Daily Meditations

Psalm 94:20 Alliances with corrupt thrones As we do not know the author of this Psalm it is a job for us to pinpoint when these words were written, who they were written by and who they were written to. Obviously, the enemies of the throne of Israel were looking to do some kind of deal, some kind of political arrangement had been put on the table, local leaders, or maybe the King himself, were being offered an alliance. The psalmist was horrified, how can a people who are led by a corrupt regime even dare to think that they can do deals with Israel who is led by God?  Maybe the scenario is not the above. Maybe the writer believes that the rulers of Israel are corrupt and that they have no right to seek to align themselves with the Almighty who is pure and holy and above reproach? Maybe it is the throne of Israel that is bringing misery upon its people? Maybe there is corruption and injustice at the centre of the power structures in the land? There were certainly times when the coun...

Psalm 94:19 Anxiety v consolation Have you had those periods I your life? Some of us are more susceptible than others. I went through a period of great anxiety when I was 30 years old. It started with intense tiredness after a period of over-working with no proper breaks or relaxation time. I know now, of course, that I broke God’s Commandments by not having a Sabbath! The physical breakdown turned into a mental breakdown and then the anxieties kicked in, many were completely irrational, but at the time they felt very real. The anxieties took a long time to retreat, I did not know how to fight them and so they hung around for a number of years. Thankfully, the Lord was with me at that time and gradually led me through the darkness until one day, I knew I was free. His freedom is permanent unless we have learned nothing from such experiences. And one of the great benefits is that you have to confront your emotions, both good and negative. The unlocking of those feelings allows us to gri...

Psalm 94:18 My foot is slipping! The suffering and the sorrows of the afflicted are described here with an everyday analogy. We’ve all done it - many times. Stepped on the ice, slipped on a wet stone, walked on an uncertain surface, worn inappropriate footwear, scrambled up a slippery slope and maybe, trod on a banana skin! It’s probably the loose shale on a mountainside that is foremost in the writer’s mind, when an uncertain foothold is most dangerous, and the drop is life-threatening. He was about to be overwhelmed by circumstances, his own mental wellbeing was breaking up and his enemies were pressing in, keen to take advantage. At this point someone bigger and greater stepped in and grabbed hold of our victim. Suddenly, his feet were on terra firma, strong arms enfolded him, and the baying cries of the enemy were silenced. Instead of sinking, He had been lifted up and He was safely embraced in arms of love. This was not a temporary relief; he knew that he was safe forever and that...

Psalm 94:17 The place of silence As we have discovered, the ancient psalm writers had a profound understanding of life and death, of deep sorrow and suffering, but also of great joy and exhilaration. Their songs expressing human pain, are counterbalanced by wonderful anthems of praise and glory to God. Those who do not know God cannot experience the hope and anticipation that such knowledge brings.  In this verse we are reminded that the journey into suffering and pain, be it physical, psychological or spiritual, is a journey into “the depths”, there is a literal sensation of falling, of an abyss that beckons and pulls us deeper still. The ultimate destiny of those who sink down and down, is Sheol, the place of the departed spirits. The ancients believed that this place housed the souls of the wicked in torment as well as being a silent waiting room for the righteous. Thus, the psalm writer admits that unless the Lord had intervened, he would have slipped into Sheol and the silence...

Psalm 94:16 Who will stand with me? This verse of the Psalm is a bit of a puzzle. Who is asking the questions here? Is it the Lord or is it the man who penned the Psalm? In one sense, I’m not sure if the Lord needs us to rise up against the wicked, or to take a stand against evildoers. How can we stand against them? How can we ever know all of the facts as He does and make a balanced judgement about them. Yes, we do have to make a stand at times, but the command of Jesus was to  “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel ”, for that is the weapon that he has given us with which to fight the darkness of this world. He did not ask us to form protest groups or to launch anti-corruption campaigns.  I think the writer of the Psalm is asking these questions because he feels isolated and without friends, and he cannot take much more of the onslaughts of evil.  He longs for protection, for the tide of wickedness to turn for he fears for his life. Only the Lord can help him...

Psalm 94:15 Righteous judgement We need to remember that the throne of God is a place of absolute justice and truth. There are no oversights or forgotten memories and no manipulation of the facts. God has no prejudices and no favourites; He does not change His mind, nor does He waver according to His mood. When He judges a situation or a person His conclusion is based on the absolute facts, on His perfect Law and it is pronounced from a heart that is holy and true. There will be no counterarguments or attempts to persuade leniency, no one else will interfere with His decisions and no defendant will be able to enter a plea of injustice or unfairness. That is what this verse means when it says that  “Judgement will be founded in righteousness .”  This will bring joy to the upright in heart, those who stand before God in innocence and who have been unjustly treated by men. The upright in heart are those who have sought to honour God and His commands but have been vilified and unj...

