Category Archives: Something from the Psalms

Psalm 85:10-12

Have you ever made a promise that you had no intention of keeping? I’m sure it’s something that we’ve all done, even if it’s just the reassurance that yes, of course we’ll keep in touch that we give to someone when you leave school, university, or change jobs. It’s often kinder to assure your colleagues that you’ll get together soon rather than saying well, you know what it’s like, we’re all so busy these days, and no doubt I’ll make new friends in my new job and I won’t have the time nor the inclination to meet up with you in the future. Often people understand that this promise won’t be kept and they have no intention of keeping it either. Other times, if a genuinely strong friendship has formed, it might be quite disappointing.

The good news is that, with God, we can be confident that he will keep his promises. In today’s verses we get the reassurance that the Lord will indeed give what is good. God listens to his people when we pray to him and he answers those prayers. He speaks to us through his word, the Bible, and he works in our lives through his Holy Spirit. He doesn’t abandon us to fend for ourselves, but he supports us, nourishes us, comforts us, loves us, provides for us, and, ultimately of course, he died for us. The promises that God makes his people, the promises that we find throughout the Bible, are promises that are kept.

In God, we find love and faithfulness entwined. God loves his people, and faithfully keeps his promises. God’s righteousness, his holiness and blamelessness, and his peace, his willingness to reach out to us and spare us his anger, are all facets of his character. As the psalmist reflects in this verse, if we are faithful to God, we can be sure that God in his righteousness looks down from heaven at us. It is because of God’s character that we can have confidence in the promises that he makes us.

Give thanks to God today for who he is, for his love and faithfulness, for his righteousness and peace. And give thanks today that God listens to his people and answers our prayers!

Psalm 85:8

Sometimes I struggle with listening. You’d think that it was a fairly basic skill, but for some reason, I can be really bad at it. This is particularly true when I meet people for the first time and they tell me their name. I hear their response, but it just doesn’t seem to register, and consequently I finish the conversation and have no idea what they’re called. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I’m sure there are many of us who could do with improving our listening skills!

Listening to God is something that I’m sure even more of us struggle with. We might talk to God, we might sing to him in church, and we might pray to him, but listening is something else entirely. The Psalmist in today’s verse, though, is insistent that he will listen to God. He knows that the message that God has is well worth listening to. God promises peace to his people. If we join God’s faithful servants and strive to follow God, he offers us peace, an end to the ongoing war that we wage with God if we turn our backs on him. We just need to listen!

How do we hear God speak to us? I personally believe that the most significant way God talks to us is through his word in the Bible. Whenever I have felt God’s presence the most strongly, whenever I have known he is speaking to me, it has been through a verse or passage of scripture. That might be when I read the Bible in a quiet time, or when I hear the Bible read at church, when a verse pops unexpectedly into my mind, or when I’m listening to a scriptural song. This is why for me it is vital that we seek to immerse ourselves in scripture. If we don’t read, study and reflect on God’s word, we miss out on a major opportunity for God to speak to us.

The psalmist also warns us in this verse not to turn to folly, the ways that we followed before we repented and gave our lives to following Christ. When we repent we promise to live our lives in a way that is worthy of being followers of Christ, to strive to be like him. We promise to turn from our old ways. We might be saved but we should strive to live our lives in a pure and blameless way that honours Christ. How can we be sure that we’re doing this? By listening to God, reading the Bible and reflecting on his word.

The best way to be sure we listen to God is to get into the habit of studying the Bible every day. Why not strive to do this in the weeks and months ahead? Crossring publishes a Daily Reflection each weekday. Why not stop by each day and reflect with us on our daily passage of scripture? We’d love you to post your own thoughts and reflections with each Reflection so that we can share and learn together!

Psalm 145:9

As a teacher, marking work is a significant part of my job. Particularly when I’m marking the work of my GCSE and A Level students, I try my hardest to be fair and even handed in the marks I give. This still doesn’t stop pupils complaining when they get their work back. How come he got an A1 and I only got a B2, they might say? It’s not fair! You just don’t like me, do you, sir?! When a student adopts that attitude it’s pointless arguing; you just have to explain why their work got the mark it did, and help them to improve next time. They still think, though, that the mark you’ve given them is based on how much you like them!

It’s surprising how many people think this way about God. God wouldn’t like me, they say, because I don’t go to church. I never pray, so I’m sure God isn’t bothered with me. Some people even take misfortunes as a sign that God doesn’t like them.

Today’s verse, though, is explicit. God is good to all. He has compassion on all he has made. We might worry about whether we’re a good Christian or not. Non-Christians might pin bad luck in their life as evidence that God doesn’t like them. The Psalmist is in no doubt at all, however, that God’s love stretches to every person who lives, who has lived, and who will live, on this planet. He loves us all and sent Jesus to save us all. Whether we accept that love, and how we respond to it, is up to us. We can embrace God’s love and strive to love him in return, or we can turn our back on him.

God’s love is universal. Some may not recognise that love, some might reject it, but it is there for everyone.

Give thanks today that we have a loving and compassionate God who loves us all, n matter who we are or what we have done. And rejoice that we do not have to earn God’s love because it is freely given.

Psalm 105:1

Sometimes I can get a little overexcited. I suspect if you asked my wife she’d tell you that that’s a bit of an understatement! If something wonderful happens, I have to tell everyone about it. In fact, I won’t shut up; I have to tell everyone in sight. If I’m given a present, or someone does something for me, especially if it’s unexpected, I can get very excited about it indeed. At times like these, my excitement truly knows no bounds. Perhaps you’re a little like me? Maybe you get excited by the kindness and generosity of other people?

In today’s verse, the Psalmist tells us all that we should praise God, proclaim his name, and tell everyone what he has done. I wonder how many of us who get excited by the kindness of other people get similarly excited by what God does for us? God, of course, has given us immeasurably more than any of our friends could. He made us in his own image. He gave us a wonderful, beautiful planet to live on. He sent his son to teach us and to die in our place. He sends his Spirit to work in our lives. He loves us, listens to us, and cares for us. He gives us hope for the future, a future in heaven, free of evil, death and suffering.

And yet how many of us are excited about this? How many of us praise him and proclaim his name? Do we make telling others about the wondrous things God has done for us a priority?

Getting excited by things others do for us seems to come naturally, but to so many Christians, praising God and proclaiming his name doesn’t. Praising God often feels like a commitment, something that we have to do out of necessity. Yet it really shouldn’t be like that. The joy of knowing God should just spill out of us without a second thought.

I wonder why it doesn’t? Perhaps it’s because we’ve become immune to God’s grace, it’s just something we’ve come to accept and take for granted. Perhaps it’s because we don’t stop and marvel at what God has done for us enough. Perhaps we feel shy or embarrassed. Whatever the reason, it shouldn’t be like this.

Let’s strive to live by this verse day by day. Let’s reflect anew on God’s love and grace. Perhaps even write a list of the blessings God has bestowed on you recently. But let’s make sure we’re not immune to grace, that we don’t take it for granted. Let’s get excited about God’s love!