Daily Meditations

Psalm 109:16-17 Evil personified The accusations against David’s antagonist continue to grow! These verses reveal that it was not just David who was the object of the man’s evil deeds, his influence had ruined many. The list does not make nice reading: - ·        He never thought of doing a kindness ·        He hounded the poor to death ·        He hounded the needy and the broken-hearted too ·        He loved to pronounce curses ·        He found no pleasure in blessing others   This collection of complaints reveals a hard-hearted, callous and evil person, it reads more like a description of the Satan himself than a human being! In fact, we could substitute the name or character of this anonymous, evil human being for the Satan in this Psalm, for verses 16-19 bear all the hallmarks of the devil and anyone who exhibits these characteristics is certainly high up on his payroll!    Sadly, there are individuals who sink so low that they cannot think of anyone but themselves, and their att

Psalm 109:13-15 Blot them out! These verses are looking forward, but not in a positive way! David is asking the Lord to do a number of things to the future descendants of his accuser: - ·        Cut them off from the inheritance in the land ·        Blot out their names in the lists of genealogies that the Israelites held so dear ·        Let the iniquities of his ancestors on his father’s side be remembered ·        May the sins of his mother always be remembered ·        Better still, let the accuser be the last in his family line so that they are forgotten forever   I suppose, in the light of the above, that it is no surprise that we do not know the name of David’s antagonist who was the object of these curses! His name has been blotted out!  It is worth noting that the sins of the generations of the Israelites were never forgotten, they remained unpunished for generations. That is why Christ came as a once-for-all offering for sin. (See Romans 3:25.) The blood of bulls and goats an

Psalm 109:11-12 The sins of the fathers These verses have become very personal and very uncomfortable, they express sentiments that are completely alien to our modern-day culture. Firstly, we can understand the resentment that David bears towards his antagonist and that he would wish the man bankrupt and destitute. We would all like to see justice carried out on others that is commensurate with the injustice that they have shown us. But it’s this bit about the enemy’s kids! Is that justice? Can they be blamed for what their father has done? Should they bear the consequences of his callous behaviour? Leviticus 26 was written for the Israelites and sets out the rewards for obedience and the punishments that would accompany disobedience amongst God’s holy people. The chapter, especially verse 14-39, makes for tough reading and, we would have to admit, the history of Israel proves that God is true to His Word. The coalitions that they made with foreign powers, the hypocrisy of their religi

Psalm 109:9-10 A prayer for justice! This is a very tough prayer, it goes way beyond the perimeters of the kind of prayers that you and I might offer to God. You won’t find much like it in the Book of Common Prayer, or in the sanctimonious prayers that are often offered from the pages of modern liturgies!  The curse of the accuser’s misdeeds falls even upon his wife and children, for a man’s family was regarded as part of himself; his punishment was not complete unless they were included in it; and for full retribution they must share his ruin for doubtless this man’s schemes, if successful, would have involved the ruin of the Psalmist’s family.  We should note that David was only asking for things that his attacker was personally guilty of. That comes across strongly in verses 16-20. David was asking, as one who lived in Old Testament days, that God would deal with the wicked people in the way they had dealt with him and with others too. In other words, these pleas simply asked the Lo

Psalm 109:8 May his days be few ! Kings 21:1-29 contains the story of Naboth’s vineyard. Naboth lived in a northern city of Israel called Jezreel, in the Megiddo Valley, not far from the palace of the king who was Ahab and whose wife’s name was Jezebel. Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard, its proximity to the palace made it a perfect place for a vegetable garden. So, Ahab offered to buy the plot or to exchange it for some even better land close by. Naboth absolutely refused, not least because it was part of his family’s original inheritance in the land of Israel and it was not to be bought or sold, such a venture would be in direct contravention of God’s law. (Leviticus 25:23) Ahab went into a sulk and his wife hatched a scheme to get the plot of land for him.  Jezebel’s scheme involved arranging a holy day of fasting and inviting the elders of the city gather together with Naboth as a prominent guest. Two scoundrels were primed to attend the meeting and to make accusations against Naboth,

