The Old Ship of Zion (Hymn)

The Old Ship of Zion
M.J. Cartwright (1889)

I was standing on the banks of the river
Looking out over life’s troubled sea
When I saw that old ship that was sailing
Is that the old ship of Zion I see?

It’s hull was beat and battered
From the storms of life, I could see
The waves were rough, but that old ship was steady
Is that the old ship of Zion I see?

At the stern of the ship was the captain
I could hear as He called my name
“Get on board, it’s the old ship of Zion
It will never pass this way again”

As I step on board, I’ll be leaving
All my sorrows and heartaches behind
I’ll be safe with Jesus, the captain
Sailing out on the old ship of Zion
Sailing out on the old ship of Zion

This is one of my favorite songs to sing.  I’ve always liked ships and the sea and this song gives us a great picture of an old ship, with Jesus as Captain “sailing out over life’s troubled sea.”  “The waves were rough, but the old ship was steady.”  Amen to that- sometimes the waves do get pretty rough in our lives, but we can have confidence in our great Captain!  “I’ll be safe with Jesus, the Captain.”  Yes, we will.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XVIII

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Psalm 51:18

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

At first glance, verse 18 doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the chapter.  The whole chapter is David’s repentance.  In nearly every verse, he is expressing sorrow for his sin or asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.  But in this verse, he asks the Lord to “do good in thy pleasure unto Zion” and to “build thou the walls of Jerusalem.”

I think that the reason for this verse is that, when we are forgiven and we have our fellowship with the Lord restored, we are going to want the things that He wants.  We are going to be led by Him to pray for His will to be done.  David knew that the Lord loved Zion and Jerusalem and he wanted to pray for what the Lord wanted.

Sinning damages our fellowship with the Lord and hinders our walk with Him.  But coming back to Him for forgiveness and mercy will bring us back in tune with Him and will help us to walk with Him and desire the things that He desires.

The things that we pray for help us to know where we are spiritually.  When we are praying for lost souls, praying for Israel, praying for the Lord’s will to be done, then we know that are walking with Him in fellowship with Him.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XVII

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 51:16-17

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 16, David tells us what God is not interested in, namely sacrifices and burnt offerings.  In verse 17, he tells us what God is interested in, namely a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  Those are things that the Lord “will not despise.”

When we sin, our heart attitude toward that sin will tell us which direction we are going to go.  If our sin leaves us with a broken spirit and a contrite heart, then we are on our way back to the Lord.  Sometimes that brokenness comes almost instantaneously, and sometimes it takes days, weeks or even years.  But, before we can find forgiveness and healing, we must come to ourselves and realize that we are sinning.  We must feel that brokenness.  David had that broken spirit and he had a contrite heart.  God wants us to understand that we have sinned against Him.  Anyone can “offer sacrifices.”  David could have offered a sacrifice without even feeling sorry for his sin.  But, as he understood, that would have been pointless.

God wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  When we sin, do we feel sorry?  Is our spirit broken?  Those are the things that God wants.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XVI

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

Psalm 51:16

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 16, David shows that he understands exactly what the Lord wants.  He tells the Lord that, if He wanted a sacrifice, he would give it.  If the Lord wanted a burnt offering, David would have been happy to provide that for Him.  But that was not what the Lord wanted at all.  He did not desire sacrifice and He was not going to delight in a burnt offering.  The next verse tells us what He did (and still does) want, but we will look at that verse tomorrow.

Sometimes understanding what the Lord wants from us also involves understanding what the Lord doesn’t want.  There are so many things that people do to try to atone for their sins that the Lord isn’t interested in.  Some people try to do good deeds to outweigh the bad ones.  While it is obviously good to do good things, simply doing good is not going to get us forgiveness.  Others try to give money to the church.  Some just try to stop sinning and hope that God somehow forgets what they have done.  There are many things that people do to try to please the Lord, but He is not interested.

Just as David understood, there are things that God wants from us and things that do not interest Him.  We need to pay attention to which is which.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XV

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Psalm 51:14-15

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 15, David continues the theme of verse 14, in which he is singing praises to the Lord for His deliverance and mercy.  David shows an understanding that even our ability to praise the Lord comes from Him.  He asks that the Lord would “open thou my lips…”  He wants God to open his mouth so that he can sing praises.  He wants God to have complete control of his mouth.

When God controls our mouths, we are going to be praising Him, thanking Him, and telling others about His goodness, mercy and love.  When we control our mouths, we are likely going to be complaining, griping and gossiping.  When you think about it, what comes out of our mouths is a great indicator of who is controlling it.

