Psalm 116:1-10 "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:" “I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.” These are the words of Christ, the voice of our Redeemer praying to His Father. Psalm 116 is the song and prayer of the Son of God, the Mediator, the Surety of His people. It is the thanksgiving of the One Who, having borne sin and wrath, was delivered and heard in His hour of anguish. When He says, “I love the LORD,” it is the perfect love of the Son to the Father—love displayed in obedience and submission, love that endured the cross and despised the shame. “He hath heard My voice” points us to Gethsemane and to Calvary, to the cry that rose from the garden and from the tree: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1). The psalm unfolds as Christ praying through suffering into victory, through death into life. “The sorrows of death compassed Me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon Me.” None could ever speak those words as He could. The curse of the law fell upon Him; justice demanded satisfaction, and He found trouble and sorrow. In His agony He cried, “O LORD, I beseech Thee, deliver My soul.” That prayer was heard. As Hebrews 5:7 declares, He “was heard in that He feared.” The Father received the cry of His obedient Son and brought Him up out of death, for grace and righteousness met together. “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.” (Psalm 116:5) In that one verse stands the wonder of redemption—how God can be both gracious and righteous. Romans 3:25–26 declares, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood… to declare His righteousness… that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” At the cross, mercy and truth met together; righteousness and peace kissed each other (Psalm 85:10). God remained just, even while justifying the ungodly, because His Son bore the judgment due to sin. “Return unto thy rest, O My soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.” This is the voice of the risen Redeemer, Who, after the travail of His soul, was satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). The work is finished, the ransom paid, the rest obtained. The Father has raised Him from the dead, declaring Him to be the Son of God with power. “Thou hast delivered My soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, and My feet from falling.” Death could not hold Him. The sorrow and tears of the Man of Sorrows are forever gone. His feet stand firm in resurrection glory on behalf of His people (Ephesians 2:6). This psalm is therefore the song of Christ, Who once was compassed by death but now lives forevermore. It is the voice of the Shepherd Who walked through the valley for His sheep and brought them safely out with Him. Because He was heard, we are heard. Because He lives, we shall live also. “I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” These are the words of triumph, the confession of the Redeemer and of all who are in Him. The Father heard His cry and accepted His offering. Now all who are united to Him by faith walk in the light of His life. Gracious is the LORD and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. He heard His Son, and in His Son He hears us. This is, in essence, a Resurrection Hymn of the LORD Jesus in His successful work on behalf of His people that the Father gave Him to save. In this psalm, we see Christ's agonizing prayer in death, but also His deliverance through resurrection, His rest and joy in the Father's presence, and now His eternal intercession and constant communion with the Father and His saved ones. The LORD heard  Him — not by sparing Him from the cross, but by raising Him from the dead , vindicating His righteousness, and glorifying Him with the glory He had before the world was (John 17:1-5).

Psalm 1 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." At the very outset of the Psalms, God sets before us not humanity in general, not believers in particular, but One specific Man—Christ Jesus the LORD. He is the Perfect One, the Just One, the Blessed One in the sight of God. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17) . The Psalms are not first about us, but about Him. “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Psalm 1 is not moral advice, but a portrait of the Man Who came in flesh, the Man Who is the Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Blessed is this Man, for He alone walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful. From eternity, He delighted to do His Father’s will (Psalm 40:7-8). “His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth He meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This is Christ. He magnified the law and made it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The law was never grievous to Him, for He is the One Whose meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him (John 4:34). In every thought, word, and deed, He fulfilled righteousness on behalf of His people. “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Psalm 1:3) . Christ is the Tree of Life. He is the true Vine, and His people are the branches (John 15:1-5). He brings forth fruit in His season—the fruit of His perfect obedience, the fruit of His finished sacrifice, the fruit of a people given Him from eternity. “ All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me” (John 6:37). His leaf does not wither, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) . All that He does prospers, for He has accomplished redemption (John 19:30). The ungodly are not so. They are like chaff which the wind drives away (Psalm 1:4) , sinners by nature, unable to stand in the judgment, without righteousness, without hope (Romans 3:10-12) . But Christ stood in the place of His elected ones. He bore their sin, and in Him they are made the Righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). “The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6). That way is Christ Himself— “ I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 ). God knows His way because it is His own way, the way of His Son’s obedience unto death. And all who are found in Him are righteous, accepted, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). The ungodly shall perish in their way, but the way of the righteous shall stand forever in Christ, the Blessed Man. So we look to Him, rest in Him, and rejoice in Him. He is the Blessed Man, our Mediator, our Surety, our Savior. Blessed is He—and blessed are all who are in Him (Psalm 2:12).

