Daily Meditations

Psalm 78:7 Then they will put their trust in God This whole business of passing on our faith to our children is obviously bothering Asaph, or one of his successors. In fact, as we look at this Psalm, we realise that the content of it is exactly what he expected Jewish parents to be telling their children. They must recount the stories of the past, the dealings God had with their ancestors, and at the same time ensure that the next generation understood the unfolding wisdom and protection that God had given. Anyone else could relate these events because they were historically proven, what Jewish parents must do is show their children the hand of God in it all and give Him sole credit for all that had transpired. Thus, the parables of earthly events became revelations of divine intervention.  It is so important that we pass on the stories, not just from the Bible, but also relate what God has fulfilled in our own lives. We tell our children so that they  “put their trust in God and do no

Psalm 78:6 Pass it on! Faith is not just a personal thing, it is also a gift that can be passed on! We have faith because God gave it to us. Our beliefs are not just the product of a carefully considered and reasoned, intellectual debate. The eye-opening moment, the revelation of the truth, is a gift from God. That first awareness of who God is and what Christ has done is only the beginning, from that moment our life’s journey is a succession of faith gifts, a never-ending supply of revelations that come from the heart of our Father. That is why fathers, and mothers, are charged with passing on what they have received, to their children. Many Christian parents do, and their children go on to accept Christ and to live out their own lives of faith. This whole process is meant to be “kept in the family”, our lives and our homes and our teachings and our walk with God should be so convincing that no child in its right mind would dare to doubt! The greatest gift we can give to our offspring

Psalm 78:5 The role of the Law The Law, so far as the Jews are concerned, is the first 5 books of the Bible. In those books we see the world moving from perfection to chaos, from harmony and communion with God, to outright rebellion. One of the consequences of this was the flood of judgement in Noah’s day when the Lord admitted that He rued the day that He made man! The problem was that without the Law the human race could argue that they did not know what God expected from them! And so, Israel was chosen to be the law-keepers and God revealed His standards and commands and statutes on Mount Sinai. Now it was up to men, in particular Israel, to keep those standards and to obey God’s Law. His Law still stands, the 10 Commandments still provide the foundation for any God-fearing and law-abiding society.  The Lord encouraged the Israelites to not keep His rules to themselves but to pass them on to their children so that there was order and a continuation of God’s rule through the generati

Psalm 78:4 The wonders He has done It’s so easy to relate a story from the past, to tell our own stories and forget to give the appropriate glory and credit to God. If He has indeed been part of all of our lives, then nothing has happened that He did not know or involve Himself with. Nothing, except the moments when we rebelled and when we went against His will and deliberately disobeyed Him.  The narrations of these past events are to be told to our children and to the next generation, but the accounts must be truthful, they must include the times when the Lord intervened, or He answered our prayers, or He led us in the right direction. We must proclaim His glory and let it be known that the days and years that have gone well for us are all down to His grace and mercy and not our own wisdom and ingenuity. Every one of our lives is a parable, every day a testimony to the faithfulness of our God. I recently spoke at a meeting where I gave accounts of four occasions that I have witnessed

Psalm 78:3 My story is His story This verse is at the heart of what Asaph was all about. The parables that he (or his descendant) was about to recount were stories from the past, events that were part of Israel’s history, events that everyone knew about and had narrated and had heard retold many times. However, these stories had lost much of their power and meaning because they had become written into folklore, they were proudly proclaimed but people had forgotten to look for the deeper meaning, they had abandoned the spiritual lessons and truths that were hidden in all that had happened. In other words, the stories were proclaimed, but the hand of God in all these things had been forgotten. Psalm 78 will recount the history of Israel once again but, in Asaph’s account, it is all about the Lord and what He was really saying and doing for His chosen people.  Has it ever occurred to many of us that our life story is really His story? That the twists and turns of our journey reflect Him e

Psalm 78:2 Parables reveal hidden things In 2 Chronicles 29 we read of the reign of the godly King, Hezekiah. After they endured years of drifting away from the Lord God, under his predecessors, Hezekiah sought to restore faith and order and righteousness to his people and the land of Israel. The Temple had been closed for years, he re-opened it, purified it and consecrated the building and its sacred objects afresh. Sacrifices were offered, trumpets and musicians played, and everyone knelt down and worshipped. We read in 2 Chronicles 29:30,  “King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So, they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshipped.” Asaph was not just a Levite musician and songwriter then; he was also highly regarded as a sage and a prophet! (Seer) In Matthew 13:34-35 today’s verse is quoted in a completely different context, “ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not

