Daily Meditations

Psalm 145:13 The everlasting kingdom We need to take a moment to think about the Kingdom of God. Clearly, it is very much in David’s thinking here, even though he was the monarch of a successful kingdom himself and has been acclaimed as one of the greatest kings ever.  So, what exactly is a kingdom in the Bible? It’s simply a country or any area of land that is ruled by a king or a queen, a region that is under the sovereignty of an individual. It is also an area where a particular quality dominates such as “the kingdom of love” or the “kingdom of darkness.” The Bible refers often to the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus used this term regularly, to distinguish His place and His priorities from the kingdoms of the world. He was referring simply to any government or control where God Himself was on the throne and where spiritual and natural forces acknowledge this. As soon as we become believers in Christ Jesus and accept the sovereignty of God, we choose to move out of the kingdoms ...

Psalm 145:12 It's so obvious! This verse, and its predecessor, could be part of a motivational talk about Gospel preaching but the preachers here are not evangelists, but God’s created works. Many believers in Jesus Christ feel the weight of His “Great Commission,” and are driven to “ go into all the world and preach the Gospel. ” Mark 16:15-16. Praise God for their faith and their boldness. What this Psalm tells us is that there have always been bold and faithful witnesses to God’s “ mighty acts and the glorious splendour of His kingdom.”  The witnesses are eloquent, vivid and powerful, they proclaim the majesty of God, day after day, to every inhabitant of this world and there is no excuse for those who choose to not see or listen to their message. David is actually putting the onus for declaring the Lord, on creation, which has been working at this from the beginning of time.  Only a complete idiot or egotist can live on this planet and not see what is glaringly obviou...

Psalm 145:11 The glory of His kingdom It’s intriguing to learn that praise to God is not just expressed by humans and in English!! There are countless, much more subtle ways in which God’s Name is exalted in Creation. We mentioned a few of these in the previous verses and perhaps we are beginning to get the picture that everything that the Lord created is an expression of Him, just as an artist’s work shows off their character and their ability. Therefore, everything that we see or hear on this planet that was deliberately put in place by the Lord has something to tell us about Him. God gave us our 5 senses, primarily so that we might enjoy all that He made for us! Paul puts it much more eloquently than I can;  “ The wrath of God   is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,   19  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.   20...

Psalm 145:10 Let His faithful people extol Him Most people associate the sounds of creation with the natural order of the seasons, for instance birds sing more prolifically in spring because they are attracting their mates. (This was found to be untrue when certain warblers were tracked during migration from Europe to Africa and it was found they sing the same songs when they are resting up, and just as regularly as they do in spring in the northern hemisphere.) Find time to go outside today and listen to creation. Maybe the breaking of waves on the seashore, or the sound of wind in the trees, or the calls of wild animals and the sound of countless species of birds, as previously mentioned. As I write, a Robin is singing in the garden and will continue to do so throughout each day. There is the buzz of insects to add to the catalogue and, my favourite, the song of a skylark that produces more music in a few minutes than Beethoven produced In a lifetime. And those tiny birds compose sou...

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good We need to be reminded at times, of the extent of God’s goodness. It’s easy to stick our chests out and walk proudly in the knowledge that God is good to us, His children, those that believe in Him and have accepted salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. But God is good to everyone. He created a beautiful world for us all to inhabit, He provides food and drink to every one of the 8.142 billion people who live on this planet (as at 2024). God’s goodness is reflected on the land, in the seas, throughout the heavens and in the very air that we breathe. Our miraculous bodies are all the evidence we need that God is good and the beauty and wonder of all creation is given to us to enjoy and to carefully manage. Oh yes, God is good to all. He is not only good, but He has a benevolent compassion towards all human beings. Are they not made in His image? Are we not at the peak of the food chain, given brains and physical abilities to watch over the complex world th...

