March 19 - 25 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
March 19
Psalms 24:1-6
1.
The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein.
2.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the
floods.
3.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his
holy place?
4.
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his
soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5.
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the
God of his salvation.
6.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O
Jacob. Selah.
Does this Psalm teach universal salvation
because all the people are the Lord’s? Not at all. The Owner has the right to
save and the right to condemn. Who, of mankind, shall excel and ascend unto
God? Those, who intend to outlive this world, rise into the presence of the
Lord, and stand in His holy place must come with clean hands and a pure heart.
They have come to understand the vanity of humanism. They have repented of the
human method of guile (by which all humanity operates and gains promotion) and
submit to the godly way of truth and honesty. They receive the blessing of God
and the imputation of righteousness.
The last verse refers to a generation. It
does not define people in relation to time, but in relation to kind. Bred and
born for the purposes of God, they are a spiritual race. They will enter into
salvation, the blessing of God and be clothed with divine attributes. They are
born, not made. They are generated, following the pattern of Jacob (the name
means supplanter), who became Israel (prince of God), through a
supernatural transformation. By this means they have been saved, their hearts
and hands have been cleansed, and they will ascend into the eternal, holy hill
of God.
March 20
Psalms 24:7-10
7.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
8.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty
in battle.
9.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
10.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Selah.
The Psalmist turns to the
Author of the new creation, the King of Glory. As a forerunner for every man,
He went first, ascending the hill of the Lord with clean hands and a pure
heart, with guileless lips and godly soul, and stands today in His holy place.
The awesome gates of the eternal city, the jealous doors, which allowed no Old
Testament saint entrance and will never permit entrance to anything that
contaminates, are commanded to lift up their heads for the all-conquering
Christ of Glory. Verse eight is repeated in verse 10. Joseph teaches that the
Holy Spirit repeats a thing to establish it. The King of Glory has come in and
has opened a way for a regenerated mankind to follow. He brings with Him a host
that He has conquered, captured (Ephesians 4:8), and gloriously enslaved
forever and ever.
Let the Lord of Glory sanctify our hands
and hearts. May the victory of Calvary become a reality in us. May it bring
forgiveness and cleansing, from all unrighteous deeds, thoughts and motives.
This is a powerful Psalm, worthy of a
prolonged SELAH.
March 21
Psalms 25:1-3
1.
Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
2.
O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies
triumph over me.
3.
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which
transgress without cause.
The theme of the Psalms, trust and prayer,
is reiterated again and again. Lifting up the soul and waiting upon the Lord,
this is prayer language. Lifting up the soul means that we turn our souls
heavenward and present ourselves before the Lord’s throne for His
consideration. We are allowed to vent our cries.
The argument that David makes, as he begs
God’s intervention, is that he is someone who trusts and is waiting for Him to
act. Is there a possibility that He can deny anyone in that position? Can He
turn the defenseless and helpless away, who look only into the face of their
Lord? The Lord’s enemies observe him waiting and looking heavenward. For that
reason alone, He must vindicate Himself. Even more importantly, the Lord
delights to have men turn to Him in trust and pities those who are cast
helplessly before Him. He will never let them be brought to shame.
March 22
Psalms 25:4-15
4.
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
5.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my
salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6.
Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesss; for they
have been ever of old.
7.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to
thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
8.
Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the
way.
9.
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies.
11.
For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
12.
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that
he shall choose.
13. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed
shall inherit the earth.
14.
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them
his covenant.
15. Mine eyes
are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Trials are doubly difficult
when a person, not only sees his enemies on the outside, but also is conscious
of his own inner guilt and unworthiness. David recognizes his sin, yet in his
imperfections, he trusts and waits. Answers to prayer are not the rights of the
spiritually perfect. The devil, our enemy, wants tell us that we cannot expect
God’s succor, because we fall short of total rightness. However, it is the
Lord’s goodness we count on, not ours.
This Psalm is especially a prayer for
divine tutorship and David bases it, not on his worthiness, but his trust.
