Through the Psalms: Psalm 55

Psalm 55 reveals David's agony in betrayal.  Henry Law's commentary on this psalm is divided into two parts, and today's reading on verses 1-15 yields this treasure:

It is good in prayer to specify the cause of our distress. What we deeply feel, we should distinctly state...The psalmist states his agonized condition. Trust in God destroys not feelings of alarm, though they restrain them from overwhelming force. In this fearful description of his inward agony, can we fail to see the path which our great Redeemer trod?

David was brutally honest with God about his pain and his desire to escape it.  In the same way, we can pour out our troubles to our heavenly Father and know that there is no sorrow or pain known to us that Christ didn't also know.  And it is fitting to remember His sorrows and betrayals this Easter week.  Thank You, Father, for condescending to send Your Son in the flesh to walk the roads we walk and to be victorious over sin.  In Him, and in Him only, we have hope.

Ha!

Greg Gutfeld is right on:

But next time someone says it’s about race, Simply say, “Is that all you got?” and then ask them these five questions: 

1. How could adding 32 million people to the health rolls SAVE us money?
2. How is hiring 14,000 new IRS Agents to enforce this NOT an expansion of government?
3. How can you be considered a “child” for the sake of health care until you are 26 years old?
4. How is forcing everyone to buy something constitutional?
5. How could there be no tort reform in this? 

If they respond “you’re just asking that because he’s black,” then respond with, “you’re just saying it because I’m hot.”
Then take their wallet.
Say you’re “spreading the wealth around.”

Through the Psalms: Psalm 54

Psalm 54 is a short psalm about David's afflictions, and Henry Law's commentary on it is rich with gems of wisdom and insight.  On verses 4 and 5 he comments:

Distresses rather brighten than extinguish faith. They open the door for its expanded exercise, and in its exercise it recruits its strength. Unless it be brought to trial its existence might be doubted. We often pray, O Lord, increase our faith. The answer may be an accumulation of distress. Such is David's case in this crisis of his life. The treachery of false friends pierced him to the heart. But they led him to feel that he had a friend who could never fail, and amid his fears he firmly realizes, "God is mine helper." This truth, when tightly grasped, raises us victorious above desertion and betrayal...Strong is the little band of whom it may be truly said, The Lord is with them.

This reminds me of the John Newton hymn that our worship team sang during the offertory yesterday in church:

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace
Might more of His salvation know
And seek more earnestly His face

Twas He who taught me thus to pray
And He I trust has answered prayer
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He'd answer my request
And by His love's constraining power
Subdue my sins and give me rest

Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part

Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Cast out my feelings, laid me low

Lord why is this, I trembling cried
Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?
"Tis in this way" The Lord replied
"I answer prayer for grace and faith"

"These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou mayest seek thy all in me,
That thou mayest seek thy all in me."

Verbum Satis Sapienti Est*

Here's a little friendly advice for you students out there.  If you are absent from a class, upon your return, don't ask your teacher, "Did I miss anything?"  If she is anything like me, she'll nearly sever her tongue to keep from saying, "No, we put every thing on pause and just killed some time until you returned."  You should assume that if you missed class, you missed something important.  After all, if it weren't important, your teacher wouldn't have used time and energy to prepare and to present.  A better question to ask is, "What did I miss, and what do I need to do to catch up?"  


*A word to the wise is sufficient.

Through the Psalms: Psalm 53

Psalm 53 is a tough one.  It's not a warm and fuzzy psalm that you'll turn to for comfort in a trial.  Here's Henry Law:

The godless cherish the delusion that there is no being greater than themselves. Their conceit ignores divine supremacy, and scorns to yield to a superior yoke. Such men exist in fearful numbers. The faithful Word declares it, and truly adds that they are fools. They may pride themselves in imagined wisdom, but their real place is in the depths of ignorance. Their light is darkness: their boasted knowledge is extremest folly. It follows that atheism in heart is wickedness in life.

And lest we get smug thinking that doesn't describe us, think again.  It's the starting point of us all.

If the above description of an unbeliever sounds harsh, consider this from Anthony Selvaggio's The Prophets Speak of Him:

We too often wrongly think that those who are not serving Christ are in some neutral category. The Bible has only two categories: those who are subjects of Christ and those who are enemies of Christ. The scary thing is that we are all born as his enemies: 'Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath' (Eph. 2:3). The only way we can cease being an enemy of Christ is by becoming reconciled to him through his death, by believing in him.

If you've been reconciled to him through his death, you've got something to be thankful for today, don't you?  Think today on just what we've been rescued from!  We've been saved from our own folly, our own rebellion, our own blindness.  I thank God -- through Jesus Christ my Lord!

Through the Psalms: Psalm 52

In Psalm 52, David expresses confidence in the midst of trials and betrayal.  Henry Law comments on verse 1:

Deep is the malignity of the heart which the Spirit has not softened. To plot mischief is most vile: but it rests not in devising evil; it delights in its sin, and vauntingly exults in its shame. How vain is this pride! It checks not the operations of God's goodness. This attribute will ever live while God lives, and will ever be His people's shield. Child of God, believe this and fear not.

David believed this and the psalm ends with a doxology. May our own worries and anxieties be handled like his. May we turn to God, pour out our hearts, recognize His attributes, and confidently praise Him.

Read It & Weep

Don't miss 20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms.  (Hat tip: Powerline)

Remember in November.

Quote 2 of the Day

From Phyllis Schlafly:

Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat. If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn't willfully align themselves with the Party of Death.

Quote of the Day

From Rep. Paul Ryan in February's Imprimis newsletter:

Under the terms of our Constitution, every individual has the right to care for their health, just as they have a right to eat. These rights are integral to our natural right to life -- and it is government's chief purpose to secure our natural rights. But the right to care for one's health does not imply that government must provide health care, any more than our right to eat, in order to live, requires government to own the farms and raise the crops.

If you're not already subscribing (it's free!) to Hillsdale College's excellent Imprimis newsletter, you should do it today.

Quote of the Day

From C.S. Lewis:

The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.

Miscellany

Spring break from my paying job is wrapping up this weekend, and as you can see, I didn't spend my break blogging!  No, mostly I vacuumed up sheetrock and dusted (thanks to our bathroom remodel), did reading for homeschool, cooked, vacuumed up sheetrock and dusted, gardened a little, vacuumed up sheetrock and dusted, and caught up on some projects around here.  I also made a big list of THINGS WE HAVE TO DO BEFORE WE MOVE. We have about 3 months left here, and we've got more than 3 months worth of tasks to do before we can leave.

As soon as everyone is awake around here this morning, I'm going to vacuum up sheetrock and dust again, but this time it might not be an exercise in futility because the sheetrocking has been finished and painting starts later today.

Here are a few links and thoughts that I've collected this week:

~ This healthcare debacle that's not really about healthcare is a trainwreck that I can't stop watching.  I've emailed all the folks I can think to email.  Calling anyone in Hawaii is a waste of time because these politicians would blindly support the president if he wanted to give Hawaii away to Iran.  Don't miss this Fred Barnes piece.  Here's a bit of it:

America will be in a constant health-care war if ObamaCare is enacted. Passage wouldn't end the health-care debate. Rather, it would perpetuate ObamaCare as the dominant issue for decades to come, reshape politics, create an annual funding crisis in Congress, and generate a spate of angry lawsuits. Yet few in Washington seem aware of what lies ahead.

However the voting turns out this weekend, we can look forward to this issue being front and center for generations.  And just remember, it's NOT about healthcare.   It's about a growing federal government and the re-making of our country according to the left's agenda.

~ I'm reading The Blind Side this week, and it's hard to put down.  I've been a football fan since I was a toddler going to high school games with my dad, so I'm enjoying this mix of a good story about good people helping someone along with the intricacies of football and how it's changed through the years.  I'll be watching offensive lines more closely this next football season

~ I came across a game that has me slightly addicted.  It's a word game, so I do feel like I'm using my brain when I play it.  If you have an iPhone or an iTouch, check out Words With Friends.  They have a free app, but it comes with some really yucky ads, so I upgraded to the $2.99 one that is ad-free.  You can play people you know or start games with random folks.  I've had fun playing with my kids.  If you want to play me, I'm annepm.

~ Another way cool app I found this week is the English Standard Version of the Bible.  It's FREE!  And it's easy to navigate.

~ I tried a couple of new recipes this week, and this Pasta with Zesty Pecan Sauce from the March issue of Southern Living was so good that after making it on Monday, I'm still thinking about it on Friday.

~ I previewed an excellent DVD yesterday from Focus on the Family -- The Toughest Test In College.  I'm sitting the whole PalmFamily down soon to watch it together.  It's about the temptations Christian teens face when they go off to college and how to be prepared to fight that battle.  I recommend the DVD, and even though we've had discussions about this in our home many times, it's a good resource that will provoke more conversation and thought.

