Daily Meditations

Psalm 45:3 Gird Your Sword As I perused this verse, I immediately recalled images from modern Royal Weddings where the military men dress in uniform and have a sword at their side. No doubt a similar picture is being painted here; the bridegroom is attending his wedding, but he is still armed and ready for battle. This symbolism is meant to convey the idea of strength and might, of preparedness and vigilance, of courage and honour. Here is a hero from the battlefield, a man of war, a man to be looked up to and who will lead his army to victory. The theme continues,  “Clothe yourself with splendour and majesty”  cries the song writer, let everybody know that you are invincible, you are our conquering King. We cannot help but contrast this with the Lord Jesus while He was here on earth. His longest encounter with the enemy, at the beginning of His ministry, was alone in the desert. There were no spectators and no swords being brandished in that solitary place except, of course, the Sword

Psalm 45:2 A bridegroom unlike no other! A lot rides on appearances doesn’t it? If someone is excellent, they literally excel. One Bible version expresses the Psalmist’s description of the King as,  “You are fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into your lips.”   The King described here was obviously good looking to the point where He was almost godlike. 1 Samuel 9:2 exalts Saul as a king who was,  “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.” Of David, a servant of Saul said , “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” Obviously, the status of a king in those days, was embellished if he looked the part! Strangely, this did not seem to apply to our King, Jesus, in His earthly guise. Isaiah speaks of Him as,  “Having no beauty, or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance

Psalm 45:1 A Wedding Song! Oh joy! Oh joy! Oh joy! After the deep sighs and woes of a number of recent Psalms we come now to a feast of delights. It’s the Sons of Korah again, writing at their very best. These men whose whole lives were dedicated to music and celebration in the Temple Courts, have turned their creative attentions to a song suitable for the King’s Wedding Day. And what a song it is, I only wish we knew the tune, apparently it was called “Lilies” so we must imagine beautiful, pure, white blossoms and music to match. No Bridal March here, but instead, the gentle chords of the harp and strings, music that flows and fills with joy, not that the words are all other-worldly! The Psalm divides into two parts, in general verses 1-9 depict the King and verses 10-17 speak of his bride. It looks as if the bride, at this wedding, is a foreign princess (v10, 12) and much is made of her beauty and her fine wedding robes. The King is depicted as a mighty warrior who subdues his enemie

Psalm 44:26 Because of Your unfailing love The first eight verses of this Psalm were full of praise and celebration as the writer(s) boasted in the victories of the Lord God. From verse 9-25 it has been a depressing read, full of woes, recriminations and worst of all, an outpouring of blame and reproach, aimed at the Lord God for His failure and forgetfulness towards His people. The accusations are probably foreign to most of us, how dare anyone say the kind of things that are recorded here? How can anyone speak to the Lord God Almighty in such a derogatory way? How can a song reflect such a sense of despair and attribute this to a forgetful, uncaring, and obviously, vengeful Deity, who visits shame and disaster on His people for no apparent reason?  There can only be two answers to those questions. Either the people who wrote the Psalm did not know God intimately and they had no personal relationship with Him, or their plight was so awful that they just did not care what they said and

Psalm 44:25 Brought down to the dust It is from dust that we are born!  “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  Genesis 2:7. When God made Adam there is every reason to believe that his existence on the newly formed earth would be timeless. But, as we all know, Adam and his wife sinned and so God passed judgement upon them. Listen to His words. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  Genesis 3:19. To be  “brought down to the dust”  is to return to the earth, in other words, to die or to be close to death.  The ancient church fathers invented Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of Lent, to remind us of our low estate and I think, in the Roman Catholic tradition, that ashes are handed to worshippers to remind them of this.  Let us remember today, that if it were not for th

Psalm 44:24 Why do You hide Your face? As we have seen before, to see the face of God was beyond the hope and expectation of ordinary men and women. Moses is the only man who experienced God, on Mount Sinai, and afterwards his face shone and had to be veiled. He was a mediator between God and man of a Covenant that still echoes down through the ages. Jesus is the only other mediator, and He initiated a new Covenant with God that has been the supreme divine contract with mankind for 2,000 years. Although they could never see God every inhabitant of Israel longed to know that God’s face shone upon them. The idea became a by-word for God’s blessing; if the Lord’s face shone upon them, things were going well in the land. If God hid His face, then trouble ensued, and the people were lost and in despair. I think we can guess how they felt at the time this Psalm was written. We’ve seen the outpourings of the Psalm writer and we know that there was a national emergency – God must, therefore, h

