Thursday
Evening Bible Study
February
18, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Target 3300 words Video
= 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem
sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well. It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s “soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 38 – Finding Forgiveness
: A Psalm of David. To Bring to Remembrance.
To Bring to Remembrance
The idea of bringing something to remembrance is the idea of reminding God
of the pain he’s going through when asking for God’s mercy.
:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me
in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
:2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down.
:3 There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any
health in my bones Because of my sin.
:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are
too heavy for me.
David is feeling physical pain, but he is also feeling guilt at the same
time.
He sees his physical illness connected to his spiritual guilt.
:5 My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness.
:6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
:7 For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness
in my flesh.
:7 my loins are full of inflammation
loins – kecel
– loins, flank; some have suggested this could be related to the kidneys,
perhaps some inflammation of the kidneys.
(Psalm 38:7 ESV) For my sides are
filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
David apparently had some sort of disease. He was miserable.
What’s worse is that he sees some
connection between his sin and his disease.
:8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my
heart.
:9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden
from You.
:10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it
also has gone from me.
:11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my
relatives stand afar off.
:11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof
It’s bad enough when you are feeling miserable and condemned, but it’s even
worse when the people closest to you begin to step back from you.
Be careful about abandoning people when they are going through tough times.
Be careful about letting people
come between you and your family.
:12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my
hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.
:13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute
who does not open his mouth.
:14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no
response.
:15 For in You, O Lord, I
hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
:15 in You, O Lord, I hope
hope – yachal
– (Hiphil) to wait, tarry, wait for, hope for
Lesson
Hope in the right thing
Everything was going wrong for David, but he was counting on One person to
help, God.
Illustration
The Rabbi's Hat
A Rabbi is walking slowly down the street when a gust of wind blows his hat
from his head. The hat is being blown down the street, but he is an old man and
can’t walk fast enough to catch the hat. Across the street a Gentile sees what
has happened and rushes over to grab the hat and then returns it to the Rabbi.
“I don’t think I would have been able to catch my hat,” said the Rabbi. “Thank
you very much.” The Rabbi then places his hand on the man’s shoulder and says,
“May God bless you.” The young man thinks to himself, “I’ve been blessed by the
Rabbi, this must be my lucky day!” So he goes to the Racetrack and in the first
race he sees there is a horse named Stetson at 20 to 1. He bets $50 and sure
enough the horse comes in first. In the second race he sees a horse named Fedora
at 30 to 1, so he bets it all and this horse comes in first also. Finally at
the end of the day he returns home to his wife. When she asks him where he’s
been, he explains how he caught the Rabbi’s hat and was blessed by him and then
went to the track and started winning on horses that had a hat in their names.
“So where’s the money?” she asks. “I lost it all in the ninth race. I bet on a
horse named Chateau and it lost.” “You fool, Chateau is a house, Chapeau is a
hat!” “It doesn’t matter,” he said, “the winner was some Japanese horse named
Yarmulke.”
You shouldn’t be trusting in a Rabbi’s hat. You shouldn’t be betting at the
racetrack.
Hope in the Lord.
:16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my
foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
:17 For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually
before me.
:18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
:19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; And
those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
:20 Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I
follow what is good.
:21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, be not far from me!
:22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
:18 I will declare my iniquity
Lesson
Pressure to confess
Illustration
In his book Great Themes of the Bible, Louis Albert Banks told of the time D.
L. Moody visited a prison called “The Tombs” to preach to the inmates. After he
had finished speaking, Moody talked with a number of men in their cells. He
asked each prisoner this question, “What brought you here?” Again and again he
received replies like this: “I don’t deserve to be here.” “I was framed.” “I
was falsely accused.” “I was given an unfair trial.” Not one inmate would admit
he was guilty. Finally, Moody found a man with his face buried in his hands,
weeping. “And what’s wrong, my friend?” he inquired. The prisoner responded,
“My sins are more than I can bear.” Relieved to find at least one man who would
recognize his guilt and his need of forgiveness, the evangelist exclaimed,
“Thank God for that!” Moody then had the joy of pointing him to a saving
knowledge of Christ—a knowledge that released him from his shackles of sin.
David has some sort of illness.
He has people out to get him.
All this trouble reminds him that he has sin in his life.
Sometimes we can just dig in our heels and get stubborn about our sin. We
know we’re wrong but we aren’t about to admit it in front of others. Not until
they at least treat us nicely.
Stop running from God and admit your sin.
David wrote,
(Psalm 32:5 NKJV) I
acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord,” And You
forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Psalm 39 – Finding Peace
: To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
To Jeduthun
Jeduthun was one of the three leaders that David set up to lead worship in
the Temple. The other two were Asaph and
Heman. (1Chr. 25:1)
Before he died, David organized the
worship leaders for the Temple.
He set up three men, all Levites,
who were to take turns leading the worship.
