Daily Meditations

Psalm 102:25 He did it! I love this magnificent presentation of the creative power and glory of God. We live in a world that is constantly questioning its origins, clever men and women come and go with their different theories on how things came to be. Just this morning, I heard a lengthy interview on Radio 4 with a highly intelligent author who has just written a book about “white matter” and its correlation with dark matter in the construction of the universe. To be fair I didn’t understand much of the discussion, and I realised that you need super-intelligence to grasp some of the theories that men propound. So, it’s a relief to keep things simple and just read these words,  “In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”    Ancient minds questioned many things, the Bible raises huge questions as we read it but, at the end of the day, it is a Book that asks us to believe and to trust by faith rather than to reason it all through.

Psalm 102:24 Do not take me away! Yesterday, we reflected on the hopelessness of this life if all we have to rely upon is our own mortality. Illness, disability, suffering and pain, all these things are a familiar part of being human. Our bodies are mortal, our brains may be affected by mental illness, dementia and many other negative influences. However young and fit we consider ourselves to be, at some point we have to face the facts, we are going to die!  It seems, from today’s verse, that the writer had been hit by illness and physical sickness at middle age, long before he assumed that these things would happen. He now pleads with the Lord to not take him away in the midst of his days. I’m sure that it is bad enough to face our mortality when we are old and have lived a fulfilling life, but to sense death approaching in early or mid-life can be a source of great anguish. So, the writer kind-of tries to do a deal with the Lord. “Look, Your years go on forever, You are able to watch

Psalm 102:23 He cut short my days It’s a real conundrum, isn’t it? By that I mean that we have to cope, as human beings, with the reality that all human life is cut short, some of us have brushes with death that we really did not see coming! We realise that we are mortal, that these bodies of ours have their limitations and that life on earth is transitory, it flies by and we have no control over its passing. The One who does control our momentary stopover on planet earth has the final say in all of this,  “Every day ordained for me was written in His book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16. And this is the conundrum, that this mighty One is eternal, His Being spans all ages, and He observes and oversees the comings and goings of us all. This knowledge promotes a sense of unease, that I am only a finite being and whilst He made me and gave me a rich and fulfilling life, it is only for a time and that time is very short. You might want to ask, “Well, why bother?” The Psalm ref

Psalm 102:21-22 His name will be declared in Zion As we watch the nations of the world being divided over the current conflict in the Middle East (October 2023) it is easy to thing that “it has ever been so.” And that is true; since the time of Joshua and the arrival of the Israelites in their Promised Land there seems to have been centuries of conflict. Take the Jews away and all is peace, put them back there and hostilities rage once more. Let’s never forget that this is God’s land, it is His “Eden” and the world, goaded by its evil mentor, will always be at odds with His ownership credentials. In the same way, the world will never accept His choice of the Jews as His people, and it will never accept the beliefs of those who love God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our psalm-writer looks ahead to a different time, as we have seen he was probably anticipating the liberation of the Jewish prisoners from their Babylonian captivity. However, the Bible is quite clear that a day will come

Psalm 102:19-20 The Lord looks down I love the picture that is painted here; we are invited to stop for a moment and ponder what lies beyond this world, with all of its woes and suffering. Our attention is drawn to the heavens and to that sacred place where the Lord Almighty dwells.          We are encouraged to ponder His glory and majesty and then to remind ourselves that the Creator God, who has all things in in His hands, is diligently watching events unfold. He sees the plight of nations and watches the comings and goings of national leaders. He sees the wars, He listens to the conversations in cabinet meetings and in the courts of Kings, Queens and dictators. He sees the desperate needs of the poor and the lonely, He hears every heart cry and He understands the thoughts and intentions of every human heart. Nothing escapes His attention, and nothing surprises Him. He understands the machinations of His enemies and the power struggles that have raged in the heavenly realms for cent

Psalm 102:18 Let this be written The passing on of religious knowledge amongst the Jews has been a complex and time-consuming task, spanning many centuries. The Oral traditions were just that, laws and rules and opinions that were handed down from generation to generation, these were called the Mishnah. The discussions amongst the Rabbis that accompanied these traditions were not written down until around 200AD and they form the basis of what many Jews would regard as their New Testament – the Talmud! The origin of all of this was in the verbal teaching of Torah which started with boys at a very young age and continued throughout their lives as they went on to memorise other Scriptures. A man could not carry dozens of scrolls around with him, but he could memorize God’s laws and the teachings of the Tanakh. (Old Testament) Psalm 78 begins with a command that the people should listen to the words of the teacher and then tell what they had learned to the next generation. Here in our Psal

