Wednesday 11 December 2013

PSALM 57 Glory of God

In Psalm 57 verse 5  ESV  ,King David prays;-
Let your glory be over all the earth.

In Psalm 72 verse 19 ESV The psalmist again prays ;-
Blessed be his glorious name forever
may the whole world be filled with his glory,
                                                 AMEN AMEN

The whole world will be a holy site of worship
where God makes his presence known.
This prayer is that the whole earth be such a sanctuary.
We live in the age when this is coming about.

HABAKKUK 6:9 ESV
For the earth will be filled
with the glory of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

ISAIAH 6:9  ESV
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts
the whole earth is full of his glory

The song of the seraphim who appeared in Isaiah's  vision.
The glory of God's manifest presence with his covenant people.

PSALM 57 Trinity

Psalm 57:3 New RSV
He will send from heaven and save me
he will put to shame those who trample on me
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

This double "sending forth" of saving power and love is remarkable
because the same verb is used twice in Galatians 4:4-6

When in the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth His Son
.......And because you are sons,
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son.

The words of Psalm 57 seem to suggest that the "Wings of God",
under which believers take refuge are the Son and the Holy Spirit
who were "sent forth" in steadfast love to save us.

The psalmist lived at a time when these wonderful things
were only hinted at.
Believers living in our age experience the active presence
of the three persons of the Trinity in our own lives.

PSALM 57 Images of God

Psalm 57:2 The Message
             I call out to High God
             the God who holds me together.

GNB    I call to God, the Most High
             to God who supplies my every need.

KNOX   I will cry out to the most high God
               the God who has ever befriended me.

RSV      I cry to God Most High
&ESV   to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

SAAS      I will cry out to God most High
                My God who is my benefactor.

NCV        I call out to God Most High
                 to God who takes care of me.

alt             Who perfects his work in me.

REB        I shall call to God Most High
& TLV    to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

The Cathedral Psalter  New Edition  1880
The American Anglican Church
                 I will call unto the most high God
                 even unto the God that shall perform
                 the cause which I have in hand.

The various translations of the second verse of Psalm 57
spell out incomplete but thoughtful and helpful insights
into the nature of our God as experienced by the psalmist
and the people of God down the centuries .

PSALM 57 Disposition for Prayer

Psalm 57:1 Jerusalem
Take pity on me, God, take pity on me,
in you my soul takes shelter;
I take shelter in the shadow of your wings.....

The prayer of the suffering church is the prayer of Christ
since He is head of the body of Christ.
Psalm 57 then is at once the prayer of God's suffering people.
Here the prayer of David is the prayer of Christ.

For those who  are willing and inclined to pray, our tendency to pray
finds direction and encouragement in Psalm 57.
We are offered in verse 1 a disposition for prayer
and in verse 2, true images of God.

Psalm 57:1 English Standard Version
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me
for in you my soul takes refuge:
In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

PSALM 56, Walking With The King

I place my trust in you.
In God , whose word I praise.
In God, whose word I praise--
in the LORD, whose word I praise--
in God I place my trust.

 Psalm 56 verses 5 and 11 (NCV) is talking about
God's "word" by which He committed Himself to His faithful.

Psalm 105:8-10 (NCV)
He is mindful of his covenant forever
the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
He established it as a decree for Jacob
and as an everlasting covenant for Israel.

Psalm 56:14 NCV  ( v13)
For you have delivered my life from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk in the  presence of God 
in the light of the living.

The psalmist enjoys ongoing fellowship with God.

Psalm 36:10 NCV
For with you is the fountain of life
and by your light we see light

1John 1:5,6 NRSV
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all
If we say we have fellowship with him while we are
walking in darkness, we lie.......
but if we walk in the light, we have fellowship....

All who are walking in the presence of God
are walking in the light.
1 John 1:7 NRSV
but if we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another
and the blood of Jesus his son clenses us from all sin.

Walking is not standing still and not running.
Walking is moving on, moving on with the Lord,
in His company, by His side
with the Lord , whose word we praise
by which He committed Himself to His faithful.
We are walking with the King.

Psalm 16:11 New Catholic Version
You will show me the path to life;
  you will fill me with joy in your presence
  and everlasting delights at your right hand.

Tuesday 3 December 2013

PSALM 55 The Fear of God.

In Psalm 55 verse 19 we learn that the wicked refuse to change their ways.
They have no fear of God.
But God who has ruled them forever,
will hear them and humble them.

Similarly , a long and continued period of ease and pleasure
i.e. uninterrupted prosperity
can allow the worst influences to affect people
who do not have the grace or the benefit of an ongoing
personal relationship with the living God.

When trials drive us to seek God's aid.....
Psalm 55:17 NIV..........I cry out in distress
                                       and He hears my voice.
.....we are overwhelmed with awe
in the presence of the everlasting God.
Psalm 55:18 KJV.
He hath delivered my soul in peace
from the battle that was against me.

Then the psalmist and the believer can say with conviction...
Psalm 55:22 KJV   Cast thy burden on the LORD,
and He shall sustain thee.

Sunday 1 December 2013

PSALM 55 The Way of the Wicked

Words used to describe the actions of the enemies of the psalmist in Psalm 55
taken from the Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation of Psalm 55
verse 4;- oppression, bringing evil, harassing
verse 18;- lawlessness and strife
verse 11;- evil and mischief
verse 12;- malice fraud and deceit
verse 14;- betrayal of friendship
verse 21 ;- harming allies and breaking pacts.
From the New Living Translation
verse 3;- making loud and wicked threats, bringing troubles
verse 9;- violence and conflict
verse 10;- wickedness in the city
verse 11;- threats and cheating
verse 19;- refusing to change their way,
                not fearing God
verse 20;- betraying friends and breaking promises.
None of these actions draw people towards God.
None of these activities would be motivated by love or truth
None of these activities would be inspired by the Holy Spirit
Psalm 55 is a guide to discernment and common sense for believers.

PSALM 55 The Way of Faith

David, Daniel and Hosea illustrate the real "Way of Faith",
an ongoing relationship with the Living God.
Psalm 55:17  KJV     Evening, and morning, and at noon, 
I will pray, and cry aloud:and he shall hear my voice.

At the risk of being cast into  the den of lions  (Daniel 6:10)..
he went into his house ;
and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day,
and prayed and gave thanks before God.
Three fixed daily prayers are based on the biblical verse
"Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud
and He shall hear my voice"  ( Psalm 55:17 )
These prayers are connected to the visible changes that occur every day:
Shahrit at the beginning of the day, with the rising sun:
Minhah in the afternoon, when the sun turns toward setting;
Ma'ariv in the evening, once darkness falls.
These three prayers correspond to the order of sacrifices in the Temple.
Shaharit corresponds to the daily offering Tamid brought in the morning.
Minhah to the Tamid offering brought toward dusk.
Ma'ariv to the flesh offering burnt on the altar during the night hours.
HOSEA 14:2 NLT    Forgive all our sins and graciously
receive us, so that we may offer you the sacrifice of praise.

HOSEA 14:2 KJV    "Take away all our iniquity and receive us 
graciously. So we will render the calves of our lips"
( Our offering of prayer, a sacrifice equal to the offering of a calf)
Morning , noon and night, believers
offer the sacrifice of our praise with the offering of our prayer.
Openly we offer ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.
That is our spiritual worship..( as in Romans 12:1.)