Psalm 78:1 Introduction This is one of the longer Psalms and we will be taking a guided tour through 72 verses in all. So, it’s going to occupy our thoughts for over 2 months, and who knows what might happen to us during that time? And that is the whole point, for Psalm 78 guides us through the ups and downs of Israel’s relationship with the Lord God over a considerable period of time. We know that a descendant of Asaph wrote these words, and he was a godly man for he has a pretty accurate view of the rebellious nature of the people and the miraculous, and the gracious, provision of the Lord God despite this. I guess it will turn out to be a pretty accurate summary of our own volatility and the steadfast love of the God who watches over us.  The Psalm constantly calls us to remember God’s miraculous acts and was probably written after the time when the kingdom was split for it mentions Ephraim in verse 9, Ephraim was a collective term for the 10 northern tribes. So, sit back and come w

Psalm 77:20 The Shepherd who leads His flock So, it’s just a metaphor! But it’s a very powerful one. Israel was God’s flock – the sheep of His pasture. The fact that they were unruly, head strong and rebellious sheep is irrelevant. They belonged to the Lord, and He was their shepherd. Even if they did break the rules and wander away from the safe pasture lands, the divine shepherd would always bring them back and seek to restore and protect them. In the beginning, Moses and Aaron were the principal shepherds and they were charged with leading the people to a safe area of pasture – the Promised Land. The same happens today, the Lord has gathered the Jews from the four corners of the earth and restored them to their land. He has caused the pastures to flourish and grow and He continues to guard and protect them against their enemies. They carry the mark of God, and they will never be extinguished however much their enemies want to annihilate them. Because of this, we may all take heart. 

Psalm 77:19 Your footprints were not seen I wonder what Moses was thinking on the days leading up to the exodus, and particularly on the night of Passover? It is estimated that he led around 2 million people out of Egypt, to the east, and there before them was the Red Sea! We do not know the exact crossing point but somewhere along its boundary the people would have to find a way to navigate over or through this large area of water! There’s no way they could swim across; did they hope to borrow or build boats? We are left to assume that Moses simply trusted the Lord to make a crossing possible and that he listened to what he was told and left the problem-solving to a higher authority! And, as ever, the Lord came up trumps. He had already planned the route, the path the people were to take was not visible on a map and it was certainly not what the large community of Hebrew slaves expected. Their way was through the Sea and God led the way as He turned back the waters.  Life is full of u

Psalm 17:17-18 The earth trembled and quaked These verses seems to speak of another event beyond the crossing of the Red Sea. It refers to the time when the Israelites were leaving the Negev Desert and heading north. The area of Seir, or Edom, is the land of Esau, and it is found in southern Jordan today. Deborah wrote of this in her song,  “When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land pf Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.” Judges 5:4-5. Similar events are described in Psalm 18:7-15 and Psalm 68:7-8. It's obvious that when God acted on behalf of His people, His intervention was dramatic, for instance, there was thunder and lightning and an earthquake when He came to meet Moses on Mount Sinai. What the writers are all telling us is that when the Lord comes to effect judgement or redemption, the natural world quakes and trembles at Hi

Psalm 77:16 The waters saw You, God. Ask any Israelite, on earth, up to the time of Messiah, “What is the most amazing miracle that the Lord God has ever performed?” They will tell you that it was the parting of the Red Sea, to allow around 2 million Hebrew slaves to escape from Egypt. Bear in mind that the Sea was parted by a strong east wind that blew for a night and piled up the waters to the right and left of the people. Consider how a Sea became dry land and how a vast multitude passed through it with towering banks of water either side of them. Remember how the Egyptians followed with their horses and chariots and that the Lord jammed the wheels of the chariots and brought a vast army into confusion – in the night! Consider also how Moses only had to stretch out his hand at daybreak, and the waters went back to their place and there was the calm and peaceful Red Sea, with no sign of the pursuers, and the Israelites safe and alone on the far side, never again to be troubled by the

Psalm 77:15 You redeemed Your people If the Lord God only had to speak to bring the world into being, what “on earth” would happen if He started waving His arms about? The Bible writers loved to think in these terms, they witnessed such incredible miracles of deliverance that it seemed to them that the Lord had indeed reached down from heaven, and literally picked up His people and moved them out of Egypt and ultimately, placed them in the Promised Land. He was their Deliverer and Redeemer in a very literal sense.  We need to often celebrate the fact that the Lord has worked an even greater miracle in our lives! He lifted us, not out of Egypt, but out of the grave! He has already freed us from slavery to sin and death, something the Israelites could never experience without Messiah. A further miracle of redemption awaits us, the Lord intends to extend His mighty arm and lift the bodies of believers, en masse out of this world, and transfer us into His eternal kingdom! It's curious

