The Bible Companion Series
The Christian's Devotional
"Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."
Psalm 150:6
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
A Bible-Believing Study Guide
By Craig A. Ledbetter, B.A., Th.G.
Bible Baptist Church
29 Westcourt Heights
Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
Tel: (021) 4875142
E-Mail: craigled@indigo.ie
Web: www.biblebc.com
(c) 1999, 2000 Craig Ledbetter
Any portion, including the whole of this text may be reproduced without the permission of the author, as long as credit is given for its source (Romans 13:7)!
TOC \o "1-2" Table Of Contents....................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749958 \h 2
Study Introduction.................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749959 \h 5
Psalm 1................................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749960 \h 9
The Blessed Man........................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749961 \h 9
Psalm 2.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749962 \h 12
The Heathen Man......................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749963 \h 12
Psalm 3.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749964 \h 15
The Troubled Man..................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749965 \h 15
Psalm 4.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749966 \h 17
The Discouraged Man............................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749967 \h 17
Psalm 5.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749968 \h 19
The Serious Saint....................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749969 \h 19
Psalm 6.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749970 \h 21
The Weak Saint............................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749971 \h 21
Psalm 7.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749972 \h 22
A Christian's Confidence...................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749973 \h 22
Psalm 8.............................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749974 \h 23
The Excellency of Our Lord............................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749975 \h 23
Psalm 10............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749976 \h 25
Perceptions.................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749977 \h 25
Psalm 11............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749978 \h 27
Why Stay Put?............................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749979 \h 27
Psalm 12............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749980 \h 29
The Godly Man............................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749981 \h 29
Psalm 13............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749982 \h 32
Silent Again.................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749983 \h 32
Psalm 14............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749984 \h 34
The Fool......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749985 \h 34
Psalm 15............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749986 \h 38
Character Defined.................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749987 \h 38
Psalm 15............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749988 \h 41
The Kind of Christian God is Looking For.................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62749989 \h 41
Psalm 16............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749990 \h 44
Cry of Confidence.................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749991 \h 44
Psalm 17............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749992 \h 47
Praying Against the Enemy................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749993 \h 47
Psalm 18............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749994 \h 49
Pursuing Your Enemies........................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749995 \h 49
Psalm 19............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749996 \h 52
The Glory of God...................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62749997 \h 52
Psalm 20............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749998 \h 56
Christ's Intercessory Prayer............................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62749999 \h 56
Psalm 21............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750000 \h 58
Psalm 22............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750001 \h 59
Jesus on the Cross................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750002 \h 59
Psalm 23............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750003 \h 65
The Work of the Shepherd..................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750004 \h 65
Psalm 24............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750005 \h 71
The Returning Shepherd.......................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750006 \h 71
Psalm 25............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750007 \h 73
Lifting Up My Soul.................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750008 \h 73
Psalm 26............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750009 \h 76
Judge Me......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750010 \h 76
Psalm 27............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750011 \h 78
Handling Fear.............................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62750012 \h 78
Psalm 28............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750013 \h 80
Earnest Prayer............................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750014 \h 80
Psalm 29............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750015 \h 83
The Mighty Voice of the Lord............................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750016 \h 83
Psalm 30............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750017 \h 86
Why Extol the Lord................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62750018 \h 86
Psalm 31............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750019 \h 88
Sweet Surrender........................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750020 \h 88
Psalm 32............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750021 \h 92
The Blessings of Salvation................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc62750022 \h 92
Psalm 32............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750023 \h 94
The Joys of Biblical Christianity................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750024 \h 94
Psalm 33............................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750025 \h 96
The Beauty of Praise................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750026 \h 96
Psalm 34.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750027 \h 100
God is So Good!....................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750028 \h 100
Psalm 34.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750029 \h 103
How to Glorify the Lord................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750030 \h 103
Psalm 35.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750031 \h 107
Our Advocate............................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750032 \h 107
Psalm 36.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750033 \h 110
Psalm 37.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750034 \h 111
The Seven Steps of a Good Man........................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750035 \h 111
Psalm 38.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750036 \h 115
The Wages of Sin...................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750037 \h 115
Psalm 39.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750038 \h 117
Learning How Frail I Am...................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750039 \h 117
Psalm 40.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750040 \h 120
Testimony of a Great Sinner’s Salvation................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750041 \h 120
The Four Necessary Testimonies of a Christian..................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750042 \h 124
Psalm 40.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750043 \h 124
Psalm 41.......................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750044 \h 128
Considering the Poor........................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc62750045 \h 128
Summary Questions................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc62750046 \h 132
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
styleref "StudyThemeName" The Christian's Devotional
Focus Verses: Psalm 150:6; Col 3:16; Eph 5:19
A. The Title of the Book.
1. The name of this book in the Hebrew is "The Book of Praises." The English word "Psalms" is from the New Testament (Col 3.16) and so would be translated "The Book of Songs."
