As we read these words, we can feel the intensity of David’s prayer.  He is pleading with God to control his mouth and the meditations of his heart so that the words that he speaks will be those that glorify the Lord.  David wants his words to reflect the strength and character of his Redeemer.  When the world views us, they should see Christ.  One important way is through the use of our words.  In a very difficult time in my life, someone was trying to tempt me to rise to defensive anger.  My heart was broken for this person and in prayer one day, I realized that the way I reacted and the words I used in response to this verbal taunting could determine whether that person would ever have a restored life of victory with the Lord.  Since I knew my natural tendency would be to use sarcasm and defensive words, I asked the Lord to let His Words come forth from my mouth, even if God had to forcibly restrain mine!  That very evening there was a confrontation, and even I was surprised at the kind and gracious words I spoke!  Just to remind me that it was His miracle, God allowed me to realize at the same time all the things I would have naturally said in my own strength  The contrast was amazing!  God used that conversation in a loving and mighty way for future victory both for the other person and for me.  I learned a great lesson of the necessity of depending on God to build our thought lives and control our mouths!  David knew how easily our mouths could become the enemy’s weapon.  Perhaps it is a frightening thought, but it is so sadly true.  Each time we allow the words that slip so quickly through our lips to be hurtful, harsh, angry, belittling, or haughty, we have permitted Satan to use our mouths to send forth his arrows to pierce someone’s soul.  A good soldier would fight to the death before he would allow the enemy to set up his artillery on a portion of territory inside company lines.  One of our most important jobs as a Christian is to be on guard and keep the enemy from God’s territory.  Jesus has purchased us with His own blood.  Every part of us belongs to Him.  We must be a good soldier and defend God’s territory.  We must allow Him to use us in His service.  We must let the words of our mouth be acceptable to our Commander in Chief.  It is also true that out of the mouth comes the thoughts and intents of our heart.  Some people are able to put up a false front for a while.  Their words may be smooth as honey, while their heart is full of deceit.  But sooner or later, their true character will slip out.  On the contrary, when someone’s heart is fixed on the things of God, his thoughts will become pure and his conversation will be pleasing to the Lord and to men.  Lord, I want to be genuine for You.  Let my heart’s meditation be on pure and lovely things.  Let Your love rule within me.  Let my heart so overflow with Your goodness that the words of my mouth may be totally directed by Your Spirit today.

Psalm 20 was sung by the people of Israel as they honored their king.  It was their prayer for the king to be blessed of God, their praise to God Himself and, in turn, a petition that God would also bless all the people.  In verse one and two, the people prayed that the Lord would hear the king in the day of trouble to defend, help and strengthen him.  Verses three and four requested that the Lord accept the king’s offerings and prayers and guide his heart and counsel.  Up to verse five, the people had prayed for the God of David.  The Lord had been referred to as "thy" God.  But in verse five, the people sing out in the name of our God.  As we join together as a church, we must remember to pray for the pastor as our spiritual leader.  He needs God’s defense, help, strength and counsel.  He needs his God to uphold him and guide him as he is used to guide and counsel the congregation.  In like manner with the king, the pastor needs a people who will sing out for their God.  He needs a congregation filled with people who live their lives for their Lord.  It is not enough for a church to have just a pastor who honors the Lord.  The people must hold God’s banners high.  It is not enough for a family to have just a godly father.  Each member must place their trust in the Lord.  We must all rejoice in our salvation.  Some just let the pastor praise the Lord for them on Sundays.  "Sunday" Christianity is not enough for a victorious church or for a victorious individual.  Each one of us must rejoice in his salvation daily.  We must set up our banners, the standards we follow every day, in every situation, and they must be in the name of our God.  Then God will fulfill all the petitions and prayers of the pastor.  His petitions are not only for the church as a whole, but for each individual within the church.  The people of Israel seem to have been setting up literal banners and they appear to have read: The LORD fulfill all thy petitions.  What a wonderful thing for the leader to have read, waved before him as he rose to the platform in front of the congregation of Israel.  What a wonderful comfort it would be to a faithful pastor to know that his church was praying for him and taking a stand for the Lord with him.  What a joy to see in the lives of those he is guiding the banners waving and know that they were trusting the Lord to fulfill all their petitions as well.  We need to examine ourselves.  Do we really believe the words of that banner?  Are we willing to truly trust the Lord with all our needs and wants, trials and successes?  Are we truly a people of prayer?  Read Psalm 20 through today and listen to the spiritual scene.  Hear the people shouting and singing for joy as they honor their king.  See the joy on their faces as they resolve to trust in the Lord.  Let us resolve in our hearts to set up banners in the name of our God.  Let us rise and stand upright for Him. (verse 8)

