Daily Meditations

Psalm 20:3   Memorial offerings         This is another of those verses that seems innocuous but is actually pregnant with meaning. It literally reads,  “He will remember all your meal offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.”  So, what are the meal offerings and the burnt offerings that were offered to the Lord? ·        The meal, or grain, offering was of grain or finest flour and was given to God as a voluntary act of worship, thanksgiving and fellowship. It was deemed to be a most holy offering, pleasing to the Lord. A portion of the grain offering burned on the altar was called a “memorial.” You can read all about it in Leviticus 2. ·        The burnt offering would be of a bull, ram or male bird, again offered voluntarily as recognition of God’s goodness and given to Him as an act of devotion. Anyone making a burnt offering to the Lord sought atonement for unintentional sins and also wished to express commitment and unconditional surrender to God. Leviticus 1 g

Psalm 20:2a   I will support you      Secondly, and following on from yesterday, we can expect support from Zion. In ancient times this was, of course, the holy mountain and the temple in Jerusalem. This is but an earthly replica of God’s heavenly throne from which seat of absolute power and authority He rules the world. Thus, there is nothing about us that He does not know, there is no help that is beyond Him and there is no force that can stand against Him.  “If God is for us,”  writes Paul,  “Who can be against us?”  Romans 8:31. To gain a hint of the glory of this heavenly Zion have a read of Hebrews 12:22-24.  So, let us be strong and resolute in battle, let us not give up, let us be absolutely assured that the full extent of the resources of our Father are available at all times and we will prevail and see victory! The enemy is strong, cunning and resolute, he never admits defeat and his most common tactic is to make us doubt God.  “Did God really say?”  he asks.  Yes, God

Psalm 20:2    Equipped for battle      There are times, in military conflicts, where armies, platoons and individuals all have to wait for reinforcements. Their numbers are depleted, their weapons have been destroyed, there is no more ammunition, all they can do is wait and hope for help to come. This verse literally says, “No matter where the battle is, he is with you to bring whatever is needed.” There is no shortage of weaponry, no long delays in the supply chain, no hoping for a bit of relief – maybe! Our God is with us, the Captain of our Salvation never leaves us and His armoury is never run down. There are two sources of support mentioned here – the Sanctuary and Zion. Firstly, the Sanctuary. In pre-temple days this was the tabernacle and its contents, its outer court and surrounding fence, the entire sacred meeting place where the presence of the living God dwelt. Sanctuary means a consecrated place, set apart for the Lord. The term later referred to the Temple and its Holy

Psalm 20:1b   We are conquerors      The verse literally says,  “The name of the God of Jacob defends you!”  Come on, this is brilliant news. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel; so the God who has protected and kept that ancient nation is with us. He will protect us. God Almighty, the Sovereign King of the universe is for us, He is around us, He will never fail us. He will guard us, guide us and cover us with His wings. His name is so powerful that there is nothing on earth or in heaven that can stand against Him! What have we to fear? All we have to do is trust Him and follow Him and He will keep us from evil and from defeat. This is the reassurance that we with us take into the battle. And there is a battle raging around us, around the world today! But there is also a battle within, a battle where the enemy offensive sows doubt and fear and self-pity. Do not look down, look up. Do not anticipate an overthrow but expect a victory. Do not be overwhelmed by the size and might of th

Psalm 20:1a   The Lord will answer      The background to this Song of David is apparently a battle! In Psalm 18 we get the king’s perspective; his thoughts, hopes and confidence in the Lord as he faces the conflicts ahead of him. Psalm 20 reveals the other side of this coin; the thoughts and aspirations of the people as they prepare to see their army going off to war. This is my prayer for you as you face the inevitable battles ahead. This spiritual life is never going to be bed of roses, there may be times of quiet contentment but be sure that sooner or later the conflict will be resumed and opposing forces will gather against you. The Satan will never let you rest easy if you are intending to follow Jesus Christ, however, it is through the conflicts and through the testing that we discover the superior power and protection of the Lord and His strategy for us against, what may appear to be, overwhelming odds. Whatever is happening to you now or whatever may happen in the future,