Psalm 102:17 The prayer of the destitute For those Israelites who had been transported to the alien, pagan realm of Babylon, the familiar buildings and sights and sounds of Zion must have seemed a million miles away. While the Babylonians sacrificed to their gods and their empire prospered, the Jewish captives lived with their memories of a different time and place. They remembered their Temple, their God, their customs and their identity and they yearned to go back home. Even the recollection of the stones and dust of Jerusalem made them feel homesick! (v14) What made matters worse was that the captives knew that their homeland had been ravaged by their conquerors, the walls of Jerusalem lay in tatters and the Temple had been ransacked and was now a desolate, empty shell of a building. But all is not lost. The writer knows about the heart cries of his people and he is convinced that the Lord will “ respond to the prayer of the destitute .” That’s the thing with God, it’s never too lat

Psalm 102:16 The Lord will rebuild Zion If this psalm was indeed written during the time of the Babylonian captivity, the prospect of a renewed Mount Zion and a new Temple must have seemed very remote. It is a tribute to the writer that, despite all the calamities and complaints that are listed in the earlier verses, he has now reached a point when he can believe that the Lord will restore and rebuild Zion. Furthermore, he anticipates that the Lord Himself will appear there in all His glory! I wonder how he would have felt when he heard that the Persian King Cyrus had allowed men like Nehemiah and Ezra to return to the land of Israel and reconstruction had begun! I wonder what he would have made of the immense edifice created by Herod the Great, 400 years later, that gave more glory to Herod than it did to God!  The true glory of the Lord has yet to be seen, He will come, and He will reign from Zion and His rightful identity will be known to all the nations of the world. Let’s give cre

Psalm 102:15 The nations will fear It’s impossible to detach myself from what is going on in our world as I meditate on this verse. Some of you may read these words weeks, months, maybe years after they were written and so will have the benefit of hindsight so far as events in mid-October 2023 are concerned. Right now, Israel is the object of widespread condemnation and criticism for its military campaign against Gaza. Yesterday a hospital was destroyed by a missile, the Palestinians and Arabs and their supporters blame Israel, but the Jews say that they had no hand in it, the missile was launched by their enemies. The arguments swing to and fro, as they have done for decades, and there is no mention of the name of the Lord God in any of this. There have been many occasions in the last 75 years when Israel has been delivered in miraculous ways from her enemies but, sadly, no credit is given to the Lord either by the Jews or by the surrounding nations. Let’s just remember what we read i

Psalm 102:14 Moved to pity As I write, it is 17 th  October 2023, Hamas unleashed a night of atrocities against Israel on Saturday 7 th  and the world is still recoiling from this, and the rights and wrongs of the territorial struggles in that land. I watched a video filmed by someone walking the deserted streets of Jerusalem a few days after the events and it tugged at my heartstrings, familiar places and sights empty of people and the usual busyness. The Western Wall, the Temple ruins, the Mount of Olives, the Hurva Synagogue and the Menorah in the square outside; the list is a long one, but I felt the anguish of that place and I am just an English tourist! Imagine how Jewish people have felt over the centuries as they visited their homeland, the places built and frequented by their ancestors. Why, even Jesus lamented as He surveyed the city and foresaw its destruction.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets   and stones those who are sent to her! How often   I want

Psalm 102:13 The appointed time has come It now becomes obvious that the travails and suffering of the psalmist are both personal but also national. In describing his own woes, he is embracing the deep anguish of Israel and the depth of her misery and torment as a nation. I think we may assume that this distress is related to the captivity in Babylon and what seemed to be the demise of a once proud state that has now been uprooted from its land and appears to have no future other than total annihilation.  The psalmist is now suddenly confident that the time of Israel’s desolation is about to end, that there is hope because the Lord God will arise, and He will show compassion to the people of Zion. We need to understand that God does not act randomly or without purpose and design. He is methodical, purposeful and incredibly well organised. There has always been a plan, and there always will be in His dealings with mankind. Every day, week, month and year is carefully ordered, and nothin

