Daily Meditations

Psalm 119:105 The lamp and its light And now to 14 th  letter of the Hebrew alphabet – Nun. Nun represents the number 50 and it is an expression of life often associated with a picture of a fish swimming in water! It is first mentioned in Exodus 33:11 where we meet Joshua “the son of  Nun .” Joshua was the man chosen to succeed Moses and he was able to enter the Promised Land where he made incredible progress in conquering the local tribes and clearing the way for Israel’s occupation. Joshua was literally “the son of life” – a representation of Yeshua our Messiah. The words that begin this section of Psalm 119 are the best known in the Psalm , “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”  This talk of the author being on a journey and choosing to walk on the right path has been mentioned before, indeed in the previous verse he declares how he hates every wrong path. So, what is the best way to stay on the right path?  By reading and obeying the Word of...

Psalm 119:104 Learning to hate wrong paths What is “understanding”, in biblical terms? It’s obviously far more than just reading the instruction manual that goes with the new washing machine or grasping the way that gravity works! This verse refers to something deeper and something life-enabling. The precepts of God are His rules and commands that put Him in His rightful place in our lives, as our mentor, our guide and our overseer. His precepts teach us that we are accountable but also protected. If we obey them, life will generally go well for us and we won’t take the countless wrong turns and diversions that beckon along the way. The precepts of God, in the psalmist’s opinion, keep us on the right path.  Let’s face it, life is full of options, from what to watch on TV, to how to spend our day, to who we will build relationships with, to which task on the “to do” list we will tackle next, and so it goes on. The precepts of God guide our moral decisions and frankly that covers alm...

Psalm 119:103 Sweeter than honey Israel is a land of honey. The vast arable fields are characterised by their giant irrigation systems and also, in many cases, by the lines of beehives that stretch along the boundaries as far as the eye can see. The honeycombs are so plentiful that they sit in racks on hotel breakfast bars and visitors can just break chunks off and sample the rich, sweet honey that oozes out!  The writer of Psalm 119 finds similar sweetness and pleasure in sampling the Word of God, he reaches out and eagerly devours the succulent riches of the Word, it is more than just bread to his soul, it has an element of purity and luxury, just like a dripping, mouth-watering honeycomb.  This Psalm has turned out to be like that for me and I hope for you too. It loomed like a large, gloomy mountain over me as I waded through the psalms that preceded it, I skipped over them lightly, enjoying the brief respite that they offered before the ascent of the big peak! I had read ...

Psalm 119:102 The Lord is my teacher In verse 99, we thought about the progression from being taught by others, to becoming a teacher ourselves. It’s a long, ponderous journey and we are forever grateful for those who accompany us for parts of it, our mentors, our rabbis, our guides along the way. For many of us it starts with parents, then Sunday School and Bible Class teachers, followed by pastors, ministers, shepherds, elders and others who took us under their wing. It may be many years before we stop and look back and realise that all these different folk have had a genuine interest in our progress and have been deliberately planted to help us on our way. To them all we say a heartfelt, “Thank you.” There comes a day when we realise too, that none of this has been accidental or coincidental, the Lord Himself has been our guide and our mentor, and He has been our principal teacher. The richness of the words that we read and study in God’s Word are flavoured by a divine hand, the Hol...

Psalm 119:101 Keep away from evil paths It is a torturous journey that those who love the Lord are bidden to take. How simple life would be if there stretched before us a beautiful, tree-lined, motorway, stretching as far as the eye can see and offering no deviations or alternative junctions. Sadly, that does not describe the journey of life, particularly the journey that those who want to grow in their faith must take. For us, the route is often slow and ponderous, with endless twists and turns and often rocky outcrops and ravines that have to be negotiated if progress is to continue. The most difficult decisions are the ones that have to be made at crossroads and when a by-road opens up offering an easier and much more scenic route. Too often, we find ourselves attracted by the views on offer and the possibility of “comfort breaks” where very many attractions are on display and there are a thousand reasons to stop and linger. Not all of these side tracks are evil but some are deliber...

Psalm 119:100 The bearded ones! The Hebrew word for elders literally means “bearded ones.” In most ancient cultures a beard was a symbol of wisdom and strength and the longer and thicker it was, the better. Presumably this means that to qualify as an elder of the people you must be an older man, full of experience, known to be wise and having considerable influence. The role was pretty obvious, such men were at an age when they had become the older statemen in their families, clans and tribes and people naturally looked up to them. These were the men who been there, seen it, done it and got the T shirt! They were respected for their knowledge and as such they served as arbitrators in legal and administrative matters as well as being the equivalent of local counsellors. Some would, of course, assist in military maters depending on their experience and skill sets.  We might think that it takes a bit of cheek for the writer of Psalm 119, who obviously had not reached the status of an ...

Psalm 119:99 No limits to learning When someone says that they have more insight than all their teachers, we would probably assume that they are arrogant or deluded! How can we go around boasting that, however much others seek to instruct us, we know more? I will attempt to explain. In my youth I had an immense hunger for learning especially learning about the Word of God. I attended conferences, Bible teaching sessions, house parties and the like, and would hang on to every word spoken by the teachers, making copious notes as I listened. I borrowed books from my father and other friends and loved nothing more than to go to Christian bookshops and buy the latest publications. My bookshelves swelled with commentaries, biographies and publications covering every subject associated with the Bible. These books were not for casual reading, they were for study and learning and ultimately the truths embraced would find their way into countless sermons and Bible teaching sessions.  Many of...

Psalm 119:98 Intelligence gathering One of the most important and coveted aspects of modern warfare is the intelligence gathering that lies behind the actual, physical confrontations. Armies of men and women are fighting in unseen wars around the world, gathering information, spying on enemies, manipulating facts and figures, trying to out-think their adversaries. One of the outstanding accomplishments of Israel in their recent war with Hamas, Hezbollah and ultimately Iran and the bigger players, has been their ability to infiltrate enemy strongholds. Mossad is the name of their foreign intelligence agency and Shabak, the organisation charged with maintaining internal security. Both are rated very highly around the world. The psalm-writer is saying that God’s commands are the agency by which he gained the upper hand over his enemies, in studying and meditating upon those laws he found that his “intelligence” was superior to theirs! What a stunning lesson for us, we can certainly do wit...