Psalm 145:8 Slow to anger and rich in love Do you remember how Moses carried two stone tablets down Mount Sinai and then smashed them in disgust when he witnessed the Israelites worshipping a Golden Calf? The Lord instructed Moses to return up the mountain the following day, alone and with two freshly chiselled stone tablets.  We read in Exodus 34:4-7 that “ The Lord came down in the cloud and stood with Moses 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. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished, He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation .”  This is sobering, coming in David’s Psalm directly after the instructions to tell the next generations of the goodness and majesty of God. By copying pa...

Psalm 145:7 God's abundant goodness and righteousness Here are two more themes for our worship and praise that should drive us to tell the next generations of the glory of our God. Firstly, we should have occasions when we celebrate His abundant goodness; times of praise and worship in our corporate gatherings are such occasions but we can also set apart moments with children and grandchildren when we celebrate too. Most of us have a rich history of walking with the Lord, there must have been some “high” or mountain top moments, if so pass them on and tell of the goodness of the Lord. The Psalm also encourages us to “ Joyfully sing of the Lord’s righteousness.”  In other words, we embrace and explain just how perfect He is and how holy are His ways. Children and adults need to grasp this or else they will never understand the need for repentance or the wonder of all that Jesus did for us at the cross. It is His righteousness that makes the Lord our God unapproachable and a Being to...

Psalm 145:6 God's awesome works and great deeds We have been looking at the way in which generations pass on what they know of the Lord to those who come after them. So far,  “they commend Your works and tell of Your mighty acts ,” and “ They speak of the glorious splendour of Your majesty.”  This verse now adds another layer to the rich testimony that we should be passing down to those who succeed us, we have a responsibility to “ tell of the power of God’s mighty works and His great deeds .” It strikes me that there is an agenda here for every Sunday School and church-based children’s work.   We have to excite the young with amazing accounts of all that God has done and who He is, let’s paint Him in vivid colours and big Him up, as if that were necessary. Let’s stir their fertile imaginations with images of a great and powerful God. We can certainly do that with many of the stories in the Bible but, hopefully, we have some of our own to pass on too! Anything that glorif...

Psalm 145:5 Can we see God? We’re still pondering the question, what is it that generations of people have passed on to their successors about the greatness of the Lord. David uses a regal metaphor here, let’s imagine ourselves as spectators inside Westminster Abbey or Windsor Chapel at the wedding of a senior member of the British Royal Family. All the men are dressed in their best suits, the ladies resplendent in their finest dresses and hats, shoes shine and jewellery sparkles but none of this compares to the splendour of the royals as they parade down the central aisle.  God’s majesty is displayed in the central aisle of His creation from the buttercups that lighten a meadow in spring to the soaring power of an eagle over a mountain peak to the song of a robin in winter, to the majesty of a whale surfacing above the waves, to the setting of the sun in the evening and its arrival every morning, to the vastness of the star-filled heavens, to the humbling crescendos of the thunder...

Psalm 145:4 I will proclaim Your great deeds Later in this Psalm David will go on to name and proclaim the mighty acts of God, as this verse shows us, he believes this to be the responsibility of every generation –  “to commend the works of the Lord and to tell of His mighty acts. ” In particular we have a responsibility to do this to our children – to the next generation. It was not that long ago when churches in every village and town ran Sunday Schools and where Bible stories were recounted and the next generation grew up knowing about the mighty acts of the Lord. I regularly visited schools, with a guitar under my arm, having been invited to take an assembly. It was a joy to tell the ancient stories of God’s power and saving works. Sadly, this rarely happens nowadays.  That means that we all have a responsibility to keep talking about our God and all that He has done both in ancient times or about what He is doing in our lives today. Having had three miraculous healings in...

Psalm 15:3 Great is the Lord! This is a thankless task! Somehow we have to try to grasp the significance of these words, written by King David, and try to understand the greatness of the Lord! Obviously, that is impossible for finite minds that are vastly inferior to His mind and incapable of imagining just how great and wonderful He really is. But even if we’ve just meandered a few feet down the road of grasping the Lord’s greatness we will have had our minds totally blown, as David says, “ He is the most worthy of our praise.”  It doesn’t matter where we direct our praise be it to other human beings, family members, those we love, or those we revere for their gifts and skills; it I still the Lord who is most worthy, for His character and ability far exceeds any human greatness. So much so that it is impossible for us to fathom how great He is.  The Psalms have taught us that God’s mind is so much more powerful than all the world’s computers put together, in fact they are jus...

