1-2, 10 ESV‬ [1] How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! [2] My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. [10] For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¶The Lord God described in detail the place where He wanted to be with His people. From the beginning, God's purpose has been to create a place for men to walk together with Him. The Temple design echoed the garden, the original dwelling place of God among men. Jesus, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), came to walk among men. In the garden, the One who came to walk with Adam in the cool of the evening was Jesus, God in flesh walking with the one God created in His image from the earth. What could be more lovely? What better place  to yearn to return?  But earth is being reunited with heaven, and the psalmist's yearnings ...

Hosea 11:3-4 ESV‬ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.  I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them. ¶The Old Testament is littered with the affirmations of God's commitment to keeping His covenant promises. Reading the OT, the bands of His love that bind me to Him just get stronger and stronger. Why? He loved us just because He loved us (Deut 7:7-8). He loves to walk with His beloved in the garden. He loves the Son in whom He is well pleased. He loves the Bride being made ready for the marriage of the Lamb.

‭ 1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV‬ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,   ¶Remember this when the psalmist, in Psalm 18 for example, says "the Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness". It's not his righteousness. Any motive we have to gain our own righteousness is out of self-interest and is a failure at its heart. Our need is for what's called an "alien righteousness", coming from outside of ourselves, but uniting with us in our hearts.  Now, then, and always, God has made Christ the source of our righteousness.

‭ 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 ESV‬ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,   ¶Man's concern  in religion is that he get the benefit of it. Is he getting saved? Is his faith saving faith? Paul reflects God's point of view that the Gospel, the saving testimony about Christ, be reflected in the lives of his disciples. How do our relationships reflect the peace of God delivered to us in Christ? How does our concern for justice reflect the compassion of Christ for broken sinners? How does our endurance in suffering reflect the staying power of Jesus Christ? How does our confidence in the face of fear reflect the love of Christ?

Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:16‭-‬18 ESV ¶In the day of the Lord, upon His return, fear of Him will be topmost in everyone's mind. We will all know what we did, but also what we did not do. This will drive some of us closer to Jesus, who loves sinners. For the unredeemed, however, shame and dismay will just turn into bitterness and blame, eventually with no one to bear the blame but themselves.

O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes! But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise. Psalm 79:1‭, ‬3‭, ‬10‭, ‬13 ESV ¶Blood gives life. Our blood donations give the gift of life. But we need the blood to be pure. The blood bank goes to great lengths to make sure it is pure. Innocent blood poured out has great consequence. It speaks a claim for vindication of an injustice. Abel's blood cried out from the ground where it had been shed. The blood in this psalm calls out against an offense not only against the psalmist, but against God Himself. The taunts...

‭ Nehemiah 2:19-20   But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.” ¶Though he was acting under the authority of the king of Persia, Nehemiah did not invoke the name of the king. He called on "the God of heaven". What audacious yet humble faith! His trust was in the God of heaven, in whom rested his ultimate success.

Psalms 76:11   Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared. ¶This "vow and fulfillment" are both aspects of the "peace offering" described in Leviticus 7:11-16, and in Hebrews 13:15-16 we see how the "sacrifice of praise" still operates in the life of the believer. Do we wish to "close the loop" between us and our Creator? God provides us with a platform to bring any petition to Him In the form of a vow, and remember and return to Him with a "thank offering...the fruit of lips that praise His name".

The Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Exodus 19:10‭-‬11 ESV ¶It was after three days of waiting that the Lord Jesus said he would rise again in power to rule over His own and guide us through the wilderness. This He did.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." Exodus 19:5‭-‬6 ESV ¶When we read the apostle Peter proclaim that we are part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, let us return to these initial moments of covenant-making agreement when God chose a people long ago and far away to adopt and call His own. When we realize our inclusion into that people, and our unity with those saints, we begin to grasp how God sees us, and the scope of His mercy.  

Psalm 73:25-26 ESV‬   Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ¶What does it mean to desire nothing besides God? It means tracing all good things to their source in the goodness of God. It means recognizing His sovereign control of all things. It means accepting as from His hand all that He allows. We cannot afford to wait until we have everything figured out to decide to trust Him. In this moment, now in this moment, we must live in the mystery of knowing He is working all things for good.