We sin because our flesh is in control of our lives; we avoid sin when the Lord is in control of our lives.  When we find ourself sinning, we come to the Lord for forgiveness.  After we are forgiven, we need to make sure that we are allowing the Lord to control our lives and our mouths.  Are our “lips showing forth His praise” today?

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XIV

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Psalm 51:14

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 14, David shows that he understands just how serious his sin is.  He asks the Lord to “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness…”  He knew that, under the Old Testament law, there was no sacrifice for adultery or murder.  Those were offenses punishable by death and David was well aware of this.  He understood that his only hope was in the mercy and deliverance of God Himself.  In this verse, he referred to God as “thou God of my salvation.”  The deliverance and mercy of the God of his salvation was the only way he could be pardoned from his great sins.

David also shows us the proper response to God’s great mercy and forgiveness: “…my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”  David had no righteousness of which to sing, but the God of his salvation had a perfect righteousness.  He is going to praise the Lord for His great mercy and forgiveness.

When we sin, we need to understand the seriousness of our sin and that our forgiveness is based entirely on the mercy of the Lord Jesus.  When we understand that, we will, with David, sing aloud of the righteousness of the God of our salvation.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XIII

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalm 51:12-13

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

Verse 13 gives us one of the reasons that we need to return to the Lord when we have strayed and one of the results that we should experience from our returning to the Lord.  David tells us here that, after he has been forgiven and restored, “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”  After we come to the Lord for forgiveness and cleansing, then it’s time to get to work.

When we are walking with the Lord and fellowshipping with Him, we are going to teach transgressors His ways, and we are going to encourage sinners to be converted to Him.  We are going to get His Word out and tell others about Him when we have experienced His forgiveness in our own lives.

One of the signs that we have returned to the Lord is the desire to teach others about Him and see others come to Him.  The feeling of being forgiven and the joy and freedom that comes with it should inspire us to want others to experience that forgiveness, joy and freedom.  How are we doing teaching others about Him?

In The Garden (Hymn)

In The Garden
Charles Austin Miles (1912)

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain

This song, which is for some reason usually relegated to funerals, give us some beautiful imagery of Jesus walking and talking with us.  The line that jumps out to me is “And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”  As Christians, we have a joy in our hearts that the world just cannot understand or attain.  What a wonderful Saviour!

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XII

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Psalm 51:11-12

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 12, David asks the Lord to “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation…”  When we stray from the Lord and get into sin, we do not lose our salvation, but we most definitely can lose the joy of our salvation.  We can become bitter and unhappy.  We can, like the prodigal son, spend some time wallowing in the pig pen, eating the husks of the world.  I have heard it said that the most miserable person in the world is a Christian who is not right with the Lord.

One of the greatest things about coming back to the Lord when we have strayed from Him is that restoration of joy.  If we find ourselves living a joyless life, then we should probably check our relationship with the Lord.  When we are walking with Him and fellowshipping with Him, there is a joy in our life and a joy in our salvation.  David also mentions being “upheld with His free spirit.”  When we are walking with the Lord, we can feel a freedom in His spirit.  We have joy and freedom with Him, but we so often decide to entangle ourselves in sin, and we start to lose that feeling of freedom and we start to lose that joy.

Wherever we find ourselves right now, we can and should have a joy and freedom in our salvation.  That is found as we walk with Him.

The Way Back (Psalm 51), Part XI

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Psalm 51: 9-11

The fifty-first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  It is the song and prayer of David’s confession after his sins of adultery with Bathsheeba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.  In my opinion, this chapter is the best example in the Bible of a prayer of a true penitent.  If we ever find ourselves having sinned, this is the chapter that shows us “the way back to God.”  We will take a couple of weeks and look at it verse by verse.

In verse 11, David touches on some of the greatest fears any Christian could ever possibly experience.  He asks the Lord to “Cast me not away from thy presence” and “take not thy holy spirit from me.”  None of us want to be cast from his presence.  That would be the most fearful thing we could ever imagine.

While we have wonderful promises in the New Testament like the one found in Ephesians 4:30, “…grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption,” we can still have a broken fellowship with our Father.  We can still experience the unanswered prayer and chastisement that marks a fellowship broken by sin.  We are not necessarily “cast from His presence.”  Even more sadly, through sin, we can stray from His presence.  Imagine that – when we sin, we turn our back on the Lord and try to leave His presence.

That is never a good place to be, as many through the years (including David in this passage) have found.  We need to strive to avoid sin and walk with the Lord every single day.