2. It is part of the set of books called Wisdom Books - Books that create wisdom, and intelligence because they force you to THINK (i.e., Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, etc). Jesus refers to this entire section - which includes Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes - as simply "the psalms" in Luke 24:44.
3. It is THE devotional book for the saints of all time. It is the repository, the castle, the bomb shelter, the supply centre, ant the hospital to which they repair when wounded and bleeding, crushed by the world, the flesh, or the devil. The Psalms have plenty of doctrinal meat in them, as we shall see. However, they are often aimed at the "heart," and this will be manifest very quickly.
B. Authors. Primarily David, but also Solomon, Moses, Asaph, Ethan, Heman, and the sons of Korah. These were all godly "singer-songwriters" unlike today's ones!
C. Its Placement. The most remarkable thing about the Psalms are their placement in the English Bible against the "original Hebrew" order, for in all the Hebrew Bibles, the Psalms follow Malachi instead of Job. The AV order gives:
1. 2 Chronicles for the dispersion of Israel (matching 70 A.D.)
2. Ezra for the regathering of Israel (matching 1918 A.D.)
3. Nehemiah for the rebuilding of Jerusalem (matching 1948 A.D.)
4. Esther, matching the marriage of the Lamb in Revelation 19:7
5. Then Job - on the ground in Uz, seven days and nights (matching the Tribulation). Job is the clearest type of the Jew going through the Great Tribulation found in either Testament
6. He is followed by "The Blessed Man" (Ps. 1) who is to reign over the "kings of the earth" (Ps. 2) as God's begotten Son. The order of the King James Bible is pre-millennial. The order of books in the "original" is not.
There is more material on the Second Coming of Christ in the Psalms than there is in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John combined
D. Its Style. The book of Psalms, as nearly all the wisdom books (Job-Song of Sol.), is written in Hebrew poetic form - i.e., like a song to be sung - with metre. Not like some of the other Scriptures:
1. Historical (Gen, Ex, Num, Deut, Josh, Judg, etc… Matthew - Acts)
2. Doctrinal - teaching, line upon line (Lev, Deut, Romans - Jude)
3. Prophetic (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc… Revelation)
4. Poetic - to be sung or read aloud - does not mean it is not to be taken literally, or believed as being the word of God (2Tim 3:16)
E. Date of Writing. The writing of the Psalms covers a very lengthy period of time in the history of the nation of Israel (1500 B.C. - 500 B.C.). Moses was probably the first Psalmist (and he may have been preceded by others), the Psalms extended through eleven centuries.
F. Its Theme - "Why and How to Worship the Lord"
1. The theme of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ. The Bible is like a Family Picture Album, full of pictures of God's Son!
2. Everything in the Bible points to Jesus Christ and his redemption of mankind at the cross. These are called "types" or "pictures." David, and the other authors instruct the Christian about:
a. Handling our enemies
b. Our Emotions
c. Our relationship with God
d. The greatness of our salvation
e. The steps of growth that leads to maturity for the Christian
f. The steps of decline that leads to defeat for the Christian
g. The heart and mind of Christ (Philp 2:5)
3. Prophetically, the Book of Psalms explains a lot about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ - as would be true in most books of the Bible! Repeatedly, over and over, the first and second coming of Jesus is mentioned and described in the same Psalm, as well as the Tribulation, and the Millennium.
