Daily Meditations

Psalm 69:36 Dwelling in Zion These last verses of the powerful Psalm have been describing the consequences of the resurrection in power, of the Son of God. In verse 34 we discovered that all creation will be liberated to praise the Lord. In verse 35 we are told that Israel will reclaim its land and the people will settle in it once again. This last verse of the Psalm seems to extend this blessing to all peoples. God’s people, and their children will inherit Israel. Those who love His name will dwell there. No wonder so many of us feel an affinity with the land and love to go there. It is clear from many other Scriptures that when Yeshua comes to reign upon the earth, Jerusalem and Zion in particular, will be the centre of His authority and governance. All people will come to the city to worship and bring their offerings. Read the whole of Zechariah 14 and in particular verse 16.  “Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after years to worshi

Psalm 69:35 God will save Zion The joy found in these last verses of the Psalm has embraced creation and now we move to Israel. Just as there will be a day when all creatures and all of creation will praise the Lord, so there will be a day when Israel will be at peace. You see, the resurrection of Yeshua had far-reaching consequences. We tend to think only in terms of the church and our salvation, but it is far wider than that.  “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sister, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.””  Romans 11:25-27. Paul quotes in Romans 11 from Isaiah 59:20 and confirms that, because of Yeshua’s death and resurrection, all of Israel will turn back to their Go

Psalm 69:34 Let everything praise Him These last verses of the Psalm sing with triumph as Yeshua anticipates His deliverance. They start with a rallying cry to all of creation to praise the living God. Notice that it is not just the living creatures that are called to praise the Lord, but the inanimate foundations of the heavens and the earth are invited to praise too! It’s interesting to note that every atom has a resonant frequency and that, throughout the Psalms, the trees, the skies, the seas, the mountains and the heavenly bodies are all attributed with the ability to respond to the Creator who made them. Maybe their praises far exceed what mere, mortal man is able to offer? All living creatures are enjoined in this symphony of joy that acknowledges the power and glory of the living God. Imagine a fish praising or an eagle singing for joy! It seems that maybe it is only mankind who refuses to give the Lord the honour that He is due? We have treated this Psalm as an expression of t

Psalm 69:33 The Lord hears the needy It goes without saying that we pray a lot longer and a lot harder when we are in need. When our spiritual boat is sailing blithely along, when the skies are blue and waters are calm, prayer can be the last thing on our minds. But, when storm clouds gather and the wind quickens and the waves start to toss the boat, then we are inclined to think about prayer! Perhaps we are selfish in our prayer lives, we only cry out when things are going badly in our little pond? These scenarios cannot be attributed to Yeshua, He prayed all the time. He cried out to the Father when in need and He spent time with His Father just for the sheer joy of His company. In addition, He knew that when everything was going wrong and the assaults of the enemy were growing in intensity, that did not mean that God, His Father, had abandoned Him. Nor did it mean that God had turned away and no longer loved Him. Even in His captivity, under the brutal control of the Roman soldiers,

Psalm 69:32 The poor will see and be glad On the surface, this verse appears to be a simple statement of fact. In God’s time, the poor in spirit will see and be glad; those who seek Him will live! We know this to be true, it has been fulfilled in Yeshua. Is there anything more to be said? We have defined the poor before, in Scripture the word does not usually refer to those who have little wealth, it means those who are humble, contrite and respectful before the Lord. Those who know who He is and what their place is before Him, those who have a right perspective on the greatness of their God, and the poverty of man. It is only when we lose sight of ourselves and our importance that we can truly see Him.  Numbers 12:3 tells us that Moses was a humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth. It was this quality that endeared him to God and led him to become an amazing leader of Israel and arguably their greatest prophet. Even today he is honoured for the Torah, the Law and the establi