Psalm 102:11-12 The Lord sits enthroned forever We have here two verses that contrast one another and, at last, bring an end to the dismal forebodings! Our deeply suffering psalm-writer has his final fling, he recognises the shortness of human life and the finality of death. All humans are born to die, our lives flash by in an instant. While we are young, death seems an infinity away, even an event that we might never have to encounter; as we get older it silently beckons and becomes an inevitability. The shadows of evening summon us and the grass of life, once so fresh and bursting with energy, slowly wilts and fades from the effects of the scorching heat of a demanding life journey.  But all is not doom and gloom, for while we may falter and fall, there is One who never fades, who never dies, who sits enthroned forever. It is so important that we grasp this, it is the eternal nature of God that raises Him above all created beings. And because He has always been merciful, gracious and

Psalm 102:9-10 Can God be blamed for suffering? It’s very hard to provide positive, uplifting and life-affirming comments about Bible verses that are so doom-ridden and full of woe! To imagine anyone having to eat ashes is frankly obnoxious, this man has sunk below the behaviour of a normal human being, he has become like a wild animal grovelling in the dirt with no refinements or sophistication, his life is no better than a foraging beast. Instead of living water, the poor man knows nothing but the salty flavour of his own bitter tears as he drinks at the bowl of intense suffering. It’s hard for us to imagine just how low it is possible for a human to sink; in today’s world we would probably be drugged and anaesthetized against such awful torment. The Psalm goes on to point the finger at the cause of all this anguish, and the perpetrator is deemed to be the Lord God who has poured great wrath on our victim and picked him up and thrown him aside! The big questions for us are, “Would th

Psalm 102:8 Taunting, railing and cursing!  Teasing, spiteful and cruel remarks are being bandied around, with our victim the object of the sneers and derision. It’s a very lonely place when the world takes against us and the air is filled with ridicule and mocking. I’ve seen this in office situations when the air becomes poisoned against someone, and they have no way of vindicating themselves.  The taunts grow louder, they are full of condemnation, they are personal and there is no respite. Eventually, the very name of the accused becomes a curse, people heap insults upon him and call down judgement and retribution on his head! They say, “May you become like him”, (him being the one named.) I find it hard to imagine that my life and my reputation could be so derided that others could say as an insult, “May you become like Geoff Abbott!” To be a curse is effectively to be abandoned and rejected by the community, this is the point where a life has no value or purpose.  So, in addition t

Psalm 102:7 A bird alone Well, this is a strange verse! What are we meant to glean from it? A casual flick through various online commentaries leaves you wondering if there is one simple explanation or is this open to individual interpretation? Firstly, it seems that many translations of this verse take the bird to be a sparrow and that would certainly make sense. Sparrows are very gregarious birds, they live in and around buildings and they are prolific in the Middle East; walk through any street or alley in Jerusalem and the sound of their chirping is everywhere. And their principal habitat is guttering, facia boards, eaves and rooftops where they chatter away, very loudly! (Sadly, their numbers have diminished in the UK because of the use of UPVC materials in building’s construction.) It is very unusual to see a House Sparrow alone, or if you do it is a fleeting experience! This is at the heart of the lament of our suffering psalmist, he was once part of the crowd, he mixed with peo

Psalm 102:5-6 The Desert Owl It’s not a pretty picture, a man shrunken almost to a corpse, unable to eat, reduced to nothing, unaware of time, just existing and groaning through the torments that rack his body. Then follows this curious statement, one that you and I would never make however deep our anguish. “ I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins .”   I checked my Handbook of Middle Eastern Owls! Most owls prefer habitats where there are trees, rivers, groves, wooded hills etc and many of these nocturnal creatures are very hard to find. Our psalmist has obviously seen an owl in a desert place, and I can only assume it may have been the Eagle Owl, which is a very large bird, up to 5ft wingspan, which does occupy rocky hills, ravines and cliffs. All owls are “unclean” birds that cannot be eaten.  “These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind o

Psalm 102:4 A withered heart The previous verse describes the condition of the victim’s bones, this verse talks about his heart. Put them together and we have a man who is very sick, who feels that his life is coming to an end. The mention of the heart could, of course, be referring to the physical organ but it is more likely a reference to his inner being. Everything inside of him is parched and dry, scorched by the midday sun, he has no reason to live, no aims or goals, nothing to give out, no dreams to fulfil, he is spent and empty. Oh, and by the way, he keeps forgetting to eat his meals, so he has no appetite either. This is a sad and dark place for anyone to be in, when life is hopeless and pointless, when the body cannot stir itself any longer and when all motivation has gone. Many find themselves in this place, it’s a comfort to know that the Bible addresses such barrenness and that our God sees fit to let us know that He is aware of such a state and is able to empathise with t

