Prepare
Opening Prayer
Thank God for the day and his Word, and ask the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts so that we love him, cry out to him, and know that he hears and saves us.
Read
Scripture Passage
Psalms 56
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
Psalm 56 records David's trust while captured by the Philistines. Bryan emphasizes that God hears prayer, sees and remembers every tear, saves his people, and holds them in the inseparable love found in Christ Jesus.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Psalm 56:8
Bryan singles out the image of God numbering David's wanderings and keeping his tears as especially beautiful and comforting, matching the devotion's title and central emphasis.
C — Called or Christ
C — Called to Do & Christ Connection
Cry out to God and trust that he hears and saves. Find confidence, joy, and comfort in his unfailing love in Christ, from which nothing can separate his people.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Good evening, and welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Well, this evening, we're at Psalm 56. Why don't we go ahead and have, I'm gonna have a little bit of tea, maybe you're drinking coffee.
We'll pray and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day, and we thank you for your Word. We pray that as we read your word, that your Holy Spirit would be working in our hearts, that we might love you, that we might cry out to you, and we would know that you hear us and save us. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, here we go, Psalm 56.
To the chief musician set to the silent dove in distant lands, a miktam of David when the Philistines captured him at Gath. Be merciful to me, O God, For man would swallow me up, fighting all day he oppresses me. My enemies would hound me all day, for there are many who fight against me almost high. Whenever, hear this now, whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God I will praise his word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me? All day they twist my words. All their thoughts against me are for evil. They gather together They hide, they mark their steps. They mark my steps when they lie in wait for my life. Shall they escape by iniquity and anger cast down the peoples of God? You number my wanderings, put my tears into your bottle. Are they not in your book? When I cry out to you, then my enemies will turn back.
This I know. Because God is for me. In God, I will praise his word. In the Lord, I will praise his word. In God, I have put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Vows made to you are binding upon me, O God. I will render praises to you. For you have delivered my soul from death. Have you not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
What a beautiful idea that is, isn't it? When he says that you number my wonderings, put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? How comforting is that for us? to know that the Lord hears us and the Lord has heard your prayers, has seen your tears, counts every one of them, has them in his book. And if he loves you that much, what could separate you from his love?
If God is for us, who can be against us? David isn't talking about this in the abstract. David is there and he has been captured by his enemies. He's been captured by the Philistines in Gath, and yet he is crying out saying, I still trust in God. I still trust in God. He hears me. He'll save me. He's marked my days. All my woes are in his book. What can separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus? Brothers and sisters, neither height nor depth nor any created thing can separate you from the love of God that's in Christ.
So we can thank the Lord. We can cry out and know He hears us, but we can also have confidence that He always loves us. Let's go ahead and pray. Father, we do trust in You. We have put our trust in You. We thank You that You care for us and that You count our every tears. Lord, we pray that you would work in our hearts that we would find joy and comfort in you alone. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may the Lord bless you tonight. May you have a great night's rest. And I pray that you get to get together, that you get to join with God's people tomorrow and worship him with joy in your hearts. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.