why the pastures sing

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
photography of green grass field with rainbow

Photo by Alex on Pexels.com

why the pastures sing

Psalm 65:9-13 (JDV)

Psalm 65:9 You visit the land and water it profusely, enriching it greatly. God’s stream is filled with water, because you prepare the land in this way, providing people with grain.
Psalm 65:10 You soften it with showers and empower its growth, soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.
Psalm 65:11 You crown the year with your goodness; your carts overflow with plenty.
Psalm 65:12 The wilderness pastures overflow, and the hills are clothed with joy.
Psalm 65:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks and the valleys covered with grain. They shout in triumph; in fact, they sing.

why the pastures sing

The pastures sing because God has faithfully brought them rain at the right time. The valleys clothed with grain sing for the same reason. We sing for the same reason as well. Our God is faithful to us long before we recognize that we need him.

Lord, great is thy faithfulness!

20210527
Posted in dependence upon God, faithfulness, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

his joy signs

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
alps beautiful blue cold

Photo by Krivec Ales on Pexels.com

his joy signs

Psalm 65:4-8 (JDV)

Psalm 65:4 How fortunate is the one you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple.
Psalm 65:5 You answer us righteously, with awe-inspiring achievements, God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the land and of the distant seas.
Psalm 65:6 You establish the mountains by your power; you are robed with strength.
Psalm 65:7 You silence the roar of the seas, the roar of their waves, and the commotion of the nations.
Psalm 65:8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs; you make east and west shout for joy.

his joy signs

Look at that mountain. God put it there by his strength. Look at that peaceful calm ocean, that was roaring just a short while ago. God did that. Look at that cross. The God of our salvation gave us that sign of his love.

All over the planet people are awed by his joy signs.

Lord, we join the crowd and shout for joy at the signs you have left us.

20210526
Posted in gospel, joy, peace, revelation, sovereignty of God, the cross | Tagged | Leave a comment

he is faithful –we are not

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
time lapse photography of waterfalls during sunset

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Psalm 65:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 65:1 Praise is rightfully yours, God, in Zion; vows to you will be fulfilled.
Psalm 65:2 All humanity will come to you, the one who listens to prayer.
Psalm 65:3 Violations overwhelm me; only you can atone for our rebellions.

By just looking at these three verses, a reader would have no idea what kind of rebellion David is talking about. And that is okay. His point (as he makes clear in rest of the psalm) is that all of us prove to be unfaithful compared to God’s faithfulness. He shows his faithfulness by giving signs in nature itself.

In the end, all humanity will come to God with the same prayer:

“You are faithful and we are not. We can only live up to our vows to you if you atone for our rebellions.”

 

20210525
Posted in atonement, faithfulness, forgiveness | Tagged | Leave a comment

he turns tongues

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
happy man funny sticking tongue out

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

he turns tongues

Psalm 64:7-10 (JDV)

Psalm 64:7 But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly, they will be wounded.
Psalm 64:8 They will be made to stumble; their own tongues work against them. All who see them will be shaking their heads.
Psalm 64:9 Then everyone will fear and will be telling about God’s work, because they will understand what he has done.
Psalm 64:10 The righteous one rejoices in Yahveh and takes refuge in him; all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.

he turns tongues

David had been talking about his enemies’ secret plans to destroy him with the arrows that come from their tongues. His retaliation: let God handle it. God can turn those tongues against each other. He did it at Babel, when the whole city had rebelled against his command.

Thank you Lord, for turning the tongues of our enemies.

20210524
Posted in dependence upon God, enemies, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

secret plan

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
close up of a sign against white background

Photo by Tayeb MEZAHDIA on Pexels.com

secret plan

Psalm 64:5-6 (JDV)

Psalm 64:5 They adopt an evil plan; they talk about hiding traps and say, “Who is going to see them?”
Psalm 64:6 They devise crimes and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

secret plan

There is no secret hidden from our God. He knows the end from the beginning. The inner man and the heart is mysterious to us, but they are laid bare to him.

Thank you God, that you know all things. You can protect us from the secret plans of those who are out to get us.

Posted in protection, sovereignty of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

swords and arrows

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
archery arrow daylight equipment

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

swords and arrows

Psalm 64:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 64:1 God, listen to my voice when I keep babbling. Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
Psalm 64:2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people, from the mob of evildoers,
Psalm 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows,
Psalm 64:4 shooting from concealed places at the blameless. They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

swords and arrows

David describes the words of his enemies as swords and arrows, aimed at him — even from concealed places, but always intending to do him harm. By contrast, David’s words are addressed to God, from whom he expects deliverance and justice.

