Daily Meditations

Psalm 84:5 Our strength is in Him Bearing in mind what the previous verse taught us about the word “blessed,” we come now to a curious phrase,  “Blessed are those whose strength is in you.”  I believe this to mean that our strength is not of ourselves, but we are dependent on someone else. A child’s strength is in its parents. A patient’s strength is in the doctors and nurses who provide care. To some extent a wife’s strength should be in her husband. All of these examples speak of dependency, usually in the sense of a weaker being trusting in one who is stronger in one or more areas. Our dependency on the Lord God goes a step further yes, we are weak and, yes, He is much stronger but to depend on Him is to acknowledge His control and supremacy in all things. It is not just that we let Him into the weak parts of our lives but that we hand everything to Him. It involves a decision to put Him in control even when we are strong, a patient does not need doctors and nurses when they are ful

Psalm 84:4 Dwelling in His house We’ve talked before about the meaning of the word “blessed.” Sadly, in English, it is a rather abstract term, it sounds nice, but it doesn’t really have much body to it, it can’t really be clearly defined. In Hebrew it is “barakh” which literally means to endow with gifts, to do something or give something of value to another. When God blesses us He comes from His throne of power, authority and holiness and He singles out individuals or groups of humans and makes Himself available. He provides for our needs, even before we know them ourselves! We are blessed. Our verse today asserts that there is special blessing for those who dwell in God’s house, not as priests but as God’s welcome guests in His royal, holy temple. We need to understand the thoughts of the writer here, there is no way that anyone could live in the inner sanctum of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, the best you could hope for was to spend some time in the outer courts. And yet, as we hav

Psalm 84:3 All about sparrows Any visitor to Jerusalem will know that the city is a haven for sparrows. Houses and other buildings in Middle Eastern cities are not built to keep out the cold with double-glazing and UPVC everywhere. There are literally millions of little holes and crevasses and places where birds can hide and build their nests. As a result, the air is filled with the sound of the sparrows at all times, and in the summer months, swallows, swifts and martins swoop across the rooftops. (Along with many other birds that I would love to mention but that would be totally irrelevant). Evidently nothing has changed for centuries, because these sights and sounds greeted visitors to the Temple back in the day when Psalm 84 was composed. And the author is envious. These winged avian residents and visitors can enter where he cannot! They nest and congregate around the Temple Courts, high up and out of the reach of man’s interference and so they occupy a place closer to God than any

Psalm 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord What a deeply passionate longing this verse describes! Look at the words used, the writer yearns, faints and cries out from his soul, his heart and his flesh. The soul is the seat of our emotions and our thoughts and our will, this man’s soul is emotionally tied to the Temple site. He is exhilarated and charged by the atmosphere of the place. It is so familiar and yet so sacred; it has deep and long-term attachments and to be away is heart-breaking.  It’s good to have a “place” where we feel close to the Lord God, a place that we miss when we are away even though we know that He is with us everywhere! The yearnings go deeper still, it’s not just the building and the ceremonies that are so painfully missed, the psalmist realises that outside of the Temple he has no access to his God. There is a dull ache within him and a heart-breaking desire for intimacy. That longing is expressed in cries and pleadings as his flesh give

Psalm 84:1 A longing for the House of the Lord This Psalm was written by one of the sons of Korah, the musical division of the Levites if you like, a man who had served faithfully at the Tabernacle or the Temple. It’s obvious that he was no longer able to serve God in this way and we can only assume that this was because access had been barred by enemy forces or maybe by deportation. This son of Korah longs for the times long past when the daily rituals were at their height and the annual festivals were fulfilled, when vast crowds visited the Temple and when the worship of the Lord God was at the centre of the life of the nation. May this beautiful Psalm inspire us to long for such occasions and to make the most of the freedom and the fellowship we enjoy. Let us not have to suffer the loss of these things before we realise how valuable they are! V1        The opening verse of the Psalm uses the word “lovely”, the Hebrew word is better translated “loved” or “beloved”. And what was it th

Psalm 83:18 The Most High over all the earth! This has been a somewhat troubling Psalm but also instructive, for it has allowed us to study the enemies of Israel and their origins. Not many people are aware that most of these warring neighbours of Israel were actually related and some of them were the product of the misdemeanours of Israel’s ancestors. Just a few days ago I was preaching on Romans 1:16, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”  Just as Paul would boast in His Lord, so the Jews long before Him, were encouraged to do the same,  “Let them know that You, whose name is the Lord – that You alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Psalm 83 then, encourages its readers and singers to get out there and make the Lord known, to declare to an unbelieving world that He is the Lord of all, that all the pagan gods are nothing, there is only One Most High! This langua