Psalm 69:31 This will please the Lord Do you remember those powerful words from Psalm 51:16-17, part of the prayer of the penitent David?  “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”  Similar words were spoken by the prophet Samuel when King Saul heard that God had rejected him because of his disobedience.  “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”  1 Samuel 15:22.  We step forward in time to the horrors of Calvary and find Yeshua repeating similar sentiments before His Father. His absolute obedience to His Father’s will, His diligence in fulfilling the heavenly plan was far more satisfying to God than any animal sacrifice. This Jesus, who we revere, suffered a broken spirit. His heart was repentant and asham

Psalm 69:30 I will praise God's name The direction of this Psalm now changes dramatically. The woes are ended, and the victim now looks forward with hope, in the assurance that His cries have been heard and deliverance will eventually come. Isaiah 53:10-12 puts it like this: - “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” I believe that Yeshua always knew that He would come through His ordeal. Wh

Psalm 69:29 Afflicted and in pain What a heart cry this is! A broken, afflicted, and agonised heart cry. It was important for our Lord to know all of the deepest travails of the human soul, no man or woman who ever lived must be able to look at Him and say, “He didn’t suffer like I did.” Believe me, He went through every physical agony known to man, every mental anguish known to man and every spiritual conflict that mankind has ever faced.  “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.”  Isaiah 53:4.  It seems to me that Yeshua must go to the extremes of every kind of human torment and affliction so that all people should know that He bore their pain and their suffering. As we have seen, this meant the pain of injustice and self-pity and vengeance. He must plummet into the lowest depths of human experience and be “ pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities.”  Isaiah 53:5.  “By oppression an

Psalm 69:27-28 Blotted out of the book of life We suggested. at the end of the last verse, that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was not just brought about by the actions of a few bloodthirsty and misguided officials at around AD30! It happened because of you and me. These two verses help us to understand the mental torture of Yeshua as He wrestled with justice. Justice demanded that the perpetrators of the crime - the crucifixion of an innocent man, should be punished. The malevolent actions of the murderers should be brought to God’s attention and His justice demanded that they should be called to account. Justice therefore demanded that they should be charged with crime upon crime, that they should be removed from the plan of God’s salvation and that they should never share in the blessings of the righteous.  It would be easy to think that these thoughts in the mind of Yeshua were self-pitying, vengeful and unforgiving. I don’t think He was thinking any such thing. These verses have

Psalm 69:26 It worked both ways This verse makes a curious statement, it’s a kind of “who did what?” Remember that we understand these words to be accredited to the Lord Jesus as He suffered, and it takes a moment of concentration to establish who He is referring to.  “They persecute”  obviously speaks of the enemies, described in the previous verses, who brought about the trial and death of Yeshua. But their persecution was directed at the One who  “you wound.”  In other words, the arrest, abuse and ultimate death of our Lord was also convened by God Himself. While vile men carried out their demonic schemes, the Father of our Lord was giving His authorisation in heaven. No wonder Jesus cried,  “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. ” This is one of the enigmas of Scripture, that men’s behaviour appears to be motivated by wickedness, but it also fits into the purpose of God. In other words, we think we are in control of our destinies but God Himself is allowing

Psalm 69:25 Empty tents The plot to remove Yeshua was a fairly simple one. It was hatched by the Chief Priest and their associates, those who felt most threatened by His claims. The Temple Guard would be sent to a quiet place, at night, to arrest Him, once they had the “tip-off” from Judas. A carefully manipulated trial would ensue and false witnesses would be hired to give testimony. The prisoner would be presented to the Roman Governor who would be left in no doubt that the world would be a better place without this troublemaker! The whole procedure should not last longer than a night and a day and if the end result was the removal of Jesus, it would be worth losing a bit of sleep!  The perpetrators of this most terrible of crimes thought they would be safe once Jesus was disposed of; little did they realise that their actions would lead to their own removal. In a few short years there would be no more Sanhedrin, no more priesthood, no more temple and the Jews would be scattered to t

