Psalms & Me

God Weighs our Words, and so should we.

Friends. Am I alone? As a more or less introverted person, I am also sensitive to words. Like some of you also like to call me, I am a Christian linguist by trade. Analyzing and replaying words I received day to day happens subconsciously and randomly before the night's fall. Yes. We do discourse analysis every day. More for me, and I couldn't turn it off. This world is so loud at times.

As some of you knew, I had experienced a dark depression at one stage of life when I lived life at a surviving level after my dear grandfather's passing. At those times, my prayers sometimes unlike a perfect ACTS model but more of an urgent cry for gospel help! I did not know how to pray.

One characteristic feature of laments isn't because they sound sad compared with praising psalms, but because it often begins with an imperative phrase, such as, "Give ear to my prayer, O God" (Ps.55:1), "Hear my voice" (Ps.64:1), "Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me" (Ps.86:1), and at last, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Ps.19:14). Will God hear so many sound waves produced day in and day out?  What makes my prayers distinctive?  Have you prayed as if you wish your prayers will be more distinguishable than others? I have.

I need a pure faith that my prayers are received, not because my prayers made better points than anyone else, but because God recognizes the voice of his children, even in the amid different voices (Asterius the homilist). God weighs our words. He also measures our cry. He requires us to sing spiritual songs and hymns, and psalms to him. We possess God's attention all the time!

However, we still need God's help to pray because we are, by nature, people-pleasers, and deceivers (Rom.1:29). Psalm 5:9 "For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction." Sometimes, it costs to bare our souls to others in public. But it costs nothing for us to make that prayer to our father, who finds refuge and life from Him. Through the abundance of His steadfast love, let us make this private prayer! And rejoice!  Our Lord Jesus Christ rose early and find a desolate place to pray (Mark 1:35).  Let every little prayer be weighted worthy just like his. For God, He looks at us, praying just like He sees Jesus Christ. That’s the only way he looks at us.

Music credit: Psalm 4 & Psalm 5 by Tim Ophus 

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YaPing Li 

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(Chinese transcript)

祷告的份量

朋友们，只有我是这样吗？作为一个或多或少 内向的人，我对于话语是很敏感的。就像你们当中有人按照行业划分，把我归为 基督徒语言学家的行列。 分析和重播我每天接收的话，在夜幕降临的时候 经常自然和突然地就发生了。是的，无法否认的是，我们每天都在做话语分析，我就更是了。这个世界有很多的声音，无论你是属于哪一种类型，你总是在寻求一个声音。有一个声音是每个人都需要的，那就是福音的声音。

如你们所知，我也曾经经历过一段抑郁沉重的人生阶段。在有些时候，我发现我的祷告并不是工整而不流畅的。我的祷告，不像清教徒祷告公式一样，赞美，认罪，赞美，祈求。我最最先发出的是我需要福音的帮助。150首诗篇中，哀歌占据诗篇的绝大多数部分。哀歌的显著特点不是听起来很悲伤，而是结构上哀歌的顺序望望是从祈求开始，赞美结束。比如，诗篇55:1，“神啊，求你留心听我的祷告”，诗篇64:1， “神啊，我哀叹的时候，求你听我的声音”， 诗篇 86:1， “耶和华啊，求你侧耳应允我，因我是困苦贫乏的”，诗篇19:14最后一节， “耶和华我的磐石，我的救赎主，愿我口中的言语，心里的意念，在你的面前蒙悦纳”。

耶和华可以单单听进我的祷告吗？这个世界有这么多的声音。是什么使我的声音凸显出来呢？你又这样祷告过吗？似乎特意地将自己的祷告和其他人区别开？我曾经傻傻地这样做了。我需要单纯完全的信心，知道我的祷告会被接受。 不是我的祷告有很不同，而是因为天父可以认出祂的孩童的声音。即使在千千万万的声音当中，祂也能特别的分辨出我们的每一句话。在祂那里我们的话语，大有份量。祂衡量我们的祷告。我们永远都有祂全部的注意力。

