Psalms & Me

God Weighs our Words, and so should we. Friends. Am I alone? As a more or less introverted person, I am also sensitive to words. Like some of you also like to call me, I am a Christian linguist by trade. Analyzing and replaying words I received day to day happens subconsciously and randomly before the night's fall. Yes. We do discourse analysis every day. More for me, and I couldn't turn it off. This world is so loud at times. As some of you knew, I had experienced a dark depression at one stage of life when I lived life at a surviving level after my dear grandfather's passing. At those times, my prayers sometimes unlike a perfect ACTS model but more of an urgent cry for gospel help! I did not know how to pray. One characteristic feature of laments isn't because they sound sad compared with praising psalms, but because it often begins with an imperative phrase, such as, "Give ear to my prayer, O God" (Ps.55:1), "Hear my voice" (Ps.64:1), "Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me" (Ps.86:1), and at last, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Ps.19:14). Will God hear so many sound waves produced day in and day out? What makes my prayers distinctive? Have you prayed as if you wish your prayers will be more distinguishable than others? I have. I need a pure faith that my prayers are received, not because my prayers made better points than anyone else, but because God recognizes the voice of his children, even in the amid different voices (Asterius the homilist). God weighs our words. He also measures our cry. He requires us to sing spiritual songs and hymns, and psalms to him. We possess God's attention all the time! However, we still need God's help to pray because we are, by nature, people-pleasers, and deceivers (Rom.1:29). Psalm 5:9 "For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction." Sometimes, it costs to bare our souls to others in public. But it costs nothing for us to make that prayer to our father, who finds refuge and life from Him. Through the abundance of His steadfast love, let us make this private prayer! And rejoice! Our Lord Jesus Christ rose early and find a desolate place to pray (Mark 1:35). Let every little prayer be weighted worthy just like his. For God, He looks at us, praying just like He sees Jesus Christ. That’s the only way he looks at us. Music credit: Psalm 4 & Psalm 5 by Tim Ophus All right reserved. YaPing Li __________________ (Chinese transcript) 祷告的份量 朋友们，只有我是这样吗？作为一个或多或少 内向的人，我对于话语是很敏感的。就像你们当中有人按照行业划分，把我归为 基督徒语言学家的行列。 分析和重播我每天接收的话，在夜幕降临的时候 经常自然和突然地就发生了。是的，无法否认的是，我们每天都在做话语分析，我就更是了。这个世界有很多的声音，无论你是属于哪一种类型，你总是在寻求一个声音。有一个声音是每个人都需要的，那就是福音的声音。 如你们所知，我也曾经经历过一段抑郁沉重的人生阶段。在有些时候，我发现我的祷告并不是工整而不流畅的。我的祷告，不像清教徒祷告公式一样，赞美，认罪，赞美，祈求。我最最先发出的是我需要福音的帮助。150首诗篇中，哀歌占据诗篇的绝大多数部分。哀歌的显著特点不是听起来很悲伤，而是结构上哀歌的顺序望望是从祈求开始，赞美结束。比如，诗篇55:1，“神啊，求你留心听我的祷告”，诗篇64:1， “神啊，我哀叹的时候，求你听我的声音”， 诗篇 86:1， “耶和华啊，求你侧耳应允我，因我是困苦贫乏的”，诗篇19:14最后一节， “耶和华我的磐石，我的救赎主，愿我口中的言语，心里的意念，在你的面前蒙悦纳”。 耶和华可以单单听进我的祷告吗？这个世界有这么多的声音。是什么使我的声音凸显出来呢？你又这样祷告过吗？似乎特意地将自己的祷告和其他人区别开？我曾经傻傻地这样做了。我需要单纯完全的信心，知道我的祷告会被接受。 不是我的祷告有很不同，而是因为天父可以认出祂的孩童的声音。即使在千千万万的声音当中，祂也能特别的分辨出我们的每一句话。在祂那里我们的话语，大有份量。祂衡量我们的祷告。我们永远都有祂全部的注意力。 我们需要单纯的信心，相信耶稣基督使我完全的被接纳，因为我们的祷告也如同祂的祷告一样！虽然我们天生是 取悦人的，也是扯谎的人。正如诗篇5:9所讲，“因为他们口中没有诚实，他们的心里蛮有邪恶。”所以我们需要帮助才可以祷告。 有时候在公开场合袒露心迹是需要代价的。但是 我们在天父面前，总是可以毫无顾忌地借着我们的救赎主 耶稣基督，坦然无惧地 来到神的施恩宝座前，也凭着天父的丰盛慈爱进入祷告的圣所。马可福音1:35节，“次日凌晨，天还没有亮，耶稣起身出去，来到荒野的地方，在那里祷告。”让我们知道我们小小的祷告，也如耶稣的祷告一样被悦纳。当天父祂看我们时，如同看耶稣基督一样；当祂听我们祷告时，如同听耶稣祷告一样！这也是祂对待我们的唯一的方式。我们的祷告对祂如此的有份量。 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Steadfast Love is Especially Given to the Special One. To whom I am special? Friends. Have you ever wondered the same? "Who will show [me] any good?"(Ps.4:6) I have had multiple times when I became forgetful of God's grace shown to me previously. It was not only me being forgetful but also quoting my pastor, "This is the cursed-laden air we breathe in every day." We shall not think it is only for the reason that we are guilty of forgetfulness when we are utterly burdened. In the meanwhile, we shall remember that in God alone is our relief and answer because he is our "righteousness, sanctification, and redemption"(1Cor.1:30). To whom I am special? It seems to be an important question for most of us. No matter what happens now, we were God's children first. His mercy goes deeper when his children are hurting. I am special to God before the foundation of the world. God's steadfast love is especially given to me before everything else, including sin, suffering, and doubts. David prays an incredible prayer comparing his enemy and God. Only God is utterly different from any men, not only men who seek vain glory and talk loud with manipulative words, but also all men in the world. "O men, how long shall my honour be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?"(Ps. 4:2) Is there anyone who does not seek righteousness from other gods and approval of men? David is talking about his enemy, and he is referring to all the enemies of God, namely those who seek righteousness from anyone and any words other than God himself. That includes all of humankind. When we have had no "grains and wine abound," joy looks like something very different. From David's experience, God has "put MORE joy in my heart than they have when their grains and wine abound” (Ps.4:7). It is simply because God's children alone are receivers of his steadfast love which in other words looks like special attention and affections to his children. Joy looks like God's unchanging, steadfast love especially given to the special one. Every one of His children and His children altogether is special to Him. This is special to us and comes from a special person who becomes the unrighteous for us so that he become our righteousness. We are special because Jesus Christ is uniquely righteous. "For no one, living is righteous before you"(Ps. 143:2b). And "Only in the LORD, it shall be SAID of me, are righteousness and strength." Jesus Christ, "for our sake he made him be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."(2Cor. 5:20) This is the extraordinary steadfastness we possess through the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the one we shall seek for all good and joy in times of utter despair and fear of the world. Music credit: Bluebirds by Alexis fFrench All rights reserved. Yaping Li All the blessings. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Welcome back! Friends. How have you been? I trust your days are in the hand of God of salvation. We will continue with the devotional on the remaining half of the book of Psalms. May this devotional be a sweet fellowship with the Spirit to us as we open God's prayers written for us. Today we will read Psalm 3. David prays with complete honesty and acknowledgment of his dire spiritual and physical situation. He is left with no one else but enemies. Enemies made out of people once of his own. But he did not linger on self-pity but prayed to his God with his own voice because salvation belongs to the Lord. He was truly afraid and ashamed. He was all alone. He has all the reasons. Yet David also was aware of his God who is his shield and his glory. His enemies not only threaten him physically but also judged him and his soul to be unworthy of God's salvation. What was once important to David are all abandoning him except his God who is the true salvation, shield, glory. David's enemies were wrong in their violent pursuit of the life of their King. They are wrong in taking themselves as the judge of salvation. Who dare say one is worthy of God's salvation? What about them? Who dares to supersede above God's sovereignty. God hates pride but shows his mercy to the poor. "Salvation only belongs to the Lord. Your blessings are on your people." David submits himself and his enemies to God all at once. David is the king and king to his people. God is David's God. God is also the God of his people. Music: When mind wants rest by Jeong selin All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. I will be away for the month of July for lecture recording and for better loving a group of young friends. As I read Psalm 4, I was astonished at the psalm as a sanctifier through the work of the Spirit. Psalm 4 is diverse. The ethics sandwiched in the middle is the wonderful testimony of the sanctifying power willed by God the father in the book of Psalms. I can not wait to come back in August and do devotions together with you. Until then, may the love of God the Father, grace from Jesus Christ, and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit be with you forever and evermore. I will continue praying for you and loving you. Stay tuned and continue reading book one. Music Credit Lovely by the Brilliance All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