Psalm 69:23-24 Backs bent forever? As David penned his Psalms it’s clear that there was a definite delineation in his mind between the righteous and the wicked. Time and again he seeks respite and victory for righteous men but invokes curses over the wicked. The underlying principle was rooted in the Jewish faith, God Himself had instructed the people that if they obeyed Him and honoured Him it would go well with them, and they would be blessed. If they disobeyed and ignored Him, the land would suffer, and they would be cursed. Small wonder that the Israelites were always able to make a distinction between the ways of the righteous and the wicked. Thus, the Psalmists were able to call down God’s anger and curses upon the wicked nations that surrounded them, and the writers also expected blessing upon Israel.  We tend to be more gracious towards the wicked because we hope that they will be saved. In truth, nothing has changed. If wicked people do not turn to the Lord God and obey Him, a

Psalm 69:22 The enemy's table We’ve come across the “table” before in the Psalms.  “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”  These are familiar words from Psalm 23 and are meant to assure us that there is a place of safety and acceptance in the presence of our God, where we receive His provision first-hand and we delight in His company. The table mentioned here in Psalm 69:22 seems to be a place of hostility and trouble and David is effectively putting a curse upon it! In ancient times a covenant or pact between rulers and nations was sealed by a covenant meal. This sign of agreement and friendship might be extended to business deals, sales of land and property, in fact, wherever contracts or treaties were enacted, it was polite practice for the respective parties to sit and eat and drink together afterwards. The practice spilled over to Weddings where two families were joined by contractual arrangements, and once the deal was done, they shared a meal. At the

Psalm 69:21 Elijah and the sedative Any victim who has been nailed to a crucifixion cross is finished. There will be no last-minute deliverance, liberation or pardon. By the time the process has reached this gruesome conclusion the “criminal” has been tried, pronounced guilty and condemned. All witnesses have had their say and the edict of the judge (in this case the Roman Governor) is final. The condemned offender has been nailed to that wooden pole and they must linger there, in agony, until they die. No doubt, there were many who craved water or food, it was up to their captors, of course, to respond to this request. Yeshua was offered wine / vinegar mixed with gall at the beginning of the crucifixion process. This was a bitter cocktail and, as we saw in verse 3, it was refused by Jesus because the gall acted as a sedative. The gall and the vinegar could be metaphors for the treatment that was handed out by the enemies of the Lord Jesus. While He craved a proper drink and His body l

Psalm 69:20 There was no one! This is a terrible verse, for here Yeshua admits that the scorn, the reproach and the insults hurled upon Him during His suffering, have broken His heart. The damage done by these arrows of injustice have left Him helpless or sick, some translations render this,  “Insults have broken my heart to the point that I could die .” I find it impossible to put myself into the head of the Son of God to try to understand why insults so grieved His soul. Maybe the rest of the verse gives us a clue,  “I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. ” At this point in His ordeal, our Lord searched the faces of the crowd, He looked into the eyes of His accusers and all He could see was hatred and ridicule. He was deserted by heaven and by all the earth. He was completely alone, not one voice raised in support and no one showed Him any compassion.  Perhaps it was the injustice that hurt so much? He had done nothing wrong. He had lived an exem

Psalm 69:19 Because of my foes Scorn, disgrace, shame, reproach, dishonour; these are horrible terms and there is no doubting their meaning. Yeshua was the object of the very worst kinds of disgrace, indignity and humiliation at the hands of men. He who was perfect and sinless, who only lived to love and help the human race, had been trampled underfoot and made the object of mankind’s worst abuses. Of course, the Father knew this. Of course, He could see what was happening to His beloved One. Of course, He could come and rescue Him, but He would not. He turned away and let the suffering continue because He had no other plan that could save us. God the Father allowed His beloved Son to endure all of this because He also passionately loves you and me, and there was no other way to free us from the curse of sin. Do not, for one moment, underestimate the cost to Almighty God Himself, as He witnessed what was being done to His Son, the extension of His own character and heart. Do not ever h

