Lesson 105 | Ps. 7, 27, 31, 34, & 52 | Heartbeat of God | 2025-2026 Bible Study & Commentary

Lesson 105 of the heartbeat of God. I'm your Bible study friend Kanhoy. Welcome to the Heartdive podcast. Welcome back to Bible study friends. Thank you again for your patience. A lot of stuff happening in my life personally. I had to fly back to Hawaii. We had some damage to our home from the last storm, another storm coming in this week. And so we're just asking for prayers for the people of Hawaii who have been really enduring some just crazy weather and it's not letting up quite yet. So other things happening in my personal life as well that I will be revealing as time presses on. And if you want to follow that journey, I will be sharing that over on my personal YouTube page Kanhoy's life. So if you're not following me there and you want to follow me, that's where I share things outside of Bible study that, you know, I'm a normal person. And also on my social medias as well. Those are my personal places where I share all other things. I've got jewelry, food, family, fun, horses and the thing that's coming up next. I need to tell you guys what happened. I actually spent an hour and 40 minutes this morning filming this entire Bible study and it took a long time because man, I was really intentional about it. I dug in deep. And in the end, this camera right here had an SD card that was corrupted. So nothing recorded onto that SD card. It's happened before, if you guys remember back in 2024, several times where you ended up with just an overhead view and it was because my SD card was corrupt. Well, that's going to happen again today. However, my overhead camera also died 20 minutes before ending the lesson. So I was like, man, I'm going to have to redo this whole thing, but I don't have the time because I've got so much stuff going on today. So I was like, no, we're going to just roll with it, you know? And if we're just keeping it real, like this is how real Bible study is, you know, it's not polished. It doesn't have multiple camera angles. It really is just you and your Bible, maybe a pen, maybe sitting at the kitchen counter on the couch with a friend, just trying to hear from God, you know, that's what we're trying to do here. And so I think that's what this is going to feel more like. And at the end of the day, I talked to Holly in winter and they're like, you know, you don't have to be perfect at what you do. Like just be real about it. You know, you can keep it structured while still being very raw. And so that's what happened. That's what we're doing. I'm taking a little nudge from the Lord saying not everything has to be perfect to be powerful, right? He can use anything. I just said that the other day on my social. So here's what we're inviting you to do. Grab your Bible, make sure you got your Bible. That's the most important thing. Make sure you download the heartbeat of God notes or print them out or, you know, just know that they're there for you and really just lean in, you know, listen today, take notes if that's what you do. Because this is really about you hearing from him. And even if I'm not visibly across the table from you, I'm still right here with you and we're still diving in together and we're going to press on, you know, just like David did in the Psalms. Things don't always go according to plan, but we know God is still in control. He is still good. He is still speaking. So we're going to go ahead and dive on in together. But before we do, hit your roll call button. If you need more information about this, you can check it out in our description box or the show notes. So let's go ahead and pray as we prepare our hearts for this word. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we have this opportunity, Lord, to meet with you on a daily basis. Thank you for the breath in our lungs. Thank you so much, Lord, for another day to be able to live on this earth. We do not take it for granted, Lord, and we are just thankful that you have chosen us, that you love us and that you have called us to be here in this very moment for a greater purpose. And so I just pray that you continue to reveal yourself to us. As we read your Holy Word, thank you, Holy Spirit, that you have breathed into this. Thank you, Lord, that we are reading this on this day for a purpose and that you have something to say to us. And so I pray, Holy Spirit, that you will speak to each person who is here today individually, that you will whisper into the hearts exactly what it is that they need to hear today. Help them to see your heart, Lord. I pray that you will just unveil yourself to us in ways that only you can. Forgive us, Lord, for our sins. We just ask, Lord, that you will cleanse our hearts right now. Help us, Lord, to be righteous and holy before you. That doesn't mean perfect because none of us can ever reach the perfection Jesus that only you are. But oh, how we want to try. We are striving, Lord, to be like you. So show us the way. Give us wisdom. Give us discernment, Lord. Take away any fears and worries that might be taking place and taking root in our hearts. Remove any pride, any jealousy, anger, bitterness, judgmental or critical spirits, Lord, and help us just to be free in this moment to read your word. We just want to love you and honor you and hear your voice. So open our eyes, ears and hearts today. And we just say, speak, Lord, for your servants are listening. We love you so much. And pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I'm going to tell you what I think sometimes when I would study the Psalms, I would study and it would seem like a pretty easy study. You know, you just kind of read through it feels like a poem. It's like, okay, I get it. You know, either somebody is lamenting or somebody is praising God, right? When you sit, go verse by verse. Wow. I mean, it's like God gives you a key to just unlock something even greater in the heavenlies. And I'm like, just mind blown. It did take quite a bit of time for me to study these Psalms, but I am mad about it. You know, the more time you get to spend with the Lord, the better. And I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. I really thought that I was going to download like a digital Bible and kind of go through it with you all and circle things and point things out. But thought, if I do that, man, it's going to take us 10 hours to go through this. What I think we'll do at this point is maybe break this down in sections. So we're going to go ahead and start off here in chapter seven. Now, this is a lament. And this is when I don't know if your Bible says it, but it says a Shagayan of David, which basically means a loud cry or lament. And again, this is when he is being pursued by Saul. In fact, this Psalm is known as the Psalm of the slandered saint. So David starts out by saying, Oh, Lord, my God, look how personal that is right there. She's saying, my God, in you do I take refuge, save me from all my pursuers and deliver me. Lest like a lion, they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces with none to deliver. So the fact that David feels like