Psalm 2 "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psalm 2 is a Gospel Psalm. In just twelve verses, the Spirit of God sets before us the glory of Christ the King, the certainty of His reign, and the vanity of all who oppose Him. If ever we needed a clear picture of our natural condition and of God’s gracious provision in His Son, we find it here. The Psalm begins with a question that echoes through every age: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” This is not an isolated rebellion, confined to one place or one time. It is the universal condition of fallen man. The kings of the earth, the rulers of nations, and the people themselves rise up together in defiance against the LORD. This is not merely history, nor is it only the story of “others.” It is our story. Apart from Grace, we are found in this very company — imagining vain things, resisting His rule, and refusing His yoke. But notice the futility of such rebellion. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." Men conspire, Satan rages, nations plot, but God is not unsettled. He is seated. He reigns in calm sovereignty. The defiance of the world does not move Him, nor does it frustrate His purpose. " And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Daniel 4:35) . Here in this Psalm He declares, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” No matter the opposition, Christ shall reign. This Psalm lifts our eyes to see the decree of God concerning His Son: “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” These words cannot be confined to David or any earthly king. The apostles in Acts 13:33 understood them to speak of Christ Jesus, raised from the dead and declared to be the Son with Power. At Calvary, men thought to silence Him, but the Truth is that they were accomplishing the very will of God. All the while they were doing their will, they could do nothing more or less than what God had ordained should be done, Acts 4:28. In the resurrection, the Father vindicated the Son and gave Him elect sinners from all nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. The One Who was despised and rejected is now exalted and enthroned. The Psalm then gives us a sobering picture: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” This is the certainty of Christ’s rule. He will not be ignored, and He will not be set aside. Every enemy will be subdued, either in judgment or in grace. We see revealed here the unshakable authority and final triumph of Christ over all who oppose His reign. The imagery of the rod of iron  speaks of unyielding, irresistible power—Christ’s rule is not fragile nor uncertain, but firm, righteous, and invincible. The nations and kings that rage against Him are compared to a potter’s vessel , easily shattered and unable to resist His judgment. The contrast is striking: man’s proudest strength is but brittle clay before the dominion of the Lord’s Anointed. Spiritually, this verse warns every soul of the futility of resisting Christ’s authority. He is set as King upon the holy hill of Zion, and all rebellion will be crushed. Yet, for His people, this same iron rod is their security, for it defends them against every adversary and guarantees the final victory of His kingdom. Christ said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," (Matthew 16:18). Thus, the verse both terrifies the proud and comforts the humble: to those who are brought to submit by His Grace and Power, His reign is peace; to those who rebel, it is sure destruction. This brings us to the Psalm’s closing appeal: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Here the Gospel is pressed upon us with urgency. To “kiss the Son” is not to give Him a token acknowledgment, nor to offer Him a mere profession, but to bow in heartfelt surrender. It is to lay down our arms of rebellion, to take sides with God against ourselves, and to trust wholly in Christ — in His shed blood for the sins of His elect, in His perfect righteousness worked out on their behalf, and in His finished work that fully satisfied divine justice for them. How gracious of God to end this Psalm, not with wrath, but with blessing. Though the nations rage, though our hearts by nature are filled with enmity, yet the Spirit of God calls us to Christ. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Blessed, because in Him there is safety from judgment. Blessed, because in Him there is peace with God. Blessed, because in Him every promise of God is “Yea and Amen.” Here, then, is the heart of the Gospel: our rebellion exposed, God’s sovereign decree declared, Christ crucified and risen, and the call to Christ in faith and submission. The raging of man is real, but it is vain. The decree of God is sure, and His King reigns. And for poor, needy sinners like us, there is a Refuge: " Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." So let us bow today before this exalted Son. Not with the kiss of Judas, not with the kiss of empty profession, but with the kiss of Faith and Love, given from hearts that God Himself has turned from rebellion to worship. May Christ be precious to us again and again, and may we rejoice that He reigns as our Savior and our King.