我们需要单纯的信心，相信耶稣基督使我完全的被接纳，因为我们的祷告也如同祂的祷告一样！虽然我们天生是 取悦人的，也是扯谎的人。正如诗篇5:9所讲，“因为他们口中没有诚实，他们的心里蛮有邪恶。”所以我们需要帮助才可以祷告。 有时候在公开场合袒露心迹是需要代价的。但是 我们在天父面前，总是可以毫无顾忌地借着我们的救赎主 耶稣基督，坦然无惧地 来到神的施恩宝座前，也凭着天父的丰盛慈爱进入祷告的圣所。马可福音1:35节，“次日凌晨，天还没有亮，耶稣起身出去，来到荒野的地方，在那里祷告。”让我们知道我们小小的祷告，也如耶稣的祷告一样被悦纳。当天父祂看我们时，如同看耶稣基督一样；当祂听我们祷告时，如同听耶稣祷告一样！这也是祂对待我们的唯一的方式。我们的祷告对祂如此的有份量。

Steadfast Love is Especially Given to the Special One.

To whom I am special? Friends. Have you ever wondered the same? "Who will show [me] any good?"(Ps.4:6)

I have had multiple times when I became forgetful of God's grace shown to me previously.

It was not only me being forgetful but also quoting my pastor, "This is the cursed-laden air we breathe in every day." We shall not think it is only for the reason that we are guilty of forgetfulness when we are utterly burdened. In the meanwhile, we shall remember that in God alone is our relief and answer because he is our "righteousness, sanctification, and redemption"(1Cor.1:30).

To whom I am special? It seems to be an important question for most of us. No matter what happens now, we were God's children first. His mercy goes deeper when his children are hurting. I am special to God before the foundation of the world. God's steadfast love is especially given to me before everything else, including sin, suffering, and doubts. David prays an incredible prayer comparing his enemy and God. Only God is utterly different from any men, not only men who seek vain glory and talk loud with manipulative words, but also all men in the world.

"O men, how long shall my honour be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?"(Ps. 4:2) Is there anyone who does not seek righteousness from other gods and approval of men? David is talking about his enemy, and he is referring to all the enemies of God, namely those who seek righteousness from anyone and any words other than God himself. That includes all of humankind.

When we have had no "grains and wine abound," joy looks like something very different.

From David's experience, God has "put MORE joy in my heart than they have when their grains and wine abound” (Ps.4:7). It is simply because God's children alone are receivers of his steadfast love which in other words looks like special attention and affections to his children. Joy looks like God's unchanging, steadfast love especially given to the special one. Every one of His children and His children altogether is special to Him.

This is special to us and comes from a special person who becomes the unrighteous for us so that he become our righteousness. We are special because Jesus Christ is uniquely righteous. "For no one, living is righteous before you"(Ps. 143:2b). And "Only in the LORD, it shall be SAID of me, are righteousness and strength." Jesus Christ, "for our sake he made him be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."(2Cor. 5:20)

This is the extraordinary steadfastness we possess through the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the one we shall seek for all good and joy in times of utter despair and fear of the world.

Music credit: Bluebirds by Alexis fFrench

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All the blessings. 

Welcome back!

Friends. How have you been? I trust your days are in the hand of God of salvation.

We will continue with the devotional on the remaining half of the book of Psalms.

May this devotional be a sweet fellowship with the Spirit to us as we open God's prayers written for us. Today we will read Psalm 3.

David prays with complete honesty and acknowledgment of his dire spiritual and physical situation. He is left with no one else but enemies. Enemies made out of people once of his own. But he did not linger on self-pity but prayed to his God with his own voice because salvation belongs to the Lord. He was truly afraid and ashamed. He was all alone. He has all the reasons. Yet David also was aware of his God who is his shield and his glory. His enemies not only threaten him physically but also judged him and his soul to be unworthy of God's salvation. What was once important to David are all abandoning him except his God who is the true salvation, shield, glory.

David's enemies were wrong in their violent pursuit of the life of their King. They are wrong in taking themselves as the judge of salvation. Who dare say one is worthy of God's salvation? What about them? Who dares to supersede above God's sovereignty. God hates pride but shows his mercy to the poor. "Salvation only belongs to the Lord. Your blessings are on your people."

David submits himself and his enemies to God all at once.

David is the king and king to his people. God is David's God. God is also the God of his people.

Music: When mind wants rest by Jeong selin

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Welcome back!

Friends. How have you been? I trust your days are in the hand of God of salvation.

