Daily Meditations

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted Even a cursory read of the book of Nehemiah will reveal the hardship and trials experienced by the exiles who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls and re-establish its people. The pain of exile was followed by the broken-hearted wails of those who returned to see the devastation and destruction caused by the conquering Babylonians 70 years before. A few older people made it, the rest of the returnees had lived in hope for their elders had explained the beauty and wonders of the Holy City of Zion. What they came back to was nothing like the pictures that had been painted, the place was just a pile of broken rocks and stones, it had been razed to the ground. If they were to rebuild, they must start from scratch.  That was a national disaster, but some of us face very personal and private calamities where everything we built and treasured is taken from us and all the walls we erected around ourselves are brought crashing to the ground. The ...

Psalm 147:2 It will be! As we said in the introduction, there is some evidence that this Psalm was associated with the rebuilding of Jerusalem under Nehemiah and Ezra. This verse tends to back up the theory! The Jews moved back to Israel from Babylon in tranches, the work of rebuilding both the city of Jerusalem and the Temple was also sporadic according to the dictates of the various Persian kings. However we may view the comings and goings of human rulers, there was another ruler who was keeping a close eye on progress and who was determined that the people should return, the capital city should be restored, and the Second Temple should be built. He watched with interest and more than a little personal involvement, for the God of heaven and earth had decreed that this should happen; it was all part of His plan and purpose for His people, their land and the Holy City. It was not necessarily a smooth or a speedy  process, but when God says, “It will be”, it will be!  The ...

Psalm 147:1 Another hymn of praise to the Lord   We do not know the author of this Psalm, but some relate it to a Levite associated with the choirs who sang regularly in the Temple Courts and ensured that pilgrims would be surrounded by songs of praise on each and every visit. Some scholars attribute the contents of this song to the time when Nehemiah and Ezra dedicated the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem, following the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. (Nehemiah 12:27-43.) A glorious occasion indeed. Whatever the background story; this Psalm is full of praise to our God and extols His deeds and His glory not just over Israel but over the whole earth.    V1        Another Psalm that encourages us to “Praise the Lord.” As I write it is a Sunday morning in late 2025 and I will shortly be joining with my brothers and sisters at our local church fellowship “Crossways” where we will lift our hands and our voices to praise the Lord. Whatever m...

Psalm 146:10 Taunting, railing and cursing!  Teasing, spiteful and cruel remarks are being bandied around, with our victim the object of the sneers and derision. It’s a very lonely place when the world takes against us and the airwaves are filled with ridicule and mocking. I’ve seen this in office situations when the air becomes poisoned against someone, and they have no way of vindicating themselves.  The taunts grow louder, they are full of condemnation, they are personal and there is no respite. Eventually, the very name of the accused becomes a curse, people heap insults upon him and call down judgement and retribution on his head! They say, “May you become like him”, (him being the one named.) I find it hard to imagine that my life and my reputation could be so derided that others could say as an insult, “May you become like Geoff Abbott!” To be a curse is effectively to be abandoned and rejected by the community, this is the point where a life has no value or purpose....

Psalm 146:9 The foreigner, the fatherless and the widow In Deuteronomy 10:17-19 we read,  “ For the   Lord   your God is God of gods   and Lord of lords,   the great God, mighty and awesome,   who shows no partiality   and accepts no bribes.   He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.   And you are to love   those who are foreigners,   for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt .” It was possible, in Old Testament times to live as a foreigner amongst the Jews and to become integrated into their culture and society. One of the most famous examples is Caleb who was a Kenezzite (Joshua 14:6), the Kenites were one of the clans of Edom, therefore not descendants of Jacob but of Esau. Caleb was one of the 12 spies, sent by Joshua to view the Promised Land, he became the leader of a tribe. Even harbouring refugees is good Biblical practice, (see Deutero...

Psalm 146:8 The Lord loves the righteous Here are three more examples of the compassion and mercy of the Lord: - 1.       He gives sight to the blind 2.       He lifts up those who are bowed down 3.       He loves the righteous. Once again, we can easily find examples of how Jesus fulfilled these characteristics of the Lord God. Numerous blind people received their sight from Him, others who were bowed down, He lifted up. Luke 13:10-13;  “O n a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,   and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.   She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.   When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her,   “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”   Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God .” The problem of the righteous is a little more complex. There we...