Jan 15th: Psalms 19 & 20

Psalm 19 is one of those passages that will be exceptionally familiar to anyone with more than a passing interest in the Bible and things theological. And with good reason – it teaches at least three fundamentally, important truths. So let’s jump right in and see what the Holy Spirit inspired David to write this time.

First up, the witness of creation to God (verse 1 to 6). Verses 1 and 2 show us a picture of incessant communication; declaration of God’s glory, proclamation of God’s works, speech communicating knowledge of God – this is the witness of creation. And yet, it is all, technically speechless (verse 3). This picture of communication without words may surprise us a little, but it’s actually pretty obvious. Nobody can deny that other animals communicate, but equally nobody would claim that they demonstrate anything approaching the complexity of human language. And so it is with the whole cosmos: no, it does not literally speak – but nonetheless its message goes out to all (verse 4). Humans use language for various means; bees dance about food sources; the cosmos declares God’s glory.

In one sense, the message is encapsulated in that truth contained in the account of creation provided in Genesis 1-2: creation is ‘good’, and this goodness points to the goodness of the God who created it, and created it to provide a good home for humanity, the pinnacle of his creation. We can take the example of the sun in verses 4 to 6 to see this. God has ordained its movements (verse 4), which the sun does not fail to do with applomb (verses 5 and 6). The beauty of sunrise and sunset, the warmth that swells the grain and provides the ecosystem with its base nourishment, the energy that can be harnessed. It is good because it was made to do what it does. (And we can also contend that effects of over-sun, such as drought and burning, are side effects of the fall).

Paul captures this truth in another way when he writes to the Roman Christians:

[…] what can be known about God is evident among them [unrighteous people], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse

Romans 1 verses 19 and 20

Creation declares the glory of God. Humanity should be listening. People often claim that they would believe if they saw a sign, but the whole universe is one big sign. But there is a bigger and clearer sign from God.

Second in Psalm 19, we see the witness of the Scriptures to God (verses 7 to 11). His word is described in itself as “perfect”, “right”, “radiant”, “pure” and “reliable”, being “more desirable than gold” and “sweeter than honey”. It is all these things because it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3 verse 16, NIV), and therefore collects an impressive array of ‘i-‘ adjectives to its name – inspired, therefore: inerrant, irrefutable, infallible, and so on. We have both a description of the nature of God’s word, and also its desirability.

But this isn’t all. David also describes the effect of God’s word on its hearer – “renewing life”, “making wise”, “making glad”, “making the eyes light up”, “warning your servant”, giving an “abundant reward”. As Paul continued in 2 Timothy:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3 verses 16 and 17

You see? Scripture is inspired by God, and here are its effects. In short, because it shows us God’s character and teaches us his ways, Scripture brings all of these beneficial effects to the people of God.

To me, this is linked to the third and final stanza of the psalm, verses 12 to 14. Here, having recited the goodness of God’s created order, and the perfection of his word, David turns to look on his individual life – and prays that God would cleanse him of his sin and guard him against sinfulness. A proper understanding of who God is and what he does for humanity and his people – as seen in the world and the word – leads to confession, and a recognition that only through God’s work can anyone be made “blameless” (verse 13) or their worship “acceptable” (verse 14).

This truth is proclaimed across nearly every single page of the Bible: there is no way a human’s efforts could be enough to reconcile them with the perfect God. We need a mediator and high priest who can adequately atone for our wrongdoing. We need God himself to do what we could not do. We need Psalm 20 to be completely true:

May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion. May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. [Selah]

May he give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose. Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May the Lord fulfill all your requests.

Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories from his right hand. Some take pride in chariots, and others in horse, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and flal, but we rise and stand firm. Lord, give victory to the king! May he answer us on the day that we call.

Psalm 20 (verses 1 to 9)

We need God’s help and protection, and we know we can rely on him because he is the covenant God (verses 1 to 5). We need to trust in the mighty salvation that he will work (verses 6 to 8). We need to trust in his king for victory (verse 9).

We need Jesus to die on the cross.

Jan 14th: Psalm 18

Psalm 18 is the first long psalm we come across, weighing in at 50 verses. Sure, it’s no Psalm 119, with its 176 verses of ‘Bible delight‘, but this is the fourth largest of the lot. I remember reading the Bible in a year some ten years ago [as a side note, I don’t think the trend to do this is a particularly healthy spiritual endeavour; we should be building a culture of continual Bible reading in the church], and falling in love with the near parallel passage in 2 Samuel 22.

In view of the length of this psalm, I’ll try to have more of a broad focus as I read through it, and consider what this psalm teaches about the Christian life more generally. But before everything, let us simply marvel at the simplicity of David’s pure delight in God in verses 1 and 2:

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18 verses 1 to 2

I’m not sure when the last time I was praying and explicitly said “I love you, Lord”. I know I have, and I know I do love him – maybe it’s just that I’m English. But David’s got it right. It’s worth coming to God in prayer, and simply saying “I love you, Lord”. But these verses teach more than that too – the sheer number of nouns David uses to describe God paint a picture for us in which God is everything to him, and totally dependable. And this seems to be where most of the psalm leads.

