Psalms 78-80

Psalms
78:1-39- ‘Can God spread a table in the wilderness?’(19). We are living in a spiritual wilderness. We wonder, ‘Can God continue to bless us in this wilderness?’. How does God’s Word answer our question? - ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies’. In the ‘wilderness’, there are many ‘enemies’. There is also the ‘table’. At the ‘table’, God blesses us - ‘You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows’(23:5). We are in the ‘wilderness’, surrounded by many ‘enemies’. What are we to do? - We must come to the ‘table’- the Lord’s Table. We must come to Christ. We must drink from ‘the cup of salvation’(116:7). Come to the Saviour. Look to Him for His blessing. He will not disappoint you. You will be ‘anointed with the oil of gladness’. His blessing will be poured upon you ‘like precious oil’(45:7; 133:2). 78:40-72- ‘He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the desert’(52). The Lord brought His people out of Egypt. He brought them safely through the wilderness to ‘His holy land’(42-43,51,54-55). He did great things for Israel. He does great things for us - ‘He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake’(23:3). Through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have ‘peace with God’. Our sins have been forgiven. We now ‘stand’ in His ‘grace’. In our new life with Him, there will be times of ‘suffering’. None of us is exempt from suffering. It comes to all of us - without exception. In your suffering, remember this: We will not be disappointed in ‘our hope of sharing the glory of God’- ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...’(Romans 5:1-5).

79:1-13- We look at what’s going on in our world today. We hear the enemies of the Lord saying, ‘Where is their God?’ So many people are turning away from the Lord. They no longer worship Him. We wonder if things can be turned around. It would be so easy to give up and go the way of the world. This is what we must not do. We must keep on praying - ‘How long, O Lord? Will You be angry for ever?’ We must look to the Lord for help - ‘Help us, O God of our salvation’. We must look to ‘our Saviour’ for deliverance and forgiveness. We must pray that the Lord’s Name will be glorified. How is the Name of the Lord to be glorified in today’s world? It must begin with us - ‘We, Your people, the flock which You shepherd, will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You throughout every generation.’(5,9-10,13).

80:1-19- ‘Restore us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved’(3). This prayer for salvation is repeated with a growing sense of God’s greatness - ‘O God Almighty’(7), ‘O Lord God Almighty’(19). To those who are asking the question of salvation - ‘What must I do to be saved?’- , God gives His answer - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’(Acts 16:30-31). What does the Lord say to those who look to Christ for salvation? - ‘The Lord will bless you and watch over you. The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you. The Lord will look on you with favour and give you peace’(Numbers 6:24-26). Let us worship Him: ‘Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer’(Ephesians 1:3).