Psalm 118:27  "God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." What a glorious testimony we have here in this Old Testament-inspired Word, of the Revelation of Christ and Redemption in Him through the sovereign grace of God. In the shadows of Old Testament worship, the psalmist declares that God is the LORD —Jehovah is God—and He has “ shewed us light.” This is not merely the light of outward religion or moral reformation, but the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God shining in the Face of Jesus Christ. Here, the Spirit of God lifts our eyes to see that salvation is not by man in any way, but revealed by God Himself to those He elected in Christ before the foundation of the world, and for whom He sent His Son into the world as a Man to pay their sin debt by His death on the cross. It is God Who makes Himself known, and it is God Who has ordained the Sacrifice of His Son for the Satisfaction of His law and justice. He has provided Himself the Lamb, and Himself as the Lamb (Genesis 22:8). When the psalmist exhorts, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar,” we are brought to consider the ultimate offering—Christ, the Lamb of God, willingly bound by sovereign purpose, led to the altar of the cross. The cords were not ropes of man's making, but the cords of everlasting love, the decree of divine justice, and the unbreakable covenant of Grace. Here, then, we are led to contemplate the glorious work of the LORD Jesus—our Sacrifice and our Light—Who was not only revealed to us, but also given for us as His elect children. This Scripture points us to its fulfillment in the Person and finished work of Christ—God's chosen Redeemer, bound and offered once for all to save His people from their sins. God  [El-The Mighty One] is the LORD  [Jehovah-The Eternal Covenant God], Who hath shewed us Light [ “Christ Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person…” - Hebrews 1:3 ]  bind the sacrifice  [one slain as part of one of the feast days] with cords  [used to tie the sacrificial victim], even unto the horns of the altar [horn-like projections at each corner of the altar].        Knowledge of God in Christ is by His Sovereign revelation alone, by His Spirit. God causes the glorious Person of Christ to shine in the hearts of His children as an indication of His grace toward them in Christ ,   “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to   give   the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” ( 2 Corinthians 4:6 ) The darkness of ignorance and unbelief is dissipated and yields to the glorious knowledge of the LORD Jesus, and His effectual Sacrifice for their sin. All true Spirit-given FAITH is concerning the LORD Jesus and His Sacrifice for sinners at the cross. The LORD Jesus is that willing, sinless Sacrifice Who was bound by God’s decree, His law and justice, and the sin of those sinners the Father gave Him from eternity to save. He offered Himself up as His Sacrificial Lamb once for all, that He might be just and justify those He chose from eternity, " By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all..... "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10, 14).        In the light of this Scripture, we behold the wondrous grace of our covenant God Who has made His light to shine upon us in the Face of Jesus Christ. He who is the Lamb slain (since) from the foundation of the world is the One to whom the sacrificial cords point—the very altar to which He was bound for our eternal redemption as His elected children. This binding was not by force of man, but by the will of God and the willing offering of the Son, Who gave Himself in love for His chosen people. Here is the glory of sovereign grace: not that we sought Him, but that He sought us, gave Himself for us, and has brought us into His marvelous Light. May our hearts therefore be fixed in praise, and our lives offered in continual thanksgiving, for the LORD our God has truly dealt bountifully with us in Christ.

Psalm 122:1 "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord ." This verse breathes out the joy of a redeemed soul drawn by grace into the presence of God. It is not the natural heart that delights in the things of God, only the regenerate heart made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3) . The gladness expressed here flows from the work of Christ Who by His blood has opened the way into the true house of the LORD—not a temple made with hands, but the assembly of His saints, His church, redeemed and gathered by the Spirit. It is Christ, our Peace, Who brings us near (Ephesians 2:13–14) , and in Him, we rejoice to go where His glory dwells. This Psalm was one of many called ‘Songs of degrees’ because they were sung by pilgrims journeying up to Jerusalem and the temple. Many people from all parts of the promised Land journeyed up to Jerusalem each year for the feasts, especially the Passover in the spring, the Feasts of the Tabernacles and the Harvest in the autumn. During these seasons, companies of people went up, step by step from one town and another and would meet up and journey on together.       What a beautiful picture of the LORD’s people today who walk together in Christ, members of His body, belonging to the house of the LORD, His church. The word ‘church’  means 'called out ones’.   And so it is of those sinners, chosen by God the Father from eternity and in time called out to the LORD Jesus by His effectual grace, from every tribe, nation and tongue, ( Revelation 7:9). He has made them a kingdom of priests unto God by the shed blood unto death of the LORD Jesus, ( Revelation 1:5).       In the Old Testament, the house of the LORD was a physical temple where people went to worship with their sacrifices offered up by the priests unto God.  Today, the temple is not physical but the Spiritual body of the LORD Jesus, John 2:21.  The house of the LORD in the Old Testament foreshadowed the Person and work of the LORD Jesus as God’s House, made up of those sinners that He has redeemed and they are joined together as believer priests to offer up sacrifices of praise through Him Who is God’s High Priest and Mediator ( Hebrews 13:15).   “But Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we, if [as] we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)       People today talk about ‘going to church’ as if it is a place, when it is a chosen, redeemed, and called out people. The church is a community of believers that the LORD Jesus has bought by His shed blood unto death on the cross,  Ephesians 2:13-22 ,. Therefore, they meet together around the throne of Grace, wherever they can join in that oneness of the Faith once delivered unto the saints, Jude 1:3.  Just like the church of old that would journey to meet together, so we walk this pilgrim path together in Christ, rejoicing in His work accomplished for chosen undeserving but thankful sinners. As we serve out our life sentence, we rejoice together in God’s work of Grace for us and in us, and cherish the fellowship that we enjoy together being members of His House.  As the LORD’s House, we are His household, members of one another as the true family of God ( Ephesians 3:15).        1.)   A household whose members value one another, understanding our need for one another’s fellowship but more importantly our continual need of the LORD Jesus our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption 1( Corinthians 1:30-31, 12:15-24).     2.)   A household that  relates to one another  with a true caring concern for one another, putting differences aside by the Grace of God, all being sinners saved, forgiven, and justified by the work of the LORD Jesus, therefore one  in Him ( 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 ).     3.)   A household whose unity  is one in heart in Christ, not mere formalism or outward appearance ( Ephesians 4:1-6 ).     4.)   A household that seeks the common good of the other members, not looking out for their own interests ( Philippians 2:1-4 ).       As David declared , “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” So also are the members of Christ’s household who rejoice whenever we can meet together in Him to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth ( John 4:24).