We will continue with the devotional on the remaining half of the book of Psalms.

May this devotional be a sweet fellowship with the Spirit to us as we open God's prayers written for us. Today we will read Psalm 3.

David prays with complete honesty and acknowledgment of his dire spiritual and physical situation. He is left with no one else but enemies. Enemies made out of people once of his own. But he did not linger on self-pity but prayed to his God with his own voice because salvation belongs to the Lord. He was truly afraid and ashamed. He was all alone. He has all the reasons. Yet David also was aware of his God who is his shield and his glory. His enemies not only threaten him physically but also judged him and his soul to be unworthy of God's salvation. What was once important to David are all abandoning him except his God who is the true salvation, shield, glory.

David's enemies were wrong in their violent pursuit of the life of their King. They are wrong in taking themselves as the judge of salvation. Who dare say one is worthy of God's salvation? What about them? Who dares to supersede above God's sovereignty. God hates pride but shows his mercy to the poor. "Salvation only belongs to the Lord. Your blessings are on your people."

David submits himself and his enemies to God all at once.

David is the king and king to his people. God is David's God. God is also the God of his people.

Music: When mind wants rest by Jeong selin

All rights reserved.

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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. 

I will be away for the month of July for lecture recording and for better loving a group of young friends. As I read Psalm 4, I was astonished at the psalm as a sanctifier through the work of the Spirit. Psalm 4 is diverse. The ethics sandwiched in the middle is the wonderful testimony of the sanctifying power willed by God the father in the book of Psalms. I can not wait to come back in August and do devotions together with you. Until then, may the love of God the Father, grace from Jesus Christ, and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit be with you forever and evermore.  I will continue praying for you and loving you. Stay tuned and continue reading book one. 

Music Credit Lovely by the Brilliance 

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 The birth of the baby Jesus declares that he depends on no power in this world. How can a baby boy be the savior of the world? How can he conquer the world without the schemes this world uses? 

The Son of God is the Son of God the Father from eternity. This psalm is a prophetic declaration of the coming of the Messiah king. In the Gospels, after Jesus was born, he was baptized on behalf of sinners. When he was baptized, a voice of the God the Father from heaven said, " This is my son whom I am well pleased". The life of this firstborn son is stronger than all the power in the world so that he can give us all nations as our in heritage. He gave over his power and his life when he was born as a baby in this sin-irritated world. He pours out everything he had for us so that we can find a refuge from the righteous judgment worthy of our sins. 

When this world is raging to destroy God's plan so that they can replace the faithful and loving-kind reign of God with their foolish dictation, suppression, and monarchies. How can the whole world even become bigger than the kingship of God the creator, sustainer, life-giver? Is not the world made by the finger of his hand? Can they really reach heaven with their own thirst for power? 

All the corners of the earth are in his hands of God. God has made the most inner part of human beings. God LOVED the world so that he created the world for us as our dominion. The raging nations are just like potter that is easy to be crushed and chaff that is easy to be driven away. Both potter and chaff lack real power. However, the Son of God is different from any of us. Though he was the creator he took the form of creature. He doesn't depend on this world; on the contrary, this world is made by him. 

This son does not depend on anything in this world. His baptism is to wash away the sin of the evil desire of power over God. His resurrection conquered all the evil power that tempts the son of men. Not even so, he also included the raging nations in his redemptive plan and aiming at bringing them into the kingdom of light. His birth, baptism, death, and resurrection were all blessed by God. This is my son whom I am well pleased with. God loved the world and gave his only son for us so that whoever believes in his shall not perish but have eternal life. God loved us so that he didn't spare his only son, what else will he not give us? 

This newborn son became the king of the nations. By his birth, he renounces any earthly power. He replaced the sinful as sinful, and he gave up his power to be suppressed and persecuted under the power of men unto death, and unto resurrection. He came weak for all the sinful and weak so that all who are bitter, labored, power-thirsty, and deep in sins can have life through his life, and have redemption through his resurrection. 

The Son of God became the Son of Man to be the king o the world and the refuge of all nations. This is truly marvelous! All who take refuge in him are blessed.  He who gave up his life but gain life, who gave up power but became the king, is Jesus Christ alone. Only through him, this marvelous miracle happens. It only happens once. Once is enough. 