he can come to God with this kind of language already shows us how approachable God is when we want to cry out to him in our distress, in our desperation, we can absolutely do so. And I always say, if you circle the verbs or the nouns, you will see very easily some of the heartbeats, refuge being one of those, showing how God is a hiding place. He is strong, you know, he is immovable. He offers protection for those who run to him and take refuge in him, especially when they're being falsely accused or attacked or misunderstood. And then of course, save and deliver those to show God saves and delivers when nobody else can save you. God can save you. So we continue in verse three, Oh, Lord, my God, again, personal God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. So he's really appealing here to the just nature of God. You know, he's like, man, if I have done wrong, okay, I get it, you know, go ahead and allow this to continue. But if not, please defend the innocence and God will do that. You know, he does, he defends the integrity of the righteous. And that is because he is a God of truth. He sees the truth, especially when others don't, and he will honor the integrity of his people. And then you notice that there's that word say la that basically calls for a pause. I mean, this was a musical or poetic term, but not by mistake, you know, that it's in our Bibles that God calls his people to, you know what, take a breath, take a moment, pause and think about what is happening here, reflect on what God's word says. And I always say that, you know, especially whenever something kind of pricks your heart, whether it's a conviction or even encouragement, like stop for a moment and just meditate on it. You know, that's what that's what that pause was intended for. And I love how David is inviting God to examine his heart. I mean, that's really how we all should be on a daily, you know, Lord examine my heart, show me where I have gone wrong and help me to be able to correct that so that I can be the proper image bearer of God. Verse six, arise, O Lord, Yahweh, in your anger. Now this is righteous anger, of course. So he's pleading to God as a righteous judge who sees and lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies. Awake for me, for you have appointed a judgment. So he's asking God to intervene in this situation. You know, he's really pleading with him, knowing that any good father would be angry whenever someone is attacking their child. Verse seven, let the assembly of the people be gathered about you over it return on high. So that now an assembly, we can turn that into how God desires for his people to assemble together, to honor him, to love him, to worship him, and to reveal truth and majesty. The Lord judges the people's judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. Now I wrote here, only the innocent could confidently say this, like, judge me, God, like if I'm in the wrong, go ahead and take a look at it and put your gavel down on me, God, if I have done something to deserve this, because he knows that God is a God who's going to judge fairly, according to one's own actions. So he's like, okay, I'm going to take my eyes off of everything that's going on around me. I'm going to take my eyes even off of my pursuers and attackers, and I'm going to focus on what I'm doing right now. And really, I mean, I guess that's how we really all should be, right? Verse nine, O let the evil of the wicked come to an end and may you establish the righteous you who test the minds and hearts. O righteous God, there's a whole lot going on in here that God indeed will make the wicked or evil come to an end. He will not let it last forever. Establishing the righteous, God secures the righteous, he gives them the ability to stand whenever everything else around them is crumbling or falling. And the fact that he tests the minds and hearts, that is sort of like the innermost being, he's not looking on what's going on on the outside. He goes straight to the heart, straight to the motive, straight to the intentions of a person, especially whenever there is a lot of selfishness going on inside. My shield is with God who saves the upright in heart. So he's looking at God as his defender and his protector, and the one who saves the upright, those who are righteous before him. Now, that doesn't mean perfect before him again. As we said in the prayer, it simply means in right standing. And for us, when we have Jesus, we are all in right standing because of the blood of Jesus that covers us. It doesn't give us the excuse to live in rebellion or continue in our sin, but it does cover us. It gives us that righteousness before God. So that saves the upright. I mean, that really points to Jesus in salvation. And he calls God a righteous judge here in verse 11. God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation every day. What does indignation mean? It means that God has this constant righteous anger toward evil and injustice every single day. So he's not turning a blind eye to the evil that is in our world today. He feels that righteous anger, but we also have to remember the other side of God's heart, the merciful side. And now he is waiting for repentance. You know, he loves all people. So he wants all people, even the evil and wicked ones, to repent and to turn back to him. But if he does in verse 12 of a man does not repent, God will wet his sword. He has bent and readied his bow. He has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Now, this is a warning that God is giving here. You know, he's like, I'm calling for repentance, but if you don't, the wages of sin is death. I mean, that's basically what he's saying, but he's also showing his mercy here. Like, my bow is ready, but I'm holding it. You know, I'm not releasing it right now. Because again, he desires repentance. So incredible patience and mercy and grace that we are seeing here. That's the heart beat right there. Could be easy to miss. You know, some people could look at that and be like, well, God's just me. But no, I mean, he's incredibly gracious and merciful. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and it's pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit. Digging it out and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head and on his own skull, his violence descends. So God is revealing here that eventually the evil are probably going to destroy themselves. They're going to dig their own grave. They're going to fall into their own trap. And then David says, I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness. And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord the most high. Why? Because he's worthy of it. You know, he's worthy of that, that gratitude. He's worthy of that worship. And David is basically saying in the end, God is righteous. He is the most high. He sits high above all of this that is taking place. So I'm going to worship him no matter what happens. So now we flip on over to Psalm 27, which has a little bit of a different feel. I mean, that last Psalm was, he was in distress. He was lamenting. And now he has sort of this confidence, confident Psalm of trust is what this could be labeled as where he says, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Easy heartbeats, right? Like he's saying, the Lord is blank. Well, when we talk about the Lord being light, you could go in a million directions, you could do some major verse mapping, you know, in the Psalms. But when we look at that word light, what does light do? Well, it offers guidance, you know, it's going to light up the dark corners of evil. It's going to expose things. It's going to offer truth and clarity, you know, it brings clarity to very dull or blurry moments in life. It offers hope. Light is often partnered with hope and it also reveals. I mean, it's something that God does when the light of God is in your life. I mean, that's what you're going to get. You know, you will get that guidance and that wisdom and the revelation and you will begin to have more discernment because you will see truth as it really is. Your misperceptions will be washed away. The more that that light starts to fill up your heart, right? The fact that he is salvation, he rescues, he delivers, he saves them from danger, sin and death. When he says he is the stronghold of my life, well, that means that he is providing that safety. He is giving protection for his people, placing them in a high place out of the reach of the enemy. David could confidently say that because as he was being pursued, that's simply what was taking place. And the reason why David has this trust is because God is trustworthy. You know, he is faithful to his promises. He has been faithful to save and protect and deliver David. And that is why he can confidently say this. Verse two, when evil doers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. So revealing that evil is really unstable. Again, it's going to fall into its own trap. And God is sovereign over all types of evil. Verse three, though an army in camp against me, my heart shall not fear. The war rise, arise against me yet I will be confident. Why? Because he knows that God is a mighty warrior who is on his side, who's going to fight for him. It's like if God is for us, who can be against us? He knows that God is for him. And God gives him this confidence that even though he's in this situation that is indeed humanly fearful in the flesh, he's fearing, you know, but the confidence that God gives to him is outweighing that fear. That's the difference. There is holy fear, there is human fear, but putting trust and confidence in God is going to overshadow that. One thing have I asked of the Lord that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Gosh, I love this verse so much. I mean, the moment I read that I was texting Holly and winter and I'm like, oh, we need to do something with this verse, this verse is one of my favorites. He's like the one thing that I want is to just live with God and to be able to worship him, you know. He has had obviously an encounter with God and he craves his presence. And he wants all of us, you know, to desire his presence above all else. He wants us to want that as the one thing in our life. And it says something like, we see the beauty of the Lord, he is beautiful, he's admired, we see how approachable and relational God is in this situation. In this verse, when he says, I can inquire in his temple, I can ask of the Lord, I can seek after him and God so desires to be sought and known and loved. And that's exactly how David feels and lives his life seeking the Lord, knowing him, loving him. That is a man after God's heart. Verse five, for he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble. He will conceal me under the cover of his tent. He will lift me high upon a rock. So God shelters, elevates and protects his people in times of trouble. And now my head shall be lifted up. What does that mean? It means he's going to restore the dignity and the hope of his people. It's like a father reaching down and when a child is, you know, downcast and they've got their head down and he, it's like he lifts the chin to look up at him. Such a beautiful imagery, you know, if you can get that in your head. He says above my enemies all around me and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy. I will sing and make melody to the Lord because God is worthy of that joyful celebration. And David is feeling that in his soul right now. Hear, oh Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me. And God does indeed, you know, he hears the cries of his people and he graciously responds. And again, we see here that, you know, that faith and fear can coexist. I mean, when he's saying, when I cry aloud, that means I've got human fear in me. God, I'm crying out to you, but I'm crying out in faith. So faith and fear again may indeed coexist together. But when you put your trust in God and when you do cry out, damn, and you do seek refuge and allow him to be the stronghold, I mean, that is where the confidence of God will overwhelm that human fear. You have said, seek my face. My heart says to you, your face, oh Lord, do I seek? Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger. Oh, you who have been my help, cast me not off. Forsake me not. Oh God of my salvation. Now, of course, we know that God does not cast his people away. He does not forsake them. And so that's a heartbeat right there. In fact, quite the opposite, he says, for my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Even our parents love can fail us, but God's love does it, you know, and he desires to adopt us, to take us into his family, giving that security and that sense of identity and belonging. Verse 11, teach me your way, oh Lord, and lead me on a level path. So teacher and guide, putting him on a level path means God is stable, especially during times of instability because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries. I mean, what would there will be a will to destroy, right? That's the enemy's ploy for false witnesses have risen against me and they breathe out violence. Well, God, if there are false witnesses, that means that God is a God of truth and he's going to defend his people. And remember in this time, I mean, life really depended upon witnesses, right? And that was kind of their justice system. It was like being get two or three witnesses to prove your case. I guess that's still the case in our justice system today, but a person's word really held a lot of weight back them. And so he's really appealing to God as the defender of truth. And also a God who's going to protect his reputation, you know, the fact that he is being falsely accused, he's like, oh God, please protect my integrity, protect my reputation. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord as we see God is a good God. And the fact that he can look upon it means that his goodness is actually visible, like you can see it in the land of the living. And what that means is that it's not just for heaven. Like the goodness of God is not something that we only experience in the next life or in eternity. No, he wants us to experience his goodness now. He wants us to see it, to live it, to show it to other people in the land of the living right now. And so he says, wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. Such a confident expectation that David is declaring for all people to hear in this Psalm. He's like, just wait for God and his timing. He's going to show up, you know, he's going to show out, he's going to defend, he's going to judge. Don't give up, take heart. Man, I mean, if you were going through stuff, just say this over and over in your heart, write it down, write it on your heart, wait for the Lord, be strong, let my heart take courage, wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord. Because there's also that verse that says those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. So when you are feeling weak, I mean, it's in the waiting that you're going to be strengthened, you know, he's going to mount you up with wings as equals, you know, that's when you're going to be able to run when you're weary, you're going to be able to walk and not faint. I mean, if you're ever struggling, I mean, just dig into the Psalms, you know, that is going to be what gives you that strength and that courage and it will allow you to trust more in who God is. I mean, we really see the heart of God in all of these. So we're back to a Psalm of lament though, in chapter 31, a little bit of a emo roller coaster that we're on here with David, but that's okay because that's life. I mean, that's normal, right? We all go through highs and lows and kind of makes you feel a little bit normal, knowing that someone like David was going through these very things and we do too. And we see a lot of the same heartbeats. So I'm not going to stop on every single one of them, but I'll make note of the ones that are new or that stuck out a bit more to me. So he says, in you, O Lord, do I take refuge? Let me never be put to shame in your righteousness. Deliver me, incline your ear to me, rescue me speedily, be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. Now, I love that incline your ear to me. That's a new one. It's kind of like, again, a father leaning down and putting his ear next to the mouth of his child and saying, what did you say? Because sometimes God can feel distant and when David is crying out incline your ear to me, Lord, please come down and hear me cry out to you. Because if you think about a child who might be in a crowd, their little voice may not be heard by the parent, mommy, you know, mommy. Actually, no, mommy's always know that mommy. You can hear that mommy from a mile away. But really, I mean, in the noise of the world, sometimes it feels like God can't hear you. And that's kind of what David was saying. Like he wanted God to draw near to him in this time of feeling like he was alone. And I love how he calls God to rescue him speedily. You know, God is going to swiftly rescue his people whenever they call on him in time of need. He says, for you are my rock and my fortress. And for your namesake, you lead me and guide me. For your namesake, what does that mean? Well, basically, God is going to protect his reputation, you know, as defender, as protector, as the one who saves, as the one who leads and guides. And David is appealing to that. He's like, if you want to protect your, he's not saying it in a sassy way, like if you want to protect your reputation, not that at all. But it's kind of what he's saying, like, Lord, for the sake of your name, please show up so people know that you are indeed who you say you are. And lead me and guide me really points to Jesus as the good shepherd, the one who's going to lead and guide. And he says, you take me out of the net, they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. He's appealing to God as his rescuer, especially for the traps that might be ahead that David can't see, you know, and the enemy, that's what he wants to do. He's going to try to trip you up, he's going to try to trap you. So David is getting ahead of that and saying, Lord, I know the enemy's got traps hidden for me, save me from those things. Take me out of that net. And he says, into your hand, I commit my spirit, for you have redeemed me, oh, Lord, faithful God, the committing of the spirit. This is basically saying I totally surrender to you. My whole life, I put it into your hands. I'm not going to worry about what's going on anymore. I'm entrusting all of me into your hands because you've already redeemed me, you know, you are a faithful God. So he's putting that complete dependence on God and he's saying, do as you please, Lord. He says, I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. Now the Hebrew word for hate here is sa ne, which means to reject, refuse, and oppose. Because when I saw that word hate, and the reason why I looked it up is because my daddy used to always tell me the devil loves you when you hate. And so I always struggle with that word. If I'm being honest, like, he never allowed me to say, I hate, right? And so now I get it. I understand why he taught me that. And my dad was no theologian, you know, he was just raising me on good old Christian values that he was taught. But it's that same kind of hate when the Bible said that Jacob loved Rachel, but hated Leah, that's more of like a rejection, you know, or opposition or refusal. So basically saying, I reject those who pay regard to worthless idols. So he's rejecting idolatry. Calling the idols worthless is basically saying, you know what, they're fake. And my God is real. I'm gonna trust in him instead. Because anything you put your trust in other than God is worthless, right? And so he's speaking of idolatry, even modern day idolatry, like anything you trust in other than God to save, to deliver, to rescue, and that could be anything from money to success to relationships to political figures to whatever you think is going to save the day. That is potentially an idol. And he's saying it's worthless. It's untrustworthy. Whereas God is worthy of that wholehearted and exclusive devotion. He says, I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love because you have seen my affliction. So steadfast love being the he said or hasad that covenantal love that does not give up, it's faithful over all time. And when David is declaring that he's going to rejoice and be glad, well, that's because God gives joy and he gives gladness, even in times of distress and worry. It's like that joy unspeakable, you know, it doesn't make sense that you can still be joyful in these times. But it's because he knows that God sees him. You know, there's, there's something so special that when you feel seen, you won't feel insecure. That's where a lot of insecurity comes from for a lot of people is like, you don't feel seen. And so you start to feel insecure in yourself. And then that's when you start to lash out, you know, but when you know that God sees you and that he sees truth and he sees the motives and he sees the purity of the heart, he sees righteousness, he sees evil, he sees sin, he sees when people are hurting you, you know, that will give you a different kind of confidence and a different kind of joy