Psalm 77:14 The God who performs miracles "Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.   Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.    You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”  John 14:10-14.  Jesus is replying here to a query by Philip, one of the disciples. Philip had asked,  “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  Jesus effectively tells Philip,  “Look at all of the miracles, the works that I have done.”  The problem is that God has been working miracle

Psalm 77:13 What god is as great as our God? Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”  Exodus 15:11. Don Moen put these words into a song that we sang 30 – 40 years ago. Who is like unto Thee O Lord among the gods? Who is like unto Thee Glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, Doing wonders, Who is like unto Thee? The “gods” in Hebrew are the “elohim”, as opposed to God who is Elohim. These lesser beings are other spiritual beings who have been worshipped by mankind as they have taken on thousands of different guises over the centuries. They may well manifest themselves as gods such as those worshipped by the Romans and Greeks and other pagan nations. They are certainly the lesser gods of Buddhism and Hinduism and the god, Allah. The human race has even elevated men and women to the position of gods, such is man’s reluctance to worship the One and Only True Elohim. And the Satan has conjured up these lesser being

Psalm 77:12 Let's meditate on Your mighty deeds Let’s consider some of God’s works and those mighty deeds, shall we?  For all of us everything starts when an all-powerful Being decides to create a universe!! He fills the heavens with billions of stars and interweaves their sparkling beauty into a breath-taking canopy of light. In one of the galaxies, He constructs a planet out of floating debris and calculates everything that is necessary for life to flourish. He then breathes His life and energy into this world and its inhabitants.  Into that scenario He places creatures made like Himself and hands them control of the planet and its resources. High above, in the heavens, He places a ball of fire to give heat and light. He adds a smaller reflective orb that illuminates the night but also uses its gravitational power to give tides to the oceans and seasons to the earth. That’s just the beginning of the picture, it would take more than a thousand lifetimes to paint in the fine detail

Psalm 77:10-11 We will remember You Our writer has a blinding moment of revelation here and everything changes. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and attributing blame, he suddenly changes direction and focus, and the world immediately becomes a different place. All that he does is to switch “thinking mode”. Instead of concentrating on the present troubles, and even lamenting the “good old days”, the psalmist takes a leap of faith. Usually, faith requires that we look forwards and anticipate, here faith instructs him to look backwards and remember. Remember the deeds of the Lord, remember when the Most High stretched out His right hand, remember the miracles of long ago.  I trust that we all have a reservoir of such memories. The Lord is very quick to start providing such moments in the lives of young, genuine believers, He ensures that we all have our mountain-top moments early on so that we can look back with wonder and amazement when the going gets tough. And then, one day, He may a

Psalm 77:9 Is God merciful? his is the last of these difficult verses that have been so full of woe and that even dare to question the integrity of Almighty God. The writer has two more questions,  “Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”  We might be appalled at these allegations if it were not for the fact that the lament that people make in our day, time and again, is “Why does God allow suffering?”  It’s the same old complaint and one that is very hard to answer when people are going through great distress and sorrow.   In fact, all 6 of these questions in verses 7-9 are repeated in various formats and have been heard throughout the history of the human race. We can almost imagine Adam leaning on his fork, after he had been expelled from the Garden of Eden, and asking the same things. And it is not always easy to tell if the questions are sincere or if they are an excuse for rejecting the Lord and renouncing any belief in Him.  As we shall see, t

Psalm 77:8 Big Questions! The “darker” section of this song contains 6 big questions. The first two were dealt with in the verse 7.  “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favour again? ” These are not unique; they are the kind of questions that countless people have asked over the centuries. These questions are the consequence of doubt, they come to us at a time when we cannot understand the ways of God, we have lost control of our own destinies, we no longer know what the future holds and because of our distress we start to question the Lord. We question His integrity. We question His intentions. We even question the truth of His Word.  “Has His unfailing love vanished forever?”  In our state of confusion, we realise that we always believed that God’s love would prevail and that this was a foundation in our lives. His provision and protection were unquestioned, but now it is not possible to be so sure. How terrible it would be to discover that the love of God has its l