Psalm 94:14 The Lord will never reject His people It seems to me that the best way to comment on this verse is to borrow the words written by the Apostle Paul, words that I have read and that have comforted me many times over the years. The psalmist was right, the Lord will never reject His people; He will never forsake His inheritance. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things?   If God is for us,   who can be against us?   He who did not spare his own Son,   but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?   Who will bring any charge   against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.   Who then is the one who condemns?   No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God   and is also interceding for us.     Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?   Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or na...

Psalm 94:13 Days of trouble We all have “days of trouble”, days when nothing goes right, when events hit us hard, and we do not know how to cope. There are days when the bottom drops out of our world, and we are left floundering for answers and wondering how we will ever move on. I’m not sure that these are the days the psalmist is talking about; we said at the beginning that  He is appalled by the injustices of the wicked and the abuse of the poor and needy by arrogant rulers and boastful evildoers. These are the troubles that are shaking his world and wrecking the lives of others. That is why it is so comforting to be disciplined by the Lord and to know and obey His Law for, in the midst of national disaster and darkness, the pure truth of God’s Word is a light and a source of hope.  God will always offer relief to those who trust in Him. Think of Daniel who was transported from his homeland to the rich and pagan surroundings of Babylon. He experienced the troubles that this...

Psalm 94:12 Bringing us in-line We have spent some time musing at the arrogance and pride of the wicked. We have seen how those “senseless fools” continue to drive the world towards a showdown when good will have to step in to confront evil. Man’s ways are futile, that means that they always, ultimately, end in disaster not least because men are under the control of the Satan who is prince of this world. What is his intent; to destroy mankind so that he can dwell here on earth with his fallen angels? Or is it to rid the world of God’s influence by removing all evidence of God’s existence? Or is it to completely destroy the world that God has made so that he can boast of his power and rob God of His glory? I believe that it could be a combination of all three although the extermination of mankind seems to have always been high on his list.  What is God’s ultimate plan? Well at least this is much clearer, it is to rid the world of sin and darkness, to raise up a people of praise who ...

Psalm 94:11 The futility of man's plans As I write, in May 2023, the leaders of the G7 countries are in Hiroshima, Japan for a summit Conference.   The Group of Seven is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union is a "non-enumerated member."  President Zelensky is about to join them from Ukraine which, at this present time, is in long term conflict with Russia. Vladimir Putin tours the world talking to his cronies, while everyone watches what the Chinese might be up to in the far east. Iran is plotting the downfall of Israel by arming proxy forces in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. North Korea and South Korea are hostile to one another as are India and Pakistan, and Sudan is being torn apart by civil war. I could go on but you get the picture, and the world will still be grappling with hatred, fear, jealousy and evil as long as man is in control.  Our Psalm ...

Psalm 94:10 God of all knowledge Leviticus 26 sets out, in graphic detail, the rewards for obeying the Lord God and the punishments for disobedience. I realise, of course, that these instructions were specifically for Israel, but it is telling that the described pattern of divine retribution seems to have world-wide consequences. It could be argued that the climatic and environmental trials that the world now faces are the consequences of mass rebellion against the Creator. The book of Revelations suggests to us that the punishments will increase in the last days, as mankind consistently rejects God’s commands. Yes, the Lord disciplines the nations, and He has punished Israel too. He is not to be ignored! It does not dawn on the majority of the earth’s population that everything that we have learned about ourselves and our planet, is given to us by God, through revelation. He allows and inspires science! He motivates the research and the growth in understanding. Nothing that we know is...

Psalm 94:9 He who hears and sees This is a curious statement, it reminds us that the God who created us and gave us our senses is able to perceive everything that we do and much more besides. Of course He can. God hears, He hears the gentle drone of the Bumble Bee, He hears the roaring of the oceans, He hears the singing of the birds, and He most definitely hears the conversations of all men. He hears what goes on in the Board Rooms, in the Cabinet Meetings, in the International Conference Rooms, in the Oval Office and in the Kremlin. He hears the telephone conversations, and He hears the hushed tones of gossipers, the exchanges between lovers and the plots and schemes of conspirators. GOD HEARS IT ALL! His judgements will be based on every tiny detail of all that He has heard. Whenever we make a judgement about someone there is always information that has not been heard. No so with God. God also sees. He sees the activity in creation. He sees every ship that crosses the oceans and eve...

