Gary Gleans

The sovereignty of God is a truth that should both comfort and concern us.  Unfortunately, it also often confuses us.  David makes it very clear to us that God is sovereign and explains very clear to us what God’s sovereignty implies in our lives.  In theological terms we would say that God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent or that God is all knowing, always present and all powerful.  These are precious theological truths about God that are full of implications in each of our lives that should change the way that we live. GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING: There is nothing that we can hide from God.  He knows everything that we do.  He knows every thought that we have.  He knows every word that comes out of our mouth.  He knows the words that almost come out of our mouths.  He knows the motives behind all that we do and say.  He knows every emotion that we feel.  There is nothing about us that God does not know.  What is more concerning is that He never forgets anything.  What is more

Gratitude is the sentiment that fills the heart of the man who is faithfully following and serving the Lord.  No matter what our position and circumstance, God’s faithfulness and loving kindness are always realities that should fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done and all that He is.  There will be times when our circumstances are not conducive to seeing God’s love and faithfulness.  These are the times when we must focus on the Word of God and all that we know to be true concerning God so that we do not allow gratitude and praise to be replaced by bitterness, doubt, fear and complaint.  Thanksgiving to God is like a salve to our souls that heals our hurts and restores the health of our worship. GOD HEARS THE PRAYERS OF THE NEEDY: God does not have any needs.  He is complete within Himself.  We, on the other hand, are far from being complete in ourselves.  We face many needs in our lives that require the help of the Lord.  It is a tremendous blessi

Mockery is a terrible thing to endure.  Mockery of God is simply not acceptable.  God will NOT be mocked!  The children of Israel have been captured as a judgment of their mockery of God as a nation.  However, as is almost always the case, the godly were judged together with the unjust.  Jerusalem has been destroyed and the followers of God have been taken captive together with the idolaters that brought on this judgment in the first place.  The nation that has captured Israel has no fear of God but they are being used as an instrument of judgment by God.  However, in their minds they have conquered God’s nation.  They think that they have overthrown God.  They are sorely mistaken!  They now mock those who are faithful to God and chide them by telling them to sing their “silly songs of worship.”  They are making fun of God and those who love and follow God.  This was not wise. MOCKERS ARE BLASPHEMING GOD: These wicked men from the nation of Babylon have no fear of God.  They are p

The Love of God is unchanging and everlasting.  All twenty-six verses of the Psalm end with the declaration that “His steadfast love endures forever.”  Love is a strange combination of emotion and will that is difficult for us to define exactly because we are not comfortable simply calling love an emotion nor are we inclined to take all the emotion out of love and simply call it an act of the will.  Our love seems to be very volatile.  We love someone very deeply but with the passage of time that love seems to fade away, lose intensity or even turn to indifference or hatred.  God’s love is not like that at all.  He never “falls out of love.”  God’s love is also eternal, so it will always be true.  We need not fear that God’s love for us will somehow run out.  God’s love has always been and always will be.  This truth should cause us to be exceedingly grateful and to express that gratitude to God in our prayers and in our worship.  The love of God is demonstrated through the works of G

We are called to praise the Lord.  All who desire to please God with their lives and have the privilege of knowing Him and serving Him are to use their lives to praise Him.  There are many reasons that we have to praise Him.  Certainly He is worthy of our praise but in addition to that, it is pleasant to praise the Lord.  The call to worship God is an act of obedience, but it is one in which we should take great delight.  Worship is pleasing to God and pleasing to us.  This Psalm points to several reasons that we should praise the Lord and outlines the content of our worship. HIS SOVEREIGNTY: God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and is in control of all that happens on the earth.  He is self-sufficient and does according to His desires.  He has not limits and there are no gods who can compete with Him.  Wind, rain, storms and all that exists is in His hand.  Certainly God is worthy of our praise and worship for His greatness.  When we praise God for His power it stands

