Partakers Christian Podcasts

Psalm 59

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God.

Set me on high from those who rise up against me.

59:2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity.

Save me from the bloodthirsty men.

59:3 For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul.

The mighty gather themselves together against me,

 not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, Yahweh.

59:4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.

Rise up, behold, and help me!

59:5 You, Yahweh God of Armies, the God of Israel,

rouse yourself to punish the nations.

Show no mercy to the wicked traitors.

Selah

59:6 They return at evening, howling like dogs,

and prowl around the city.

59:7 Behold, they spew with their mouth.

Swords are in their lips, “For,” they say, “who hears us?”

59:8 But you, Yahweh, laugh at them.

You scoff at all the nations.

59:9 Oh, my Strength, I watch for you,

for God is my high tower.

59:10 My God will go before me with his loving kindness.

God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.

59:11 Don’t kill them, or my people may forget.

Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.

59:12 For the sin of their mouth,

and the words of their lips,

let them be caught in their pride,

for the curses and lies which they utter.

59:13 Consume them in wrath.

Consume them, and they will be no more.

Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth.

Selah

 

59:14 At evening let them return.

Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city.

59:15 They shall wander up and down for food,

and wait all night if they aren’t satisfied.

59:16 But I will sing of your strength.

Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning.

For you have been my high tower,

a refuge in the day of my distress.

59:17 To you, my strength, I will sing praises.

For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.

 

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Psalm 66 - A Prayer of Joy

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In the podcast today, we look together at Psalm 66, which is a prayer of joy. The reason for this is, because where ever hope can be found, there is always joy. This is particularly true of the Christian life. As christians, our great hope is knowing that through the Lord Jesus Christ we will have salvation. Salvation is freedom. Freedom from injustice, freedom from sin. It is freedom from our prison of looking after our self, to a new life of entrance into self-forgetful worship & service to God. It is freedom from the limits of pain, decay, death, and entrance into a new world of life, immortality, beauty and joy without end. That is the hope of the Christian, and that is why we can have joy as Christians. But joy, is not just for the future. Joy is also for the present, for the here and now.  What is joy, and what place should joy take in our life today? Let's look into Psalm 66, and see where joy fitted into the life of the Psalmist.

1. Psalm 66 and joy

a. Joy and the Earth (vs. 1-4) 

b. Joy and the nation of Israel (vs. 5-12).

c. Joy and the psalmist (vs. 13 -20)

2. Applying it to ourselves.

As we have just seen the psalmist's joy involved sacrifice, testimony and praise, So how can we apply these things to ourselves?

a. Sacrifice

b. Testimony

c. Praise

Conclusion

Now that is all very well you may be thinking, but just what is joy? Is joy happiness, or is it more?

Here are what some people have said of joy. "We are all strings in the concert of God's joy" - Leon Bloy.

"The joy that Jesus gives is the result of our being at one with Him" - Oswald Chambers.

Many people, including some Christians confuse joy with happiness, however there is a vast difference. As C.S. Lewis once wrote: "Joy is never in our power, and pleasure is. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasure in the world."

As humans we only feel happiness or pleasure depending on our circumstances, while joy is always separate from our circumstances. Happiness is a surface emotional response to good things; while joy is a deep-down heartfelt response that endures whether good or bad things happen to us. The world says happiness is looking out for number one and negotiating your personal good in all you do. The greatest good is their own happiness, however the happiness doesn't last long so the search for happiness continues in its circle. Joy however, is the result of sacrificial love. It is for the good of others, not for ourselves, which is to be our judge of joy. When we give away our will, for the sake of others, we receive the joy that Jesus desired for us. Happiness and joy are radically different.

Joy, unlike happiness, is never an end in itself. It is only as we make Christ our overwhelming first priority that joy, almost without our knowing it, comes. If we seek joy, we will lose it, because it cannot be caught. People of the world seeks happiness not joy. Joy is given only by Christ and serving him.

Jesus had the endurance to go through the pain and suffering because he had the end in view. He was affirming his purpose for the redemption of the world, and so he never lost sight of the joy that was set before him. Joy would come to him out of suffering because he gave himself for the redemption of mankind. Jesus prayed that his disciples would have joy: "I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they (his disciples) may have the full measure of my joy within them." (John 17:13).

The joy of Christ is transferred to us as we go about the task of serving him in this world. Joy is the second fruit of the Spirit. Joy is to be a quality about us just as it was a quality of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, sometimes we don't feel as if joy is part of us. We begin to ask ourselves if we have lost the joy of our Christian lives. We look around at the world we live in and see all the misery and injustices; we see the waste of human life in cancer and HIV Aids, and we don't feel very joyful. But when we do that, we are confusing happiness and joy. If we have lost the joy of our Christian life, we need to put back into perspective what God is calling us to do and consider if Christ is still truly first in our lives. Joy is Jesus Over Yourself. We can never truly lose joy, but we can misplace it if our priorities get out of line. Joy is not something to be worked at or toward. It is not a goal to be reached, nor is it an end in itself. Joy is the result of our relationship with Christ. A relationship of Jesus Over Yourself. Joy was sacrifice, testimony and praise to the Psalmist. It is for us too in the last days before His coming again.

