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Psalms & Me

By: Yaping Li
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  • Summary

  • This is a podcast for reading Psalms in light of the rich doctrinal truth in the person of Jesus Christ and to enable all people to come to the feet of the Lord during this season that God has made. He is the Lord of the Lords and Lord of our hearts. Let's allow Psalms to fill our hearts. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yaping-li/support
    Yaping Li
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Episodes
  • Psalm 5 (1)

    Psalm 5 (1)
    Jan 31 2021
    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，...
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    10 mins
  • Ps. 4 Steadfast love Given to the Special One

    Ps. 4 Steadfast love Given to the Special One
    Jan 18 2021

    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. 

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    11 mins
  • Psalm 3 Everyone's Enemy

    Psalm 3 Everyone's Enemy
    Jan 8 2021

    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.

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    7 mins
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