Marketplace Monastics

They (the decrees of the Lord) are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  (Psalm 19:10-14, NIV)

Did you know that in the system of sacrifice instituted under the law of Moses, that there were offerings for hidden sins?  The Lord our God doesn’t miss a thing!

What is splendid is the knowledge that HE KNOWS that we know that we can blunder in an instant, especially where our tongues are concerned.  The tongue, as James said, is a fire and sets things on fire, and we would so rather speak life when we can!

Pray through these words today, with me.  For your own speech and actions, and perhaps for that of someone you love who fails in gracious speech, or for someone whose need to speak kindness and wisdom is great.  Teachers!  Politicians! Doctors!  … and you and me, of course.

Scott Bauer/Government Research image/Wikipedia/by permission 

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

            Prayer – praise – and proclamation.  We know about the first two, but we don’t as often attend to the third.

There is so much said in Scripture about saying the things that matter.

In Romans 10:9 we discover one of the very, very few strictures concerning the evidence of our salvation.  We confess with our mouths what we believe in our hearts, and the confessing looks pretty important:

…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

“I will say to my soul …” (Psalm 42:11 … and it’s “don’t be discouraged” that was said, by the way!)

“I will sing …” (of His mercies, because my heart is steadfast, I will make music with all my soul … Psalm 89:1, 57:7, 108:1, to name a few)

I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” 

Psalm16:2

            Prayer and praise and proclamation go together when we bring ourselves before the Throne of Grace.  Together we are a House of Prayer, not of transcendental thought … this is NOT AT ALL to indicate that all prayer or praise must be proclaimed always. No.  Certainly not.  However …

It is important, perhaps crucial, to learn when to speak, and that at times, when God causes His glorious voice to be heard, it is sounded with our lips.  (Isaiah 30:30)

Now, this.  We have spoken before about what it takes to lift your hands to God for the first time. To go to others for prayer for the first time.  It’s like slogging through mud!  To sing or worship aloud, in your own house, doors shut, nobody at home, can take a tremendous initial effort … so great that some never, ever manage it.

It is wise to ask, why.  Why should we feel that way in the privacy of our own homes? Is it because we think it is wrong to sing?  Of course not!  Are we ashamed of our voices, even our speaking voices?  No … not before God!  There is a timidity that is not a praiseworthy character trait in Scripture  – Revelation 21:8! – and that is what we must address.

When believers lift holy hands to God, it is commended. (1 Timothy 2:8). It is very right!  But “something” has to be shifted, disturbed, pushed back in order for our more demonstrative worship to break forth.  Even for those who have prayed and worshiped aloud, we must press on and press in!

So then, we proclaim the Word of Grace, the Word of Truth, so that our own ears are privileged and blessed to hear them, so that our own hearts are strengthened, and so that the Word will go forth and not return void to the Lord.  (Isaiah 55:11, NASB)

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Try it today.  Speak, sing, proclaim aloud the words above from Psalm 19.  Open your Bible and read the whole Psalm out loud. Speak it to God; say those eternal words to your own soul; say them to someone you love, far away.  When we are finished, that quickly, I do not think that we will feel ashamed or timid, but honest and bold.

The decrees of the Lord ARE firm, and so are we in our faith as we begin to speak in accordance with them.

Demosthenes leaving the Assembly in shame after his first failure at public speaking – we, on the other hand, cannot fail to speak brilliantly when we speak the Word of the Lord in the love and the hope of Jesus Christ!

Walter Crane, life of the artist, Wikipedia, by permission

If the idea of praying through Scripture still seems new to you, here is a wonderful and a difficult passage.  It does not mention enemies or spiritual need.  It’s glorious, certainly, but how to PRAY these words for someone you love?  (Psalm 19:1-6)

Here is an example.  Today I’m praying for ______________________.

The heavens declare Your glory, O God, and my friend needs to see and to know;
    the skies proclaim the work of Your hands, and You can be discovered in a sunrise.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.

Let the heavens speak to this one whom I love, assuring them of Your sovereignty and Your love.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

I am deeply thankful, Lord, that without words and through nature and natural things, You can reveal Yourself… please reveal Yourself to _______________.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

As the sun comes up this day, let _________ consider, “Who is God to me? Can He help me?  Will He?”
 It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

As nothing is deprived of the warmth of the sun, not even in dead of winter, You will not deprive _______________ of the grace needed to come to faith in Your Son.  As we could not last a moment without the sun in the heavens, we cannot believe without Your grace and truth.  Help my friend, my loved one, Lord God!

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!  Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing the praises of your name.

He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
    to David and to his descendants forever.

Psalm 18:46 – 50, NIV

             Have you ever caught yourself reading along in the Psalms or in Isaiah, nearly skimming through the Scripture, looking to get to the good part!  I have!

That’s because … it’s always there!  Just keep reading!  In the worst of circumstances, when things seem most impossible, here comes one of those, “But God…” passages.

With the exception of total apostasy, and sometimes despite it, the glory of the Lord prevails.  His glorious lovingkindness and the glory of His mercy and the out-raying of His truth and goodness win out, time after time after time.  Glory to His Name!

There have been some dark moments in this Psalm.  We have seen the Psalmist face torrents of destruction, cords of the grave and snares of death – was he just exaggerating?

There have been enemies and foes, all sorts, disasters, battles and attacks without number, but the Psalmist was made the head of nations.

I submit to you today, my dear friend, that those of you, those of us who are praying for nations, are at the head of those nations. We do not lead by mandate or dictate, but by our prayers and petitions which, if we pray according to the will of God, are more sure.  (1 John 5:14, 15)

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14, 15

What leader would not like to know before he prayed that he would have the thing he asked?  The problem is, of course, that so few ask of God, and of those few, how many petitions are in accordance with His perfect will?

Not leaders of nations only, of course.  Leaders of families, of schools, of businesses, and yes, of churches.  I hope you attend a church where the good and the entire will of God is your pastor’s delight.

For today, and in light of all we have discovered and experienced through Psalm 18, set your gaze upon someone you know and love who is in one of those very dark places, we ask without an agenda of our own what is God’s perfect will for that one, listen, trust His Spirit and His voice, and pray accordingly.

As Dennis Jernigan sings, “When the Prodigal comes running home, I (we) won’t be the one he sees!”  He will see Jesus!… and wonderfully, in part, through our prayers.

Louis XIV of France

Hyacinthe Riguad, death of the artist, Wikipedia