Some years ago, I claimed this verse when I was very ill in the hospital.  The next day I was to have major surgery.  I knew the possibilities that come with such times and I wanted to give myself totally into the Lord’s hands that night.  As had become my custom before an operation, I started reading through the Book of Psalms, looking for that special verse that God would lay upon my heart as my "claiming" verse.  It would be a verse that I could claim as personal for myself, commit to memory and go to sleep with it on my mind.  It would also be one I could share with my family before the surgery.  When I got to Psalm 22:22, God’s Spirit whispered within me and showed me the joyful victory of that verse.  I knew if it was God’s choice for me to live through the surgery, that when I recovered, I wanted to praise the Lord in the midst of the congregation and declare His name unto my brethren.  I copied the verse at the bottom of a love note to my husband and went to sleep.  Each one of us, as born again children of God, are those that are alive from the dead.  As we waken each day, we should ever be aware of God’s grace and mercy to us.  Our purchased life, a gift from God, should remind us to declare and praise His wonderful name.  David was in the midst of a distressful situation when he wrote Psalm 22.  The heading to that Psalm in my study Bible says, "David prays in great distress: he promises public thanksgiving and praise."  David was at the end of himself.  He said that he was poured out like water, his heart was like wax, his strength was dried up, and he was brought close to the dust of death.  He had no self confidence left to boast in.  He felt that he had none to help.  Others were scorning him and mocking his trust in God.  But he knew that there was One to help and that was his Lord.  To Him alone he cried, Haste thee to help me, deliver my soul from the sword.  His confidence in self and others all gone, David’s confidence in his Lord was magnified.  With that confidence came an assurance of victory.  David declared in verse 21, for thou hast heard me!  Then came the promise of public thanksgiving of verse 22.  David gave his promise that when the deliverance came, I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.  We could understand the term "brethren" in two ways.  First of all, our brothers and sisters in the Lord are our brethren.  When we talk to them, do we speak of just the ordinary everyday life or do we go further and declare God’s goodness and dealings.  What an exciting place church would be if each one of us encouraged the other as we rehearsed God’s gracious dealings with us during the week.  It would be exciting and contagious!  Secondly, our brethren can be our own family members.  Each of us has unsaved relatives.  Oh, how easily it is to fall for Satan’s lies of fear when it comes to witnessing to our own family.  More than anyone, they should be assured of our love and concern for them.  Have you ever declared God’s name unto all your brethren?  Is there any one of them who has never heard the truth of God’s eternal salvation come from your lips?  Don’t let the ones you love spend a Christless eternity.  Declare His name.  When you come to church this week, come with a rejoicing heart, full of praise to our God.  In the midst of the congregation give praise unto the Lord.  Sing the songs of the service with new personal joy, listen with a praising heart to the sermon and let the testimony of your life be an encouragement to others of your congregation.  Speak forth for Him who gave all for you!  Read Psalm 22:23-31, and note that David’s decision to praise the Lord was also an impetus to all those that feared the Lord to praise Him and caused many to turn unto the Lord...and...worship.  God’s promise to David’s promise of commitment was that they shall come, and shall declare his [God’s] righteousness.