In verses 3 to 6, we read of David’s constant and deadly situation; the title information fills in this situation for us – the power of Saul and all David’s enemies. We’re talking basically his whole life from just after he has killed Goliath until the subjugation of his last enemies, or in Bible terms, 1 Smauel 18 to 2 Samuel 21. Some 35 chapters of misery. Through all of this, David “called to the Lord” and “was saved from his enemies” (verse 3).

What follows, in verses 7 to 19, is a more poetic description of this salvation God has provided for David, consisting of God’s appearance (verses 7 to 15) and deliverance (verses 16 to 19). The dramatic way in which God’s appearance is described in the first place casts our minds back to the Exodus narrative, including the plagues on Egypt (e.g. verse 12) and the parting of the Red Sea (e.g. verse 16). Most importantly, “He bent the heavens and came down” (verse 9). What love God shows for his servant!

Just in case we hadn’t caught the immense significance of these verses, David’s more staid description of the deliverance that follows underlines the care and protection the Lord provides to the people of his covenant (verses 16 to 19). The forcefulness of this poetry really hammers home to us who God is, in a way that the executive summary of verse 3 – “I called to the Lord… and I was saved from my enemies” doesn’t. “David intends to stir your imagination in order to impress you with God.”

The next chunk, verses 20 to 24, might make us scratch our heads a little. Here, David declares himself to have ‘righteousness’ in God’s eyes (verse 20). Knowing David’s full story, we cannot agree with the most human-centred reading of this, which is to say that David considered himself perfect. David’s life underscores the total depravity and sinfulness of human nature, but it also reminds us of the transforming power of God’s grace. The apostle Paul helps us to see this when he writes “Christ Jeus came into the world to save sinners – and I am the worst of them” (1 Timothy 1 verse 15), whilst also affirming

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have loved his appearing.

2 Timothy 4 verses 7 and 8

Like David, Paul was very much a sinful person. And yet he can claim to have “fought the good fight” and to be receiving a “crown of righteousness” from the “righteous Judge”. And so it is in David’s case. He can describe his conduct as righteous because – although a sinner who definitely made quite enormous mistakes whilst in covenant relationship with God – he held onto this relationship. David kept the faith.

But doesn’t David have a different status as covenant king? And even Paul, as an apostle? Yes. But in this regard – no. Verses 25 to 27 describe how this is God’s way with all people – he is faithful to those who are faithful to him (verse 25), rescuing the oppressed but humbling the arrogant (verse 27). Indeed, verses 28 and 29 highlight that it is God himself who is the source of David’s righteousness – he lights his lamp (verse 28) and gives him strength (verse 29).

David now comes back to where he began, praising and extoling God for who he is in verses 30 and 31, and for what he has done for David in verses 32 to 45. Pure delight in God rings out again:

God – his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God.

Psalm 18 verses 30 and 31

And so David continues with a long list of all that God does for him “God – he… … … … …”, and all that he can therefore do in the strength God gives him, as well as the effect this has on his enemies in verses 32 to 45. David recounts example after example of God’s faithfulness to him, and bursts back into beautiful worship in verse 46 – “The Lord lives – blessed be my rock! The God of my salvaion is exalted”, before continuing his list of what God has done – “God – he …” in verses 47 and 48.

The final two verses then show us the logical climax of David’s response to all that God has done and will do for him (verse 50): to give him thanks among the nations (verse 49). Reviewing his own personal history of reliance on God, David is stirred to proclaim his God to the nations. The “forever” of verse 15 points to a kingdom that will never fail, and a king who would never be abandoned to death. After providing purification for sins, Jesus has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1 verse 3). He is that king.

Let’s recall all that he has done for us through our lives – and especially that great deliverance on the cross. Let’s praise him, and give him the honour and thanks he is due. And let’s proclaim his gospel to the ends of the earth.

Jan 12th: Psalm 17

You may wonder why such an ‘average’ length psalm gets a whole day to itself. Why not each psalm? Well, the usual pace is set by necessity, but the pause here has more to do with the length of Psalm 18; the longer psalm needs space by itself, and I won’t break the progression. And so Psalm 17 also gets the single treatment.

For the first time in the book, Psalm 17 is instructionally labelled ‘A prayer of David’, and so Sherlock Holmes-style powers of deduction are not necessary to work out that the main thing this psalm will teach us about is prayer. There are three points in which David specifically prays to God (verses 1 to 2, 6 to 9, and 13 to 14), with some chewy substance connecting these prayer points.

The first prayer David prays is for God to hear him (verse 1) and to vindicate him (verse 2). God sees all things – and he looks upon the human heart – and this is why he can be the source of vindication (verse 2). David then moves to set out his position before God (verses 3 and 4); the Lord who looks upon the heart has tested and examined David and found no evil (verse 4). And how is it that David has avoided the wicked ways of violent people? By the words from God’s lips (verse 5). It is only by God revealing himself that humanity can be made righteous. It is David’s trust in this God, his walking in the path God sets out, that provides him with stability and security in life (verse 6). It’s all very much Psalm 1 – meditating on God’s word – and therefore his revelation of himself, which supremely comes in Jesus (Hebrews 1 verses 1 to 3) – is the “way of the righteous”.

David’s second prayer is one of utter certainty and security because he is in a covenantal relationship with God; he knows that God will answer him when he calls (verse 6), and so specifically prays for his Saviour to display wonders of his faithful love in delivering him from these rebels (verse 7). Verse 8 again highlights the petition for protection, using more poetic language of God’s people being the “pupil of his eye”, or like a chickling who is gathered up “in the shadow of your wings”, who need divine protection from the wicked and deadly people in verse 9.

What follows in verses 10 to 12 is a description of these wicked people. “Careless” and “arrogant” crop up in verse 10; verse 11 speaks of their overwhelming determination to ‘get’ David; verse 12 describes them as “lions”. I don’t think it’s necessarily the intended idea here, but doesn’t it show just how much sinfulness and wickedness distorts humanity? We were created with a special honour in creation, bearing the image of God (Genesis 1 verse 27) to rule over creation (verse 28), and in an intimate relationship with God (implied in Genesis 3 verse 9). And yet we fell. We trusted the words of a deceiver and our own desires over our God. We became more like the other beasts.

Daniel 4 provides us with an interesting parallel to this. Nebuchadnezzar, filled with pride, had considered himself somewhat like a god, whereupon he lost his sanity and lived like a wild beast for an appointed time.

But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honoured and glorified him who lives forever […]

At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendour returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. […]

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Daniel 4, verses 34, 36, and 37.

This is only a brief recap, but the point here is that living in sinful wickedness (in his case, pride) had effectively stripped Nebuchadnezzar of his true humanity (the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever), and his becoming like a beast is merely a picture of the inner reality. And it took him realizing the reality of who God is to save him from that. Isn’t it so true, then, when David describes the wicked people in his generation that he refers to them as being like “lions”, like wild beasts because of their sinfulness (Psalm 17 verse 11).

And so we move into the final petition in the psalm. David prays that God would rise up and destroy the wicked people (verse 13), so saving David from these sinners (verse 14). The life of the wicked is more fully described in verse 14 for us. It seems relatively pleasant, I guess, with full bellies and satisfied sons, and wealth to pass down to their kids. In fact, David actually describes this portion as being given to them by God. This could open a theological can of worms, but really doesn’t it just show us how wonderfully big and loving this God is. Even his ardent enemies receive better than they deserve. But there is a better prize than prosperity, and this is the contrast David makes with their reward. In verse 15, the righteous person – like David – will see God’s face; they will have the intimate relationship with him lost at the fall. They will “awake” and be satisfied with God.

It’s a touch like Nebuchadnezzar again. Bestial sinfulness – recognition of God and entering right relationship with him – humanity restored.

For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done.

Matthew 16 verses 26 and 27

Jan 11th: Psalms 15 & 16

How could anyone possibly live with God? So incredibly holy and glorious is his presence, that he informed Moses “you cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live” (Exodus 33 verse 20); that at the sight of God Isaiah proclaimed of himself “woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies” (Isaiah 6 verse 5).

And yet in answer to that question (verse 1), David provides a simple sketch of the righteous character required by God (verses 2 to 5). To ‘make the cut’, one would have to: be blameless, live righteously, and acknowledge the truth (verse 2); speak truth, and do no harm or discredit (verse 3); shun the wicked, honour the righteous, and keep one’s word (verse 4); and have integrity and not act greedily in matters of money (verse 5). This life will lead to unshakeable security (verse 5) and a life with God (verse 1).

So how does this square with the evidence elsewhere in Scripture, such as Moses and Isaiah, that “humans cannot see God and live”? I think this psalm doesn’t so much give us a list to tick through to make sure we make it, as some basic principles that show the true state of our hearts. I may generally keep verses 2 to 4 (I am in no position of wealth or authority, and would not like to presume how I would conduct myself were I to have either or both), but the ‘generally’ isn’t there in the Psalm. We need another answer.

Fortunately, the Bible hints at the answer several times, and the idea of being able to “dwell in your tent” (verse 1) gives ut two clues about how this secure life with God (verses 1 and 5) comes about. I don’t have space to follow this thread through from the beginning to the Tabernacle (Exodus 25 to 40) and the Temple (1 Kings 6 to 8), but John’s gospel provides us with two helpful points:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. […]

John 1 verse 14

The ‘Word’ here being Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. He came to dwell among us. If anyone is going to be able to pitch their tent with God, God will have to have pitched his tent with them first – making himself and his ways known.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.

John 14 verses 1 and 2

Here we are explicitly told that part of Jesus’ purpose is preparing a place for the people who believe in him, with his Father in heaven. Those who believe in Jesus will be those who “dwell in God’s tent”. His death on the cross and the grace-given gospel of freedom in his death are the way in.

The thing about the pious life described in verses 2 to 5 in Psalm 15 is that they are not the condition for being able to live in God’s presence; that is achieved by Jesus at the cross. This list shows us traits that help us to recognise the transformation from the way of wickedness in the life of somebody who is in this covenantal relationship, much like the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23).

Psalm 16 fills in some of the gaps of what it is like to be in this life-giving covenant relationship with God by his grace. Given that it starts with a prayer for God to protect him (verse 1), the following verses seem to be quite different to the anxious prayers and laments we have met in previous psalms. David has committed himself to God (verse 2), and therefore is also committed to God’s people (verse 3) and to rejecting idolatry, which only multiplies miseries (verse 4).

Instead, this commitment to God is a source of great blessings to David (verses 5 to 11). These include: sustenance (verse 5); an inheritance among the saints (verse 6); counsel, guidance and protection (verses 7 to 9); and supreme deliverance from death (verses 10 and 11). But this is where we may run into slight difficulties just reading the psalm by itself. As Peter observes:

Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: “He was not abondoned in Hades, and” his flesh “did not experience decay”.

Acts 2 verses 29 to 31

This raises the question of whether the whole of Psalm 16 is Messianic prophecy, or just this tenth verse. I personally read the psalm as being both wholly Messianic, and wholly descriptive of the life of the believer (on the basis of the Messianic interpretation). I am not sure whether this is an orthodox or heterodox way to read the psalm, but they do both seem to be there. Jesus rose and did not see decay, therefore even after I’ve returned to dust and ashes, I can be confident in bodily resurrection because of THE resurrection. Jesus has a “beautiful inheritance” from God (everything will be brought together in him, see Ephesians 1 verse 10); his people have a “beautiful inheritance” in Christ (Ephesians 1 verse 11). And so on.

Either way – the most important thing is that Jesus was not abandoned to death. Praise be to God!

Jan 10th: Psalms 13 & 14

Psalm 13 records another of David’s pleas for deliverance. Psalm 14 sketches the sinful reality of fallen humanity. In a way, I suppose Psalm 14 mirrors the portrait of the righteous person we saw in Psalm 1.

How long? How long? How long? How long?

In the translation I am using, this question occurs four times in the first two verses of Psalm 13. David’s dilemma of despair doesn’t stop. He feels forsaken by God (verse 1) and beset by anxieties and enemies (verse 2). David moves from his despairs to his desires in the following verses, addressing his request humbly before God – that he would keep him alive (verse 3), as otherwise his death would cause his enemies to rejoice (verse 4).

This may seem a tad personal or vindictive of David, but to me it calls to mind the repeated concern God has for his reputation throughout the Bible – for the “I acted for the sake of my name” is the continual refrain in Ezekiel 20 regarding the past work God had done on Israel’s behalf – he protects them and works for their good because they belong to him and to treat them otherwise would be contrary to his very nature. And so this seems to me the motivation for David’s asking God for the enemies not to rejoice at his death; if God lets his covenant king die in such a way, what does that say what God is like?

And so David rests certain in the deliverance he will receive from God. The salvation that rests in the unfailing love expressed in his covenant (verse 5). And because of this supreme goodness shown to him, David praises God (verse 8). It’s actually a touch ironic, I suppose. Because here the covenant king rests secure in his deliverance from trouble, that God’s reputation would not let him die. And his ultimate salvation and deliverance was achieved through the atoning death of the greater covenant king. God’s reputation as being steadfast to his covenant and unfailing in his mercy is seen to be certain and true at the cross of Jesus.

Knowing this incredible reality about who God is and what he is like, it can seem like such a surprise to start Psalm 14 and read straight away of the fool who believes there is no God and the wickedness that flows from that premise (verse 1). Yet the sad reality of verse 3 is that we are all in that position. From God’s perspective of pure righteousness (verse 2), there is “not even one” human who measures up (verse 3).

We can never grasp the true wonder of the gospel unless we grasp the reality of the complete and utter depravity of human nature. Wicked people with wicked hearts who do wicked things – we know no better, and we certainly don’t know the righteous God (verse 4). And yet somehow, God has a company of righteous people (verse 5). To David, it must have been quite the mysterious conundrum. How does one progress from “not even one” righteous person in verse 3 to a company in verse 5 who are protected by God (verses 5 and 6).

Verse 7 happens. Salvation comes up out of Zion. Jesus of Nazareth hangs on a wooden cross. The curtain is torn in two. The grave is empty. A people are redeemed from their sin by faith in the Lamb. They are “justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ” (Romans 3 verse 24).

Jan 9th: Psalms 11 and 12

Maybe I should have scheduled Wednesdays off too. It’s a busy day, you see. Surely I would be better off if I didn’t add an extra set of Bible readings on top of my weekly Bible study with brothers and sisters from my church? I wonder what the Psalms might have to say about these thoughts? Probably nothing explicitly in either direction, although it would be hard to avoid the instructions to meditate on God’s law in my life (Psalm 1) and to take delight in this law (Psalm 119). It is sweeter than honey (Psalm 19), after all. So I am without excuse. Let’s keep going.

Psalm 11 actually, in a round-about way, touches on this selfish motivation to make my life easier – to take the easy option. David is back in some predicament, and knows that he can only trust in God to protect and keep him (verse 1). Yet, there are those around him who counsel him to avail himself of a safe space (verses 1 to 3). It’s quite clear that David does not seem to agree with this advice, which seems to be the implication of his question to these people in verse 1. No easy option of seemingly guaranteed security for him.

David says “I have taken refuge in the Lord” (verse 1) – so why would he need another refuge? As has been the pattern again and again through the Psalms so far already, the truth underscoring this assurance is knowing who God is, his character, which David expounds in verses 4 to 7. In verse 4, we are told a handful of foundationally important things about God – he is “in his holy temple”, “his throne is in heaven”, and he sees all things. That is, God is the mighty king of all who knows all things, yet he has deigned to enter a personal and covenantal relationship with a people.

He “looks on the heart”, as God’s viewpoint is described in 1 Samuel 16 verse 7, when he made clear he had chosen David as his king rather than any of his elder brothers. In the psalm, the point is that God accurately examines all people (verse 4), seeing the wicked and the righteous (verse 5) and ‘rewarding’ them accordingly; destruction for the wicked (verse 6), but, for the righteous, to “see his face” (verse 7).

God is a “refuge” to David – a source of help, a rock, or any other metaphor – in verse 1, yes. But this is not the point of the relationship with him; the point is to know him. And this is possible, because God has made himself known:

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word.After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Hebrews 1 verses 1 to 3

We may not physically see Jesus, but we can know him through the Spirit as we read his word. And we can grow in our relationship with him and come to love him and to long for that day when we shall see him – as Job says:

But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.

Job 19 verses 25 to 27

The situation in Psalm 12 feels rather different from that in Psalm 11. In the numerically former, David has some unwise advice that runs counter to what he should do if he truly trusts in God’s character. In the next psalm, we read of a situation where seemingly everyone has deserted David. And so he turns to God (verse 1).

David’s desperation is rooted in the moral equivocation of the people who have deserted (verse 2). And so, out of desperation he prays that they get their comeuppance (verse 3). We then get a curious pair of direct quotations. Firstly, the evil-doers who boast in their strength (verse 4), then God’s perspective on the matter (verse 5); he will act in accordance with his character – for the good of the righteous and against the wicked as he “rises up” (verse 5).

With this in view, David extols the wonderful virtue of God’s word, which are pure and flawless (verse 6). I love Dale Ralph Davis’ description of the testimony recorded in the book of Joshua: “no falling words” come from the mouth of God. That’s to say, nothing of what God had said and promised failed to come to pass; the words do not fall into the dustbin of history, but they stand to this day. This King of kings is no Ozymandias.

With this certainty of God’s word in place, David can be sure of what God will do for his people (verse 7), in accordance with what he has declared and in line with his revealed character. Even if the situation is, humanly speaking, like that of verse 8, God’s word still stands and his declared course of action for dealing with the wicked people will prevail. Evil and wickedness are still around the world today, but one day God will end them:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

[…]

Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21, verses 1 and 2 and 27.

Jan 8th: Psalms 9 & 10

Psalm 9 provides something of David’s testimony to future generations of believers. It also speaks somewhat prophetically of the great universal finale that God will work at the close of history. The psalm seems to start with a bit of a mission statement (verses 1 and 2) – David’s intention is to bring thanksgiving and praise to God. But why?

Verses 3 to 6 give us what we can presume to be the immediate cause of David’s thanksgiving and praise: deliverance from enemies. Immediate outpouring or a later reflection, David recognises that it is only through God’s action on his behalf that has got him to this point, not his own action.

The enemies are fleeting (verse 6), but God is enthroned forever (verse 7) and righteously judges all the earth (verse 8). The righteousness of God that David has experienced means that he, and we, can continue to trust God in the future too (verses 9 to 12). It reminds me of the third verse of John Newton’s wonderful hymn, Amazing grace:

Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; ’tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home

“Amazing grace” by John Newton

Reviewing what God has done on your behalf in the past reminds you that he will continue to work for you in the future, and provides assurance of the home that he will call you to. Reviewing ‘salvation history’, especially God’s grace expressed to his covenant people since the call of Abraham in Genesis 12, has the same effect. As indeed does reviewing his ‘common grace’ to all peoples since at least the decision to banish Adam and Eve from the garden in Genesis 3, rather than instantly pay them the wages of their sin – death.

In view of who God is, and what he has done for us, we can continue to bring our requests to him (verse 13), with a renewed right motivation to do so (verse 14). Resting on the evidence of what God has done in the past (verses 15 and 16), we can pause, take stock and know for certain how God will deal with the wicked and the righteous (verses 17 and 18). But in view of the wickedness that abounds and the continuing need of the righteous down to this day – the final prayer effectively calls for God’s final intervention, his setting aright of all things (verses 19 and 20) – “your kingdom come”; “Amen, come Lord Jesus!”

I (re)discovered today that there is apparently a scholarly debate as to whether Psalms 9 and 10 are two halves of a whole. I cannot pretend to be anywhere near ‘qualified’ enough to take a particular stance on this issue, but since all of my Bibles happen to present them as separate psalms, I will follow that format and consider them separately. As it happens, it would be almost impossible to start going at an average rate of two psalms per day, and not be doing these two together on the same day. But I digress.

As it is, Psalm 10 does have quite a distinct emphasis from Psalm 9. It reminds me, thematically, of reading Psalms 1 and 2. The clear emphasis here is on wickedness, with the opening question of verse 1 feeling so familiar to anyone who has spent an extended amount of time living in this world:

Lord, why do you stand so far away?

Why do you hide in times of trouble?

Psalm 10 verse 1

Where are you God? Why must I face this suffering alone? How can I get through this without you?

Things go pear-shared, rubber hits roads, and excrement falls into air circulators unexpectedly and frequently in life. And it can just feel so unjust. Loved ones are diagnosed with a terminal or life-changing illness. Families are separated as a result of geopolitcal theatrics. Addictions leave countless people as hollowed out husks. Where is God in all this? How could he let this happen?

The psalmist here describes such a situation of despair. Wickedness abounded in ancient Israel, it would seem (verses 2 to 11). A cold, mechanical, materialistic outlook on the universe causes the wicked to play the game of life to win, if that makes sense. “It’s a jungle out there” – “eat or be eaten” – no matter who gets trampled underfoot. We are just lumps of biochemical matter clinging to the surface of a tiny rock hurtling through the stars at a rate of knots. So what does it matter if one person takes advantage of another? No such thing as God, no such thing as moral accountability (verse 4).

It’s safe to say that’s not the position of the psalmist. In the face of this atrocious wickedness, the author is not quick to stake out their own piece of the pie, but abruptly calls on God to act against this situation (verse 12). Their perceived lack of accountability may make the wicked bold and brazen (verse 13), but the reality is that God is there and watching, and all are accountable to him (verses 14 to 18).

Why do the wicked things feel so wrong? Why are we so adamant that there is a moral right and wrong? In the materialistic universe the wicked inhabit, this isn’t the case; the law of the jungle admits not otherwise. The desire for justice and restoration to a right balance is proof positive of there being moral accountability vested somewhere, and that place is with the God who is king over all.

Why does God seem distant or silent? I wish I had a clear answer, especially as I spent some time in Job before continuing in the Psalms. But the psalmist tells us that God is there and knows all situations (verse 14), and that he is in control (verse 16). It can be hard to believe, or to piece together with the experiences we are going through, but it is true.

Habakkuk raises similar questions of “why?” to God regarding social injustice and the apparent difficulty of God’s impending judgment on his people by exile. Yet in spite of this difficulty, he proclaims:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk 3 verses 17 and 18

Jan 7th: Psalms 7 & 8

To a certain extent, Psalm 7 seems to fit the theme of the preceding few psalms. David is praying to God because of an incident that has befallen him. He prays for protection from God (verses 1 and 2), certain of his innocence in this matter (verses 3 to 5), and brings his case before the almighty Chief Justice (verses 6 to 9).

The one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.

Psalm 7 verse 9

It is here that David once again rehearses the character of God – he is David’s shield (verse 10), who saves ‘upright’ people (verse 10), and who is a righteous judge (verse 11). In view of God’s righteousness, we may be surprised that the very next thing David proclaims is his wrath (verse 11). Surely this shows God to be vindictive, nothing more?

This may seem perplexing, but it rests on a proper understanding of the people that God’s anger is being shown against. The people who do not repent in verse 12 and receive the full force of punishment under the law in verses 12 and 13 are described as being ‘pregnant with evil’ in verse 14, capable of truly repugnant and malignant actions against their fellow man in verses 14 and 15. The people God rises against with wrath are not morally neutral. As Paul reminds us so starkly in Romans:

There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3 verses 10 to 18

The sad and sorry testimony of human history is that we are universally unrighteous. We are not morally neutral. What hope can there possibly be for us?

‘Tis mystery all, but God’s wrath actually points towards his great righteousness, the truth which motivates David’s praise (verse 16). Again, Paul so clearly explains this truth:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3 verse 23 to 26

At the very end of the psalm, David commits himself to thanking God for his righteousness and singing the greatness of his name. And this is exactly what he does throughout Psalm 8. This is a psalm of nine verses of unabridged worship to the God that David knows and loves.

It’s tightly packed – “Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!” is the lead cry of verses 1 and 9 – with a beautiful centre. David reels off reason after reason for which he can bring thanks to the majestic God who created and rules over the heavens (the end of verse 1) in verses 2 to 8.

This is the God who uses weak things to overcome the strong, like the babies who praise him when adversaries and avengers stand opposed (verse 2), a theme Paul picks up in one of his letters to the church of Corinth – God’s power is seen to be perfect when he uses weak things (2 Corinthians 12 verses 9 to 10). This is the God who created all things (verse 3), yet who for some reason especially cares for and loves humans (verse 4), giving us a special place of honour in the created order (verses 5 to 8).

This is what God is like: phenomenal cosmic power, infinite and intimate concern for those he has made. He is like the hugely comforting and powerful image we see Isaiah describe for the people in exile:

See, the Lord God comes with strength, and his power establishes his rule. His wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him. He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.

Isaiah 40 verses 10 and 11

Phenomenal strength and power – deep personal concern. Psalm 8 and Isaiah 40 show us that this is what God is like, and when we see Jesus in the gospels this is so strongly confirmed. Who else could walk on water, demonstrating power over the natural world, whilst showing concern for the emotional and physical wellbeing of his followers? (See account in Matthew 14 verses 22 to 32).

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

Psalm 8 verses 1 and 9

Jan 5th: Psalms 5 & 6

###I had written half of this draft on Saturday afternoon – then when I came to edit, complete and post it in the evening, I was having some internet issues – and again most of this afternoon too… Better late than never!###

Only four psalms in, and the next two already seem to be treading very familiar waters: in Psalms 5 and 6, we find David in a tight spot, needing God to continue sustaining him and to rescue him from his situation. I’m going to focus on this.

It could well be that the situation David describes in Psalm 5, the lament of verses 1 and 2, is the same as in Psalm 3 – Absalom’s rebellion. Whatever the situation, David is in the thick of it. Still in the thick of it, in fact. The psalms almost seem to be saying that morning (Psalm 3) by morning (Psalm 5) David brings his prayer for deliverance by God (verse 3), deliverance which presumably looks something like what we see in verses 8 to 10: in order for God’s people to know peace, their enemy has to be defeated.

And isn’t this so often the way for us too, the people of God in the 21st century? We find ourselves again and again in that place of despair and darkness, crying out for a salvation that can only come when our ‘enemy’ – presumably metaphorical rather than literal – is defeated. I am regularly tempted by pornographic materials – and always, after the fleeting happiness, the feeling of shame and despair at the pit I feel I am living in is all that remains. I have nowhere to turn but to God in prayer – and yet frequently I don’t.

A great lesson for us in our despair is that David doesn’t stop praying in shame at how he landed where he is (adultery with a side order of murder) – as in Psalms 3 and 4, the key to the prayer of Psalm 5 rests on the character of God as described in verses 4 to 7. We see that David is confidently bringing his prayer to God (verses 1 to 3) because of who he knows God to be.

I am always amazed at the simplicity with which God’s character is summarised in Psalm 119: “You are good and what you do is good” (verse 68) – and in light of this goodness, hence God’s complete antiphathy to all that is evil in verses 4 to 6. If this is the God we know and worship, the God who sent his Son to die for us and redeem us as his covenant people and bride – if he deals with us by grace from the start, he will continue to deal with us by grace til the end. Great is his faithfulness!

Adversaries – yes. David has many of those (verses 8 and 9). But he knows who he has believed (verses 4 to 7), and he is persuaded that he is able to hear his prayer (verses 1 to 3) and answer it (verses 10 to 12). [It’s practically Paul’s theology a millennium in advance!]

Turning to Psalm 6, David is clearly going through an agonising time (verses 1 to 3), and continues to bring his distress before God in prayer. So far, we have seen pretty much just enemies, enemies, enemies: psalm in, psalm out – the foes and woes just keep on increasing. A few days in the psalms, and isn’t it clear that a life following God is hard? The psalms confirm for us – if our lives hadn’t already – that the words of Jesus are so true:

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

John 15 verse 19

Once more, David’s prayer in Psalm 6 is centred on the character of the God he knows – the God who shows unfailing love to his people (verse 4). (Oh how great is his faithfulness!) Verse 5 seems to echo this to a certain extent – his prayer for personal deliverance is not motivated by a desire to live for himself, but to live a life in which he completely and utterly praises God. And yet still he goes through agony (verses 6 to 7).

In the light of all of this, the certain confidence of verses 8 to 10 could seem quite surprising for us. How, in the midst of all this toil and strife, can David pray like this? One simple fact: covenant relationship. God has made clear and distinct promises to David; he is his annointed king. He knows that God has heard his weeping and his prayer (verses 8 and 9), and so knows that God will work in line with his declared covenant to David – therefore guaranteeing the certainty of verse 10.

For people like us, who aren’t the covenant king of God’s people (Jesus is doing a pretty good job at this), can we have the same certainty? I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Luke 11, where he makes an argument from the lesser behaviour of human fathers to the greater behaviour of the heavenly Father:

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Luke 11 verses 11 to 13

We can be sure that God will hear the requests of and work for the good of his covenant people – David included, you and me included. It’s that verse from Psalm 119 again – “You are good and what you do is good”. This Father-heart of God means that we can be certain that he hears and answers our prayers. Indeed, the gift of the Holy Spirit (referred to in Luke 11) is a guarantee of the covenant God has made with us (see Ephesians 1). This is the assurance underlying David’s prayer, and Psalm 6 teaches us to share this assurance.

Jan 4th: Psalms 3 & 4

I’ve never been surrounded by tens of thousands, as assailed David must have felt his enemies to number in Psalm 3 (verses 1 and 6). In fact, I can only think of two people in my whole life who have ever had some sort of ‘beef’ with me – and one of those was definitely imagined (although one friend did once assure me that I should be easy to find annoying). The point is, the experience David is going through as described in Psalm 3 is so far away from my lived experience – so what does it teach me about life as a child of God’s?

Indeed, we ultimately know that David is a type of the true Messiah King, anyway, so why should I expect anything of his experience to relate to my experience? I am not God’s anointed king and never will be (thankfully – for me and for everyone else). It’s great to know that his King can rest assured in his sustaining (verse 5), but what about a mere mortal like me? The very first thing we should do is see what this psalm actually tells us, and specifically what it tells us about the relationship between its author and God.

Fortunately, these eight verses seem to fall rather neatly into pairs of verses. So in verses 1 and 2, we see David describing the terrible situation around him – both the inordinate number of enemies he seems to be facing in his son Absalom’s rebellion (see basically the entirety of 2 Samuel chapters 11 to 20), and the great spiritual toll their constant taunting that God would not deliver him must have dealt. But in verses 3 and 4, we see the antidote to this problem: right theology. Understanding who God is, and therefore what he will do for his people, in these verses David is not controlled by the fears of verses 1 and 2, but given gentle rest and sustaining in verses 5 and 6. On the basis of this, we see twin applications in verses 7 and 8. Verse 7 is David’s prayer for himself – deliverance from this situation and judgement upon his enemies; verse 8 is a prayer for the people – that they may be blessed and remember that God is the ultimate source of their salvation.

Which scratches the surface of the psalm nicely for us – but doesn’t resolve the fact that this is David speaking as the (current) covenant king of the covenant people. This is not where we stand, and so how does this psalm apply to us today? I think Jesus’ words in the sermon on the mount, recorded in Matthew 6, especially verses 25 to 34, help us to see that this Psalm applies to us to. In these verses, Jesus extols his followers not to worry about anything, but seek first God and his kingdom. A right understanding of who God is and how he continues to provide for us is still the antidote for our worries and concerns today. We may not be beset by tens of thousands of enemies, but financial worries, depression, isolation and so many other things press in on us. As Paul writes:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4 verses 8 and 9

And why is it Paul can write this? Indeed, why was it true for David?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. … We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4 verses 7 and 10

At its heart, this psalm teaches us that right theology (verses 3 and 4) puts our problems (verses 1 and 2) in perspective, allowing us to continue living (verses 5 and 6) and trusting in God’s plan for his people (verses 7 and 8). We could illustrate this again from many passages of Scripture, but Jesus’ own words provide us with a spectacularly clear guarantee that this promise still holds for us today:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11 verses 28 to 30.

We find some parallels between Psalms 3 and 4, as we did between the first two. David is the author of both, crying out to God in distress (verse 1) caused by other people (verse 2), and ultimately his theological reflection (verses 3 to 7) leads him to a place of rest (verse 8).

In a way, it very much seems that the testimony of both these psalms is that grasping who God is – the God of the covenant, the light of whose face David implores to shine upon his faithful remnant (Psalm 4 verse 6; see also Numbers 6 verse 25) – is the single most important thing for us. We need to see his great character, and to do so we need to look to Jesus. John, Paul and the writer to the Hebrews emphasise this point clearly:

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1 verse 18.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1 verse 15.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Hebrews 1 verse 3.

The Psalms, then, and especially these two, teach us that ultimately God is the answer to life’s problems. Only by trusting in him can we overcome whatever the world throws at us. A right relationship with the Sovereign of all things puts a right perspective on all things. In the words of Paul:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15 verse 13

Amen!