4. Practically, it defines:
a. The spiritual nature of our hearts - not just from our minds, or chemicals interacting, or out of balance
b. The spiritual attack that Christians will encounter, and how to defeat them
c. The strength that is found in the presence of an Almighty and loving God
G. Its Importance and Significance.
1. Jesus sang from it
2. Referred to in Lk 20:42; 24:44; Act 1:20; 13:33; 1Cor 14:26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16)
3. David wrote it to be sung in the Temple, and in our Church
4. God meant it as the balm for the Christian's heart
II. Interesting Information.
A. Our English text contains 150 chapters, divided into 5 smaller books or sections. These five sections are:
1. Psalm 1 through Psalm 41
2. Psalm 42 through Psalm 72
3. Psalm 73 through Psalm 89
4. Psalm 90 through 106
5. Psalm 107 through Psalm 150
B. David's name is given as the author of seventy-three of the Psalms (almost half).
C. The book of Psalms contains (by far) the longest chapter in the Bible (Ps. 119), running 176 verses. It is not surprising to find that longest chapter in the book deals with the Book. Psalm 119 is about the "word of God" from start to finish, and it is written in "acrostic" form, with each section of eight verses beginning with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet; then every verse in the eight under that letter begin with the same letter. That is, the first eight verses all begin with "Aleph," the second eight verses all begin with "Beth," and so forth.
D. There are 101 quotations and references to statements made in the Book of Psalms, by the authors in the New Testament.[1] It is a highly referred to book for proof that Jesus is the Christ, for comfort, and stability.
A. Trusting The Lord (Psalms 1 - 41)
B. Ruin, Redeemer and Redemption (Psalm 42-72)
C. Fellowship and Walking With God (Psalm 73-89)
D. ________________ (Psalm 90 - 106) -
E. ________________ (Psalm 107 - 150)
A. What are We Going to Find in the Book of Psalms?
2. Real prayer - how to pray from the heart IN every situation, and get the answer
3. Information on
a. The heart of God
b. The anti-christ
c. The spiritual warfare between Christian and demonic forces
d. The way to worship from the heart
A. Name three authors of the Book of Psalms?
B. When was this Book written?
C. Give the THEME to this Book:
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
Focus Verse: Psalm 150:6 Lesson Verse: Psalm 1:1
A. The "Book of Praises" begins with "the happy man." Someone has correctly observed that
1. Job is the Unhappy Man
2. Psalms is the Happy Man
3. Proverbs is the Wise Man
4. Ecclesiastes is the Worldly Man
5. And the Song of Solomon is the Heavenly Man.
B. From Genesis 30:13 we learn that the word "blessed" means "happy"; however, it is well to leave the Authorized Version text as it stands here because pushing this matter will mess up a lot of verses. One cannot say, "Happy the Lord, O my soul," or "they happied the Lord," or "he returned and happied his household. " "Blessed" will do just fine
C. The word "blessed" signifies that we are dealing with what we call a "Beatitude" like you find in the Sermon on the Mount.
D. The hymn says, "trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus......
E. In the Old Testament the Psalms say that the way to happiness is to be found in a triplet:
1. Be careful where you WALK. Your walk today should be "in him" (Col. 2:6). We used to "walk" according to the way of the world.
2. Be careful where you STAND. Your stand should be "in the power of his might" (Eph. 6: 10). We used to stand against God
3. And be careful where you SIT. Your seat is "in heavenly places" (Eph. 2:6).
4. Note the negatives: "not in the counsel of the ungodly," not in the "way of sinners," and not in the "seat of the scornful. " The antidote to these is verse 2. If you do verse 2, you will not be found doing verse 1.
F. Note the three-part progress of sin.
1. You begin by taking advice from ungodly people ("counsel"),
2. Then you are in the "way" with them,
3. And then you wind up making fun of the Bible and God (see 2 Pet. 3:1-5). "Standing in the way" of sinners can mean not only being with them on a project (see Prov. 1: 10- 14), but also blocking their way from finding the truth.
G. To "delight in the law of the Lord" (1:2) is to esteem it more than your "necessary food" (according to Job 23:12) and to rejoice over it the same way you would rejoice at finding over 20,000 hundred Pound notes (Ps. 119:162).
1. To meditate "day and night" means to read it in the daytime and then think about it after the sun sets or the lights go out.
2. Requires memorisation (Ps 119:11)
3. Don't just study the beatitudes - good start - but the food is in learning even the Law (Gen - Deut) - See Ps 119:97-104
H. The things that go with the "blessed" man in the Old Testament are (1:3):
1. Good company - Christians with similar hearts
2. Good books (Gen.-Ruth).
3. Good fruit (3) - things that are blessings to others
4. Good success (3) - a life filled with good results, treasures in heaven
5. Good health - this is a promise to the Christian
6. Good thoughts (2) - clear conscience.
7. One may add; a good position (vs. 3), for he is "planted" in the right place - no longer searching and roaming around looking for his way (Cf Isa 53:6)!
