Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

" ... O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name ... provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake!" ( Psalm 79:9 ). Beyond our salvation, there is God's glory. When we think about Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin, we must not think only of the "for us" blessing - the forgiveness of our sins. We must also think of the "for God" character of the atonement which has been provided for us by God. We rejoice in the forgiveness of our sins.  We also rejoice in this: God's holiness is proclaimed in the death of Christ for sinners. We may think first of the blessing that has come to us through the the shedding of Christ's precious blood. Scripture speaks first of the "for God" character of the atonement - God is "just" - before speaking of the "for us" blessing - God is "the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" ( Romans 3:26 ).

Psalm 118:19-29  God is calling us to praise Him.  * “I will praise the Lord” (Psalm 118:20).  * “I will praise You” (Psalm 118:21).  * “You are my God, and I will praise You” (Psalm 118:28). Praise is more than words that we sing in church. Our whole life is to be full of praise to God. We come to the Lord’s Table to receive forgiveness from Him. We go from the Lord’s Table to share His forgiveness with others.  * “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12),  * “Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).  * How many times should I forgive my brother? - “As many as seven?” “Seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). If we’re still counting, we’ve missed the point!  * “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34). Thank God that Jesus prayed this prayer for every one of us. Let it shape our attitudes and actions towards one another. ...

Psalm 24:1-10 “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3) - That’s Jesus. “He will receive a blessing from the Lord” (Psalm 24:5). How do we receive this blessing? We must receive it through Jesus. We must open our hearts to “the King of glory” (Psalm 24:7,9). He will lead us on to “the mountain of the Lord”, to “His holy place” (Psalm 24:3).

Psalm 40:1-3 The sinner becomes the singer, the servant and the soul winner.  * “a desolate pit”, “the muddy clay” - This is our sin. We bring our sin to the Saviour.  * “a new song” - This is our song of salvation. This is the song that our Saviour has given to us.  * “Many will see...” We do not sing for ourselves. We do not live for ourselves. We live for the Lord. We are to win people for Him. Before a song can be a song of praise, it must be a song of salvation. We praise God because He has saved us.

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).  An unshakeable faith – What does this mean? Is my faith ever an unshakeable faith? No! It’s not. Is my Saviour an unshakeable Saviour? Yes! He is. Our faith is often shaken. Our Saviour is never shaken.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Our strength comes from the Lord. In ourselves, we are weak. In Him, we are strong.

The Lord, our God, is “King of the whole earth. He rules the nations” (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:7-9). The Lord is great. He is “the great King” (Psalm 48:14). The Lord does not remain detached from us in isolated heavenly glory. He comes to us as the God of our salvation - “God will buy me back from the power of hell” (Psalm 49:15). By His Word, spoken to us and acted out on our behalf, God involves Himself with us as our Saviour. He is not a God who keeps His distance from us - “Our God will come.” He is not a God who keeps His silence - “and will not be silent” (Psalm 50:3). This God comes to us with His promise of salvation - “Call on Me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honour Me” (Psalm 50:15). Along with this promise of salvation comes God’s call to live in faith and obedience: “Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:15). To those who walk in His way, the Lord promises His blessing: “Whoever offers thanks as a sacr...

"Let Your blessings reach me, O Lord. Save me as You promised" (Psalm 119:41). We count our blessings. We name them on by one - and it surprises us what the Lord has done for us. None of our many blessings can even begin to compare with the greatest blessing of all - salvation. When we thank God for His many blessings, may we never forget to thank Him for His greatest blessing - our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 93:1-5 “The Lord reigns”  - “majesty”, “strength” (Psalm 93:1). He is the eternal God (Psalm 93:2). He speaks to us. His Word is true, holy and eternal (Psalm 93:5).

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord.’ Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem” ( Psalm 122:2 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord! In life’s many trying times, we are put to the test – Will we stand? Will we fall? * Standing – in the house of the Lord! Let’s never imagine that we can stand in our own strength – “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” ( 1 Corinthians 10:12 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord: We stand when we put our trust in the Lord. We stand when we build our life on Him.

Why? Why? Why? - Even when we don’t understand, we can still say, ‘My help comes from the Lord’ (Psalm 121:2).