We all want to receive blessings from the Lord.  The first step to receiving eternal and present blessings is that we must be born again.  Notice that these verses of instruction and promise are written only to those who are already saved.  Having clean hands, or not swearing deceitfully will not earn the unsaved person any blessings from God.  Only when God is the God of his salvation can a person apply these verses.  There must be, therefore, some things that we, as saved people, must do in order to receive the fullness of God’s blessings daily.  Those instructions are the purpose of these verses.  We must have clean hands, pure hearts, and we must not lift up our souls unto vanity nor swear deceitfully.  Four steps that look so simple that we might gloss over the words.  But these instructions cover all of our life and daily activities.  Clean hands have at least two clear cut meanings in Scripture.  In Psalm 26:6, when David is asking for the Lord’s judging in his life in order to be fully used of God, he says, I will wash mine hands in innocency.  When the law was given, God made a provision for declaring the innocence for the slaying of someone found dead near a city.  The elders of the city were to stand before the place of the Lord and wash their hands in innocency. (Deuteronomy 21:6)  They declared that they were not guilty of the crime and the Judge of all the earth would reveal their innocence and bless them.  Guilt would be removed.  There are many "crimes" we can commit with our hands.  We need to be quick to recognize our failure and stand before God and beg His forgiveness.  We need also to be alert to the possibilities of sin and stay so far away that our innocence will be declared.  We can fail also to use our hands in loving and positive ways.  We can use our hands in the pureness and innocency of Christ to do His work in this world.  Think today of how you use your hands.  Also, figuratively, God says that if we fail to witness and warn others of judgment without Christ, our hands will be stained with the blood of lost souls.  God has given to us the responsibility of a watchman to warn and turn men and women, boys and girls to the Lord.  It is a sobering thought.  We need to examine our lives and see whether we have witnessed to others lately.  Is the blood of any soul on our hands?  Can we wash our spiritual hands in innocence each night knowing that during the day we have been a faithful witness for Christ?  The second step in our instruction list is having a pure heart.  Christian friend, are you coming to God daily for His cleansing power upon your heart?  Are your motives, desires and thoughts pure toward God and toward others?  Today, we need to ask God to reveal to us anything in our hearts that is not pure, so that He can cleanse and remove it.  Philippians 3:15 promises that God shall reveal even this unto you.  Do we have any anger, bitterness or unconfessed sin?  We need to confess it and give it to God.  Step three admonishes us not to lift up our soul unto vanity.  How easily we can fall prey to this sin.  Each time that we trust in our own ways and thoughts against God’s, each time we selfishly put ourselves and our desires above others, each time we become vain or self seeking, we have fallen into Satan’s trap.  Step four warns: don’t swear deceitfully.  Do we allow lies to issue from our mouth?  No matter how "small" or how much it may seem to help manage a situation or problem, it is always sin.  We need to live in total honesty before God and man, no matter what the cost or how much bravery it will take.  Four steps, four warnings from God.  If we heed them today, we can be assured of His blessing and His righteousness.  Lord, help me to have clean hands and a pure heart.  Help me to abstain from vanity and deceit.  Help me to be totally the person You want me to be today.

DAY 40     Psalm 25:4     Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

Philippians 2:5 says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.  The saved person must consciously allow (let) the mind of Christ work in his own mind.  It is not just an automatic process for the Christian.  Each day many born again people make decisions using their natural minds, and then can not figure out why they do not have victory.   God tells us that His thoughts and ways are not the thoughts and ways of a natural man.  When we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our lives, but we must allow Him to change our minds, to rebuild and retrain our thoughts.  It should be a continual process if we consciously ask God daily to do His work in us.  Until we get to Glory, there will always be a part of our minds given over to natural thoughts and ways.  Many people think that once they become a Christian, every decision, response, thought and action will be exactly what God desires.  This is not true.  Unless we train ourselves to let God work in our minds, to allow His thoughts to be expressed through us, we will be using our natural minds.  If we then fail, it is not God’s fault.  He has warned us.  When we really make the effort, we can have the absolutely amazing experience of seeing God work in and though us.  The "effort" is really found in yielding to His work within us.  A good way to start this experience is to pray our verse for today: Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.  He will show us His ways in His Word and teach us out of the verses of Scripture.  We must apply ourselves to a consistent study of His Word if we are to see His ways and learn of Him.  We have to be students that sit in the school house of God’s instruction.  When we make a mistake, God, the Master teacher, will discipline us.  It is our choice whether we will learn from that discipline.  He writes His lessons on the chalkboards of our hearts.  We need to pray for spiritual eyes to clearly read the handwriting of God upon that wall.  We have just to ask.  God loves us so much that He will show us and teach us.  But again, we must be sure that we are not using our natural minds to view God’s teaching.  We must ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discern God’s will and way.  If we follow God’s direction, we will have sweet victory in our lives.  Think of the excitement when we realize God is retraining our minds to be more like Him!  Each day as a Christian, we should be allowing God to conform more of our mind to the image of Christ.  Each day we should know more of God’s ways and walk more closely in His paths, then the day before.  That is the secret to Christian victory.  Let us start to learn more of Him today.

