Psalms 31; God is my refuge

I love how David describes God in the Psalms. He captures who God is with his good and rich adjectives. Psalms 31 is a good example. The whole psalm is well written; it describes God as a refuge, how wickedness is trying to destroy David, and last, how David cries out to God. We also see rich word patterns and a strong contrast between God and wickedness.

Today, we will look at the first word pattern in verses 1-5

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Can you see the word pattern? David has a very strong and vivid description of God. He is strong fortress, refuge, deliver, etc. I like to look up the definitions of words. Let’s look at the adjectives in this passage:

Refuge-- a place of shelter, protection, or safety

Deliver--to set free or liberate: to release or save

Rescue--to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger, or evil

Rock of Refuge--a firm foundation or support shelter, protection, or safety strong fortress

My rock--a firm foundation or support

My fortress--a large fortified place; any place of exceptional security; stronghold

Free--pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty

Commit--to give in trust or charge; to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question

Redeem--to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.); to buy back or recover

Don’t you love David’s rich word choices? With his words, he is about to paint a dramatic picture of God.

Word Patterns

When you're studying the Bible, it's good to have a few tools to help you understand the meaning, or point of the passage. One of these helpful tools is too look for patterns. If a phrase or word is repeated, it is important. For example, look at Psalms 150: The word "Praise" is repeated. In six verses, the word "praise" in there 13 times. The word praise is apparently important.

Sometimes it can be trickier to find the patterns. In today's world, we are taught not to repeat words, but to use a thesaurus. Sometimes, the translator doesn't like to use the same word over and over, so he turns to his thesaurus. In the example above, instead of using the word "praise" every time, he might also use "respect" "worship" "extol", etc. All though it may be easier to read, it will be harder to find the word patterns. We’ll look at an example from the book of Ruth tomorrow.

"But..."

The word “but” has an interesting meaning:

• on the contrary; yet: My brother went, but I did not.
• unless; if not; except that: Nothing would do but that I should come in.

When we are in prayer, it is very easy to use the word “but.”
“But God, I don’t want to do that.”
“Yeah, but what about so-and-so?”

When we are talking to God, this is the wrong way to use the word “but.” However, when we share our testimony, the word should come up often:
“Things were out of control, but God was in control.”
“I was wounded, but God healed me.”
“I didn’t know what to do, but God guided me.”

When talking to God, we shouldn’t say “but.” When we are talking about God, we should always say “but.”

How often do we use the word “but” in the wrong conversation!

Leadership; To Have Influence

You are a leader.

Wait, you may say. I’m not a leader; I don’t speak to crowds of people, and I’m not the president of a big business. I’m not a leader.

You’re wrong. We all are leaders. A leader doesn’t necessarily standing up in front of thousands of people to give a speech, or make million dollar choices.
The definition of a leader; a person who has influence.

We all have influence over thing, or someone; your friends, siblings, kids, co-workers, etc. If you have influence over a person, you have become a leader to him.

Since all have influence over something, we all are leaders. You no longer have to ask yourself, “am I a leader?” You need to ask yourself, “What kind of leader will I be?”

Word Definition: Praise & worship

Praise: To say good things about; give a good opinion of
Worship: Very great love or admiration. The act of showing honor and respect for God. To take part in a religious service.

This Sunday, give Him glory and honor. Tell him how awesome He is. Praise needs to be about us letting God know how cool He is.

Praise needs to be about Him, not us. One thing praise does is remind us how great God is and how weak we are. It humbles us in His spirit. It takes our minds off of ourselves and puts it on Him, which is where it belongs.

Psalms 150
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise Him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!