Daily Meditations

Psalm 7:1-2      An appeal for justice        This Psalm is preceded by a note telling us that David sang it to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.  The Benjamites had a chequered history to say the least, but they were of significance at the time of David because King Saul, his adversary, came from that tribe of Israel whereas David was from the tribe of Judah.   Geographically Benjamin was located just north of Judah and was later absorbed into the southern kingdom.   Cush means black although it is unlikely that this man was black in colour.  We know nothing else about Cush, so Bible commentators are left to surmise that he was sent by Saul to give David a hard time, maybe even to kill him!  Maybe we could take this one step further and surmise that David was actually writing the Psalm about Saul and he had nicknamed Saul – Cush, the black one? It is clear that rumours and lies were being circulated and David felt vulnerable and even threatened by this enemy.  If Cush was no

Psalm 6:9-10 The dark night of the soul  Have you experienced the battle?  Have you felt overwhelmed to the point of death?  Have you felt like the whole world is ganging up against you? Then tell those **** where to go!  The Lord is with you, He will not let your enemies overcome you. The Lord hears our weeping, the Lord hears our cries for mercy, the Lord accepts our prayer.   This realisation is always a turning point, the dark night of the soul has ended, THE LORD is on my side!  It is extraordinary how that dark night can go on and on, sometimes for weeks or months, perhaps years! Then, one morning we wake up and ….. it is gone! The cloud has lifted, the oppression has gone, the curtain to the room flutters gently in the breeze and outside the window the sun shines with warmth. What was that nightmare? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Well, by now, if you have been following these blogs, you should be getting the idea. Somewhere, unseen to us, heaven stirred into acti

Psalm 6:6-7   Cl ear off!                         Back to the Psalm!  Have you ever had a night of tears? A night of groaning with the agony of the deep suffering that you are going through? One translation suggests that this verse reads as follows; “ I am weary with my groaning, all night long I make my bed to swim, I water my couch with tears.” This kind of suffering goes deeper than just physical pain, awful as that can be. This is grief and loss and helplessness and emptiness and deep, deep anxiety where life loses perspective and all we can see and think about is the immediate darkness. There is no way out, life as we have known it is over, nothing will ever be the same. Woe is me! As we have seen, David is at such a low point in his experience here that he fears death itself. In v7 we discover that maybe David’s torment is not all self-imposed; he has enemies that revel in his discomfort.  It is probably safe to assume that the King is isolated, holed up in his bed, attend

Psalm 6:5      Hades                              Hades is the Greek word in the New Testament for Sheol although the Greek idea of Hades with its ferryman and its different states, like the Elysian Fields, is not Biblical.    The Roman Catholic Church has taken this idea a step further by inventing purgatory – the place of spiritual cleansing that prepares a soul for the after-life.     The New Testament does not say much at all about an intermediate state; it emphasises the return of Christ, bodily resurrection, judgement and eternity with or without God.     However, there is a New Testament story that sheds a little bit of light on the matter. It’s a story that is not recorded as a parable and in it Jesus talks about someone called Lazarus - He did not use proper names in His parables.       The suggestion therefore, is that this is a true account of real events in a real place. Luke 16:19-31 .       Here then is the account of a Rich Man and Lazarus, who was a beggar in his e

Psalm6:4-5    Sheol                                   So David pleads on the basis of God’s unfailing love, he begs that salvation will come or else he will die! In v5 we have the first mention in the Psalms of the place of the departed, in Hebrew this is Sheol, in Greek – Hades and David is anxious to avoid going there!  This is perhaps, a good time to discover more about this place.  Sheol is mentioned 16 times in the Psalms and t he meaning moves between ideas of the grave, the underworld and the state of death.  What do we know about this Sheol? ·        Whilst heaven is always above, Sheol is always below the earth. ·        Sheol is spoken of as a  land  divided into compartments with far corners. ·        All the dead meet there regardless of their status on earth;- the good and bad, the rich and poor, the old and young, the ruler and the slave.  ·        Sheol is a place of silence and limited emotions. ·        Souls usually sleep in Sheol and there is darkness.

Psalm6:2-3   My bo nes are in agony       David is feeling faint and his bones are in agony v2, and he fears he will die v3.  It is also apparent that his suffering has to do with sin for he pleads for God’s mercy, healing and deliverance.  This suffering was deeply emotional,  “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?”  Such is the extreme nature of his affliction that he fears that death will come and in the next few verses he begs that this finality can be avoided. Note here that there is, in his mind, a direct link between the agony in his bones and the anguish in his soul. No distinction is made between body, soul and spirit but there is a realisation that the well-being of one can affect the well-being of another. David has sinned, his spirit is out of sync with his soul and he fears retribution and longs for restoration. This agony in turn affects his bones and his body. How right it is to promote the truth that well-being with God in our spirits, has a positive ef