Psalm 19:14    The meditation of my heart       The psalm ends with David adding a little blessing that would be easy to overlook. Having said that, these words have been learnt and repeated on many occasions and they provide a wonderful foundation for a godly life. You could say that they are a powerful declaration of intent,  “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Have you ever tried meditation on the Word of God? Forget all the other kinds of meditation, they have no value for they are not focussed on truth. This verse is a good place to start and, in a way, David gives us clues as to the best technique; it is to ask questions. ·        What are the words of my mouth? ·        What are the meditations of my heart? ·        How do we please God? ·        What does it mean to be in His sight? ·        How does the Lord become our rock? ·        What did David understand by the term Rede

Psalm 19:13    May they not rule over me      It’s interesting that David speaks of his hidden sins first, before turning his attention to wilful sin. You know what I mean don’t you? That so-called weakness, that hidden desire, those carefully concealed thoughts that no one else suspects. Sometimes wilful sin is more visible, addictions for instance are very hard to cover up. We all have something in our lives that we know dishonours the Lord, but we cannot give it up. Our conscience rails against this sin and we know that pampering to its lures is displeasing to God but somehow, the temptation is too much. If we are not careful, these things will own us or, as David puts it,  “Rule over us”.  Let’s be frank here, the Satan knows our weaknesses and he will exploit them to the full. How many of us have heard sermons about the battle against the world, the flesh and the devil? All of these influences extend their spiritually-stifling tentacles into our private space and greedily s

Welcome!   A few of you have followed this Blog on a daily basis for a long time and thank you for your faithfulness. If you are viewing for the first time let me explain what we are doing. The plan is to go through the Psalms verse by verse, on a daily basis. Most days you will need to look up the verse before you read my commentary, that's so you don't get lazy and I would rather that you read the Bible than my comments anyway!  The Blog is not a review of current events, although we may refer to them of course; the intention is to dig deeper into God's Word and to try to uncover its meaning and relevance. We are seeking to understand the spiritual truth that lies hidden and then to apply it to our lives. If there are bits you don't understand then take time out to think about the verse each day and ask God to speak to you through it. If you get something good please pass it on as a comment. When I get excited about something I've read you will know, because t

Psalm 19:12       “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.”  Having extolled the virtues of God’s laws, statutes, precepts, commands and decrees David is struck, like so many of us, by the thought that he might have transgressed them! Wilful sin is one thing, as we shall see in verse 13, but what about the hidden sins, the sins of omission, the times when we have broken the commands without even realising? In David’s day this could include touching something that was ceremonially unclean, (that has echoes of our present crisis doesn’t it?) such as an animal carcass or human excrement, and it could include a careless swear word. Later awareness of such sin would prompt a sacrificial offering for forgiveness and, of course, the Day of Atonement was set aside annually for the removal of all sin, known and unknown. After the High Priest had made the all-inclusive offerings on that day, for maybe a few hours or only minutes, each Israelite could look at his neighbou

Psalm 19:11   A great reward       As is so often the case with the Lord there is a warning here and a reward, you might say, a curse and a blessing. We are tenants of God’s world and accountable to Him as landlord. We are children in His family and accountable to Him as Father. We are priests in His temple and accountable to Him as the deity we worship. We are disciples of Jesus Christ and accountable to Him as our Rabbi. We are mere mortals in relationship with Almighty God, we cannot do as we like but because we are so loved we should never want to do as we like. All of the laws, the statutes, the precepts, the commands, the decrees pf the Lord are given for our benefit and for our blessing, but they also carry warnings.  Moses was very clear to Israel in some of the last words he spoke to them,  “For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and will turn away from the way I have commanded you. In days to come disaster will fall on you because you will

Psalm 19:10b    Sweeter than honey         It is one thing to liken God’s laws and commands to gold but quite another to speak of them in the same breath as honey! Honey was and is abundant in Israel; at a time when sugar cane and sugar beet were unheard of, the most common sweetener available was produced by bees. David is not the only writer in the Scriptures to use honey as an allegory for something spiritual. Whoever wrote Psalm 119, says in verse 103,  “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my taste.”   Solomon, in his love song to his bride, says,  “Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue.”  And Ezekiel was ordered by God to eat a scroll that contained words of lament and mourning and woe! He records in Ezekiel 3:3,  “So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.”  Because these words of Almighty God are 100% truth and purity and holiness; because they come from heaven and are divinely insp

