Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+122

 

Psalm 122 (ESV)

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
² Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³ Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together,
⁴ to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵ There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
⁷ Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
⁸ For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
⁹ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

 
REFLECTION:

1. David wrote of his delight in going up to the temple to worship God in this short psalm. And the joy of finally arriving at Jerusalem where God’s people worships. Surely this is a cause for celebration.
2. Worship at Mount Zion was both a regular obligation (although a joyous event) and a bonding experience for temple-bound worshipers. What is “going to church” like for you?
3. Psalm 122 also reminds us of how Jesus marveled and wept over Jerusalem (Lk 9:51; 13:31-35; 19:41-44). By comparison, what tears have you shed over your beloved city?
4. Scan the city news section of your newspaper for events and people that need God’s “shalom” (peace and prosperity). Bring to God in prayer everyone you know in city hall and the key urban areas that need shalom.

 
PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem – www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPZcSbDSvN8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+121

 

Psalm 121 (ESV)

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

 
REFLECTION:

1. There is no help in the hills on which the pagans worship. However, for God’s children, our hope comes from the Lord Himself.
2. What can we expect from the God who watches over us at all times? Simply that he will “keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life.”
3. Imagine you are an Israelite making this pilgrimage to Mount Zion and verbal journaling your way through this psalm of confession and assurance. What parts do you find most reassuring for yourself?
4. What parts do you find most reassuring for a fellow pilgrim whom you know is struggling along the way?
5. Consider using Psalm 121 as an appropriate prayer for all your comings and goings. Offer it at mealtimes, office breaks and bedtimes. Let it influence the prayers and counsel which you offer family, friends and work associates, especially anyone facing an uphill battle.

 
PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 121 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBxcspoQAOo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+120

 

Psalm 120 (ESV)

Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of Ascents.

1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
² Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.

³ What shall be given to you,
and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
⁴ A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!

⁵ Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶ Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
⁷ I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!

 
REFLECTION:

1. How do you feel when Sunday comes and you approach the church where you worship? This group of psalms reminds us that worship is to be a joyous occasion, rich in meaning for the believer.
2. These 15 “songs of ascents” (Ps. 120-134) on a variety of themes, were probably chanted by Hebrew pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem to attend one of the Old Testament’s annual worship festivals.
3. Psalm 120, the first psalm of ascents pictures a burdened person of God, far from his spiritual homeland. This land of strife is not his home. His homeland is a land of peace. In this psalm, the psalmist asked God for protection from people who wanted to stir up war. This psalm has been called an individual lament that anticipates thanksgiving.
4. The Jews were called to turn in their hearts, if not possible to return physically, to Jerusalem at specified times during the year to join the believing community in worship at the temple of the Lord.
5. This psalm pictures a person living among the ungodly, who realized afresh at this time of year that he was a man of peace, who lived among those who were for war.
6. How important for us Christians to return to our roots, and with the community of faith, look to and call on the Lord.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

In My Distress I Cried to the Lord – www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK76IGkmSDs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+119

 

Psalm 119 (ESV)

⁹⁷ Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
⁹⁸ Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your testimonies are my meditation.
¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
¹⁰¹ I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
¹⁰² I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your righteous rules.
¹⁰⁷ I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
¹⁰⁸ Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your rules.
¹⁰⁹ I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
¹¹¹ Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
¹¹² I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

 
REFLECTION:

1. The psalmist loved God’s law. It gave him more wisdom than his enemies, his teachers, and the elderly sages who did not have it. It had enabled him to maintain his personal purity.
2. If God’s Word is sweeter to us than worldly wisdom (v103) and if we are steadfast in following God’s word, we can also stand strong through the ups and downs of life and bring glory to God.
3. If you Google v105, you’ll get over 200,000 hits. There are songs titled after this verse and videos of musicians performing the songs. There are also books with the verse as their titles. You can even buy plaques for your wall or desk with this verse on them. What makes this verse so special?
4. It’s the truth this verse conveys that God’s Word is our light in a dark world showing us the way home. It is easy to get lost in life. We have so many decisions to make and so many distractions. How do we find our way back? By turning to God’s Word, our lamp and our light.
5. When we stand firm in God’s word and live by it (vv106-112), the truth comes alive. We become living testimonies of the power of God’s Word to illuminate darkened lives and transform people from being lost to being on a journey with God.
6. Do you consider yourself a student of God’s Word? To follow Jesus, we need to know His ways. We learn about His character, His ways, and His expectations of His followers by reading and studying God’s Word.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Thy Word – www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6LC8cu03Ig

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+118

 

Psalm 118 (ESV)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

² Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

⁵ Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
⁷ The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

¹⁰ All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹¹ They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹² They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹³ I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

 
REFLECTION:

1. The psalmist expresses thanks to God for delivering Israel from her many enemies. They had much to thank God for, especially His love which endures forever. (vv1-4)
2. Then, the psalmist gave personal testimony to God’s deliverance of him in answer to his prayer. God was with him, so he was not afraid of what others might do to him. The Lord would be his helper, even when his enemies surrounded him, The Lord gave him confidence that he could prevail over his adversaries.
3. When God’s people discover that everything we have experienced actually demonstrates God’s enduring love for us, then whenever believers gather, it will be a Thanksgiving service. “Not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10)
4. For what events in your life are you particularly grateful to God?
5. How did God prove to be your helper, your strength or your salvation?
6. Give thanks to the Lord (v1) for His goodness and His forever steadfast love for you.

