Daily Meditations

Psalm 149:1 Sing a new song to the Lord A Psalm that calls upon Israel to celebrate their special significance in the heart and plans of God. They are a nation that is highly honoured simply for being chosen by the Lord. They were delivered from Egypt, they were given the Law of God on Mount Sinai and also became sealed into a special covenant relationship with the Lord of lords and King of kings. Israel was chosen to be God’s emissaries to the whole world and also to execute the judgement of God over the pagan nations. Their status and eminence in God’s eyes goes hand in hand with His provision of a homeland and His insistence, from the earliest days, that this tiny nation should be major players in the affairs of the planet.  Small wonder that they are so hated and despised by the world, they are still God’s chosen people and will never be eradicated. So many have tried to destroy them and still do, to this very day. In this they are an earthly parable for the Church.  ...

Psalm 148:14 Close to His heart The phrase  “He has raised up for His people a horn”  has been used before in the Psalms. “Horn” symbolises strength and power, so when the psalmist tells us that the Lord has raised up a horn for His people, it usually means an anointed person or persons. In other words, the nation is in a good place because the Lord has appointed someone to lead them and protect them, He has given them strong leadership. In the psalmists’ language this usually referred to King David and the royal family who found their ultimate fulfilment in Christ, their Messiah. The stronger the leadership of a nation, the stronger are the people who live in it, here referred to  as “all His faithful servants .”  It follows that Christ is our horn and therefore His church should be the strongest and most powerful nation on earth! It also follows that all true believers should grasp the completeness of who He is and who they are as faithful servants. What a privileg...

Psalm 148:13 God's Name alone is exalted above all else This verse reinforces all that has been said in the earlier verses, it is a universal call to worship, that all people, all creatures and all of God’s creative works should combine to praise the name of the Lord. Two reasons are given for this, the first is that His Name alone Is exalted. As the Bible makes clear on so many occasions, the Creator is far more glorious than even His creation. If we marvel at all that has been made, then let us marvel even more at the One who made it all! Over my lifetime the theories of how the world came into being, as promoted by science and unbelief, have changed several times. It is all conjecture and it seems that each new explanation is even more spurious than the ones that came before! That is inevitable because every new discovery casts more light on the complexity and the vastness of the universe and all objects contained within it. How much simpler it is to admit that actually, this co...

Psalm 148:12 All people should praise the Lord! The call to “Praise the Lord” now goes out to every man, woman and child on the planet. We are all encouraged to bring our offerings of praise and to offer them gladly, to our Creator, to the One who is in control of our individual and corporate fates, who made us and who regulates the day we will be born and the day we will leave planet earth. There is only one kind of person who will fulfil this requirement, it is the one who acknowledges and believes that there is only one, true God; that YAHWEH of the Bible is the supreme Being in the universe and therefore is the only God who is worthy of our praise and obeisance. That belief surpasses the requirements of religions and faiths around the world, it is fundamental to the security and longevity of mankind, without this God and our allegiance to Him, the human race has no chance of survival and will collapse upon itself and eventually be destroyed. Only this God can save us, only He has t...

Psalm 148:11 All rulers should praise Him The emphasis of the Psalm shifts subtly and significantly. Now that the praises that the Lord is due have been ascribed to all created things, now that we have seen that they do His bidding and thus they glorify their Maker, it’s time to think “human” again. If all of the listed elements, forces and creatures are willing to “Praise the Lord” and in so doing contribute to the health and prosperity of the planet, what about men? In particular those men and women who owe Him the most for they have risen to thrones and position of power and wealth in the world, surely these people owe the Lord God the greatest honour and respect? Sadly, and I barely need to enforce this point, they are the ones who seem least likely to give the Lord glory for what they have achieved or for the honour and prestige that have been granted to them. Kings, princes and rulers on earth are exhorted to praise the One who exalted them, and they are also ordered to encourage...