While he calls for help, he also asks instruction. King that he is, he
maintains a child-like, humble spirit. “Show me,” he prays, “teach and lead
me.” This is an important part in prayer relationship with God. We ought to
admit that our understanding is very limited and, when we have misread God’s
map and consequently have lost our way, we need to implore Him to teach us. We
are often afflicted, because we have gone astray. Regardless of the preparation
that we have gotten from the world and adopted as our own, God’s way is
diametrically opposed to it. So we wait on his instruction, consistently and
continuously (verses 5,15). It is time-consuming, but vital. The Lord is good
enough to teach us. The Psalm tells us that He teaches a) sinners, b) the meek,
c) those that keep his covenant and testimonies, and d) those that fear the
Lord.
March 23
Psalms 25:12-22
12.
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that
he shall choose.
13.
His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
14.
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them
his covenant.
15.
Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of
the net.
16.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and
afflicted.
17.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my
distresses.
18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and
forgive all my sins.
19.
Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel
hatred.
20.
O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my
trust in thee.
21.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
22.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Quite frequently, the Psalms mention
people who fear the Lord. When someone falls into that category, He pays
special attention to him. Four or five advantages are listed, which God Himself
will teach him. He begins by showing him how to choose the right way, so that
he might become involved with that specific purpose for which he has been born.
As a direct result, he will know godly success, with ease or rest to accompany
it, which can be passed down to his children. In such a relationship, the Lord
imparts secrets, which are not generally known and clauses in the covenant, of
which careless or superficial people are not aware.
God’s man is not taught in a classroom,
but in real-life situations that contain sufficient trauma, so that “oh’s” are
interjected into David’s prayers (verses 17, 20). Note the trials that he
experiences. He speaks of being desolate, afflicted, troubled of heart,
distressed, in pain, with many cruel enemies.
The last three verses summarize the Psalm.
The Psalmist prays passionately that God would keep him, on the basis of his
trust, so that his enemies would not bring him to shame. He learns to wait, in
order to walk in step with the Lord in His ways, rather than daring to proceed
on his own. The scope of his prayer is broader than solely a petition for
personal needs. It envelops all God’s people in their troubles. “Let none that
wait on Thee be ashamed.”
March 24
Psalms 26:1-5
1.
Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted
also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
2.
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
3.
For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy
truth.
4.
I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5.
I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the
wicked.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father.” God’s person must
acknowledge that he cannot know personal success, without seeing himself as
part of a larger body. This is a Psalm of associations.
As he begins to pray, David welcomes the
searching light of God, opening himself and inviting an examination of his
motives. He wants to be right before God and not live under delusion. He is
honest, sincere and unselfish. Furthermore, he walks in the secure position of
trust in the Lord where there is no slippery ground. The degree of our trust is
the degree of our righteousness. David’s eyes are attracted to the
lovingkindness of God and his feet are dedicated to walk in the truth.
Upon the preceding principles, we build
true fellowship with the household of God. When a heart is in tune with the attributes
of godliness, in the same measure it must be in discord with evil and vanity.
He will love one and hate the other. Win the individual sinner, but shun the
congregation of evildoers. Jesus hid Himself from them. David would not walk
into their doors or sit in their seats. What has an honest man to do with the
guileful? What has a wholehearted seeker after truth to do with pretenders?
Such association is distasteful to him.
March 25
Psalms 26:6-12
6.
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O
LORD:
7.
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy
wondrous works.
8.
LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where
thine honour dwelleth.
9.
Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
10.
In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity:
redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12.
My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the
LORD.
David washes his hands of sophisticated
licentiousness and sin-excusing philosophies and approaches the altar of the
Lord in childlike simplicity and innocence. In that atmosphere, God is active
and manifests his works. The heart wells up and pours out public testimony of
thanksgiving and wonder. David loves the house that honors God, where people
sincerely utter the prayer, “Hallowed be
Thy Name”. This is the meeting ground of the righteous and the atmosphere
of the pure in heart.
I can only assume that those who depart from
the fellowship of God-seekers, in order to join the boisterous crowd of
bribers, mischief-makers and flatterers, are themselves not pure in heart. They
give themselves over to satisfying superficial desires. Can any lover of God
sit comfortably, while people profane God’s honor?
O Lord, this is our prayer: Keep Your
lovingkindness before our eyes that our one goal will be Your smile. “Thy lovingkindness is better than life”,
therefore the martyrs went to be burnt at the stake. Make our commitment to You
very firm that we may utter, in the midst of a perverse and adulterous
generation, “as for me, I will walk in mine integrity”.
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