"You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You" (Psalm 86:5). Sometimes, we contrast 'the God of the Old Testament' and 'the God of the New Testament.'  We speak about 'the God of law' and 'the God of love.' If we think that 'love' only began with the start of the New Testament, we need to read God's Word more carefully. Here, we are in the Old Testament. What do we find? We find love - the love of God, the God of love.

Divine grace - “But He is compassionate. He forgave their sin. He did not destroy them. He restrained His anger many times. He did not display all of His fury” (Psalm 78:38) - and human sin - “How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness! How often they caused Him grief in the desert! Again and again, they tested God and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit. They did not remember His power... “ (Psalm 78:40-43): This is the story of human history. When God’s love is thrown back at Him by persistently rebellious sinners, there will be divine judgment - “They tested God Most High and rebelled against Him... When God heard, He became furious... “ (Psalm 78:56-64). Where God is angry, it can lead to restoration - “ ...He struck His enemies from behind He built His holy place to be like the high heavens ... He chose His servant David... ” (Psalm 78:65-72).

Jesus Christ – the great King ( Psalm 24:8–10 ) “Who is this great King?” ( Psalm 24:8 , 10 ) The Psalmist tells us – “He is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, victorious in battle … The triumphant Lord – He is the great King!” (vs. 8, 10). When we turn to the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is the great King. Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is strong and mighty. Jesus is victorious in battle. Jesus is the triumphant Lord. Jesus Christ is the Name which jumps out at us from the first chapter of Ephesians. Everything is centred upon Christ.

Blessed by the God of love, called to be “His people, the flock of His pasture”we “praise” Him and “give thanks” to Him (Psalm 79:13). He is our “Shepherd” (Psalm 80:1). He restores our soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake (Psalm 23). He is “our Strength.” In Him, we rejoice with true happiness (Psalm 81:1). “All the nations” belong to the Lord (Psalm 82:8). He is “the Most High God of the whole earth” (Psalm 83:18). Those who know the Lord as their Shepherd and their Strength, the One who “saves” (Psalm 80:19) and “satisfies” (Psalm 81:16), are to pray and work, with the goal of bringing others to the knowledge of Him.

“God is known in Judah. His name is great in Israel... What god is as great as our God” (Psalm 76:1; Psalm 77:13). God is great. He’s greater than we can put into words, or even imagine. As we think of the greatness of God, we worship Him, singing, “How great Thou art”, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” To the Lord be all glory for all that He is, all that He has done for us, and all that He says to us.

Psalm 23:1-6 Sometimes, we nibble at our food. We don’t feel like eating. We’re off-colour. Often, Lord, we’re like that with Your Word. We could be enjoying a feast – but we’re not! We’re too easily satisfied. There’s no real hungering and thirsting for Your life-giving Word. Lord, give us more hunger for You. Fill us with a deeper desire for Your presence and Your blessing. Help us to feast on Your Word – the Word of life, the Word which we need so much, the Word which leads us into all the blessing that You want so much to give to us.

Psalm 25:1-22 Knowing You, Lord, is more important than knowing a lot about this, that and the other subject. Where does the best education come from? It comes from You. You teach us about the things that really matter. You teach us about eternal things. You teach us what life is really all about. You are “the God of our salvation.” You “lead us in Your truth” – the truth that changes us, the truth which inspires us to become all that You want us to be (Psalm 25:5).

Psalm 17:1-15 Lord, we long for a closer walk with You. Sometimes, Lord, we take our eyes off Jesus, our Saviour – and we wander far away from You. Always, You are calling us back to Yourself. In love, You wait for us to return to You. You call us to make a new beginning with You.

In Psalms 73-75, there is inner turmoil, as the Psalmist wonders what to make of the success of the wicked who oppose the Lord and His people. There are times of great confusion - “But when I tried to understand this, it was too difficult for me” (Psalm 73:16). There are times when the Psalmist is on the edge of despair - “Why, O God, have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoulder against the sheep in Your care? ... How long, O God, will the enemy insult us? Will the enemy despise You forever?” (Psalm 74:1,10). Despite all that runs counter to God, the Psalmist remains strong in faith. He triumphs over all that opposes the purpose of God in his life - “God remains the foundation of my life and my inheritance forever ... From long ago, God has been my King, the One who has been victorious throughout the earth ... We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks. You are present, and Your miracles confirm that ... I will speak about Your miracles forever. I will make music to pr...