3 Psalms that show the Lord’s protection, deliverance and strength.
Psalms 17: In the Shadow of Your Wings A Prayer of David.
1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!
3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Saviour of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Psalms 18: The LORD Is My Rock and My Fortress To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God---his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?---
32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation---
47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence.
49 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
Psalms 19: The Law of the LORD Is Perfect To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Things to think about…
1. The Lord is the great Preserver of His people. As such His people reflect His character. David acknowledges this and says of the saints of the Lord., “they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight”, Psalm 16:3. Do you love you brothers and sisters in Christ? Are they a delight to you. I find our church family at CBC a delight. In the same way can you say with David in Psalm 16:6 “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance”. This doesn’t always feel like the truth does it. Yet, we know in Christ it is true and our inheritance is more than beautiful, it is certain. Hallelujah!
2. Psalm 16:10, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” is actually a prophecy of Christ and His resurrection and was mentioned by Paul in Acts 13:35. His body would not decay and His soul would return to the father. This is also true for us as Christians. Look at the promise “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. Does it get any better than that? The fullness of joy for eternity, I don’t think it gets any better than that. Let’s tell others about these sure and certain promises.
3. David effectively says in Psalm 17 that he is blameless. He says in verse 5 “My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped “. We know that that would not remain the case for long because he sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba , then lied about it, then had her husband murdered. He would suffer a great deal as a result. But the Lord did deliver David from all his enemies. None of us are perfect in ourselves, but in Christ we are perfect! We are effectively blameless because we have the righteousness of Christ. The final promise is that we will be fully satisfied by being made in the likeness of God, Ps 17:15. Romans 8:29 says we are all conforming into the likeness of Christ. This will be completed at the resurrection when we are fully made in His image. Do you have any reason to doubt this to be true? Christ’s promises to us are sure and He does not want us to be tossed about by doubt, Rom 8:31-39.
4. It’s easy to love God when things are going well. David has been rescued from the hand of Saul who was wanting to kill him for no good reason. Look at David’s opening line in Ps 18:1 “I love you, O LORD, my strength.” Yet what was he saying to the Lord last week when he was fearful of Saul and hiding from him, words to the effect of, “Where are you Lord, when will you answer, how long or Lord” etc, etc. David is no different to us is he. When things are going well and we feel God has answered and delivered us, we see Him and it’s easy to love Him. The challenge is to say the same words when things are not going well for us, because we know God does not change. We seem to be the ones who are quick to change.
5. The rest of Psalm 18 speaks of the Lord’s deliverance for David and the blessing of answered prayer after a long period of struggle etc. But what about the words in Ps 18:20,24 where David says he was saved according to his own righteousness. We know especially from the book of 2 Samuel that David’s actions were not always righteous. Surely this is not true with the understanding that our righteousness is like filthy rags, Isa 64:6. So how can David’s words be true? Surely, we can only be saved by the righteousness of Christ. What does David mean here? Simply that his heart was honouring God in the midst of his trials. David did not strike Saul. God struck Saul – this was accounted to David as righteous.
6. It is never wise to make an enemy of the Lord. While we seek after Him the the way of blessing is open before us, but if we actively go against him Ps 18:26, 27 come into play, “with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.”
7. Some enemies come from within. But they are not on the Lord’s side. Consider Ps 18:18, “they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.” These are religious people. They stand in the way of truth and holiness. They actually hate the Lord, but they are religious. These people are a stain to the church and the gospel. They are enemies of the cross, only being part of a church for their own bebefit. The Lord does not hear their prayers. I have seen this come to pass too many times over the years.
8. God speaks loudly to humanity in two ways. The first is His creation Ps 19:1-6 and the second is via His word Ps 19:7-11. It is only by faith that we can pray vss 13,14. David reaffirms how to stay away from presumptuous sins. We only care about God’s work and words if we have faith to believe they are true. As those who do believe and as those who accept God’s word as truth continue to love each other enough to speak words of love, grace and truth to others. Conform to the image of the Saviour. Why? Because He is our Rock and Redeemer, vs 14.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray God’s word on Sunday bears fruit of obedience and blessing.
2. Pray for our Mother’s Day event
3. Pray for Iran and the overthrow of a wicked regime.
May the Iranian people see the prophesy of Jer 49:34-39 fulfilled over the coming weeks and months.
4. Pray for the Sacred Minds podcast.
5. Pray for One for Israel and their witness in this time of challenge and conflict.
6. Pray for the church in Australia that it focuses on Christ, His Word and holiness.
7. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
8. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
9. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
10. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
11. Finances to cover our needs
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for the encouragement the Word of God brought people over the weekend.
2. Praise God for ministries – Life Groups, Prayer meetings, Kids@Church
3. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy and those who supply it every week Eg Ros - Milk.
4. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Peter, Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
5. Kids Church teachers – Jacqueline, Maddie, Elise, Anastacia and Fiona
6. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Mother’s Day tea – 10am this Saturday at Church.
2. Ministries back - Prayer meeting Wed 5:30pm at church. Life group begins at 6:30pm. Going through the book of Romans.
3. Members meeting 31st May
4. All Life Groups - Wednesdays.
5. Kids@Church starts up this week.
6. Mother’s Day High tea celebration – Saturday morning, May 9th at Church.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q 1. Who made you? A. God made me.
Bible references – Gen 1:26, Ps 139:13, 14.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