When David was praising God for enabling him to have military victory, he included this verse.  He said that as he pursued the enemy, God enlarged his steps under him so that his feet did not slip.  No slippery rocks, crumbly hillsides or marshy places spelled disaster for David’s feet.  No, it was as if each place where he planted his feet was an enlarged and sturdy foothold so that he could confidently go on and win the victory.  How disgraceful it would be for a soldier to slip and fall, to be trapped in the mud and never make it to the battle.  In our Christian life, we need God’s help daily to enlarge our spiritual steps under us so that we will not slip.  It should be our desire to walk confidently in the things of the Lord and to wage a good warfare for Him.  Yet how often do we slip and get "stuck in the mud" of discouragement, bogged down with care, or bruised when we slip and backslide down a crumbly path.  I want to be that victorious soldier for Christ, one who stands even if others fall by the wayside.  In my Bible there is a wonderful chain reference to this verse dealing with the idea of enlargement.  The list includes: God’s blessings to Solomon in giving him largeness of heart: And God gave Solomon wisdom, and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart... (I Kings 4:29).  The experience of Jabez in calling on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. (I Chronicles 4:10).  God’s desire for Israel in Isaiah 54:2, Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.  All these enlargements were results of prayer and they can be the prayer of the Christian today as he spiritually applies the principles of the verses and asks for largeness of heart and enlarging of our witness and spiritual influence.  In the New Testament, the chain continued.  There, two references speak clearly to us of what we need as we ask the Lord to enlarge His ways in our lives.  John 10:10: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  Only Jesus can give abundant life.  Are you living with His abundancy in mind?  Ephesians 3:17-19 (which was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians): That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  Study these verses and ask God to enlarge your spiritual steps under you.  The promises of these verses are so precious, so deep, so rich.  If we are truly rooted and grounded in love, in Christ, and in the things of His Word, we will not slip.  We need to pray that God will so enlarge our faith and love, that our steps will be enlarged as well.  We will not slip because we will become steady and secure Christians walking in the steps chosen for us.

The world seems to constantly bombard us with deception.  Advertisements are a good example of this.  No matter how dangerous alcohol and cigarettes may be, the pictures in the magazine ads are always ones of beauty and of a life that should seem to be desired.  The ads never show the truth of ruined lives and hospital wards.  When we go to purchase something, we many times have to wonder if we have been told the full truth about it.  Even the government has had to pass laws to require "truth in lending" information.  The list of deceptions could go on and on.  The world may try to deceive us, but God never does.  He is always honest with us and about us.  Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)  God, Himself, is truth, and we can totally trust Him.  The Psalmist asks the Lord to lead him in God’s way of truth.  That is the path we need to walk.  Instead of going the crooked obscured path of the world, we need to walk confidently in God’s truth, down His clear pathway for us.  Little children, many times, need to be led by the hand, for fear that they will stray.  We should be like an obedient child and place our hand trustingly in His, instead of drawing away to our own devises, which will always cause us trouble or danger.  It is His pathway.  He knows each turn in the road and is stronger than any enemy that might try to attack the traveler.  In order to be led of God’s truth, we need to daily study His Word and spend time with Him in prayer.  We need God to teach us.  We should yearn for the instruction of the Lord.  The desire to be taught of Him should so rule our lives that we would not miss one day of "school" in the things of the Word.  After all, He is the God of our salvation.  No one or no "thing" can save us but the Lord.  It would seem foolish then to trust anyone or anything more than we trust the Lord.  The Psalmist continues, on thee do I wait all the day.  So many Christians reserve just a part of the day for the Lord, perhaps morning devotions or evening prayer.  God wants us to give Him all our day, every part of it, every activity.  If we would make that a requirement today, would it change the way we do some things?  Perhaps.  Also David seems to be saying, "Lord, I won’t rush ahead of what you want me to do.  I will wait on Your timing. Lord, I will wait all the day if need be.  I won’t try to work it out on my own.  You have been my teacher this day.  I have asked You to lead me.  Now Lord, help me to keep my commitment to You and wait on You all the day."  Pray this verse of Scripture this morning as you start your day, then consciously allow the Lord to lead and teach you, honoring Him as the God of your salvation.  Be willing to wait on the Lord.  Let us never take for granted the wonderful, glorious fact that our God is the God of truth!