They were Asaph, Heman, and
Jeduthun. They and their sons after them would lead the Temple worship. (1Chr.
25:1)
(1 Chronicles 25:1 NKJV) Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the
service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should
prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals…
A Psalm of David
This is another Psalm about dealing
with sin and difficult times.
:1 I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will
restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.”
:2 I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my
sorrow was stirred up.
:2 I was mute with silence
Lesson
Silence is okay
Sometimes it’s a good thing to
learn to just keep your mouth shut.
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 13:3 NKJV) He who
guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.
(Proverbs 17:27 NKJV) He who has
knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
(Proverbs 21:23 NKJV) Whoever
guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his
soul from troubles.
Someone else once wrote,
“It’s better to keep your mouth shut
and let them think you’re a fool than to open it and dispel all doubt.”
David was in a situation where bad
things were happening, bad people were surrounding him, and rather than open up
his mouth and end up causing more trouble, he was learning to keep his mouth
shut.
I kind of wish more of the
presidential candidates would learn this.
:3 My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then
I spoke with my tongue:
:4 “Lord, make me to know my
end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how
frail I am.
:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is
as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but
vapor. Selah
:5 my days as
handbreadths
If you compared the length of our
lives compared to the eternal nature of God, we are just a blip in time.
Selah – think about this…
:4 That I may know how frail I am
Lesson
Life is fragile
This was about 16 months before he died of pancreatic cancer in October,
2011.
I’ve got a news flash for you:
Your physical body is not going to live forever.
Moses wrote,
(Psalm 90:12 NKJV) So teach us
to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
A certain amount of wisdom can be gained when you realize
your body won’t be around forever.
What would you change about your life if you were told
that you only had a year to live?
Would your priorities change?
Are there people you have been putting off talking to because
you haven’t quite yet found the right time to talk to them?
Others around us are fragile as well.
Some of us have lost quite a few people near to us over the last year.
Illustration
Dear Ann Landers:
I have a message for that 16-year-old boy who has a
“21-year-old problem”—his brother. My brother drowned three weeks ago. One
minute he was alive and full of fun. The next minute he was gone, forever.
I never felt especially close to my brother. We fought and
didn’t agree on many things. But now I realize how much a part of my life he
was. Sure, he got on my nerves, and I’d tell him to bug off. But now I remember
all the favors he did that only a brother could.
I’m just trying to urge people to think about what their
brothers and sisters mean to them and to express their appreciation. I hope
they do it today because tomorrow may be too late.
signed… Miss Him a Lot
Ann Landers, 8-24-92
:6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves
in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
:8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of
the foolish.
:9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did it.
:10 Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
:11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty
melt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor. Selah
(Psalm 39:11 NLT) When you
discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
Each of us is but a breath. Interlude
:12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a
stranger with You, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.
:13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, Before I go away
and am no more.”
:13 Remove Your gaze from me
David is experiencing condemnation
over his sin.
He’s crying for mercy and relief.
:7 My hope is in You
For all the difficulty and despair that David was feeling at the moment,
His hope was in the right place.
He was counting on God.
Lesson
Peace with God
Have you ever felt the kind of despair and condemnation that David has
expressed in the last two Psalms?
You are not alone in being a sinner.
David knew what this was like.
We all know what it is like.
The answer is not in running away from God, but in confessing our sins and
running to him.
This may not immediately change your circumstances.
Your illness or difficult circumstance may not change.
But your connection with God will change.
You move from being in a place of pressure and
condemnation to being in a place of finding mercy and peace.
Paul wrote,
(Romans 8:1 NLT) So now
there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
He also wrote,
(Romans
5:1 NLT) Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith,
we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Psalm 40 – Out of Depression
: To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And
set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
:2 Out of the miry clay
David is talking about what we call “depression”.
He is going to share how he got out of it.
Depression seems to be something pretty common to mankind.
I do think it’s possible that for some people, they need medication to help
them deal with their depression.
But there are some very real things that all of us can do without
medication.
Some of our favorite people in the Bible went through some pretty low
times.
Moses went through some times of
despair, feeling like he couldn’t handle the weight of responsibility in
leading the nation. He wanted to die (Num. 11:15).
Elijah experienced a time of great darkness, even after having had the most
incredible high anyone could imagine, having called down fire from heaven, yet
when Jezebel threatened his life, he too wanted to quit and die (1Ki. 19:4).
Jeremiah became discouraged in his ministry. He felt everyone hated him and
he wished he had never been born (Jer. 15:10).
Charles Spurgeon, becoming a pastor
at age 16, addressing crowds of 5000 by the age of 20, was known to have gone
through extreme times of depression. In the “Minister’s Fainting Fits”, Spurgeon wrote,
“Knowing by most painful experience
what deep depression of spirit means, being visited therewith at seasons by no
means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my
brethren if I gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that
some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed
by melancholy …”
So what do we do with depression? How do we handle it?
