Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 89:9-13 “You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them. You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours, the world and its fullness. You have founded them. You have created the north and the south. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted.”

God is Lord of the sea and Lord of the nations (Rahab may refer to Egypt). He rules the heavens and the earth; after all, He created them! He is mighty and worthy of praise!

Psalm 130:20-22 “Praise the LORD, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfil his word, obeying the voice of his word. Praise the LORD, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure. Praise the LORD, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul!”

For additional worship: All Creatures of Our God and King (Sovereign Grace Music)

Psalm 89:1-8 “A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite. I will sing of the loving kindness of the LORD forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. I indeed declare, ‘Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them.’ ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant, “I will establish your offspring forever, and build up your throne to all generations.” ‘ Selah. The heavens will praise your wonders, LORD, your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who amongst the sons of the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him? LORD, God of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? The LORD, your faithfulness is around you.”

Why sing about God’s faithfulness? Because He established His covenant with David and promised to preserve His line. No-one is greater than the Lord. Even the angels (literally the “sons of God”) sing His praises. The Lord, the God of armies, is to be feared!

But what about David’s throne? What about his lineage? Was this promise forsaken? No!

Luke 1:31-33 “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom now, but will be a physical kingdom in the future.

Matthew 25:31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.”

For additional worship: I Will Sing Of The Mercies Of The Lord (Teresa A. Pash)

Psalm 88:13-18 “But to you, LORD, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you. LORD, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me like water all day long. They completely engulfed me. You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.”

This section repeats some of the previous themes. The Psalmist earnestly cries out to God, but continues to feal abandoned and fearful.

This Psalm a lament, but it’s an even darker lament than we find anywhere else. I believe that it’s the only lament that doesn’t have a statement of hope or confidence in it. However, there is the reminder that when darkness comes, there is only one thing to do. Pray! “But to you, Lord, I have cried.” “I have cried day and night before you.” And why do we pray? Because all things are ultimately in God’s hands: He decrees or He allows. That means He is the one who can ultimately make things better.

For additional worship: Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near (T4G Live IV)

Psalm 88:8-12 “You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can’t escape. My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, LORD. I have spread out my hands to you. Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and praise you? Selah. Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?”

Sounds a little like Job, doesn’t it? In pleading with God for rescue, the Psalmist points out that he can’t praise God if he’s dead!

Should we “bargain” with God? It’s probably not the best idea, but we certainly have something here that seems true to life. In our despair we may resort to any and all means to end our trouble. Better to praise God instead of bargaining with Him, regardless of the circumstances.

Daniel 3:16-18 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, ‘Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.’ ”

For additional worship: Praise You in This Storm (Casting Crowns)

Psalm 88:1-7 “A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. For the Chief Musician. To the tune of ‘The Suffering of Affliction.’ A contemplation by Heman, the Ezrahite. LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol. I am counted amongst those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help, set apart amongst the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me. You have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah.”

Even when we know that we’ve done wrong; even when we know that we deserve punishment; even when our sinfulness is the root cause of our despair; even when we know that God is teaching us a lesson; who else are we going to go to in prayer? Confession and repentance are the only things that can make it right.

Psalm 51:1-4 “Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.”

For additional worship: Again (Jeremy Camp)

Psalm 87:1-7 “A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains. The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Selah. I will record Rahab and Babylon amongst those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’ Yes, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one was born in her;’ the Most High himself will establish her. The LORD will count, when he writes up the peoples, ‘This one was born there.’ Selah. Those who sing as well as those who dance say, ‘All my springs are in you.’ “

What is most incredible about this passage is not that God loves Jerusalem. After all, that’s where His temple is! What’s incredible is that people from Gentile nations will be declared citizens of the holy city and counted as those who acknowledge God! This passage clearly anticipates what will happen because of Jesus Christ, and those who serve in the temple rejoice and recognize that He is the source of life and joy.

Ephesians 3:1-6 “For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me towards you, how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News…”

For additional worship: Behold the Mountain of the Lord (Joe Stout)

Psalm 86:14-17 “God, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them. But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant. Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.”

Hopefully you never have to say this type of prayer. But even if you don’t literally have people seeking your life, there are other problems that could arise that are life threatening. Perhaps then this would be your prayer: “God, my enemies have risen up against me. My life is in danger. I’m coming to you because you are merciful, gracious, slow to anger, kind and holy. Please have mercy on me and give me strength. Save me! And may your salvation be a sign to others that you are real, that you are good, and that you care for your servants.”

This is also a great illustration of what we pray when we ask for God’s mercy and grace for the first time. Our enemies are death, hell, and the grave, and God is the only one who can save us from them!

For additional worship: A Sovereign Protector I Have (Augustus Toplady)

A sov’reign Protector I have,
unseen, yet forever at hand,
unchangeably faithful to save,
almighty to rule and command.

He smiles, and my comforts abound;
His grace as the dew shall descend;
and walls of salvation surround
the soul He delights to defend.

Inspirer and hearer of pray’r,
Thou Shepherd and Guardian of Thine,
my all to Thy covenant care
I sleeping and waking resign.

If Thou art my Shield and my Sun,
the night is no darkness to me;
and fast as my moments roll on,
they bring me but nearer to Thee.

Kind Author and Ground of my hope,
Thee, Thee, for my God I avow;
my glad Ebenezer set up,
and own Thou hast helped me till now.

I muse on the years that are past,
wherein my defense Thou hast proved;
nor wilt Thou relinquish at last
a sinner so signally loved!

Psalm 86:8-13 “There is no one like you amongst the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds. All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name. For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are God alone. Teach me your way, LORD. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more. For your loving kindness is great towards me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.”

God is God. There is no-one like Him. There is no-one who can do what He does. He does great and wonderful things! One day all will have to acknowledge Him. But until then, His people are the ones who praise Him, glorify Him, and follow Him, because they are the ones who have experienced His loving-kindness and who have been delivered from the grave!

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

For additional worship: Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun (Keith & Kristyn Getty)

Psalm 86:1-7 “A Prayer by David. Hear, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you. Hear, LORD, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my petitions. In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me.”

This Psalm is a prayer for God’s intervention. David bases his request on several factors: his trust in God, his desire to follow God, his humility and need for God, and his belief that God will answer him. But he also recognizes several important facts about God: God is good, God is ready to forgive, and God loves and cares for His people. Perhaps we should call this a faith fueled prayer, and see it as a pattern for our own.

Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.”

For additional worship: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Reawaken Hymns)