They are cross-eyed.
This is the LifeSpring One Year Bible Rewind
and coming to you from Riverside, California,
podcasting since 2004.
My name is Steve Webb and I'm your OG Godcaster.
This is the podcast that comes to you every single day
and we're reading the entire Bible together in a year.
I'm so glad you are here, really.
The website is lifespringmedia.com.
Today is National Homemade Soup Day.
I make a delicious split pea soup.
How about you?
What's your favorite soup to make?
More importantly, this is Psalms Wednesday.
We'll read Psalms 45 through 47.
As has become our custom when we read the Psalms,
I'll have a brief introduction for you before each chapter,
and then we'll see what happened on this date in church history
when we're done with Psalms, and we'll have a time of prayer.
Let's begin.
Our Heavenly Father, as we open your word today,
I pray that you would speak to us, teach us, speak to our hearts, Lord.
I pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
The title of Psalm 45 is, To the Chief Musician, Set to the Lilies, a Contemplation of the Sons of
Korah, a Song of Love. According to Matthew Henry's commentary and that of Charles Spurgeon,
the subject of this psalm is Christ Himself. I like the way Spurgeon put it. He said,
Some here see Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter only. They are short-sighted. Others see both
Solomon in Christ. They are cross-eyed. Well-focused spiritual eyes see here Jesus only.
Or if Solomon be present at all, it must be like those hazy shadows of bypassers which cross the
face of the camera and therefore are dimly traceable upon a photographic landscape.
This is a wedding song for the heavenly bridegroom and his elect spouse. Verse 1 is an announcement
of intention, a preface to the song. Verse 3 adores the matchless beauty of Messiah,
and from verses 3-9 he is addressed in admiring ascriptions of praise. Verses 10-12 are spoken
to the bride. The church is further spoken of in verses 13-15, and the psalm closes with another
address to the king, foretelling his eternal fame. I think Brother Spurgeon summed it up nicely.
Now, interestingly, for this time of year, C.S. Lewis thought of the psalm in the context of
Christmas. He wrote, The birth of Christ is the arrival of the great warrior and the great king,
also of the lover, the bridegroom, whose beauty surpasses that of man. But not only the bridegroom
is the lover, the desired, the bridegroom also who makes fruitful, the father of children still
to be begotten and born. Psalms chapter 45. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite
my verses for the king. My tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. You are the most excellent of
men, and your lips have been anointed with grace since God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one. Clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
In your majesty, ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
Let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies.
Let the nations fall beneath your feet.
Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever.
A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore, God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From palaces adorned with ivory, the music of the strings makes you glad.
Daughters of kings are among your honored women.
At your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention.
Forget your people at your father's house.
Let the king be enthralled by your beauty.
Honor him, for he is your lord.
The city of Tyre will come with a gift.
People of wealth will seek your favor.
All glorious is the princess within her chamber.
Her gown is interwoven with gold.
In embroidered garments she is led to the king.
Her virgin companions follow her, those brought to be with her.
Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.
Your sons will take the place of your fathers.
You will make them princes throughout the land.
I will perpetuate your memory through all generations.
Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever.
The title of Psalm 46 is, To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Sons of Korah, a Song for Alamoth.
Adam Clark wrote, An Ode upon Alamoth, or Concerning the Virgins,
possibly meaning a choir of singing girls.
Psalm 46 has been called the Song of Holy Confidence.
It opens with these words,
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Then it goes on to say that because this is true, whatever happens, we will not fear.
And it closes with these words,
The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.
A believer cannot help but be lifted up and encouraged by this psalm.
Psalms chapter 46. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge.
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city. It cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos and their kingdoms crumble. God's voice thunders and the earth
melts. The Lord of heaven's armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress.
Come, see the glorious works of the Lord. See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear.
He burns the shields with fire.
Be still and know that I am God.
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
The Lord of heaven's armies is here among us.
The God of Israel is our fortress.
The title of Psalm 47 is To the Chief Musician,
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
Willem van Gemeren, Professor Emeritus of the Old Testament in Semitic Languages at Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School and author of the Expositor's Bible Commentary wrote,
In later Jewish usage, Psalm 47 was utilized as part of the New Year's service.
Psalm 47 begins with a call to praise and worship. It says,
Clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with cries of joy.
And then it lists several reasons that God is worthy of praise.
It's a celebration.
And please note that it's written to all you nations.
This is not just written to the Israelites.
God is calling us all to rejoice in Him.
Hallelujah.
Psalms chapter 47
Come everyone, clap your hands, shout to God with joyful praise.
For the Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King of all the earth.
He subdues the nations before us, putting our enemies beneath our feet.
He chose the promised land as our inheritance, the proud possession of Jacob's descendants, whom he loves.
God has ascended with a mighty shout.
The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.
Sing praises to God.
Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King.
Sing praises.
For God is the God over all the earth.
Praise him with a psalm.
God reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne.
The rulers of the world have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham.
For all the kings of the earth belong to God.
He is highly honored everywhere.
What do you think about these Psalms?
Tomorrow we're going to read Job 31 and 32.
Here's the verse of the day.
Today's verse of the day is Psalms 46.1.
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
Most of us don't struggle to believe that God loves us, do we?
What we struggle with is believing that His love actually defines us.