Psalm 102:3 Anguish and judgement It is quite clear that the writer of this Psalm is undergoing intense suffering. This suffering is affecting not just his bones and his body but also his soul and spirit. (By the way, ancient writers and thinkers did not distinguish between soul and spirit, that distinction only came after Pentecost!) What is also clear, is that whoever penned these words believed that his suffering was a consequence of God’s judgement or wrath (v10), although there is no mention of any sin or failure that could have brought about such punishment. There is almost a sense of acceptance, that if God chooses to judge any man or woman, then He may do so and we must carry the consequences. Can any of us dare to argue, that we are undeserving or that we have never behaved in such a way that we do not deserve to face the wrath of God? Isn’t that at the heart of the gospel, we are condemned sinners, all of us, none escapes from the consequences of sin?  The victim here suffers

Psalm 102:2 Answer me quickly The Psalms have frequently presented us with this picture of God as one who “hides His face.” Is that inferring that He forgets us? Is He ashamed of us or is too busy for us? Or maybe He thinks, “Oh no, not him again.” There seems to be reason to believe that sometimes the psalmists believed that God withheld His favour and His attentions purely as a form of retribution, they realised that they had no grounds for seeking His attentions. I have met Christians in our modern age who also harbour a kind of grudge believing that they are not being listened to, that prayer does not seem to work, that despite their efforts nothing changes. There is no simple answer to these misgivings, certainly the Lord does not jump every time we shout at Him and there are occasions when He seems totally distant from our suffering and our pain. However, it’s a strange claim to make that He never listens, and He never answers. The language of the psalmists is quite clear, when t

Psalm 102:1 Hear my prayer This Psalm is described as, “the prayer of an individual in a time of great distress.”  Thus, v 1-2 are an appeal for the Lord God to hear the lament of the afflicted person. Then v3-11 describe the sufferings of this person, followed by assurances that the Lord will hear. The last verses, v23-v28, summarise all that has been said before.  The title of the Psalm is unique,  “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.”  We do not know the name of this person or the specific reasons for their suffering, however, there is plenty to suggest that there was a national identity involved in the sufferings, so we might surmise that these words were written by a king? As I write this introduction to Psalm 102 it is October 7 th  2023, exactly 1 week after I suffered a life-threatening heart attack. It seems that I might find myself empathising very much with the author of Psalm 102 and hopefully, there will be some very p

Psalm 101:8 Silencing the wicked We could be forgiven for reading this verse and thinking that every morning David conducted some kind of vengeful cull of the wicked! It was not quite that simple. Apparently judicial cases were heard in the morning, it was a task to be got out of the way early in the day and so prisoners and evil doers were brought before the king’s judgement, and those who were proven guilty would be punished. Remember that justice is not just about the punishment of the wicked but also about deliverance and retribution for the victims. The king’s job was to ensure that justice prevailed in his kingdom and that righteousness was upheld. Jeremiah 21:12 says , “ This is what the  Lord  says to you, house of David: “‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done — burn with no one to quench it.” We should, perhaps, remember that with the

Psalm 101:7 Lies and deceit Here are two standards that David looked for in his household and that should also characterise our own lives and the lives of those who are close to us.  The world is full of double-dealers, in fact you might say that most of the business and politics of the world are founded on deceit. People who have an agenda and who twist and manipulate others to gain their own ends are commonplace. When politicians make promises, how many of us believe that they will fulfil them? When business managers change the established way of doing things how many of us trust that this is not to serve their own ambitious ends? Is a gentleman’s word to be trusted anymore? David would not have any of this devious behaviour in his house or in his kingdom, sadly that’s not the way most things are done nowadays. As a younger man I was the victim of this kind of behaviour in church, shame on those who behaved in such a manner! Let’s ensure that God’s house is not a place for double-dea

Psalm 101:6 The faithful in the land David sets an example for us all here. He deliberately decides whom he will associate with and who will assist with his reign over the land. It will be the faithful ones and the blameless ones who he sets his eyes upon, in other words he will show favour to such people and appoint them to positions in his kingdom. The faithful here are not just reliable but those who show moral integrity, they are faithful to the Law and to God. Moses referred to Joshua as his aide and the younger man was his attendant and personal servant, in the same way Joseph was the trusted aide of Pharaoh, and Elisha set fire to his past way of life and became the servant of Elijah. The fact that David made hundreds of such appointments is proved by the following statement from 1 Chronicles 28:1.  “David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thou

