Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 17:8-15 “Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me. They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth. He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, LORD, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.”

David is calling out for God to preserve and bless Him again. Do we have a little eschatological enlightenment here? Every Israelite understood that they couldn’t see God and live (Exodus 33:20). So how can David say that He will be satisfied waking up and seeing God’s form? If sleep is likened to death, then David is looking forward to the time he will be with God in eternity!

How about David’s plea to continue to be the apple of God’s eye? Or the description of a baby bird under the wings of a mother? Perhaps Jesus had this in mind when he said:

Matthew 6:26 “See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?”

Here’s the thing: we ARE the apple of God’s eye through salvation, and we should WANT to be the apple of God’s eye by our behavior.

For additional worship: His Eye is on the Sparrow (Keith and Krysten)

Psalm 17:1-7 “A Prayer by David. Hear, LORD, my righteous plea. Give ear to my prayer that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips. Let my sentence come out of your presence. Let your eyes look on equity. You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey. As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped. I have called on you, for you will answer me, God. Turn your ear to me. Hear my speech. Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.”

Here David cries out to God for vindication based on his own righteousness. We may be tempted to do the same. “God, help me because I’m righteous. Look at me and reward me!” However, we understand that it’s not our own righteousness that we should plead, but Christ’s righteousness. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. We receive mercy because of Jesus Christ:

Romans 8:33-34 “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.”

And maybe this gives us some additional insight into praying in Jesus’ name. Perhaps the reminder is that God owes us nothing, but Jesus died so that God could give us everything! We pray in His name, remembering His sacrifice, and asking for God’s mercy.

For additional worship: “The Lovingkindness of the Lord” (Samuel Medley)

Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,
And sing the great Redeemer’s praise;
He justly claims a song from me-
His lovingkindness, O how free!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how free!

He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me, notwithstanding all;
He saved me from my lost estate-
His lovingkindness, O how great!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how great!

When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,
Has gathered thick and thundered loud,
He near my soul has always stood-
His lovingkindness, O how good!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how good!

Psalm 16:7-11 “I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.”

Here we have a reference to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ!

Acts 13:34-38 “Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’ For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay. But he whom God raised up saw no decay. Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins.”

Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, so we too look forward to a resurrection. It’s promised. It’s assured! God is always at our right hand, and that’s why we have joy forever more.

John 5:28-29 “Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.”

Reflection: Do you think about God and His Word when you lie down to go to sleep at night? “Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.”

For additional worship: Psalm 16 (Fullness of Joy) (feat. Rachelle Hope)

Psalm 16:1-6 “A Poem by David. Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you. My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.” As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips. The LORD assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.”

David reminds us that we need to rely totally on God. There is nothing and no-one more important than Him in our lives! As such, we have a special relationship with others who think like we do. Although we do reach out, we should be wary of those whose beliefs and morals are different than ours, and we should prefer the company of believers. And one reason is the bond we share and the contentment we have in common. We are thankful for God’s care, blessing, and our current and future inheritance!

1 Peter 2:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

For additional worship: Amazing Grace

Psalm 15:1-5 “A Psalm by David. LORD, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart; he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man; in whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change; he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.”

We can’t live on God’s holy hill or dwell in His sanctuary. We aren’t righteous enough, which is why we need Jesus! However, we do see how we should try to life under the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Speak the truth. Don’t slander. Treat people with respect and kindness. Abhor evil. Love God’s people. Do what you say you will do. Don’t charge your brethren interest or pervert the course of justice.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

For additional worship: Psalm 15 (Who May Abide With You) [feat. Emily Heilman]

Psalm 14:1-7 “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good. The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God. They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on the LORD? There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. You frustrate the plan of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.”

Here the contrast is between the wicked and the righteous. The wicked come after God’s people. They are fools! But, in reality, anybody who doesn’t know God or refuses to follow Him is a fool! And that’s the way we all start out in this world. We’re all fools:

Romans 3:9-12 “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, ‘There is no one righteous; no, not one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.’”

Just as the Israelites realized that their only refuge in the face of such antagonism was God, so too we realize that our only protection and salvation in this world is through Jesus. When we believe we have hope! Our future is secure, and we can rejoice!

For additional worship: How Sad Our State By Nature Is — Isaac Watts

Psalm 13:1-6 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? Behold, and answer me, LORD, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him;’ lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has been good to me.”

Crying out to God gets the poison out. If we allow our feelings to fester, if we dwell on them, if we nurse our hurts and resentments, bitterness and anger take over our souls. If we call out to Him with all our doubts and fears, all our cares and woes, we release them to Him and can exhibit trust again. Just the act of reaching out to Him reminds us that He is in charge, reminds us that He has helped us in the past, and enables us to praise and rejoice in Him again.

For additional worship: Abide With Me | Reawaken Hymns | Official Lyric Video

Psalm 12:1-8 “For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from amongst the children of men. Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts, who have said, ‘With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?’ ‘Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will set him in safety from those who malign him.’ The LORD’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times. You will keep them, LORD. You will preserve them from this generation forever. The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted amongst the sons of men.”

We live in a world where people continually lie, their loyalties are divided, they flatter, and they boast. It was true in David’s day, and it’s even more true now, because what is vile is exalted and so the wicked walk on every side.

1 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.”

What can we cling to in this world? Who can we turn to? Who can we trust? Who can we depend on? God! He promises to hear and to save, to protect and to preserve, and we can be sure that He will because His words are perfect and true!

For additional worship: Psalm 12 (The Words of the Lord) [feat. Nick Engbers]