Psalm 6        Sin and sickness                   In Biblical times there was a common misconception amongst the Jews that all sickness and disease was linked to personal sin.  This is not surprising for God had pronounced to them that obedience was the road to blessing but if they disobeyed Him they would be cursed.  And in Deuteronomy 28:20-22 we discover that the curses included: - wasting diseases, fever and inflammation.  God had also pronounced that the consequences of sin could be visited on the next generations so, in John 9:1-12, we read about a man who was born blind who had an encounter with Jesus.  The disciples, as might be expected, asked who had done the sinning; was it the blind man or his parents?  Their question reveals the thinking of the time, obviously the man must have sinned in the womb or his parents must have sinned gravely at some point before the birth of their son. Jesus showed, by His reply, that the question was much more complicated, in this instance

Psalm 5:11-12   Blessings for the righteous    The Psalm ends on a very positive note.  The skirmish has ended, David is not beaten, the Lord’s will and way shall prevail.  So we may sing with joy and thanksgiving that we too have been preserved and kept and are walking the straight road of holiness.  The darkness of our enemies cannot touch us for we find refuge in the Lord.  This verse may refer to the prayer shawls worn by Jewish men and which were their individual “tent of meeting” with God.  “Cover us Lord, spread Your protection over us so that we are never left vulnerable like sitting targets for the enemy’s arrows. Lord we love Your name and we want to rejoice in You, forever.”  His NAME is who God is. His NAME is His character, His existence, His revealed qualities and everything that we know of Him.  When we call on the NAME of the Lord, we call on everything that He is and so we love His NAME!   What a comfort to know that in this journey of trials and tribulations we can

Psalm5:10       Is  God unfair?                   This verse should be our prayer and we should not be afraid to pray it!  We have a God who is just and fair and He will punish the wicked and the wicked cohorts who serve their satanic master.  Let their schemes condemn them, we do not have to fight them for our God will pronounce fair and righteous judgement, it is His prerogative.  We cannot judge them, but He will. “Banish them, O God, forever from Your presence. They are rebels, let us be true.” Perhaps this is a good time to stop and consider God’s judgement of the wicked.  Our culture today preaches tolerance; tolerance of evil people, tolerance of sin, tolerance of so much that is in direct opposition to the commands of God.  Some Christians jump on the tolerance bandwagon and struggle with the concept of a just God who punishes evil and evil-doers.  What they fail to grasp is that God is holy, His character is unimpeached by the sinfulness of humanity and in His presence

Psalm 5:9        Do not fear Mot!                   There existed, in Canaanite mythology, a god called Mot who was believed to be the god of death.  This mythical creature was always depicted with its mouth wide open, waiting to swallow its victims.  Such an abhorrent image could only come from the Satan’s imagination and is meant to disturb and create fear, as are many of his horror story images that folk so love today.  God forbid that we should have a morbid interest in depictions of demons, vampires and the rest, or that we should enjoy the satanic music loved by so many. However, the truth is, that death is the enemy’s ultimate weapon and he loves to frighten us with it.  We should NEVER listen to such voices, not one word that comes from the mouth of the father of lies and his followers can be trusted. And death is NOT to be feared if we are safe in the arms of Jesus,who conquered death, and sin, and the grave and rubbished all of the horrific, associated images.

Psalm 5:8      Because of my enemies        What is our prayer as we bow before the Lord?   “Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.”  Can you come before the Lord and ask that the only way you will walk is His way?  “I want to walk the path of righteousness, I want to keep my feet on the straight road, I want to walk in the light, not in the grey, murky shadows.  Lord I ask that whatever befalls me I will know that I am walking in Your ways.”   Why do we make that request?  Because of our enemies. How many Christians meander along, often on the wrong path simply because they do not realise the devious, deceitful plans of their enemies.  “We don’t want to stir up trouble,” they say.  “We prefer not to think about enemies, we won’t have to fight in a spiritual war if we don’t think too much about it.”   Such ignorance leads to dissatisfied spirituality, a bland form of Christianity and a faith that does not mature.  The Psalm t

Psalm5:7         Royal Invitation                         Please read and re-read verse 7.  Is this you?  Can you say,  “But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple?”  For King David, this was of course a physical place, although the Temple had not yet been built and he must bow towards the site of the tabernacle.  However, he did not do so out of habit, or because of religious fervour but because of Love.  For you and I this is an invitation from the throne room of heaven, to come, to enter into that glory and to bow down before the Majesty of God. The invitation comes with love, it is not earned, and it is not an afterthought. God in Heaven calls to you and I to come into His house, to approach Him – to draw near. Let us do so with reverence, let us recognise who it is who calls and be humbled before Him, but let us also rejoice in the privilege of having an audience with God Almighty Himself – whenever we want to! If we

Psalm 5:4-6    The ways of the arrogant          These verses are amazing! They tell us who can stand before the Lord in His Holy Place; who has the right to approach the throne of grace.  The wicked are not welcome!  They can never enjoy this privilege, they are banned, and so are the arrogant.  Who are the ones who should be called arrogant?   It is surely all those who believe that they can live in this world without God.  The arrogant are those who are full of self-belief, they are a law unto themselves. The arrogant believe that wealth, influence, learning and status can do what Christians believe only the Lord can do.  The arrogant believe that they can better themselves; Christians believe that only God can improve them.  The arrogant trust in their abilities, their education, their contacts, their wisdom and their knowledge of spirituality and the world; believers trust in God alone. So many people have so many different ideas about faith and religion and morals and truth;