Music Credit: Psalm 1 Word by Word by Poor Bishop Hooper 

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Season 2 Episode 1 

Dear friends. I am so happy to have you at Season 2 of the Book of Psalms devotional as we move back to Psalm 1 and onward. 

A well-memorized poem, Some People, Chinese:有的人, written by Cang Kejia, Chinese 藏克家, begins like this: 

"有的人活着 A person is alive, 他已经死了; but he’s already dead. 有的人死了 A person is dead, 他还活着。but he still lives on."  Cang is not written this for Jesus Christ, but he captured the status of the moral man in its deadly state. It is hopeless to live on without assurance of life. 

This psalm is written no so different from Jesus' other conversation. Jesus loves to use language that everyone will understand in an agricultural setting. Have you seen farmers work on the threshing floor? Can you imagine? As a kid, I used to watch my grandparents and parents, at the harvest season of the summer, threshing grain, winnowing them, throwing them against the wind so that chaff will be driven away and the grain will be left out for the food of the year and the seed for the coming years. It is a joyous memory to see all the work and efforts of the year have borne solid grains for living. Every time, children would also be rewarded with popsicles and we all celebrate together. 

It is just like our life. Now the restrictions of the pandemic will be soon lifted up. We will have the freedom to do what we always hoped to do. Have we changed? Or are we finally entitled to do whatever we wish to do? When we abuse freedom, we will lose freedom instead. That's how we learned that true freedom can only come from above. The real freedom is the freedom of being loved by Jesus. The assurance of God's love and our salvation is the root of our life so that we do not have to be like chaff. Everything we do falls in the hands of God. God promised to take care of righteousness and give them eternal life while the wicked will perish at the days of judgment. As human beings, we do not get to see all the judgments behind the scene, but we will all see the final judgment that the wicked deserves. 

Only those who are known and loved by God have the assurance of blessedness. They will be like a tree whose life is rooted and protected. There are only two kinds of people in this world. The ones who are loved and have freedom; and the ones who are rejected and abuse freedom. God did not leave the hypocrites with a third option. Our life needs to be rooted in Jesus Christ to have a blessed foundation. Only Jesus who have never done or thought of evil has become constrained for us and humbled himself in the form of man and walk among us to become the foundation of our life. Jesus is dead and he is alive according to the scriptures to become the imperishable seed of life for us and teach us the way of eternal life. True freedom is from being loved by Jesus Christ. The foundation in Jesus Christ assures eternal life by the running stream and our leaves will never wither. Therefore, we are called blessed. What about you yourself? Are you blessed?

Music: Blessed Assurance by Alan Jackson. 

Poem translated by alexcwlin; edited by Adam Lam. 

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Dear friends. This is the last episode of season 1. 

The last section verse 45-52 is a characteristic lamentation ending. "How long O Lord?" This is not only a typical lament ending but also reminds me of the Book of Job in which the doctrine of creature climax the ending of the story. Here in Psalm 89, it is similarly the doctrine of the creation of man. All the earth has an essential relationship with the creator God, God the Father of all the earth. This psalm is written when the psalmist finds the conflicts between God's eternal covenant to his people and the falling and humiliation of the Davidic kingdom among the nations. However, the psalmist ended with praising, "Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and Amen." 

One question was raised before God what is the reason for the vanity of man. Men can not save themselves from death. As all the lamentations in the Book of Psalms tend to have unstated answers between the lines. The answer is also not explicitly stated in Psalm 89. However, the psalmist begins to meditate on the doctrine of the creation of man. Everything good is from the creator-creature relationship with God the Father who blessed us with every blessing from himself, life, meaning, home, kingdom, and almighty providence and faithful sustaining throughout their life.  Men were made to have an eternal, abundant, rich life in the garden with God to eternity. However, the eternal existence with God is threatened with the bondage of sin. 

When men decided to leave God, vanity crept into their life. All men, believers, and unbelievers are subject to vanity since Adam and Eve chose to betrayed God for the king of vanity, Satan. When we lose our relationship with the creator God, we lose everything. God has created men with his image, to reflect his wisdom, righteousness, wisdom and after the fall, all seems to be totally corrupted but the vanity of vanity. 

Since then, the kingdom of eternity and the kingdom of Satan has been in a constant battle until a real king came to crush the head of the serpent and reign the whole created world forever. 