Psalm145:2 Eternal praise! What a brilliant statement and one for us to take on board. Do we want to be men and women of faith like David? Well, one way to start is to ensure that we praise the Lord our God every day. There are so many ways we can do this, by reading and studying His Word and being amazed at who He is and what He has done. By giving thanks for our daily food and necessities. By witnessing to others about Him. By playing songs and hymns that extol Him and by making music in our heart to Him. By praying and simply thanking Him for all He is and all He has done. By standing still for a moment and looking with awe-filled eyes at His creation or listening to the music of the birds, the trees, the ocean waves or the buzzing of insects and recognising that every bit of creation reveals His character and provision for us. By joining with others who love Him and acknowledging together His sovereignty and authority. By humbling ourselves so that we are completely dependent on Hi...

Psalm 145:1 Praise eternal This is the last of the Psalms that is ascribed to David and in that sense, we might feel a little bit sad. We have had the company of this great man and accompanied him through all His trials and moments of despair as well as sharing in his successes and identifying with his songs of praise. And that is what Psalm 145 is, it is described in my Bible as a “magnificent hymn to the Lord, the Great King, for his mighty acts and His benevolent virtues.” So, we will encounter the virtues of the Lord over the next few studies, His greatness, goodness, trustworthiness and righteousness. I’m looking forward to this, aren’t you?   V1        When we exalt someone (or even something) we elevate that person above others, we grant them a position of importance and authority over us. We proclaim that they are greater than us and we are lesser than them and that they are worthy of our obeisance. I suppose this is played out on ear...

Psalm 144:15 We are blessed! We use the Word “blessed” a lot in conversation; “Have a blessed day”, “God bless you”, even unbelievers describe themselves as “blessed.” The Hebrew word for “blessed” describes the happiness that comes from being favoured by the Lord God, so, maybe a good translation of “blessed” is “favoured.” We often use the term in the context of wealth or health, but it goes much further, when God blesses His people they have an inner quality, a spiritual state of joy-filled contentment that cannot be shaken by the trials of this world. David uses this word corporately of his people, Israel. The Lord has provided for them in remarkable ways; Psalm 33:12 says,  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”  The Psalm goes on to demonstrate that the Lord oversees all peoples and all events on earth! Best of all,  “His eyes are on those who fear Him, whose hope is in His unfailing love.”  Do we count ourselves...

Psalm 144:14 The way we should be It’s interesting to list and note the blessings from God that David records in this Psalm, it reveals his sense of priorities and also his expectations so far as the Lord is concerned: - ·        Sons will be like well-nurtured plants ·        Daughters will be like palace pillars ·        Barns will be filled with every kind of provision ·        Sheep will increase by thousands ·        Oxen will draw heavy loads (this can read “our chieftains will be firmly established”) ·        The land will be at peace and warfare will cease.    David paints a rather idyllic picture doesn’t he? However, isn’t this the picture that we would all like to engage ourselves in? Our children developing into mature and    capable adults. Our prosperity growing and peace in ou...

Psalm 144:13 Those who obey the Lord will be blessed David is still thinking about the threat of his enemies and especially those he regards as  “Foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.”  In other words, infiltrators and impostors. He ponders what it would be like to live in a land that is free from tensions and assaults by the enemies. David knows that this land of Israel belongs to the Lord and if God is with the people and is freely worshipped, then the land and its inhabitants will prosper. Listen carefully to these words given by the Lord to Moses and promising blessings if the Israelites obey their God; - “If you fully obey the   Lord   your God and carefully follow all his commands   I give you today, the   Lord   your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.    All these blessings will come on you   and accompany you if you obey the   Lord  your God: You will be blessed ...

