Daily Meditations

 We have come to the end of Psalm 92  and I shall now be on Holiday for 2 weeks so we will start meditating on Psalm 93 on my return. 

Psalm 92:15 He is my Rock The last verse of this Psalm is a public announcement, a proclamation that comes from the mouths of the righteous. It is a declaration made by those who have enjoyed the company of the Lord over a number of years, thus it is most likely made by those who have reached old age. Looking back, these people are able to testify to their years of experience of walking by faith, they have known the trials and sufferings of life as well as the highs and the moments of joy. On reflection they are able to say with sincerity and with conviction,  “The Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.” Notice that this public announcement has to do with the character of God rather than His mighty works or words. There is almost a suggestion here that the author of the Psalm expected to find some flaw, some failure, some small evidence of a tarnished reputation but, no, he can say after many years’ experiences, that the Lord God is beyond reproach. He never

Psalm 92:14 The benefits of old age! What a delightful verse, yet again! There is hope for those of us who are growing older, with our white hair and our creaking limbs. What is more, I can bear testimony that the Psalm writer speaks the truth. For those who are planted by the Lord and who are rooted in Him, the process of spiritual old age is not at all bleak or fruitless, in actual fact the pleasures of His company and the revelation of the myriad of dazzling gems of His truth multiply daily. When the roots go deep after many years of struggles, there is a sense of contentment and peace that youth could never understand. This is no more evident than in the pleasure taken from daily excursions into these Psalms, the emotional heart of the Scriptures. What a feast they provide, what moments of illumination and what inspiration for daily living! In addition, the fruit of changing character and the faith to minister to others in God’s strength rather than our own, are these not part of t

Psalm 92:13 Planted in the Lord's house We have deliberated on the choice of trees in verse 12; the fruitful palm with its strong root system and its ability to bend before the storms, and the mighty cedar that is equally robust and resistant to all threats, whose roots go down as far as its branches rise up. These arboreal pictures are used to describe the truly righteous, those who set themselves apart from wickedness and who also have strong roots and healthy branches and who can withstand all that is thrown at them. The Psalm continues to compare the righteous with the two trees and the comparisons are delightful. In verse 7, the wicked spring up like grass, grass that does not last, that is insignificant and easily troubled by drought and disease. Not so the righteous, for they are planted in a secure place, and they keep on growing, retaining their life and energy from childhood to old age.  David famously wrote, in Psalm 23, about dwelling in the House of the Lord forever, t

Psalm 92:12b Growing like cedars In Bible times, cedar wood was sought-after for a number of reasons. Obviously, the wood was very desirable, it had no knots in it and it was used to adorn the Temple and royal palaces. It was an expensive wood and was durable because it did not decay, and it was generally resistant to disease. A cedar can grow up to 120 feet and its branches spread wide at right angles to the trunk. The roots go down as deep as the branches go up and it is little surprise to learn that this was known as the “king of trees”, even its name means “firm or strong”.  By the way, there is a beautiful passage in Ezekiel 31:3-7 where Assyria is likened to a cedar tree that towers over the other nations of the earth. So why Lebanon? Lebanon means “whiteness”, it comes from the Hebrew  “lawban”,  the same word that is used in Isaiah 1:18, “ Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white “lawban” as snow.”  Lebanon was renowned for its snow-capped mountains and the cedars

Psalm 92:12a All about Palm trees The palm tree described here in the Psalm was likely a date palm, which was commonly grown in the Middle East. (And I quote)  Date palms are slow-growing trees that do not bear fruit immediately. Patience is needed for them to grow tall and reach maturity.  Patience is also needed for the fruit. It takes five to eight years before the palm tree will bear fruit. The tree will produce approximately 22 pounds of fruit in its first crop, but then it will rapidly increase the fruit it bears, yielding upwards of 200 pounds of fruit when it’s 30 years old! While its productivity declines after 60 years, a date palm can still produce fruit when it’s 80 years old. Like a palm tree, the righteous are pictured as bearing fruit. This is also reiterated in the New Testament, where Jesus referred to the righteous as the seed that fell on the good ground and bore fruit (Matthew 13:8, 23). To produce spiritual fruit, we must work on our spiritual garden—turning the so

