In Psalm 109 David is calling out to God because of the persecutions, lies and threats of his enemy. He says this in verse 1:
1 O GOD of my praise! Keep not silence,
David was a man of praise! "Praise" here is the Hebrew word "tehillah", which means: laudation, adoration, thanksgiving, public praise, renown, fame, glory. He was not only a man of private praise, but he was not ashamed to praise the LORD his God in public praise, too! Here he is calling out to God because of his "adversaries". This is the Hebrew word "satan", and we KNOW who that is! It also means to attack and accuse, which is what the enemy does BEST! We need to do what David did! We need to be people of praise, thanksgiving and worship, so that when WE are attacked by the enemy, we will already be in a place of strength and confidence in the God of the Bible to deliver US! AMEN! Parts of this Psalm were quoted by Peter in reference to Judas and we can see where some verses may refer to what Jesus went through. Verse 27 in particular:
27 That they may know that this is Your hand, that You, LORD, have done it.
Remember Isaiah 53:4-5:
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 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.
He did it ALL for ME! And YOU, too! Thank YOU, Jesus! What is our response? Verse 30:
30 I will give great praise and thanks to the LORD with my mouth; yes, and I will praise Him among the multitude.
"Great" praise is the Hebrew word "me`od", which means: vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedily, diligently, loudly, exceedingly, mightily, abundantly, with muchness, to a great degree! And we are to do this in private AND among the "multitude"! Have at it people! MANY of you have a LOT of catching up to do, publicly anyway!
I wanted to use the Hillsong video for "Jesus, You Gave It All" but the quality wasn't the best. Instead, here is "For Your Name", a great PUBLIC praise song!
Luke 21 begins with Jesus speaking of the widow who put her two mites into the treasury. Verses 2-4:
2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two mites (copper coins). 3 And He said, Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 For they all gave out of their abundance (their surplus); but she has contributed out of her lack and her want, putting in all that she had on which to live.
With all of the teaching on giving and receiving, sowing and reaping, that we find in the Word of God, and that is taught very well at the Spoken Word Church, it all REALLY comes down to this! What measure are YOU using when YOU give to God? After the 10% tithe, we are free to give whatever WE choose! What do YOU choose? Remember, He is forced to use the same "measure" to give the blessings back to us that we choose to use when we give (Luke 6:38)! God is NOT looking at the amount, but at the proportion! Be a cheerful and generous giver and reap the rewards of 2 Corinthians 9:6-11! Below is a picture of a "widow's mite":
Deuteronomy 25 continues with the instructions concerning the Law. Verses 13-16:
13 You shall not have in your bag true and false measures, a large and a small. 15 But you shall have a perfect and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 16 For all who do such things, all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to the LORD your God.
Integrity is very important to God and should be to us, too! Remember that you and I are living epistles, known and read of all men! Our lives are wide open for people to see, and they are SUPPOSED to see Jesus! LET your Light shine! Remember that "let" is a choice, so choose wisely!
Shalom in Him!
