July 20 – 26 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
July 20
Psalms 67:1-3
1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Revival blessing upon God’s people spawns a worldwide effect upon the heathen. Prayer is not to receive blessing for self-gratification, but “ that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.”
We never become expert spiritual specialists. Our hope is ever in the mercy of God. Let us place our trust solidly in Him and not in personal achievement. When we have done all there is to do, we are still unworthy servants and blessing is due to God’s mercy. May that thought take us to our knees and heighten the intensity of our petitions. The Psalmist’ prayer goes beyond Moses’ experience. He will have His face shine upon His people, while Moses saw only the backside of God. That statement is worthy of a “Selah”.
God approves of audacity, when it comes from a truly hungry heart, intent on showing God’s way to the nations. The glow of the Spirit causes more widespread attention than the shine upon Moses’ face. “All nations” respond to the Prophet raised up like unto Moses, whose message must be heard. People are drawn, when He is lifted up on the cross and His face, marred beyond recognition and striped with blood, reflects the glory of God. Look and live, all nations of the earth!
July 21
Psalms 67:4-7
4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
6. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Every true worshipper of God has missionary vision. “Let all the people praise Thee,” is his cry. That one basic desire supercedes all others and benefits many. God is the instigator of it and its ultimate purpose is to bring praise to Him. As the nations observe the blessing of God upon His people, His fear will enter their hearts. The fear of God results in joy and gladness. God pours out blessing upon a wider range of people and in turn, they praise Him.
Benefits of this nature come, when people bow in submission to His sovereign and righteous rule. Those who submit to King Jesus will be glad and sing for joy. The Kingdom of God is established first in the individual heart, but one day He will rule the whole earth in righteousness. All creation will respond to its Creator and the world will fill with song. The Psalm ends, as it begins, affirming that God will bless and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
July 22
Psalms 68:1-4
1. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
This Psalm sounds the battle cry of the Christian soldier: “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered.” The believer wars against “unnumbered foes”, who seek to cut off every supply line, destroy all spiritual weapons, and render him helpless and alone on the battle front. Evil spirits will challenge all Christian standards, every doctrine, spiritual gift, the authority of God’s word, its miraculous nature, and even the person of God Himself. “Sound the battle cry, see the foe is nigh...Rouse, then, soldier...” and shout to the heavens, “Let God arise...let them that hate Him flee before Him.” Let them be as smoke before His wind and wax before His fire. It is the presence of God we need, more than doctrines about Him, seminars, sermons or suppers.
God put David in a position, where he had to cry desperately. Prayer was his life’s blood and his motivation to victorious song.
July 23
Psalms 68:5-19
5. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
8. The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
11. The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
12. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
13. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.
15. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.
16. Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.
17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
19. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
This portion gives excellent insight into the nature of God and is also portrayed in the exultant heart of Jesus in the gospels. The Lord is the friend of the “little guy”, a father of the fatherless, a judge of the widows, a companion to the solitary, a deliverer to the bound. Here we are to take a “Selah” pause and meditate upon His condescension in marching with Israel through the wilderness. The Lord condescends to men of low estate. He has no qualms about trudging through the dusty and savage desert, dwelling in a portable tent with no fixed place to lay His head. Indeed, He brings His glory to the dismal place and His people take heart in their weary journeys. The wilderness comes alive, the mountains move, the earth shakes and the heavens lower.
The Lord gives His word. The lowly publish it, kings flee before it, and their spoil is left for the weakest to plunder. God’s needy are provided a home in the wilderness with gold and silver as the spoils of battle. God’s summit is the envy of the nations, though theirs may tower much higher, viewing them from an earthly standpoint. God’s hill peaks in heaven and his chariots rumble on the golden streets of glory.
The Lord captures the heart that He might dwell in it and imparts His gifts to it. He loads us with benefits. He tells us, “All things are yours” – “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Think about this and you will see the reason why those who settle for earthly treasure are extremely jealous. It was for envy that the Jews turned Christ over to the Gentiles. They lost heaven as a result.
July 24
Psalms 68:20-35
20. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.
21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.
22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
23. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
24. They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
27. There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
30. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.
31. Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
33. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
34. Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
God will stop at nothing to bring His captives to victory and lead them to glory. He loses none of them and no man can pluck them out of His hand. Death, life, angels and principalities cannot separate them from the love of Christ. He who has chosen and called, also sanctified and He will glorify them.
The nations are as a drop in the bucket. A song will be sung to the Lord from the midst of the heathena and their kings will submit. He established Jerusalem, as a demonstration of what He can do in all nations. When the church comes alive, the heathen are won. God will stop at nothing in order that His word may be established throughout the earth. He will finish, that which He begins. If He has commanded us to do the impossible, then look to Him to give miraculous strength.
The final two verses summarize the chapter. God is the source of terrible strength and power. May His people ascribe strength to Him, without drawing from other sources. May they submit to His excellent lordship, look above for their strength and then He will be blessed in the earth.
July 25
Psalms 69:1-3, 9, 21, 26
1. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
2. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. In that sense, they were Christians looking forward to the actual physical manifestation of Christ to Israel and the world. Because of the inward witness, they suffered the reproaches of Christ before His time (see Hebrews 11:26, regarding Moses) and their lives typified the life of Christ. In similar fashion, the Christ-life within the Christian today extracts the same vituperation from enemies seen and unseen. We are co-heirs with Christ, not only of His blessings, but also of His persecution. “Unto you it is given not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
We look backward to His earthly manifestation and relive the life of Christ. We are crucified with Christ, as was David. Therefore he writes in the first person, giving clear references to the cross. Of course, he was not Christ, but a prophet who testified, not only in word, but also in his bones and his flesh.
We may safely say that the Christian will experience this Psalm as David and Christ did. The difference is that He was without sin, yet “He who knew no sin, became sin for us” and in so doing became a curse. The aggregate curse of every sinner was laid upon Him and He bore their guilt, shame and the wrath of God. He was smitten of God (verse 26 and Isaiah 53:4, 10).
July 26
Psalms 69:1-15
1. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
2. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
6. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
10. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
11. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
12. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
Have you experienced the waters that come into the soul? None that ever entered into human lungs have been so deadly and only the supernatural intervention of God can save those, who are so afflicted. The wars outside the body are terrible, but the fightings within the soul are devastating. One can be overwhelmed and almost drowned, as a body captured by a breaker in the surf. “There is no standing...the floods overflow me.” There is no human weapon against these floods and no human lips can defend the soul. Sin and foolishness (verse 5) are undeniably present. To make matters worse, good brethern may keep you at arm’s length. This magnifies the sense of being an offense. You may feel like a stumblingblock to the whole congregation (6). You may even accept guilt and retribution for sins not committed (4). It was certainly true in Christ’s case.
God chastens the soul, because of its potental for deceit and wrong. All that one can say is, “Lord, right or wrong, I did what I did for your sake.” I felt I could not be silent or inactive and the word burned within me.. I tried not to be an arrogant activist, who thinks, “I am right and you’re wrong.” “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.’”
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