‭ Romans 6:4 NIV‬   We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ¶At birth, coming up out of water, all await the baby's first cry. Like a fresh wind, life needs breath to ignite it. Likewise, entry into the kingdom of God also comes through water. John the Baptist said what he offered was "baptism with water for repentance", and that Jesus would come, bringing "baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11), speaking of the miraculous moment all of heaven awaits, when God breathes into us His Holy Spirit, quickens us unto eternal life, and makes us one of God's holy people.

But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.  Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, EXTOL him who rides on the clouds ; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord . Psalms 68:3‭-‬4 NIV ¶"Extol' Him (salal): lift Him up, build praise upon praise to Him. Used of stones gathered and heaped up in the construction of a building, or a highway. Used by extension of individuals gathered together for a common purpose, like we who, imagining ourselves going through life alone and lonely, find ourselves among a  gathering throng rejoicing on the way toward His throne. We can be happy and glad, not in our own approval, but when He is EXTOLLED.

‭ Psalms 67:6-7 NIV‬   The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. ¶It may be by the sweat of our brow that the land yields it harvest, but directly or indirectly, it is the Lord who grants the increase. We go out and come in by strength and power granted us from above. We have been given a place of dominion over the earth, which we occupy by His decree and under His authority. But the harvest is also happening among men, of souls. The Lord is gathering together worshippers, from the ends of the earth, to offer Him the fear, the reverence, the glory due His holy name.

Psalms 66:2-4, 10, 13-14 NIV‬ [2] Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. [3] Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. [4] All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” [10] For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. [13] I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you— [14] vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. ¶Here is the test: do I praise you God for everything? I will surely look back to see how secure were all Your purposes, how closely I have been held in Your hand, how timely were the deliverances You brought me through that I was never even aware of, how generous were the secret prayers and sacrifices of friends and loved ones? How can I but say thanks then? Can I import enough of the "not yet" into the "already" to rejoice now in what will be obvious then, to shout for joy, ...

‭ Psalms 64:2-3 NIV‬ Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. ¶Where do we imagine threats come from? Temptation, the real enemy, comes to us with words. His power is in words, which in themselves are nothing. His lies only become real when we give our assent to them. In his gospel Luke says about Judas "they agreed to give him money, and ( then) he consented." Jesus prays, and we pray, that we will not fall into temptation, but put our faith in Him.

Psalm 62:7-8 ESV‬   On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. ¶Do we trust in God at all times, or do we wait for trouble and then run to find a refuge? Any little burrowing creature knows enough to dig its shelter ahead of time, and not to wait to see the hovering predator to start building its refuge. A mighty rock can be a strong refuge, but not if we add it on top. We need the mighty rock for the foundation. God is our rock and our foundation. Our salvation and our glory rests upon Him.  Do we pray and seek the refuge of His word for ourselves now? For our families and the ones God has given us?

Exodus 3:2, 6 ESV‬   [2] And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.   [6] And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. ¶The Spirit of the Eternal God came upon a bush, even spoke through it, and it was not consumed. Has God ever fully inhabited a man, even spoken through Him, and yet have Him live? He has. Has the Spirit of God ever come upon us in tongues of flame, spoken through us declaring the wonders of God in various tongues, and we yet live? He has.

Psalm‬ ‭30:6‭-‬7 ‭ESV‬‬   As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. ¶When things are going well for us we'd like to keep things just the way they are. But babies can't stay in the womb forever. It's highly unlikely when we follow God He's going to just leave us satisfied with where we're at. It feels a little bit like death to have to change, but that's what being born again is all about. P.S. Little did I know 10 weeks ago when I wrote this that it was I who would be moved off my mountain by cancer. This cancer feels A LOT like death, but also like being born again to newness of faith.  

Psalm 55:22 ESV‬ Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Peter wrote of his faith in this OT promise from Psalm 55. In 1 Peter 5:7 he reintroduces and refreshes it to us with these words "having cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you."

Psalm 53:2-3 ESV‬   God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. ¶You know what? If I am included in the ones who seek not after God, I'm okay with that. Not that it doesn't concern me, but it's just not my concern, because without His seeking after me, there is no seeking after Him. As Solomon realized, the battle is not to the swift or the strong or the wise or the rich, but to the one who calls me.  Instead we should say to God " your goodness is running after me", and "sing of the goodness of God" (Bethel Music, Jenn Johnson, 2018).