Psalms, and the LORD as Our Vindicator

Posted by Christine Pack

Psalm 35 is one of my favorite Psalms, one I memorized during a particularly difficult trial, in which God was so faithful to me. He always hears and always answers the prayers of those who belong to Him.....always. He is always faithful to me, even in times when I have been distracted and forgetful, and have been a silly little sheep who wanders off. Because He is a loving Father, He will always go and fetch back the one who wanders, in the same way that an earthly parent will keep a watchful eye over his own children, and go after them when they wander (Luke 15:4).

Psalm 35 reveals that we can pray what might, on the surface, appear to be pretty ruthless prayers.

(Verses 4-6)
Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them! 

(Verse 8)
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!

But contrast the prayers for vindication in this psalm to the way the world thinks about vengeance:

The worldly person, the one who is without God, has to take matters into his own hands. He has no God upon whom he can call, no God who will take up his cause.

The Christian, however, can petition the Almighty God, the LORD of the universe, to take vengeance on his behalf, with the implicit understanding that he, the Christian, will not take matters into his own hands. He will trust in the LORD. The Christian can call upon the LORD, whose attributes of protection and deliverance are contained in his name "Yahweh," and can rest in knowing that the LORD, in His infinite wisdom, will make all things right in His own time. From the Got Questions? website:

"Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3)." (What are the names of God, and what do they mean? - Got Questions?)

Also see: Psalm 135:14 "For the LORD (Yahweh) will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants."


 Additional Resources 

Sons of Korah, A Recommended Resource

The Psalms (sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

Wisdom for Spiritual People – The Message of The Psalms (sermon by Dr. Mark Dever)

Shai Linne: A Recommended Resource

Posted by Christine Pack

Yes, I am a middle-aged white woman in the 'burbs who likes Shai Linne. No, I will not be posting any selfies of me making gang signs. Any other questions I may have left unanswered with my pre-emptive strike?* No? Okay, then....enjoy :)

And hats off to my friend Wallace Revels of the Truthinator website for quickly coming up with a meme about this during a spirited Facebook conversation on this topic.

*I hope my comments above are understood and taken as light-hearted fun. They're made simply to showcase that cultural distinctions between black and white are unimportant in the body of Christ. Not only are we all brothers and sisters in the faith, we're also blood brothers and sisters, given that we are all descended from Adam and Eve. For more on that topic, please follow this link to a talk by the wonderful Dr. Charles Ware - "One Blood, One Race," based on Ephesians 2. And here are more talks by Dr. Ware on Sermon Audio.


 Additional Resources 

A Few Thoughts On Christian Music

Seeds Family Worship: A Recommended Resource

Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource

One Blood, One Race (Dr. Charles Ware)

Truthinator (Wallace Revels)

 Online Hymns Resources 

Sermon Audio Hymns

The Hymnary

The OPC Online Hymnal

Psalm 139 - Sons of Korah

Posted by Christine Pack

Psalm 35, Sons of Korah

Posted by Christine Pack

Psalm 35 by Sons of Korah

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me, Lord;
Fight against those who fight against me, Lord;
Take up the shield and the buckler, and arise to my aid;
Brandish the spear and the javelin against those who pursue me.

Say to my soul, "I am your salvation,
Say to my soul, "I am your salvation, I am your salvation."
May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame;
May those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.

May they be like chaff before the wind,
With the Angel of God driving them away;
And may their path be dark and slippery,
With the Angel of God driving them away.

And since they've hid a net for me without cause,
And since they've dug a pit for me without cause,
May ruin overtake them now suddenly;
May the net that they hid there entangle them,
May they fall in the pit that they dug for me,
May they fall.

And then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
And then my soul will delight in his salvation.
And then my whole being will exclaim,
"Who is like You? Oh Lord, who is like You?"


 Additional Resources 

A Few Thoughts On Christian Music

Son of Korah, A Recommended Resource

Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource

Posted by Christine Pack

Anyone who knows me know that I am slightly obsessed with music (as witnessed by one of my articles a few years back entitled A Few Thoughts On Christian Music). Even before I became a Christian, I've thought that there was something so interesting and mysterious about music. For instance, why is it that things are easier to memorize when set to music? Can everyone think back to first grade, where they learned the alphabet by singing the ABC's song? Even today, my feeble brain remembers all sorts of ditties and silly camp songs I sang as a kid, from Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man to Over The River and Through The Woods to Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

So is it any wonder that when I was introduced to Sons of Korah as a believer that I would love-love-love-LOVE them? If you're not familiar with the Sons of Korah, please allow me the honor of introducing them to you. Sons of Korah are a Christian music group based in Australia, and their musical focus is the Psalms. All Psalms. Nothing but Psalms. From their website:

"The Psalms were originally song lyrics intended to be performed to the accompaniment of musical instruments..... Essentially they are the prayers, reflections and praise declarations of God’s people, and yet they no less authoritative and inspired than the rest of scripture...... There were several different uses for the psalms and perhaps many more than we know of. Corporate praise, celebration, lament, and prayer was obviously the dominant use.... Certainly a dominant use for the psalms was for instruction. Music is a great tool for memorizing things. The importance of knowing the Word of God is a dominant theme in both testaments, not least of all in the psalms. The psalms themselves contain, in condensed form, all the fundamental truths of the faith. Salvation history, the attributes of God, the way of salvation, the law of God, principles of wisdom, the nature of man and many more points of theology are powerfully encapsulated in the psalms. In this way the people learned about these things and passed them on. This is precisely what Paul has in mind when he exhorts the Colossians to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in worship to God so that the word of Christ would dwell in them richly (Col. 3:16)."

I've downloaded every Sons of Korah album available through iTunes, and have now memorized almost 50 Psalms. I'm also using this wonderful resource with my sons to teach them, in a beautiful and artistic and musical way, the beauties and excellencies of God's character and nature, and to show them that we can cry out to the Lord, and He promises to hear and respond to those who are His.

The Sons of Korah albums are also available through Exodus Books and Amazon, and include:

Light of Life 

Redemption Songs 

Shelter 

Resurrection 

Rain 

Wait

 Additional Resources 

Psalm 35 - Sons of Korah

Thoughts on Christian Music