The birth of the baby Jesus declares that he depends on no power in this world. How can a baby boy be the savior of the world? How can he conquer the world without the schemes this world uses? The Son of God is the Son of God the Father from eternity. This psalm is a prophetic declaration of the coming of the Messiah king. In the Gospels, after Jesus was born, he was baptized on behalf of sinners. When he was baptized, a voice of the God the Father from heaven said, " This is my son whom I am well pleased". The life of this firstborn son is stronger than all the power in the world so that he can give us all nations as our in heritage. He gave over his power and his life when he was born as a baby in this sin-irritated world. He pours out everything he had for us so that we can find a refuge from the righteous judgment worthy of our sins. When this world is raging to destroy God's plan so that they can replace the faithful and loving-kind reign of God with their foolish dictation, suppression, and monarchies. How can the whole world even become bigger than the kingship of God the creator, sustainer, life-giver? Is not the world made by the finger of his hand? Can they really reach heaven with their own thirst for power? All the corners of the earth are in his hands of God. God has made the most inner part of human beings. God LOVED the world so that he created the world for us as our dominion. The raging nations are just like potter that is easy to be crushed and chaff that is easy to be driven away. Both potter and chaff lack real power. However, the Son of God is different from any of us. Though he was the creator he took the form of creature. He doesn't depend on this world; on the contrary, this world is made by him. This son does not depend on anything in this world. His baptism is to wash away the sin of the evil desire of power over God. His resurrection conquered all the evil power that tempts the son of men. Not even so, he also included the raging nations in his redemptive plan and aiming at bringing them into the kingdom of light. His birth, baptism, death, and resurrection were all blessed by God. This is my son whom I am well pleased with. God loved the world and gave his only son for us so that whoever believes in his shall not perish but have eternal life. God loved us so that he didn't spare his only son, what else will he not give us? This newborn son became the king of the nations. By his birth, he renounces any earthly power. He replaced the sinful as sinful, and he gave up his power to be suppressed and persecuted under the power of men unto death, and unto resurrection. He came weak for all the sinful and weak so that all who are bitter, labored, power-thirsty, and deep in sins can have life through his life, and have redemption through his resurrection. The Son of God became the Son of Man to be the king o the world and the refuge of all nations. This is truly marvelous! All who take refuge in him are blessed. He who gave up his life but gain life, who gave up power but became the king, is Jesus Christ alone. Only through him, this marvelous miracle happens. It only happens once. Once is enough. Music Credit: Psalm 1 Word by Word by Poor Bishop Hooper All Rights Reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 2 Episode 1 Dear friends. I am so happy to have you at Season 2 of the Book of Psalms devotional as we move back to Psalm 1 and onward. A well-memorized poem, Some People, Chinese:有的人, written by Cang Kejia, Chinese 藏克家, begins like this: "有的人活着 A person is alive, 他已经死了; but he’s already dead. 有的人死了 A person is dead, 他还活着。but he still lives on." Cang is not written this for Jesus Christ, but he captured the status of the moral man in its deadly state. It is hopeless to live on without assurance of life. This psalm is written no so different from Jesus' other conversation. Jesus loves to use language that everyone will understand in an agricultural setting. Have you seen farmers work on the threshing floor? Can you imagine? As a kid, I used to watch my grandparents and parents, at the harvest season of the summer, threshing grain, winnowing them, throwing them against the wind so that chaff will be driven away and the grain will be left out for the food of the year and the seed for the coming years. It is a joyous memory to see all the work and efforts of the year have borne solid grains for living. Every time, children would also be rewarded with popsicles and we all celebrate together. It is just like our life. Now the restrictions of the pandemic will be soon lifted up. We will have the freedom to do what we always hoped to do. Have we changed? Or are we finally entitled to do whatever we wish to do? When we abuse freedom, we will lose freedom instead. That's how we learned that true freedom can only come from above. The real freedom is the freedom of being loved by Jesus. The assurance of God's love and our salvation is the root of our life so that we do not have to be like chaff. Everything we do falls in the hands of God. God promised to take care of righteousness and give them eternal life while the wicked will perish at the days of judgment. As human beings, we do not get to see all the judgments behind the scene, but we will all see the final judgment that the wicked deserves. Only those who are known and loved by God have the assurance of blessedness. They will be like a tree whose life is rooted and protected. There are only two kinds of people in this world. The ones who are loved and have freedom; and the ones who are rejected and abuse freedom. God did not leave the hypocrites with a third option. Our life needs to be rooted in Jesus Christ to have a blessed foundation. Only Jesus who have never done or thought of evil has become constrained for us and humbled himself in the form of man and walk among us to become the foundation of our life. Jesus is dead and he is alive according to the scriptures to become the imperishable seed of life for us and teach us the way of eternal life. True freedom is from being loved by Jesus Christ. The foundation in Jesus Christ assures eternal life by the running stream and our leaves will never wither. Therefore, we are called blessed. What about you yourself? Are you blessed? Music: Blessed Assurance by Alan Jackson. Poem translated by alexcwlin; edited by Adam Lam. All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. This is the last episode of season 1. The last section verse 45-52 is a characteristic lamentation ending. "How long O Lord?" This is not only a typical lament ending but also reminds me of the Book of Job in which the doctrine of creature climax the ending of the story. Here in Psalm 89, it is similarly the doctrine of the creation of man. All the earth has an essential relationship with the creator God, God the Father of all the earth. This psalm is written when the psalmist finds the conflicts between God's eternal covenant to his people and the falling and humiliation of the Davidic kingdom among the nations. However, the psalmist ended with praising, "Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and Amen." One question was raised before God what is the reason for the vanity of man. Men can not save themselves from death. As all the lamentations in the Book of Psalms tend to have unstated answers between the lines. The answer is also not explicitly stated in Psalm 89. However, the psalmist begins to meditate on the doctrine of the creation of man. Everything good is from the creator-creature relationship with God the Father who blessed us with every blessing from himself, life, meaning, home, kingdom, and almighty providence and faithful sustaining throughout their life. Men were made to have an eternal, abundant, rich life in the garden with God to eternity. However, the eternal existence with God is threatened with the bondage of sin. When men decided to leave God, vanity crept into their life. All men, believers, and unbelievers are subject to vanity since Adam and Eve chose to betrayed God for the king of vanity, Satan. When we lose our relationship with the creator God, we lose everything. God has created men with his image, to reflect his wisdom, righteousness, wisdom and after the fall, all seems to be totally corrupted but the vanity of vanity. Since then, the kingdom of eternity and the kingdom of Satan has been in a constant battle until a real king came to crush the head of the serpent and reign the whole created world forever. But David isn't this king. That's why the psalmist lamented. And David is also the type of the king who is humiliated by the nations at the moment. That's why the psalmist lamented. How long O Lord? The answer is always in the coming of the King. Music credit Sovereign Grace Music. All Creatures of God and the King --- All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 89 continues the praises God's unchanging covenant from the general to the specific and focused on the offspring of the Davidic king. Psalms' emotions and his remembrance of the sound doctrine of God's promise is also intensified. This section can be divided into three parts Psalm 89:27-29 restates God's promise, 30-32 Restate the law. 33-37 The everlasting grace. 