I. The first three verses are matchmeets to Jeremiah 17:8.
1. "A tree planted" is one that God planted (see Mt 15:13). It is planted by "rivers of water" (see John 7:38), and that is why three things are true of this man:
a. He "bringeth forth his fruit in his season" ("instant in season, out of season," (2 Tim. 4:21).
b. His leaf "shall not wither,"' as the fig tree of Matthew 21:19, that dried up from the roots.
c. "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
2. This is because of the following principles/spiritual laws playing-out:
a. His roots would be deep and "spread out."
b. The heat would not affect his leaf.
c. He will have nothing to worry about when the drought comes (James 5:17-18).
d. He will yield the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) till he dies.
J. In Ps 1:4-6, the ungodly man is contrasted with the godly man. His kind are like "chaff," which is the worthless residue from threshed grain that is tossed up by the winnowing fan and blown away. Three things are true about them:
1. They shall not be able to "stand in the judgment," (i.e. they will fall down).
2. They will not appear in the "congregation of the righteous" (defined in Heb. 12:22,23).
3. Their way (and their ways) shall perish (see Ps. 49:12, 17-20).
K. Note personal righteousness versus personal ungodliness.
1. The righteous man here is righteous because of his conduct, not because of the imputed righteousness of a risen Saviour.
2. The ungodly man here is ungodly because of his "life style."
3. How you live your life DOES matter!
L. There are three qualities of the Holy Spirit mentioned in verse 3. First of all, His similarity to water as a purifying thirst quencher; secondly, His ability to bear fruit in the "branch"; and thirdly, His ability to prosper what a believer does.
III. Conclusion and Study Questions
A.
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
Focus Verse: Psalm 150:6 Lesson Verse: Psalm 2:4
A. The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is God's answer to the headaches and heartaches of life. Without it the Bible would not be complete - as a matter of fact, next to the Gospels, Psalms is probably the most read part of the Bible because of the reality and the promises found there!
B. Last lesson, we learned about the Blessed man, a happy man or woman!
C. This week we turn to the heathen – the unsaved, and see prophecy show up, and point our attention forward to the coming of the Messiah!
1. This is clearly a “Messianic” Psalm
2. The apostles (Acts 4:27) point out this Psalm applied to:
a) Pontius Pilate
b) Herod
c) The Gentiles – all the non-Jews
d) And all the Christ rejecting Jews
3. We will learn about Christ’s Second Coming more than the first here
A. The Heathen’s Rage - Why DO the heathen rage (Ps 2:1,2)?
1. Rage as in murder, and try and stamp out Christianity (Acts 7-9).
a) Note the anger – comes from not wanting God – not submitting
2. Why do the people imagine vain things?
a) Like that we don’t need God
b) Like that we can learn everything we need to know from science
c) Like that people can work out their own problems without God, or the Bible
d) Like that all this world needs to do is just “get together” and establish peace and justice, and we will bring in a new world order
3. The heathen have one goal – global unity (2:2; Zeph 3:8). To do it they must do the following:
a) Get rid of God – Out of the classrooms, and boardrooms, the bedrooms, and TV rooms, and the prison rooms, and the political rooms!
b) Get rid of God’s anointed – His Christ! Christmas is being deemed as offensive – swapped with Santa. Easter eggs and bunnies instead of an empty tomb!
c) Get rid of moral controls and restrictions on life and love – considers them like iron bands, and cords, binding them, and hindering them from “freedom”! People hate this Book!
d) There has been no greater freedom than enacted by Bible believing, and God fearing men and women in history!
e) Put up their OWN “christ”! An anti-Christ!
B. The Lord’s Laugh - God has His own feelings about the matter (2:3-9)
1. He has a great time watching the world come together under Satan
a) Calls them fools
b) About as worried about them as a B2 bomber is worried about a dust speck on his shoe!!!
2. All God has to do is speak a word, and it’s over down here (Ps 19:11-15,19-21) – no matter how many billions of people are against God, and His words!
3. God reveals more about this in Pr 1:26,27 – He is not pleased – angry
4. God is going to establish His OWN kingdom, with His OWN King on the throne
a) He does not seek to destroy, but to rule – be back as King of this world in contrast to the current “god” of this world (2:7,8; 2 Cor 4:3,4)
b) He proved that by the coming of Jesus the first time – as SON! Jesus was not ALWAYS a human Son. There was a day when He was BORN!