Lord, protect us from the swords and arrows of your enemies.

 

Posted in dependence upon God, enemies, protection, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

a meal for jackals

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
two brown wolves

Photo by Anand Dandekar on Pexels.com

a meal for jackals

Psalm 63:8-11 (JDV)

Psalm 63:8 I follow close to you; your right hand holds on to me.
Psalm 63:9 But those who intend to destroy my throat will go into the depths of the ground.
Psalm 63:10 They will be given over to the power of the sword; they will become a meal for jackals.
Psalm 63:11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by him will brag, because the mouths of liars will be shut.

a meal for jackals

Religion has invented a place for the bad guys to go when they die. David does not mention that place. He says that his enemies will die and go into the depths of the ground, becoming a meal for jackals. He does not deny that there will be a judgment day for sinners who reject God. He just does not expect death to usher in that judgment day. Instead, the New Testament tells us that Christ will be the judge when he returns.

Lord, we trust you to judge a righteous judgment.

Posted in destruction in hell, future, judgment, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

ritual of respect

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
photography of woman surrounded by sunflowers

Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

ritual of respect

Psalm 63:3-7 (JDV)

Psalm 63:3 My lips will glorify you because your covenant faithfulness is better than life.
Psalm 63:4 So I will bless you as long as I live; when you are named, I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:5 You satisfy me like with rich food; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:6 When I think of you as I lie on my bed, I meditate on you during the night watches
Psalm 63:7 because you are my helper; I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

ritual of respect

When I was a missionary in the Philippines, I took Jeepneys to many places, because it was cheap, reliable transportation. The Jeepney drivers were a rough set, not known for their godliness. But many of them had a set of rosary beads somewhere in their vehicle, and would touch it or kiss it whenever they passed a church. It was very animistic, but it was a ritual of respect.

David apparently had a ritual of respect as well. Whenever he heard the name of God, he would lift up his hands. The Hebrew word for hand is YAD, from which they derived the verb YADAH – to praise. So, the sound of God’s name would naturally result in a gesture of praise. That is not a bad tradition.

Lord, show us how to regularly show respect for you.

Posted in praise, traditions, Uncategorized, witness | Tagged | Leave a comment

thirsty for the presence of God

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
man in gray crew neck shirt drinking water

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

thirsty for the presence of God

Psalm 63:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 63:1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
Psalm 63:2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.

thirsty for the presence of God

Three years ago, when Penny and I were hiking the Appalachian Trail, we had a night when we had no drinkable water. The next day we came off the mountain and into a city.  The first place we stopped at, I drank so much! I could not get enough. I remember that day when I read David’s experience here.

He is in the Judean desert, and he describes it as “a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.” But David sings about gazing not on a stream, lake or river, but on God’s sanctuary. He is thirsty for the presence of God.

Jesus went into this desert immediately after his baptism, and stayed there for 40 days. He too became physically hungry and thirsty. But he was also focusing on his thirst for God. When the devil came to tempt him, he rejected the temptation because he was not going to be distracted from his focus on worshiping and serving God.

Lord, we thirst for your presence.

Posted in discipleship, Jesus Christ, presence of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

strength and hope belong to God

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

auckland-botanic-gardens-20160926-43

strength and hope belong to God

Psalm 62:11-12 (JDV)

Psalm 62:11 God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God,
Psalm 62:12 and covenant faithfulness belongs to you, Lord because you repay each according to his works.

strength and hope belong to God

Jesus has been singing this psalm and it had reminded him that if you put both the common person and the important person on a reality scale, the combined total weight would be less than a breath. So, what matters?

It isn’t your strength, because strength belongs to God. If you have it, it is because God has given it to you, and he can take it away.

God is being faithful to his own covenant of grace. You can have rest in the middle of a troubled life because of his covenant faithfulness. You can look forward to a reward at the restoration of all things because God has promised that reward.

Jesus struggled with many things in his life, but he was able to find peace by meditating of psalms like this, which reminded him that his present strength and future hope were in God’s hands.

Thank you Lord, that our strength and hope belong to you.

Posted in dependence upon God, Jesus Christ, trust | Tagged | Leave a comment