Psalm 33

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud voice.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. 
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the water of the sea together as an heap; he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast. 
The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
An horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 
For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy O LORD be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

A NEW SONG

"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud voice.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. 
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD."

Have you sung a new song to the Lord lately? Where do you find this new song, and how can you best express it? The psalmist is talking about worshiping the Lord. Worship should have a freshness to it. Sometimes in our worship we sing the old songs in the old way, and we lose some of our skill. David was a harpist.

We get a new song from several sources. First, we get a new song from God's Word. When I read my bible, I ask God to show me new things. Psalm 119 verse 18 is a good prayer: "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from your law." He gives me new insights from his word, and that gives me a new song.

Next we get a new song from God's works. When we look around, we may see sadness, but he psalmist saw goodness. We may see unrighteousness and injustice, but the psalmist saw God's righteousness and justice. Open your eyes and look around you. See the wonderful new things God is doing.

Finally, we get a  song from our walk with the Lord. When we go through new experiences and new challenges, God gives us new victories. then we have a new song to sing. I want to have freshness in my worship. I want fervor and freshness in my witness for the Lord. I want him to do something new in my life. I want to sing a new song. Do you?

God wants you to walk closely with him so He may lead you into new experiences and challenges. If you're singing an old song, it could mean that you need to renew your walk with the Lord. Feed on the Word of God and look at what he is doing in your life. Ask him to give you a new song.

NO CARBON COPY

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the water of the sea together as an heap; he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast. 
The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

Are you depending on the counsel of the Lord? The word of God, his counsel, runs this whole universe. How did God create it? "And God said, 'Let there be ...'" (Genesis 1). He spoke and it was done, which shows the power of his word. Did you know that the same Word that created the universe holds the universe together and is guiding the universe and human history for you? When we are in tune with the word of God, we're in tune with the whole universe and with what he is doing in this world.

Let no one rob you of the beautiful truth that God has his counsel for you. He has an individual plan for your life, just as he did for Moses, Joshua, David, the apostles and the great men and women of the Church history.

Notice that the Lord's counsel comes from his heart. The will of God doesn't come from a machine. He doesn't photocopy one plan for everyone's life an dfax it to all believers. No, God's will comes from his heart, completely tailor-made for your life. And his will lasts forever, unlike human plans.

The will of God is his expression of love for you. Don't be afraid of it. Build your life on the counsel of the Lord.

Because God's tailor-made plans for you come from his heart, they are an expression of his love. Stay in tune with the word of God and he will guide you according to his will.

THE BEST CITIZEN

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
An horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD; he is our help and our shield."

So often the psalmist says, "Blessed is the man" or "Blessed is the family". But in verse 12 he says, "Blessed is the nation". Does God bless nations? Yes. He blessed the nation of Israel. He endowed the Israelites with some special blessings and gave them special tasks. They failed, however, in some of the things he gave them to do. But eventually God brought his word and his Son through the people of Israel. Christ was born of the tribe of Judah in the family of David.

Are you the kind of person God can use to be a blessing to your nation? Believers were chosen by God, in Christ, before the foundation of the world. We are his own inheritance. God looks down on us with favour and grace. And the bible tell sus that God wants us to be the right kind of citizens.

God is watching us. And he made us. Here we are, the people of God in a wicked and dark nation. What should we do? Remember, he is watching us. He made us and he's protecting us. We don't have to be afraid.

Be the best citizen you can be. Do so by obeying the Lord, by letting your light shine for him, by praying for your nation, by sharing his word with others and by exercising the privileges you have as a citizen of your nation.

God uses people to bless nations. Christians are to be good citizens, the kind of people he can use to strengthen a nation. Pray for your country and its leaders. Do your part to exercise the freedom you have to share the word of God and be a witness for him.

CAN YOU WAIT?

"For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy O LORD be upon us, according as we hope in thee."

Waiting is one of the hardest things for me to do. I would rather work than wait. Somehow I always end up in the wrong lane or the wrong line and I'm forced to wait. My impatience is probably why the Lord reminds me of verse 20 "Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." Why does God delay in answering prayer? He wants to give us a better blessing. Why does God delay in bringing deliverance or healing? He has something better in store for us. Our times are in his hands.

We must remember that when we wait on the Lord, we are not being idle or careless. Waiting prepares us. God works in us so that he can work for us. He knows what he is doing and has his own schedule. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some (people) count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish." (2 Peter 3 verse 9)

"our heart shall rejoice in him" (verse 21). Waiting ultimately leads to worship. The day will come when you will rejoice in the Lord because you have trusted in his holy name. We have hope and faith in waiting on the Lord. If you find it hard to wait, remember that God's delays are not his denials. He has a greater blessing in store for you. You can be sure that one day the waiting will end, and you will start worshiping and praising him.

Are you waiting for God to answer a specific prayer? Keep trusting him to work on your behalf. Your waiting will turn into worship and praise.

Prayer

 

The mid-week Prayer Meeting is always a special time in the church calendar and tonight (7 May 2025) was no exception!  Our reading tonight was from Exodus 17 verses 8 to 13 and a extract from Richard Foster's book Prayer was read. The chapter was titled Intercessory Prayer.

"Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the fellowship must enter every day." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer. Intercession is a way of loving others.