Psalm 92:11 My eyes have seen my ears have heard Well, it seems that when military conquest is complete there are two senses that come into play, what you see and what you hear. Imagine yourself as the General or Captain of a victorious army, of course the sweet taste of victory is based on what you can see. The enemy has gone, the army has retreated, the violent attacks have ended, there is no sign of your opponents or of their weaponry. And, still ringing in your ears are the sounds of their retreat, their cries of surrender and the whimpering, pleading voices begging for mercy. We might feel sorry if it were not for the fact that this enemy was driven by wickedness and by evil intent. Their goal was destruction, and their greatest foe was the Lord God Himself. They intended to demonstrate that they and their gods, were more powerful than Elohim Elyon.   You and I are not involved in a military campaign against human forces although we may well be forced to act when we are falsely ac

Psalm 92:10 Wild oxes and fine oils! This verse causes us to wonder who the author was? As we have noted, the Psalm was written specifically to be corporately played and sung on the Sabbath, but there appears to be a personal note in it too. Someone wrote these words because their enemies were overcome, and the victor had been exalted before the Lord. The horn represents status and position, it is a symbol of pride, I mean who does not notice the horns of the ox? They are synonymous with the animal’s strength and power but on a wild ox, they are also to be feared. As we noted from Psalm 23:5, oil was customarily used to anoint the head of an honoured guest at a banquet. It could also be used as a cleansing treatment in preparation for worship, (2 Samuel 12:20) and in times when bodily cleanliness was not as strict as it is today, lotions were popularly used for public gatherings! In this Psalm the writer has had fine oils poured over him, so he was not anointed for personal cleanliness

Psalm 92:9 Your enemies will perish Who are the enemies of God? The answer to this question should be clear by now although it seems that the Psalms paint a picture of varying degrees of enmity! In one sense, we are all God’s enemies, we ignore Him, disobey Him and sadly, disbelieve Him, even those of us who call Him our Father. By His grace He forgives and chooses to overlook our foolishness and He has washed away our sins by the blood of His Son’s sacrifice.  Then there is a vast swathe of people who supplant Yahweh as their God by with idols, religion and pagan worship. These people recognise that they need faith and that they must place that faith in a greater being, their problem is that they trust in gods who have been invented by men. They are the enemies of the true God.  There are a number of categories of the enemies of God but surely the worst are those who vehemently deny His existence, who parade their ignorance as truth and who arrogantly pronounce every kind of falsehood

Psalm 92:8 Forever exalted The theme of the destruction of God’s enemies is constant throughout Scripture. He must triumph. He must be exalted. His kingdom must succeed and ultimately, bring about the annihilation of all His foes. If not, He would not be God! The pronouncements against the sin of man and the deceptions of the devil began in the Garden of Eden. God showed His hand of righteous judgement at the Flood. He further revealed His anger with man’s arrogance at the Tower of Babel. His judgements were poured out on the Egyptians and then against the enemies of Israel on the wilderness journey to Canaan. The Israelites themselves suffered when they disobeyed and rebelled against the Lord once they had been established in the Promised Land, 10 of the tribes were lost after the incursions of the Assyrians and Babylonians. The pagan tribes of Canaan experienced the anger of God against their sin and their idolatry and later the Jews were to experience the withdrawal of God’s blessin

Psalm 92:6-7 Senseless people The division between the wicked and the righteous is a constant theme of the Psalms, as we have seen. On the one hand we have a group of people who praise the Lord and make music to Him. They continue to do this day and night as they revel in His deeds and His greatness, as revealed by the works of His hands. By contrast, there is another group who have no understanding of God’s greatness or creative power, they are described here as senseless fools and while they may appear to flourish, they will be destroyed forever.  My wife rose early on Easter Sunday morning just a couple of days ago, to prepare for a house full of family members as well as church events. The bedside radio caught my attention, as I also prepared to face the day! This is the morning when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and the great minds of the BBC had chosen to air a discussion programme about the origins of the earth. I was bemused and then angry to hear that there seems to be in

