PSALMS

Today is Friday.  What a great time out soul-winning last night as 54 people went out sharing the Gospel and well over 75 trusted Christ as their Savior.  Boys & Girls, teenagers, some Moms and Dads.  It's all good!  Here are some highlights from Psalms for you today: 1) VEXED- Vexed means troubled.  Psalms 6:2 says:  "Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak:  O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed."  Here David is asking for healing because his bones (body) are vexed (troubled).  He was not feeling good.  He was sick, sore, troubled physically and he asks for healing.  In verse 3 we read:  "My soul is also sore vexed:  but thou, O LORD, how long?"   Here we see that not only was his body troubled, but his soul was troubled.  He says "sore vexed".  Know this that when our bodies are sore, our soul gets troubled too!  Never make a decision when you are sick because your soul is not in a good state of mind.  You are vexed when you are sick!  Now in this chapter we see that David's enemies caused him to be vexed.  So, we can read into it a bit and say that the pressure and stress from his enemies (opposition) is what caused him to be troubled physically.  Pressure and stress can make us sick, and that makes us vexed in soul as well.  Now, God can turn this around!  He asks for healing in verse two, and he says that God heard his prayer in verse nine.  Let us take our troubles to the LORD and leave them there, or they will manifest themselves in physical sickness and a troubled soul.  Don't get vexed! 2) WHOLE HEARTED PRAISE- Psalms 9:1 says:  "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart;"  Not half hearted, but whole hearted!  We need to put our whole self into our love for God and our service for God.  Now don't get me wrong, we fail Him many times, but we are forgiven so don't just be discouraged when you fail, get back to praising Him with your whole heart.  We don't praise because of the condition of our hearts and lives, we praise because of who GOD is!  So, our praise should never cease, even when we are not all we should be. 3) HOW LONG?  In Psalms 13:1,2 we see the words "how long" mentioned two times.  "How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD?  for ever?  how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?  how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?"  Four times we see "how long", and fiver times we see that David questions God.  Ever feel that way?  Sure, we get that way too at times.  Nothing we brag about, but must at times confess to.  But, like us, David ends that same Psalms with rejoicing and singing.  He puts his trust in the LORD.  That is the key!  When we don't know what is going on, trust His heart!  I love the verse of that song that says:  "When you can't see His hand, trust His heart!"  Praises! Well, so much for today.  Hope you have another wonderful and blessed day.  It's a beauty here in Oregon.   Pastor Mike Mutchler