Psalm 94:8 Senseless fools Do you get angry at the state of our world? Do you grow increasingly frustrated as the evildoers prosper and arrogantly ignore the suffering of others? Do you seethe at the injustices and the unfairness of our institutions that fail to help the poor and the weak? Then this verse is for you, for you are among the wise. It is senseless fools who ignore the suffering of others as they promote themselves, they are fools who ignore God and practice evil with no fear of judgement.  I read only yesterday about a group of top international businessmen who have been laundering billions on a worldwide scale but who are all renowned for their charitable giving! That is even worse than what is described in the Psalm for such people have an appearance of righteousness and compassion but use it as a cover for their evil activities.  Well, the Bible describes them as senseless fools and the One who is the author of the Bible, knows all their deeds and He will ...

Psalm 94:7 The Lord does not see The accusations in this Psalm are not aimed at those who commit a crime in a fit of pique or at the sinners who break the rules out of desperation or despair. No, the finger is being pointed at those who callously use and abuse their fellow men for their own gain, those who knowingly engage in evil practices to exalt themselves and their status, who treat others like mere pawns and who gloat in their riches and their infamy. Such men and women are not so hardened that they do not understand that what they are doing is wrong, no, they suppress the truth with lies, they wrap themselves in a cloak of arrogance and they believe themselves to be above the laws that guide the rest of us. At some point in their lives, these evildoers have dismissed the idea that God is watching, they deride any belief in Him, and they have convinced themselves that He does not see them for He does not exist in their world. The fact that they can “get away with it” justifies th...

Psalm 94:5-6 Crushed and oppressed The writer of this Psalm is truly aggrieved by his enemies and the enemies of the Lord God. Israel, who are God’s chosen ones, are being crushed and broken by the wickedness of their oppressors. This is the point, the psalmist is arguing that since the nation and its land belong to God by Covenant promises, then it is not just the people who are being crushed, it is God’s inheritance that is suffering under the oppressor. This might be seen as a clever move, get the Lord stirred up by reminding Him that it is His ownership and rights that are being abused, as if He did not already know! It might be a clever tactic, but it is also the truth, the widows, the foreigners and the orphans are God’s people too, the weak in society should not be broken and oppressed for the profit of the powerful and the privileged.  I suspect that we might all feel the anguish of the psalmist at times. We all get overridden by the aggressors and the influential who are o...

Psalm 94:4 Arrogant words Continuing from verse 8, we get an insight here into the behaviour patterns of the Jewish people as they made their many pilgrimages to the holy site of the Temple on Mount Zion. Yes, there was great joy and singing and celebration. Yes, there were feasts to observe and offerings to be brought to the priests. Yes, it was noisy, and the site was full of jostling crowds at times, but there were also opportunities to stop and reflect. “ Within Your Temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love.”  These words were penned by the Sons of Korah – Levites who, even if they were not priests, may have had access to less crowded places in the Temple Courts, where it was possible to just stand and reflect. In particular to reflect on the amazing saving acts of God who had built a nation from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who had led His people in and out of Egypt and who had brought them to a land that He had promised long ago. Now, in the sanctuary of the Holy Place,...

Psalm 94:3 How long will the wicked be jubilant? Our prayers are often very polite and deferential. Liturgical prayer is very much like that, the words are beautiful, and the sentiments are heart-felt but they maintain a certain politeness that is portrayed as the correct manner with which to approach the Sovereign God. Not so in many of the Psalms. This verse begins with a demand, an impatient insistence that the Lord should take some action against the wicked. Why should they get away with it? Why should they continue to flourish when all they do is rebel and break God’s laws? Why are they allowed to prosper at the expense of the righteous and the poor? Why is God standing idly by when the wicked are carrying on with their evil deeds? How can God tolerate their arrogant jubilation that they can do as they want and there will no consequences? Don’t we have a right to know what is going on? Why is the Lord so slow to act and to avenge the deeds of these wicked men? I don’t know if you ...

Psalm 94:2 Pay back time for the proud Most believers in Almighty God have a foundational belief in His creative powers, His omniscience, His grace and His mercy – the list is a long one! We all have our view of Him, based on experience, what we have been taught and what we understand from our limited perspective as human beings. Our understanding of this great Being is both subjective and objective and hopefully, we realise that He is far more than the sum of our ideas. Thus, we have to embrace some aspects of His Being that we would rather not embrace, one of these is that God is Judge of the earth. He sees every wrong and every right. He knows every injustice. He watches over the thoughts, words and actions of every living person and He makes His judgements accordingly. He is completely impartial, and His conclusions are perfectly just for He is able to interpret intentions as well as facts. In that way all men and women who have ever lived will get a fair trial when their day of re...

