Outlines in Psalms

This outline is a companion to three previous outlines:
                                   O Lord, Thou Hast Searched Me, and Known Me - Psalm 139   
                                   Such Knowledge Is Too Wonderful for Me - Psalm 139:1-6     
                                   Whither Shall I Flee from Thy Presence - Psalm 139:7-12     

1.  The Lord our God sovereignly possessed me from my conception.

Psalm 139:13 – “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”

2.  The Lord our God wonderfully created me for His glory.

Psalm 139:14 – “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

3.  The Lord our God completely knew my substance from my beginning.

Psalm 139:15-16a – “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect.”

4.  The Lord our God personally predetermined all of my personal characteristics.

Psalm 139:16b – “And in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

5.  The Lord our God abundantly cares for me throughout my daily walk.

Psalm 139:17-18a – “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand.”

6.  The Lord our God continually remains present with me (as one of His own).

Psalm 139:18b – “When I awake, I am still with thee.”

Posted in Outlines in Psalms, Sovereignty of the Lord, The Creator God, Knowledge of the Lord, Lovingkindness of the Lord

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Outlines in Psalms

This outline is a companion to two previous outlines:
                                   O Lord, Thou Hast Searched Me, and Known Me - Psalm 139   
                                   Such Knowledge Is Too Wonderful for Me - Psalm 139:1-6     

1.  The Lord our God is ever present wherever we go.
     Thus we can know His fellowship at all times.

Psalm 139:7-8 – “Whither shall I go from thy spirit?  Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”

2.  The Lord our God is ever directing in our lives.
     Thus we can trust His upholding for each day.

Psalm 139:9-10 – “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

3.  The Lord our God is ever observing what we do.
     Thus we cannot hide our sinful behavior from Him.

Psalm 139:11-12 – “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

Posted in Outlines in Psalms, Greatness of the Lord, Lovingkindness of the Lord, Knowledge of the Lord

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Outlines in Psalms

This outline is a companion to a previous outline:  O Lord, Thou Hast Searched Me, and Known Me - Psalm 139   

Psalm 139:1 – “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.”

1.  The Lord our God knows all our conduct (behavior).

Psalm 139:2a – “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising.”

2.  The Lord our God knows (and even understands) all our considerations (thoughts).

Psalm 139:2b – “Thou understandest my thought afar off.”

3.  The Lord our God knows all our character (motivations, priorities, and direction).

Psalm 139:3 – “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”

4.  The Lord our God knows all our communications (words).  

Psalm 139:4 – “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

5.  The Lord our God knows all our condition (circumstances, choices, and consequences).

Psalm 139:5 – “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.”

6.  The Lord our God knows us completely (infinitely better than we know oursleves).

Psalm 139:6 – “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”

Posted in Outlines in Psalms, Knowledge of the Lord

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Outlines in Psalms

“To the chief Musician.  A Psalm of David.”

  I.  The Lord does completely know me. (Psalm 139:1-6)
 II.  The Lord is continually present with me. (Psalm 139:7-12)
      III.  The Lord has wonderfully created me. (Psalm 139:13-16)
      IV.  The Lord does abundantly care for me. (Psalm 139:17-18)
             V.  I stand contrary against the Lord’s adversaries. (Psalm 139:19-22)
            VI.  I submit consistently unto the Lord’s examination. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to five previous sermons:
                Blessed Be the Most High God - Genesis 14:19-20    
                The Most High Ruleth - Daniel 4:32    
                The Most High Uttereth His Voice - 2 Samuel 22:14    
                Sing Praise to the Name of the Lord Most High - Psalm 7:17    
                Dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High - Psalm 91:1    

Psalm 77:10-12 reads, “And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.  I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.  I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”

In Psalm 77:1 the psalmist Asaph presented a summary for the entire psalm, saying, “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.”  Yet the opening portion of this psalm (encompassing Psalm 77:2-8) does not present a scenario in which Asaph had a positive attitude toward the Lord.  The context and circumstance in which Asaph wrote this psalm was one of great trouble.  Even so, in Psalm 77:2-4 he stated, “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.  I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.  Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” 

Now, in the midst of this great trouble, Asaph did remember the Lord his God.  Yet at first his remembrance of God did not bring him to a place of comfort, but to a place of complaint.  Again in Psalm 77:2-3 he stated, “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.  I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.”  At the first Asaph’s prayer to God and remembrance of God brought him to doubt and question God’s loving care.  At the first he was not comforted or encouraged in the Lord his God.  Rather, at the first he complained against the Lord for allowing such trouble in his life and for not removing it more quickly from his life.  Even so, in Psalm 77:5-9 Asaph expressed his complaint against God, saying, “I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.  I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.  Will the Lord cast off for ever?  And will he be favourable no more?  Is his mercy clean gone for ever?  Doth his promise fail for evermore?  Hath God forgotten to be gracious?  Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.”  Indeed, at the first Asaph doubted and questioned the loving kindness of God, and the goodness of God, and the everlasting mercy of God, and the faithfulness of God, and the abundant grace of God, and the tenderness of God.  At the first Asaph, in the midst of his great trouble, had a negative attitude of complaint against the Lord his God.

Yet in the opening line of Psalm 77:10, Asaph confessed his wrong attitude, saying, “And I said, This is my infirmity.”  He acknowledged and confessed that his negative attitude of complaint against the Lord his God was his infirmity, his wrong doing, his sinful iniquity.  Even so, with this confession Asaph began the process of correction and change in his attitude toward the Lord his God.  With this confession Asaph turned the focus of his heart away from his troubles and away from his complaint against God for those troubles.  With this confession Asaph turned the focus of his heart toward God’s past faithfulness and toward God’s faithful character as demonstrated by His past faithfulness.  In Psalm 77:10-12 he declared, “And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.  I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.  I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”  Having confessed his sinful attitude of complaint against the Lord his God, Asaph committed himself to enter into a three-step process for correcting and changing his attitude toward the Lord his God.  First, he committed himself to remember the faithfulness of the Lord.  Second, he committed himself to meditate upon the faithfulness of the Lord.  Third, he committed himself to testify unto the faithfulness of the Lord.  He committed himself to remember, to meditate, and to testify.

Yet upon what specific works and characteristics of the Lord his God did Asaph focus his remembrance, meditation, and testifying?  Yea, upon what specific works and characteristics of the Lord our God should we focus our hearts in our times of trouble, in order that we might have an attitude of comfort and encouragement in our Lord, rather than an attitude of doubt and complaint against our Lord?  What specific works and characteristics of the Lord our God should we remember, meditate upon, and testify unto, as we consider “the years of the right hand” of the Lord our God, the most high God?  The answer is to be found in the closing portion of Psalm 77, in Psalm 77:13-20.

Thought for Meditation

An individual with full assurance of faith in the Lord God
does not know all the answers for life, but he does know and trust
the God of all the answers.

Outlines in Psalms

“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.”

1.  Because the Lord is gracious. (Psalm 147:2-3)
2.  Because the Lord is great. (Psalm 147:4-5)
3.  Because the Lord is good. (Psalm 147:6)

“Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”

4.  Because the Lord provides. (Psalm 147:8-9)
5.  Because the Lord shows favor. (Psalm 147:10-11)

“Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.”

6.  Because the Lord blesses His people. (Psalm 147:13-14)
7.  Because the Lord reveals His Word. (Psalm 147:15-20)

“Praise ye the LORD.”

Proverbs for Life

Proverbs 22:2 presents the truth, saying, “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.” 

Among the sixty-six books of the Bible, the book of the Proverbs reveals God’s wisdom for our daily living.  This book of the Bible speaks concerning many aspects of our lives.  It speaks concerning our relationship with the Lord, concerning our relationship to God’s truth, concerning our relationship to righteous living, concerning our relationship with others, concerning the relationships within our families, concerning our relationship with friends, concerning our practice of verbal communication, concerning our viewpoint of money and material things, concerning our diligence in work and labor, etc.

In Proverbs 22:2 we find a truth concerning our relationship with the Lord our God.  In fact, this verse reveals one aspect of the Lord’s place in our lives.  Now, this verse does not speak concerning the place that the Lord ought to have in our lives.  It does not speak concerning the place that we ought to grant unto the Lord our God in our lives.  Rather, this verse speaks concerning the place that the Lord our God has in our lives regardless of our submission unto Him.  It speaks concerning the place that the Lord has in our lives as THE Lord God, whether we are righteously obedient unto Him or rebelliously wicked before Him. 

Yea, overall the book of the Proverbs reveals four basic truths concerning the Lord’s place in our lives.

Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous meditation:  
                            Gather the Elders, and Say unto Them - Exodus 3:16-22 (Pt. 1)    

Exodus 3:16-17 reads, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with the question, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In verse 12 the Lord God answered Moses’ question by promising to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call.  Then in verse 13 Moses asked a second question – “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”  To this question the Lord God gave answer in verse 14-15, declaring – “I AM THAT I AM.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Even so, on the ground of this declaration, the Lord God then instructed Moses to “go, and gather the elders of Israel together,” and to deliver the message of verses 16-22 unto them.  Herein it is worthy of notice that although this message certainly pertained unto the entire nation of Israel, it was to be delivered specifically unto the elders of Israel, unto the leadership of Israel.  Indeed, Exodus 3:16-22 provides encouragement and exhortation to those who serve in leadership for God’s people.  In the first part of the meditation (see above), we considered three elements from Exodus 3:16-18 -- that the Lord our God knows personally of our need (the Lord's personal care), that the Lord our God promises to help us in our need (the Lord's promised help), and that the Lord our God calls us to serve Him in this world (our public service).  In this second part of the meditation, we shall consider three further elements from Exodus 3:19-22.

Outlines in Psalms

“To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.”

Psalm 11:1a – “In the LORD put I my trust.”
(Note:  The two questions of this psalm are significant for the flow of thought in this psalm.)

  I.  The challenge against the Lord’s trusting servant. (Psalm 11:1b)
 II.  The conflict for the Lord’s trusting servant. (Psalm 11:2)
III.  The concern of the Lord’s trusting servant. (Psalm 11:3)
IV.  The confidence of the Lord’s trusting servant. (Psalm 11:4-7)

Thought for Meditation

The thoughts (intellectual, emotional, motivational, and decisional) of our inner man
matter much to the Lord our God
and have a significant impact upon our personal, daily walk of fellowship with Him.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:7-8 reads, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

Exodus 3:1-6 introduces us to the occasion wherein the Lord God acquired Moses’ attention with “the burning bush” and met with Moses’ out of “the burning bush.”  In verses 7-8 the account continues as the Lord God reveals unto Moses the reason for His meeting with Moses.  Indeed, the Lord our God reveals that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.

Proverbs for Life

This is a companion post to a series of previous posts:  The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 1) 
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 2)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 3)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 4)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 5)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 6)

A proverb is a short, pithy saying that expresses a significant, substantial truth for life.  In the book of the Proverbs, the actual compilation of proverbial statements begins with chapter 10 and extends to the end of the book.  In the following series of posts, I wish to present those proverbial statements that specifically mention our relationship with the Lord.  Certainly, every proverb of God’s Holy Word concerns our relationship with the Lord our God; for every proverb concerns the character of our walk before Him.  Yet the following list of proverbial statements make specific mention of the Lord and of our relationship to Him.  In the first six parts of this study (see above), we considered passages from Proverbs 10-24.  In this part of the study, we shall consider passages from Proverbs 25-31. 

Proverbs for Life

This is a companion post to a series of previous posts:  The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 1) 
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 2)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 3)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 4)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 5)

A proverb is a short, pithy saying that expresses a significant, substantial truth for life.  In the book of the Proverbs, the actual compilation of proverbial statements begins with chapter 10 and extends to the end of the book.  In the following series of posts, I wish to present those proverbial statements that specifically mention our relationship with the Lord.  Certainly, every proverb of God’s Holy Word concerns our relationship with the Lord our God; for every proverb concerns the character of our walk before Him.  Yet the following list of proverbial statements make specific mention of the Lord and of our relationship to Him.  In the first five parts of this study (see above), we considered passages from Proverbs 10-21.  In this part of the study, we shall consider passages from Proverbs 22-24. 

Proverbs for Life

This is a companion post to a series of previous posts:  The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 1) 
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 2)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 3)
                                                                                        The Proverbs & Our Relationship with the Lord (Part 4)

A proverb is a short, pithy saying that expresses a significant, substantial truth for life.  In the book of the Proverbs, the actual compilation of proverbial statements begins with chapter 10 and extends to the end of the book.  In the following series of posts, I wish to present those proverbial statements that specifically mention our relationship with the Lord.  Certainly, every proverb of God’s Holy Word concerns our relationship with the Lord our God; for every proverb concerns the character of our walk before Him.  Yet the following list of proverbial statements make specific mention of the Lord and of our relationship to Him.  In the first two parts of this study (see above), we considered passages from Proverbs 10-19.  In this part of the study, we shall consider passages from Proverbs 20-21.