Blessing the Lord is a concept that, quite honestly, sounds foreign to me.  I understand completely the idea of receiving blessing from the Lord, but I feel very inadequate to think that there is some way that I could bless the Lord.  The problem lies in our understanding of blessing.  We tend to equate blessing with providing some need in the life of another.  Since God does not need anything it seems like it would be impossible to bless Him.  However, if we define blessing as speaking highly of as in an act of worship; we can clearly see our ability to bless.  In reality the word “bless” caries both the idea of praising and providing. WE PRAISE HIS NAME: The call of this Psalm to: “Come, bless the Lord” is a call for all those who love and serve the Lord to raise their voices and their hands before the Lord and worship Him.  This act of praising the Lord does not provide God with anything that is lacking in His life, but it does delight His heart.  We were created for the purpos

Unity within the body of Christ is a wonderful blessing to experience but is very difficult to achieve.  Unity requires that we consider the well-being of the whole over our own.  We are, by nature, selfish and far more concerned about our individual desires over the needs of those who God has placed around us.  The problem is that selfishness is a recipe for unhappiness, frustration, anger and strife.  When we live for ourselves we will be constantly disappointed because our personal desires are never satisfied.  Unity allows us to live for something larger than ourselves and helps us to find purpose and satisfaction even in the midst of personal loss or suffering.  Unity divides our grief and multiplies our joy. UNITY BRINGS SPIRITUAL BLESSING: The Psalm compares the result of unity to oil that was used to anoint the head of Aaron, the high priest.  It is a symbol of consecration to the Lord and spiritual blessing to men.  Aaron was the spiritual leader of the people and had a v

The promises of God are a wonderful thing.  They provide an anchor for us in the midst of the often turbulent storm of life that we must often face.  It is easy for us to focus on the problems that often surround us in life and forget all about the promises of God; but we must not allow that to happen.  We must do whatever it takes to constantly remind ourselves of the promises of God.  Many people struggle mightily in their life because they do not know God’s promises because they have not taken time to study the Word of God.  Others who have studied the Word and know the promises become distracted and forget all about them at the first sign of trouble.  If we are going to grow in our relationship with the Lord and stand firm in the face of trials we must work hard to remember the promises of God all throughout our lives. GOD HAS PROMISED TO REWARD OUR WORK: The fact that God rewards obedience is spread throughout all of Scripture.  We often hesitate to talk about or even think a

Rest is a necessity for our bodies and our minds.  Unfortunately, it is often one of the most neglected necessities in our society today.  Advances in technology and demands upon our time as well as general expectations have all contributed to a lifestyle that keeps us from rest.  We stay up late in order to satisfy our thirst for entertainment and social connectivity then we get up early in order to rush to work where we are expected to perform at an intense level.  Our agendas are so full and our pace so frantic that we have very little time for physical rest and even lest time for mental rest.  This stress is taking its toll on our bodies, our minds and most dangerously on our relationships with the Lord.  We do not need to live this way.  God wants us to enjoy the life that He has given us and experience a life of resting in Him.  Here is what we must do in order to experience that rest. BE HUMBLE: We must admit that we are under the Lord and His sovereign care.  Too often we

Desperation is rarely used as a word to describe our relationship with God; but it certainly should be.  We may cry out to the Lord out of desperation over a circumstance that is not to our liking.  That is not the kind of desperation to which I am referring.  The desperation that I believe we should demonstrate is a desperation about our own sinfulness and the effect of that sinfulness on our relationship with God.  Unfortunately, we are often far more concerned with the external comfort of our physical bodies than we are with the internal cancer of sin that is eating away at our souls.  In light of our sinfulness we should be calling out to God in desperation. WE SHOULD CRY OUT TO GOD FOR HIS MERCIFUL FORGIVENESS: All of us are in desperate need of forgiveness.  We are all sinful and our sinfulness is like blight on our lives and keeps us from being able to rejoice in the life that God grants us and enjoy an open relationship with Him.  Our sin impacts all of our relationships b