that the world cannot give to you. So that's different than happiness, right? Like happiness is the result of happenings or circumstances. Joy is something that you just got to choose. And it's something that God, only God can allow you to operate in, you know, he says, and you have not delivered me into the hand of my enemy, you have set my feet in a broad place. So God has given him that freedom and stability, be gracious to me, oh Lord, for I am in distress, my eye is wasted from grief, my soul and my body also. So God welcoming his lament once again, right? He's feeling that despair, he's feeling it in his body, he's feeling it in his spirit and in his soul. For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing, my strength fails because of my iniquity and my bones waste away. Look at that, what he's, what he's admitting here. He knows that sin will make you weak. He knows that strength will fail whenever there is iniquity. And it almost seems as though he's feeling a little bit of conviction for what he may have done here, saying his bones are wasting away. And this isn't a bad thing, you know, really what he's doing is a bit of self-examination. And it doesn't mean to sit there and wallow in everything you've done because you don't want to sit there in condemnation, but it's also he feeling or hearing the conviction that is in your heart and then doing something about it, you know, and that really comes back to repentance. Like that's what God wants. The devil wants you to sit in your sin and your iniquity and your condemnation in your past, but Jesus wants to free you from that. Like he's like, I already paid the debt for that. You don't have to hold on to that anymore. You don't have to stay in bondage. You don't have to stay in sin prison. That doesn't exist. I've come here to cut the shackles off of you. I've come here to set you free. I have come here to give you life and to let you live it in abundance. And there's so much freedom in that, you know, whenever you understand that. So yes, examine your own heart. See if there is any iniquity or sin or anything that can be fixed or cleansed, but then rise up out of it, you know, because God is our great redeemer. Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach or like a social distress, especially to my neighbors and an object of dread to my acquaintances. Like nobody wants to be around me. Those who see me in the street flee from me. So I'm being rejected here. I've been forgotten. Like one who is dead, I've become like a broken vessel for I hear the whispering of many terror on every side as they scheme together against me as they plot to take my life. Now, this is one where it would be kind of hard to see the heartbeat of God. And this is where you kind of have to ask yourself, like, okay, if he's feeling this, what is the truth though about God? Like he feels forgotten. He feels broken. He just hears the whispers of the enemy. He's fearful, you know, people are against him. So then you have to think to yourself, okay, well, if he's feeling this dread and rejection, well, we know that God will never reject, right? He is in fact near to the broken hearted. He is present whenever you're mistreated. He is going to defend the truth whenever you're misunderstood. So that's that's the way you see the heart of God in these types of verses. What does he do with the broken vessels? He restores them, right? Like he picks up all of the broken pieces and he makes them into a beautiful masterpiece. And even though there's people whispering all around, right? Like maybe everyone doesn't hear the whispers of people, all of the gossip and the planning and the attacks. God does because he's omniscient. He sees all he knows all and there's nothing that escapes his awareness. No whisper escapes that. But I trust in you, oh Lord, now here, you know, we're seeing that deliverance and that confidence once again, but it's a choice, you know, that but I, he's like, okay, I'm going to make a choice. Even though I'm feeling all of these things, I'm going to trust in you. I say you are my God. So trust isn't something that comes naturally or easy, right? Like it's a choice, but I will choose to trust you, oh God, my times are in your hand. Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors. So he knows that God is sovereign over every season, all times, every event, make your face shine upon your servant and save me in your steadfast love. So his shining, his of his face upon his servants, that basically that is that favor, the grace, the influence, the mercy that he showers upon his people pays homage to numbers, chapter six, right? The priestly blessing, which of course, the Christian song, the blessing, I mean, that pays homage to that as well. And so he's appealing to that, make your face shine upon me. Oh Lord, let me not be put to shame for I call upon you, let the wicked be put to shame, let them go silently to sheol. So he's like, vindicate the righteous, oh God, and shame the wicked. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt. So he's appealing to the fact that God opposes lies, he opposes pride, he opposes contempt. And so in that he's saying, let them be silenced, don't let their lies continue. You know, in their pride and in their contempt, they're going to try to destroy the righteous, but God silenced them. Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you in the sight of the children of mankind. So it's almost kind of like we see a huge storehouse of the goodness of God. It's like he has a big barn full of goodness just waiting to be able to feed to his sheep. Hello, that's us. I mean, these are the kind of pictures that I get in my head whenever I read stuff like this. When you take refuge like a sheep in a barn, you know, you're going to be fed. You get to partake in that goodness. In the cover of your presence, you hide them from the plots of men. You store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. So he is the hiding place, protecting his people from the plots of the enemy. Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. So he is indeed a blessed God, a wondrous God, showing up for his people who are surrounded. That's what that besiegement is. I had said in my alarm, I'm cut off from your sight, but you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. He's like, whenever I thought that you couldn't see me, God, I cried out and you did. And you rescued me. Love the Lord, all you saints. So now he's calling on people, you know, to join him in this. Can't keep it to himself anymore. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. That's a promise right there that he is going to preserve the faithful, repay the proud. He says, be strong and let your heart take courage. All you who wait for the Lord. So he's really ending here with an exhortation, you know, and calling upon people who are waiting on the Lord with that confident hope and that expectation of God to move and do things to strengthen their hearts. You know, and this is really cool because this is the same language, language, right? That was spoken in the time of Moses and Joshua. Like be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous. Yeah, there's going to be a tax. Yeah, there's going to be people who come against you, but be strong and courageous. Take hope, take heart, which is really showing us that our personal crises can and will become like a public testimony for others. So anytime even I talk about my personal life, it is not for the purpose of just talking about myself. It is for the hope that someone will be encouraged to know that God has taken every corner of my life and redeemed it for his greater purpose. I truly believe that and it is something that I believe will help strengthen another person who might be going through something similar. Maybe not everyone can relate, but if you can, I'm hoping, that's my hope is that you will be able to take heart also and be strong and courageous, you know, knowing that God can take you out of the darkest places, out of the dumbest places, and he can set you on a high place. I mean, he can lift your head. He will give you a new life, a new identity. He will wipe your slate clean. And the hope is that that slate will be wiped clean in the hearts and faces of others as well. All right, one page over to Psalm 34. This is a Psalm of wisdom and praise where he says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. So he is making a declaration here and calling on others to join him in this praise. And he knows that God is worthy of that continual blessing in praise in every single season, not just the good ones, the bad ones too, but it takes an effort. Again, it's that I will as the will power. I'm going to put myself will is going to take a little bit of effort, you know, in this hard season to bless the Lord because he's worthy of it. It shall continually be in my mouth. So he's saying, I know it needs to be there. So I'm going to make it happen. And the reason why he has that confidence is because he understands that God is unchanging, that he is faithful, that he is going to be with you through the dark times, the good times, the bad times, the wonky times. He's with you in every single season of life. So even if your feelings aren't there, praise still can be, you know, you got to choose it. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble here and be glad. Now that's not prideful boasting. That's just glorying or celebrating the goodness of God. He is worthy of that glory, you know, and that's a declaration that David is making here that when, when I'm victorious over the enemy, when I accomplish anything, when I am named King, whenever I experience deliverance, whenever God saves, whenever he gives me a gift, all of that is something that I will give glory back to God for. That's the boasting in the Lord. And he's saying, let the humble hear it and be glad. Because if you think about it, when you are successful, when you accomplish things, and you give glory back to God, it's going to be the humble hearts who are going to be able to hear it and be glad. Not everyone will be happy for you. The ones who are prideful and probably are not going to be joyful about it. They will not celebrate with you. And it's okay, you know, I've experienced that. And what's interesting is, is sometimes it's the people closest to you, you know, who, who can't celebrate. So again, take heart, you know, it's the humble who will be able to hear and celebrate with you and be glad for you because humility will position people to be able to see God's hand on someone's life, his handiwork, what he is doing, how he's the one who's giving favor, how he is the one orchestrating events, how he is the one who's giving gifts, how he is the one who is putting you in a place or positioning you for something greater. So just give him the glory, you know, all glory to God. And when you keep your heart humble and you are able to do that, you will be glad, you will be filled with that joy. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together so that magnification of the Lord, well, God is already larger than anything in life, right? So when he's saying, magnify the Lord, he's not saying we need to put a magnifying tool on God to make him bigger. He's already bigger. But what he's saying is, we're going to put our magnifying glass on him to put him in focus and to put him in the center of our lives. That's that magnification. It's going to help you to see him better in all seasons and in all things. He's like, let's do it together. Come with me. Do this with me, guys. Let's exalt him together because life is better together, right? And what he's really doing here is just kind of shifting the perspective. Like we say all the time, flip the script whenever you keep God at the center in the focus, it's going to help you to see things differently. And because David is so aware of the character and the heart of God, it's, that's where he has been able to create this habit of gratitude. When you can't see the heart of God, you know, and when you don't put your trust in him, it is harder to have a grateful heart at all times. But when you know that God's in control, when you know that God is faithful, when you know that God is just and merciful and gracious and loving and you feel seen, that is what is going to help you to just be grateful. You know, like, ah, this happened today. That's a crummy situation. But God, you know, and thank you, Lord, thank you that I'm breathing. Thank you, Lord, that I've got my family. Thank you, Lord, that I've got a roof over my head. Thank you, Lord, that I was fed today. Thank you. I mean, and it just changes your whole outlook on life and your whole outlook on your day. So he does value that habitual gratitude, but he also values that collective worship when David's saying, let's do this together. Verse four, I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. So when you seek him, he will deliver, he will respond, he will take away your fear, displaces the fear whenever you have that prayer and reverence in your life. So fear of him will remove fear of other things. But if you don't fear him, you're going to fear all the other things. Those who look to him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This kind of looks back to how he transformed the face of Moses, right? After being on Mount Sinai and being in his presence and he's walking down, you know, it's like his face was shining. You ever notice like when someone becomes a Christian or and their life is transformed, they look different. I mean, they really do have a light about them that is so different. And when it says that those who look to him are radiant, that's a promise, right? Like whenever you seek God and you look to him, you keep him the focus in the center of your life, you will be radiant. That light is going to shine off of you. It's reflections, the image bearer. You will radiate gladness and joy and you will be unashamed. So whatever it is that you're focusing on, that's the thing that is going to reflect off of your face. Let that one sink in, right? Like, what am I focusing on? And how is that reflecting off of my face? This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and