Psalm 83:17 May they ever be ashamed and disgraced This verse may initially seem to be contradictory. How can we pray that people be ashamed and dismayed and perish in disgrace? I think the writer is talking firstly about the time that Israel’s enemies have left in this world, and then he is anticipating their future destiny. A plea like this, in our age of tolerance, seems to be both vengeful and driven by anger, however, we need to remember that things were very black and white at the time this was written. You were either one of God’s chosen people or you were not. You were either appointed to live in God’s land or you were an unwelcome intruder. You either believed the Torah and the other Scriptures or you were a pagan who followed other Gods – and every culture worshipped someone. There were no grey areas and those who were outside of God’s promises were excluded from His blessings. In this context it was right to pray that the pagans ought to be,  “Forever ashamed and dismayed.”

Psalm 83:13-16 Tumbleweed and chaff These verses can hardly be commented upon in isolation, they graphically depict the kind of judgements that Israel wanted the Lord God to exercise over their enemies. Tumbleweeds are just twisted balls of dead vegetation that get blown across desert landscapes until they fall apart and are dried up by the sun. Chaff, of course, is the remains of corn that has been threshed, in ancient times the threshed ears would be tossed into the air so that the wind would blow away the useless plant remains and only the grain remained. This prayer reveals how God’s people viewed their enemies. In similar manner they pleaded for the Lord to become a raging bush fire that consumed all before it, or a hurricane force wind that brought terror to all in its path. However, Israel’s pleading was not just the vengeful cries of merciless victims. The heart of the Psalm reveals a longing that God’s enemies would be ashamed, that they would realise how foolish and deceived

Psalm 83:11-12 Possessing the pasturelands of God We’re back again with the story of the conquest of the Midianites. Gideon had led a tiny army of 300 men against them at night using torches and pitchers, causing the Midianite soldiers to turn on one another in the darkness, and then to flee from the mighty horde that was obviously attacking them! That was not the end of the matter. Gideon and his men pursued the fleeing invaders and called upon the men of the tribes of Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh to help them. Messengers were also despatched to the hill country of Ephraim who arranged control of the land around the River Jordan to the north of the Dead Sea. Remember the Midianites were fleeing south and the Ephraimites were able to capture two of their leaders, Oreb and Zeeb, both men were killed. Meanwhile, Gideon and his forces crossed the River Jordan and headed east through Succoth and then Peniel until they caught up with two more of the Midianite leaders who were heading up the

Psalm 83:10 Jabin and Sisera v Deborah and Barak This verse prompts us to have a closer look at the defeat of Jabin and Sisera. (A story that can be followed in detail in Judges 4.) Apart from the Philistines (Palestinians), most of Israel’s antagonists came from outside of the land. The trouble they caused was primarily from cross-border raids, the adjoining Moabites and Ammonites were annoyingly regular at this. Jabin was a different proposition, having been previously conquered by Joshua he resettled in a Canaanite city in the north and with the help of Sisera, who commanded his army, he  “cruelly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years.”  Judges 4:3. A cry went up to the Lord and Deborah, a prophetess, decided something should be done about it!  In answering the call, Deborah became a singular biblical figure: a female military leader. She recruited a man, General Barak,   to stand by her side , telling him God wanted the armies of Israel to attack the Canaanites who were persecuting

Psalm 83:9 The end of Midian According to Genesis 25:1-2 the   Midianites   were the descendants of  Midian  who was a son of Abraham and his wife Keturah:  "Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah".  Later, Moses met a Midianite priest  called Jethro  (also known as  Reuel ) and went on to marry his daughter, Zipporah. Jethro advised Moses on establishing a system of delegated legal decision-making.   The Midianites were lived in the Arab Peninsula somewhere east of the Gulf of Aqaba and were yet another thorn in Israel’s flesh until the time of the Judges, when Gideon went against them, and little is heard of them after that.  In Judges 4 we read of the defeat of the Canaanite coalition between Sisera and Jabin who were defeated by Barak.  The conquests mentioned in this verse seem to have been permanent and are highlighted in the Psalm as occasions when God destroyed Israel’s enemies