Psalm 19:10a   More precious than gold        And so King David, struggling for the right valuation of the Scriptures, comes up with his own assessment;  “These words are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.”  He was a wealthy man, a powerful king with access to the world’s finest possessions and yet ….. none of this compared to the words of Almighty God. In Deuteronomy 5:33 Moses instructs the Israelites;  “Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”  Do you see the connection here between obedience to God’s laws and commands, and prosperity and long life? Hence David’s conclusion that to obey God is more precious than gold. You and I have to develop a mindset where we understand that to live right before our Creator will benefit us much more than accumulating wealth in any form. In fact we may become more wealthy by honouring God with our lives and trusting

Psalm 19:7-9c    The glory of the Bible      How we need to remember, with David, that God’s Word is not just a textbook or an ancient collection of random writings, it is the supreme Being in the universe communicating with us! It is God telling us everything we need to know about Him, about life, about ourselves. This is truth in all its purity and the very best thing that we can feed our spirits and our souls upon. This is heavenly manna to the spiritual man or woman and it surpasses any other kind of food. It is life and light and wholeness and the zenith of human experience to have Almighty God writing a love letter to the human race but also to you and I as individuals. It surpasses every text book ever written, it is the single most important literary book the world has ever seen and yet it can never be understood with human reason or wisdom. Only those who have the Holy Spirit can begin to understand its mysteries. It is milk to the infants and steak to the mature and the

Psalm 19:7-9b   The laws of God       As we meditate upon the next few verses of this Psalm we will need to ask, "What is the difference between laws, commands, precepts, commandments, decrees, and statutes?" In Deuteronomy 6:1-3  we read of laws, commands, commandments, decrees, and statutes as Moses addresses the nation of Israel. “ These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing Jordan to possess.”  A look at the various Hebrew words used helps highlight some of the differences:- “Commandments”   ( mitzvah ): This is the general Hebrew term for “commandment” and usually refers to the comprehensive list of laws or body of laws given by the Lord in the Books of Moses. This is also the Hebrew term often used when the Lord spoke directly in the Old Testament. “Statutes”   ( choq ): This word means “statute, prescription, rule, law, regulation” and can refer to laws of nature [Job 28:

Psalm 19:7-9a     The Sun and the Word      At first glance here there seems to be a complete change of direction in the Psalm. One minute, David is waxing lyrical about the heavens and the sun and the glory of the created spheres, now he suddenly switches his attention to the virtues of the law! Let’s remember that the Lord God Almighty had revealed Himself in two ways to ancient peoples. Firstly through creation and secondly through the written Scriptures. In our era we can add that He has also made Himself known through His Son Jesus Christ who is the Word and also the upholder of creation. There is another amazing parallel between the opening verses and what now follows. Verses 1-6 reveal the glory of the sun and the celestial bodies that give light to the physical man. David is now about to reveal the glory of God’s Word and its many facets that give light to the spiritual man. Both are revelations of God Almighty, both are the provision of illumination to those who seek th

Psalm 19:5-6     Thank you Sun         “The sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.”   We can imagine David frantically straining his imagination to find words to describe the sun as it rises in its glory at the start of the day. He comes up with two allegories, both intensely masculine and highly descriptive. This tent that God has pitched in the heavens is the honeymoon suite where the bridegroom has retired with his bride to consummate their marriage. In Jewish culture the Marriage Ceremony was followed by the consummation which, once accomplished, would be acclaimed by all present and which signalled the beginning of the marriage supper and the days of celebration that followed. Thus, the declaration by the bridegroom that all is well was a joyful moment of relief and the festivities could begin!  In a similar manner, a muscular athlete might be hailed by crowds as he prepared to run his race knowing that he was unbeat

