Daily Meditations

Psalm 31:1 You are my refuge      There are times in life when we just want to run and hide. But where shall we go? Run to our home and lock the door and draw the curtains? Run to a friend? Run to a professional person for help? Or just run and never come back? Sometimes we cannot run, so we hide in depression and non-communication or behind a mask. Let me tell you that there is a better way! David found it and we already know the answer.  “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.”  The Lord is our hiding place, when we are close to Him and trouble is brewing, He pulls us close and locks the door. He is the friend we need; He is the consummate professional, He is our rock and our fortress. Please, if life is overwhelming you, turn to Him, lay it all down before Him and just rest in His refuge.  There are two more facets to this care package, the first has to do with shame.  “Let me never be put to shame.”  If you have read ahead in the Psalm, you will have noticed that verse 5 contains words

Psalm 31 Intro Standing alone      As we begin our study of this Psalm, we need to remember that David was king of a powerful nation, he was not some small-time intermediary who never hit the headlines; what had happened under his command, in Israel, had made the front pages! The nation had extended its borders, built a powerful army, driven out the pagan nations and become increasingly wealthy. The Israelites were hated by peoples who surrounded them just as the Hebrews / Jews have always been hated. The trouble was not only external; throughout his reign David experienced threats and sub plots and take-over schemes from various sources within his own country. Psalm 31 seems to have been written at a time when one of these conspiracies had hatched, such was its pernicious nature that all of his friends had deserted him and he found himself alone and facing overwhelming odds. So, this Psalm is a call to stand firm, to trust God in impossible circumstances, to not back down when anti-C

Psalm 30:12   True and fake praise      True praise comes from the heart. It’s all very well singing our favourite songs and enjoying the musical accompaniment but unless something stirs deep within or the words and emotions are genuine, then it is not praise. When my heart praises my lips can join in. Silent lips can sometimes testify to a silent heart and vice versa. Notice that when you put verses 11 and 12 together here, the initiator of praise is God Himself. He is the One who turned David’s wailing to dancing, He is the One who removed the sackcloth and replaced it with joy. To put it simply, our praise is our reaction to what God has done and is doing, it is not something we (literally) put on! It is impossible to praise if we have no appreciation of the One we are praising and His interaction with us. True praise is simply saying “Thank You”, it is a heart-driven response of glad appreciation for what the Lord has done for us and in us. Let us be people of genuine praise not fa

Psalm 30:11  Clothe me with joy    Oh, what a bit of light relief this verse brings us! After all of the heart-wrenching cries and please for mercy; after David’s close encounter with the gates of death, we need some good news! As ever, our hero does not stay downcast for long, David was an emotional man, he expressed his feelings in vivid ways and particularly in his songs. The dark night was over, the sickness had passed, the taunts of the enemy were behind him and it is celebration time! Please don’t forget to celebrate when prayers are answered and when problems are overcome. Restored fellowship with the Lord is as good a reason for a party as any and our king is going to make merry! No more wailing, it’s time to dance! (That troubles me a bit, I’m very self-conscious and “wooden” when it comes to physical expressions of elation!) Let’s take off our sackcloth garments of “woe is me”, “everyone is against me”, “it always happens to me”. It's time for self-pity to be thrown off t

Psalm 30:10   Where are You?      In verse 8 we read that David called to the Lord for mercy. Here, two verses later, he pleads for the Lord to hear his cries. Imagine that you have fallen over in a secluded spot and you can’t get up, your leg is hurting like crazy. So you call out and hope that someone might be in the neighbourhood and come to your rescue. That’s verse 8. Suppose that you know that there is someone there within earshot and that your cries have been loud enough to be heard. The request changes, all you want is for them to hear, to not be distracted, to come to your aid, to not turn away and leave you. In verse 8 you are not sure if there is anyone around. Here in verse 10 there’s definitely someone close by. Can you see the difference? David knows that God is near, he knows that his cries are loud enough to be heard, all he asks is that the Lord turns and comes to rescue him. There is a sequence here, from the desperate cry of the helpless, uncertain of a response, to

