March 5 - 11 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
March 5
Psalms 19:11-14
11.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is
great reward.
12.
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have
dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the
great transgression.
14.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
The Bible, on the one hand,
carefully warns and illuminates us concerning every possible pitfall and
danger. On the other hand, it inspires and motivates us to great reward. It
invokes prayer, because we see that we need God, in order to be preserved or
rewarded. We do not know the deceit in our own heart. What we might think
totally justifiable, can be an abomination to Him and condemn our soul. We need
to open the scriptures in faith and trust God. Let Him reveal the unknown
faults and also give us the strength to overcome known sins, for from Him alone
comes the enabling. Only in His spotlight can I be upright, blameless and
innocent.
The Psalm in the last verse expresses the
noblest desire of the human heart. It states: let me be acceptable, not before
men, but before God; not only in actions, but also in words; not only in words,
but also in thoughts and motives. Let me be totally right before you, Lord. Let
me make You smile, but not by my own strength or self-righteousness. Bring the
two graces of strength and redemption into my life. You are the source of my
strength. You are my Redeemer, who bought my soul, cleansed and renewed it, and
brought me into fellowship with You.
March 6
Psalms 20:1-5
1.
The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob
defend thee;
2.
Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3.
Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4.
Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
5.
We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set
up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
This Psalm concerns the Lord’s grace in
hearing those who call upon him. As the apostles introduced their epistles with
the blessing of “grace and peace”, so the Psalmist begins with the blessing, “the
Lord hear thee” The Lord comes to the defense of the one who trusts and calls
upon Him in the day of trouble.
In the Revelation, we see prayers
accumulated and offered with incense to the throne of God and heaven hurled
judgment upon the earth. In the Psalm, help comes from God’s sanctuary to defend
and strengthen the supplicant. God remembers every labor of love, unselfish
service and God-directed offering. He accepts the burnt offering, which was
consecrated totally to God with no part reserved for any man. God grants the
petitions of him, who has a sanctified heart with God-centered plans. For
Christ’s sake and the gospel, he forsakes all to follow Him and heaven responds
with a bounty of grace. His heart’s desire contains no selfish indulgence,
therefore Christ’s kingdom will suffer no loss by adhering to his request. God
can bring his plans to fruition with no deviation from His own ways. His
rejoicing is in the Lord, so the Lord grants all the petitions. He flies God’s
banner and all honor and glory goes to Him.
March 7
Psalms 20:6-8
6.
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his
holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
7. Some
trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the
LORD our God.
8.
They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
We have here a declaration of faith: “Now
I know” and “He will hear.” There is no room for doubts or “maybes” in this
verse, but only substance and evidence. That which is unseen and hoped for is
as sure, as if it were already experienced. The saving strength of His right
hand is a reality. He hears and that is an indisputable fact. He who watches
over sparrows and counts hairs has no problem picking up the soul-anguish and
prayerful thoughts of those anointed with His Spirit. Having heard, He lifts
the undefeated, right hand of omnipotence unto salvation. It is sure to come to
pass.
He is not saving the chariot-and-horse
trusters. In prayer, we must not be double-minded two-timers. If we trust in
God, we forsake all other sources of confidence. This is something not often
understood in modern times. We cannot say, “I trust in horses, chariots and God”, but rather, “I do not trust in
horses and chariots, but in God. We
cannot have a divided heart, for one falls and the other stands. None of Israel
knew such an exclusive confidence, as they stood opposite the Philistines, but
David remembered the name of His God. He abandoned Saul’s armor and a
defenseless youth carried death in his sling. The name of the Lord brought the
champion Goliath to the ground.
March 8
Psalms 20:9
9.
Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
Here is a prayer that leaves the sanctuary
of God ringing with the echo of a desperate heart. It redounds through the corridors
of heaven and bounces off the sea of glass. It is borne on angels’ wings and
over the axle of the living creatures’ wheels. It wafts past the twenty-four
elders and falls upon the altar of incense. An angelic apothecary mingles it
with the fires of incense and it ascends to the nostrils of the Almighty
Himself. Earth beware, for heaven’s King is in the prayer-answering business!
March 9
Psalms 21:1-2
1.
The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how
greatly shall he rejoice!
2.
Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the
request of his lips. Selah.
This Psalm seems to continue from the last
one to show the answer to its prayer: “The Lord strengthen thee...with the
saving strength of His right hand...Some trust in chariots and some in horses:
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Now the answer has come and
the Psalmist revels in the manifestation of the Lord’s strength and salvation.
God answered his heart and his lips. They were in accord. How good it is, when
a man’s heart is in tune with God, his lips echo the cry of his heart, and God
in heaven responds with His supply!
March 10
Psalms 21:3-6
3.
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a
crown of pure gold on his head.
4.
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for
ever and ever.
5.
His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid
upon him.
6.
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him
exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Blessings met the King of Israel, as he
drew near to God. No one can approach that high throne room without being
engulfed in blessing. “At His right hand
are blessings forevermore...He hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” First and foremost, the Person of Life Himself comes to dwell in
the heart. He recreates the human being, making him a personality filled with
the qualities of God. The royal anointing, which is the divine presence and
glory, rests upon his head. The well, the infusion of the life of God, springs
up from within. Secondly, the Lord hands him a gift of life and he obtains it eternally. It is heaven’s greatest
and most desirable attribute. God adds glory, honor, majesty, blessing and
gladness in eternal portions. Such is the manner in which He responds to
earnest prayer. He went far beyond what David asked or thought.
March 11
Psalms 21:7-13
7.
For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most
High he shall not be moved.
8.
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find
out those that hate thee.
9.
Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the
LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the
earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
11.
For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device,
which they are not able to perform.
12.
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make
ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise
thy power.
The all-important verb of the Psalms – to trust – appears again. It is the key
to every matter that concerns God, the theme of the Bible, and the vehicle to
heaven. All the blessing of God hinges on one condition: “For the king trusteth
in the Lord.” God responds in mercy and establishes the king. He will not be
shaken or lose the crown. The Lord has assured him of continuing faithfulness
and heavenly support. He will deal with the challengers.
The enemies are not only interfering with
David, they are challenging the one, who anointed him and put him on the throne
to fulfill His will. Woe to the haters of God’s eternal purposes! Every one
will feel His finger, nudging them from the dark, secret places into the light
of exposure. The light of God’s consuming fire devours angrily, burning through
time and erasing the remembrance of them off the earth. With great strategy,
they challenged the Almighty’s keeping power and anointing, but wound up far
short of fulfilling their mischief. The arrows of the Defender put them to
hopeless flight.
Let God be exalted by an earthly
demonstration of His strength. Let multitudes stand in awe, sing and praise. In
these days oh Lord, let there be a manifestation of divine muscle, so
undeniably of heavenly origin that You alone will receive glory! This is what
we read in the Gospels, particularly in Mark and Luke. Fear and awe came upon
people, while they observed the work of Jesus.
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