Psalm 101:5 What God will not tolerate In all walks of life there are two kinds of people that we should be very wary of! The slanderous and the arrogant. Slanderous people are usually quick to insult others, their conversation is malicious and defamatory, they delight in tearing down reputations and undermining authority. They take pleasure in passing on gossip or even making it up, and they don’t care who gets harmed in the process. Such people use slander as a form of power, it gives them the edge and gains them attention. Watch out for them, especially in workplaces and occasionally in churches. Have nothing to do with such folk, do not listen to their lies and their opinions. David was the object of an awful lot of slander in his lifetime, there was always someone plotting against him, especially in his role as king. He could not always stop those who slandered him but, as king, he pledged to silence anyone who spoke evil of their neighbour in his hearing. Literally speaking, he w

Psalm 101:4 The perversity of the heart In verse 2 we pondered on what it means to have a blameless heart. Remember that the heart is the source of all that we are, it is what drives and motivates us. What we think and what we are derives from our hearts for there is written the blueprint for our lives. You may know a lot of people superficially because of what they say and do, that is their outward appearance. To know them completely is to be able to observe what is in their hearts, what they say and do when the wraps are off; their opinions, their inner thoughts, their prejudices and their desires all reveal their true hearts. Most people we know keep their hearts hidden except from their immediate friends and family, there are a few folks who reveal all, we say that they wear their hearts on their sleeves. Some people simply don’t care about what others think of them.  One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within believers is to show us what is in the heart of another – a word of know

Psalm 101:3 That which is vile! The word for “vile” in this verse is “beliyya’al” in Hebrew. In Greek it became “beliar” and was used as a name for the Satan – “Belial.”  “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”  2 Corinthians 6:15. Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians have to do with idols and the profanities that were practiced at the pagan temples of his day. We can identify with his sentiments when we consider the vileness of much of the content of our TV screens, cinema films and the internet. We should make a vow this day that we will not look upon such things or approve of them in any way. The same applies to the idols of our age and the artifacts of the world’s religions, it may not be possible to avoid seeing them, but we do not approve of them.  The world is full of evil and inhabited by those who practice evil. The faithless are those who rebel against God, against truth, against righteousness, against moral la

Psalm 101:2 A blameless life and a blameless heart This is a tough verse, how many of us can say that we are careful to lead blameless lives? There is no doubt that this was David’s resolve that he should stand blameless before the Lord. Maybe it was also his bargaining tool as he sought permission to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Zion. We know that, sadly, his resolve failed him, and the king stumbled into adultery and murder and lived with regret for the rest of his life. However, the Lord still blessed him mightily, the Ark did come to Zion, the kingdom expanded rapidly, the land flourished, and David was hailed as one of the greatest kings who ever lived. Which all goes to prove that the Lord God blesses us way beyond what we deserve, and He rewards our resolve even though He knows that as humans we are unable to keep our promises and live up to our intentions. In the light of the above, I think the king’s question, “When will You come to me?” is a polite request to know exactly

Psalm 101:1 Love and justice It’s a bit of a surprise to suddenly discover another Psalm that it is written by King David but which has been placed after a succession of songs by other writers. The last time we read the words of David was back in Psalm 86.  In this Psalm David, as King, pledges to reign righteously and to base his reign on the pattern of God’s rule. Some believe that David wrote these words before the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were moved to Jerusalem, if so, these promises were made near the beginning of David’s reign. As the Messiah, the Son of David, much of what is written here could be attributed to Yeshua, both while He was first here on earth and when He comes to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Notice that the king is committed to those who are faithful and blameless but has little time for the faithless and the wicked who are in the land. The Psalm is full of strong endorsements of the righteous, but the king is absolutely adamant that he

Psalm 100:5 The Lord is good! It’s our old friends again! Love and faithfulness are everywhere in the Psalms and here we find their significance is being expanded by the psalm writer. Firstly, we are being asked to remember that the Lord is good!  Taken literally, this phrase refers to the concept that God is everything that is truly good in this world, and conversely, the evil in the world is the opposite of God. Furthermore, the Bible holds numerous parables conveying the goodness of God and why we should have faith in his righteousness. Jesus replied to a man who asked what good thing He needed to do to get eternal life;  “Why do you ask me about what is good. There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”  Matthew 19:17. Why the commandments? Because the commandments are good.  Perhaps the Psalm is telling us, “You want to know what good is, look at the love and faithfulness of God.” So let’s do that. We would have to agree that human love is not