My Heart is Overflowing with a Good Theme…

 

 Intro to Psalm 45 by John Courson…

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.

“Shoshannim means “lilies,” which seems to indicate this was a springtime psalm dealing with the Passover season. It’s a beautiful love song about a mighty king and his passionate love for a queen. Many commentators believe it was a psalm written by Solomon concerning a queen he took as his bride, Pharaoh’s daughter from Egypt. Others say it is connected to Psalms 44 and 46 through 48, and, therefore, deals with Hezekiah, who also took for himself a bride (2 Kings 21:1). While we don’t know the exact setting or author, this we do know: Ultimately, the psalm before us speaks of the King of kings, Jesus Christ, and us as His bride.”

With that said…

I LOVE this Psalm…it always gives me pause. I am the Bride of Christ. He is my King, my Husband and my God. Today, I want to think on Him so that my own heart, like the writer’s here, bubbles over with the glories of the Son of God.  In verses 1-9 the psalmist writes of the grace, beauty and majesty of our King Jesus. 

My heart is overflowing with a good theme;

I recite my composition concerning the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

You are fairer than the sons of men;

Grace is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever.

Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,

With Your glory and Your majesty.

And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;

And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.

Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies;

The peoples fall under You.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,

Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.

Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women;

At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.—Psalm 45:1-9

In the next verses we now see the queen, the Bride of Christ. You and me as believers!  Listen to the advice the psalmist gives us as we wait in the palace chambers to be brought to our King. 

Listen, O daughter,

Consider and incline your ear;

Forget your own people also, and your father's house;

So the King will greatly desire your beauty;

Because He is your Lord, worship Him.—Psalm 45:10-11

Those are some very strong words.  I love them more for that reason. They are definite.  They leave no room for equivocation. Jesus says this in Luke

“If any man come after Me, he must hate his mother, father, brother, and sister or he cannot be My disciple”

Seek Him first!  Our love for Jesus our King should far surpass and eclipse any and all of our earthly relationships.  We are, as His Bride, to give Him all the honor and the pre-eminence. He is to whom all our worship and adoration belong. As we enter this relationship, we are to forget our past, submit to Him as our Husband and our King and seek to please Him in all things. As we love Jesus more and more, we will begin to love those around us in His greater and more perfect way. 

Beloved…Our God LOVES us. He SEES our beauty and desires us!  The word for desire here means “longs for” or is “enthralled with”!  Jesus WANTS to spend time with us. He WANTS “ME” to come into His chambers and rest in His Presence.  One commentator points out that the Lord doesn’t rest in our love for Him but in His own love for us.

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.—Zephaniah 3:17

The Amplified says it this way…

The LORD your God is in your midst,

A Warrior who saves.

He will rejoice over you with joy;

He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

Stealing from John the Apostle…I am not the woman who loved Jesus; I am the woman whom Jesus loved.(s)  He chose me before the foundation of the world, clothed me in His righteousness and sacrificed His very life so that I could live with Him forever in the place He has lovingly prepared for me.  There He will rejoice over me with joy and joy over me with singing. Because He has done this…Because He has chosen me to be His Bride…I will give Him all glory, all honor and all thanksgiving forever and ever.

We love, because He first loved us.—John 4:19

as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.—1 Peter 3:6

Addendum…as I meditated on on the first 9 verses of this psalm, the aspect of Christ that came to mind as dearest to my own heart and the one that also makes me most thankful as I walk through this world is this one:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,—Romans 8:1a

Bring them here to Me.

 

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."

But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."

He said, "Bring them here to Me." 

Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.—Matthew 14:13-21

I have bolded Jesus’ response here. The Lord of the heavens and the earth says the same to us.  “Bring what you have to me.”  I don’t know about you but the only thing of worth I can bring to Jesus is empty hands and willing heart.  Whatever I do have, has been given to me by Him anyway.  When we obey, He blesses and multiplies what we surrender into His hands.  A little in the hand of God goes a long way.  

Beloved…  Jesus can be trusted.  Give yourself and all that you have into His hands. Yes, it will bring breaking, but it will also bring blessing both now and forever. 

And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."—2 Samuel 24:14

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.—Romans 12:1

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.—Psalm 23

Take My Yoke Upon You…

 

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."—Matthew 11:28-30

Whenever I read these precious words of Jesus my shoulders relax,  my mind calms and hope rises.   Jesus is my burden bearer. He bids me to come. He refreshes my soul with salvation, renews my mind with His word and quiets my heart with His peace. “I will give you rest” is literally, “I will rest you.” 

