Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 37:8-13 “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there. But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.”

Remember: ungodly anger and wrath lead to unrighteousness. We need to avoid them at all costs.

Matthew 5:22 “But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”

Ephesians 4:26 “‘Be angry, and don’t sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.”

Romans 12:19-21 “Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.’ Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Matthew 5:3-5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

For additional worship: Give to the Winds thy Fears

Psalm 37:1-7 “By David. Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Also delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in him, and he will do this: he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.”

What is the cure for anxiety and envy? If you commit your way to the Lord, delight in Him, and trust in Him, then His desires will become your desires. You will obey because you want to. You will continue to do good as you rest in Him. And you won’t be envious of the unrighteous, because you know what their ultimate end will be, and you’re willing to wait patiently for God’s ultimate judgement.

For additional worship: Trusting Jesus (Weekly Hymn Project)

Psalm 36:5-12 “Your loving kindness, LORD, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgements are like a great deep. LORD, you preserve man and animal. How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures. For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light. Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. Don’t let the foot of pride come against me. Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.”

God is faithful. God is loving. God is deep. God is life! He is where we go to find refuge and protection. He is the only real source of joy and pleasure. In His light, we see light! We should join David in praise and ask God to protect us from both the wicked and our own wicked thoughts, because both can drive us away from Him. Thank God one day the wicked will be punished and we will drink from the river of God’s pleasures always and forever.

For additional worship: Your Love, Oh Lord (Third Day)

Psalm 36:1-4 “For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of the LORD. A revelation is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.”

Because of David’s revelation we see how the righteous should behave. We should revere God. We should be humble. We should be circumspect. We should speak the truth. We should be wise and do good. We should think about good things and make righteous plans when we are on our beds. And finally, we should hate evil.

For additional worship: Living for Jesus a Life that is True

Psalm 35:23-28 “Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me! Vindicate me, LORD my God, according to your righteousness. Don’t let them gloat over me. Don’t let them say in their heart, ‘Aha! That’s the way we want it!’ Don’t let them say, ‘We have swallowed him up!’ Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me. Let those who favor my righteous cause shout for joy and be glad. Yes, let them say continually, ‘May The LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!’ My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.”

First of all, can you imagine having the temerity to yell at God to wake up? Perhaps this is simply because David knew God was going to act because of His promises. While I wouldn’t suggest it as a standard way to pray, God also knows what is in our hearts. I think it’s better to be honest with Him instead of pretending to be filled with faith when we are angry and impatient.

Second, we should be joyful when we see how God works in someone else’s life and magnify His name! There may be times when we are tempted to be jealous because God isn’t working in our lives in the same way. That’s not the way we’re supposed to be. In fact, God warns us about that in the 10 commandments:

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

And there is a very important reason for the prohibition:

Proverbs 14:30 “The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones.”

For additional worship: Now Thank We All Our God (Reawaken Hymns)

Psalm 35:17-22 “Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions. I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you amongst many people. Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes. For they don’t speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, ‘Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!’ You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.”

Once again, we see the audacity of the ungodly as they continue to point their fingers at ones more righteous than they are in order to accuse them. The cry of the godly is for God to see it and help, with the promise of continued praise when He does!

For additional worship: Praise Him, Praise Him (Ernie Haase)

Psalm 35:9-16 “My soul shall be joyful in the LORD. It shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, ‘LORD, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?’ Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about. They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother. But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease. Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me.”

Do we see what is behind the believer eventually being comfortable calling for God’s vengeance against enemies? It doesn’t start out that way. We call out for God’s mercy and care for others. We mourn and fast for their afflictions. And what happens? They ridicule, attack, and speak evil of us. At some point we just cry out for justice, just as we see happen at the end of all things in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 6:10 “They cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ ”

In the midst of it all we rejoice that God loves us, God hears us, God saves us, and God will ultimately vindicate us. If not in this life, then in the future.

For additional worship: Psalm 35 – CONTEND (Sons of Korah)

Psalm 35:1-8 “By David. Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’ Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded. Let them be as chaff before the wind, the LORD’s angel driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery, the LORD’s angel pursuing them. For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul. Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.”

This is a humble plea for God to bring upon the persecutor the destruction he wants to bring upon the persecuted. What a prayer for the persecuted church, or any individual who believes they are unjustly persecuted! We should also note the reoccurring theme of God’s angelic protection. It seems that there are always unseen events going on in the spiritual world around us.

For additional worship: God Help Me (Unspoken)

Psalm 34:15-22 “The LORD’s eyes are towards the righteous. His ears listen to their cry. The LORD’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.”

“Out of them all.” Strong words. We recognize that is God’s ultimate plan, while understanding that life on this earth does bring some hard times. Even then God is always with us, always watching over us, always helping us, always listening to us, and yes, even always protecting us. He makes sure that His own are His own forever, and we never have to fear being separated from Him!

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.” While this should provide immense comfort for us, we understand that it is perhaps the most true when we are saved. When our hearts are broken and contrite because of our sin and we turn to God, that’s when He saves us!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

For additional worship: The Lord is My Salvation (Keith & Kristyn Getty)