Psalm 109:6-7 May his prayers condemn him!! Translators seem to have had trouble with some of these next verses. A first reading of verse 6 suggest that David is demanding tit-for-tat!  “My enemy has falsely accused me so now, Lord, appoint someone evil to accuse him, let him see what it feels like.” However, there are reasons to believe that the actual Hebrew text says something like this, “Lord, appoint a wicked man to oppose my enemy and let the accuser Satan stand at his right hand.” This is a powerful request but think about it, if David believed with all his heart that he represented truth and righteousness, that his cause was just, and that the accusations against him were driven by evil, then the Satan must be the mastermind of the sinister scheme hatched against him. David is therefore appealing to the Lord God, a greater power, to turn the tables and to let the Satan use his guile and lies to bring down the enemy. What is interesting is that if this version of events is corre

Psalm 109:5 Evil for good There is no doubt that this rift between David and his enemies ran deep! He had tried to “do the right thing”, to behave justly and correctly before God; he had sought to win their affections by being generous and kind, and he had always sought the best interests of all his companions. Additionally, David could hold up his hands and say that his actions had been driven by love and friendship, he had always tried to be a good ally to his companions and to act as a trustworthy confidante; he had laughed and joked with them, he had served them at his table, and he had given them no cause to turn against him. But turn they did, so much so that the spirit of friendship had degenerated into hatred and these men sought to do David harm. What is it that causes such a breakdown in relationships? Jealousy is often a big factor, not just of David’s wealth and position but because he was who he was, a man of God and one who did good. Have you experienced that in your life

Psalm 109:4 Imprecatory prayer This verse is packed with meaning! Firstly, David acknowledges that the ones who have turned against him are those who have been his friends. In fact, the meaning goes deeper, friends are one thing, the text here suggests that David’s adversaries are those who he has loved. Once again, the possibility is that he is talking about his own son, Absalom, or if not, men who have been very close to him.  There are very few things more painful than having loved ones heaping accusations over us. This can of course happen in marriage, in families, even in churches and usually the victims feel betrayal, a great sense of loss and also shock, for such events are rarely anticipated. I remember working in Christian ministry with some “friends” for over 10 years, they were men I looked up to and who had appeared to support me in many different ways during that time. One day they requested a meeting and said that they wanted nothing more to do with me, that in fact they

Psalm 109:1-3 The power of the tongue It’s another of David’s Psalms of woe. It seems that this dear man was constantly being maligned by his enemies and what hurt him the most was that they endlessly devised every kind of false accusation to put him down. The suggestion is, from verses 6-19, that there was one particular individual who was responsible, although later in the Psalm there seem to be a number of protagonists, for the language becomes plural. Perhaps, David is ruminating here about the disloyalty and devious antics of his predecessor, King Saul, or worse still the conniving schemes of his own son, Absalom?  Whoever was the cause, the pleas here are heart-wrenching and we see the great man falling into a pit of despair and self-pity until he has voiced his fears and his pain, then he is able to rise up and praise the Lord. Isn’t it great that when the world seems to be against us and we are overwhelmed with anxiety and foreboding, we have a great God who is approachable and

Psalm 108:13 With God we will gain the victory Psalm 144 begins: - “ Praise be to the   Lord   my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold   and my deliverer, my shield,   in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples   under me.”  From this text someone wrote a song called the “Battle Song” and the stirring tune made it one of my favourites to sing and play back in the days of “Scripture in Song!”  We need to be reminded at times that “ with God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.”  With Israel these enemies are identifiable, they are very real human forces and the conflict in the Middle East divides opinions and arouses emotions. Our God looks deeper than mere human armies and their weaponry, for behind every conflict there is a deeper and darker agenda. The forces of good and evil, and darkness and light, have been engaged in every human encounter throughout history, the wars and skirmishes

Psalm 108:12 “Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless.” I am writing this on 16 th  April 2024. Two days ago, on a Saturday night, Iran fired at least 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and around 110 ballistic missiles against Israel. All the reports say that 99% of these were intercepted and destroyed before they ever reached their destinations. The Iranians have vowed to push the Jews into the Sea and to cleanse the land so that it might be the property of the Palestinians. For some years now, they have used proxy forces such as the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza to further their purposes. At this moment, the Sunni Islam states such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan are standing beside Israel, while Iraq and Syria are supporting the Shiite Iranians. Russia and China are hovering in the background on one side and the US and its NATO and G7 allies are offering support from the other. The advice and speculation that flies back and forth is e