Psalm 30:9 What is gained if I am silenced?      I wonder if many of us dare say to God, “What’s the point of my death? What could possibly be gained if I have to leave this earth? Surely it’s better if I hang around and do a bit of good!” David said it! As he peered into the looming shadows of the pit of death, we get an insight into his heart wrenching cry of desperation. “Lord don’t let this happen. What is the point of my leaving this world right now? Save me from the clutches of Sheol.” How I love this dear man, for he reveals his reasons for wanting to stay alive, the reasons why the world would be worse off if he died. He intends to praise God and he aims to proclaim the Lord’s faithfulness. Have you ever thought of the reasons why God might want you and me to remain here on this planet? Is there a good reason or have we already done our bit, if indeed we have done anything at all! Can we appeal to the Lord God and say, “Let me stay. Let me remain here for I wish to praise you.

Psalm 30:8 It's time to call for help      I know we all want to live our lives in peace and prosperity. We want everything to work out according to plan; if possible, we do not want any health, financial or family problems. We want to simply enjoy every day and all difficulties to pass us by! And pigs might fly, it’s never going to happen. There will be times of hardship, family members will get sick and some die, particularly those who are older than us! There will be disputes with other people, there will be crises at work, there will be days when we wonder if we can carry on. Is that pessimism? No, it is realism. David was brought low on numerous occasions if the Psalms are anything to go by. In this Psalm it seems that he had faced death itself and all because he had tried to be self-reliant. And it is inevitably at this point, when we are at our lowest, that we wake up to the fact that we cannot do life on our own, that we need help. Thank God He is patient and waits for us t

Psalm 30:7 The Royal Mountain      The City of David and the site of the tabernacle were all in the area of Mount Zion in Jerusalem; that this was a place of security and refuge, there is no doubt. But Zion is not a very high mountain at 765 metres (2510 feet). It is overshadowed by the Mount of Olives and it is a mountain in a hilly area at the summit of a long steady climb from the Dead Sea or from any direction in Israel. So, Mount Zion does not really stand out and it may be therefore, that David is not talking about a literal mountain here but rather the embodiment of his kingdom and his royal influence. In that sense we all inhabit a metaphorical mountain in our spheres of influence, or amongst the people with whom we feel secure and our existence has some meaning. Our mountain could be our family, our work, our church, anywhere where we feel accepted and that we have a role to play. If that is true then we can say that when the Lord favours us, our mountain stands firm. When we,

Psalm 30:6   I will never be shaken      Do you remember the probable background to this Psalm? David had conducted a survey of fighting men, against God’s wishes. Safe and secure in the vast numbers that surrounded him and that were available to defend the kingdom, the King was able to reassure himself,  “I will never be shaken.”  His trust was in his defence force not in his God. It was a foolish mistake and led to a near death experience as the Lord God showed David who really was in control.  How foolish we are when we trust in ourselves and in our own resources instead of in the Lord. And yet we all do it! Many of us have suffered times of financial hardship when we learned to trust in God. Then, when the situation improves and there are a few thousands in the Bank account we start trusting in money, “I am safe,” we say, “I have enough to cover me on a rainy day.” We trust in Insurance Policies, in savings account, in pension funds, in a well-maintained property. We trust in the c

Psalm 30:5   Joy comes in the morning      The picture painted here is of a God who has every right to be permanently angry, whose justifiable wrath should be vented in a never-ending stream of judgement. But, the Lord Almighty is not like that. He does get angry. He has good reason to be angry for foolish human beings try His patience to the very limit. But His heart is love, it is sin that causes Him anger, and sin abounds but His grace abounds even more. One second of God’s anger could destroy the world, instead we find that day after day, He is patient with us. His favour has lasted for many lifetimes. I suspect that He has been angry with me on occasions, I’ve certainly been angry with myself. Maybe I have felt the weight of God’s justice and restraint but only momentarily, in truth my life has been one of rich blessing and protective care from the throne of heaven. David senses that his illness and “near death” experience has been the momentary result of God’s anger. So it is tha