Affliction is going to be a part of the lives of those who live to love and serve the Lord.  We are surrounded by people who have no fear of the Lord but they have great hatred for all of us who do fear the Lord.  We should not be surprised by the difficulties that come our way and we should not become distressed or discouraged in our walk with God.  We can, however, take comfort in the truth that God will not allow them to prevail.  There are those who stand in opposition to the Lord, but they are not going to be victorious.  Their plots will be thwarted.  They will be defeated and stand eternally judged by God.  Knowing their future demise should be and encouragement to us, but it is still important for us to prepare to stand firm in the face of their attacks.  Here are a few things that we must keep in mind about the wicked. THEY ARE UNMERCIFUL: Those who have no fear of God are unmerciful.  The start early and they are unrelenting in their pursuit of afflicting those who love

We all want to experience the blessings of the Lord in our lives.  In general it is important to know that God’s blessings come to us through His grace.  No matter how good we are, none of us deserve His blessings.  However, God does long to bless us and takes great delight in extending His grace to us.  God is the creator of this world and all of us.  He knows how we are wired and how things work best in this universe.  God also has a very clear plan as to what He wants to accomplish in this world and how each of us fit into that sovereign plan.  There are great blessings to be experienced in the lives of those who, by God’s grace, walk in submission to that plan.  Fearing God and walking in God’s ways is not something that we do apart from God’s grace and the power of the Gospel, but it is a very blessed experience in every aspect of our lives. GOD BLESSES OUR WORK: Sin brings about pain, frustration and futility.  When we live in rebellion against God, we are bucking up against

Our families are important to God.  He created the family and He cares for the family because He desires that the family be a means of bringing glory to Himself and revealing His glory to others.  Our churches, institutions and our society in general rise and fall with the families that compose them.  God must be the central person of the family and the central purpose of the family.  Satan is working very hard to destroy the family because he knows how dangerous the family is to his evil schemes.  The Lord loves the family and serves the family because He know how vital the family is to His purpose of giving people from all nations the privilege of worshiping Him. GOD BUILDS OUR FAMILIES THROUGH CHRIST: All of us want our children to be men and women of strong character.  However, all of the members of our families, adults and children, have a character that is fallen and corrupted by sin.  We have no way to build true character in the lives of our families apart from God.  All o

Joy is to be one of the hallmarks of the believer’s life.  There are times when it is very easy to rejoice, but there are also many times when it is hard.  The joy that God desires to see in our lives is not conditional, but should be a constant reality.  However, in this sin cursed world, things with us are not always as they should be.  Our “real life” experiences tell us that there are days of misfortune and profound sadness.  Depression seems to be at an all-time high in today’s society and it does not seem to be much different in those who attend our churches.  How can we experience the unconditional joy that God demands and desires to see in our lives?  There are two factors that contribute mightily to being able to rejoice in the Lord. HOPE IN THE PROMISES OF GOD: This Psalm speaks in the past tense about things that seem to be in the future.  That, by very definition, is hope.  The fortunes of Zion had been plundered and we can see throughout history that Israel has been d

Faith is the key to living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.  God delights in those who trust in Him completely and do not waiver in that trust because of the circumstances that arise in their lives.  We must learn that faith is vital to every aspect of our relationship with God and that apart from faith we cannot be in a right relationship with God. When our trust in the Lord is weak, we will be far more prone to sin and vulnerable to temptation.  No matter how difficult our station in life may seem, we must not doubt the sovereign control or the gracious love of God.  Our faith in Him must be steadfast and unwavering for only through faith will we experience the joy and rewards of our relationship with Him. THOSE WHO TRUST IN GOD WILL EXPERIENCE GOD’S PROTECTION: Jerusalem is a city that is surrounded by mountains.  God uses these mountains to illustrate the fact that He surrounds His people.  No matter what may happen in the city of Jerusalem, those mountains will not be m