deliver them. So who is the angel of the Lord? Theologians, scholars, you know, in a little bit of a, I wouldn't say debate, but maybe disagreement about who the angel of the Lord is. Some people say it is a Christophany, a theophany. Some people say it's an angel. Whatever it is, all that really matters is that we know the angel of the Lord protects, fights for, defends his people. He surrounds them, you know, and he delivers them, guarding and protecting them. But who is it for? Those who fear him. So that fear and reverence is what is going to give you the protection and the deliverance. And then verse eight, a very famous verse, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. So David giving a little bit of instruction here. I mean, this was kind of the purpose of Israel in the Old Testament was to allow people to taste and see who God was and the fact that he is a good God when we should be that today as Christians, you know, people who are showing the goodness of God, like our life should offer that sweet aroma. So when people smell it, it's like they can taste his goodness by the actions, the hands, like being the hands and feet of Jesus, they'll be able to be able to see the goodness of God. So that kind of makes you have a heart check, right? Like, okay, are people tasting and seeing the goodness of God by the way that I live my life and the one who takes refuge in God, you'll be blessed. That's a promise. Take refuge in God, be blessed. Oh, fear the Lord, you, his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. Again, another promise. You fear God, you will have provision. That is that reverence and respect and reliance on God. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Another promise. If you seek the Lord, you'll have goodness in your life. And when we talk about goodness, God knows what is best for you. He knows what is the good that you need in your life. And as any good father, he is going to give good gifts to his children. And David references him as a father says, come, oh, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord so that reverence for the Lord is something that needs to be taught or that it can be taught. So a little bit of a shift happening here. Like David is now taking on that role of the wisdom teacher, going from like the test taker to the instructor. What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? I mean, God does desire for his children to see good. He says, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit so that we see God of truth here. Like he doesn't want us to be speaking lies or deceit, but instead desires goodness in his people. He says, turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. So basically, whatever you seek, whatever you pursue, whatever you do, those things are going to shape your life. You seek goodness, you do good, you pursue good, that will lead to a life of goodness, just some practical wisdom here. And the fact that it says seek peace and pursue it again, shows us that that's something that has to be sought after. It's not something that is just going to fall in your lap. Sometimes it does. God, you know, Jesus does give us peace, but we also have to pursue it. We also have to protect it. You know, and there's a lot, again, you could break that down into many different directions. And so like, what does it take to pursue peace and to protect peace and to have peace in your life? I mean, there's a lot of things, it depends on what you're going through. It depends on what's happening. It depends on your mindset, you know, and how peace is going to be established in your life. And only the Holy Spirit can show you, you know, and guide you in that and reveal those things to you. I can't sit here and tell you the only way you're going to have peace in your life is X, Y, and Z. You know, everybody's different, but we got to chase after it. And one of the ways to do that is to turn away from evil and do good. So that's the practical advice, I guess we could give. I mean, that's one way. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. So now he's starting to turn more to that praise, you know, showing that God is a God who cares and protects his people. He's obviously very attentive and active. If his eyes are on the righteous, his ears are toward the cry, the face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Again, that would have been the greatest curse back in the day. But really, again, this is showing that God opposes evil and he's going to bring that final judgment upon those who are wicked. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. So we see the comforting nature of God and the caring nature of God. And now he is the compassionate healer and the comforter. You know, whenever you are brokenhearted, he's near to you. He's holding you. When your spirit is crushed by whatever is taking place around you, he's going to be the one who's able to bring you comfort and courage in that time, especially when you've kind of lost hope, you know, he's going to give you that hope back if you do turn your heart toward him. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all, not some, all. So the righteous are not free from affliction. You know, when we are saved, that doesn't mean we're free from challenges or tests of life, but God delivers us out of them. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. That points to Jesus, of course, and his redemptive work on the cross as the Passover lamb affliction will slay the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. That's that self destruction of the wicked. And if you hate righteousness or hate the righteous, you can put even in modern day sense, hate Christians, you're going to be condemned, right? That's going to bring condemnation. The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. So that's a promise right there that if you take refuge in the Lord, you will have no condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I'm going to close it out here in Psalm 52, this going back to a Psalm of lament or judgment. This was when Doeg, the Edomite, remember the one who was like silently listening and standing by listening to the evil and he goes back listening to what's taking place. And he goes back and kind of tattles about David being in the house of a Himalek. So David's speaking to him here. He says, why do you boast of evil, Almighty man, the steadfast love of God endures all the day? So what he's really doing here is kind of contrasting good and evil, right? Like showing that him boasting of evil. This is temporary in nature compared to the steadfast love of God enduring all day. He says, your tongue plots destruction like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking what is right. So God revealing here how the tongue is an instrument of destruction. Like our words can destroy, it can tear down. And not just the one who is being spoken to or spoken about, it can also destroy you. Like when you are one who is critical or speaks lies and deceit, like that can start to destroy you and your spirit, right? And so that's