Psalm 94:1 The God who avenges The anonymous writer of this Psalm definitely has a “bee in his bonnet” and quite rightly. He is appalled by the injustices of the wicked and the abuse of the poor and needy by arrogant rulers and boastful evildoers. The cry for mercy comes from the people of Israel who are suffering great injustices at the hands of the “fools” who are running their kingdom. The psalm writer takes comfort in the fact that the Lord sees and hears the suffering of His people and righteousness will ultimately prevail. He will repay the wicked for their sins and He will protect the righteous.    V1        Our Psalm starts with an appeal to God who is the Judge of all men. It is a plea for justice and the righting of wrongs. It may not be polite to talk about an avenging God but, believe me, His holiness and righteousness demand that he must redress all wrongs. If He did not do so, He would rightly be accused of unfairness, favo...

Psalm 93:5 The house of holiness We have been reminded, in this Psalm, as to who is in control, who is master of creation, who it is who outlasts and oversees even the violent elements of the earth’s forces. Our God reigns, the Lord is above all. Because of this the world has permanence and purpose, it’s future is secure because it is not under the control of men but of the Lord.  And the statutes of the Lord are just as stable and dependable as the foundations of the earth. They too can be relied upon; they are the firm foundations for human survival and security. The directions that the Lord God has given us are reliable and trustworthy, and they will never be shaken. The root of all that God commands and that He has established for our survival, is His holiness. To enjoy any kind of relationship with Him requires that we pursue holiness. That is, that we turn away from our sins and become set apart for His honour. Everything in God’s house is holy, there is no place for darkness...

Psalm 93:4 Mightier than it all As we have already seen, the thundering of the mighty oceans presented ancient peoples with a conundrum, the vastness of the mighty waters and their angry turbulence was outside of the control of men and turned the seas into an enigma. Who could control them? Who could determine their vastness or conquer the ferocity of their waves? Men stood and gasped at the thundering of the great waters and the breakers as they crashed on to the shore. No man dare be caught by their might, and no one was capable of building a vessel that could ride upon those waves. Thus, it was perfectly reasonable to attribute the power behind such a mighty force to the Lord God who clearly created these things and therefore must be mightier than they! Therefore, the thunder of the voice of the Lord was deemed to be greater than even the pounding of the chaotic waters. Psalm 104:7 captures this perfectly,  “But at Your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of Your thunder they t...

Psalm 93:3 The power of the seas It’s hard for us to imagine the way in which ancient peoples viewed the seas. They had no conception of the size of the oceans or of the land masses that dominated the planet’s surface. Travelling across the vast waters, to who knows where, seemed to be impossible. In addition, the technology simply wasn’t available to build great vessels that could cross the oceans or ride on the mighty waves that existed beyond the seashore. Ships of that time bustled across the Mediterranean and kept to well-defined passages close to the land but what lay beyond? No one knew. Thus, most people viewed the sea as a hostile environment, turbulent and untamed. However, there was no question, in the minds of the psalm writers, as to who created the seas and who brought relative calm and order to the pre-creation world. Genesis chapter 1 told them all that they needed to know; it was God who separated the waters that covered the earth. It was God who produced dry land and ...

Psalm 93:2 You are from all eternity “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”  John 1:1. Because the Lord God made the earth, it is established firm and secure. Because He came first and made all that lives, we are able to live peaceable lives and not worry about how He did it, or what will happen to it. The earth is the Lord’s, everything in it belongs to Him and He will oversee its beginning and its end. The unbelieving spend billions on trying to work it all out and the majority of the world’s population are anxious about the future of the planet, simply because they do not believe in its Creator! God existed before the world came into existence. His throne of authority and power ha...

Psalm 93:1 Celebrating the reign of the Lord This brief Psalm reminds us all that the Lord God is in control, that His power and authority cannot be surrendered and that those who trust in Him have amazing hope for the future. Godless fools may live by violence and lies but our God stands firm in His truth and in His holiness. He is unassailable in His strength and because He created the world, the world will always be under His ultimate control. Therefore, what do we have to fear? Hallelujah!   V1        We need to remind ourselves of just how extensive is the reign of the Lord. He controls the heavens and the galactic systems that stretch way beyond the visible reach of man. He has established a heavenly kingdom where angels do His bidding and where evil has been expelled and the enemies of God have no access. He created this earth and the sun and moon that serve it so efficiently. He watches over the comings and goings of mankind, and noth...