In the latest episode of Verses We Missed, published today,
I take a closer look at 1 John 3.1, and we hear a simple but powerful command,
See. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.
This isn't love you earn. It's love that names you. Listen to See What Kind of Love,
available now at VersusWeMissed.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
You know, history often feels like a series of disconnected dates, but today, February 4th,
reminds us of the global and sacrificial reach of the gospel, from the frozen shores of 18th
century Canada to the resistance movements of Nazi Germany. In 1786, on this date, an African-American
preacher named John Merrant stood before a large gathering of the Mi'kmaq people and white settlers
in Newfoundland. Merrant, a former musician converted under the preaching of George Whitefield,
had already survived incredible trials, including being captured by Cherokee Indians years before.
And on this day, his sermon served as a bridge between cultures.
His ministry proved that the message of the Great Awakening wasn't just for a specific race or class,
it was a truly global movement that empowered even the marginalized to become messengers of the cross.
And fast forward to 1906 when Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau.
While he began his career as a brilliant Lutheran academic, his faith was forged in the fire
of the Kirchenkampf, or the church struggle, against the Nazi regime.
Bonhoeffer famously challenged the world to choose costly grace over cheap grace, the
kind of faith that's willing to suffer for the sake of the truth.
His life reminds us that theology is never just an intellectual exercise.
It's a commitment that may demand everything that we have.
Two men, two centuries, and one singular devotion to the Lordship of Christ.
Whether crossing cultural boundaries or standing against tyranny,
their lives on this date challenge us to live out our faith with courage.
Praises and prayer requests.
John sent actually a comment and a prayer request.
So first, the comment.
He said, your story about God waking you up in the night with thoughts of someone and how he prompted you to call that person brought me to tears, Steve.
Bless you.
Our God is such a restoring God.
I keep praying for my wife to reopen communication.
As a reminder, they are currently separated.
She has the kids.
And John continues, I'm confident that in time it could happen.
And even if she doesn't, then I'm supposed to love her anyway.
Thank you for your story.
And then here's the prayer request.
He said,
This weekend, my 14-year-old son chose not to come to my house.
I don't know why.
It wasn't shared.
So a prayer request for my son that he will keep on coming and for his heart to be open to God and me.
The last time he was over, he took down a small cross I had on the wall in his room.
Another time, he took down his baptism certificate.
This was months ago.
So it would seem he is wrestling with faith.
The breakdown of his parents will do that.
I hope that God will reach my wife and I and begin to heal us so that our kids can see the power of God to restore and begin a healing in them.
Thank you for your faithfulness, Steve.
It's an inspiration.
I'm so grateful.
Blessings.
And John.
Well, John, thank you so much for your kind words.
And we will continue to pray that reconciliation will happen between you and your entire family.
If God can raise the dead, John, then he can restore a family.
And then yesterday, the lovely lady Leanne and I had a follow-up with her ophthalmologist.
In case you're new here, she was diagnosed with glaucoma last month.
Overall, I'd say the visit was good, but the doctor prescribed another eye drop for the left eye,
in addition to the one she's already doing.
In the morning, or at night, just before she goes to bed,
she puts one single eye drop in each one of her eyes,
and then puts like a, what do you call it?
A night mask on just to keep her eyes shut.
Anyway, now she does one in the morning
in just the left eye.
The pressure in that left eye is still too high
for the doctor's liking.
So there's that.
We need to pray that this new eyedrop will do the trick.
So let's pray.
Our heavenly father, Lord, we thank you for the Psalms.
We learned so much from them.
Thank you that we can come to you when we are in distress and when we just want to worship you.
It is wonderful to be yours, Lord.
And we just say hallelujah.
You are good and you are loving.
You're kind, you're faithful.
And to know you is just the most precious thing in our life.
Father, right now we lift up John and his family.
We know that you are a God of healing and resurrection.
And we pray that you would do that miracle in this family.
There's a history, of course, but you can bring life back into the family.
We ask that you would do that now in Jesus' name.
I pray that you would encourage John, strengthen him, and be with him when he's lonely.
Soften the hearts of his wife and his kids.
Bring them back together, we pray.
And then, Father, I thank you for showing us that Leanne's eyes were not healthy last month
and that we were able to get medical help for her.
But we will continue to pray for and believe that you can heal her eyes.
But we want your will, Lord.
So if the way forward is medicine, we accept that path.
We just ask that the decisions from the doctors will be correct
and that the medicines they prescribe are the right ones.
We thank you that we're able to have this opportunity to have doctors and medical care.
Father, I pray for the Lifespring family today in Jesus' name.
I pray that you would meet every need.
We pray all of this, Lord, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Beloved, our next time of prayer will be this coming Wednesday,
so send in your praises and prayer requests to prayer.lifespringmedia.com
or email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com
or text me or leave a voicemail right here.
Life Spring Family Hotline, 951-732-8511.
Well, beloved, as we read in today's Psalms, God is not only our beautiful king and bridegroom,
but also our ever-present refuge in times of trouble. Let's carry that confidence into the
day, rejoicing because the Lord Almighty is truly with us, and may you find rest in his fortress.
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly.
Thank you for being here.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.
All the programs in the Lifespring Media family are made possible by your value-for-value support.
Thank you.
The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production hosted by Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster, since 2004.