5. God will establish His kingdom – the Millennium by:
a) Breaking THEIR “bands”
b) Destroying their attempt like He has had to do:
1) In Noah’s day
2) At the tower of Babel
3) At Armageddon
C. The Smart Thing to Do (Ps 2:10-12)
1. Listen to some wise advice – from God’s word
2. Serve the Lord with both fear and JOY!
3. Godly fear is trembling, not just reverence!
4. Kiss the Son – great Him at His feet
5. Put all your trust in Him – He reigns!
III. Conclusion, and Study Questions
A.
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
Focus Verse: Psalm 150:6 Lesson Verse: Psalm 3:8
A. The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is God's answer to the headaches and heartaches of life. Without it the Bible would not be complete - as a matter of fact, next to the Gospels, Psalms is probably the most read part of the Bible because of the reality and the promises found there!
B. We have learned about the Blessed man, and then the Heathen Man!
C. This week we turn to the troubled man! We will visit this same theme over and over in the Book of Psalms, because it is a fact of life.
D. What is great about this Bible though is it not only shows us the feelings we are experiencing, but also the way through all the jungle of emotions
A. Background
1. Note the words above verse 1, “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absolom his son.”
2. Referring to events recorded in 2 Samuel 16,16)
3. David is having a run of “very bad luck” so-to-speak.
a) The results of his sin with Bathsheba is still haunting
b) Everyone was seemingly turning against him – even his own son, Absolom
c) David has had to flee his own kingdom
d) David has to figure out how he is going to get through. Been here before (Cf 1Sam 30:6)!
4. Every Christian has enemies. Some on purpose, some not on purpose.
5. But more importantly, Christians have made some very bad enemies of the principalities and powers – and those are the ones to prepare yourself for!
B. Some Great Principles about troubles (Ps 3:1,2):
1. Troubles are bad when people are involved – when it’s your car, or the electricity in your house that is troubling you, it is bad, but not as bad as when your friends turn against you, and your enemies mount up!
2. Troubles often increase, and get more severe – not the other way around!
3. You may not be wrestling against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12), but your enemies do!
4. The general consensus is that the Christian’s God is on vacation
C. The Christian’s response (Ps 3:3-8)
1. Trouble develops and leans upon our Relationship with Christ
a) One of great trust like a shield
b) Sweetness – it was David’s glory, his greatest joy
c) The Lord picks David up when he falls
d) The Lord hears every time David calls
2. Trouble meets head-on with the Christian's Rest
a) Nothing bothers him enough to rob him of any sleep (Ps 121:1,2)
b) He knows the Lord “sustains” him – holds him together, and will supply all he needs for each day (Mt 5; Philp 2)
c) He knows the Lord protects – even against 10,000 enemies
3. Trouble is the Christian's opportunity to Remember, go over God's promises, and faithfulness in the past
a) The Lord has always been there for me
b) The Lord has always defeated each of my enemies – the ones I have left to Him
c) Salvation/Deliverance comes only from God – best place to turn
III. Conclusions, and Study Questions
A.
A Survey of The Psalms - 1
Focus Verse: Psalm 150:6 Lesson Verse: Psalm 4:4
A. The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is God's answer to the headaches and heartaches of life. Without it the Bible would not be complete - as a matter of fact, next to the Gospels, Psalms is probably the most read part of the Bible because of the reality and the promises found there!
B. We have learned about the Blessed man, and then the Heathen Man!
C. This week we turn to the troubled man! We will visit this same theme over and over in the Book of Psalms, because it is a fact of life. There are about a dozen themes in Psalms that keep getting repeated - repetition is the mother of all learning!
D. What is great about this Bible though is it not only shows us the feelings we are experiencing, but also the way through all the jungle of emotions
E. We next turn to the Troubled Man. The guy in distress. Someone who has been shamed, and defeated. How does he or she respond?
A. Call upon the Lord
1. First for salvation (Rom 10:13). Don't waste time if you haven't been saved yet! Got the cart before the horse!
2. Then for everything - develop a closeness, where your first instinct is to pray, and lean upon the Lord instead of get mad, and give-up!!!
3. God always answers - sometimes, yes, maybe, and sometimes, no! Realise He knows what is best. Leave it as he sees it!!!
B. Ponder - Stop and sit still (Ps 46:10a). Use your head and heart together - a lost art these days, but the most healthy of activities!!!
1. Ponder the Goal of this world (Ps 4:1,2)
a) To change you back (Cf Rom 12:1,2)
b) To make everything the same - in the muck