Psalm 44:23 Awake, Lord! Anguished impatience v God’s inaction. Have you ever felt that way? I think we can reasonably argue that the Lord God does not doze off!  “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  So it is written in Psalm 121:2-4. In fact, that is a good Psalm to read today for it reminds us all that the Lord is watching over us every second that we are alive, and He will watch over us forevermore. So, it’s pointless our getting impatient but oh how often does He keep us waiting!  It’s all about our view of time I suppose. We always have so much to do. We are always in a hurry. Our little world rotates around us and there are things to be done but when we ask the Lord for help or for guidance, He seems to be asleep! Or at least too busy with other matters to pay us attention. Please remember this, He has a whole univ

Psalm 44:22 Sheep to be slaughtered We have, in this verse, a great example of prophetic symmetry (my description), in that the words here have a relevance in the day that they were written, they point forward to Christ, they were used by Paul in describing the church and they are just as relevant today. In other words, just as the world does not change in its attitudes to God and His people, so God’s Word does not change in its relevance and application to those who belong to Him.  ·        Israel has always suffered the hostility of the nations, like no other people the Jews have been persecuted and slaughtered by their enemies.  ·        And Isaiah used very descriptive language of the Lord Jesus when he wrote, “ He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.”  Isaiah 53:7. ·        Jesus hinted at the slaughter that He would cause when He said,  “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did

Psalm 44:20-21 He knows the secrets of the heart These verses are better read as,  “If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange God, will not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”  In other words, this is not so much an accusation against God as an appeal to Him. I think that the writer knows of no such instances of idolatry, so far as he is concerned the corporate worship of Israel has been focussed entirely on Elohim, there have been no diversions to false gods, but let Elohim search this out. The Levite writing these words invites the Lord God to investigate, to search out the secrets of the peoples’ hearts, to uncover any false worship or idolatry by the people.  After Joshua had led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land and Jericho had been defeated; the people suffered an ignominious defeat at a city called Ai. It turned out that one man was the cause. He had taken plunder from Jericho and kept it for himself, h

Psalm 44:18-19 It wasn't us! I’m not sure that I could ever enter the presence of Almighty God and claim to be innocent and faultless. Frankly, who amongst us can ever say,  “Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path.”  It’s also difficult to recall any passage of time in Israel’s ancient history when they could make this claim, in fact the converse was too often true, they often turned back, and their feet led them to serve and worship foreign gods. So, what do we conclude from all of this? Either the complainant here in Psalm 44 was deluded, telling lies or they were trying to pull the wool over God’s eyes! As if! We have to be so careful to have a correct view of ourselves before God. There are many religious people who live righteously and who aim to do what is right at all times. They discipline themselves severely and take great pride in their pious observances and their “holier than thou” lifestyles. This was true of many in Israel, they believe

Psalm 44:17 I have overcome the world The nature of the Psalm changes here somewhat. Having harangued the Lord God for allowing all this suffering and disaster to come upon His people, the writer now appeals to the Lord on the grounds that Israel is innocent and thus should never be afflicted in this way. Have you noticed that the Psalms of David never quite sink to the same depths of despair? He does not blame God using such vitriolic language nor does He claim His innocence quite so emphatically. David leaves room for God’s justifiable actions and also shows signs of repentance when things have gone disastrously wrong for him. My suggestion is that David was a man of greater faith and trust than the sons of Korah who wrote Psalm 44. He has a deeper understanding that even when things turn out very badly, God is still on the throne.  So, we come to the plea in this verse, “ All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant.”  It’s easy to t

Psalm 44:15-16 My face is covered with shame Have you noticed that the grammar here changes from plural to singular? While the writer has been blaming the Lord God for the suffering and disasters that have come upon his people, Israel, he also takes the circumstances personally. It is true, of course, that if we identify with a nation in disgrace, or an organisation, or even a family, then the corporate humiliation and shame is born by us as individuals. The poor man who wrote this Psalm has seen the defeat of his country and it weighs heavily upon his shoulders. These images are paralleled by those of the Jewish communities in Germany and across Europe during the Second World War; the filming at the time shows queues of broken, shame-faced, cowed people being herded around like animals and their faces reflect their suffering. Haunted, frightened, broken men and women who suffered  “the taunts of those who reproach and revile them.” I am reminded of Isaiah’s description of the Lord Jes

