Daily Meditations

 We have come to the end of Psalm 92  and I shall now be on Holiday for 2 weeks so we will start meditating on Psalm 93 on my return. 

Psalm 92:15 He is my Rock The last verse of this Psalm is a public announcement, a proclamation that comes from the mouths of the righteous. It is a declaration made by those who have enjoyed the company of the Lord over a number of years, thus it is most likely made by those who have reached old age. Looking back, these people are able to testify to their years of experience of walking by faith, they have known the trials and sufferings of life as well as the highs and the moments of joy. On reflection they are able to say with sincerity and with conviction,  “The Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.” Notice that this public announcement has to do with the character of God rather than His mighty works or words. There is almost a suggestion here that the author of the Psalm expected to find some flaw, some failure, some small evidence of a tarnished reputation but, no, he can say after many years’ experiences, that the Lord God is beyond reproach. He n...

Psalm 92:14 The benefits of old age! What a delightful verse, yet again! There is hope for those of us who are growing older, with our white hair and our creaking limbs. What is more, I can bear testimony that the Psalm writer speaks the truth. For those who are planted by the Lord and who are rooted in Him, the process of spiritual old age is not at all bleak or fruitless, in actual fact the pleasures of His company and the revelation of the myriad of dazzling gems of His truth multiply daily. When the roots go deep after many years of struggles, there is a sense of contentment and peace that youth could never understand. This is no more evident than in the pleasure taken from daily excursions into these Psalms, the emotional heart of the Scriptures. What a feast they provide, what moments of illumination and what inspiration for daily living! In addition, the fruit of changing character and the faith to minister to others in God’s strength rather than our own, are these not part of t...

Psalm 92:13 Planted in the Lord's house We have deliberated on the choice of trees in verse 12; the fruitful palm with its strong root system and its ability to bend before the storms, and the mighty cedar that is equally robust and resistant to all threats, whose roots go down as far as its branches rise up. These arboreal pictures are used to describe the truly righteous, those who set themselves apart from wickedness and who also have strong roots and healthy branches and who can withstand all that is thrown at them. The Psalm continues to compare the righteous with the two trees and the comparisons are delightful. In verse 7, the wicked spring up like grass, grass that does not last, that is insignificant and easily troubled by drought and disease. Not so the righteous, for they are planted in a secure place, and they keep on growing, retaining their life and energy from childhood to old age.  David famously wrote, in Psalm 23, about dwelling in the House of the Lord forever, t...

Psalm 92:12b Growing like cedars In Bible times, cedar wood was sought-after for a number of reasons. Obviously, the wood was very desirable, it had no knots in it and it was used to adorn the Temple and royal palaces. It was an expensive wood and was durable because it did not decay, and it was generally resistant to disease. A cedar can grow up to 120 feet and its branches spread wide at right angles to the trunk. The roots go down as deep as the branches go up and it is little surprise to learn that this was known as the “king of trees”, even its name means “firm or strong”.  By the way, there is a beautiful passage in Ezekiel 31:3-7 where Assyria is likened to a cedar tree that towers over the other nations of the earth. So why Lebanon? Lebanon means “whiteness”, it comes from the Hebrew  “lawban”,  the same word that is used in Isaiah 1:18, “ Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white “lawban” as snow.”  Lebanon was renowned for its snow-capped ...

Psalm 92:12a All about Palm trees The palm tree described here in the Psalm was likely a date palm, which was commonly grown in the Middle East. (And I quote)  Date palms are slow-growing trees that do not bear fruit immediately. Patience is needed for them to grow tall and reach maturity.  Patience is also needed for the fruit. It takes five to eight years before the palm tree will bear fruit. The tree will produce approximately 22 pounds of fruit in its first crop, but then it will rapidly increase the fruit it bears, yielding upwards of 200 pounds of fruit when it’s 30 years old! While its productivity declines after 60 years, a date palm can still produce fruit when it’s 80 years old. Like a palm tree, the righteous are pictured as bearing fruit. This is also reiterated in the New Testament, where Jesus referred to the righteous as the seed that fell on the good ground and bore fruit (Matthew 13:8, 23). To produce spiritual fruit, we must work on our spiritual garden—turni...

Psalm 92:11 My eyes have seen my ears have heard Well, it seems that when military conquest is complete there are two senses that come into play, what you see and what you hear. Imagine yourself as the General or Captain of a victorious army, of course the sweet taste of victory is based on what you can see. The enemy has gone, the army has retreated, the violent attacks have ended, there is no sign of your opponents or of their weaponry. And, still ringing in your ears are the sounds of their retreat, their cries of surrender and the whimpering, pleading voices begging for mercy. We might feel sorry if it were not for the fact that this enemy was driven by wickedness and by evil intent. Their goal was destruction, and their greatest foe was the Lord God Himself. They intended to demonstrate that they and their gods, were more powerful than Elohim Elyon.   You and I are not involved in a military campaign against human forces although we may well be forced to act when we are f...