Psalm 69:17-18 Do not hide your face This prayer for salvation has occupied a number of verses (v13-18) at the very heart of the Psalm. It is no mere request for a little bit of help, it is a heart cry from deep within the soul. It is a pleading, repetitive supplication for relief. The prayer appeals to the most sympathetic characteristics of Almighty God; His love, His goodness and His mercy. The more terrifying the atrocities faced by the sufferer, the more pitiful are His cries.  “Please don’t turn away from. Look at me, just show me Your face so that I know You are with me. Stop this silence, just speak to me. Why are you so reluctant to acknowledge my cries? Don’t abandon me, let me know that You are at least close by. Come quickly please, I am in deep trouble here, I don’t think I can take much more. This suffering is greater than I can bear. Please come and rescue me. Where are You my Father?” It is hard for us to imagine the rift that had now come between Yeshua and His Father,

Psalm 69:16 The goodness of His love For David, as he wrote this Psalm, the answer to his requests was based on an appeal to God’s compassionate nature. Remember, from verse 3, that the initial request was for salvation because of God’s great love. Here, the love of the Lord God is again the reason for His hope of salvation. What a reassurance it is for us, to know that in the midst of the dreadful suffering of Calvary, Yeshua felt no anger or vindictiveness towards the One who had commanded His torment and misery. He was forsaken by God and the unfolding horror story around Him was worse than He could ever have imagined. But our Lord did not selfishly beg for God’s justice or appeal to His power and strength to rescue Him. No, He knew that residing in the heavens, watching the horrific drama that unfolded, was not a vindictive tyrant but a God of goodness, love and mercy. The goodness of His love and His great mercy were the forces that drove Elohim Adonai to send His only beloved Son

Psalm 69:14-15 Rescue me This Psalm began with a victim up to His neck in waters. Could there be anything more terrifying than being trapped in a cell or room where the waters are rising and have reached your neck, and you know that the evil flood is making its inexorable ascent to the point where your mouth and nose will be covered too? Death by drowning beckons. Well, there is a comparative terror, and that is to be gripped by the suction power of a bottomless bog or quicksand, where your weight is slowly pushing you down into the abyss. Scenes like this can give us nightmares and we do not dare to think of the poor wretches who have had their lives ended in such ways. Yeshua cried out to God because His experience at the cross felt no different. He was being sucked down into the mire of death, His physical strength being gradually drawn out of Him by the clinging tentacles of hellish darkness. At the same time, He felt the hatred of His enemies as they gloated over His anguish and c

Psalm 69:13 The time of God's favour Let us be clear here, there are times when God shows His favour to mankind, or to groups and nations within the human race. There are also times when His favour is withdrawn. Israel was familiar with this concept. If they obeyed God’s commands and kept His laws, they were promised prosperity and health, and all would be well with them. If they disobeyed, turned away and lived for themselves, the Lord withdrew His blessing. This happened on a number of occasions, indeed their relationship with the Lord God was a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, and at times His patience with them was sorely tried. Captivity in Babylon was one of the lows, as was the 400 years prior to Christ when the nation drifted into idolatry and religious ritual, ending in a pact with Rome and the eventual diaspora. The 2,000 years that have passed, since Yeshua was with us on earth, have been a similar experience for the Gentile nations. Those early years of apostolic p

Psalm 69:12 A day at the gates Most communities in Israel had Elders, usually venerable, older men who had wisdom and authority and experience. On approaching a city, town or village, the road usually took locals, and visitors, through a set of gates that marked the boundary for entrance and exit. In times of trouble the gates would be guarded, and the community walls would be fortified. The gates were significant for another reason, there were no civic buildings or marketplaces in smaller settlements, so business was transacted at the gates. In this place, strangers could be identified, and travellers sent on their way. The elders would often be present throughout the day, and it was not unusual for them to meet at the gates to discuss community matters, and they were also available to give legal advice to individuals or families.  The Psalm describes a typical day at the “Gates” when topical events were being discussed and the name of Yeshua was raised. He had become a popular, publi