Psalm 108:10-11 Who will lead me? The context of these two verses is not entirely clear, let’s explore their meaning. Verses 7-9 are attributed to the Lord who has  “spoken from His sanctuary.”  As we have seen, the words He speaks promise the downfall of the nations that surround Israel and the empowerment of Israel’s tribal “greats”, Ephraim and Manesseh and Judah. Now David is speaking once again, it’s as if he is holding the Lord to His word, “If what You have said about the likes of Moab and Edom is true, then who will lead me to take their fortified cities? If what You have said is correct, then how am I going to triumph over these enemies of Israel when You have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?” Obviously, the kingdom under David is either languishing from the withdrawal of God’s presence or David is suffering from a dose of self-pity! Either way, this is a prayer for God’s help against the enemy and once again we see the ancient servants of God daring to hold H

Psalm 108:9 Moab is my washbasin The attention of David now turns away from the predominant places and tribes of Israel to its neighbours. We need to note that these words are still attributed to the Lord God, speaking from His sanctuary. What He says is not very complimentary!  When a traveller washed his or her feet or hands, an ewer was used to pour water over the dirty parts of the body, especially after a long journey. The wash pot or basin was used to collect the soiled water and no doubt it was then used to water plants etc. Moab was a region to the east of the River Jordan, and it was a powerful presence in the area and a constant threat to Israel, but this verse tells us that the Moabites will be subdued and made subservient to God’s people, they will be Israel’s washpot or wash basin. History shows that they were! When ancient peoples took possession of land or property, they would toss their sandal, or shoe, on it. It is a symbol of power and dominion and ownership. The Edom

Psalm 108:8 Judah is my scepter Some more locations to wrestle with!  “Gilead is mine”  says the Lord from His sanctuary. Remember that the Lord owns all of Israel, the Jews live in it as foreigners and strangers and should never sell any of it, although it has been given to them as an inheritance. Leviticus 25:23-24. Gilead referred to a large area of mountainous land north-east of the River Jordan. North of Gilead is the River Yarmouk which provided a boundary with Bashan in the far north, to the south was the land of Moab. There was no clearly defined boundary to the east, so the name “Gilead” was often used to describe all territory east of the Jordan River. In the time of Joshua this area was given to Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. The other half of the Manasseh tribe occupied land that adjoined Gilead but this time on the west of the Jordan River, the area included a large chunk of central Israel and stretched all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.  Ephraim was also c

Psalm 108:7 God allocates the land The ancient site of Shechem is located between Mt. Gerizim (left) and Mt. Ebal (right), It is an important city in the biblical record, beginning with God’s promise of the land to Abraham. Later Jacob would return here with his family and settle. During the conquest of Canaan, the twelve tribes gathered on these two hills to recite God’s Law and the blessings and curses that accompanied obedience and disobedience. A summary of some of the main events that took place at Shechem are as follows: - ·        Abraham is promised the land. ·        Jacob buys a plot of land; Dinah is raped. ·        Jacob’s sons are tending the sheep here before Joseph finds them in Dothan.  ·        The covenant is confirmed during the conquest of Canaan. ·        The city is set aside as a Levitical city and a city of refuge. ·        Joseph is buried here.  ·        The ten tribes reject Rehoboam. It seems that in early Jewish thinking, Sukkoth was a by-word for the land

Psalm 108:6 Help us with Your right hand David’s song of praise now dramatically changes direction, after penning an anthem of love to His Maker, the writer now pleads for help; “save us, help us and deliver us.” There are two features of this plea for help that are worthy of our consideration. Firstly, David appeals to God’s right hand. We have spoken of this before; throughout Scripture the right hand is used as a picture of strength and ability. A large portion of the world is right-handed, so most people resonate with the sense of dexterity, strength, and ability coming from the right hand versus the left.  However, when Scripture uses the image of God’s right hand, it is meant to be a picture of the pinnacle of strength and ability. In passages that specify God’s right hand, strength is a key focus.  In the New Testament, we find additional expressions of this phrase in reference to Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 1:20-21  notes,  "…that he worked in Christ when he raised him from t

