The Phil Files

Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    worship the LORD in the splendor of his 1 holiness.

  The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
  The voice of the LORD is powerful;
    the voice of the LORD is majestic.
  The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
    the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
  He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
  Sirion like a young wild ox.
  The voice of the LORD strikes
    with flashes of lightning.
  The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
    the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
  The voice of the LORD twists the oaks 3
    and strips the forests bare.
  And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

  The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
    the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
  The LORD gives strength to his people;
    the LORD blesses his people with peace.

\o/ — Comments Psalm 29: The LORD blesses his people with peace! — \o/

Having spent the last week in a part of the country where floods have raged, lightning has sent it’s jagged crackles of electricity across the sky, thunder has rolled across the heavens, and torrential rains have caused flooding, this is a welcome and challenging psalm.

Like the psalmist, I’m reminded of the LORD’s indescribable power and my small place in the universe by such a massive display of natural power. Knowing God’s power if infinitely greater than these limited, but overwhelming displays of power, is both astounding and at the same time comforting. Clearly, I cannot control my own destiny. In the face of natural power, I am small and insignificant. Yet, the LORD chooses to know me and care about me and include me in His people. Because of this grace from the LORD, the LORD who sits enthroned above the flood, the LORD who is enthroned as King forever, I can trust that He will give me the strength I need and the peace I crave.

To this God, the only true and living God, belongs all glory, honor, and praise!

Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
    listen to my cry.
  Hear my prayer—
    it does not rise from deceitful lips.
  Let my vindication come from you;
    may your eyes see what is right.
  Though you probe my heart,
    though you examine me at night and test me,
  you will find that I have planned no evil;
    my mouth has not transgressed.
  Though people tried to bribe me,
    I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
    through what your lips have commanded.
  My steps have held to your paths;
    my feet have not stumbled.

  I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
    turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
  Show me the wonders of your great love,
    you who save by your right hand
    those who take refuge in you from their foes.
  Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings
  from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
    from my mortal enemies who surround me.

  They close up their callous hearts,
    and their mouths speak with arrogance.
  They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
    with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
  They are like a lion hungry for prey,
    like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

  Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down;
    with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
  By your hand save me from such people, LORD,
    from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
  May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
    may their children gorge themselves on it,
    may there be leftovers for their little ones.

  As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
    when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

\o/ — Comments Psalm 17: When I awake!! — \o/

I am not a good sleeper — never have been and don’t know if I ever will be! However, one of the blessings of reading through the psalms has been the obvious concern for God’s work in our lives while we sleep.

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the LORD sustains me! (Psalm 3)

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD,
make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16)

Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find …
… when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (Psalm 17)

… weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30)

Several months ago I felt called to pray for the Lord to minister to me and to my family while we slept. Things were in a tough place for me and I wasn’t sleeping. Sometimes, when I finally go to sleep, I would have nightmares that would awaken me. I knew I needed the Lord’s help.

I had already noticed that when it came to preaching and teaching, I would often awaken with a clear message to share with God’s people after going to sleep wrestling with Scripture, but not knowing quite how to present it. If the Father graced me with this blessing, then I wondered what else He might do to bless me and shape me while I slept?

As I read through the Bible with this in mind, I suddenly began to see the “night shift work” that the Lord did in the lives of His people. Why not pray for Him to be active in my heart and soul while I sleep? Why not ask for His comfort, healing, wisdom, discernment, clarification, leading, and conviction to come from His work in me while my body slept?

I discovered that the collection of the Psalms goes over this theme of the Lord’s presence, protection, and blessing during our sleep several times. Far more than the words of children’s lullabies or rote bedtime prayers, the LORD’s protection while we sleep is just part of His watchful care and consistent molding of our character as we pray ourselves to sleep and into His presence each night.

Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

  I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
  I say of the godly who are in the land,
    “They are the noble people
    in whom is all my delight.”
  Those who run after other gods
    will suffer more and more.
  I will not pour out their libations of blood
    or take up their names on my lips.

  LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
    you have made my lot secure.
  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

  I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
  I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
  because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful 2 one see decay.
  You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

\o/ — Comments Psalm 16: Apart from You I have no good thing — \o/

Simple, sweet, and succinct.

The LORD is my safety and refuge.
The LORD is my source of every good thing.
The LORD has caused my life to be lived in the place of blessing.
The LORD blesses me with His presence and eternal pleasures at His side.

So, my response is to praise the LORD and to anticipate His glorious future … which by grace includes me!