Psalm 44:13-14 A reproach to the nations The trail of woe continues and still the Lord God is to blame for it all. This time the finger points at Him because the surrounding nations are full of scorn and derision for Israel. “This mighty nation that trusts in their God, who claim to be the chosen, the special ones. These people with their creativity and their sacrifices and their rituals. Huh! They say that God is their protector and their provider, so where is He then? They are nothing. They are defenceless. They have no power. We are not intimidated by them.”  These verses accurately describe the way that the Jews have been viewed over the centuries. They have indeed been the objects of scorn and ridicule, they have been a byword, the subject of jokes and mimicry. People have spat at them and treated them worse than animals, that’s before we consider those who have tried to annihilate them. The statements we find here were accurate at the time of writing and have remained so througho

Psalm 44:12 The religious blame game The “blame game” continues in this painful Psalm and each verse / phrase seems to be more outrageous than its predecessor! You and I might still be asking, “How can people talk to God like this. How can they insult Him in this way? Do they not know that,  “All things work together for good for those who love Him, those who are called according to His purpose?”  Romans 8:28. here, in Psalm 44, the Lord God is accused of selling His people, the nation of Israel, for a pittance. In other words, they had no value to Him, they were just a worthless asset that had to be disposed of! Is this a “tongue in cheek” complaint or is the writer so engaged in religious practice that he has lost sight of the true reality of the Lord God. I cannot help but think that such arguments and suppositions can only come from the hearts and lips of the religious. If God is no more than an object, a talisman, a mysterious benefactor who is hidden behind liturgy and ceremony,

Psalm 44:11 Scattered but not forgotten There has been more than one occasion when Israel was scattered among the nations and devoured by their enemies. It happened to them under the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It happened to them under the Roman Empire when they were thrown to the winds for nearly 2,000 years. Throughout this latter period, they were persecuted by many of the nations on earth and so they stuck together in small communities, as foreigners without a home of their own. What is amazing is that they kept to their ancient faith and its rituals and some of them even retained a ridiculous dream that, one day, they would return to the land and Israel would be restored. A ridiculous notion indeed, until the 20 th  century and the arrival of Zionism and growing persecution that drove them back to Palestine. Hitler’s murderous intentions to annihilate the Jews actually had the opposite effect, after World War 2 the world felt sorry for these people and ultimately that led to t

  Psalm 44:10  Keep plodding! We move on from a nation that is complaining of injustice to one that is now appropriating blame. The blame for their defeat and their current calamity is all God’s! The next few verses make difficult reading because it does not come naturally, for most of us, to lay the blame for our woes at God’s feet. In fact, I would go further and say, “How dare you!” Let me go further still and suggest that because we have the Holy Spirit and the tangible friendship of Jesus and the Word of God at hand, we might never experience what feels like complete abandonment by our Father God. We have to remember that for Israel, their sense of righteousness and intimacy with the Lord came from keeping the Law. Their relationship was not personal and it was not as a child with its father. There was no “big brother” around to lend a helping hand and to carry them through the dark times. When things went wrong, when their enemies triumphed, they only had one course and that was

Psalm 44:9 It's not all plain sailing! And so we come to the disaster that has fallen upon Israel and the dire consequences of being abandoned by the Lord God. The next few verses do not make easy reading and at first sight it is hard to see how they can apply to us! Let’s remember, that this sense of abandonment comes after a devastating defeat at the hands of Israel’s enemies. The nation has been overcome; the God of their ancestors has not fought for them this time. There has been no spectacular triumphing against the odds, instead their foe has walked in and taken over land, people and power. And, of course, it is natural to question why. Of course, it is right to look within and ask if this abandonment is justifiable, and of course it is normal to feel deeply aggrieved if the treatment appears to be unfair.  We cannot speculate on what the events were that led to Israel’s aggrievement nor can we determine if their woes were justified in God’s eyes. However, there is a lesson h

Psalm 44:8 Boasting in God We’ve probably all had a lifetime of listening to boasters! Men and women who have achieved, accumulated and triumphed and who like to talk about their successes. Those who boast in this way are far from the kingdom of heaven, for to know God and to serve God is to humbly acknowledge that all we are and have comes from Him. There is no room for personal bragging. However, we may still boast! Let’s listen to the Apostle Paul:- Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends . 1 Corinthians 10:17-18. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying . 2 Corinthians 11:30-31 And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Romans 5:2   Yes, we do have the bragging rights although to present God to the world in an attitude of arrogance is not correct either. To boast m