Psalm 108:5 Be exalted, O God This is the last part of the repetition from Psalm 57, mentioned earlier, and whilst these words speak for themselves, they are so glorious that we must spend a few moments contemplating their meaning.  “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth .”  This is both a statement of fact and also a heart cry. There is no question that the Lord our God will be exalted over the heavens and the whole earth and in many ways, He already is! There are countless human beings who praise and honour His Name and, as we have seen, all of creation praises Him. However, I think David longs for the day when every created being exalts, worships and bows down to YAHWEH, to the God who is above all gods. That certainly does not happen at this moment, in fact Jesus Himself announced that the Satan is the  “prince of this world”.  John 14:30. The Satan is also called the  “ruler of the kingdom of the air”, (Ephesians 2:2). In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul

Psalm 108:4 Great is Your love “Hesed” and “emet”, the two Hebrew words for God’s love and faithfulness. We’ve met this couplet on numerous occasions, these two characteristics of the Lord were at the very heart of the faith of the Israelites. Do you remember what God said to Moses when He revealed Himself on Mount Sinai?  “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in  love and faithfulness , maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.   Exodus 34:5-7. There they are! Love and faithfulness,  “Hesed” and “emet”, part of who God is, a revelation of His character that has never changed and that formed the very heart of Jewish perception of their God – YAHWEH. So, these two characteristics must be part of our understanding of Him too and we gain a bit more information from this

Psalm 108:2-3 I will awaken the dawn Well, the first question that we need to resolve is what were these instruments that the talented musician, David, was talking about? The lyre and the psaltery are thought to be very similar. The lyre  is an instrument that's played using the fingers rather than using a plectrum or a quill. Webster's Dictionary defines psaltery as “An instrument of music used by the Hebrews, the form of which is not now known.”  It is generally agreed that the harp and lyre where both stringed instruments and both of them were also played with a bow. Some experts believe that the harp had a straight neck whilst the lyre’s neck was curved. I think we can assume that both instruments were capable of fine music and that David had mastered them equally.  Thus, our talented player arises before first light and grabs his favourite tools for worship. As the dawn rises over the horizon, David is playing his melodies and revelling in the start of a new day. And who w

Psalm 108:1 My heart is steadfast This Psalm is unusual in that some of its content is copied elsewhere, almost to the letter, see for instance Psalm 57:7-11 and Psalm 60:5-12. Reading these beautiful words convinces me that they are worth repeating! And the author of all of these Psalms was of course, David, and he is surely entitled to repeat Himself.  “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth .” Psalm 57:7-11.   V1        When something is steadfast it is trustworthy and reliable. So, this opening verse has David eager to convince the Lord God that there is no shallowness and wavering with him, he has searched his heart, and he finds that

Psalm 107:43 Take heed! So we come to the end of the Psalm, it has been a difficult journey at times, with many ups and downs! The history of God’s dealings with Israel reads like a record of our own lives, full of peaks and troughs; the walk with God is never plain sailing for we humans are weak and unreliable creatures. That is why we are being asked to stop and think about all that we have learned, the wisest amongst us will spend some time deliberating on what the Psalm has taught us. The successes and failures of Israel can be measured in their treatment of the land and their relationships with the surrounding nations, that is the account that historians give us and that many read into the Bible itself. But, he or she who is wise will see that another agenda has been unfolding here; the history of the Israelites is completely bound up in their relationship with the Lord God, it is their devotion and obedience to Him that has brought blessing and prosperity, and it is their rebelli

Psalm 107:42 The upright see and rejoice The contrasts between the upright and the wicked are often highlighted in the Scriptures, particularly in Proverbs. Let’s just take on board some of these contrasts.  ·        In Proverbs 2:21-22 we are told that the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off and the unfaithful torn from it. Psalm 107 has definitely shown us how and when that has happened! ·        Proverbs 11:6 states that the upright are delivered by their righteousness but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. ·        Proverbs 12:6 says that the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them. ·        Proverbs 14:11 tells us that the house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. (Note that the upright are content to dwell in temporary accommodation.) ·        Proverbs 15:8 informs us that the Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the