PSALM FORTY-FIVE Victory in Christ

Psalm 45:2  NIV.......your lips have been anointed with grace
                                 since God has blessed you forever

This verse is true for every believer who by grace has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 45:4 NIV       ride forth victoriously
                                in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness.

These words are addressed to every believer, and in so far as we achieve any of that
it is Christlike to do so.

Psalm 45:6 NIV    Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever
                             a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

Our King is King forever, Transient unrighteous powers will fade.
We need to put our trust in eternal truth. We need the grace to discern
for ourselves and for our communities. A political awareness is necessary
to defend and promote  The Kingdom of God.

Psalm 45:7  God has anointed you with oil of gladness..with oil of joy

People notice our good demeanor, but we are glad to be members of the Body of Christ
and grateful to be Children of the Kingdom.

2nd Corinthians 2:14 NIV    But thanks be to God, who always leads us
                                            in triumphal procession in Christ
                                            and through us spreads everywhere
                                            the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. 

PSALM FORTY-THREE Verse Five

PSALMS ANEW,  Christian Brothers Publications, Minnesota  1986
Put your hope in God, for I shall again be thankful
in the presence of my Saviour and my God
Psalm 43:5 is a repetition of Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 42:5
so we have been told the same thing three times.

The psalmist is in exile and he is suffering persecution and injustice.
Although he feels some separation from God and a lack of God's
presence in his circumstances....he still puts his hope in God

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my saviour and my God.

But the Christian believer lives in the transforming presence
and abiding love of God.
So we can sing with the psalmist;-
New American Bible 1971-72 edition
Hope in God ! For I shall again be thanking him,
in the presence of my saviour and my God.

PSALM FORTY-THREE Light and Truth

PSALM 43:3-4  NIV
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain
to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God
to God, my joy and my delight,
I will praise you with the harp, 
O God, my God.

We need God's light and truth to see things as they really are.
Having discerned what will be Right with God,
we ourselves can make informed life choices;
but we cannot make choices for other people.
We can only be signposts and point people in the Right direction.
We all have to see the Right way,
choose to go the Right way
and then in everyday life---put that into practice.

In the meantime we need to be upheld from above
as we make our stand for what is right with God.
Psalm 43:1 NIV   Vindicate me , O God,
and plead my case against the ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

PSALM FORTY-TWO Deep calls to deep

Psalm 42:7   ESV
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls.

If you have visited a big waterfall or a hydro electric dam
   you may have heard the power of the water
        the roar which makes the ground shake
            and the echo which reverberates back and forth.

As we quietly prepare for our prayer time, as we make ourselves comfortable ,
take up a respectful posture, open our bible and light a candle.....
our heart realizes, recognizes and knows again
that it is the power of the voice of God which calls us to prayer.

PSALM FORTY-TWO Charismatic

Psalm 42:1-2   English  Standard  Version
As a deer pants for flowing streams,  so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.......

The psalmist is longing to participate in Spirit filled worship.
Most Charismatic Christians identify with the psalmist and have the same attitude.
People seeking to engage in robbery with violence do not live in this dynamic.
People who are totally engrossed in self gratification do not live in this dynamic.
Christian discernment reveals what is motivating  attitudes and actions.
The choices we make which result in our being drawn closer to God are informed by love.
Choices we make which draw us away from God lead only to darkness .

Psalm 42:4  English Standard  Version

How I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise
a multitude keeping festival.

If this is what is going on in the hearts of everyone at the meeting
it is going to be a most beneficial charismatic experience.

PSALM FORTY-ONE God is for us

Psalm 41:4  KJV
I said, LORD, be merciful unto me:
heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

Psalm 41:4 GNB
I said " I have sinned against you, LORD;
be merciful to me and heal me."

Psalm 41:10 GNB
Be merciful to me, LORD, and restore my health.....

When we experience guilt or shame or remorse we feel the need of mercy.
When we experience pain or paralysis or palpitations we know our need of healing.
That is not academic or theoretical , it is experiential .
With the psalmist we can turn to God with our pain or our shame
because we know that God is not only with us, God is for us,
and the longer we live in that dynamic the more we experience the truth of it
and grow in appreciation of our ongoing fellowship with the living God
and the Fatherly wholesomeness of His will for us.....
personally.

PSALM FORTY-ONE A characteristic of the lifestyle of the people of God

Poverty is evidence of a world out of kilter with its Creator.
Anyone acting to relieve it finds a following wind of God,s favour.
                                                     James Jones "With my whole heart"

The idea here is that concern for the powerless is a characteristic of
the lifestyle of the people of God.
                                                     James Limburg "PSALMS"

Happy are those who consider the poor.    Psalm 41:1  NRSV

PSALM FORTY-ONE The Dynamic in which to live

Psalm 41:2 New American Bible
Happy is he who has regard for the lowly and the poor.

In the context of scripture, these words are about the merciful man receiving mercy.
In the context of a city mission,  this verse could be their mission statement.
Any nation or society which has no regard for the lowly and the poor is a bleak place.
Listening to politicians or people in the street, regard for the lowly and poor----or the lack of it, is an indication of what is in the heart and what dynamic that person is living in.
The person whose speech and action exudes the love of Christ for the lowly and the poor in their own community, is living dynamically their love for God.

PSALM FORTY The Mind of God

PSALM 40:14     New International Version
May all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

If you care about someone or some people who are suffering serious injustice, socially or financially;
or if you know folk who are about to be seriously disadvantaged , Psalm 40 verse 14 is the word of God.
In prayer we can and should defend the oppressed.
    Whether they are being taken to the cleaners through the courts or threatened by financial institutions,we can pray for people who need prayer.In every land there are people who have nothing to sell but their labour.. In prayer and where possible in action we are free to support them from discrimination, persecution and oppression .
Systems which keep people in poverty,
practices which keep people at a disadvantage,
firms which take unfair advantage of the underprivileged ,
and governments which keep people in subjection,..........
do so in the face of GOD.
We can proclaim the word of God prophetically because it is the truth.
Where the lives of individuals are threatened by deprivation of food, deprivation of healthcare, or actual physical oppression and violence..........we can pray the whole verse !

May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.                 PSALM 40:14

.....and we can pray this on behalf of family members, folk we know and every soul who stands in the need of prayer including ourselves.
When the Lord draws our attention to good people with their backs to the wall, He sometimes brings to mind a verse which speaks to their situation.
Sometimes we can speak aloud the word of God. We can also bring oppressed people before God in the arms of prayer with a very appropriate verse in mind.....believing that we are praying in Spirit and Truth. Where the word of God, in the bible, reveals the mind of God for people alive today, we can pray in love with particular faith and hope.