Summer Time, Summer Time, Sum, Sum, Summer Time.
I ran across something in my devotions that I thought should be shared with my friends. Often as I wake up in the morning this verse is on my heart - Psalms 118. A portion of this chapter is quoted five times in the New Testament, as relating to Jesus Christ. It's found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, and Peter. It actually is one of the top ten verses in the Bible, which is memorized.
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." That is a great text for sure, but when you dig deeper, it will shed a lot of light on what the text really means, or I should say, what the writer meant by this text. This is one of the chapters where I can say, if you take a text out of a context you have a pre-text. Look at verses one through four: Psalm 118:1-4 "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: Because his mercy endures for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, That His mercy endures forever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that His mercy endures for ever. 4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, That His mercy endures for ever."
It reminds me of the verse in Hebrews where we read, "He is a very present help in a time of trouble."
Psalm 118:5-8 "5 I called upon the Lord in distress: The Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me? 7 The Lord takes my part with them that help me: Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."
It is an interesting question which calls to mind, Psalms 18 by Jesus Himself when Jesus addresses the chief priests in Matthew 21:23. "23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?"
Jesus quotes from Psalm 118 to ask a question Matthew 21:42 "42 Jesus says unto them, have you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"
Again Jesus references Psalm 118 in Luke 20:17-18 "17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
When I read this I thought about the statement I often make, YOU PROPHESY YOUR DAY BY THE FIRST WORDS YOU SPEAK WHEN YOU GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING.
I think we can all take a lesson from this excerpt today:
I believe in you,
Pastor Cleddie Keith
I ran across something in my devotions that I thought should be shared with my friends. Often as I wake up in the morning this verse is on my heart - Psalms 118. A portion of this chapter is quoted five times in the New Testament, as relating to Jesus Christ. It's found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, and Peter. It actually is one of the top ten verses in the Bible, which is memorized.
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." That is a great text for sure, but when you dig deeper, it will shed a lot of light on what the text really means, or I should say, what the writer meant by this text. This is one of the chapters where I can say, if you take a text out of a context you have a pre-text. Look at verses one through four: Psalm 118:1-4 "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: Because his mercy endures for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, That His mercy endures forever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that His mercy endures for ever. 4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, That His mercy endures for ever."
It reminds me of the verse in Hebrews where we read, "He is a very present help in a time of trouble."
Psalm 118:5-8 "5 I called upon the Lord in distress: The Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me? 7 The Lord takes my part with them that help me: Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."
It is an interesting question which calls to mind, Psalms 18 by Jesus Himself when Jesus addresses the chief priests in Matthew 21:23. "23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?"
Jesus quotes from Psalm 118 to ask a question Matthew 21:42 "42 Jesus says unto them, have you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"
Again Jesus references Psalm 118 in Luke 20:17-18 "17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
When I read this I thought about the statement I often make, YOU PROPHESY YOUR DAY BY THE FIRST WORDS YOU SPEAK WHEN YOU GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING.
I think we can all take a lesson from this excerpt today:
How to wake up in the morning
The Psalms gives us some ways in which we should wake up and start our day. Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it."
- Wake up with the habit of setting your mind on His enduring love
Psalm 5:3 "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
Psalm 88:13 "But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee."
Psalm 143:8 "Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; For in thee do I trust: Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; For I lift up my soul unto thee."
Jesus gave this example in Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."
2. Wake up rejoicing knowing His help is sufficient
Moses asks the Lord to satisfy him early with mercy so that he can rejoice all day. Psalm 90:14 "O satisfy us early with thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad all our days."
Psalm 57:8 "Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early."
3. Wake up with an understanding that His death has given your life purpose
Psalm 104:22-23 "The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, And lay them down in their dens. 23 Man goes forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening."
Always remember you can go ahead and sleep, for the Lord never slumbers or sleeps, He is watching over us.
I believe in you,
Pastor Cleddie Keith