~ We have our orders to Rome and a tentative date for departure from Hawaii.  Still, it's hard for me to believe this is really happening.  So much has to be done to arrange the move, get our house ready to rent, and wrap up our life here.  The PalmFamily is about to undergo some life-changing events with PalmBoy going off to school while we move to Europe.  As ever, I'd appreciate your prayers.

Now, I'm going to go grab my good friend, Dyson,  from the closet, and put him to work.  Happy Friday.

Through the Psalms: Psalm 51

Oh, how many times I've prayed and read Psalm 51, the go-to Psalm of confession and restoration.  And I know the words to the song, "Create In Me a Clean Heart" by heart.  The psalm is all at once well-known by me, yet easily forgotten.  Just this morning as I read it along with Henry Law's commentary, I came across something I don't think I've ever thought of before.  At the end of the Psalm, David asks God to do good to His people.  Henry Law:

The penitent cannot conclude without embracing the whole Church in his fervent prayer; he supplicates mercy for his beloved Zion, and protection from all her foes. Safe in the loving-kindness of her God, her altars will blaze, the victims will die in countless numbers, the blood will flow in constant stream; but it will not be a mere superabundance of outward rites. In all Christ is seen. Christ is magnified. Christ is honoured. Christ is All.

Repentance leads to praise and more prayers -- prayers for the Church, Christ's bride.  That's something to think about today.

Quote of the Day

In church on Sunday, our congregation recited together the answers to Questions 27 and 28 of the Heidelberg Catechism.  They're worth further reflection: (emphasis mine)

Question 27. What dost thou mean by the providence of God?

Answer: The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but be his fatherly hand.

Question 28. What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by his providence does still uphold all things?

Answer: That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from his love; since all creatures are so in his hand, that without his will they cannot so much as move.

Giggle of the Day

To commemorate the Ides of March, I'd like to direct you to this post from 2008.  It still cracks me up.

Through the Psalms: Psalm 50

The theme of Psalm 50 is God's judgment, and He warns His people against thinking that their works will save them.  Henry Law comments on verses 8-13:

How vain is all dependence on external service! As aids to faith all outward rites are valuable, but it is the vanity of vanities to dream that by such observance we make God our debtor. The universe and all which the universe contains is His created property. In all our offerings we only bring Him His own. Let us never fancy that there is merit in most costly rites. When we bring our best to Him we give no satisfaction to His justice, or make atonement to His outraged Law. In Christ - in Christ along - satisfaction resides. Let us bring Him always in the arms of our faith, and plead for mercy only for His sake.

Quote of the Day

Today in our worship service, we recited the answer to Question 26 of the Heidelberg Catechism.  Here is the question and answer: (emphasis mine)

Question 26. What believest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"?

Answer: That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.

Perspective

Today I finished my reading of Psalm 49, and I came across a verse that I might have just breezed over if we were not in the middle of a bathroom remodeling project that has us down to one bathroom for the four of us.  The psalm is like Proverbs in its description of a fool, and here's the verse that really makes me think:

Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations...

What folly to think that material things will last forever, and how tempting to make material things a priority in this life.  Each decision we make on what kind of tile or tub or vanity is much less important than the way we treat each other and love each other and live out the gospel.  I really needed that reminder as I grumble and complain about all the dust covering every surface in our home as sheetrock is ripped out and concrete is jack-hammered.  Father, make me grateful and humble, and make my inner thoughts rightly focused on what does last forever.

(photo courtesy of PalmBoy -- As you can see, some things really shouldn't last forever.  I'm very grateful to see the blue tub & toilet out of our home.  :-) )

Through the Psalms: Psalm 49

I've gotten behind in posting again, so I'm just picking up where I am today in my reading through the Psalms with the aid of Henry Law's Daily Prayer and Praise.  Today I read verses 1-9 of Psalm 49, and in his explanation of verses 6-9 and the futility of trusting in wealth, he gives this reminder of the gospel: (emphasis mine)

A glorious parenthesis is here inserted. It casts a ray of joy over a saddening truth. It speaks of redemption, and tells us that it requires vast price. Here the blessed Gospel brightly shines. We bless our dying Jesus, our curse-removing Lord, our death-enduring Substitute, that He has accomplished redemption. It was bought by a precious price -- even by the price of His own blood -- which had infinite efficacy because of His essential deity. It out-valued all the silver and the gold which earth ever produced. It outweighed all treasures. By it every attribute of God is satisfied, and magnified, and glorified. Let us, too, be satisfied with it.

So I ask myself, what am I trusting in today?  What about you?   Is it in anything other than "our dying Jesus, our curse-removing Lord"?