Psalm 144:12 What are our sons and daughters like? Those of us who are gardeners will be aware that to nurture a healthy plant takes some effort, you don’t just shove it in the ground and go away and hope for the best, if a plant is valued then we will need to know the soil type that it is being planted in, what size hole needs to be made for the roots, when and how it needs feeding and watering, its position in relation to the sun and also, to other plants. We need to know how to care for its growth, when to prune and when to support any tendrils, and the right time, if relevant, to harvest its fruit or to cut its blooms. Gardening is a full-on job and can be immensely rewarding and also frustrating. Raising children is just the same, a concept that David fully understood! The way our sons present themselves in their youth is a direct reflection of the way they have been raised and nurtured.  In the same way our daughters reflect their family upbringing and the qualities of their ...

Psalm 144:11 Deliver me from lies and deceit We might be surprised to notice that this verse is a repeat of v7-8, once again we  encounter “the hands of foreigners, whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.”  And David pleads to the Lord to be delivered and rescued from these foes. As we shall see, he is looking ahead to the future prosperity and security of His kingdom and to achieve this he requires the Lord’s help.  There are so many outside forces that affect the life of the nations today, the issue of migrants and racial tension is constantly in the news and underlies the growing popularity of political parties like Reform, here in the UK. We aim to keep well away from politics but to seek to understand a far more sinister and troubling conflict, that which takes place in the heavenly or spiritual realm. In this context we are all surrounded by the voices of the devil’s minions who chide us constantly and sow seeds of doubt but also of temptatio...

Psalm 144:9-10 Sing a new song Verse 9 is a vow, and we can almost imagine David calling for his 10 stringed lyre as soon as he had completed the Psalm so he could compose a song for the Lord. I am not a great musician, but I do know that there were, and still are, 7-stringed lyres and 10-stringed lyres. The 10-stringed instrument was superior and much more versatile. Some of you may understand what is meant by the doubling of the pentatonic tuning, resulting in a range of two octaves. David was obviously an accomplished musician, he had to be, to play such an instrument and also to compose so many wonderful songs, if only we could hear the tunes! V10 gives us the content of the new song, it was an anthem that extols “ the One who gives victory to kings and who delivers His servant David .” As such, it could be one of many of David’s collection. Most of us are not songwriters and are unable to compose tunes and lyrics but that is why the Lord gives us those who can. The modern-day chur...

  Psalm 144:8 Foreigners or family? In Verse 7 David asks that the Lord delivers him and rescues him from the hands of foreigners! Sounds a bit racist, doesn’t it? According to this Psalm, foreigners’ mouths are full of lies, and their right hands are deceitful.  Let’s remember that the Jewish culture was very inclusive (and still is), you were born a Jew and genealogy was a huge part of the exclusiveness of these people. Family history was of utmost importance and Jews took great pride in their heritage and then in the rites and ceremonies of their religion. Well, some did, others chased after the pagan gods of the Canaanites, which turned out to be one of the biggest problems that the nation and its leaders faced and ultimately led to their being overcome by their adversaries. Remember that god-fearing Jews saw themselves as chosen and set part by God and in that sense believed themselves to be a bit above “Foreigners”. It was possible to marry into a Jewish family or even t...

Psalm 145:7 The hand of deliverance Psalm 18 is once more in David’s mind (assuming that he wrote that Psalm before this one!) in 18:16-7 David writes,  “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me”.  Sometimes we are surrounded by threatening forces or powerful circumstances that appear to be about to overwhelm us. In the psalmist’s mind, and this was part of ancient thought processes, was the imagery found in Genesis 1 where chaotic waters covered the earth and had to be subdued and called to order before the Lord could bring light, life and meaning to the earth. We might say that these exterior forces are still capable of overtaking the earth and covering dry land, that is, unless God continues to hold them back.  This illustrates the dark experiences of life that trouble us and threaten the status quo and that the Bible associates with the activity of ou...