Psalm 92:56 His works and His thoughts This verse says, in a few words, what the whole Bible seeks to teach us about God. His thoughts are His words, and His words are His acts. At Creation God had in mind to create a beautiful world, warmed by the sun and covered with productive life and energy. As He thought it into being, God spoke. When God speaks, words like  “Let there be light,”  are so powerful that light appears! It has to happen; God thought it and spoke it and thus it takes effect. Who can begin to imagine the thoughts of this God? Who can stand against the authority of His voice? Who can halt the deeds of God? The words quoted here are linked to the Song of Moses, recorded in Exodus 15:1-18. This is and was sung in Synagogues on Sabbath evenings to celebrate the deliverance of Israel from Egypt,  “Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”  Exodus 15:11. In Revelation 15 we read of the song of the angels

Psalm 92:4 You make me glad As I write, this is Sunday 9 th  April 2023, Easter Sunday! What a great way to begin the celebration of the resurrection of Yeshua from the dead! The deeds of the Lord God are revealed in that quiet Garden belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. The ground trembles, hardened Roman soldiers fall to the ground in terror and remain unconscious. The large stone in front of the tomb is moved aside by an angel and from that darkened cave emerges a figure, triumphant in the early morning sunshine. Two angels of the Lord with appearances like lightning and wearing clothes as white as snow appear and engage with all who come near,  “He is not here, He is risen!” This scene alone is enough to fill us with joy and to make us glad. Look at what the mighty hand of God has done, He has overcome the curse of death, He has raised Jesus Christ from the grave. Death is no longer our victor; its stranglehold has been broken and our Lord now holds the keys of life and death. Sin and

Psalm 92:3 Lyres and harps The book of Psalms has 'gems' and this is one of them. Psalteries, tabrets, viols and harps or stringed instruments, are symbols for ordinances, laws or statutes; godly or ungodly.  The Lyre was an ancient string instrument of ten strings used to accompany the voice. Standing almost three feet tall, the lyre had of two sets of strings (five on each side of the instrument) that could be played in much the same manner as modern cellos/guitars (by plucking with the fingers) or possibly with a bow.  The '10 strings' denote the 10 commandments of Moses on 2 tablet stones which is also reflected in the 2 sides of the 'ten stringed instrument'.  So, the stones inside the Holiest Place, inside the Ark of the Covenant, were represented by the instruments that were played in the public courts outside! It's the same figure of harps and 'stringed instruments' to typify ordinances or laws illustrated in Isaiah 14:11-12 in that the devil

Psalm 92:2 Love and faithfulness There is a coupling in this verse that has occurred before in our meditations. So far as the Lord is concerned, love and faithfulness always go together. These are two of the highest qualities of our God and cannot be separated. Love is the root of faithfulness and faithfulness is one of the greatest expressions of love. Love is hard to define, it has many branches. At its best it is self-sacrificing devotion to another; true love runs so deep that it would give up everything of self for the benefit of the one who is loved. Love cannot be costed or explained, it is a heartfelt emotion, but it is also a calculated decision to elevate another person or being to the highest place in our affections. As a consequence we will be faithful in all that we do and say and never shirk from our devotion to the object of our love.  God sees you and I in that way, He loves us and so He will always be faithful. He watches out for us, He considers our needs above His ow

Psalm 92:1 Lord Most High After the Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, the Temple rituals were reinstated, and the sacrificial ceremonies reintroduced. The morning sacrifice was accompanied by Levites singing Psalms and there were different songs for each day of the week. This is the Psalm that was sung on the Sabbath Day. Just for interest, the following formed the backbone of the weekly programme: - Sabbath           Psalm 92 Sunday            Psalm 24 Monday           Psalm 48 Tuesday           Psalm 82 Wednesday     Psalm 94 Thursday         Psalm 81 Friday              Psalm 93   V1        We commented on the title “Most High” in the previous Psalm;  “t he description of the Lord God as the Most High is important in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is ELOHIM ELYON which literally means that there is none higher or greater than He.”  Therefore, it is appropriate, when we come together with others who believe, to sing out His praises and make music. This is not just a timele