Psalm 51:1 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." These are not the words of someone bargaining with God or claiming merit—they are the cry of a broken sinner casting himself wholly upon the mercy and grace of the LORD. This verse sets forth the very heart of the Gospel: that salvation is not based on human worthiness or religious effort, but entirely on the gracious, covenant love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. David appeals not to his repentance or sorrow, but to God’s lovingkindness—His electing grace and abundant mercy in Christ, the Lamb slain at the cross. There can be no salvation of sinners by any other means than the just satisfaction of God’s righteousness. God's righteousness satisfied is the cause, of which salvation is the effect. David, like all Old Testament believers, looked to and longed for the fulfillment of God’s righteousness in the death of the LORD Jesus, even as he declared   “Deliver me from blood- guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of THY RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Psalm 51:14)       When the Spirit brought David to confess his guilt in the death of Uriah and his adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, he used the plural form “bloods,” which denotes intensity and great guilt. He did not argue that it was a light matter because he was chosen by God or somehow justified by being elect. No! He cried unto the LORD to be his salvation, clearly placing no confidence in animal sacrifices " For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering" ( Psalm 51:16). He was uniquely looking to the One that those sacrifices represented, Who would come in the fulness of the time and lay down His life to redeem him, " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" ( Galatians 4:4-5).  That knowledge caused him to sing aloud of that righteousness that the LORD Jesus would earn and establish and that God would impute to his account once He had finished the work on his behalf at the cross.     The righteousness of God was satisfied in time at the cross on behalf of all those whom the Father chose before the foundation of the world, in a twofold manner. First, all the sins of all the elect—from the beginning to the end of time—were laid upon the Savior, Who stood in their place as their Substitute. Second, the perfect obedience of the LORD Jesus, which He earned and established as God in the flesh, was simultaneously imputed to their account when He laid down His life on the cross: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”  (2 Corinthians 5:21). This righteous satisfaction at the cross was accomplished according to God’s eternal purpose and decree, and its effect is the actual salvation of all for whom Christ died when He paid their dreadful sin debt. Since law and justice were satisfied at the cross, all of the elect were then and there justified before God. Herein, God reveals Himself to be both a just God and a Savior.    Salvation is the sum of all the works of God in Christ—election, predestination, obedience, redemption, justification, sanctification. regeneration, and final glorification. “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified”  (Romans 8:28–30). All the benefits of salvation are the fruit of God’s covenant mercies in Christ—mercies that God the Father ordained, God the Son accomplished, and God the Spirit reveals in the heart of each elect sinner in His time .