38-45 Crown in the dust, and king, together with the kingdom is humiliated. Shall the psalm stop here with no answer? No God already provided the answer in verse 27, the firstborn son. A faithful prayer is an honest one that reflects the reality, and it is also and humbles one that asks questions from God when the king is being humiliated. Perhaps God's answer is not yet him because the king he promised will be humiliated in front of the world, not just neighboring countries. He will be humiliated by his enemies and those he tried to save. The heaven and the earth will testify the resurrection of the firstborn son as well as the king of kings. He is the king for not only Israel but for the world. People experienced the benefit of having a good King David so they mourn the loss of the good king. But the grace God has promised is even stronger and greater. David was an anointed king, but he is also from Adam so he can only do what Adam did. He was a good king but also a murderer and adulterer. This world needs a king who will die for his people. The firstborn son will suffer the greatest on his throne by being witnessed with his humiliation in front of the world in order to save the world. All the world will testify his humiliation, his enduring of righteous anger, his underserving cross. David is a chosen king but he is not the king of the cross. A king who suffered greater than David. A king who brings the eternal kingdom to whom calls upon his name. Those who believe in him shall never be ashamed. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 53 God shows his steadfast love as our father who gave his eternal fatherly love to us through Jesus Christ in the covenant. Psalm 89:15-26 affirms the steadfastness of God's covenant through one person and recapitulates the Gen. 3:15. We do not have ground to ask for God's mercy since we have betrayed him so have we deprived of all the good characters the image of God represents and its benefits. Just like our relationship is restored eternally by Jesus Christ, it was also eternally broken by the fall. We stopped worshiping God as our creator king, and we became our alone while the devil lords over us. What should we do? We are all in the slavery of sins. Who can help us? The psalmist praised that God's steadfast love stands firm to eternity. God is unchanging God, but our betrayal has been done in eternity. How can I have anything blessings from God anymore? Since we abandoned our creator God, we are living outside of God's grace. How can we call God our father? The psalmist praised in verse 15, blessed are you people. God is the honor and glory of his people. The holy son of Israel is our strength and shield. God gave help to his people through his chosen one. What's more. David was called the anointed one. He is the type of Christ. David is the son of Adam, a chosen one, God' s servant, a king. Jesus is also the Son of Man, the chosen one, the holy servant, the king. Jesus is the Son. God has established one person to be our sacrifice of atonement. One person for all. He is Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God. He is a perfect son, a son promised in the covenant, a son of man born under sin but never sinned, a son who subdued Satan and all its power. He is both man and God, from whom the eternal love of God the Father is derived and gave to us in me. Like us in every way but never sin. We obtained power through his victory over death. He led us out of temptation. God Fatherly love to his son is the source of all greatest love. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The eternal love of the Father towards his son is our greatest loss after the fall. The Father loves the Son. Why didn’t He give the son for sinners? We know a father will not change his son, not even to have his son die for sinners. But our Heavenly Father loved us to give His only Son for us so that we will not perish but have eternal life. The best love in the world but the love of our Heavenly Father. God gave us his son at the creation of the world. God created the world because of his love for his son. God the Father gave his only son for prodigal sons and the fatherless. He is the father of both the fathers and sons in this world from generation to generation. If our biological father had hurt us, forgive him for he is also one of the prodigal sons. If he loved us, embrace him and love him because he loved us like our Heavenly Father. God loved the world. He gave his only son to us so that we will not perish but have eternal life. God loved us and made us his sons and daughters. Music credit to Shane & Shane Surely goodness, Surely mercy. --- All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 52 Which one should feel shameful? The sinner or the sinless? The second half of the psalm pondered on a question: Can God desert a soul? This is a worthy thinking question. We will also find out that the only prayer for being forsaken is made by Jesus on the cross, Father, Father, why are you forsaking me? Have you lived in rejections? Not only rejection from people but rejection of destiny? If so, I believe it was short and it was nothing like being totally forsaken like Jesus was. But if you have ever experienced rejections, you know very well that they are as sharp as piercing knives. You must know. A friend of mine was going to a great med-school in Philadelphia but the time delay has caused her a rejection letter. We were all joyous for her, but now we are grieving with her. You perhaps have proposed to a crush who admired in your heart but you were told that she/he has had no feelings for you at all. You are trying to lead a small group, but people in your group are constantly doubting your ability. You were trying to comfort a hurting sister, but you got the rolling of the eyes saying: "who needs your help?!" These are examples just to show who real and frequent rejections and denials happen in daily life. They are sudden, but we are not prepared. We will never feel fully prepared for any kind of rejection even though we guide our hearts with shields. Yes. We often over-prepared for them and kept them in secret because it is shameful to be rejected, not to mention, in public. However, there is one person who was completed rejected, and forsaken in public by many mocking witnesses. He was forsaken by his own father. The Son of Man could have saved himself from this embarrassment. He is God anyways. His father could have not forsaken him with all the other options. He is God anyways. However, because he was publicly forsaken and humiliated in the ordeal, he prayed that exact prayer: " Father. Father. Why are you forsaking me?" This is an utterly shameful prayer. In the eyes of public witnesses, the son of God promised to save sinners from death but he himself was crucified on the cross. Why does he not save himself if he is as what he said he is? If Jesus was not willing to save us, he doesn't have to face such a humiliation. Because he knew. He knew this humiliation and pain of rejection and forsakenness belong to us. We are hopeless without him. The worse judgment is coming upon us. The forsakenness we can not bear. He bears for us. Back to the question in the beginning. My friends. Who shall ever feel humiliated? If we are humiliated while being worn out of doing good. How should we? Shall we be ashamed of the gospel? By no means! Continue to do good no matter what rejections awaits for us. If we feel the pain of rejections, no one was more painful than Jesus himself. Rejections are unavoidable in this world, so is humiliation. It all because the original sin was rejection of all that is good, commanded by God. We rejected the truthfulness and righteousness, and we will be rejected by the righteous and the good, or even worse, by the wicked and the evil. Because there is no acceptance for betrayers anywhere. Until Jesus came and lived, all the pain of rejections will be terminated. Before then, when I am rejected, I look to Jesus. Rejections are what I supposed to face, but Jesus substituted for me. My humiliation needs Jesus' death. I need Jesus. Jesus was completely forsaken so that I no longer have to. Music credit to Shane & Shane ~The Lord is My Salvation.~ -------- All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 51 Dear friends. This is a lament. The most desperate thing is not life and death, but entirely losing all the favor of both men and God. This is also a Messianic psalm because it is what Jesus experienced on the cross. It was supposed to be our punishment, death, and despair; losing the favor of God. From the aspect of despair, Jesus brought the gospel to our despair by being forsaken by God. We, as human beings often felt neglected, and we thought of ourselves often that we are totally neglected. However, life told us that even at those moments, we still have people whom we ourselves neglected to care for us. It is never entirely true to say that we are neglected either you are a Christian or not. Psalmist cried out to the Lord, Will you wait until I die, then you will show favor to me? This is a desperate cry. When he suffered from rejection and denial, he spoke to God that death is better than life. What were his thoughts? Was he complaining of his life lacking favor of God? Was he holding onto his faith on resurrection therefore this is a faithful cry instead of an angry complaint? Spurgeon commented on Psalm 88:1. Lord. My salvation explains well that psalmist feeble prayer is like a small flame of fire. This faithful fire is growing into the burning fire while he prays. This is a psalm especially for Christians from today's perspective. WHY? It is indeed especially when our situation is worse than unbelieving people. How should we pray when we do not have favor/ the blessing when God is showing common grace to the wicked? How shall I be content to praise that "Salvation belongs to God."