Psalm 83:5-8c Internal and external threats The threat to Israel from the west and the Mediterranean coast came in the form of the Philistines. In Deuteronomy 2:23 and Jeremiah 47:4 these people are described as coming from Caphtor or Crete. Other ancient manuscripts describe them as the Sea Peoples that invaded Egypt and then settled on the Mediterranean coastlands from Joppa (Tel Aviv) in the north to Gaza in the south.  The area contained the five cities of the Philistine confederacy, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. The region controlled by them was called Philistia, the Greeks renamed it Palestine. The stories of Samson, Saul, David and others highlight the continuous struggle that the Israelites had with their Philistine neighbours. Today the conflict still goes on with the Palestinian people and there are constant reminders of the ancient threat, for no Arab speaks of Israel, to them the land is still Palestine. The significance of the Philistines is that they always oper

Psalm 83:5-8b Family feuds We carry on with a brief look at the nations who surrounded Israel and who formed pacts and alliances to bring the nation down. Enter the Hagrites (or Hagarenes) who as the name suggests, were related to Hagar and the Ishmaelites. They lived a nomadic life with their animal herds, east of the River Jordan, and therefore were not associated with a particular location. (Not unlike the Bedouin tribes of modern times.) Byblos is an extraordinary inclusion in this list of troublesome neighbours. It probably had to be included because it is one of the oldest Phoenician cities in the world with records going back to nearly 5,000 BC! The city survives to this day and is situated in Lebanon, 26 miles north of Beirut. The name Byblos is Greek for papyrus which was exported to the Aegean through Byblos. We get the word Bible from this city, Bible literally means “the papyrus book.” Now we come to the Amalekites. Amalek was a grandson of Esau and continued the family hos

Psalm 83:5-8a Unhelpful ancestry! These verses have to be studied together because they provide a list of the nations that had threatened Israel at the time Psalm 83 was written. We start with those whose roots were in the historic ancestry of the Jews.  Ishmael was the son of Abram and Hagar, Abram’s wife’s maidservant. Hagar was Egyptian and she conceived after childless Abram and Sarah decided to circumvent God’s covenant promises and provide their own heir. Ishmael went on to sire 1 daughter and 12 sons, and Islamic tradition names these as the 12 Princes or the 12 tribes of Ishmael. Ishmael’s descendants – the Arabs, and Isaac’s offspring – the Jews, have been enemies for centuries. When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah controlled the land of Canaan, the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom ruled east of the Jordan.  Edom was located in the south of what is Jordan today and as the text tells us, the Edomites lived in tents and occupied land around the Gulf of Aqaba. The Edomites were

Psalm 83:4 "Let us destroy them" It is easy to treat the pages of history as just interesting facts and figures about our ancestors. In fact, most history books and history writers do just that, they look at events that have passed and try to uncover the truth, and then they comment on its relevance. Their perspective is usually within the context of a certain nation or group or individual.  The Bible goes deeper, it tells us what ancient enemies were thinking. It tells us about the motives and reasons for their hostilities but then the Scriptures go further still, they inform about the spiritual powers that drive the world. We should never forget that the land of Israel is God’s land, given to Israel as tenants. They do not own it; listen to these words from God to Israel.   “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redempt

Psalm 83:3 The plots of the enemy This is another verse that must be understood in the context in which it was written. Israel historically suffered from the threats of her enemies but, the verse also has a wider, prophetic interpretation, it applies to the Jews today and it also applies to the church of Jesus Christ today.  The physical enemies of Israel and the spiritual enemies of the church have a number of things in common; they are cunning, they hatch schemes and plots, they collaborate together, and the objects of their intrigues are always the people of God, be it the people of the land or the people of the body! The conspiracies are relentless, and they are purposefully harmful and concocted to cause maximum damage to the victims. There are two things that we must always keep in mind:  Firstly, those victims are the ones that God cherishes. The fact that we are under attack is evidence that we belong to Him! If we walk in His ways, obey His commands and worship Him as our God

Psalm 83:2 See how your enemies growl! Snarling, growling, baying, roaring – any of these words could be used to describe the ominous activity of Israel’s enemies. Threats, intimidation, bullying, all of these were an everyday experience for the average Israelite. The Israelis today face the same kind of antagonism from their immediate neighbours, such as Syria and Lebanon, Jordan, Iran and Egypt. But they must also keep careful watch over the activities of their more distant adversaries including Turkey, Russia, Libya and Sudan. In fact, they do wonder at times if there is any other country in the world that can be trusted! In many ways, the whole world is antisemitic. Sadly, few in Israel pray this prayer,  “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.”  We must pray for them and keep constant watch over the land and the nation for their destiny is great, even though most do not realise it.  Every true believer in Jesus Christ will be aware of the insidious and siniste

