Yesterday, I mentioned my penchant for time-management books. It’s a vital topic to address because it bleeds into every area of life. Let me mention a few specifics. Some people are always running late. Yes, always. Punctuality is simply a time-management matter. Some folks feverishly work right up to the deadline on every assignment or project they undertake.
Read MoreTag Archives: Psalms
Praise at All Times
Psalm 149 encourages the people of God to praise Him at all times, regardless of circumstances. In times of blessing, praise Him! In times of suffering, praise Him! In times of warfare, praise Him! When we come to that enviable place in our Christian experience that we can honestly say, “Praise the Lord!” in every situation—and genuinely mean it—we will have assimilated the full thrust of this magnificent hymn of praise—and all the songs in Scripture.
Read MoreIn Times of Warfare
Psalm 149 is not only a call to praise the Lord in times of blessing, and encouragement to praise Him in times of suffering, it’s also a call to arms. Praise the Lord in Times of Warfare: Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, To bind their kings with chains
Read MoreIn Times of Suffering
This song of celebration, Psalm 149, is like a rallying cry, urging all of God’s people to praise the Lord regardless of their circumstances. That includes times when people aren’t naturally inclined to boast on God. Praise the Lord in Times of Suffering: For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.
Read MoreIn Times of Blessing
Psalm 149 is one of five “praise the Lord” psalms that conclude the Hebrews’ ancient hymnal. Like the other four, it begins with the command “Hallelujah!” leading to a time of exalting God’s goodness. In this case, the people of God are summoned to praise Him in response to three different situations: times of blessing, times of suffering, and times of warfare.
Read MoreThe Meaning of Praise
There are times when the hardest words in the world to utter are “Praise the Lord!” (also translated “Hallelujah!”). These words just don’t flow from our lips. In fact, there are times we are turned off even when others use the words! Interestingly, each of the last five psalms in the Hebrews’ ancient songbook begins with that exclamation of praise.
Read MoreAsking God for Help
David’s dark song, Psalm 142, concludes with a final request and a bold prediction. Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me. (142:7) In 142:5–6, David asked the Lord to change his circumstances: to deal justly with his persecutors and to honor His promise to make David king.
Read MoreConfessing Despair
In David’s dark song of depression, recorded as Psalm 142, the king confesses his deepest feelings of isolation and despair. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. (142:3) David feels enveloped or wrapped up in his depression, so much so his spirit feels faint and feeble.
Read MoreOpening to God
The raw emotion of David’s prayer in Psalm 142 comes through clearly in his choice of words. In his Cave of Adullam, the beleaguered future king struggled with depression and shrieked heavenward. I used to wonder why we ever needed to utter words in prayer since God already knows all our thoughts (Psalm 139:4). Then one day I stumbled across Hosea 14:1–2.
Read MoreCrying Aloud from the Darkness
David’s depression most likely resulted from an unusually long period of stress. The superscript for Psalm 142, identifying David’s circumstances as “in the cave,” probably refers to the cave of Adullam. To appreciate the context, observe the first two verses of 1 Samuel 22: So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him.
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