January 19 – He Hears Us

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. … He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1, 3 (ESV)

A promise that has eternal truth and never fades is found in our verses for today. About three weeks ago we began with a new page on our calendar. Often by this time the new year has lost its “glow” and we can take some time to think of what we have experienced so far and in our past. Because of that we can look forward to what is ahead of us.  Yes, our experience of God's love and faithfulness in the past is what encourages us so much to trust Him for the days ahead. We know that He is the one that lifts us up and sets our feet on a solid foundation (v.2). God has been and continues to faithfully keep his promises in the past and we can trust Him to continue doing that. It is important however, that we recognize the necessary times of waiting for Him to respond to our cries as the psalmist says. He'll keep on hearing our prayers and meeting our needs and giving us a new song to sing. This includes his promise that our testimony will draw others to put their trust in God.

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January 8 – A Sure Thing

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: For the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation..” Isaiah 12:2  (KJV)

Looking for a good reason to trust a sure thing? So much has been uncertain. Maybe our lives have been turned upside down because of the turmoil that rolled over us and flattened us but not the curve. There is One who we can trust and cling to the promises He has given to us. Yes, there is. We can trust without fear because our strength comes to us from our LORD JEHOVAH. This means the LORD our God is our strength where we have none. And it is true we have no strength of our own that will carry us through the year ahead so if we do not trust in the strength we have from God, we have no strength at all. We will end up on a heap of depression, despondency, and dread. We will be lost in the woods and sinking in the sea. Who will save us? The LORD JEHOVAH will. If we step out in faith, and put our trust in His word and guidance, we will not fear but we will stand up on a high place singing our song of salvation and praise to the LORD OUR LORD. It’s a sure thing.

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Understanding the use of JEHOVAH as the name of our LORD God. 

November 30 – Correct Magnification

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”  Psalm 69:30 (ESV)

If we're to magnify something, how do we go about doing it? We have two options. Use a telescope which brings really big things visually closer so we can see more detail clearly. The fuzzy dot in the sky called Saturn can be seen with its distinct rings. The other option is using a microscope which makes very small things⸺even those that cannot be seen with our eye, appear much larger than they are. A minute particle is made large enough for us to see detail clearly. In our verse today, David declares that he will “magnify God” with his thanksgiving. He does not mean that he will make a small God look bigger than He is.  He does mean that he will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is. So, perhaps we are called not to be microscopes but to be telescopes. We magnify God. In doing that we bring Him closer and more visible. John Piper says this; “The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this: feel, think, and act in a way that will make God look as great as he really is."

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Thanks to DesiringGod by John Piper 

December 6 – Lovingkindness Abounds

“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”  -  Psalm 42:7-8   (ESV)

And though it seems like we are being overwhelmed, the waves of grief and sorrow, and trouble just keep coming and overflow us. But so does the love of God as we have this promise from Him.  The Lord promises to provide His steadfast love in the daytime and in the night He gives us His song to be with with us.  Our response will be to sing that song God gives to us as it becomes our prayer to Him.  Our lives are full  of challenges which tempt us to give up our hope and in despair sink under the tidal wave of circumstances facing us.  Whatever they are God is greater than that for God is always with us and His lovingkindness and mercy abounds for us.  May God, in his perfection give us the hope and grace we need to trust in Him no matter what is happening in our lives.  Let us today hope in God and we shall yet praise Him.  

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October 15 – Reasons to Leap for Joy

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”  Psalm 28:7 (ESV)

The songs written by the psalmist David and included in our Bible were written as a result of some personal experience in David's life.  When David wrote the words to Psalm 28 he was expressing the feelings of His heart.  In answer to David's faith, God had helped him. What happened then? He said his heart exults. Other versions say "leaps for joy," and he began singing his thanks to God.  David's God is our God for there is only one true God.  He promises to respond to our faith by helping us when we call on Him.  When we recognize and acknowledge that God is helping us our hearts rejoice.  Can we say then that our heart leaps for joy?  If so, let us not forget to sing out thanks to our wonderful God.  

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October 7 – Waiting For a New Song

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  …  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.”  Psalm 40:1, 3 (NIV)

It is Sunday and a time when we worship God with songs and hymns, singing them together where we gather.  But our singing of praises to God can be something we do anytime and anywhere.  Now, it is very likely that the psalmist David had written many of his songs before he wrote this one.  He says here that God put a new song in his mouth and it was a hymn of praise.  God can do that for us as well.  Whatever challenges we are facing we know to wait patiently, God promises to turn to us and hear our cry and He can give us a new song to sing.  No matter how many songs we know we can always receive from God through many means, new or familiar songs of praise to sing.  And the purpose of the songs we sing are so that others will see our faith and our respect the Almighty God.  As our songs demonstrate our trust in his promises, others are drawn by the Holy Spirit to put their trust in Him as well.  Sing your songs of praise to God today, new or familiar - they are all good and pleasing to God. 

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August 14 – Trusting and Singing

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”  Isaiah 12:2 (ESV)

The prophet Isaiah who spoke and wrote many centuries before the time of Christ on earth, wrote much about the coming Savior.  We who believe on Jesus as our Savior can agree with the words of Isaiah in today's verse. Jesus the Son of God came to make a way for us to be saved from the consequences of sin.  When we believe in Jesus He becomes our salvation, as Isaiah said.  And, what does that do for us?  Our verse reminds us that our Lord becomes our strength.  We can trust in Him and we don't have to worry or be afraid of the future.  He'll take care of us.  Our verse also says that our Lord becomes our song.  Singing a song after being delivered from captivity or oppression was a practice, a way that the people gave thanks to God for what He had done.  Songs come to our mind and from our heart when we know God has made our path straight for us, he is our defense against all evil. 