Psalm 83:1 When the world is against us We’re continuing our musical journey with Asaph, or in this case, one of his descendants. You will remember that Asaph was a Levite with extraordinary musical and poetic talents who lived at the time of David. This Psalm was written at least after the reign of Solomon, and so we conclude that songs written by Asaph’s descendants were added to the family catalogue and attributed to the “Asaph” name. Clearly, Psalm 83 is set against a background of trouble and the threatening activities of many enemies. However, it’s a job to date it exactly as some of those mentioned did not come against Israel all at the same time. Maybe then, the Psalm is meant to be an overview of the trials and threats over a period of time, at least up until the Assyrian invasion and the destruction of the 10 northern tribes.    V1        This verse is a common plea from the lips of a beleaguered nation. Israel constantly faced incursions from the surrounding countries. They

Psalm 82:8 The earth  belongs  to God This seems like a prayer for our time. As I write there is famine and starvation across Africa. Floods in Pakistan and Australia. Devastating hurricanes in America. “Climate change” affecting the whole world. War between Russia and the Ukraine. Rising inflation and higher prices globally ….. the list goes on and on and the daily headlines are always negative. Domestic politics are in a complete mess, as I write we are witnessing the crumbling of Liz Truss’s government and Parliament seems to have no suitable leaders to guide the country through tough times. Let this then, be our prayer,  “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.”  Yesterday, my wife and I were sharing with others, the many Scriptures that point to a time when God will intervene to save Israel because the nations of the world have come together to destroy her. On that day the Jews will mourn the One they pierced, and they will cry out to God to save

Psalm 82:7 Mere mortals! Some of us lived through the latter years of the 1980’s  when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  She worked with  the US President Ronald Reagan to  wage a confrontation with communism during the Cold War. However, she also promoted collaboration with Soviet leader  Mikhail Gorbachev in ending the Cold War. At the time the media was full of the dialogue and relationships between these three World Leaders and barely a day went by when they were not making headline news, especially when the Berlin Wall fell and Europe and the whole world rejoiced at what they thought was the beginning of a new era of peace and stability on the earth.  A generation has already passed that has barely heard of the three leaders. They seemed like they were “gods” for a few years, but they died like mere mortals. Gorbachev was the last to pass away on 30 th  August 2022, just 9 days before Queen Elizabeth 11 who had been a participator in those heady events.

Psalm 82:6 The "other" gods Many Bible verses put mankind in his place but also gave us hope for the future and this is one of them. We’ve already discussed the role of those who rule over and judge others, be they national rulers, the leaders of organisations or those who have power and authority to legally pass judgement on their fellow men. All such are labelled as “gods” by this Psalm. In other words, they have either promoted themselves to such positions or they have been elected or appointed to be “gods” over others but ultimately, they are appointed by God.  This verse reminds us that despite what they think they may be, all such “gods” are actually sons of the Most High. Any position of influence is His appointment, all who fulfil these roles are His representatives, they will be judged accordingly, whether they acknowledge God or not. Daniel once told Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon,  “The Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone

Psalm 82:5 The gods know nothing  The legal system of any society is its rock and its foundation. If the right building blocks are in place and they are maintained, then all that is built upon them will stand. Governments have to rule based on the law of the land. Everything is based on laws, from the immense interaction of galaxies in the universe to the tiniest microbes that are unseen by human eyes. Empires and kingdoms need law and order as does a new-born baby. If the laws that run transport systems and offices and schools and hospitals break down, their organisations start to crumble and falter and before long they are in chaos. The same principles apply to the moral world. The highest moral laws are God’s, obey them and all will be well. As soon as we abandon His principles and re-write them with our own, chaos is imminent.  That is why this Psalm is so stinging in its condemnation of the “gods”. They know nothing, they understand nothing, and they fail to submit themselves to t

Psalm 82:3-4 Defend, Uphold. Rescue. Deliver. Before we explore this verse further, we need to remind ourselves that this is God speaking to men, not the other way around. This is God giving instructions to the “gods”, the rulers and leaders and judges and all who are in positions of power over their fellow men and women. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to such people, “ Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”  I can think of no political leaders or parties that have come to power on the basis of such policies in my lifetime. The mantra of the rulers tends to be, “Defend the strong and those who are self-sufficient; uphold the cause of the rich and the free. Rescue the wealthy; deliver them from the hand of the lower classes.” What a turnaround in society there would be if our politicians and leaders had a genuine heart for the impoverished and the downtrodden. It