Go out with joy, today into the New Year of 2024!

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Psalm 117

Praise God, everybody!

Applaud God, all people!

His love has taken over our lives;

God's faithful ways are eternal.

Hallelujah!

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Psalm 48

A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

48:1 Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
48:2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King.
48:3 God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge.
48:4 For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together.
48:5 They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away.
48:6 Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail.
48:7 With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
48:8 As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever.
48:9 We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the midst of your temple.
48:10 As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness.
48:11 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of your judgments.
48:12 Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number its towers.
48:13 Mark well her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation.
48:14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.

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Psalm 46

For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah.

According to Alamoth.

 

46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
46:2 Therefore we won't be afraid, though the earth changes,
though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
46:3 though its waters roar and are troubled,
though the mountains tremble with their swelling.

Selah

46:4 There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad,
the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
46:5 God is in her midst.
She shall not be moved.
God will help her at dawn.
46:6 The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved.
He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.
46:7 Yahweh of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

46:8 Come, see Yahweh's works,
what desolations he has made in the earth.
46:9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.
He burns the chariots in the fire.
46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth."
46:11 Yahweh of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

 

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Psalm 33

1 You are the LORD's people. Obey him and celebrate! He deserves your praise.
2 Praise the LORD with harps!
Use harps with ten strings to make music for him.
3 Sing a new song. Shout! Play beautiful music.
4 The LORD is truthful; he can be trusted.
5 He loves justice and fairness, and he is kind to everyone everywhere on earth.
6 The LORD made the heavens and everything in them by his word.
7 He scooped up the ocean and stored the water.
8 Everyone in this world should worship and honor the LORD!
9 As soon as he spoke the world was created; at his command, the earth was formed.
10 The LORD destroys the plans and spoils the schemes of the nations.
11 But what the LORD has planned will stand forever. 
His thoughts never change.

12 The LORD blesses each nation that worships only him. He blesses his chosen ones.
13 The LORD looks at the world
14 from his throne in heaven, and he watches us all.
15 The LORD gave us each a mind, and nothing we do can be hidden from him.
16 Mighty armies alone cannot win wars for a king;
great strength by itself cannot keep a soldier safe.
17 In war the strength of a horse cannot be trusted to take you to safety.
18 But the LORD watches over all who honor him and trust his kindness.
19 He protects them from death and starvation.
20 We depend on you, LORD, to help and protect us.
21 You make our hearts glad because we trust you, the only God.
22 Be kind and bless us! We depend on you.

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Psalm 11

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For the Chief Musician. By David.

1 In Yahweh, I take refuge.

How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

2 For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.

They set their arrows on the strings,

that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?

4 Yahweh is in his holy temple.

Yahweh is on his throne in heaven.

His eyes observe.

His eyes examine the children of men.

5 Yahweh examines the righteous,

but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence.

6 On the wicked he will rain blazing coals;

fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For Yahweh is righteous.

He loves righteousness.

The upright shall see his face.

World English Bible

As read by Sharona

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Psalm 10

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10:1 Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

10:2 In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak.

They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

10:3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings.

He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.

10:4 The wicked, in the pride of his face,

has no room in his thoughts for God.

10:5 His ways are prosperous at all times.

He is haughty, and your laws are far from his sight.

As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.

10:6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken.

For generations I shall have no trouble.”

10:7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.

Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

10:8 He lies in wait near the villages.

From ambushes, he murders the innocent.

His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

10:9 He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.

He lies in wait to catch the helpless.

He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.

10:10 The helpless are crushed.

They collapse.

They fall under his strength.

10:11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.

He hides his face.

He will never see it.”

10:12 Arise, Yahweh!

God, lift up your hand!

Don’t forget the helpless.

 

10:13 Why does the wicked person condemn God,

and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”

 

10:14 But you do see trouble and grief.

You consider it to take it into your hand.

You help the victim and the fatherless.

 

10:15 Break the arm of the wicked.

As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.

 

10:16 Yahweh is King forever and ever!

The nations will perish out of his land.

 

10:17 Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble.

You will prepare their heart.

You will cause your ear to hear,

 

10:18 to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,

that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.

 

As read by Ian Wakeham

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Psalm 3

A Psalm by David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

3:1 Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are those who rise up against me.
3:2 Many there are who say of my soul,
“There is no help for him in God.”

Selah.

3:3 But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
3:4 I cry to Yahweh with my voice,
and he answers me out of his holy hill.

Selah.

3:5 I laid myself down and slept.
 I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.
3:6 I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people
who have set themselves against me on every side.
3:7 Arise, Yahweh! Save me, my God!
For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone.
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
3:8 Salvation belongs to Yahweh.
Your blessing be on your people.

Selah.

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Psalm 25

 

They shall be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.

Teach me your paths.

For you are the God of my salvation,

I wait for you all day long.

for they are from old times.

Remember me according to your loving kindness,

for your goodness’ sake, Yahweh.

therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.

He will teach the humble his way.

to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.

His seed shall inherit the land.

He will show them his covenant.

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

for I am desolate and afflicted.

Oh bring me out of my distresses.

Forgive all my sins.

They hate me with cruel hatred.

Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.

for I wait for you.

out all of his troubles.

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