Psalm 106:13 Do not forget We need to remember that Israel’s relationship with the Lord God was based on His laws and their obedience. It was possible for them to live lives that were highly blessed, that incorporated the provision of God in every tiny detail of their national and individual existence. God was prepared to give them everything they needed, He would provide food and water for them and their flocks. He would guide them on their journey. He would protect them from their enemies. He would inspire and direct their leaders. He would keep them from the heat of the sun and the terrors of the desert night. He would take them to the land that He had promised, in double quick time. There was no reason why they could not be in situ in just a few months. Everything they could possibly need was His to provide and He was willing to sacrifice anything to see them gratefully settled in Canaan. There was just one snag, it all depended upon their obedience and faithfulness. God insis...
Psalm 119:87 Almost but not quite If only we knew the circumstances that form the back story to this Psalm! What happened to the psalm-writer to make him feel so vulnerable? Who exactly were these antagonists and persecutors and how did they “almost wipe our friend from the earth”? We’ve already speculated that he must have been a priest or maybe a member of the royal family for his suffering seems to have wide-ranging and public consequences. It seems that there had been a murderous plot on his life and now the author admits that whilst he nearly died, he still clings tenaciously to the precepts of the Lord his God. Precepts are the laws and commands that come from the lips of overseers, in other words, the writer believes that the Lord is watching over him and that he is safeguarded and protected by the words that come from His guardian. There is a vital lesson here for us, there will be times when, at the very least, our reputations are under threat; for some who believe...
Psalm 119:15 Considering His ways Like many others, I have followed one of those “Read the Bible in a Year” courses and still own one of the Bibles that allows us to do this by mixing up the Old and New Testaments texts, just so we avoid getting bogged down in some of the more tedious books! I also once faithfully followed a 3-year course that prescribed a reading each day, followed by a series of questions. It was 50 years ago but I remember that every morning, for those 3 years, I got up early and sat and resolutely wrote down my answers. With a pen in those days! The verse before us today suggests a different approach, it is to take some of the hardest parts of Scripture namely the precepts, or God’s rules and orders, and meditate upon them. The purpose of this approach is to try to understand God’s mind, to grasp His plans and purposes, to understand how He thinks. There are questions to be asked; Why did God write this? What does it really mean? If I obey what are the implica...
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