Psalms 28 & 29

written September 29, 2008

In Psalm 28, David cries out to His Lord who is his Rock (v. 10), his Strength and Shield (v. 7), the Strength of His people and a Fortress of Salvation (v. 8), and their Shepherd (v. 9). He is all that today and more! Jesus is our Lord ... our Rock... our Strength... our Shield... our Fortress of Salvation... our Shepherd. He hears our cries for mercy (v. 6) ... He saves His people and blesses His inheritance (v. 9).... He carries us forever (v. 9)... so our hearts can trust in Him and be filled with joy as we thank Him (v. 7).

The description of those who do evil on verse 3 is very poignant to me .. "Who speak cordially with their neighbors, but harbor malice in their hearts." Have I done this? Do I do this?

It reminds me of the verse in James about blessing and cursing coming from the same mouth. It is, to me, the picture of a liar... someone who is two-faced. This isn't to say that is you feel malice or have hard feelings toward someone, you should be rude to them.... in fact, your mouth isn't the problem... you heart is. If you feel these things about someone, you need to get before the throne and pour it all out to the Lord. He can take it... He already knows what you are feeling. There is no place for malice in the heart of a Believer and only God can remove it.... and it must be removed!

If we have malice in our heart, then we cannot love the Lord our God with all our heart and we certainly cannot love our neighbor as ourselves. If malice is there, quickly... immediately... go to the Lord and confess it all to Him.

If malice is not there, don't feel superior or safe... any of us can fall prey to our flesh. Guard your heart... stay in fellowship with Jesus... and take any wrong feeling, emotion, attitude etc. to Him. Even those small irritations can grow into something large and damaging.

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I love Psalm 29 -- it is a wonderful Psalm of Praise and so powerful!

Verse 1 & 2 tells us to "Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength... the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness." WOW! Do I do that? Do I truly do that?

We need to keep Him before us... to remind ourselves daily of WHO God is and WHAT He has done. Verses 3- 11 of this Psalm paint an amazing picture of our Lord...

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders,the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

I encourage you to take time daily to sit and listen for the voice of the Lord and to look for all the signs of His might and power in the world around us.