Daily Meditations

Psalm 143:5 Meditating on God's works Sometimes, when life is very dark, it does us good to stop and reflect, to remember the good times and to recall the events in our lives when there was joy, security and days of peace and contentment There is no doubt that David had experienced such times, as a young shepherd he must have had contented periods in his life, wandering across the hillsides and meadows with his flock. But his meditations go deeper, he chooses to muse over the beauty and wonder of God’s creation and to look for evidence of the presence of the Lord in all that has been made. Even if his personal situation lacks the input and stamp of God’s presence, the created world is a constant reminder that the Creator is at work and there is abundant evidence of His existence. As Paul puts it, when writing about the pagans,  “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – ...

Psalm 143:4 The pit of despair Psalm 142:3 is repeated here, once again we are dealing with a man whose spirit grows faint within him. In addition, David admits to his heart being dismayed. We are all familiar with genuine weariness and tiredness when we’ve pushed ourselves to the limits and our bodies are aching and screaming “No more!”  The dilemma for David was that his inner being had also had enough. The will to carry on had deserted him, he had no desire to move on, the psychological battle had been lost, he could take no more, the constant waves of aggression and evil from his enemies had worn him down. David was at a very low ebb, He didn’t want this fight anymore, he was ready to lie down and give up, nothing in his being desired to keep battling on, he was riddled with fear and ready to die. He was crushed, broken and utterly defeated. Maybe some of us have been in this dark and lonely place, where all the will to continue with life has been wrenched from us, such a state...

Psalm 143:3 The enemy near relents Have we ever felt crushed by the activities of our enemies? Have we experienced what it is like to walk through the Valley of the shadow of death (darkness)? There are times when oppression and problems press in upon us and there simply seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The world advises us to visit psychiatrists and counsellors or to take pills for depression, or to pursue mindfulness. But, as believers, we need to be aware that very often that darkness has spiritual causes and the enemy is all around us and loves nothing better than to plunge us into periods of despair and doubt, where we wonder if the Lord has deserted us. That seems to be how David felt as he penned this tragic Psalm. So much so that he believes himself to be in the company of the dead and completely cut off from the joys of the living! We need to be so aware that our spiritual enemy is the prince of darkness and death is His greatest weapon, his dwelling place is in ...

Psalm 143:2 No one is righteous If we are honest, when life starts getting out of control and our journey is very tough, be there problems with health, finance, relationships, work or even church, many of us stop and look hard at ourselves and ask if we are being disciplined or judged by the LORD. Having suffered with my own health in recent years I’ve had to ask the questions and ponder my own weaknesses and failings and it’s not always good enough to say, like David, “ Well no one living is righteous before You! ” That is true, of course, but it can be an excuse, if there are matters in our lives that need to be repented of and turned away from, then we need to do it before we can move on. David is right in that we are not righteous, nor can we claim to be better than anyone else. However, because God is righteous, He must accept the blood of Christ that washes away our sins and therefore pardon and forgive. So, we may plead with David,   “Do not bring your servant into judgement...

Psalm 143:1 Lord, hear my prayer There’s nothing in this Psalm to link it to the Cave of Adullum, as with Psalm 142. However, the sentiments are very similar and once again we join David at a time of deep travail when his enemies seem to be about to triumph over him and bring about his demise. David was one of the greatest kings of all time, especially in the context of the Bible, he triumphed over countless evil antagonists and faced many different crises in his life. It was his irreproachable faith in God that kept him alive and made him the greatest ever King of Israel. David was a man who was brought to the end of himself on many occasions and in this he learned to trust in the Lord completely and because of this, the Lord was able to use him and bless him. So, let’s go on one more tortured journey with this dear man and let us do so humbly, or we may miss the lessons that the Lord is trying to teach us.   V1 Once again David is pleading for the Lord’s attention to his prayers,...

Psalm 142:7 Negative and Positive Neg: This verse contains a dark image of the oppression that troubles bring and two potential outcomes of God’s deliverance. We will call them the negative and the positives. Firstly, the negatives, David is in prison from which he cannot free himself! The Cave of Adullum seems like a prison cell and the eyes of Saul’s men lurking outside are the jailors who are watching his every move. The walls of the cave are closing in and every day he feels oppressed and claustrophobic. How can David and his friends escape, when every exit is being watched and the forces beyond are overwhelming? Sometimes life feels like this, we are oppressed on every side, and our liberty and way of life seem to be under attack. It is particularly humiliating when there are other people hell-bent on restricting our freedom and intending to trap us whenever we lift our heads up. The enemy can set snares like this, the Satan is a master of such unjust trickery and weaves webs of d...