Psalm 19:4b    Astronomical camping!       The imagery here is quite intriguing; for those of us who are little more than ants scurrying around on a singular planet. The sun is a vast and complex, celestial object that dominates the space around us. Consider the following: - The Sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system.  It has a mass of around 330,000 times that of Earth. It is three quarters hydrogen and most of its remaining mass is helium. Over one million Earth’s could fit inside the Sun.  If you were to fill a hollow Sun with spherical Earths, somewhere around 960,000 would fit inside. However, if you squashed those Earths to ensure there was no wasted space then you could fit 1,300,000 Earths inside the Sun. The surface area of the Sun is 11,990 times that of Earth. The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.  Considering the sheer size of the Sun, there is only a 10 km difference in its polar and equatorial diameters – this makes it the closest thing to a perf

Psalm 19:3-4a    Their voice goes out         “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” What do we mean by that statement? Either that we have a personal feel-good factor or that the sun is shining, the sky is blue and all is well with the world. The heavenly bodies cause awe and wonder and lift our spirits. When they are obscured by cloud and rain the feeling is not so good. Surely this is their language transmitted to every city, town, village, hamlet and individual on earth every day! These inanimate objects have no words, we cannot hear them or see their lips moving and yet they affect every human being alive, every day of our lives. They are speaking because their Maker is the author of light, His light makes us feel good. The greatest light, that stands alone, unapproachable, is the sun that surely reminds us of our eternal God who is both distant and awesome in power but whose loving kindness touches us wherever we are. The moon reflects that light in the darkness and somehow brings comf

Psalm 19:2   Day after day, night after night        There is a language that may be heard from the heavenly bodies, but it is not the language of astrologers or sun, moon and star worshippers! The sun moon and stars are not symbolic pagan deities. Listen to the words of Moses as he addresses the Israelites on this subject. “ When you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars – all the heavenly array – do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.”  Deut 4:19. God is not mocked by the millions who claim to be guided by these heavenly bodies, they are not divine but their Maker is! The knowledge revealed by the heavens is knowledge of time, of days and months and years. They speak of seasons and the passing of time, they allow us to calculate distances and direction, without them the earth would be a confusing and probably unexplored planet. The astrologers and stargazers who cla

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God!”        I do not pretend to be a wordsmith and I am not a Bible translator either!  Hence, this opening salvo from the pen of David, in Psalm 19, whilst being a cause for debate amongst some, should be a simple exclamation of praise for us. There are many Hebrews words that describe different aspects of the heavens, but for us the simple truth is that we can look up into the sky at any time of the day or night and, so long as it’s not foggy, we will be amazed at the infinite glory of God. The vast cloud formations, the intense depth of an azure summer sky, the millions of twinkling stars on a clear night, the beauty of the face of the moon at its brightest; all of these promote the glory of Almighty God. His eternal power, His vastness, His attention to detail, His comforting presence, His warmth and His light-providing are just some of the facets of His being that are visible in the heavens.  The skies, which could simply mean the

Psalm 18:50a   Final thoughts         I’m reluctant to leave this Psalm, it has been such a blessing and an eye-opener to me. So one final thought! We have seen that the Psalm points us to Jesus Christ who, of course, is David’s descendant forever. Jesus is the fulfilment of all of this Psalm, not least because we have been privileged to see beyond the earthly experiences of the world’s greatest king to the spiritual battles of the heaven’s great King. Jesus triumphed as David did, but His battle was far more complicated and darker in its intensity. He was not warring against pagan tribes but against the principalities and powers in heavenly places who wreak their wicked plans amongst the children of men. Jesus faced the open defiance of these insidious tyrants and beat them off so that we might be free of them.  Our battle has been won, but we still have to live in enemy territory, in a world that is dominated by evil and whose prince is a ruthless tyrant. He attacks God’s plan

Psalm 18:50  The anointed ones      What a journey it has been! We have travelled with the godly King David through the traumas and highest points of his experience. He describes a near death experience in v4-5 and the exhilaration of a mountain top in v33. He is close to humiliation and defeat by his enemies in v17-18 and triumphing over them in v37-43. David’s experiences fluctuate wildly and his emotions too, but through it all he has a Rock who defends and arms him, who rescues him and uplifts him, who is beside him at every step of his journey. It is fitting that the Psalm ends with a note of thanksgiving, “ God shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.”  The term “anointed’ is closely linked to “chosen.” Israel was God’s chosen nation. The Levites were chosen and anointed to be His priests. David was chosen and anointed by God to be the king. “ But YOU also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthoo

Psalm 18:49  Kee.....p praising!     It is in the light of all that has unfolded in this Psalm that we can now stand back and survey all that God has done and is doing, all that He has said, all the protection, love and care He has poured over us and exclaim,  “Therefore I will praise You Lord, among the nations.”  What else can we do? If we are aware of His grace, His constant love and detailed care, how blessed we are, how wonderful He is, how extraordinary this life that we live with Him.  All the demons of hell may be stacked against us but we remain, guarded and kept by the all-powerful One, our Conqueror and our King, mighty and strong. Mightier than all our foes, His daily delight is to lavish care on His people and to ensure our safe passage through the dark tunnels of this world until He calls us home to His eternal light. We will praise You Lord! We will praise You amongst all peoples – praise be to Your Holy name. How secure we are, how strong are the buttresses of Your

Psalm 18:48   You exalted me!        Our God saves us from our enemies, He is no feeble idol of stone, wood, metal or plastic. He is no mystical deity although He is shrouded in mystery. He is not remote or beyond reach; He does not distance Himself from His children, instead He commands us to draw near! This is our God, alive and well and watching over us every moment of every day and this verse tells me, “ He saves me from my enemies.”  Just as Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego believed that God would save them from the flames and searing heat of a fiery furnace so David believed that he would be saved from all of his enemies.  All of his enemies. God will save us from ALL of our enemies. Indeed, He will go one step further and exalt us over our foes! He lifts us up, he raises our standing and our reputation. He fills us with confidence in Him and all those abusers and bullies are left trailing in our wake for we follow the living God, the most powerful name in heaven and on earth.

Psalm 18:47   Our God the Avenger         Moses' song in Deuteronomy 32 is filled with condemnation of the foolishness and waywardness of Jeshurun – Israel, but it also highlights the faithfulness of God who will vindicate His people.  “It is mine to avenge; I will repay  v35.”  “The Lord will vindicate His people and relent concerning His servants when He sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.”  V36. David claims no credit for the victories that have been won in his time, by his armies; remarkably he names God Almighty as his Avenger. In other words, revenge was taken against all those who had wronged David and his family and who had wished harm on Israel, but David gives God the credit for righting these wrongs and subduing the oppressive nations that had risen up against him.  It would be easy to attribute these sentiments to a by-gone age, to the military conflicts of Old Testament warriors, to the time when conquering and retaining the Promised

Psalm 18:46b   “Praise be to my cliff!”          We saw, in verse 2 that the word translated “rock” has more than one meaning; in this instance it means cliff. There are times when God is that solid rock that we may stand upon when the world around is quaking and unreliable. We may stand safely on a rock when the waves of the sea beat against it or a river flows around it, and a rock may also be a comfort when navigating across boggy terrain. In all of these situations we can be exposed, and the rock remains beneath us. Praise God for that! Here, in verse 46, the rock is a cliff, a towering edifice or crag that cannot be easily scaled by our enemies. Incidentally, the same word for rock crops up on several occasions in Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32. This Rock offers safety and security and, in David’s experience, caves of protection too. Here is all-round refuge, a sanctuary against the elements and against the foe.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  writes the Apostle P

Psalm 18:46a   Drive them out!       There is a statement in Joshua 3:10 that explains David’s exclamation here in this verse,  “The Lord lives!”  Joshua is speaking to the Israelites just before they are to cross Jordan into the Promised land and he tells them,  “This is how you will know that the l iving  God is among you and that He will certainly drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.”  In other words, if you want evidence that God lives, watch what He does to your enemies!  A number of “charismatic” teachers have written at length about the above 7 nations and the spiritual powers that they characterize. These nations represent territorial spirits that had to be driven out of the land and whilst Joshua saw partial success, it was King David who achieved the greatest victories in cleansing Israel of these pagan influences. How much can be read into these analogies in relation to the warfare of the church is open to argum