Psalm 69:10-11 Sackcloth and ashes Sackcloth and ashes were used in Old Testament times as a symbol of debasement, mourning, and/or  repentance.  Someone wanting to show his repentant heart would often wear sackcloth, sit in ashes, and put more ashes on top of his head. Sackcloth was a coarse material usually made of black goat’s hair; it was literally used for making sacks. The ashes signified desolation and ruin. When someone died, the act of putting on sackcloth showed heartfelt sorrow for the loss of that person, and it became a symbol of mourning. We see an example of this when David mourned the death of Abner, the commander of Saul’s army  ( 2 Samuel 3:31 ).  Jacob also demonstrated his grief by wearing sackcloth when he thought his son Joseph had been killed ( Genesis 37:34 ).  These instances of mourning for the dead mention sackcloth but not ashes. Thus, sackcloth is as outward expression of inner pain or grief. Those who wore this coarse, uncomfortable material either did so

Psalm 69:9 Zeal for Your house Notice that this verse follows directly after the previous one, with no full stop dividing them. So, in verse 8, Yeshua admits to being a foreigner and stranger to His earthly, family household. However, here in verse 9, He is declared to be zealous for the house of God. The disciples interpreted this to mean the Temple after they had seen Him turn over the money-changers tables and drive out the animals that were being bartered there. (John 2:17). The temple was certainly part of the equation, but I am sure that Jesus was concerned with much more than a building in Jerusalem. “God’s house” embraces Israel and its rituals and its land, but it also refers to the church, and the vast numbers of heavenly beings who serve the Lord in realms far beyond this earth. It was zeal for His spiritual house and family that took our Lord to Golgotha; if He had not passionately cared for us all, He would never have volunteered to bear the suffering that became His lot.

Psalm 69:8 Cut off from the family The New Testament names  James the Just, Joseph, Simon, and Judas  as the brothers (Greek “adelphoi”) of Jesus (Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, John 7:3, Acts 1:13, 1 Corinthians 9:5). The same verses also mention unnamed sisters of Jesus and there are those who think that one of these may be named Mary, after her mother. The above Scriptures prove that there was regular interaction between Yeshua and His siblings and that they went on to follow Him. For instance, James wrote an Epistle and was a prominent leader in the early church in Jerusalem. We often forget to include these family members as part of the discipleship group that followed the Lord around. What is astonishing is that they knew Him better than anyone, they would have known His faults, if anyone did.  But that intimate knowledge was not a hindrance to faith, they believed in Him too! In His suffering Yeshua was alone. There was a small party of loyal friends who watched on at Golgotha. Mary H

Psalm 69:7 His shame was our shame Remember that these words form part of a prayer to God. We are attributing everything that is being said here to Yeshua. His pain and agony are being unveiled for us in these verses and we are being shown the mental and spiritual torture that went way beyond His physical suffering. This verse continues on from the previous one, where our Lord pleads that His shame should not be reflected upon His friends and followers. Now, He admits that such is the burden that He carries, that shame covers His face. In other words, as He died in my place and in Yours, as He became us, He was ashamed! He was ashamed of my sin and yours, He was ashamed of our words and actions and thoughts. As a perfect man who had never sinned, He was ashamed to have to become sin for us. My dear friends, it was written all over His face, the wickedness of man caused Him to hang His head in ignominy and humiliation! Meanwhile the soldiers mocked, the passing spectators jeered, the wi

Psalm 69:6 "Because of Me" In His 3 years of ministry Yeshua made some close and dedicated friends. Men and women who loved Him, who hung on to His every word and who were devoted and loyal and who trusted Him implicitly. Men like Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John and the other disciples. Then there were Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus from Bethany and other lesser known but equally loyal followers who held Jesus the Christ in very high esteem. I wonder how they felt when they saw His shame and witnessed His cruel crucifixion? Some of them must have experienced a sense of shame, a feeling of being duped maybe, an angry reaction to the empty promises that had not been fulfilled. Although the Gospel accounts attribute many of these people with undying loyalty, especially the women, there must have been a few who felt let down and who wondered if the awful finality of the cross was the end of the whole saga.  Hence these amazing words attributed to Ye