Psalm 91:16 The gift of long life Do you remember the doom and gloom of Psalm 90?  “You turn people back to dust.” “You sweep people away in the sleep of death.” “Like new grass in the morning we spring up but by evening we are dry and withered.” “Our days quickly pass, and we fly away.”  That melancholy song of Moses has now been replaced by a song of hope, for those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will be protected and guarded and satisfied with long life. So, is the Bible contradicting itself? Not at all, we only have to look inside ourselves honestly and we know that there are times when we feel very down and negative, and there are other times when our cries to the Lord are full of positivity and hope. The Lord understands our changeable emotions, and every situation and period in our lives is meant to teach us increasing dependency on Him whether things are going badly or well. How boring it would be if we were always the same. We are vulnerable and sometimes weary or e

Psalm 91:14-16 Because he loves me God’s promises are often unconditional and will certainly be kept! When the Lord speaks, His Word is permanent and cannot be broken.  “Because He loves me,”  says the Lord:- 1.       I will rescue him v14 2.       I will protect him v14 3.       I will answer him v15 4.       I will be with him in trouble v15 5.       I will deliver him and honour him v15 6.       I will satisfy him with long life v16 7.       I will show him my salvation v16 There are Seven certainties or guarantees here, spoken by the Lord and addressed to the one who loves Him. I’m sure that Yeshua took comfort from these words, but they are also written to us. In today’s verse He promises to answer our prayers, to stand with us in times of trouble, to deliver us from that trouble and then to honour us! The Hebrew here in verse 15 uses the “I AM” so that we are left in no doubt that it is the Lord God Himself who makes these pledges.  I Am, I will be, He is!  We are deliberately be

Psalm 91:14 Because He loves me Here is the crux of the matter,  “Because he loves me” says the Lord, “I will rescue him.”  Do we love Him? I would have found that a hard question to answer as a young believer, in fact for most of my life the journey of faith has been a thousand and one different things for me, but a love affair? It is only now, in the latter stages of that life that I find myself in a two-way loving relationship with my Lord. A relationship that compels me to keep drawing closer, to try to understand Him better, and to long for the comfort and inspiration of His presence. Only now do I get constantly emotional as I see His touch in creation, as I hear His voice in His Word, as I am inspired by the fellowship of His people and as I long to be near Him.  What a promise this verse gives us,  “I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”  The words literally mean, “I will set him on high because he has known my name.” Knowing His name, knowing who our God is, knowing

Psalm 91:13 Lions and serpents In verses 5-6 of this Psalm we are confronted with the dangers of the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in the darkness and the plague that destroys at midday. Now we must face the lion and cobra, and the great (adult) lion and the serpent. Obviously, these judgements were specific to the time the Psalm was written but they are equally relevant today. If wild lions still roamed the earth or if we live in a country where vicious, poisonous snakes are prevalent, the threats still apply.  There are plenty of Scriptures that give these wild creatures a symbolic significance. Peter writes about the devil describing him as, “ Your enemy the devil prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8. The devil also appears as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. In Revelation 12:9 we read,  “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole wo

Psalm 91:12 Watch out for stones! My wife sometimes reflects on an occasion when she was driving down a narrow road, with the children in the car, and a lorry came towards her at speed and there was no time to stop and no place to go! She shut her eyes and braced herself for the crash, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, the lorry was disappearing in the rear-view mirror! Someone had lifted her up in their hands. This verse tells us who it was. On the bumpy, stony paths of the Promised Land it was a daily occurrence for people to strike their feet against stones, and their footwear did not offer the protection of modern boots and shoes, so there were plenty of bruised feet around at the end of the day. This verse suggests that angels are helping us to stay safe on our journeys. However, there is a deeper meaning to these statements about the role of angels. Firstly, the text literally means that angels will bear us up in their hands so that we do not catch our feet on the s

Psalm 91:11 He will command His angels concerning you So many people have taken comfort in this verse over the centuries. In fact, the devil even used it to chide Jesus during the 40 days of temptation in the wilderness . “ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.   For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;   they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered,   “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.””  Luke 4:9-12. This statement reminds us of Psalm 34:7 where we are told, “ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.”  And the book of Hebrews holds a similar promise,  “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”  Hebrews 1:14. These verses remind us that we are not alone in the