Psalm 5:3      Get out of bed!                             This verse encourages us to pray – in the morning! There are numerous reasons for this. Firstly, in hot climates the morning is still relatively cool and as a consequence it is easier to think clearly and pray with vigour and clarity. Secondly, the other needs and demands of the day are yet to press in on us. How often have we intended to spend time with God but then circumstances take over and the hours slip by and the opportunity is lost. Thirdly, the enemy is already plotting against us, why would we go out to battle unarmed and unprepared? If we have been with the Lord and got our orders at the start of the day we can hope to successfully reach the end of the day! So, there’s no question that the start of the day is the best time to pray. [He’s a poet and doesn’t know it.] Let us “lay our requests before Him” and then wait to see how He answers. Listen to this, God is waiting to hear from us when we rise, could He be d

Psalm 5:1-2    Who can stand?                         It is humbling to discover that the mighty King of Israel, the forerunner of the Messiah, the one who is greatly revered as a hero and leader of God’s people, was so often troubled.  Then it dawns on us, David was honest, he told it like it was, he didn’t turn to the next bottle of wine when his heart was troubled, he turned to the Lord his God.  And when you are a great leader, and King of a mighty nation you will always have troubles, and always have enemies, and if you are honest, you will always need help, and if you are a man of faith, that help comes from the Lord.   At first sight then, Psalm 5 doesn’t seem to apply to ordinary folk like you and me.  But, hang on, are we not kings and priests in the service of the Lord?  Do we not face a mighty enemy?  Are not the hosts of hell lined up against us?  Is not the enemy plotting our downfall with his devious schemes?  If that is so, we can learn a lot from Psalm 5.  V1-2 t

Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes

Psalm4:6-7    Who will prosper us?                   David is well aware, as he pens this song, that there are murmurings behind the scenes. Plots are being hatched, schemes are being considered to replace the monarch, rivals to the throne are preparing to launch their bids for power. The burning question for the masses is, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Funny isn’t it? After a lifetime of observing politics the question is still the same; historically people have always thrown their lot in with whoever they think will prosper them most. As I write, Britain is in the middle of the Brexit crisis, we currently await the election of a new Prime Minister and the same old questions are being asked. It’s only ever about short-term gain. David, characteristically, turns his situation on its head with a series of blessings and affirmation of his absolute trust in the Lord. The spearhead of the attack has been placed in God’s hands and the king can now anticipate a response from heaven.  

Psalm4:4        Tremble in your beds                     These words are directed to God’s enemies for the enemies of God’s king are His enemies! They are instructed to tremble before Him. I read this week that the first step to spiritual wisdom is awe. When we lie down in our beds and all distractions are removed and we have a sense of our vulnerability as human beings, is not this the time to consider who we are and why we are here and who really matters? Faith begins with an awareness of the power and immensity and holiness of God and how tiny and weak we are by comparison. It is at such times that God implores the wicked to, “Tremble and do not sin.” It does none of us any harm to search our hearts and be silent so that we may hear the voice of our Creator and submit ourselves to His will and His ways. V5       The sacrifices of the righteous are voluntary offerings; in Israel’s day these would have been grain offerings and burnt offerings, presented to God as acts of grat

Psalm4: 2        Lies and damn lies               This verse pours shame on our enemies who seek to shame us, they chase after delusions and false lies. So often the schemes of the enemy are founded on half-truths, twisted truths and outright untruths.  The Psalm goes a little bit further because there are times when it is necessary to remind our human opponents not to look for scapegoats or believe every little drop of tittle tattle that comes their way.  Some people love to jump on the bandwagon and to feast on negatives, their emotions are easily stirred before they have uncovered the truth. Some do not recognise truth, they have made up their minds, they have already prejudiced themselves.    There is a direct correlation here between delusions and the pursuit of false gods. Quite simply, they both represent lies, spiritual lies, devil-inspired lies and damned lies. How easily some people become entrapped by lies! We readily identify those who are addicted to alcohol, drugs

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c

Psalm3:8       So the Psalm ends with a blessing; God has heard, God is in control, God will win the fight, God will vindicate His servants, God will deliver.  Those who stand before the Lord Almighty will be blessed.  May that be your experience whatever the dark place you may find yourself in. Speak out against the enemy, tell him to get lost. Invoke the name of Jesus, pray to the Lord to “Arise” and then, as Paul reminds us, “ Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5. Almighty God, thank you that there is no situation too desperate for you. However trapped or undermined we may feel the situation is never hopeless. However many the enemies that surround us, our hope and trust are in You alone to deliver. Thank you that You hear our cries for help and that You answer from heaven. It is such a comfort to know that You are with us and we cannot be broken. You, Oh Lord, are our shield and our defender, we will walk the road of glory with You. We