Psalm 77:5-7 Thinking about the former days It’s difficult to sperate these verses as we lay beside our friend, the Psalm writer, and share his terrors. His mood has changed as he reflects on events of long ago. Perhaps he was thinking about the time that the Lord delivered the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Perhaps he pondered the             events that unfolded as Israel began its conquest of the Canaanite tribes that held their unholy grip on the Promised Land. Names like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon filtered through his tortured mind. Maybe this man has enjoyed personal times of prosperity and close fellowship with the Lord God in earlier years, after all he was probably a member of the family of Asaph and as such, he had witnessed some of the great days of triumph and celebration at the Temple.  And now this deeply depressed man recalls his own songs, the ones he sang in the night, and he asks,  “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favour again? ”

Psalm 77:4 i was too troubled to speak This verse describes the nadir of depression and anxiety. Firstly, sleep does not come. Our minds can be so troubled that to slip off into peaceful rest is impossible. Rest is a state of mind, it comes easily to those who have no fears and who are not troubled. The very best rest in the world is available to those who trust completely in the Lord, they are free from any worries or troubles. “ In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.”  Psalm 4:8. Prayer is a wonderful antidote to stress and having a troubled mind, prayer allows us to pass the buck, to cast our cares onto the shoulders of someone so much bigger and greater than ourselves. That is why it is good to pray before we sleep! Strangely the verse here blames God for the sleeplessness, “ You kept my eyes from closing !” Maybe there was good reason for this Psalm writer to stop and review all that had happened to him, and to God’s people? We shall see.

Psalm 77:3 The dark night of the soul This verse describes a time of deep soul searching as the writer cries out for help. Sometimes remembering who God is and what He has done can be painful! His righteousness and truth are overwhelming. How can we dare to approach such a One? His deeds and His power are terrifying; such is His influence in the world, who are we to approach Him? As we think about His awesome interventions in history, we can feel very insignificant and also unworthy. There is a suggestion that the word “meditated” here is correctly translated “complained”, and as the writer did so he found himself overwhelmed.  To experience “the dark night of the soul” is difficult, we will be subject to many differing emotions and a sense of helplessness and despair. We know that God is present but feel utterly unfit to approach Him and also overawed by the immensity of who He is. The “accuser” will seek to convince us that God is not listening and that He does not care. As we recall

Psalm 77:1-2 Seeking the Lord when all else fails A quick browse through this Psalm leaves me wondering if it is a prayer that it is being uttered here, or is the writer taking time out to reflect on events in the past and revealing his despair and how the Lord God brought him through a time of trial? In which case it is a testimony. I think we will settle for the latter explanation.  Maybe we too can look back on events and periods in our lives when we were going though deep trials and we cried out to the Lord. If so, then we may well be able to testify to His provision and that He came to our aid in the midst of the darkness. We will identify with verses 1-9 as the Psalmist describes his woes, hopefully we will also remember how the Lord delivers His people and that we can apply these lessons from the past to our own situations. V10-20.   V1-2    It’s not an uncommon scenario in the Psalms; a beleaguered soul, at the end of himself, crying out to the Lord. We tend to think that we sh

Psalm 76:12 Where is the king who fears the Lord? The last verse of this Psalm is a summary of all of its content. We began by surmising that it may have been celebrating the dramatic way in which the Lord overcame the Assyrian army, without an Israeli arrow being fired! Certainly, Sennacherib’s spirit was broken and he retreated, “ So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.”  1 Kings 19:36. The arrogant, boastful ruler, who dared to confront the God of Judah, went home with his tail between his legs, his spirit was broken. News travels fast, there is no doubt that this particular event would have been described and discussed around the dwelling places of kings of the world at that time. The Psalm goes on to say that “ the Lord is feared by the kings of the earth.” Sadly, we live in a time when no one fears the Lord. I cannot think of one earthly ruler who is willing to acknowledge fear of the Lord, save our own Queen Elizabeth. As

Psalm 76:11 All about vows We have talked before about the use of vows in Bible times. The use of the word “vow” conveys the sense of a conscious, deliberate, promise to do something, sometimes conditioned by an “if”: Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 31 then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites– he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” (Jdg. 11:30-31 NET; Genesis 28:20-22; 31:13; Numbers 21:2; 1 Samuel 1:11) A vow may or may not be made “to” the Lord but it is made “before” or in the presence of the Lord. In other words, God is a witness to the vow. That makes it pretty solemn. By and large, a vow is considered binding, with very few exceptions. In the case of Israel’s covenant with the Gibeonites in Joshua 9, their covenant promise to protect the Gibeonites was honoured, even though this promise had been achieved de