Psalm 92:1,2 "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night," It is a good thing—yea, the best and most blessed occupation of the redeemed soul—to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto the Name of the Most High. The psalmist in Psalm 92 opens with this very thought: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (v.1). But what is the reason for such praise? What compels the believer, day by day, morning and night, to declare the LORD’s lovingkindness and faithfulness? The answer lies in the sovereign and saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. This grace, purposed from eternity, accomplished at the cross, and revealed effectually by the Spirit, is the sole reason we rise in the morning with songs of mercy on our lips and lay down at night resting in the assurance of God's faithfulness in Christ. The lovingkindness spoken of here is not merely a general kindness, but that covenant mercy— chesed —which flows from God’s eternal love for His elect in Christ. It is the very grace that chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), redeemed us by Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:12) , and called us with a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). “To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning.” Each morning that the believer awakens is not a product of chance, but a testimony of God's preserving mercy. Jeremiah wrote, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). Who is it that preserves the child of God through the night watches and raises him again to behold the light of another day? It is Christ Himself, our Life, our Righteousness, our Hope. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want… he restoreth my soul” (Psalm 23:1,3). When we consider that all our spiritual blessings—redemption, justification, sanctification, regeneration, and glorification—flow from the eternal wellspring of God's sovereign grace, how can we not begin the day by declaring His lovingkindness? The believer knows that had God not loved him with an everlasting love and drawn him with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3), he would still be lost, dead in trespasses and sins, without Christ, and without hope (Ephesians 2:12) . Herein is the wonder of God's saving grace in Christ: God loved us not because of foreseen merit or good, but according to His own will and purpose in Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). That is the lovingkindness we declare in the morning. And in the evening, when the shadows fall and the day closes, we recount His faithfulness—not our faithfulness to Him, but His faithfulness to us. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). When we consider what it means to shew forth  His lovingkindness in the morning, this is not merely a private emotion or an inward feeling, but a declaration , and a testimony. It is to speak, sing, pray, and live in such a way that the mercies of God in Christ are made known—first to our own hearts, and then to those around us. The heart enlivened by sovereign grace cannot remain silent. “I believed, therefore have I spoken” (Psalm 116:10). What do we speak? We declare the mercy that met us when we were dead in sins. We proclaim the love that lifted us out of the miry clay and set our feet upon a Rock. That Rock is Christ. Morning by morning, we are reminded that we do not stand in our own strength. Our salvation is not conditioned on our works, our will, or our faithfulness. It is built entirely on the immovable Foundation of God’s eternal purpose and Christ’s finished work. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9). This is the lovingkindness we rejoice in when the sun rises. But the day is not without its trials. The morning may begin with peace, but the world soon presses in. Temptations come. We may falter. We may even fall. Yet when the night returns and we lay our heads down again, we do so with confidence in His faithfulness . “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). What God has begun in us by His sovereign grace, He will finish. “Being confident of this very thing,” Paul writes, “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). So we declare His lovingkindness in the morning—for it is by grace we are kept. And we declare His faithfulness every night—for it is by grace we are preserved. Grace began the work. Grace sustains the work. And grace will complete it in glory. The LORD has done it all. Christ has triumphed. And we, His blood-bought people, rest in that perfect work. Let us, then, live each day between these twin pillars of praise: the lovingkindness of God revealed in the cross of Christ , and the faithfulness of God who will never forsake His own . This is the song of the believer in time—and it will be the song of the redeemed throughout eternity. “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee” (Psalm 65:4). The LORD Jesus is THE MAN that God the Father chose, and caused to approach unto Him, but as the Representative of elect sinners that the Father gave Him. They are caused to approach unto God, justified by the work of Christ, the Mediator between God and men. We come because we were chosen in Christ, and drawn by His Spirit. We believe because we were called. We endure because we are preserved. All is of grace. All is in Christ. And all redounds to the glory of God alone (Romans 8:28-34).