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August 11 – Singing and Praying

“By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”  Psalm 42:8 (ESV)

What was on the mind of the psalmist as these words were written?  We read often in the Bible of the everlasting, unfailing love of God.  For those of us who are aware of His love it must have an effect on our lives.  This we believe is what the psalmist was thinking about.  He was experiencing the love of God and sees that this was happening daily.   We can experience God's love each day too because His love never fails.  He loved us yesterday and He is loving us today and He will love us tomorrow and forever.   That is His promise to us.  So, what effect did this experience of God's love have on the psalmist?  We notice two results.  God's love inspired the psalmist to sing “His song” at the end of the day and to  pray to God who had been steadfast in His love all day.  Singing His song is singing His praises.   Isn't that what happens in our lives too?  Because of his lovingkindness each and every day we are motivated to sing His praises and to pray to the God of our lives. 

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January 2 – He Hears Us

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. … He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1, 3 (ESV)

As we are starting our new year we can take time to think of what we have experienced in the past. And, because of that we can look forward to what is ahead of us.  Yes, our experience of God's love and faithfulness in the past is what encourages us so much to trust Him for the days ahead. Our verse today reminds us that God hears our cries for help, and in verse 2, which we did not read today, we know that He is the one that lifts us up and sets our feet on a solid foundation. God has been so faithful to keep his promises in the past that we can trust Him to keep on doing that.  He'll keep on hearing our prayers and meeting our needs and giving us a new song to sing. This includes his promise to meet the needs of our families and loved ones. 

December 22 – Truly From the Heart

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14 (NIV)

There is singing in the air these days. Some of it is for the purpose of praising God for sending His Son to be our Savior. That of course was the motive for the song the angels sang to the Bethlehem shepherds. You've heard these words, probably many times. The angels who sang these words knew that God was doing something wonderful when Jesus was born. They knew that God was showing His love for His human creatures—His love for you and me. Some of the angels had already been sent with messages telling about it beforehand and now Jesus was born. We don't know if the angels understood the full meaning of it but they sang their true praises to God. As we learn more and more of the meaning of God's plans for us, lets be sure that we sing truly from the heart as we sing Christmas songs. 

November 2 – Strength and Song

“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2 (NASB)

God spoke to His people about many different things through the prophets who recorded the messages. The words in today's verse are words of affirmation to those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior. That means that each of us who believe have found the Lord to be the answer to our needs in many situations. He has given us eternal life by becoming our salvation when we trust. We do not fear because we know He saves us in all situations we face each day by being our strength and song. The songs in our heart comes from the Lord God because He is our song. Let's allow our hearts to sing out today that God is our salvation. 

October 15 – Trust Brings Help

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

The words in this verse today which are especially attractive to us are the words, “my heart trusts in him and he helps me.” For those who have trusted in the Lord can agree with these words. We may have needed help in many different situations in our lives and have then trusted God for help and He has provided what we need. We can remember how at challenging times we have sensed a change and we believe that God has helped us. When we need strength and protection of this sort it comes to us from God, not from anything we can generate on our own. Let's be sure that we acknowledge God as our source of help and give Him joyful thanksgiving and praise. 

September 6 – Abounding Love

“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.”  Psalm 86:5 (NIV)

The Psalms were written to be songs and to be sung in worship, praise and prayer. When David wrote these words and then sang them to God,  he was expressing what he had experienced in his own life. But we noticed that he praised God for responding to all who would call on Him and that included us. We can join with David in thanking God for His love to each one of us when we turn to Him. When we think of how God has forgiven us and how He forgives us whenever we seek His forgiveness, we realize that this is due to His love for us, and it's because He loves us that He treats us so kindly. Let's join with David and say as he did, “You, Lord are forgiving and good abounding in love to all who call to you.” Today, whatever we encounter, let's remember the promise and call on God.

March 10 – Trusting Heart

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

This psalm was written as were the other psalms as one way of expressing joy in song. We realize that many people down through the centuries have sung this song to give thanks to God. We can join with the writer of this song to express the feelings of our heart. David said that his heart was trusting in the Lord. He put his confidence in the Lord and relied on Him to meet his needs. This effort was not in vain because God knew his heart and God responded. David said, “and He helps me.” All this can happen in our lives too. Why not trust the Lord today my friend and experience God’s response. Then we can say as David did, “my heart trusts in Him and He helps me.” The help from God is ours if we acknowledge Him and ask for it from Him. 

December 16

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me — Holy is His name.” Luke 1:49 (NIV)

Have you ever thought of whom it was that sang the first song in connection with the birth of Jesus? I am going to suggest that we look at the song which Mary sang when she first came to visit her cousin Elizabeth. This was, of course several months before Jesus was born. Her opening words were: “My soul praises the Lord” and then she tells why as we read our verse for today. It was a great thing that God had done in causing her to conceive a child who would be the Son of God. This was her song of praise. We believe that she trusted in Jesus as her Savior. After His crucifixion and ascension she joined other believers in prayer in Jerusalem. God had done great things for her! And he has done great things for us, too.