? How can we suffer from the wicked and love them even when it means "he must increase, I must decrease"? It is so true suffering is not what distinguishes Christians and non-Christians. Sometimes, Christians suffer worse. The only distinction is whether the faith is rooted in the suffering savior Jesus Christ. Will I be pleased to suffer from the wicked, suffer with the wicked, even suffer for the wicked? Praise the Lord that Jesus is the only truth, way, and life. No one comes to the Father except through him. This is a special provision for believers. Praise the Lord for the provision of his comforting word. Music Credit to Badminton Road ~ You are the God who saves me~ ---All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 50 Psalm 89(1) Forever I will sing. God's divine government and his eternal fatherly love are invisible to all the earth. All we enjoy in life is from him and through him. Sometimes, biblical poetry is sandwiched with historical narratives, like stories from Genesis, Exodus, Chronicles, etc. In Psalm 89, this is the same case, from this part of the psalm, we do not really know who the story develops and ends. However, the psalmist began with the praises of God's steadfast love. How do you describe God? How do we praise God in his own names? It is not always easy especially when he is the sum total of all the good things to us, and especially in difficult situations perhaps. However, as his children, his eternal fatherly love is everlasting. It can not increase anymore because this is the greatest love shown in his son Jesus Christ. It can never reduce because God never changes. Everything about God is what we need for our salvation and everyone about him never changes. The psalmist praised God for his simplicity and uniqueness in his subduing power of creation, in his unfolding of the world, and in his keeping the covenant in his son Jesus Christ. God alone, in three persons, can create, sustain, keep the covenant, and call the nations to salvation, build his church, making miracles. He is the center of the universe, the eternal father, and the only true God. Spurgeon once commented on psalm 89:1, the cry of the saints is characteristic of Christian worship. Did you hear that? Singing, praying, crying out to the Lord is characteristic of Christian worship. We need all of God's characters and attributes to be saved. There is only one God in this world. None like him. Music credits to Rick Moldlin Psalm 89: Forever I will sing. --- Podcast: All rights reserved to Yaping Li. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 49 Psalm 86（2） "Show me a sign of your favor." What are you most afraid of? We often say that "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." However, we often fear the wrong person, the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. We fear those people and things that do not give life. We also fear the disease that can only kill the body, not the soul. Do you know what I am most afraid of? I am afraid, sometimes, that God doesn't show his favor on me. When I was all alone and facing difficult situations, people, things, I was afraid that what if even God is not on my side. What if I suffer alone. I understand the heart of the prayer that may God show me a sign of favor that I may survive this suffering. I needed a sign. God is merciful and gracious. He is slow to anger and abundant in steadfast love and faithfulness. Yes. I, at the same time, will worry about the assurance of God's favor. David has a pure faith. He prayed that God will show him a sign. Will God show him? Does God have to? He did anyways by saving him through the malicious pursue of his only son. His prayer was urgent. Lord, please deliver me from the Sheol. This Psalm is inspired for all of God's people to pray when we face difficult situations, people, and things and we are afraid of tomorrow, we can pray just like this. Just like God wanted us. We know the assurance of God's favor for us. Don't we? Jesus was born and suffered unto death for us. The third day he resurrected from death. God loved us so and gave us his only son for us. Luke 11:29-30, Jesus himself said: “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation." The son of man is the greatest sign of God's favor on us. Jesus Christ is precisely our most extraordinary sign of favor. God has promised all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Will be saved through judgment of eternal death. Will be saved from today's evil age. If ever, we do not have immediate favor shown to us, it is because God reserved the right to make a bigger plan without our consent. He has all the right to do so for our good, does he? Thank you for subscribing and listening. My friend. God is with us until the end of the earth. Rest assured of his favor upon us. Music credit Matt Redman 10,000 Reasons Bless the Lord O My Soul ---- All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Season 1 Episode 48 Psalm 87 Children who are born in the city of God are children who born again through Jesus Christ. God's greatest love is his love for his church. The Reformers all agreed that the church is the chief work of God. The church is not found on sources, culture, power, abilities but on the forever-living Jesus Christ. Indeed. Jesus Christ is the only foundation of the church. The church is the very special object of God's tender love even for the nation who hated and persecuted Jesus Christ. Even the nations will be numbered by God and all nations will come to worship him. My friend YanYan asked me yesterday: There are many kinds of churches. Which one is the real church? The answer is in the Psalm. One way to tell is the church is solid is to listen to the preaching of God's word; whether it preaches Christ-centered gospel; whether it preaches Jesus Christ as the only foundation of the church. On the contrary, if it preaches the grandiose of the building, glory of the tradition, but doesn't preach Jesus Christ as one foundation of the church, you can decide that it is not a real church. Jesus loves his church and died for her. The Bible often compares the church as the bride of Jesus Christ. She has once betrayed him and abandoned the covenant but Jesus came down for her from heaven to seek her and died for her. She was died in sin but now purchased with the precious blood of her bridegroom. He died and resurrected for her. He decorated her with love so that she is now pure and blameless. God's greatest love is his love for his church. No love is greater than Jesus' love. Every born-again Christians are part of the church because Jesus died for every single member of the church out of love. This love is given to everyone who is in the city of God and everyone who is born-again through Jesus Christ. But those who are out of the church does not have a single share. Only the church found on the only foundation of Jesus Christ has the greatest share of God's love and forgiveness. Music credit to Journey songs by Samuel S. Wesley & Samuel J. Stone. The Church's One Foundation. All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

All that is in God is everything we can not lose. Dear friends. The psalmist began with "you", "you", "you" when he praised God. This could be used as a perfect opening to cooperate prayer. God's favor is not only in history but also at present because of his love in Jesus Christ to us. God withdrew his anger so that we can live. His righteous anger is pure, eternal, characteristic, of him. His anger is simple and holy, but our anger is selfish and complicated. I know Jesus who is eternal righteousness took on flesh and absorbed all the wrath God should have shown to his mortal enemies, us. It still takes a good systematic theological reading to articulate this wonderful story well. We know it is true. It is true and wonderful. We have shared everything Jesus shared with us through his incarnation and resurrection except enduring the pain of having God being angry with us. This is worthy of a good and continuous reflection. Music credit to Selah Service Psalm 85 All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

"Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy." We probably do not talk with people like this, like we talk to God. Why is it that we can talk with God in the most intimate way that surpasses all conversations we had with human beings. I am encouraged always by David's prayer because there is not a thin wall distance between him and God. He prayed because God is the only one who can deliver him. He prays with all his heart, his mind, his soul, and his strength to a God who knows him best. His boldness is based on how good God is. God knows me best. We all have problems that only God can help us with. Addition, depression, social injustice, or better yet, the source of all evil. We all have life problems that only God can solve, like a parent that is hard to communicate, a boss that is difficult, a broken marriage, a suffering single life, a disobedient child, a harsh neighbor... life can only be solved by God alone. My problem only God can solve. Did you realize this today? My friends. I love you and pray for you. I am encouraged to trust God with my life because he alone can solve my problems. Music Credit to Senior Class of 2016 Come Thou Foundation of Every Blessing. All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Have you been sick before? If you have, you will know if someone else had the same sickness at the same time, it is an understanding between you two beyond words. You feel like you need not speak no more. God doesn't need anything because he is God. We are created with needs. And God can satisfy all our needs. Our food, water, sleep, family can all from him and through him and in him. It could be hard to believe sometimes but it is true. Psalm 85 remembers God's turning away from wrath and impute Jesus' righteousness to us. We always needed his righteousness to live more than we need food and water. It is one thing that we can not live without. God's wrath is not like ours which is temporal, complicated, and selfish. His righteous wrath is eternal, characteristic, personal, internal, and simple. God's righteousness and his wrath are always positive. In other words, it is good for us. Everything that is in God, we are desperately in need of. However, when we feel pain, we needed more than righteousness and food and water, what do we need then? We need to know the purpose of it, when does it stop. And it matters to us that we have company. We are not alone. In the beginning, we shared with you that when I have migraines for a while, I got to know more friends who also are suffering from it. We instantly understand each other. I wish no one will experience it. But it is so wonderful to know that I am not alone when I feel painful. But comfort from each other doesn't cure pain per se, only God does. The understanding exists between human beings, less profound between that between Jesus and us. Why? Let think that Jesus had experienced the pain and death on the cross which of course belonged to us. The pain that matters most to us and to the world. The pain we experience humbles us to think how hard it must have been for Christ to suffer and love. It is hard to love. It is hard to understand. However, his understanding of us is BEYOND words. More profound than the understanding we shared with someone who had similar pain with us. But he took OUR pain. It was OURS. When we feel lonely, and we want to seek someone's understanding. His answer is always, "I know exactly. I know. My beloved. You do not need to tell me." Yes. God created us and through Jesus, he has shared everything with us, except his wrath, the part Jesus took all on himself. Music credit to Selah Service Psalm 85 --- All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. We love the dwelling place of God and we desire God's presence. His presence is forever accessible to us. Did you ask how could people unholy like us dwelling with God? I still remembered the first time I went to church, I was so shy because the church is such a holy place. Back to the question. We are not holy. It is 100% guaranteed. None of us is holy but Jesus Christ gave his holiness to us. His holiness became ours. His holiness not only cleaned our sin and guilt but also brought us before God by tearing down the wall between holy and unholy, God, and his enemy. Because Jesus was crucified on the cross, we can have the church as our home. He is the only reason. He purchased the church for himself. The church is not a building but a home for people who Jesus loved too dearly to die for. Christ is the only foundation for this home. Christ alone gives life to the church so that she can shine the truth to the world. Martin Luther once said that church is lovely not by our passion but because of truth founded in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus has purchased real peace to his people at his home. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Imagine we were on a long journey, we needed water, sunshine, food, and company. We had what we need and we finally climbed to the mountaintop. Now what? We are always on the way. Where do you stay? The church is the closest place to heaven. After almost three months, we finally came back to church, our home, to worship together. God is faithful, and the word of God transcends past, present, and future, staying faithful. We have never been understood as God has understood us. Now listening to this Psalm 84, we feel the peace and loveliness of God's dwelling place. The psalmist sang the joy of a sparrow who lays her young in the court of God because it is the most secure place for her. Our church is found in the solid rock of Jesus Christ. We probably will remember that Jesus himself doesn't have a place to lay his head. He was always on the move. He came and sojourned in the land with us and even died for us, so that we may have a place in heaven. Our place on earth and everywhere we live is a shadow of Jesus' room prepared for us in heaven. Church especially. In Remembrance of reopening church service at my church. Music credit to Henry Haffner Psalm 84. All Rights Reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 83 (2) Season 1 Episode 45 We can not play the role of Judge. Instead, we need God to play our roles for us. The world needs Jesus to play its role for it. Dear friends. Have you been mistreated? I am sorry for you. I remembered one time or two I wanted to share with another person, a friend, what happened to me. I would like someone else to know. Maybe simply knowing it will make it better for me. What I have said to my friend, I was actually saying: "Listen. Listen." I needed someone to know. The Psalmist laments and calls God to listen. His great comfort is that God is never silent. There is only one ruler in this world and one justifier from eternity to eternity. We all desire he will listen to us. I can not play his role for him by acting out like riots. We can not play his rule as the judge because even we are not capable of making things right. Instead, what we really need is him, God, Jesus, justifier, ruler, to play our role. The world needs his righteousness to play its role. The world needs his righteous wrath, not ourselves. His righteous wrath leads to a heavenly kingdom and a new order while ours lead to destruction. We need a new world order. Only through Jesus, there can be a new world. Not a new law, or new war. It is the person, Jesus, and what he brings with him, a new kingdom through him and in him. Background Music Copyright by the Senior class of 2016 Show us Christ All right reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 83(1) Season 1 Episode 44 Dear friends. We can not habituate holiness in our own ways, can we? Holiness doesn't just happen unless our ungodliness is replaced with the life of the holy one. We do not naturally know what is right to do. We will always choose to do what is right in our own eyes. The recent uproaring of the riots across the nation is like a drunken crowd. They are doing what is right, just and neglecting the holy judge in heaven. It proves that human beings do not naturally know what is right to think and to do on our own. We can not do right at all with God's discipline hands. If Jesus did not come to replace our mind and heart with renewed changes, like miracles, happen every day, we will surely fail our roles as thinkers and doers again and again. We are familiar with communal sin, aren't we? The first communal sin was committed against Joseph and covered as an accident by his brothers. Since then, the people of Israel have not ceased to do what is only right in their own eyes. Where is hope? What is wrong with doing what is right in our own eyes. The wound from World War II still stings when international sin was committed with an excuse to do public good. The crime was coated with philosophical, biological, and political Utopian color; however, it only condemns and bears no marks of justice but a hellish world in the war. We should think deeply and stop and think again and again. Why is it wrong to do what is only right in our own eyes. We will continue with the second half of Psalm 83 and we praise God that he is never silent before injustice and injustice will be undone in Jesus Christ in his resurrected glory. We lament and yet again it seems that the evil is still speaking vehemently. Proverbs 28:19 says "Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law." Background Music Copyright to Wendell Kimbrough. Oh. God. Do not be silent. All right reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. I confess to you that I have never given real attention to the fatherless, the poor, and needy until my own suffering becomes unbearable to me. If God has never become one of us, incarnated as a baby, grew up like all of us, we will find him unbelievable. However, this is our God. He mourns with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. He feels for us so much that he died for us. And he has never ceased to sympathize with us, with the poor, and persecuted. Today we felt the pain of the national evil and horrible leadership. Is this new to us? Sometimes suffering shocks us out of our shallow knowledge of God. We are not prepared to suffer. I found myself sometimes appear shocked at such sufferings. However, since the Exodus, God has chosen many many leaders to lead people of