A Study Through the Psalms

The book of Psalms is a book of songs, poems, and hymns.  Some of them are psalms of Thanksgiving.  Some of them are songs of lament.  A psalm of lament is a psalm of tears, grief, and frustration.

Psalm 126:  A Psalm of Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity
A Song of Ascents

1.  When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.

2.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3.  The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.
 

This Psalm 126:3 wall art is available here.

4.  Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.

5.  Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

6.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

The superscription for Psalm 126 means "Psalm of Ascent."  There are 14 psalms of ascent.  Psalms of ascent were traveling psalms.

If you are in a bad place in your life and you then  your situation will never end, it will.  Someday your circumstances will change.  As we read through Psalm 126, you'll notice how quickly circumstances can change.  In verse 2, the psalmist writes of laughter.  In verse 5, the psalmist writes of sowing in tears.

Just like circumstances can quickly change from bad to good, circumstances can also quickly change from good to bad.  No matter how wonderful things might seem right now, you will shed tears again.  If you are in a season of sorrow right now, God can and will use your circumstances for His good.  He can use them for your good too.  Don't waste your sorrow.  Allow God to use it.

What can we learn from Psalm 126?

1.  There will be lots of tears in life. 

Tears are OK.  God gave us tear ducts for a reason.  Tears can be joyful or sorrowful.

Don't make laughter the goal of your life because you can't laugh all the time.  The Bible teaches us there there is a time to laugh and also a time to mourn.  In fact, the Bible tells us that there is an appointed time for everything.

There is an appointed time for everything. 
And there is a time for every event under heaven—

² A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

³ A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.

⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.

⁸ A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

This item is available here.

 Even Jesus cried.

Jesus wept. -  John 11:35

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it. - Luke 19:41

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. - Hebrews 5:7

Crying is part of being human.

2.  There will be even more tears when you live the Christ centered life.  

The more you get serious about following Jesus, you will weep more, not less.  What does it mean to get serious about following Jesus?  What does it mean to be saved?  Learn more here.

When you get saved, you get a new heart.  Of course, you don't get a physical new heart, but you get a new heart condition - a heart for the Lord.  When Christ comes into your heart, your heart becomes tender.  As Christ followers with new hearts, we will weep when we see evil and hurt around us.  We will weep as we see millions being deceived by Satan and believing his lies.

Our sin should make us weep.

Don't avoid or suppress your tears.  We learn in Psalm 126:5 that tears produce joy.  

God is full of grace and deeply loves us.

Let's take a look at another Psalm.  Let's read Psalm 139.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
 
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
 
³ You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
 
⁴ Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
 
⁵ You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
 
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸ If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

¹⁰ Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”

¹² Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

¹⁶ Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹ O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

²² I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

²⁴ And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. - Psalm 139

God's heart is attracted to our tears.  When we weep, he hears us.  He loves us so much that he sent us a Redeemer and this world so desperately needs a Redeemer.  You can tell Jesus anything and you can cry freely when you talk to Him.

Our world is broken and we should weep more.  Our hearts should break over all that breaks the heart of God.

Tears are not forever for those of us who know Jesus - for those of us who have a relationship with Him, but for those who do not know Him, their tears will never end.

Come to Jesus right now.  God will catch your tears. 

Read all posts in this series here.

 PIN ME!

Psalm 126:  God Loves You (Summer Playlist Series)

You may also like:

Psalm 73:  Comparison, Envy, and Jealousy (Summer Playlist Series)

Psalm 73:  Comparison, Envy, and Jealousy (Summer Playlist Series)

We Cannot Steal God's Glory - Psalm 115 (Summer Playlist Series)

My pastor is taking us through a summer series he is calling the Summer Playlist.  We are studying through the Psalms.  The Psalms is a book of songs, poems, and prayers, thus the title "Summer Playlist."  Today, we are reading Psalm 115.  Psalm 115 teaches us that we are to give glory to God, not to ourselves. 

We cannot steal God's glory.

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon.

You are invited to watch, listen, and worship with us here.

Let's read through Psalm 115.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.
May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the sons of men.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
But as for us, we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord!

Precious Moments:  To God be the Glory

All glory belongs to God and we can't steal His thunder.  God is not going to share His glory with anyone. 

We are to recognize and declare God's glory.  How do we define God's glory?  Glory is who God is and what God does.  To glorify God means that life is not about us.  Sometimes we make glory about ourselves.  We are glory-stealers.  "Me-ism" is the god that we worship.  God is serious about His glory.

