Psalm 3:1-2     The Satan uses flattery, deceit, trickery and lies to undermine Christians, he has been doing it for centuries. People you think you can trust, turn out to be plotting and scheming and instead of gearing up for a fight we sometimes need to take a lesson from David and “get out of there”, trusting that the Lord has it all in hand and He will let righteousness and justice prevail.  There is a tendency with some believers to regard this whole “spiritual warfare” business as a bit of a joke, they compare us to medieval warriors going out to fight the hordes of an imaginary enemy.  You will not find much of that kind of talk in the Scriptures, instead we are urged to stand firm or, sometimes, just “run for it” all the while trusting in the Lord. It is He who will battle and fight for us.  My take on this is that the Satan doesn’t bother those who do not bother him! David turned and fled when Absalom declared himself; you would have thought that the King would have confronted his son but no, he chose to leave the city.  As a consequence, the gossips were predicting that God would not deliver David. However, this Psalm tells us that whilst, humanly speaking, his heart was heavy, in his spirit he trusted completely in the Lord his God. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 106:13

Psalm 106:13 Do not forget We need to remember that Israel’s relationship with the Lord God was based on His laws and their obedience. It was possible for them to live lives that were highly blessed, that incorporated the provision of God in every tiny detail of their national and individual existence. God was prepared to give them everything they needed, He would provide food and water for them and their flocks. He would guide them on their journey. He would protect them from their enemies. He would inspire and direct their leaders. He would keep them from the heat of the sun and the terrors of the desert night. He would take them to the land that He had promised, in double quick time. There was no reason why they could not be in situ in just a few months. Everything they could possibly need was His to provide and He was willing to sacrifice anything to see them gratefully settled in Canaan.  There was just one snag, it all depended upon their obedience and faithfulness. God insis...
Read more

Psalm 51:4

Psalm 51:4 Deliberate sin In Genesis 20 we read the story of Abimelek and Abraham. The latter had passed off his wife Sarah as his sister and Abimelek had taken her with a view to her becoming his wife. The relationship was not consummated, and the Lord used a dream to reveal to Abimelek just what was going on. The insulted king pleaded innocence,  “I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands ” he said, to the Lord. And God agreed,  “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.”  This is a big subject but there is clearly a difference between sinful intentions and deeds where the participant knows that he/she is doing wrong, and those occasions where an action is carried out in innocence.  David knew all along that every detail of his relationship with Bathsheba was sinful, as were his actions in the cover-up. Therefore, he sinned against the Lord God and broke the commandments which said that  “Y...
Read more

Psalm 84:3

Psalm 84:3 All about sparrows Any visitor to Jerusalem will know that the city is a haven for sparrows. Houses and other buildings in Middle Eastern cities are not built to keep out the cold with double-glazing and UPVC everywhere. There are literally millions of little holes and crevasses and places where birds can hide and build their nests. As a result, the air is filled with the sound of the sparrows at all times, and in the summer months, swallows, swifts and martins swoop across the rooftops. (Along with many other birds that I would love to mention but that would be totally irrelevant). Evidently nothing has changed for centuries, because these sights and sounds greeted visitors to the Temple back in the day when Psalm 84 was composed. And the author is envious. These winged avian residents and visitors can enter where he cannot! They nest and congregate around the Temple Courts, high up and out of the reach of man’s interference and so they occupy a place closer to God than any...
Read more