One gal tells us what NOT to do when you’re depressed:
Don’t weigh yourself.
Don’t watch Old Yeller.
Don’t go near a chocolate shop.
Don’t open your credit-card bill.
Don’t go shopping for a new bathing suit.
-- Barbara Johnson,
Mama Get The Hammer (Word, 1994), p. 62.
What should we do when we’re depressed? David has some clues in this Psalm
that can help.
:1 I waited patiently for the Lord
Or literally, “waiting I waited”
Lesson
Patience
Spurgeon writes,
“Patient waiting upon God was a
special characteristic of our Lord Jesus. Impatience never lingered in his
heart, much less escaped his lips. All through his agony in the garden, his
trial of cruel mockings before Herod and Pilate, and his passion on the tree,
he waited in omnipotence of patience. No glance of wrath, no word of murmuring,
no deed of vengeance came from God’s patient Lamb; he waited and waited on; was
patient, and patient to perfection, far excelling all others who have according
to their measure glorified God in the fires.”
Impatience leads to miry clay.
Asking, “Why isn’t God doing things quicker?” leads to depression.
Illustration
Paul Hampton writes, “Three weeks before Christopher's fourth Christmas, he
was having trouble understanding there was nothing he could do to make
Christmas come any sooner. So we came up with a plan. We circled December 25 on
a calendar posted on the refrigerator and each evening, Christopher's job was
to mark off another day. Less than a week into this ritual, my wife and I went
out while a babysitter watched Christopher. When we arrived home, our son was
fast asleep. But in the kitchen, he certainly had been busy. Every day up to
December 25th had been marked with a big black X.”
Do you think marking off that last week all at once made
it go by quicker?
Trying to push God to make things happen quicker is only going to make me
frustrated.
Learn to wait for God and His timing.
:1 …and heard my cry
Lesson
Prayer
God heard David’s cry. That means David was praying.
Jesus handled His time of agony with prayer.
The Garden of
Gethsemane was probably
the time of Jesus’ own greatest darkness. And Jesus prayed. Mark records,
(Mark
14:33–35 NKJV) —33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be
troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even
to death. Stay here and watch.” 35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that
if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.
Luke records at this point,
(Luke
22:44 NKJV) And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became
like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Prayer isn’t always a sweet gentle thing. Sometimes prayer
is agonizing.
But the idea is to call on God for help.
David wrote,
(Psalm 34:4 NKJV) I sought the
Lord, and He heard me, And
delivered me from all my fears.
Don’t just think about prayer here in church. Get alone with God and pray.
:3 He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it
and fear, And will trust in the Lord.
:4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as
turn aside to lies.
:5 Many, O Lord my God, are
Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of
them, They are more than can be numbered.
:5 Your thoughts toward us
Lesson
Remember God’s thoughts
Illustration
A romantic wife loved hearing her husband’s thoughts so she sent him a
text:
“If you are sleeping, send me your dreams. If you are
laughing, send me your smile. If you are eating, send me a bite. If you are
drinking send me a sip. If you are crying, send me your tears… I love you!”
The husband, not being much of a romantic replied,
“I am on the toilet. Please advise”
I like to keep my Valentine’s Day card out for a while.
I like to remember what my wife thinks about me.
Think about what God’s Valentine’s Day cards are like to you.
God hasn’t stopped thinking about you. He hasn’t forgotten you. Just the
opposite is true.
David wrote,
(Psalm 139:17–18
NKJV) —17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is
the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I
awake, I am still with You.
Jeremiah wrote,
(Jeremiah 29:11
NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.
God is thinking about where He’s taking you. He’s thinking about the good
things He has in store for you. He’s thinking about the potential He’s put
inside of you.
:6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
:6 My ears You have opened
Lesson
Obedience
opened – karah
– to dig, excavate; it is usually used to describe “digging” a pit.
It is also used to describe the piercing
of flesh.
It could be translated “my ears you
have pierced”.
In David’s time, a pierced ear wasn’t
the fashion statement that it is today.
To the ancient Hebrews, it was a
symbol of a willing slave.
A Jew was only allowed to be the
servant of another Jew for six years. On the seventh year the slave was allowed
to go free, unless he made a choice to willingly stay with his master.
(Exodus 21:5–6 NLT) —5 But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my
children. I don’t want to go free.’ 6 If he does
this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to
the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the
slave will serve his master for life.
Seeing a man in
the marketplace wearing an earring meant that he was the willing servant of his
master.
God is not as concerned about your
sacrifices and offerings as He is about your obedience.
David was a willing servant of God.
:7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is
written of me.
:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my
heart.”
:6 My ears You have opened
Lesson
The Perfect Sacrifice
The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translates the
phrase in vs. 6 in a slightly different way, as “A body thou hast prepared for me”.