 
PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 118 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcEr9OkFP-s

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+117

 

Psalm 117 (ESV)

The Lord’s Faithfulness Endures Forever

1 Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!

² For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

 
REFLECTION:

1. This shortest of all the psalms focuses attention on the importance of praising God for two of His most wonderful qualities, namely: His loyal love and His faithfulness.
2. Here the psalmist celebrates a truth of which the prophets often spoke. God is the savior not only of Israel, but of the world. In Christ, the vision of this psalm has been fulfilled. All the nations, all peoples, praise and extol the Lord for the salvation Jesus has won.
3. Recount your experience and knowledge of God’s love and faithfulness. Draw close to Him in praise and thanksgiving and tell Him how grateful you are for all His blessings in your life.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Faithful Love – www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAr9IKxUXR8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+116

 

Psalm 116 (ESV)

I Love the Lord

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.

² Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

³ The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.

⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.

⁶ The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;

⁹ I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I believed, even when I spoke:
“I am greatly afflicted”;

¹¹ I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”

¹² What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,

¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.

¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.

¹⁷ I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.

¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
 

REFLECTION:

1. The psalmist gave thanks to God for delivering him from imminent death and for lengthening his life. He promised to praise God in the temple for these blessings.
2. This is a hymn of individual thanksgiving and it is also messianic. This is a good psalm to read when you need to recommit yourself to serving God.
3. Recall a time when you called on God and He answered you and showed you great and mighty things. What was this experience like for you?  What “sacrifice of thanksgiving” could you give to God?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Deliver My Soul – www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJtwmLNxiT0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+115

 

Psalm 115 (ESV)

To Your Name Give Glory

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

² Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”

³ Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.

⁶ They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.

⁷ They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.

⁸ Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

⁹ O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

¹¹ You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

¹² The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;

¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.

¹⁴ May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!

¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

¹⁶ The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.

¹⁷ The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.

¹⁸ But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
 

REFLECTION:

1. This is a hymn sung by the whole community, rejoicing in its solidarity as a people of the Lord. We are taught to give glory to God and not to ourselves (v1), and not to idols (vv2-8). We must give glory to God by trusting in Him, in His promise and blessing (vv9-15); and by blessing Him (vv16-18).
2. Passover recalls events which set the God of Israel apart from the deities of all nations. Pagans scoff because God cannot be seen, yet their idols of silver and gold are inanimate lumps. Therefore, God’s people cry out together:

O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

3. What are some modern idols? Christian idols? In what sense do you become what you worship? Are there any ideas, things, people that you trust more readily than God?
4. Consider how vastly superior God is to all idols. Ask God to help you forsake the idols in your life.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Not to Us – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISd9KAnB1Xo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+114

 

Psalm 114 (ESV)

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

1 When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

² Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.

³ The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.

⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.

⁵ What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?

⁶ O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?

⁷ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,

⁸ who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
 

REFLECTION:

1. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He dwelt among them and ruled over them.
2. The psalmist personified the Red Sea as seeing the Israelites coming and fleeing from them by parting its waters. Later when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the Jordan River backed up as far as the town of Adam, farther north in the Jordan Valley, to let them cross. The mountains around Sinai quaked when God came down on Mt. Horeb to meet with His people.
3. Therefore, everyone should tremble before the Lord (v7), as God’s creation does, because He uses His great power to save and to provide for His people. Remembering His deliverance and provision should move us to fear and be in awe of Him. And we offer Him praise.
4. Where does your “salvation history” begin? What main events would you retell in a personal psalm?
5. What in your life was: (1) Egypt? (2) The Red Sea? (3) The Jordan? (4) Sinai? (5) Water from the rock?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 114 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zj5oMYyqvM

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+113

 

Psalm 113 (ESV)

Who Is like the Lord Our God?

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!

² Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!

³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!

⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,

⁶ who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?

⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸ to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.

⁹ He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Psalm 113 is the first of a collection of six psalms (Ps. 113-118) used in the celebration of Passover. They affirmed God for raising up the oppressed (Ps. 113), and for deliverance from Egypt (Ps. 114). They offered the praise of the community (Ps. 115), the individual (Ps. 116), and all the nations (Ps. 117). The cycle concluded with an exultant shout of praise that looked forward to the coming Messiah. (Ps. 118)
2. Passover was truly a season of praise. Each year, the Jewish people recalled all God had done for them as each Jewish family reenacted the supper held the night death struck Egypt and passed by the blood-marked homes of God’s own. At last Pharaoh agreed to release his slaves. Passover thus was a festival of freedom, a joyous celebration of God’s salvation.
3. The God of Israel, who is exalted over all nations and whose glory is above the heavens, stooped down to raise “the poor from the dust,” and lift “the needy from the ash heap”. It is fitting to praise the Lord God.
4. We Christians, too, have a Passover to celebrate. God in Christ became a man and humbled Himself to accept death that we, who are marked with His blood through our faith, might be lifted up beyond princes, to stand before the very throne of God.
5. Spend some time meditating on your own Passover experience. Offer a praise and thanksgiving to God and the Passover Lamb.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Praise the Name of the Lord – www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrLtRtjHQu8