April 9 – 15 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
April 9
Psalms 32:8-11
8.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I
will guide thee with mine eye.
9.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding:
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
10.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD,
mercy shall compass him about.
11.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all
ye that are upright in heart.
The Lord Himself interrupts the Psalm and
David’s prayer. Prayer, you see, is a two-way street. Says the Lord, “Let’s go
on to instruction and guidance in my way.” He teaches that bits and bridles are
for self-willed animals, forced restraints to keep them from their wild ways.
God’s salvation is for the broken and contrite heart. It is broken to the
extent that it doesn’t even need outward restraints. God desires people who
obey from the heart, through the slightest prompting. His wish is their
command. Romans six proves that Christ Jesus has dealt a death-blow to the old
man with his selfish, rebellious ways.
Trust is the crux of this whole matter of
doing business with God. The merciful work of Jesus is fulfilled in
righteousness in those who wholly cast themselves upon Him. At the completion
of that work, there is cause for joy in excess. We stand complete and accepted
without reservation before the Almighty.
April 10
Psalms 33:1-5
1.
Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the
upright.
2.
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument
of ten strings.
3.
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
4.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
5.
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness
of the LORD.
The unrighteous can never enter into
praise. The glory of the Lord is so wrapped up in righteousness, judgement and
truth that praise can only stem from a heart that possesses these attributes.
The Psalm exhorts us to praise Him because the word of the Lord is right and
His works are done in truth. Praise Him because He loves righteousness and
judgement. Unclean lips and hypocritical hearts cannot do this.
The righteous love what the
Lord loves. They find in the Lord, that which adheres to their redeemed souls,
rejoicing in His judgment, deeds and statutes. The word fills their heart with
satisfaction, because it is uncompromisingly just and never gives place to
anything that is wrong. They cannot accept that which aids in the expansion of
sin and error. They know that only in God’s righteousness can the earth find
rest and be enjoyable.
Only God is worthy of
wholehearted praise and when we praise, we can give way to exuberance. The
voice can reach down to the diaphragm for fullness of tone and volume. The
fingers can freely move and play. There should be no reservations before a God,
who has lavishly distributed His goodness. He has done all things well.
April 11
Psalms 33:4-11
4.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
5.
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness
of the LORD.
6.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them
by the breath of his mouth.
7.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the
depth in storehouses.
8.
Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of him.
9.
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
10.
The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the
devices of the people of none effect.
11.
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to
all generations.
All His
works are done in truth. When individual Christians or the church in general
lie or exaggerate, they act on their own, because God is not in it. God doesn’t
need the cunning, deceptive work of men to promote His cause. Away with the
deceptive literature of our day! Many modern “miracles” are the result of a
writer’s eloquence and overactive imagination, but every account in the Gospels
and the Book of Acts is fully true. If one account is false, then the whole
Bible is false, because there is no
lie in the truth. The biblical account of creation is true. To end right, you
must start right. Those who have trouble with creation are in trouble with God
from start to finish.
You cannot have God without
His Bible. To accept Him is to accept the Bible, which is the revelation of his
person, counsel and thoughts. His precepts are absolute and eternal. The proper
creature response to His word should be one of awe and fear.
April 12
Psalms 33:11-22
11.
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to
all generations.
12.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath
chosen for his own inheritance.
13.
The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14.
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of
the earth.
15.
He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not
delivered by much strength.
17.
An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his
great strength.
18.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that
hope in his mercy;
19.
To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
21.
For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy
name.
22.
Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
The Bible stands and by it
the Lord reveals His heart to all generations. There is no need to be left in
the dark, relying upon inadequate earthly understanding. God has faithfully
left us a sure witness, to declare His person and purpose.
Even modern and sophisticated
nations have gods. The gods of force are prominent – gods of war, atomic gods
and missile gods. The only nation today, whose God is the Lord, is that
spiritual kingdom, in the midst of all others, which lays down its arms and
picks up the cross. It strikes a note of fear in the heart, upon discovering
that God is looking over the whole earthly scene and examining the inward
motives of every man. What does He see? He uncovers idolatry, especially
man-worship. He sees the effort to amass a great host that security can be
derived from numerical strength. He watches the confidence in material
resources and the hope attached to mechanical wonders. Does He see any that
fear Him, that hope in His mercy to deliver their soul from
death and keep them alive in famine? How many can He find, who wait on the
Lord, as their only help and shield, and trust in His holy name? “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find
faith in the earth?” Notice that God’s mercy towards us is directly related
to the hope that we have in him. Faith is the fountain of righteousness, which
is, in turn, the fountain of joy and true praise.
April 13
Psalms 34:1-3
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before
Abimelech; who drove him away and he departed.
1. I will bless
the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the
humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3. O magnify the
LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Fitting to the title or introduction to
this Psalm are these two New Testament verses: Paul declared, “If we are beside ourselves, it is of God”
and it was said of Jesus, “He is beside
Himself”. Spiritual “madness” can deliver from the bondage of being subject
to earthly-minded associates, who make frequent attacks against God’s property.
Compromise will bind, but a radical commitment will free us. Does the world
consider us to be “mad” for Christ?
When Abimelech drove him away, David
happily used these verbs to describe his reaction: Bless, praise, boast, magnify and exalt. He was “beside himself” in offering grateful praise. He was
boasting in the Lord’s intervention and deliverance and he wanted to have
humble people join with him. He inspired them to a heartfelt, concerted
exaltation of God. To this day, he continues to inspire people. We personally
should praise the Lord, but we need to get others to join us.
April 14
Psalms 34:4-16
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before
Abimelech; who drove him away and he departed.
4. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears.
5. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and
their faces were not ashamed.
6. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about
them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8. O taste and see that the LORD is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is
no want to them that fear him.
10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger:
but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will
teach you the fear of the LORD.
12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth
many days, that he may see good?
13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from
speaking guile.
14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace,
and pursue it.
15. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open unto their cry.
16. The face of the LORD is against them that do
evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
David remembers to thank the
Lord for answered prayer and deliverance. His associates considered him mad,
but his face was unashamed. He was humble and needy, cast upon God, who heard
and saved him. He feared the Lord more than Abimelech and would not join him in
his raids against Israel. He, as the prophet Elisha, counted on the unseen
forces of the Angel of the Lord for salvation. What a great thing it is to be
in conjunction with heaven’s army in the midst of conflict! It’s a whole new
kind of warfare.
The councils of war of this
battle-scarred general were, “Fear Him, trust Him, seek Him, and wait on Him.”
Fear and faith are not opposites, but companions in the healthy pursuit of God.
Those who trust Him will taste His goodness and be blessed. Those who fear Him
will have no want, though the mightiest and stealthiest lack.
The exhortation concerning the fear of the
Lord continues in verse 11. In the fear of God, keep your tongue from two
maladies, which can cut life short: The first is evil speaking. The tongue of the righteous must support God’s cause
and not give in to personal grudges. The second is guile. The tongue must speak truth and honesty and never resort to
questionable tactics. If you know the Lord’s righteousness and fear His reprisals,
tame the tongue.
There is a departure from something, before there is a search towards something else. Evil is part of the past and is abandoned,
while peace lies before the people of God. Let goodness and peace be your
pursuit. Be conscious of the eyes and ears of the Lord, while you pass the time
of your sojourning on the earth in fear, because evildoers will have the Lord
Himself as their foe, and He will wipe their remembrance from the earth.
April 15
Psalms 34:17-22
17. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and
delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is
broken.
21. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that
hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants:
and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Three times in this Psalm,
David assures us that the Lord hears and saves, when the righteous cry. He
speaks of a valuable acquisition in the life of God’s people - brokenness. The
heart that has been torn and broken is an open invitation to divine invasion.
When Peter came to this state, he was met, forgiven and empowered. For the
purpose of brokenness, “many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Though the
heart breaks, the person himself is delivered and kept. Even at the cross,
Jesus experienced deliverance. Though He was beaten, bloodied, and pierced, yet
His inner constitution remained intact and untouchable. Though His spirit was
broken, yet His commitment remained – “Lo,
I come to do Thy will, Oh God.” Though
the enemy did his worst, he could not sever His resolve and therefore, only the
heel was bruised, and ultimate victory was assured. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” On the other hand,
the wicked will not be broken, but ground to powder. The Lord will redeem all
of His servants and none of them will come into condemnation, but are passed
from death unto life. What a blessing it is to be a truster!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Recommended Books
Post a Comment