Psalm 30:4 Sing the praises of the Lord “Sing the praises of the Lord, you His faithful people; praise His holy name.”        In the next verses we are going to discover some of the reasons for David’s joy and infectious exuberance before the Lord, but let’s just wallow with him for a few moments, shall we? It’s easy to praise the Lord when all is going well. It is easy to praise Him when He has performed some exceptional work of deliverance in our lives or demonstrated His miraculous power. It is easy to be full of praise to God when we feel good about life. However, we also need to reflect on the fact that God is to be praised regardless of circumstances and feelings. We praise Him because He is. We praise Him for who He is. We praise Him because there is nothing else to praise and we praise Him because in so doing we feel better! In many ways the Lord God is way beyond our understanding and the list of His attributes that are worthy of praise is endless, but here we are exhorted to

Psalm 30:3   Saved from the pit!      My wife and I recently viewed an exhibition of some of the relics from the tomb of the young Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun. For over 2 hours we were treated to an explanation of the journey of the Pharaoh through the netherworld as he fought off demons and evil spirits in order to gain eternal life. There were some Biblical lessons to be learned, not least how Moses took on the Egyptian gods when the Lord sent the plagues to Egypt just 100 years before the time of King Tut! This belief in a netherworld was common to most cultures and it is also found in the Bible. Jonah believed that his time in the belly of the whale was,  “From deep in the realm of the dead.”  Jonah 2:2. Job and David refer to “the pit” on numerous occasions and there is reason to believe that the ancients all believed that death would swallow them up into some dark, mysterious place to await their fate. Let us remember that Christ Himself was the first to rise from the dead! Unt

Psalm 30:2 You healed me      This God – man relationship thing is very simple really, it is all about trust, all about faith. It is founded upon a proper valuation of ourselves, that we are vulnerable, sinful, weak and helpless, unable to save ourselves and unable to breech the barrier that leads us into the realm of the Spirit. God in His wisdom and grace has opened a door for us that we may know Him and dwell in Him and with Him, but most people reject His invitation. Jesus came to give us spiritual life to take us beyond the physical, to lead us into the very heart of God. But to undertake this journey we must lose ourselves; we must relegate our own egos and, over time, learn to trust. To trust in God means that we must first believe in Him and then, believing, cast ourselves on His mercy. Sin and self and the Satan are our main protagonists who will seek to hinder this wonderful adventure. How hard it is to let go, to hand over control, to let His will become our will. But our pa

Psalm 30:1   I will exalt You There is nothing like a good gloat once we have overcome a deadly illness or some tragedy or major upset in our lives. Actually, there is something better than a good gloat, there is a moment of reflection when we see who it was who delivered us and then give Him the praise. David’s demise would have been a tragedy for him, his family and his people. Enemies within the state of Israel and most of the nations beyond its borders would have danced with glee at the fall of the great warrior king. However, it didn’t happen. The king came close to it, he sank so low he could almost sense the gates of Sheol and impending doom BUT, the Lord lifted him up and now he is recovering. As previously stated, it is most likely that this disaster was of David’s own making, he had sacrificed his faith in God for a faith that depended on accumulated wealth and strength but now he had regained his senses, the Lord had saved him. Dear friends, remember what we have learned abo

Psalm 30    Introduction      There are two events that could have prompted the writing of this Psalm by David. Firstly, it could just simply be that he had been ill and was giving thanks for deliverance from a malady that brought him close to death. What is more likely, is that this powerful song was written in response to an event that cause David great shame and remorse, but which led ultimately, to the fulfilment of one of his greatest revelations. The story is set out in 1 Chronicles 21:1 to 1 Chronicles 22:6 and it begins with these words;  “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.”  The census was primarily to number the fighting men so that David would have an accurate picture of the size of his potential army. His General, Joab, was completely against the idea, however David went ahead and was able to comfort himself in the knowledge that there were at least 1,400,000 men in Israel who could handle a sword. The satanic plot was of course, inte

Psalm 29:11   The peace of the Lord      And so another of David’s Psalms draws to a close. A Psalm where we have witnessed overwhelming power and majesty as the voice of our God thunders across the surface of the planet. A Psalm pulsating with energy as the lightning strike of God speaking down to the earth, is met by the energy force of creation responding with glory; like the positive energy coming up from the earth, mentioned in verse 7.  This song of David is meant to excite us, to remove any preconceived ideas we may have of some distant, ineffective deity. Our God is not silent, He is not powerless, He is not detached. The Lord is active, He is more powerful than any known phenomena on the planet and His voice roars across the nations in demonstration of His imminence. Our God is involved and fully operational, particularly where His people are concerned. Those who believe in Him and serve Him will experience His strength. If He can do all that the Psalm proclaims, just by speak