Psalm 76:10 God's wrath brings Him praise There are several explanations of this frankly, puzzling verse. The first view is that when God rises up and pours out His judgements on the wicked and the enemies of His people, His people praise Him. When Sennacherib, King of the Assyrians, was vanquished, I’m sure there were great celebrations across the land of Israel. In the same way, the Psalms often reflect on the deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt and the name of the Lord is glorified as the people remember how the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea! However, the survivors are restrained in their praise because they are reminded of their own frailties and this God is not to be messed with! A slightly different translation of this verse suggests that it should read that it is the wrath of mankind directed against smaller and weaker countries that brings God praise, because He rises up against the bullies and in His own wrath, He crushes them. This explanation also fits th

Psalm 76:8-9 The will of God It’s a puzzling conundrum to ponder how God can be in more than one place! The Psalms are quite clear in their revelation of the presence of the Lord on Mount Zion, that He dwelt amongst His people in the Holy Place, on the sacred mountain in Jerusalem. However, it is also clear, as this verse shows us, that God is in heaven, and from heaven He pronounces judgement. The Lord is never confined to one place, He is both in all living things, but He is also over and separate from all living things. As a consequence, He encourages us to be  “seated with Christ in the heavenly realms”,  but also to know the intimacy of His presence in our hearts or inner temples, here on earth. God is spirit and He is not confined to time or place, He is free of earthly constraints, but He also chooses to be part of them. Part of you and me!  This same Being pronounces His judgements from heaven and they are immediately put into effect by His will on earth.  “You will be done on

Psalm 76:7 A God to be feared However much we talk and preach about a God of love, the Scriptures are quite clear, He is also a God to be feared. There needs to be a balance, hell-fire preachers rarely expressed the love of God, modern day Christianity does not accurately describe God’s anger and His justice. His majesty is fierce, He is the sovereign God and He rules over all of the powers and authorities, be it on earthy or in the heavens. God is also a God of wrath, remember Noah and the flood? The Egyptians and the plagues? Sennacherib and his army? The only reason that this evil world still stands is that the compassion and patience of the Lord are equal to His wrath and His justice. However, we all know that He will not be patient forever, He will not tolerate the antagonism of His enemies forever. God will not be mocked, He will deal with the world, and also individuals, in accordance with their works and their faith, or lack of it.  “Who can stand before You when you are angry

Psalm 76:5-6 At Your rebuke, God of Jacob As we have already commented, the theme of this Psalm fits very well with the story of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, and his arrogant attempts to take on Jerusalem, the city of our God. These events were covered in detail in verse 3. A similar scenario unfolded when Samaria was besieged by the Arameans, at the time of Elisha, and the enemy soldiers fled in the night because they thought they heard the sound of horses and chariots and a great army approaching! (2 Kings 6-7.) Another example of the Lord God delivering His people from overwhelming odds happened at the Red Sea when God rolled back the waters, the Hebrew slaves crossed over and then the waters returned to drown the pursuing Egyptian army. All of these events have a similar theme, Israel is pursued or surrounded and the enemy army is significantly stronger. In human and logistical terms, the situation is hopeless. Then, in steps Almighty God and suddenly the opposition are in tat

Psalm 76:4 You are radiant with light At first sight, this verse appears to be addressed to the Lord God, however after a moment of thought, it is obviously talking about a mountain, and the only mountain we have been considering in this Psalm, is Mount Zion. So, a comparison is being made here with other mountains that are rich with prey or game. Note that we commented, in verse 2, about the use of words associated with a lion. To hunter-gatherers the dream of a mountain rich with wildlife, where predators roam is a delightful prospect. Perhaps the verse is saying that Zion is more illustrious and glorious than any such place, for God dwells there. There is another explanation; it is to make a comparison between the mountain where God dwells and the other mountains where wild beasts roam. Wild beasts are often used in Scripture as metaphors for evil spirits, restless and wild. There is no place for them in the place where the Lord God dwells!  Whatever the full meaning of this verse,

Psalm 76:3 God is with us! 2 Kings chapters 18-19 describe the attempts by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, to surround and take control of Jerusalem in the time of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. Sennacherib wanted to negotiate a settlement and could not understand why Hezekiah believed that Israel would prevail in any battle. In chapter 19, Isaiah prophesies the fall of the Assyrians,  “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria, “he will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant .”  That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death and hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies! So, Sennacherib king of Assyria broke c