Psalm 144:4 " Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away." David, the king of Israel, pens these words during a prayer for deliverance and blessing. A man of war, trial, and transgression, he knew firsthand the brokenness of human nature and the frailty of life under the curse. In Psalm 144:3 , he marvels: " LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!"  And in verse 4, he declares with sober clarity: "Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away." David had seen the rise and fall of kings and nations. He had watched the strength of men fade like withered grass and the glory of this world vanish like smoke. He knew the consequence of Adam’s fall—that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men" (Romans 5:12) . Man in his natural state is spiritually bankrupt—vain, fleeting, without substance, and utterly separated from God. David’s words are a divine assessment of fallen humanity: “Man is like to vanity.”   Not merely near it or affected by it, but identified with it. This is the doctrine of total depravity . Man is not merely sick—he is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). His religion, morality, and effort are all tainted by sin and void of saving power. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). No amount of good intention can raise him from spiritual death. He is vanity—a vapor, a shadow, a momentary breath that vanishes. “Surely every man is vanity” (Psalm 39:5). Yet, it is against this bleak backdrop that God's sovereign grace in Christ shines brightest. Though man is nothing, God is everything. From before the foundation of the world, God purposed to save a people, not based on their worth, but according to His will and grace (Ephesians 1:4–5; 2 Timothy 1:9). The elect were not left in Adam’s ruin. They were chosen in Christ, the Surety of a better covenant, Who came not to assist the weak but to raise the dead (John 5:21). Christ, the eternal Son, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us”  (John 1:14). He entered into this world of shadows to accomplish what no man could do. At the cross, He bore the full weight of His people’s sin, guilt, and vanity. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows”  (Isaiah 53:4). “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”  (2 Corinthians 5:21). In His death and resurrection, Christ brought eternal substance where once there was only a passing shadow. He is the Light that shineth in darkness (John 1:5) , and the Life that conquered the grave. Those chosen in Him are made the very Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by the sovereign will of God (John 1:13) . His obedience is their righteousness. His blood is their redemption. His life is their life (Romans 5:9-11). Psalm 144 , while a prayer for national deliverance, is also a prophetic longing for the true Deliverer. David, though a king, cries out for One greater than himself—a Redeemer Who alone can save from sin, vanity, and death. “Blessed be the LORD my strength,”   he says (Psalm 144:1) , for he knew that Strength, Salvation, and Deliverance are of the Lord alone (Jonah 2:9). For every chosen sinner given to Christ, His life, death, and resurrection are not vanity but eternal truth. He came to redeem a people plagued by brevity and sin and bring them into an everlasting kingdom. “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him… to such as keep his covenant”  (Psalm 103:17–18). He is the Substance. He is the Glory. He is the Eternal answer to man’s fleeting shadow. So yes— “man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away” (Psalm 144:4). But for the believer in Christ, “the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth” (1 John 2:8). Our hope is not in ourselves, but in Him wWho is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift   (2 Corinthians 9:15) ! Man is vanity. But Christ is ALL   (Colossians 3:11).

Psalm 23 " The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Many of us find solace in Psalm 23 , viewing the LORD Jesus as the Shepherd of His sheep. However, before being unveiled as the Shepherd of the sheep, He first served as God’s Shepherd for them. We understand that the LORD Jesus embodies the fulfillment of all Scripture. When He arrived at the appointed time in the world, He fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. Therefore, when reading Psalm 23, we perceive how our LORD Jesus fulfilled them before His Father, serving as the God-Man in the flesh. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want:" As the Father was the Shepherd of the LORD Jesus, He lacked nothing to fulfill His Father's purpose for the salvation of His people. " Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7). "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters." The LORD Jesus, as the appointed Shepherd of His Father, guided His sheep in the same pastures and waters where He found rest in His Father during His earthly life. These represent His Gospel—His Person and His finished work at the cross—preceding us as our Forerunner. "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 6:19, 20) "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Despite His soul being offered for sin ( Isaiah 53:10–11 ), the LORD Jesus’ suffering never tainted His soul. His perseverance stemmed from upholding His Father's righteousness. As His sheep, our souls are revived due to the righteousness He earned and bestowed upon us at the cross . “ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.“ (I Peter 2:24). "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Our LORD traversed the valley of death’s shadow in His suffering, but He trusted His Father to sustain Him. The rod and staff of God's chastening were a source of comfort, knowing He bore it for His people's salvation. " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." He was the Father’s Anointed One (The Christ). Even in the presence of His enemies, His joy lay in that table prepared for Him by the Father. Despite drinking the cup of wrath dry, fulfilling the Father's will, He ate and drank of those sufferings with joy, knowing that the Father had prepared the table before Him. Eating the bitter herbs and drinking the cup of His wrath would, for His people, become a table of blessing—Christ being the Bread, and the shedding of His blood unto death being the Wine—by which we have fellowship with God. "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28). "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." Christ’s completed work as God’s Shepherd ensures that goodness and mercy accompany Him always. Having finished His work and seated at the right hand of the Father, He remains endlessly in that Spiritual House. " Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25 ) While we rejoice in Christ as our Shepherd, our joy is amplified knowing that, even before being revealed as our Shepherd, He was already God the Father’s appointed Shepherd.

