when he hides his face

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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when he hides his face

Psalm 88:14-18 (JDV)

Psalm 88:14 Yahveh, why do you reject my throat? Why do you hide your face from me?
Psalm 88:15 From my youth, I have been suffering and near death. I suffer your horrors; I am desperate.
Psalm 88:16 Your wrath sweeps over me; your terrors silence me.
Psalm 88:17 They surround me like water all day long; they close in on me from every side.
Psalm 88:18 You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me; darkness is my only friend.

when he hides his face

This is a prayer of someone who has been left alone, who has lost all his support. He has to seek God’s help and rely on his deliverance. But God seems to be hiding his face.

LORD, help us in our time of need. When we have lost all the friendly faces, may we know that yours is still there.

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when all else fails

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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when all else fails

Psalm 88:1-13 (JDV)

Psalm 88:1 Yahveh, God of my deliverance, I cry out before you day and night.
Psalm 88:2 May my prayer come to your face; turn your ear to my cry.
Psalm 88:3 You see, my throat has had enough troubles, and my life is near Sheol.
Psalm 88:4 I am counted among those going down to the Pit. I am like a man without strength,
Psalm 88:5 abandoned among the dead. I am like the slain lying in the grave, whom you no longer remember, and who are cut off from your care.
Psalm 88:6 You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit, in the darkest places, in the depths.
Psalm 88:7 Your wrath weighs heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah
Psalm 88:8 You have distanced my friends from me; you have made me repulsive to them. I am shut in and cannot go out.
Psalm 88:9 My eyes are worn out from crying. Yahveh, I cry out to you all day long; I spread out my hands to you.
Psalm 88:10 Do you work miracles for the dead? Do ghosts rise up to praise you? Selah
Psalm 88:11 Will your covenant faithfulness be declared in the grave, your reliability in Destruction?
Psalm 88:12 Will your miracles be known in the darkness or your righteousness in the land of Forgetfulness?
Psalm 88:13 But I call to you for help, Yahveh; in the morning my prayer meets you.

when all else fails

Here is a prayer of someone who feels close to dying — distanced from those he once relied on for help — shut in without the ability to go out. He feels like he is already in the grave — Sheol — the dark, silent land of forgetfulness.

But he still prays. God has been his help in the past. He will be his refuge when all else fails.

LORD, we call to you for help. You will be our refuge when all else fails.

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we were born there

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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we were born there

Psalm 87:4-7 (JDV)

Psalm 87:4 “I will make a record of those who know me: Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush – each one was born there.”
Psalm 87:5 And it will be said of Zion, “This one and that one were born in her.” The Most High himself will establish her.
Psalm 87:6 When he registers the peoples, Yahveh will record, “This one was born there.”Selah
Psalm 87:7 Singers and dancers alike will say, “My whole source of joy is in you.”

we were born there

Jerusalem is celebrated because of its glorious future. It will some day be said that people from all the nations will be “born there.” The psalm speaks in faith of a time when Jerusalem is seen as the center of what God is doing in the world, and that even its present Gentile enemies will proudly call it home.

The New Testament explains how this will happen. Believers will be grafted into the olive tree of Israel (Romans 11).

Thank you, LORD, for bringing us home to you.

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he loves the gates

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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he loves the gates

Psalm 87:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 87:11 The city he founded is among the sacred mountains.
Psalm 87:2 Yahveh loves Zion’s city gates more than all the dwelling-places of Jacob.
Psalm 87:3 Splendid things are said about you, city of God. Selah

he loves the gates

Why would the LORD love the gates of Jerusalem more than all the dwelling-places of Jacob? One reason is that he plans for all nations to come to this city, and worship him here. As all nations gather to praise the LORD, he will be accomplishing his purpose — a purpose that required the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But these gates will be flooded with worshipers from every nation. His plan will be accomplished.

LORD, teach us to love the gates of your city, and invite our world to enter into your presence through them.

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seven results of prayer

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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seven results of prayer

Psalm 86:8-17 (JDV)

Psalm 86:8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no achievements like yours.
Psalm 86:9 All the nations you have made will come and bow down before you, Lord, and will honor your name.
Psalm 86:10 You see, you are great and perform wonders; you alone are God.
Psalm 86:11 Teach me your way, Yahveh, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided heart to fear your name.
Psalm 86:12 I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor your name permanently.
Psalm 86:13 You see, your covenant faithfulness for me is great, and you rescue my throat from the depths of Sheol.
Psalm 86:14 God, arrogant people have attacked me; a gang of ruthless men seek my throat. They do not allow you to guide them.
Psalm 86:15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in covenant faithfulness and truth.
Psalm 86:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give your strength to your servant; deliver the son of your female servant.
Psalm 86:17 Show me a sign of your goodness; my enemies will see and be put to shame because you, Yahveh, have helped and comforted me.

seven results of prayer

After rehearsing the seven reasons he expects God to answer his prayer, David now turns to express the seven things he expects to receive from God as a result of his prayer.