Why does it translate it this way? We don’t have a clue. Yet we don’t want
to totally throw out this translation, because the Septuagint was the common
translation used in Jesus’ day, and the writer of Hebrews refers to vss. 6-8
and even makes a HUGE point based on this translation.
(Hebrews 10:4–14 NKJV) —4 For it is
not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
The writer is going to deal with how sins are taken care of. The reality is
that the blood of animals is not enough to pay for your sins.
5 Therefore,
when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body
You have prepared for Me.
The writer is now quoting from our passage in Psalm 40. Instead of an “ear”
being opened (vs. 6), the translation is of a “body” being prepared.
The “He” who came into the world was Jesus.
When did Jesus come into the world?
When He took on human flesh in Mary’s womb.
The “body” God had prepared was the physical body of Jesus being formed in
Mary. We’ll see this “body” referred to in a minute.
6 In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
God’s preference is not for sacrifice, but in obedience.
7 Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your
will, O God.’ ”
Quoting Ps. 40:7, it’s as if Jesus is speaking, and the entire volume of
the Psalms, the entire volume of the Old Testament is written about Him.
It’s the “Him Book”.
Jesus came to do God’s “will”.
8 Previously
saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for
sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered
according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”
He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
The “first” thing the writer is talking about is animal sacrifice, and it
was “taken away” or removed in order to establish the “second” thing, which is
Jesus coming to do the will of God.
10 By that will
we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.
The “will” refers to Jesus coming to do “God’s will” (Heb. 10:7,9) in offering
up His body.
Jesus’ body was that body prepared by God to be God’s
perfect sacrifice.
We are made right with God by the offering of God’s
perfect sacrifice, Jesus.
11 And every
priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one
offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Under the Old Covenant, priests had to continually offer one animal sacrifice
after another.
Jesus only had to offer one sacrifice, His own body.
His is the perfect sacrifice.
Note: There is a huge
difference between what the Bible teaches and what the Roman Catholic church
teaches.
The Bible teaches that Jesus only had to be sacrificed once for all our
sins.
The Roman Catholic church teaches that every time they perform the Mass,
they are crucifying Jesus again.
You may not have realized this, but when a person participates
in the Mass, they are agreeing with the priest in saying that Jesus’ death the
first time wasn’t enough, which is in direct contradiction to what Heb. 10:14
proclaims.
Lesson
Cleansing
One of the great causes of darkness and depression can be guilt over our
sin.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that David was hinting at the perfect
solution to our guilt.
Jesus died to pay for all of our sins once and for all.
You may think your sin is too horrible for God to forgive, but you are
totally wrong.
(1
John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God is “just” in forgiving you because Jesus paid the
perfect sacrifice for you.
:9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord,
You Yourself know.
:10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared
Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness
and Your truth From the great assembly.
:10 I have not concealed Your lovingkindness
Don’t hide God’s goodness towards you.
Share your faith with others.
Don’t hide the treasure that God has given you.
:11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually
preserve me.
:12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken
me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
:13 Be pleased, O Lord, to
deliver me; O Lord, make haste to
help me!
:14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy
my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil.
:15 Let them be confounded because of their shame, Who say to me, “Aha,
aha!”
:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love
Your salvation say continually, “The Lord
be magnified!”
:17 But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice
Lesson
Praise God
A difficult but important part of coming out of depression is learning to
express praise to God, even when you don’t feel like it.
God can give us songs, even during
the night seasons of life:
(Psalm 77:6 NKJV) I call to
remembrance my song in the night; I meditate
within my heart, And my spirit makes
diligent search.
We tend to think that we should hold off on our praise to the Lord until
things turn out okay, but sometimes the very thing we need to break the
depression is to begin to praise God.
Jehoshaphat was in one of those horrible situations, being surrounded by
his enemies. Yet he found that when the people began to praise God for His
promise to deliver the nation, the very act of praising God brought the
deliverance.
What can I praise God for when things aren’t going so well?
You can praise Him for loving you unconditionally.
(Romans
5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
You can praise Him for saving you from hell.
(John
3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
You can praise Him for having good plans for you.
(Romans
8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Songs
E-F#m-A-B E F#m-A-B
I waited for the Lord on high
E-F#m-A B E-F#mA-B
I waited and He heard my cry
C#m E
1) He pulled me out of my despair
C#m A
And showed me where to walk
C#m E
From fear into security
C#m A B
From quicksand to a Rock
Bridge:
E F#m-A-B
There's a new song
E F#m-A-B
In my heart to sing
E F#m-A
A new song
B E-F#m-A-B
Praises for the King
2) I'll sing to let the people know
That I have been restored
And they will kneel and understand
To return and trust in the Lord
I Waited For The Lord / Words &
Music by Bill Batstone / © 1982 Maranatha! Music / IWaited.doc