Reasons for Not Stealing God's Glory

1.  God is loving and faithful.  God is the source of of love.  He is always faithful, perfectly faithful. 

2.  God is sovereign.  God is in control.  We don't have to be afraid because God is sovereign.  We are to worship only Him.  We can glorify God in every circumstance because He even uses bad for good. 

3.  God is living.  Never give glory to idols.  They are dead.  Everything will fade away except for the glory of God.

4.  God is our protector and provider.  He is our rear guard.

Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. - Isaiah 58:8

We are surrounded by God's glory.

The sooner we remove ourselves from the center of our lives, the sooner God takes over.

Psalm 115 is a collection of songs sang after a Passover meal.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed "Not My will, but Yours."  Jesus perfectly modeled for us the surrendering to God's will.

What is one area of your life right now where you make it about you and not God?  Where are you robbing God of His glory?  Surrender your life to God.  

Learn more about surrendering your life to God and following Jesus here.

 Read all posts in this series here.

PIN ME!

We Cannot Steal God's Glory

You may also like:

Glorifying God in Every Situation

Glorifying God in Every Situation

Psalm 13 (Summer Playlist Series)

Today we are looking at Psalm 13.  My pastor is leading us through what he is calling our summer playlist series.  The book of Psalms is a collection of poetry and music, thus the summer playlist title.

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's message.

You are invited to watch, listen, and worship with us here.

We are all fellow strugglers.  We all need God and we need each other for encouragement.  Psalm 13 was written by King David during one of his lowest points in life.  David had been on the run from King Saul for 12 years.  David loved God but hated his circumstances.  Four times within the first few verses, David cried to to God, asking God how long he would have to endure his circumstances.

In 6 short verses, David transitioned from deep despair into a spirit of worship.  Let's take a look at the full chapter.

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

How long, O 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 all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
 

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

In the first 2 verses, David is complaining..

In verses 3 and 4, David is praying.

In verses 5 and 6, David is praising.

What is your posture before God right now?  Are you complaining, praying, or praising?

This wall art featuring Psalm 13:5 is available here.

Let's look back at verses 1 and 2.  David feels abandoned, as if God has forgotten him.  Do you sometimes feel like David does in these first two verses?  I think there are times in our lives when we all feel like this, but the Bible tells us that God numbers every hair on our heads and that we are more valuable to Him than sparrows.  He keeps track of all our sorrows, collects our tears in a bottle, and records each one in His book.  He writes our names on the palms of His hands.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. - Luke 12:7

You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book. - Psalm 56:8 

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;  Your walls are continually before Me. - Isaiah 49:16

This wall art featuring Psalm 49:16 is available here.

Do you suppose David felt resentful because of his harsh circumstances?  Do you sometimes feel resentful.  I know I sometimes do, but let's take courage as we move on to verse 3.

In verse 3, David stopped complaining and really began to pray to God.  This is when the mood of this chapter changes.  David prays for God to take notice of his circumstances.  David acknowledges his personal connection with God when he calls him, "MY God."

David was alone.  Isolation robs us of our right perspective.

In verses 5 and 5, David is trusting, rejoicing, and singing.  His circumstances have not changed, but His heart has changed.  David is still alone and he is still hiding from King Saul, but instead of complaining and crying out in despair, David has chosen to trust, rejoice, and sing in praise to God.  David decides to glorify God in his circumstances.

We are not victims in this life.  We are victorious in Christ Jesus.

How do we apply Psalm 13 to our lives?

1.  Recognize that pain in life is unavoidable, but don't miss the purpose.  Pain will drive you to something.  Does your pain drive you to Netflix binges, pills, alcohol, pornography, isolation?

Pain should drive you straight to God.  God can use pain to grow us spiritually and to prepare us for future assignments.  God can turn our pain into a platform for service.

It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply. - A.W. Tozer

2.  In our worst of times, believe that God is always good.  God will never separate us from his love.  We can't avoid pain, but we also can't run out of God's grace.

Jesus experienced hardship and endured separation from God so that we don't have to.  There is a day coming when Jesus will redeem everything.

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. - Revelation 21:4

God changed David's heart.  Is God changing your heart today?  

How long until you trust God?

How long will you live in rebellion?

How long until you surrender to Him?

Learn more about how to fully surrender to God through Jesus Christ here.

Read all posts in this series here. 

PIN ME!

Psalm 13 (Summer Playlist Series)

You may also like:

Reconciling Relationships

Reconciling Relationships