Psalm 44:6-7 You give us victory These verses conjure up images of an ancient battlefield where heavily armed soldiers line up with their bows and arrows and their swords. I’m sure that they were organised and followed military strategies, but we are talking about an era long before the Roman legions and the bristling menace of their fortified ranks. In ancient times men followed orders and fought together but very often the conflicts descended into hand-to-hand fighting and it was every man for himself. What a comfort it must have been to pick up one’s sword and bow but to know that these were not the main weapons of warfare. Victory would come, but it would come through the power of God alone. Hence, many records exist, in the Scriptures, of Israel going to war against impossible forces and winning incredible victories. When the odds were heavily weighed against them God stepped in and trampled down their adversaries. You and I may feel, at times, that the world is against us. We may

Psalm 44:5 Trampling your enemies The first thing that strikes me on reading this verse is that there is no hint of submission, capitulation or resistance. In God’s name the nation of Israel would push down her enemies and tread on those who rose up against her. This is a cry of defiance in the face of many foes, but it is also a statement of intent. The previous verse contains the words, “ You are my King and my God who decrees victories for Jacob.”  The writer here is not depending on Israel’s might and fighting men, he is looking up to the Lord God and stating, with assurance, that He will do the vanquishing! That sense of national pride has been evident at many points in the history of Israel, it is only when they lose their focus on the Lord and turn to other gods, that they are ever defeated. What a lesson! So then, what about us? Are these statements just applicable to a nation or can we make a similar declaration? Listen, our enemies are not “flesh and blood”, we wrestle agains

Psalm 44:4   You are our King and our God Whoever is writing here is not speaking just for themselves, their words are spoken on behalf of the nation of Israel. So, although the first-person singular pronoun is used, it is as if all of the people are speaking. Such is the unity of the nation, they can speak as one, they can proclaim with one voice, from one heart and one soul that “ You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.” Maybe expressions like this were in the mind of Jesus as He prayed for unity in His body, the church, in John 17. Maybe such words prompted the Apostle Paul to write of all things in heaven and on earth being united under Christ. Ephesians 1:10. Maybe that is why he talks about apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers being given to build up the church until,  “We all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”  Ephesians 4:11-13.  Wh

Psalm 44:3 The light of His face What a lovely verse! What a timely reminder that without the Lord, we can do nothing. I’m sure there were men and women in Israel, over the centuries, who talked excitedly about their country’s military prowess and the great fighting men of the past. Joshua, Gideon Samson, David would be hailed as men of great courage and might who conquered many enemies and who excelled with the sword. Indeed, Israel is still a country that prides itself on its military know-how and the gallantry of its fighting men.  Our Psalm writer takes a different tack; it was the right hand and arm of the Lord that brought them victory, it was His master plan and His provision that overcame the foe and brought peace and prosperity to the land. There now follows a rather incongruous phrase,  “It was the light of Your face, for You loved them.”  This is to remind Israel that none of their gains nor their prominence, nor their possession of the land is their own doing; it is the Lor

Psalm 44:2 To boldly go! The psalmist is still thinking about the successes and victories of the past and, in particular, when his ancestors drove out the nations and claimed the Promised Land – Israel. He has in mind, men and women like Joshua and Caleb, Gideon and Deborah, Jephthah and Samson. Then there was Samuel and David and Solomon – all these ancestral heroes who simply obeyed the word of the Lord and accordingly saw His hand at work. I love the phraseology here,  “With Your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors.”   Over my lifetime I’ve often heard people talking about church planting.  Many books have been written on the subject and these are usually full of strategies and goals as to how the successful planting can be achieved. However, if you think back to Israel’s planting, it came about solely because individuals were obedient and courageous; God spoke and they obeyed. As a consequence, the enemy nations were driven out. This is the battlefield that we

