Daily Meditations

Psalm 149:6 The double-edged sword Well, this is a surprise, praising the Lord becomes a military matter! Remember that we are talking primarily about Israel, although, of course, there are lessons for the modern-day church here. As we all go into battle, we don’t sing the songs of the world but instead, we praise the name of our God. It doesn’t matter if the battle is in the trenches, or in the boardroom, whether it is in a classroom of uncooperative kids or an office of gossiping busybodies, wherever we are at war we need to keep the praises of God in our mouths. But, the Psalm goes further for it identifies the kind of weaponry that the Lord God calls upon His children to carry with them. A double-edged sword is in their hands. Immediately, our thoughts go to Hebrews 4:12 where the same imagery is used , “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitude...

Psalm 149:5 Sing for joy in our beds! This verse continues a theme; what is it that should cause the faithful people to rejoice? V4 tells us that it is because the Lord takes delight in His people but also because He crowns them with victory. This evokes images of a Roman victory march where the soldiers who have conquered and overwhelmed their enemies are paraded before spectators and crowned with laurel wreaths and garlands that represent their regiment or their particular general or leader. The closest thing we have to this in the modern day are the victory parades of football teams, who wave their medals whilst sporting the colours and the clothing of their team, accompanied by the triumphant roars of their supporters.  God calls His people to celebrate triumphantly both publicly and privately, for “ He has done great things for us. ” Would that not be a spectacle? Local church congregations regularly parading through the streets to celebrate the victory of their Lord? It happe...

Psalm 149:4 He crowns the humble with victory What a patient, gracious God it is whom we worship. Frankly, our disobedience and our lack of consistency and true faith must drive Him nuts at times! This was certainly true of Israel and there were occasions when the Lord must have let out a deep groan of exasperation before putting into place what was needed to bring them back into line. He must have been particularly pained as He watched them being enslaved and taken captive or conquered by Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians and Romans, but the Lord never gave up on Israel and because of this we know that He ultimately takes delight in His people. Not least the millions who have been dragged back to the land from every corner of the planet in recent decades.  Jews are not really renowned for their humility, maybe that is part of their downfall over the centuries, but it is the humble man or woman who is exalted by the Lord, the verse tells us that the humble are crowned by H...

Psalm 149:3 Praise His name with dancing In recent years, our local church fellowship has embraced some of the celebratory events that mark the Jewish calendar. So, in addition to traditional Easter gatherings we always have a night set apart for Passover, and at Christmas we also remember the Festival of Lights or Hannukah. The one thing that symbolises these events is the joyful singing and dancing that are part of every Jewish celebration.  Dancing before the Lord was very much frowned upon in churches and chapels when I grew up, it would have been impossible to convince the elders and deacons that it was a Biblically endorsed form of praise! But here it is, the verse before us clearly encourages us to dance before the Lord and in so doing we can “Praise His name.” To be fair, I’m no dancer, but I certainly do not stand in the way of those who are! I, like many of you perhaps, stand in the second category of worshippers and prefer to make music to the Lord, not just with stringe...

Psalm 149:2 If only Israel would worship their King! Whilst many Christians have conflicting views about the status and relevance of the nation of Israel today, we should not forget that this is a nation that was created by the Lord God. He made promises to Abraham and Isaac that were fulfilled in Jacob and his 12 sons. It was the Lord who put Joseph in a position of great power in Egypt which led to the eventual arrival of his father and brothers in that land. For 430 years the Lord watched over their successful development from a large family group into a nation of Hebrews that could have totalled as many as 2 million people! So powerful had they become that they posed a threat to Pharaoh, a threat that the Lord had already foreseen when he planted a Hebrew, Moses, in the royal family!    Moses had to learn servitude and dependence which he did as a shepherd in the Sinai Peninsula. The God anointed Moses to challenge the power of the Pharaoh and to ultimately lead the Hebrew...

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.  ...