Psalm 29:10 6  And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”  7  So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.  8  God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.  9  And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.  10  God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:6-10  We either believe that this “creative” event all happened “by accident” billions of years ago or that the division of land and water was caused by the design and power of a divine being at the beginning of earth time. In the same way, when God said to Noah,  “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens”  Genesis 6:17; we either believe that this did not happen or we believe that there is a God who can flood the ea

 Having a break for a week. See you soon!!

Psalm 29:9   The oaks of Bashan      It is good to stop here for a moment and ask why David is using these metaphors to describe the power and glory of God. So far, we have witnessed the voice of the Lord thundering over the waters, breaking the cedars of Lebanon and flashing like lightning and shaking the desert. Bashan, to the north and east of Galilee, was as famous for its mighty oaks as Lebanon was for its cedars, and here Bashan also gets the full treatment of the sound of the mighty voice of the Lord. Again, and again David uses these symbols of power and majesty to draw our attention to an even greater power and force in the world – the voice of the Lord. It is done, surely, to remind us of our weakness and vulnerability and to reveal the contrasting power of Almighty God. All He has to do is to speak and all created things tremble. Isaiah captures this perfectly.  “The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbl

Psalm 29:8   The desert places      The desert lands south and west of the Dead Sea have a number of different names in the Bible. The northern land, bordering the Mediterranean and covering a wide area between Goshen in Egypt and Canaan, is called the Wilderness of Shur. The southern desert is Sinai. In the middle, moving from west to east, is the Wilderness of Paran, part of the much larger Wilderness of Zin which was within the Negev Desert. (Negeb in the Scriptures). In the middle of these wastelands was an oasis settlement called Kadesh Barnea. Kadesh means “holy” and it is probable that the Israelites encamped at this oasis for much of the 40 years of their desert wanderings. Barnea means “desert of wandering” so Kadesh Barnea was the “Holy Place in the desert of wandering.” Long before the Israelites settled at Kadesh, Abraham had lived in this area following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 20:1), and the LORD appeared to Hagar, Abraham’s slave-girl, at a well

Psalm 29:7 The voice of the Lord      It is not possible for men to see God. According to the Apostle Paul, “ He is the immortal, invisible God.”  I Timothy 1:17. John solemnly affirms on a number of occasions that “ no one has ever seen God.”  Therefore, the best that we can hope for is a sense of His presence, signs of His presence and the sound of His presence. There is a Greek word for such encounters – theophany. Creation declares Him, the prophets spoke for Him, the Bible describes Him and Jesus Christ revealed Him; He said that, “ No one comes to the Father except by me.”  John 14:6. If you think about it, God never acts, all He has to do is speak! He spoke and the universe came into being. Jesus was and is the Word, He was God speaking to the world. Somehow, men of old like David understood this and their heroic vision of the Almighty was of a superior being who only had to say the word and the elements would crackle into fire. What other explanation did they have for lightning

 Psalm 29:6 Our God is greater As you travel north today from Galilee, in Israel, the landscape changes dramatically and the vast profile of Mount Hermon seems to stand in the way. It is not a simple mountain but   a  mountain cluster .   Its summit straddles the  border between Syria and Lebanon  and, at 2,814 m (9,232 ft) above  sea level , it is the highest point in  Syria .  The southern slopes of Mount Hermon extend to the Israeli-occupied portion of the  Golan Heights , where the  Mount Hermon ski resort  is located with a top elevation of 2,040 metres (6,690 ft).   Obviously, the mountain range is covered in snow in winter and it stands in stark contrast to the desert climate of the Dead Sea way down to the south. It is this landscape that is described in this verse for Sirion is in fact, Mount Hermon. David compares the power of the voice of God with the most stable and immoveable of objects known to him, and declares that when the Lord speaks, Lebanon and Hermon leap about lik