Always Reforming

"  I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O  LORD .   I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation."     In the first 8 verses of Psalm 40, David is declaring the faithfulness of God.  He is telling the people how God has cared for him.  He is encouraging others to put their trust in God as well.  If you do, you will not be disappointed!     In Verses 9 and 10, David speaks to Yahweh and expresses his love for acting as a witness to the faithfulness of God.  David did not simply recall these events and thank God for them.  He spread the news.     Are we hiding God's deliverance in our heart?  Are we concealing his steadfast love and faithfulness from other brethren and from the unsaved?  We must not commit this sin of omission.  We

Psalm 4:1-8     Very briefly, I would like to look through these verses to learn a few lessons about prayer, persecution, and peace.  Beginning with verse 1: Read verse 1.   David begins his psalm with a request.  He asks God to hear his prayer.  He begs God to acknowledge him and to answer him.      David does not take for granted God’s willingness to hear and answer prayer, and yet, he knows that His God will hear and respond.  He knows this from past experience.  “You have given me relief when I was in distress,” he says.  When seeking deliverance and provision from God, David often meditated on previous answers to prayer.  You could even say that he reminded God of them.      Many times towards the end of his psalms he reassures himself that his prayer will be heard and his petitions granted.  Sometimes he thanks God for answering his prayer before he’s even finished praying it.  Look at Psalm 6:8-10: “Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for Yahweh has heard the sound