Psalm 44:1 Why Lord?  (Continued.) Whilst Psalms 42-43 were written by an individual, the tense here in Psalm 44, becomes plural and the song is a lament by a community. As we read on, we realise that this was penned on behalf of the nation of Israel at a time when they felt abandoned and rejected by the Lord God. It appears that they had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of an enemy. This was most likely written long after David’s time, maybe in the reign of Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah. Commentators divide the Psalm into 4 parts: - V1-8                Praise for past victories V9-16              The present disaster and its consequences V17-22            A plea of innocence and a sense of injustice V23-26            A prayer for help   V1        It was part of everyday life in Israel, to recount the adventures and conquests of the past, from the age of the patriarchs, through the time of the Judges and prophets, and then the various Kings who had brought deliverance and God’s han

Psalm 43:5 Put your hope in God This short Psalm ends with the same statement that began and ended Psalm 43.  “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.” The Hebrew text, translated literally, renders the last phrase;  “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the Salvations of my Countenance and my God.”  The salvations referred to encompass all of the many deliverances and acts of salvation that the writer had experienced at God’s hand. The phrase could also be interpreted,  “Who is the Health of my Countenance.”  In other words,  “I have experienced, many times, Your deliverance and Your salvation O Lord. You bring health to my body and to my appearance. When You save me my face glows with the joy and certainty of Your intervention. I know that You are my God. I know that You are acting for me. I know that You are always there for me and that You will never let me go and never let me dow

Psalm 43:4 My joy and my delight The altar of God was a sacred and holy place, but it was also noisy and dirty. The ground around the altar would have been covered in blood and anyone approaching would be aware of the heat of the flames mingled with the smoke and odour of the sacrifices. Priest were in this enclosure, cutting the throats of the animals and offering their carcasses to the fire. Not a tourist attraction then, but it was never-the-less a place of joy, for here sins were covered and other sacrifices made; those of thanksgiving and fellowship and heart-felt worship to God. Beyond the altar was the Holy Place and within it the Shekinah glory of the Lord, for His presence dwelt here amongst His people. And so they came, day after day and month after month to offer sacrifices of repentance, to celebrate and to acknowledge the One whom they served and revered. The altar and the Holy Place, built by David, and later to be replaced by the Temple, were places of music and singing

Psalm 43:3 Oh to be free! It’s not easy to get into the mind of the Son of Korah here as he pens his song. When he asks for guidance back to the holy mountain, he does not request military assistance, or an angelic visitor armed with map and compass; he asks for light and for faithful care. Maybe, in his mind, these were personified by heavenly messengers? However, if we need light it usually means we are in darkness! And if we need faithful care, it means we are not being looked after properly. There are two possibilities here; the first is that the prisoner is longing to be liberated from the darkness of his incarceration and to, once again, receive faithful care. He knows that then, and only then, will he be free! And once he is free, he will be able to return to the place where the Lord God dwells, to the mountain of God in Jerusalem.  There is another explanation, and it should be a help to some of us. There are many who dwell in darkness, it could be the darkness of unbelief, but

Psalm 43:2 You are God my stronghold Once again, I think the writer here is trying to bargain with God, “If you are the source of all my strength, why aren’t you doing something about my plight? If I put all of my faith and my hope in You, why is it that You appear to have rejected me?” There is more than one lesson here. Firstly, whatever is happening to us, whatever the circumstances, however bad the situation God has not changed. The One who has blessed us in the past is still here with us in the present and He will not forsake us in the future. We have to start at that point. I know that it is so easy to rationalise the situation and listen to the inner voice that says, “If He has not answered your requests and the enemy is still oppressing you, it must mean He has rejected you.” That is a lie! God does not reject His people.  “He will never leave us nor forsake us.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6. Hebrews 13:5 – and others!) I know it is hard, but sometimes we just have to stop wrestling with

Psalm 43:1 Vindicate me, my God We began Psalm 42 with the comments; - “This Psalm and the one that follows offer painful pleas to the Lord.  “Why have You forsaken me? When can I go and meet with God? Why must I go about mourning? Why is my soul so downcast?”  The good news is that the writer knows the answer,  “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God.”” Here in the short few verses of Psalm 43, the lament is continued; there are questions and pleas and then an outpouring of hope and anticipation that the Lord God will not only hear but will restore. In that certain hope, the writer, a son of Korah as we have seen, set his face on being freed and able to return to serve on the holy mountain of Jerusalem once again.    V1        Imagine yourself bringing your cause before the highest judiciary in the land, maybe even before the King himself. You are pleading for justice, for wrongs to be righted, you have suffered enough, your enemies must be overthrown,