Psalm 25:11 "For thy name's sake, O LORD, Pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." David cried, “For Thy name’s sake, O LORD, PARDON MINE INIQUITY: for it is great” (Psalm 25:11). So great is our sin that none can bear the weight of its guilt and so great that none but God can forgive it. If God should mark iniquity and insist on satisfaction for it from us, there would be no standing before Him, "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand" (Psalm 130:3) ?  Yet, there is forgiveness with Him : "But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared" (Psalm 130:4).   How?        Psalm 85:2 says, “Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin.”  In this, the psalmist looks by Faith to the death of the LORD Jesus. The blood of bulls and goats could not put away sin but served as a provisional covering for the sins of God’s elect until the LORD Jesus came and shed His blood unto death: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" ( Hebrews 9:12-14)?   The blood of the LORD Jesus Christ was shed for the actual pardon for sin on behalf of that select number of sinners that God the Father chose and gave to His Son to save by His righteous obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, "and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" ( Philippians 2:8).  They were chosen, not because He saw that they would believe on Him, for none would believe, except the Father by His Spirit draws them, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44).   He chose them out of His own free and sovereign Grace because He loved His Son and He would honor His Son with a people to save by His Grace  “... in the fulness of the time” (Galatians 4:4). At the moment that our LORD cried, “It is finished,”   and commended His Spirit to the Father on the cross, the entire work of the pardon of the sin of His people was completed ( John 19:30) . Then and there the Bible declares that God the Father redeemed, justified and sanctified each one of the elect, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).    God does not wait for redeemed sinners to believe to forgive their sins and justify them. Rather, He has already forgiven them for Christ’s sake by His shed blood unto death on the cross, "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath though Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation" (Romans 5:9-11). Faith then believes the Record that God has given of His Son about the forgiveness of sins and righteousness that He fully accomplished in His perfect life and effectual death on the cross, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (1 John 5:11).    Here is encouragement for the elect, redeemed, and justified sinners to hope in Him for Salvation ( Psalm 130:3-7) . As the publican in the temple cried, “ God, be merciful to me, [the] sinner" (Luke 18:13)!  The cry for Mercy was literally for God to look upon the Mercy Seat (a type of Christ and His shed blood). It is there and only there that God has put away the sin of His people and there they find the Just God already satisfied and His holy law already fulfilled and magnified by Christ on their behalf, "The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable" ( Isaiah 42:21) .

Psalm 86:10 "For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone." This verse proclaims God's sovereign majesty—the One Who alone does wondrous things. It is a declaration of His absolute authority, His mighty works, and His exclusive role in the salvation of sinners. In light of sovereign grace, we see here the Gospel of Christ, the Word made flesh, Who bore the weight of our sins upon the cross. These words reflect the very heart of Christ’s suffering, as He gave glory to His Father, just as He did in John 17:1-2, knowing that the Father would bless His completed work on behalf of those for whom He died. As the Lord Jesus hung in agony, forsaken by the Father to suffer and die, He bore the wrath due to the sinners whom the Father had given Him to save. Yet, amid His suffering, His trust in the Father never wavered. Even in His deepest affliction, He proclaimed the Father’s faithfulness in His redemptive work on the cross. Christ’s suffering was not in vain—it was the fulfillment of God’s sovereign purpose, the accomplishment of the wondrous work of redemption for His people. The cross itself was the greatest "wondrous thing" ever accomplished—the perfect redemption and justification of the elect, obtaining their salvation through sovereign grace alone, as affirmed in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 . When Jesus cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30), He echoed the truth of Psalm 86:10 : God alone is great, and He alone accomplishes salvation. In Christ, the sovereign God did what no man could do—He redeemed His people with His blood, (Acts 20:28). The depravity of our flesh leads us to wrongly believe that we must contribute something to our salvation—whether by earning it, achieving it, or maintaining it. Our sinful nature always seeks a share in the glory, rather than submitting to the clear testimony of Scripture that salvation is in, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Hebrews 1:3 declares, "When he had by himself purged our sins..." Christ Jesus is the LORD, the Word of God, the Gospel, and the very manifestation of the grace of God. He alone earned and established the perfect righteousness necessary to satisfy the Father's law and justice. Then, laying down His life, He shed His righteous blood unto death, so that God the Father might justify His elect fully and finally at the cross (Romans 5:9-11). Many blindly misread the Word of God, believing that something more is required for salvation beyond what the Lord Jesus Christ has already accomplished. Some claim that a sinner must first experience an inner work of grace that enables him to perceive Christ and call upon Him before he can be saved. Others insist that faith must be exercised first, even asserting that faith is a gift from God, yet holding that until a sinner exercises it, they are not saved. This view subtly shifts the focus from the wondrous work of God to some supposed work of the sinner. But the truth of Scripture is clear: everything necessary for the salvation of a sinner has already been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Faith and coming to Christ are not conditions for salvation but the effects of His finished work. The Lord Jesus Christ alone has done wondrous things in His righteous life and redeeming death, and therefore, all glory belongs to Him. This is why He is called "Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Psalm 86:10 declares the unrivaled greatness of God: "For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone." This truth is the foundation of True Faith—God alone is sovereign, and His works are mighty and marvelous, accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. In Christ, we see the greatest of these wondrous works: the redemption of sinners through His effectual and finished sacrifice on the cross. No one else could accomplish salvation; no other name can save (Acts 4:12) . From beginning to end, salvation is the work of a sovereign and gracious God Who alone is worthy of our trust, worship, and devotion. Let us, then, rest in His greatness, rejoice in His wondrous grace, and proclaim that He alone is God. May we ever acknowledge that His sovereign hand rules over all in creation, providence, salvation, and condemnation. Therefore, to Him alone belongs all glory, now and forever.