Israel to the way of righteousness. None of them did a perfect job to restrain evil however evil is only to be restrained because it is already in full blossom from generation to generation. We are living in the age that sin is conquered by Jesus' death and resurrection. Nevertheless, the remaining sin is still so true that it is heavy enough to break our feeble hearts. What about a world where Jesus isn't the king? Oh. We know how it feels like then and we feels it now. It is only until the humanity is renewed in a new conscience, a new heart, a new faith, a total another being in Christ can evil like this really change. It is only when Jesus is the king of the new humanity in a renewed world, evil shall cease. Not a better person of now, not a better version of a national leader, not a better version of ourselves, not a better international understanding. It is never an idea that will help this world. It is a whole new world needed. It is a whole new person other than us can make it happen. BUT only Jesus. Only through Jesus there is a new humanity in a new world, in the new heaven and new earth. Fortunately, he has come and he has conquered and he is living actively and powerfully. Background Music Copyright by the Brilliance To see love. All right reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. History is the realization of promise and the promise is the history of the future. Have you also in a situation that you need deliverance? A paper that seems to be difficult to accomplish; a poor financial situation; a bad habit, an enemy who swear to bring you down, a pandemic quarantining, a FINAL JUDGEMENT? The good news is that God always deliver us into peace and liberty. This psalm is written as a dialogue to recall God's great deeds in Egypt and his deliverance of his people. However, the reason why the promise is still sure is because Jesus has perfectly secured it. He willed for us on our behalf when we failed to obey. When we struggle to comprehend, Jesus is epistemologically bearing our pain. When we are face racial discrimination, he share his resurrection with us so that we can stop being afraid. Just do not let your heart be hardened even if it is sorrowful and it is confused. Friends. Do not ever be angry and stop caring. We need to hurry up and wait. Hurry up and care MORE. It is always the danger of unbelief to stop caring. Caring is painful. No one had suffered like Jesus did because he cared the most for the persecuted and the persecutors. We pray that God help our unbelief and help us care more. In remembrance of George Floyd. Copyright The Brilliance See the Love. All right reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 80, Season 1 Episode 42 Dear friends. This is one of the communal laments in the book of Psalm. It is characteristic of them to ask: "How long O Lord?" followed by a national disease or personal distress. The psalmist must know that God's answer will always be: "Never again." as in Psalm 10. BUT this pure knowledge of God is not enough. He knows a high-temperature comfort in a bleak cold winter surrounded by violence of his enemies. Here in the Psalm, the psalmist sang the most BEAUTIFUL song of the vine tree which gives life and through which its branches were delivered from Egypt and from all evil. When will God uproot the tree of all evil? This is the genuine question we pray and we long for even at this moment when protesting is on the move across the nation. The Psalmist gives a calm and beautiful picture of this tree. Its visibility reaches all the earth and its height and strength are stronger than death. This is the tree of life. This is the tree of the vine. This is the son of man who was totally forsaken in order to give life. He replaced the root of all evil with his own body. We are all live in him. We need his righteousness so bad now and we can not bear to not see him. We desire he stands among the nations to cease all the war. We adore his sacrificial love and eternal plan so that we, sinners, murderers, mobs could have life through him. Lord gives life. Lord shine your face. Make your righteousness known to those who desire you and who despise you alike. Save now. Lord. Friends who can we not pray? Song Copyright to Sovereign Grace Music How Long O Lord. All right reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Do you remember one or two things that you felt ashamed or embarrassed at the thought of it? Do you remember one or two extreme sufferings in your life you are not quite able to forget? God remembers them all and he remember the sins and its damages in the past and present and in the future. He remembers throughout generations. However, before the foundation of the world, he prepared Jesus Christ to stone for our sin once for all and bore the righteous wrath we all deserve. He remembers in order to bring justice and he blotted out our sins on the book of life because Jesus' perfect sacrifice on our behalf. The psalmist sang a sorrowful song in Psalm 79. Jerusalem was destructed and people were slaughter. Blood. Body. Death. Everywhere. I still remember clearly the holocaust happened in China during World War II. Many missionaries were also among them suffering for the sake of righteousness. Will they pray? How long O Lord. There are still many nations that are openly hostile to Christianity and the cross of Christ. How can we not pray? Let's pray because Jesus is living. Let's confess our sins without reservation because he is resurrected and we are all forgiven. Let's never feel ashamed when enemies pursue us and let's give thanks and ask for blessings like never before. Be blessed my friends. It is being sweet to walk with you in this season. Song Copyright to Sovereign Grace Music. ~How Long O Lord~ All rights reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. There is only one belief in the world because there is only one person who can save. It is horrible to say that I have no belief, or no soul because I am purely made out of material. It is absurd to say that I believe only in myself because it is a dead end. It is illogical to say that I believe in a little bit of everything else, because if A is true, then -A is absolutely false. There is only one belief in the world. And where do you stand? We all agree that the people of Israel is disappointing at so many levels. Yet Jesus is the only truth, way and life. Sin is disabling, parasitic, and contagious. It is contrary and in comprehensive to everything that God has. However, in love God has prepared Jesus Christ for us so that he might dwelling with us. Our sin needs an entire new life and a total bathing in the blood of the lamb. We need more than a moral influencer. We need a life. A living sinless life needs to be given to us and replace ours. Jesus must die for us for us to be saved. Because he did so, he made it possible for us to not so sin. Praise him for the new life. Friends. This concludes the series on Psalm 68. Tomorrow we will meet again for Psalm 79. Thank you for listening. Music Copyright The Lamb Music ~~~Who can separate us? ~~~ Purchased from and provided by iTunes Store. All Right reserved to the Lamb Music and its Singer. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Up to now, we have seen how disappointing the people of Israel is and how they PRETEND to praise God. It struck me I was like them, hopeless and Unredeemable. Through Psalm 78: 42-55, we know two endings for people in this world and one person who took our ending and lived our life. Both Israel and the Egyptians deserve an ending of judgment, even worse than the 10 plagues. However, God delivered the people of Israel who were rebellious as human beings could be. God remembered the covenant with them and delivered them from there deserved ending by punishing Egyptians. God never changes. There are always two endings. All our endings are like the Egyptians. We are all UNredeemble. But God prepared Jesus to live our life and live our ending. He was faithful unto death. It was through his punishment we are saved. One ending for all who believe in Jesus and confess him as the Lord. Nothing as wondrous as this gospel. Friends. Be blessed. You have Jesus. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Have you done something against your conscience to survive? My friends. I certainly have. But I have also done things that even my conscience didn't accuse me. You may laugh because once in a while I often thought of things I had no memories of before I became a Christian. When I was a child, I have taken coins from my mother's desk to get candies from the store, take home a beautiful bottle of nail-polish from a childhood neighbour after playing together. I had no concept of stealing but I was practising it without instructions. I naturally knew how! By God's grace, our hearts are changed through the power of the risen Christ as God the father has promised. In Psalm 78: 30-42, the people of Israel, like I said this is probably your least favourite part of the psalm, disappointingly continued sinning after God has rained mana and meat from heaven and gave them what they craved in the wilderness. When the judgment was falling upon them, they PRETENDED to praise God but they did not really honour God. When punishment came, false worship will never work. It is the love of God that made us repent, not our self-interests. If I am so scared of being judged so I will try on Christianity. I will never worship God. If God did not prepare Jesus to change our hearts, we would probably never chose him ourselves. However, Jesus obey all his life unto death. He always trusts, always obey, and always give honour and glory to his father. He is our salvation. Salvation belong to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 78:21-32 Friends. I told you that this might be your least favorite psalm but it is probably the one resembles ourselves most. A righteous God demands justice. The wage of sin is death. God has all the good reasons to punish sinners. If my sins need to be punished I would have already been crucified a thousand times and more. But Jesus Christ is the only one who always hopes, always loves, always obey and never sinned. His obedience is 24/7 and his sacrifice brought us eternal peace with God. We always desired what doesn't satisfy us but Jesus always desires what God the father desires. We failed any times in our lives. Jesus always did the right thing. There is one only way for sinners like me and like you. Because he has died for me and renewed my life every day. If you are like me, like the people of Israel, or you have never known Jesus, or perhaps you are frustrated at trying to by a faithful servant, COME TO JESUS. Start anew, start again. Its never too late. Music Copy Right by Brilliance Now and at the Hour. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. What standard is there for us to go to heaven? Do you wish there is someone who could represent you to do all you have failed to do? I certainly did. In my most recent reading of Ps. 87, I also found it is true that I will failed to be good for a year, a month, a week, a day, or... I will fail every second of my life. And if you agree, Ps. 9:20 will probably not be your favourite reading. People of Israel is such a disappointment. Thats why the psalmist began by encouraging believers to tell their children and children's children, the wondrous deeds of God in opening the Red Sea. However, these people in the wilderness has forgotten how great God is and how they have been delivered out of the land of slavery. The truth is I am no big difference from them. Thats why I need Jesus to represent me. Thats why the people of Israel needs Moses as their representative. Jesus has gone to the wilderness himself and brought us the spring of life and the bread of life. He was tempted in every ways yet without sinning. My whole life needs his whole obedience. The whole life includes those moments I failed to love God by trusting him, and those moments that I have deceitfully thought I was doing just fine. Be blessed. My friends. See you again Monday for the rest of this psalm. Thank you for tuning in. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Friends. Psalm 78 is filled with gentle but patient wisdom. I said so because it began with a prayer to encourage the reader/singer to tell God's wonderous deeds to their little children and their chlidren to their children. God's steadfast love is from generation to generation. It never ceases. Whats more interesting here is that the psamist said the purpose of doing so is that they will not be like their fathers. The word of God divides generations. It is never age, or technologies or whatever it is changing, but the WORD itself divide generations, sheep and goats, good soil and bad soil, faithful servants or rebellious teenagers. WOW! This is true a gentle and patient wisdom to learn for today. Be blessed my friends. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. If you have a rough day that you couldn't sleep, and what you will do? That's the same problem we are all facing. The psalmist was too exhausted and too weak to pray at night. It is as if shame overwhelmed him as well because as a Christian prayer is essential to his life, as it is to ours. Do you listen to a song to soothe your soul? For the psalmist, he chose to sing. However, the melody doesn't always seem right to him. He is trying hard to recall. The psalmist asked questions like will God forget his steadfastness? Then he turned from self-pity and start a "diligent research" on God's attributes and wondrous deeds. God's steadfastness is his comfort. God is Almighty as to change the world with his speech. He can certainly change our hearts. Do you still expect him to change your heart, and hearts of others? God will and his word is changing the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Friends. Is God for you or against you? We know from the scripture that there are wars. Wars are never neutral. We need to choose sides, and our God has forgiven us because we have chosen the wrong side. What about our enemies now? Remember God has created the world out of nothing by his speech. Everything is subject to his commands, even the armies of his enemies. Image we were all his enemies and his election and love has determinedly won us over. Who can stand before you? "There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. " As for those who he saves and humbles, his love is never separate from them. Romans. 8:34 "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? " Praise the Lord! He is to be feared, loved and obeyed. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Today we read Psalm 75 to praise a righteous God who judges with equity and who loves with his broken body. Have you ever had to use Drano, a type of heavy corrodent, in order to clean the dregs in your drain? I have tried it earlier this year. I had to be very careful not to drain to little or too much. Or to have any skin contact with it. Because It know it is impossible to not get hurt from the liquid corrodent. I was amazed again at the word of God! How it is transcultural and how it has an everlasting impact to our mind and heart. God reveals and his revelation precedes and transcends historical experience. He knows us very well. Doesn't he? Psalm 75:8 shows us God God will likewise drain the dregs of the earth according to their wicked deed with the cup of foaming wine. Does this strike you that Jesus has drank the cup for us, for all the dregs in the world? He is pure, but treated like dregs. He is righteous but destroyed in our place. How could we not tremble at the thought of judgment we were supposed to endure? How could we not likewise tell his wondrous deeds? I understand the psalmist's heart better now only in the person and works of our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been great to read psalm with you! Be blessed. God' beloved. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Jumping into my car to record our daily devotional is a sweet thing to do even after a three hours handwriting Old Testament final exam at night in the pandemic. I love our communication and I love reading regularly for you and together with you!!! The first half of this psalm is the darkest of all, even darker than real life. We already established how extremely honest, faithful, and compassionate God is with revealing to us the situation churches might face. He put words into our mouth knowing we will probably too stunned to pray in face of extreme trial as such. The second half of the psalm from 12-23, same length, 11 verses in total is a true worshipper's song sang from the heart. The psalmist is think after his heart and mind: How Great a God he knew! How powerful a king he is! How faithful he is always! He remembers his covenant! The temple is the shadow of Jesus Christ's resurrection and his spirit indwelling in us. Church is where the centre of the worship lies. It is heart-piercing to have temple destroyed. How closely Jesus is with us. He lives in us. He is the king who has claim a reigning place in our whole body and heart.  When it is dark outside, our God is even more faithful than our shadows. Sing to the King.  "Yours is the day, yours also the night!!" --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 74(1) Friends. We read Ps. 74:1-11 today. The darkest lament I have ever read and the first part of this Psalm is purely lamentation. It just reminded me of a recent incident happened in XiaMen, China, and a friend translated a song based on that incident. Surprisingly, the canonical psalm itself is darker. What will happen that God does not foresee. I am deeply deeply encouraged by simply reading the first half of Psalm 74. Therefore, I name this episode: the darkness at the dawn. In the end of this episode, I asked this friend if I can share their song. They have kindly gave me the right of using it for Psalm 74. Thank to Boaz Yang. In remembrance of the role of her bride in the kingdom of the light. Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near Word: J. Fawcett, 1782, Public Domain Chorus and Music: Connie Dever, 2017, Trans. Boaz Yang, 2018 Copyright © 2018 Praise Factory Music / Sovereign Grace Music Vocal: Boaz Yang, Dorcas Wang; Piano: Boaz Yang Produced by Praise as One（声合为一） --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Psalm 73(2) Dear friends. Have you thought of something incomprehensible until it became wearisome? The psalmist was thinking about the reason why God didnt punish the wicked right away. But he found no answer UNTIL he went to the sanctuary of God. I also thought of so many loss already happened in our life. Losing your daughter, getting cancer, chronic pain, pandemic, earthquake, calamities, murder, betrayal of friends, heart-broken by the loved one, hated by sinners, failure in ministry, slow conversion of a family member... We lament because we do not know the immediate answer to them. However, what is even more NO answer is that why a wretched like me not being punished. The more I meditate on the mystery, the deeper I realised, the answer is a person, the same God. There are mystery. Our salvation is one of them. NO greater mystery is greater than it. As we lament forward, we will probably never find answers to some mysteries of this life. But the answer to the eternal mystery comforts us as we lament forward in this life. Be blessed my friends. Love you and pray for you. *Music thanks to Sovereign Grace Music~ *How Long Oh Lord. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Ps. 73. This Psalm is full of confessional truth. If you look at the back of the Westminster Confession of Faith scripture index. We find confessions on Decalogue, assurance of faith and on the Lord's supper. It is confessional also because the psalmist confess what he see first and then profess his faith in the second part. Do you have a necklace? necklace is an accessory for women mostly. A decoration. But we all have decoration. Do we? Psalmist saw the wicked has PRIDE as his decoration. The Lord also promised us that our salvation and humility is our decoration in Ps. 149. What decorated you? You knowledge, beauty and your popularity? The Psalmist is grieving over the fact that the wicked is still out there not being punished. However, when I was mediated on this, I thought of me decorated the same as the wicked. My decoration is evident to God. But how can I escape my final judgment? I thought of our lord who was clothed with purple robe, and thorny throne for mockery. And then I understood which decoration is should wish people to see in me. It is decoration of Jesus Christ our Lord and his humility, love, and salvation for me. He is surely my escape, my refuge, my help and my portion forever. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Ps. 72:15-20 If you are at my age, you probably have experienced loss of a loved one in your family. Or maybe you are younger. When the psalmist sings: May you live forever. When we wish someone in our life to live forever, we also wish they will be respected and cherished forever. We live in a age we are not in charge of uncertainties. The King of the Great Britain may say" Long live the King" or "Long live the Queen" when their monarch shifts power. The United States is trying to find her next president. People quit voting because they do not have a satisfactory leaders available. However. When the psalmist say I wish you live forever, he was singing to the eternal king, the unique king, the living king who has the past, present, and future in his hands. Who is never lacking true worshippers. Let's enjoy this psalm. Ps.72 concludes the book two of the book of the Psalms. Thank you friends. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Friends. May 12th is a day to remember the Sichuan Earthquake that has killed thousands in Sichuan and grieved many families across China, my own family included. The earthquake has taken away so many lives so we wanted to make this day a day of remembrance of their lives which is precious to us. Do you also know that their blood is precious to God? Ps. 72 shows us a righteous king who defends the poor and helps the oppressed. As long as the sun rise, and moon shines, the Lord king reigns forever for his people. How did he become our king? Unless any tyrant who oppresses and threatens, he shed his own blood for his people so that they will never need to. Our king gave us righteousness and protection through his blood. I enjoy reading this Psalm. I invite you to read it with me. Be blessed. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Will God still take care of me when my hairs are grey and all my strength has been spent? God is the father for the fatherless and father for the widow. Jesus is the bridegroom for broke-hearted, single and oppressed. It is impossible for Jesus to forsake his mission as much as his own personality.  Praise Thee oh my dear Lord. Who is like you? David, at his old age, praised the Lord not only for the wondrous deeds God has done for him, but to another generation, all the people to come! He looked back and looked forward. All he can see is God's righteousness as his, God's promise becomes his through Christ, all his troubles resolved, and all his heart is shouting for joy. Glory to be the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Ps. 71. What amazes me is that I am reminded that God not only had delivered me in the past, and he has planned to be my deliverer before the foundation of the world. Writing this Psalm, David was already at an old age yet surrounded with enemies and persecutors. He remembered the Lord has delivered his at his youth and has protected him when he was in his mother's womb. Related to mothers who have to give birth to their babies in hospital probably without the company of their husbands in the room, this is such an encouraging and timely reminder of his faithful protection. I admire David' faith and his GOOD memory of God's fore-planning on him. "I will hope continually." I wish I am like David who hops and praises along his life, especially during troubled times. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Luther commented on this Psalm. He said, I understand myself better when I understand God better. Psalm 70 is a remembrance song. David said many times in other psalms in which he often praise God and say: I am poor and needy. But God you are great. I love you salvation. Things have never changed for him is that he is needy and poor before God. I admire this remembrance. This doesn't change through out time. We are poor and needy before our great God. Please enjoy this Psalm with me. Psalms & Me will be made available in Google Play tomorrow. Thank you for walking with me in this journey of finding psalms revenant to our post-pandemic age. Be blessed! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Lord's mercy is not equally sweet to everyone, so also his salvation. He delivered Jesus from the hand of evil and he will deliver as in the same manner. His judgment are the wicked who persecuted Jesus and their very deed is their judgement already. Those who God loves he save and those who God hates he probables. Not everyone will be saved through Jesus. Only though who call upon his name and turn his heart to worship him in Spirit and in Truth. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Ps. 69:14-21 Dear friends. What is mercy for you? I used to believe that yes. God' mercy never changes. But I forgot his mercy is relational. I tasted his mercy sweeter today through this Psalm and I am humbled by his mercy. Let's taste his mercy sweeter today all together!! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Ps. 69:1-17 Dear friends. You probably do not call upon the Lord's name: "Save me oh Lord" like the psalmist does. Our suffering is little jewel is gifted to us. When we are in suffering, Jesus knows it all. Deep waters shall not swallow you because Jesus is with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Through Laments we find the reality of evil and an even greater reality, Jesus had to die for and the greatest reality that Jesus died for us and he is still on the move. Friends. Let's lament the loss and gain Jesus. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Ps. 10 has given us such a good model to be better lamenters. It also makes me think what makes us different from the wicked man. We have never suffered like Christ did. Our lament definitely resembles his. Let’s aim at become better lamenters. Take this time to lament well and praise well. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Finally today we have the privilege to study Psalm 10, one of the best laments ever. In the midst of pandemic, do you ask like psalmist did? Continuing the acrostic structure from Psalm 9, what he really asked is: God. Are you STILL there? I have same question when I suffered sorrowfully, I can not believe what I see, but I believe what I do not see. However, what God prepared for the ones he loves is what no eyes can see and no ears can hear. Let's lament to prepare our hearts for the better, the unexpected preparation God made for us. Jesus is singing with us. Glad to share this Podcast with you as well. # Psalms & Me# --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

God loves Israel. He has worked for us with his power and he will always give strength and power to his people. Blessed to God. Who are Israel? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support

Dear friends. Have you burdens? Our father is always playing an active role in his children’s life. He bears us up daily. He gives, gives and there is no more he is holding from us. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support