When we move from petition to intercession we are shifting our centre of gravity from our own needs to the needs and concerns of others. Intercessory Prayer is selfless prayer, even self-giving prayer. In the ongoing work of the kingdom of God nothing is more important than Intercessory Prayer. People today desperately need the help that we can give them. Marriages are being shattered. Children are being destroyed. Individuals are living lives of quiet desperation, without purpose or future. And we can make a difference ... if we will learn to pray on their behalf. 

Intercessory Prayer is priestly ministry, and one of the most challenging teachings in the New Testament is the universal priesthood of all Christians. As priests, appointed and anointed by God, we have the honour of going before the Most High on behalf of others. This is not optional; it is a sacred obligation - and a precious privilege - of all who take up the yoke of Christ.

A Magnificent Model

Moses was one of the world's great intercessors, and one particular incident in his life provides a magnificent model for us in our continuing work of intercession. On this occasion the Amalekites had engaged the children of Israel in battle. The military strategy of Moses was strange and powerful. He ordered Joshua to lead the army into the valley to fight the battle. Moses himself went to the top of a hill overlooking the battleground with his two lieutenants, Aaron and Hur. While Joshua engaged in physical combat, Moses engaged in spiritual combat by raising hands of prayer over the conflict. Evidently Moses had the harder task for he was the one who got tired. Aaron and Hur had to step in and hold up Moses' arms until the sun set.

In the military annals Joshua was the general who won the victory that day. He was the person up front and in the thick of the conflict. But you and I know the rest of the story. Back behind the scenes the battle of intercession was won by Moses and Aaron and Hur. Each role was essential for victory. Joshua was needed to lead the charge. Moses was needed to intercede on behalf of he children of Israel. Aaron and Hur were needed to assist Moses as he grew weary.

What Moses and Aaron and Hur did on that day is the work all of us are called upon to undertake. We are not all asked to be public leaders, but all of us are to engage in Intercessory Prayer. And as P T Forsyth reminds us, "The deeper we go down into the valley of decision the higher we must rise ... into the mount of prayer, and we must hold up the hands of those whose chief concern is to prevail with God."

We are not left alone in this interceding work of ours. Our little prayers of intercession are backed up and reinforced by the eternal Intercessor. Paul assures us that it is "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us" (Romans 8 verse 34). As if to intensify the truth of this, the writer to the Hebrews declares Jesus an eternal priest after the order of Mechizedek who "always lives to make intercession" (Hebrews 7 verse 25).

In the Upper Room discourse recorded in John's Gospel, Jesus made it unmistakably clear to his disciples that his going to the Father would catapult them into a new dimension of prayer. He explained to his mystified band; that he is in the Father and the Father is in him, that he is going to the Father in order to prepare a place for them, that they will be enabled to do greater works because he is going to the Father, that they will not be left orphaned but that the Spirit of Truth will come to guide them, that they are to abide in him as branches abide in the vine, that he will do anything they ask in his name, and so much more (John 13 to 17).

What is it about Jesus going to the Father that so radically changes the equation? Why would that make such a difference in their - and our - prayer experience? The new dimension is this: Jesus is entering his eternal work as Intercessor before the throne of God, and as a result, we are enabled to pray for others with an entirely new authority.

What I am trying to say is that our ministry of intercession is made possible only because of Christ's continuing ministry of intercession. It is a wonderful truth to know that we are saved by faith alone, that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves acceptable to God. Likewise, we pray by faith alone - Jesus Christ our eternal Intercessor is responsible for our prayer life. "Unless he intercedes" writes Ambrose of Milan, "there is no intercourse with God either for us or for all saints."

By ourselves we have no entree to the court of heaven. It would be like ants speaking to humans. We need an interpreter, an intermediary, a go between. This is what Jesus Christ does for us in his role as eternal Intercessor - "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2 verse 5) He opens the door and grants us access into the heavenlies. Even more: he straightens out and cleanses our feeble, misguided intercessions and makes them acceptable before a holy God. Even more still: his prayers sustain our desires to pray, urging us on and giving us hope of being heard. The sight of Jesus in his heavenly intercession gives us strength to pray in his name.

Recently a student of mine, Jung-Oh Suh - a Korean pastor on a study sabbatical - learned of my research on prayer and brought me a newspaper article (complete with his excellent translation, for it was written in Korean) that describes the story of the Myong-Song Presbyterian Church, in the south-eastern part of Seoul. The Korean churches are well-known for their early morning prayer meetings, but even so this story is unusual. This is a group that began about 10 years ago with 40 people, and today 12,000 gather each morning for 3 prayer meetings - at 4 am, 5 am and 6 am. Jung-Oh explained to me that they must shut the doors at 4 am to begin the first service, and so if people arrive a little later, they must wait until the 5 am meeting. Then he added "This is a problem in my country because it gets cold in the winter! So everyone brings a little pot of tea or coffee to keep warm while they wait for the next service. This is organised, corporate, intercessory prayer.

There are so many ways to go about the work of intercession as there are people. Some like to keep lists of people they are concerned to pray for with regularity. I once visited a very holy lady who was confined to bed. She showed me her "family album" of some 200 photographs of missionaries and others she was concerned to hold before the throne of heaven. She explained how she worked her way through this entire album each week, flipping the pages and praying over the pictures. I was a a teenager at the time but even at that young age I knew that the place where I stood beside that bed was holy ground.