It is healthy for us, at times, to consider the question “what if?”.  I say “at times” because there are some “what if?” questions that are dangerous and diabolical.  We must not question God’s sovereign and loving character concerning the future because that will only promote doubt and anxiety.  For instance, it is not wise for me to fret over the question “what if I get cancer or my child dies?”  We can certainly consider these questions and in some way prepare our minds and hearts to respond to such tragedies in a biblical way; but it is harmful and sinful for us to worry over these questions and begin to live in fear about them.  However, the psalmist in today’s passage is pondering the implications of life apart from the grace and mercy of God.  This is a practice that simply causes us to ponder the implications of a life lived apart from the blessings of God in order to promote gratitude in our hearts towards God.  When we consider where we would be apart from God it helps us to

Hope is a great blessing in our lives without which it would be easy to fall into despair.  The problem that many people have is that they place their hope on that which is unsure an insecure.  When our hope is wrapped up in the people or circumstances that surround us we are setting ourselves up for disaster.  Our hope must be on the Lord.  He must be our source of security and the true desire of our hearts.  In Him we will find contentment that does not depend on the circumstances of our lives. We must learn to lift up our eyes to the Lord and know that our help comes from Him and that our hope is wrapped up in Him. WHEN OUR HOPE IS ON GOD WE WILL FIND CONTENTMENT: God is high above us in the heavens.  If we are to find our hope in Him we must lift our eyes up from the dirt and mud of our circumstances and look up to Him.  He is our Master and He is the One whom we should seek to please and serve.  When we look into the eyes of our Lord we will find kind and compassionate eyes t

Worship should make us glad.  Our greatest source of joy should be the privilege of knowing and worshiping the Lord.  It is a great honor that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us and it is astounding that He takes delight in our worship.  God revealed Himself to and through the nation of Israel.  God formed a nation through which Messiah would come to reveal the person of God and pay the price for sin.  The nation of Israel was separated by God for the purpose of promoting the worship of the Lord amongst all the other nations of the World.  They were blessed of God so that they might be a blessing and spread the joy of worship to others.  Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and is city that is designated by God for the practice and promotion of worship.  We associate different things with different places and there are two things that we should think about when we think about Jerusalem. JERUSALEM IS A CITY FOR PRAISE: Jerusalem is a place where the people were called to gather

We face constant competition for our attentions and affections.  It is so easy to focus our attentions on the realities of the circumstances that we face.  We can look down and see the mud through which we must walk.  We can look around and focus on the dangers and temptations that this sinful world present in our lives.  Or… we can look up and see the Lord with an understanding that He is in control of our lives and the circumstances we face and that He is our Helper and a constant source of hope in our lives.  We must learn to focus our attention and affections on Him. GOD IS ALWAYS ALERT: We can trust God and place our hope securely upon Him because He is always available to us.  He is never too busy for us or too distant from us.  He never needs to rest and never goes to sleep.  Our God is always on duty and is attentive to each and every one of our needs and is acutely aware of every circumstance that we face in our lives.  When we call out to the Lord of help we will always

God is our Deliverer.  He is able to deliver us from the plot of the wicked men who constantly surround us.  If we are striving to live to please and honor the Lord, we are bound to suffer under the false accusations of evil men who are convicted or even offended by our commitments.  Even if we are constantly surrounded by people like this; God is faithful and able to deliver us and help us overcome these false attacks.  When we find ourselves in situation where we are surrounded by ungodly people that seek our harm there are two things that we must do. PLEAD TO GOD: Our first response when faced with a false accusation is to call out for the Lord to deliver us.  He is able to reveal the truth and He always knows the whole truth.  We can take refuge in His knowledge and be assured that He is faithful and just.  When it seems that we are surrounded by liars and dishonest people we can trust God with whom there is never any shadow of falsehood.  He is able to expose evil men for who