Psalm 82:2 God sees it all One of the greatest stains on the history of mankind has been the never-ending injustice that has been perpetrated, usually by the rich and powerful. Injustice can, on occasions, be driven by wrongly conceived information. Lies have been told, false witnesses have come forward, the truth has been twisted and someone has been judged incorrectly. However, most injustice is caused by expediency, the perpetrator has used his / her power to get their own way. Their motives are usually greed, self-preservation, reputation, pride, ambition and a callous disregard for those who, they believe,  obstruct them. It starts in the school playground, and it carries on into the higher echelons of politics and government.  In this verse God makes it clear that He sees it all. He is particularly scathing towards the “gods”, those in authority who use their positions to defend the unjust and to show partiality to the wicked.  Let us be fair, unbiassed and honest in all our judg

Psalm 82:1a God presides ..... among the gods This verse has more to teach us because it was quoted by Jesus in John 10. In v34 the Lord reminds his listeners that their leaders were called “gods.” (Notice there is no capital G.) He has just announced that He is the Good Shepherd and that He and the Father are one! This didn’t go down well with His Jewish listeners who considered this dramatic pronouncement to be nothing short of blasphemy! They were ready to stone Him! He was obviously just a man; how could He claim to be God?  John 10:34, “ Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken…” What did Jesus mean when He said that “ Is it not written in your Law?”  I think He might have been referring to the Torah (first 5 Books of the Bible) and to the time when Moses pleaded with God to send someone else to Pharaoh to demand the release of the

Psalm 82:1 A call for justice A first reading of this Psalm will raise a few eyebrows, there are a number of questions to answer: - ·        Where and what is the great assembly? ·        Who are the “gods” – the sons of the Most High, who will die like mere mortals? ·        How does God defend the unjust? ·        How does God show partiality to the wicked? ·        What is the meaning of the foundations of the earth being shaken?   There are at least three scenarios that will fit into this Psalm. God is, of course, the President, the Judge, and the King of all things who has the last word. The “gods” could be the unjust leaders and rulers of Israel. Alternatively, they could be the kings and rulers of the nations who are so powerful and conceited that they think they are divine beings. The final scenario is a spiritual one; the Psalm is speaking to the evil powers and authorities, under Satan’s control, that rule over the earth. Perhaps the Psalm is embracing all these situations, l

Psalm 81:16 Would be or will be? Isn’t it ridiculous? How unpredictable we are in our relationship with God. The Bible is full of His promises, and we know that He keeps them. We have tasted His blessings. We have experienced the love, joy and peace that come from being close to Him. We know that keeping short accounts with Him and living His way is the best thing in the whole world! And yet, and yet we constantly rebel, disobey, try to manage our own affairs and defy the voice that rebukes our attitudes and our behaviour. I never cease to be ashamed of my stupidity and my willingness to block my ears to His commands. I know that He will always bless me and I know that what He says is right, but there are times when I don’t want to listen! Israel was no different. You will have noted that much of this Psalm is in the past tense, God does not say “I will” but “I would.” His blessing is conditional, if His people obeyed and trusted Him it would read, “I will” but they didn’t obey and tru

Psalm 81:15 God's enemies bring before Him These verses remind me somewhat of an exasperated parent. I can hear my mother’s words ringing in my ears, “If you would only do as I say!” Let’s follow the statements that come from the heart of our heavenly Father to Israel. First the plea for obedience: - ·        If my people would only listen to me ·        If Israel would only follow my ways And then the consequences of obedience: - ·        How quickly I would subdue their enemies ·        How quickly I would turn my hand against their foes ·        Those who hate the Lord would cringe before Him ·        Their punishment would last forever   Israel has, in recent times, obeyed the Lord even though most of them do not know it! Many have returned to their land having travelled from every corner of the earth. In the War of Independence, the Six Day War and Yom Kippur, God subdued their enemies and turned His hand against their foes. Read the accounts, in each case, Israel’s victory wa

Psalm 81:13-14 If my people would only listen to me If yesterday’s “cause and effect” was dramatic, today’s is no less so.  The cause: - “ If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways.” The effect: -  “How quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. ” Surely these statements give us an insight into the heart of Almighty God, who never changes. These verses are the antithesis of what goes before them. In verses 11-12 we see what happens when people will not listen and will not submit. Now we see what God will do when people do listen and follow His ways. I have not the slightest doubt that these factors are still crucial in Israel’s relationship with the Lord God, and they are fundamental to our relationship with Him too. Everything that is going wrong in our country today is caused by people not listening to God and not submitting to Him. It would only take a change of heart and a willingness to follow God’s ways and the fortun