  • First, he knows that ultimately all the nations God has made will come and bow down before the Lord, and honor his name.
  • Second, he knows that God will teach him his way and give him an undivided heart to follow it.
  • Third, he knows that he will praise God wholeheartedly, and honor his name permanently.
  • Fourth, he knows that his throat will be rescued from Sheol (death will not have the final say).
  • Fifth, he knows God will deal with those who have attacked him.
  • Sixth, he knows that God will be gracious to him and give him strength and deliverance from this attack.
  • Seventh, he knows that God will help and comfort him by showing him a sign of his goodness, putting his enemies to shame.

When we pray, it is right to tell our Lord why we expect him to answer, and what kind of answers we expect.

LORD, thank you that you are a prayer answering God.

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seven reasons to expect an answer

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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seven reasons to expect an answer

Psalm 86:1-7 (JDV)

Psalm 86:1 Listen, Yahveh, and answer me, because I am wretched and needy.
Psalm 86:2 Guard my throat, because I am a covenant devotee. You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
Psalm 86:3 Be gracious to me, Lord, because I call to you all day long.
Psalm 86:4 Bring joy to your servant’s throat, because I appeal to you, Lord.
Psalm 86:5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, with so much covenant faithfulness to all who call on you.
Psalm 86:6 Yahveh, hear my prayer; listen to my plea for mercy.
Psalm 86:7 I am calling on you in the day of my distress, because you will answer me.

seven reasons to expect an answer

Notice the seven reasons that David expects an answer to his prayer.

  • First, he expects God to answer him because he is wretched and needy. He knows that God cares for the ones who need him.
  • Second, he expects God to answer him because he is a covenant devotee. He knows that God has promised to honor his covenant and protect those who keep it.
  • Third, he expects God to answer him because he trusts in God. He knows that God delivers his servants who own him as their God.
  • Fourth, he expects Gods to answer him because he is persistent in prayer. He know God is gracious to those who keep praying.
  • Fifth, he expects to praise God from a joyous throat. He knows that praise is the outcome of an appeal to the Lord for help.
  • Sixth, he expects God to answer him because of God’s nature: God is kind, ready to forgive, and ready to demonstrate his faithfulness to his covenant.
  • Seventh, he expects God to answer him because God is listening today. Today is his day of distress, and God is ready to show mercy now.

LORD, thank you for being there, and ready to answer our prayers.

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what transformation looks like

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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what transformation looks like

Psalm 85:8-13 (JDV)

Psalm 85:8 I will listen to what God will say; surely Yahveh will declare peace to his people, his covenant devotees, and not let them go back to stupidity.
Psalm 85:9 His deliverance is very near those who fear him, so that fame may dwell in our land.
Psalm 85:10 Covenant faithfulness and truth will join together; what is right and peace will embrace.
Psalm 85:11 Truth will spring up from the land, and what is right will look down from the sky.
Psalm 85:12 Also, Yahveh will provide what is good, and our land will yield its crops.
Psalm 85:13 What is right will go before him to prepare the road for his steps.

what transformation looks like

When God’s people experience his deliverance, it changes the shape of the land in which they live. He replaces warfare and violence with his peace. He makes the humble famous. He turns fickle people into faithful covenant keepers. He turns liars into truth tellers. He orients wrong-doers so that they do what is right. He turns scarcity into abundance. He guides the confused so that they know what steps to take.

LORD, change the shape of our land. Transform us by the renewing of our minds.

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his and ours

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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his and ours

Psalm 85:4-7 (JDV)

Psalm 85:4 Return to us, God of our deliverance, and abandon your displeasure with us.
Psalm 85:5 Will you be angry with us permanently? Will you prolong your anger for all generations?
Psalm 85:6 Will you not revive us again so that your people may rejoice in you?
Psalm 85:7 Show us your covenant faithfulness, Yahveh, and give us your deliverance.

his and ours

It is God’s displeasure and anger which is causing all the problems the sons of Korah have recounted. But his is also the revival that they seek.

Deliverance is both his and ours. It is his to give and ours to receive. It is only right to seek deliverance from the deliverer.

LORD, deliver us, so that your people may rejoice in you.

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his proven record

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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his proven record

Psalm 85:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 85:11 Yahveh, you showed favor to your land; you restored captive Jacob.
Psalm 85:2 You forgave your people’s guilt; you covered all their failure. Selah
Psalm 85:3 You withdrew all your fury; you turned from your burning anger.

his proven record

This psalm begins by remembering the fact that God had forgiven and restored his people in the past, and goes on to declare by faith that he will do it again.

When we choose to trust God for forgiveness, we are doing so on the basis of who he is, and his proven record. Our sin does not have to be the last word. His love is greater than our sin.

LORD, forgive us … again.

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a sun and shield

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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a sun and shield

Psalm 84:9-12 (JDV)

Psalm 84:9 Look at our shield, God; gaze on the face of your anointed one.
Psalm 84:10 Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than live in the tents of wicked people.
Psalm 84:11 You see, Yahveh God is a sun and shield. Yahveh grants favor and honor; he does not keep back a good thing from those who live with integrity.
Psalm 84:12 Oh, Yahveh of Armies! Fortunate is the person who trusts in you.

a sun and shield

God and his anointed one are both shields, protecting us from harm. God is also a sun, beaming down warmth and goodness and light. Trusting in our God is not a gamble. Just standing at the threshold of his temple is better than having a personal home without him.

LORD, we appreciate you. We count ourselves fortunate to be able to trust in you.

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