For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.—Psalm 38:4

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

I will cry out to God Most High,

To God who performs all things for me.—Psalm 57:1-2

Life in this world is exhausting. The burden of sin and all of its consequences are wearying. So much jockeying for position.  So much competition.  So much trying to be something you are not. So much of everything that doesn’t matter in the end and not nearly enough of what is truly important.  

Not so with Christ.  Beloved…Yoke yourself to the One who is always with you, will never leave you and is always on your side. Commit Yourself to Him. Walk with Him in beautiful surrender and learn from Him. When you are yoked up to Him, you become His disciple. The cares of the world will fade because He is teaching you, leading you and guiding you. He will place you where He wants you. He will bring you forward and He will bring you back. 

In contrast to the yoke of the world, His is light and easy to bear. In contrast to those who reject Him, He is humble and gentle. In Him and only in Him, will you find rest for your soul.

I went to the Treasury of Scripture this morning and found the following verses for the above section of Scripture. They helped my heart. Hoping they do the same for each of you. 

Mat 11:28

Come.

Isa 45:22-25 53:2,3 55:1-3 Joh 6:37 7:37 Re 22:17

all.

23:4 Ge 3:17-19 Job 5:7 14:1 Ps 32:4 38:4 90:7-10 Ec 1:8,14 2:22,23 4:8 Isa 1:4 61:3 66:2 Mic 6:6-8 Ac 15:10 Ro 7:22-25 Ga 5:1

and I.

29 Ps 94:13 116:7 Isa 11:10 28:12 48:17,18 Jer 6:16 2Th 1:7 Heb 4:1

Mat 11:29

my.

7:24 17:5 Joh 13:17 14:21-24 15:10-14 1Co 9:21 2Co 10:5 1Th 4:2 2Th 1:8 Heb 5:9

and learn.

27 28:20 Lu 6:46-48 8:35 10:39-42 Joh 13:15 Ac 3:22,23 7:37 Eph 4:20,21 Php 2:5 1Jo 2:6

for.

12:19,20 21:5 Nu 12:3 Ps 131:1 Isa 42:1-4 Zec 9:9 Lu 9:51-56 2Co 10:1 Php 2:7,8 1Pe 2:21-23

and ye.

28 Jer 6:16 Heb 4:3-11

Mat 11:30

my yoke.

Pr 3:17 Mic 6:8 Ac 15:10,28 Ga 5:1,18 1Jo 5:3

burden.

Joh 16:33 2Co 1:4,5 4:17 12:9,10 Php 4:13

Trusting God As We Journey

 

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.—Luke 9:1-3

Here Jesus, after giving his disciples both the ability and authority, commissions them to go out and do what they had seen Him do.  

My focus, as I read, zeroed in on verse three.  The disciples were to journey depending on God to meet their needs.  They were to trust His care, His provision and His power in everything...from food, clothing, the casting out of demons and the of healing diseases. He (the Great I AM) would become for them what they needed as they journeyed. 

I am pretty terrible at this. Even when I think I am trusting Him, there is always an underlying anxiety in my heart that seems to overshadow.  I know it is there because I have habits or “tells” that belie my outward calm.  I also know its root cause, but how to ease my concerns is not in me. My mind “trusts” that God can be relied on, but my heart is not so easily convinced.  What do I do?  I confess my sin and press on.  As I do this, I pray that He will unite my heart to fear His name and root out the double mindedness that is evident. Most importantly, however, I give Him thanks for all His goodness The hard evidence of His steadfast love that blankets and surrounds me, even in that very moment of doubting and fear, is difficult to ignore. It reminds me to take courage and wait on Him to strengthen my heart. He has promised and He will do it. 

Beloved...the One whose Presence goes with me (us), the One who performs all things for me, (for us) will make perfect that which concerns me. (us). He will align my will and yours with His perfect one.  It won’t happen overnight (although He could do that), but it will happen moment by precious moment as I (we) continuously place our trust Him.  

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,—2 Corinthians 3:5

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.—Psalm 139:23-24

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—John 14:27

The following is a list of verses from my Thompson Chain Reference Bible in regard to dependence.  My heart was encouraged and helped as I read them this morning.

