Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

on every hand. Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling you with every kind of problem.” (2 Chron. 15:3-6) God brought his people through difficulties to adjust their spiritual focus. There are three major trials we are guaranteed to survive; 1. The Crucible of Silver- “You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver melted in a crucible.”(10)” Silver is subjugated to intense heat that causes the impurities to rise to the top leaving the pure silver at the bottom. God allows situations to come into our lives to see whether we will turn to him and remain faithful. “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would really obey his commands.” (Deut. 8:2 2. The Net of Slavery- “You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.”(11) Rebellion always leads to the loss of freedom. The joyful shout is a powerful tool of deliver- ance when we find ourselves in the spiritual canyons of bondage. 3. The Fire and Flood of Defeat- “You sent troops to ride across our broken bodies. We went through fire and flood.”(12) For the Christian, defeat is always temporary and victory is an ultimate as- surance. Fire burns our hope into ashes and water drowns our expectations but God’s promise of tri- umph is certain to come true when we sincerely turn to him. If we experience the crucible of sorrow, the restricting net of slavery or the fire and flood of defeat we can make a joyful shout along with the people of God of all ages who have survived the worst that the world could throw at them. Remaining faithful we will come out to a place of great abundance and have a new song to sing. The ‘battle’ against the Ethiopians turned into a ‘blessing’ for Asa’s army: “Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off vast quantities of plunder.” (2 Chron. 14:13) III THE PRAISE OF THE KING- PRIEST - 13-20 “Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you–yes, the sacred vows you heard me make when I was in deep trouble. That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you– the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma. And I will sacrifice bulls and goats. Interlude” (13-15) After the Lord defeated the Ethiopian army on behalf of King Asa of Judah the Bible tells us: “On that day they sacrificed to the Lord some of the animals they had taken as plunder in the battle–seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep and goats..” (2 Chron. 15:11) This is no longer the praise that comes from all the earth or the Jewish nation, but the sacrifice of the individual King/Priest of the tribe of Judah who offers a total burnt offering in gratefulness to God. Delitzsch points out that the ram is an offering that is only presented by the high priest and the princes of the tribes of Israel as well as those who have taken the exclusive Nazarite vow 1 . The imagery becomes obvious; Jesus the Nazarene is the King of Kings, the High Priest of our salvation who has offered up his life as a princely sacrifice for our deliverance from sin. “But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time.” (Heb. 10:12) The last part of the psalm is the personal conclusion of Judah’s leader (perhaps Asa) as he looks back upon the miraculous intervention of God on his behalf. It is comforting to know that Asa did not have a perfect spiritual scorecard throughout his life yet God showed him mercy. The basis of God’s mercy is from within himself and his purpose. • Proclamation- “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.” (16) ’ Worship’ should always turn into ‘witness’; imperfect people telling others about their ‘perfect’ God! • Petition- “For I cried to him for help, praising him as I spoke.” (17) Asa cried to the Lord as he faced 1 million soldiers. We must remember to include the active ingredient of ‘praise’ in all our petitions. • Purification- “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.” (18) Our hearts were designed to be the temple of only one God. Paul says it concisely: “How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?”(2 Cor. 6:14) • Prayer- “But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.”(19) When prayers are seemingly unanswered it is wise to have a time of heart cleansing communion with the Lord. It is in that atmosphere that we can allow the Holy Spirit to point out any areas that need pardon and removal from our lives. “But you brought us to a place of great abundance.” (12)

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