Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 31:9-18 “Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief. For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away. Because of all my adversaries I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors, a horror to my acquaintances. Those who saw me on the street fled from me. I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man. I am like broken pottery. For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life. But I trust in you, LORD. I said, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness. Let me not be disappointed, LORD, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.”

Have you ever been in the throes of depression? Have you ever been deeply burdened by the effects of your own sin? Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed because of the adversity of others? David feels all of that, but continues to express his trust in God, and pleads with God to hear so that he won’t be disappointed. Instead, David calls for his enemies to be disappointed and for their lying lips to be silenced by the grave.

Perhaps you can relate to David’s hopelessness. Hopefully in those times you’ve turned towards God rather than away from Him. And, if you are experiencing difficulties because of the abuse and lies of others, it’s certainly okay to pray for God to silence them even if you don’t wish them dead!

For additional worship: I Love the Lord [Live] ft. Alicia Williamson

I Love the Lord, he heard my cry
And pitied ev’ry groan.
Long as I love, while troubles rise,
I’ll hasten to his throne.

I love the Lord; he bowed his ear
And chased my griefs away;
Oh, let my heart no more despair
While I have breath to pray.

My flesh declined, my spirits fell,
And I drew near the dead,
While inward pangs of fear and hell
Perplexed my wakeful head.

My God, I cried, your servant save,
Be ever good and just;
Your pow’r can rescue from the grave,
Your pow’r is all my trust.

The Lord beheld me sore distressed,
He bid my pains remove;
Return, my soul, to God my rest,
For you have known his love.

What shall I render to my God
For all his kindness shown?
Your cup of life I’ll gladly take;
My songs address your throne.

How much is mercy your delight,
My ever-blessèd God!
How dear your servants in your sight!
How precious is their blood! (Isaac Watts)

Psalm 31:1-8 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. In you, LORD, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness. Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me. Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my stronghold. Into your hand I commend my spirit. You redeem me, LORD, God of truth. I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities. You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.”

“Lying vanities” here refers to idols. Not only do we not put our trust in idols, we also don’t follow or trust in those who revere ungodly ideas, philosophies, or beings. Instead, we take refuge in the Lord at all times. He is our rock, our fortress, and our house of defense. He knows everything we are going through, and we can trust in Him. Jesus quotes from this Psalm while He was on the cross:

Luke 23:46 “Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ Having said this, he breathed his last.”

How significant is it that Jesus, when He was dying, expressed His complete trust in God? It’s like He didn’t see death as a defeat, but a victory! We see this same trust exhibited by Stephen:

Acts 7:59 “They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’”

For additional worship: Rock of Ages (Norton Hall Band)

Psalm 30:8-12 “I cried to you, LORD. I made supplication to the Lord: ‘What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth? Hear, LORD, and have mercy on me. LORD, be my helper.’ You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent. LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

If we’re going to plead for God to rescue us so we can praise Him, then we’d better makes sure we mean it! Seriously though, God knows our hearts. He can see through platitudes and empty promises. With any plea to Him that we make on our future behavior, we’d better make sure that our hearts match our words. And, when He turns our mourning into dancing, we’d better make sure that we let others know!

For additional worship: Wintley Phipps – My Tribute [Live]

Psalm 30:1-7 “A Psalm. A Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David. I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me. LORD my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me. LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of his. Give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” You, LORD, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled.”

David has a special relationship with God as His chosen king. He has been rescued from Saul and placed on the throne. Facing certain death, he has triumphed! He has also faced God’s anger over his sinfulness, particularly his pride, but it did not negate God’s overall blessing in his life.

What a description of our own lives! When we believe, we are adopted into God’s family. We are His! That doesn’t mean that we won’t face difficulties in our lives, or face God’s displeasure over our sin. We should never presume that God won’t punish us for our sinful behavior, and we should be severely troubled when God hides His face. But we know that our future is secure, and that nothing can keep us from Him. Truly weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Hallelujah!

For additional worship: When Morning Gilds the Skies (Calvary Choir)

Psalm 29:7-11 “The LORD’s voice strikes with flashes of lightning. The LORD’s voice shakes the wilderness. The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The LORD’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!” The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood. Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to his people. The LORD will bless his people with peace.”

In addition to recognizing God’s majesty, we are also reminded of His sovereignty. He is in control of birth. He allows both fire and flood (including THE flood). He is King, and as such only He can give both strength and peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

For additional worship: The Beauty of Holiness (Steve Camp)

Psalm 29:1-6 “A Psalm by David. Ascribe to the LORD, you sons of the mighty, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name. Worship the LORD in holy array. The LORD’s voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even the LORD on many waters. The LORD’s voice is powerful. The LORD’s voice is full of majesty. The LORD’s voice breaks the cedars. Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox.”

Creation speaks to the glory of God! Imagine a massive thunderstorm. The crashing sound reverberating through the heavens. The noise thundering across the waters and echoing among the trees. It’s like the Lord’s voice. Powerful. Majestic. Strong. Glorious! Even the heavenly beings are in awe at His creation, recognizing His glory, and giving majesty to His name.

For additional worship: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing | Reawaken Hymns

Psalm 28:1-9 “By David. To you, LORD, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands towards your Most Holy Place. Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve. Because they don’t respect the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up. Blessed be the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my petitions. The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him. The LORD is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed. Save your people, and bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever.”

We see David start with lament and then turn to praise and thanksgiving. He recognizes that God is his rock, but still struggles with God’s delay to his petitions. After all, he’s not in the grave, he’s not wicked, and he respects God and His ways! But, even in his lament, David still trusts and believes, and praises God because He does hear. God is his rock, His shield, and His strength, but not just his! God is all that for His people too. He is their shepherd and salvation.

There are some important reminders here for us. First, it’s okay to want the wicked to be judged. After all, they would just be getting what they deserve, because they don’t respect God! Second, we see again that expressing our concerns to God helps us to once again trust in Him. Doubt expressed helps us to remember what God has promised He will do for His people. Third, our trust and belief should lead us to praising His name! And finally, God is our shepherd, and has promised to lead us forever!

Isaiah 40:10-11 “Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.”

For additional worship: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah | Jeremy Casella

Psalm 27:7-14 “Hear, LORD, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me. When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, LORD.” Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Teach me your way, LORD. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies. Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.”

David has people lying about him and acting against him. They desire to do him harm. David cries out to God, seeks God’s face, appeals to God as his master, and asks God to guide him in straight paths so that his adversaries have nothing to charge him with. David trusts that God will ultimately vindicate him, and reminds himself to be strong and courageous as he waits for Him.

We go through difficult times in life. Sometimes God removes those times, and sometimes he doesn’t. But we should always seek Him, cry out to Him, recognize His Lordship in our lives, and endeavor to live for Him. We trust and we wait, knowing that, even if we don’t get the result we want, we still experience God’s goodness through His presence, His guidance, His strength, and His hope.

For additional worship: What a Friend We Have in Jesus | Reawaken Hymns

Psalm 27:1-6 “By David. The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I have asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of my life, to see the LORD’s beauty, and to enquire in his temple. For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”

When we know God through Jesus Christ, we truly have nothing to fear. He is our light and salvation. He is our strength. He has promised we will dwell with Him not just the days of our lives, but forever, because of His love for us!

Romans 8:31-35 “What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

While we may not be spared from everything bad in this life, we know that God walks through it with us, and that we have a future home and inheritance waiting for us. That truly should cause us to praise!

For additional worship: The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built) | Reawaken Hymns