Psalm 51:7 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Here is a Spirit-inspired prayer of repentance from King David, expressing his deep longing for forgiveness and gracious renewal after his sin with Bathsheba. The imagery of being cleansed with hyssop, a plant used in ancient purification rituals, reflects both the severity of sin and the profound grace of God’s cleansing power through the shed blood unto death of the accepted Sacrifice before the LORD. Pause and consider the significance of true purification before God, and the restoration that comes through His forgiveness, and the hope that even the deepest stains of sin are washed away, leaving the justified sinner pure before Him. David, a man after God's own heart (God having set His heart on him in saving grace- 1 Samuel 13:14 ), was, nonetheless, a miserable sinner who had grievously sinned before the LORD. This prayer was recorded after he had taken Bathsheba, the wife of one of his generals, and then aggravated that sin with murder. To cover up his sin, David put his general in a position where his troops were ordered to withdraw, resulting in the general's death. David believed he had gotten away with the perfect murder and cover-up. Yet, even as dark and sinister as this plot was, we find David, after the LORD pointed him out as THE SINNER , looking nowhere else but to the blood of the Lamb, pleading for mercy and grace. In 2 Samuel 12:9-12, we find the story behind Psalm 51 , where the Lord did not leave David alone. He sent one of His prophets, Nathan, to speak to him about what he had done to Uriah. "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die" (2 Samuel 12:13). Before David was aware of the forgiveness of the LORD on his behalf, the prophet assured him that the LORD had put away his sin. Since we know that no sin could be put away until Christ had come and paid the debt, the way David's sin was put away, just like all the Old Testament believers, was by God not charging them with the sin (the non-imputation of their sin- Romans 4:8 ) and having purposed to lay it on the LORD Jesus Christ, the TRUE LAMB SLAIN, when He would come and pay the sin debt of all the elect together at one time, Hebrews 9:15. Why hyssop? Hyssop is a small plant, about 12 to 15 inches tall at its largest point. Some believe it is of the mint family, though it was a bush used in the sacrifices that God required of Israel in the Old Testament. It is mentioned in the Passover feast in Exodus 12, where it was part of the ritual: the blood of the lamb was to be placed on the doorposts and lintels, and God, seeing the blood, would pass over the children of Israel. Could it be that David was thinking of this when he said, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean?” More importantly, it likely pointed forward to the cross of the Lord Jesus. In John 19:29, when our LORD Jesus hung on the cross and was about to lay down His life, it says they filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on hyssop, and offered it to His mouth. After receiving the vinegar, Jesus declared, "It is finished," and then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Literally, He pillowed His head in submission to the death on the cross that the Father had required of Him as the Substitute of His people. How we need the Spirit of God to turn our hearts and minds away from ourselves to the remedy, as with David, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." Two Key Thoughts There are two thoughts to underscore in this portion of scripture: one negative, and the other positive. David says, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." First , note that though sin is put away by the Lord in the court of heaven, the poor sinner may not enjoy the comfort of this in his conscience. This is the negative aspect. We may not always know in our hearts and minds whether the Lord Jesus Christ ever died for us, but we can know that if He did, in God's time, He will cause His Spirit to teach us of our sinfulness. In the meantime we may labor under the weight of our sin until He is pleased to turn our eyes to the Only Remedy, and cause us to cry out for mercy and grace, looking to the LORD Jesus Christ and His shed blood for our only Hope. Second , the positive aspect is the utmost efficacy of the blood sacrifice. "Efficacy" means the power to get the job done. Faith ascribes this power to One Person—the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood that was shed unto death. David did not try to purge himself; he prayed that God would be pleased to purge him, and he was confident that if God did so, "I shall be clean." "I shall" is an expression of certainty because of Whose Blood it is. David looked forward to the time when the LORD Jesus would come to put away his sin once and for all. He says, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Faith’s object—Christ and Him crucified—is the only remedy for the condemned sinner, cleansing him from all iniquity. Yet, even after this cleansing, the soul is left to cry out under the weight of sin, "Wash me..." It is not our tears of repentance that cleanse us, but the precious blood of the Lamb of God that alone can wash the guilty sinner. What a precious word! "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Here is the only cleansing by the blood of Jesus Christ that is whiter than anything our minds or hearts can imagine. Pure because His blood and righteousness make the sinner, for whom Christ died, as Holy and Righteous as God Himself. He is saying, "I shall be whiter than snow." I shall be as free and as pure from the least stain of sin in God's sight as if I had always obeyed. "That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27).