David praises the God of deliverance and the One who answers prayer.
Psalms 64: Hide Me from the Wicked To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, "Who can see them?"
6 They search out injustice, saying, "We have accomplished a diligent search." For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!
7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.
10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
Psalms 65: O God of Our Salvation To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.
2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.
4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalms 66: How Awesome Are Your Deeds To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." Selah
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations--- let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
Things to think about…
1. In Ps 64 David certainly knew plenty of enemies that were against him including Saul, Doeg the Edomite and even his own son Absalom. Here in Psalm 64 he speaks about those who work secret plots against him, vs 2 and who shoot in ambush, vs 4. But David consoles himself with these words “They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them”, vs 8. We all reap what we sow, whether that’s love, mercy and grace, or hatred, discord and unbelief.
2. Psalm 65 is just packed with good theology in its most simplistic form. God elects people, vs 4, He hears their prayers, vs 2, is a powerful Creator, vs 6, and is the Sovereign over His creation, vss 7-13. David writes truths about God and His world that are worthy of praise. Sometimes speaking out or singing a truth about God lifts the spirit. It gets rid of a spirit of doubt, fear and depression. May we all put on the garment of praise at every moment and praise the God of our salvation.
3. Have a look at Psalm 66! It is an anthem of praise. “Shout for joy to God” is the opening line. A few psalms begin with this word ‘shout’ Ps 33, 47 and 81 and they are all in the context of praise. When our praise is lethargic and dead it is not honouring to God. When you sing, use your energy – shout. We shout for our team at the game. Without being crass or irreverent, let’s shout for team Jesus. He has saved our souls and blessed us as His people. He is worthy of our heartfelt worship ‘with all our strength’ as Jesus tells us in Luke 10:27.
4. In Psalm 66 David’s praise extends as a result of meditating on His deliverance, vs 6,7,12 and answered prayer vss 19, 20. We can all testify to God’s amazing grace in a healing, or deliverance from relational strain or a financial provision. His promise to us is that He will ‘honour those who honour Him’, 1Sam 2:30
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
The reading this week was from James 5:7-20
James the brother of Jesus is writing to Jews about patience and endurance through suffering. James certainly knew what he was talking about as he remained in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen and the persecution that followed for the Christians who remained. James would himself be stoned to death in AD63 for under the charge of “not following the law of Moses”.
1. Would you consider yourself to be a patient person? It of course depends on what you are called to be patient in. What are you least patient in?
2. James, like Jesus urges people to be true to their word in James 5:12. Let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “no”, “no”. It seems Australians struggle with keeping their word. This is often the case within Christianity as well. Do you agree? Can you give some examples. What can be done to not allow Satan a foothold here.
3. James speaks about the imminent return of Christ. For him it was not long after writing this letter in AD63. It was also true of those living in Jerusalem a few years later in AD70. Do you spend much time thinking about the Lord’s return, especially when you will meet Him. This is not so far away for any of us in reality. Discuss your thoughts on this.
4. James’ last words recorded on this earth were “whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins”, James 5:20. Have you led anyone to Christ? If so, when? If not, do you speak to others about what your salvation/faith means to you?
Prayer Points
1. Covid stats in Sydney are frightful, 141 people are currently in hospital. Of those, 60 are under the age of 55 and 28 under the age of 35. 43 are in intensive care, 1 is in their teens, 7 in their 20’s, 3 in their 30’s, 14 in their 50’s, 12 in their 60’s and 6 in their 70’s. One 30yo woman has died who had no prior conditions. This virus is no joke. Please keep praying and be wise about your response to it.
2. Pray for the turmoil presently going on in South Africa. Pray for peace, calm and order to be restored. On top of this Covid has been at 40, 000 cases per day. Pray for healing and wisdom w.r.t this disease.
3. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours 😉
4. Pray for ministries as they start up this week – especially Sunday School, PlayPatch and Recharge. Pray for Maddison and Melinda as they lead these ministries.
5. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof and solar.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points.
1. New folks on Sunday.
2. John healing well. Good to see him back on Sunday.
3. Communion time on Sunday.
4. Riots in South Africa are settling down.
5. Praise and worship – thanks ZAC, Rod, Molly, Riley, Tim, Rin and Melissa.
6. The freedom to gather, albeit with masks on Sunday. Next Sunday no masks.
Announcements
1. No masks next Sunday.
2. PlayPatch for toddlers at church, Fridays 9:30-11am. Please get the word out. See Maddison for details.
3. Recharge Youth – 6:30-8:30pm – Band night this Friday.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