God cares about that, you know, he doesn't want us to not speak lies just to protect the one being lied about. He wants us to get our hearts right because he knows it's destructive to speak that way or to be critical. You love all words that devour odyssey full tongue. And now he makes this proclamation of divine judgment on the evil, saying it's not going to endure, but God, but God will break you down forever. He will snatch and tear you from your tent. He will uproot you from the land of the living. So he's like, God is going to bring down his gavel of judgment upon you and he will remove evil power from the earth. When he says he's going to uproot it from the land of the living. Well, that's a promise that has yet to take place. It will happen. The righteous shall see and fear and shall laugh at him saying, see the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction. Now this is not like, this is what is called derision where or a righteous celebration of judgment, like, Oh man, God, he did, he did what he said he was going to do. So it's not mockery. And then he offers a vow to praise God, but I, so it started with but God and now it's but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. Now what does that mean? And what is an olive tree? So this is where that verse mapping comes into play, right? Like, okay, what are the characteristics of an olive tree? Well, they are stable. They are fruit bearing, of course, they are nourished, they are beautiful, prosperous, they're kind of hard to kill, they produce oil, they've got deep roots, and they have a very slow and steady growth. And when does that happen? When you're in the house of God, you'll be like an olive tree. And he says, I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever, I will thank you forever because you have done it. I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the Godly. This is a beautiful declaration that we can make every single day. I mean, I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever, and I will thank you forever because you've done it God, you have done it and you'll do it again. I mean, this is kind of how I end up writing my prayers. It's kind of just looking at the word here and just speaking it back out. I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the Godly. So everything about God, David is saying is good, you know, his nature, his character, his promises, his faithfulness, all of that is all good. And because of that, when you know his goodness, when you know his heart, when you know his character, you are going to be able to simply trust in that. And you'll never have to force anything, you know, because you trust that God is sovereign that he's got his hand upon every single part in every single season. And that is the very thing that is going to give you the peace in your heart is that same piece that David had in his. So Heavenly Father, thank you so much. Thank you for the reminder that when we know your heart, it makes it so much easier, Lord, to trust you in everything. We don't have to force anything because you are sovereign over it all. And we also understand that you still require obedience. So God, I pray that our ears will always be inclined to you. I pray that we will always listen for your wise whispers and your good guidance. Everything that you do, Lord, everything about you is indeed good. If we're sick, you are good. If we are struggling, you are good. If we are hurting, you are good. So may we never lose sight of that goodness, Lord, and may our hearts maintain a posture of gratitude and trust and patience as we wait on you. Lord, we see how trusting in anything else, whether it is wealth, success, other relationships, even our own self will, that can destroy us if it doesn't align with your heart. So I pray that we will be like the olive tree, God, deeply rooted in your word so we can bear fruit and overflow with the anointing that you have placed upon us. God, you are worthy of all blessing and honor and praise, not just in the good times, but in every single season. And we see how faithful and unchanging you are. So may we maintain a heart that chooses praise and blessing rather than allowing our feelings to dictate it. Lord, I pray that being grateful will become a habit for us as we become more aware of your presence as we grow in our knowledge of who you are, because you are so worthy of all glory and honor. So let us shout it from the rooftops of our lives. May everything that we say and do and pursue reflect you and who you are as your peace and protection, provision, your compassion, your truth, your deliverance, and your redemption. God radiates over us. Help us, Lord, to stay focused on those things in the midst of the chaos in this world. Surround us now with your angel armies as we seek refuge in the shadow of your wings. We do love you so much. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, we can't let this moment pass without recognizing that the spirit of God and the bride are saying, come. This is an open invitation to answer the call to salvation. It doesn't require perfection. It doesn't require making things right before you do. It's just simply acknowledging that you want to be made new. You want to walk away from the old life and live a better one. You want to know where you will end up once you take your last breath here on this earth. And none of us know when that last breath will be. But what we do know is that there will be no second chance whenever it happens. So choose heaven. Choose life. You don't want to neglect this divine gift of salvation that he is offering. See, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death and we have all fallen short. But Jesus paid the price not because we deserved it, but because he loves us and he would rather die than to live without us. So we're giving you the opportunity now to anybody who wants to say, I'm ready, or anybody who might feel that they want to recommit their life because perhaps you've gone astray or maybe you just want to make your calling an election sure. So if that's you and you want to know, be on the shadow of a doubt where you will end up once you leave this earth, we're going to pray together and I'll put the words on the screen so that you can say them audibly with your mouth because the Bible says that when you believe and confess with your mouth that Jesus is the savior of the world who died in Rose again, you will be saved. So as we pray, do so with all of your heart knowing that this is the day of your salvation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. You are real and you came to the earth to die in our place, paying the price for our sin. So I confess my sins to you today, nailing every one of them past, present, and future to the cross. I want to live for you. So I turn from my old life by your blood and resurrection. I know that I am made new. I am no longer a slave to sin, but I'm free from the power it has in my life. And I commit to living for you. I surrender my life to you and receive you now as Lord and savior of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.