THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS LOVE AND HIS LOVING-KINDNESS

Proclamation:

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”  Psalm 103:8-10 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The psalm begins by stating and repeating the phrase, “Bless The Lord, O my soul …” (Psalm 103:1 & 2) and ends by repeating “Bless The Lord ...” (Psalm 103:20, 21, and 22)  David told the people of God to praise and glorify The Lord.  They were not just to offer and repeat rituals during worship, giving Him lip service, but to praise Him with pure and honest feelings from the depths of their hearts.  They should be grateful that He does not treat them as they treat Him.

Application:

We should not only praise and worship The Lord, but we should be thankful for His love for us.  Because of His goodness and mercy, God does not treat us as we deserve to be treated based upon our behavior, our willful disobedience, and our sins, but He does so out of His abounding love.   

YOU ARE MY STRENGTH MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS

Proclamation:

“But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  You are my strength, I sing praise to You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.”  Psalm 59:16-17 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  The title of this psalm states that it was written when King Saul had sent messengers to watch David’s house and to kill him when he rose in the morning. (1 Samuel 19:11)  David began this psalm asking The Lord God to deliver him from his enemies who wanted to kill him even though he had not done anything to them. (Psalm 59:1-4)  He knew that he could count on The Lord to be his strength and to protect him. (Psalm 59:9-10 and 16-17)  He was willing to publicly sing praises unto The Lord.

Application:

As believers we know that the little strength that we have comes from The Lord God who has all power. (Matthew 28:18)  We are blessed to receive the mercy of God each morning that we wake up.  It is by His goodness and loving kindness that we were protected from all hurt, harm, and danger while we slept.  Our enemies, known and unknown, were kept away from us.  We should praise and thank Him for allowing us to get a peaceful night’s sleep during these troublesome times.  We should put our faith and trust in Him because He is the only one that we can truly rely and count on in times of trouble. (Psalm 118:8-9)

WE WILL PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD FOREVER

Proclamation:

“In God we will make our boast all day long, and we will praise Your name forever.”  Psalm 44:8

Explanation:

This psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by an unknown human author (probably King David) for the sons of Korah to sing.  The psalmist begins this psalm talking about victories of the past, (Psalm 44:1-3) and current victories which have already been won, (Psalm 44:4-7) then continues and talks prophetically about defeats which have yet to come. (Psalm 44: 9-11 and 22)  He gives God credit for the victories, brags about what God has done, then says that they will praise Him forever.

Application:

We have no reason to brag or boast about ourselves, our accomplishments, or our possessions.  All that we are and all that we have are blessing from The Lord God. (2 Corinthians 10:13)  Our very lives and our existence is because of His goodness, mercy, and grace.  Any bragging we do should be about what The Lord had done.  Everything from creation to our last breath and heart beat is a blessing and a miracle from God.  We should give Him credit, thanks, and praise for all that He has done. (Proverbs 3:6 and Ephesians 5:20)

LORD HAVE MERCY

Proclamation:

“Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths.  Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to you love remember me, for You, Lord, are good.” Psalm 25:4-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  He recognized that he was a sinner and that he needed God’s forgiveness and help.  David was a man after God’s heart. (1 Samuel 13:14)  This was so not because he was so good, but because when he sinned he frequently prayed and asked to be forgiven.

Application:

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will admit that we have messed up a lot trying to do things our way.  We need help and forgiveness for our sins.  We really do not want to be reminded of all of our past sins.  We need God's grace and mercy.  We need His Grace because we want God to give us of His goodness that which we don't deserve.  We need His Mercy because we want Him to withhold the punishment that we do deserve.  If we would confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us for all of our unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)  That's why, like David, we need to pray and appeal to God's mercy and His tender loving-kindness.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Proclamation:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides quiet waters, and He refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake. ... Goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever." Psalms 23:1-3 and 6

Explanation:

This Psalm is a prayer of King David, a man after God’s own heart.  It reveals the intimate and personal relationship that David has with God.  He is confident of God’s care.  He states that God will supply all of his needs and he will not go lacking.  God will provide his food and shelter and will direct his path.  God’s love will take care of him all of his life and he expects to be with God for all of eternity.

Application:

Sheep would be lost without a shepherd.  The shepherd provides for their total care.  He leads them to peaceful places to sleep, to eat, and to drink.  Not only do sheep need to be lead to places to eat, they need to be moved from time to time so they do not destroy their feeding grounds.  Sheep will not drink from running water, they will only drink from a still pool.  Sheep need to be protected, they cannot protect themselves and are easily slaughtered. (Isaiah 53:7)  Like sheep we are just dumb animals who cannot protect ourselves from the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)  Like dumb animals all of us follow someone.   The question is, who are you following and where are you being led to?  Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and will not follow anyone else. (John 10:27)  If you are not following Jesus then who are you following and where are you going?  The love of God, His goodness and mercy will protect those who follow Him all of the days in this life and in the eternity to come.

Comfort Like Blessings Should Be Passed On

"Blessed be God, even The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of mercies, and The God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

While The Comforter is The Holy Spirit, John 14:16 & 26, here Paul is saying that all comfort ultimately comes from God The Father. The "us" and "we" that Paul was referring to was himself and Timothy, but there are those of us that believe that it applies to all Christians in general. As we receive it from God, we are to share it with others, just as we are to do with blessings that we receive.

In the mist of our sufferings and troubles God strengthens and gives us courage. We are therefore to offer words of encouragement to others to strengthen them in their times of sufferings and trouble.