Genesis 41:16

Exodus 17:11

Exodus 33:15

1 Kings 17:4

2 Kings 6:27

2 Chronicles 20:12

Psalm 22:10

Psalm 127:1

Jeremiah 10:23

Matthew 8:25

Matthew 15:32

Luke 9:3

Luke 11:3

John 3:27

John 15:4-5

Acts 3:12

1 Corinthians 4:7

2 Corinthians 3:5

2 Corinthians 4:7

On Blessing and Praising the Lord Your God…

 

But Jesus replied, "It is written and forever remains written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"—Matthew 5:

"Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.—Deuteronomy 8:1-2

God didn’t have to test the Israelites to know what was in their hearts.  He knew who would obey and who wouldn’t obey. The testing was for them…to show them what was in their hearts. It was also for us who read these accounts that their obedience or disobedience would be proven in history and one way or another would be an example for us. 

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 

God put them in the desert where they had no other choice but to trust Him. Everything they had came from His command…from His very word.  The Lord chastened His people by making them depend on Him for everything. If they wanted to live, they had no other choice but to obey His commands, walk in His ways, and to fear (revere) Him…they literally “feared” to disobey Him who held their very breath in His hands.  

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

This is the part that really gave me pause when I read it last night. It helped me to understand why the giving of thanks and praise to God for His infinite goodness to us is so important.

The land in which their God was bringing them stood in stark contrast to the wilderness in which they were now wandering. It was a land of abundance where Israel would lack nothing.  Moses goes on here to tell them the dangers that would be inherent in said abundance. Prosperity, in effect, would hide their need to depend on God. The reality, however, was that both in scarcity and in abundance their need to depend on God would remain the same. 

The antidote for this danger was to give God praise. 

When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

This made so much sense to me. Praising God for all His good gifts would be a constant and (judging from my own life) a much needed reminder to God’s people that all of what they had ultimately came from Him and that without Him nothing was possible. 

 

"Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver aand your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'—Deuteronomy 8:11-17

Praising would keep them from forgetting God and saying that it was their might and power that had gained them their abundance instead of God’s. 

"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God. 

Dependence is humbling and praise is beautiful in that it gives glory to the One who deserves all glory, honor and praise. Beloved…Let the praises of God be continually on Your lips.  Failure to praise Him leads to forgetting Him. When we begin to forget Him, our hearts become lifted up in pride, and we begin to walk according to the dictates of our own sinful lusts. We begin to worship the gifts rather than the Giver of all of them.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of kings

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

2 In every rough and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the vale.
When all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. 

[Refrain]

3 Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move;
I rest upon unchanging love.
I trust his righteous character,
his counsel, promise, and his power. 

[Refrain]

4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

The Sermon on the Mount…

 

Leaving these verses from Matthew 5 here this morning and praying that they bless whoever might read as much as they blessed me this morning.  

"Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

"Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God's grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].

"Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed [joyful, nourished by God's goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.

"Blessed [content, sheltered by God's promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

"Blessed [anticipating God's presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral courage, and godly character], for they will see God.

"Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God's favor] are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will [express His character and] be called the sons of God.

"Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God's love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

"Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God's goodness] are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of [your association with] Me. Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.—Matthew 5:1-12 AMPLIFIED

Become Complete…

 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the saints greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.—2 Corinthians 13:11-14

You could say that the Second letter to the Corinthian church must have been pretty unpleasant at times for the Corinthians to read.  Paul spoke directly and honestly about the things in the church that needed correction from exposing false teachers to defending his own apostolic authority.  His ending, however, is a heartwarming call for unity.  I can almost hear Paul reminding himself and his readers here to wrap themselves in love which was the glue that would hold them together as they sought each other’s highest good. In his words I hear the melody of one of my favorite passages from Colossians, Chapter 3.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Below are some verses that also came to mind as I read Paul’s string of exhortations in verse 11.

Become Complete…the amplified says “to be what you should be”

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him,—Colossians 2:10

I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.—John 17:23

Be Comforted…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.—2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Be of one mind…

Have the mind of Christ…

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.—Philippians 2:1-4

Live in Peace…

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.—Romans 12:17

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:—Hebrews 12:14

Beloved…Aim for perfection, be comforted, be likeminded with Christ, live peaceably with one another seeking each other’s highest good.  And as you do, the God of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be with you

May each of us in our own lives take heed to Paul’s warnings and exhortations throughout this Epistle. Through the power of His Spirit may we obey them by depending on the grace that our God supplies according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Paul ends by invoking the blessing of the triune God. 

Father may this blessing be ours as well!  May the grace of Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be experienced in our hearts and in our lives and may we share it with those You have sovereignly placed around us.