But David isn't this king. That's why the psalmist lamented. 

And David is also the type of the king who is humiliated by the nations at the moment. That's why the psalmist lamented. 

How long O Lord? The answer is always in the coming of the King. 

Music credit Sovereign Grace Music.

All Creatures of God and the King

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Psalm 89 continues the praises God's unchanging covenant from the general to the specific and focused on the offspring of the Davidic king. Psalms' emotions and his remembrance of the sound doctrine of God's promise is also intensified. This section can be divided into three parts

Psalm 89:27-29 restates God's promise, 30-32 Restate the law. 33-37 The everlasting grace. 38-45 Crown in the dust, and king, together with the kingdom is humiliated. Shall the psalm stop here with no answer? No God already provided the answer in verse 27, the firstborn son. 

A faithful prayer is an honest one that reflects the reality, and it is also and humbles one that asks questions from God when the king is being humiliated. Perhaps God's answer is not yet him because the king he promised will be humiliated in front of the world, not just neighboring countries. He will be humiliated by his enemies and those he tried to save. The heaven and the earth will testify the resurrection of the firstborn son as well as the king of kings. He is the king for not only Israel but for the world. People experienced the benefit of having a good King David so they mourn the loss of the good king. But the grace God has promised is even stronger and greater. David was an anointed king, but he is also from Adam so he can only do what Adam did. He was a good king but also a murderer and adulterer. 

This world needs a king who will die for his people. The firstborn son will suffer the greatest on his throne by being witnessed with his humiliation in front of the world in order to save the world. All the world will testify his humiliation, his enduring of righteous anger, his underserving cross. David is a chosen king but he is not the king of the cross.  A king who suffered greater than David. A king who brings the eternal kingdom to whom calls upon his name. Those who believe in him shall never be ashamed.

Season 1 Episode 53 

God shows his steadfast love as our father who gave his eternal fatherly love to us through Jesus Christ in the covenant.

Psalm 89:15-26 affirms the steadfastness of God's covenant through one person and recapitulates the Gen. 3:15. We do not have ground to ask for God's mercy since we have betrayed him so have we deprived of all the good characters the image of God represents and its benefits. Just like our relationship is restored eternally by Jesus Christ, it was also eternally broken by the fall. We stopped worshiping God as our creator king, and we became our alone while the devil lords over us. What should we do? We are all in the slavery of sins. Who can help us?

The psalmist praised that God's steadfast love stands firm to eternity. God is unchanging God, but our betrayal has been done in eternity. How can I have anything blessings from God anymore? Since we abandoned our creator God, we are living outside of God's grace. How can we call God our father? The psalmist praised in verse 15, blessed are you people. God is the honor and glory of his people. The holy son of Israel is our strength and shield. God gave help to his people through his chosen one.

What's more. David was called the anointed one. He is the type of Christ. David is the son of Adam, a chosen one, God' s servant, a king. Jesus is also the Son of Man, the chosen one, the holy servant, the king. Jesus is the Son. God has established one person to be our sacrifice of atonement. One person for all. He is Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God. He is a perfect son, a son promised in the covenant, a son of man born under sin but never sinned, a son who subdued Satan and all its power. He is both man and God, from whom the eternal love of God the Father is derived and gave to us in me. Like us in every way but never sin. We obtained power through his victory over death. He led us out of temptation.

God Fatherly love to his son is the source of all greatest love. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The eternal love of the Father towards his son is our greatest loss after the fall.

The Father loves the Son. Why didn’t He give the son for sinners? We know a father will not change his son, not even to have his son die for sinners. But our Heavenly Father loved us to give His only Son for us so that we will not perish but have eternal life. The best love in the world but the love of our Heavenly Father.

God gave us his son at the creation of the world. God created the world because of his love for his son. God the Father gave his only son for prodigal sons and the fatherless. He is the father of both the fathers and sons in this world from generation to generation.

If our biological father had hurt us, forgive him for he is also one of the prodigal sons.

If he loved us, embrace him and love him because he loved us like our Heavenly Father.

God loved the world. He gave his only son to us so that we will not perish but have eternal life. God loved us and made us his sons and daughters.

Music credit to Shane & Shane

Surely goodness, Surely mercy.

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