Friday 24 January 2014

PSALM 61:4-5

Psalm 61:4  ESV  Let me dwell in your tent forever!
                              Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.

The psalmist "remembers" his own experience of God,s  presence,
especially God's presence in the powerful, faith filled,worship
in the temple of the Lord's presence.

Psalm 61:5  ESV
a    For you, O God, have heard my vows
b            you have given me the heritage
                 of those who fear your name.
a You have heard me so often in the past, it is my experience that with your
   guidance You have brought me safe this far.

b  I now stand in the benefit of being a God fearing man

"Thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name"
    "an inheritance in the world to come"
We are made heirs and joint heirs with all the saints.
We have become reverent worshipers.
We stand in awe of the Lord's authority.

PSALM 61:2-3

Psalm 61:2 b      Lead me to the rock
                           that is higher than I

Psalm 18    1     I love you, O Lord, my strength.
                   2     The Lord is my rock and my fortress
                          and my deliverer.

1st Corinthians 10:4  ESV......and the Rock was Christ

The mind of a person who loves God  (Psalm 18:1)
consequently remembers Him and has some understanding of Him.
When we remember God's love for us and grow in the knowledge
of Him, our attitudes and the choices we make become "right with Him"
and so become better for ourselves and those around us.

Psalm 61:3  ESV  for you have been my refuge
                              a strong tower against the enemy

St Augustine pointed out the difficulty of loving anything that we
do not remember and are totally ignorant of.
But here we learn that the psalmist remembers that in his own experience,
God has been his refuge and a strong tower against the enemy.
Throughout his prayer life,the psalmist has been growing in the knowledge of God
We  who are made in His image and likeness  have come to know something of Him
and are able to remember something of Him
With that experience, we are now in a better position to love our neighbor as our self
We can all the more join with the psalmist , to sing
I love you, O Lord, my strength.

.

PSALM 61:1-2

Psalm 61:1   ESV   Hear my cry, O God.
                                     listen to my prayer.

As Christian brothers and sisters we have confidence
to enter into the holy places by the blood of Jesus
                                                          see Hebrews 10:19
.....you were washed
     you were sanctified
     you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
                                       and by the Spirit of our God
                                                          1st Corinthians 6:11 ESV
Psalm 61:2 a    ESV
     from the end of the earth I call to you
     when my heart is faint.

The prayer is about real life. So whether the believer is facing
childbirth or redundancy or even death, to have faith that "God with us""
has always been with us, is with us now, and (whatever the circumstances)
will be with us...enables us to turn spontaneously to the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob with the same confidence and hope as the psalmist.
We  make the psalms of David our very own prayers. 

Sunday 19 January 2014

PSALM 60 A Warning

Psalm 60 (Psalm 59 by Catholic and Orthodox numbering)
This psalm is a description of how God  shatters the pride
of those bound in sin, but will recall them into a strong city
which is the body of Christ.
The casting out and scattering abroad can not apply  to suffering
endured for Christ or to persecuted believers and martyrs.
Those once Christian nations which prospered in upholding the
precepts of the One Just God, but which now practice abortion
adultery, and arrogance, who now fail to pray, fail to seek God's
guidance, and fail to follow God, and instead promote ;-
immorality and perversion....need to take note..
The nations which have gone on their own perverse ways
should not think that all will be well with them.
A prayer;-
"Save us and help us with your right hand
that those you love may be delivered."    AMEN.

For adultery , see Matthew 5:32 and  Mark 10::11-12
for abortion , see Psalm 106:37-46
for arrogance, see Psalm 101:5-6
for failure to pray see 1st Samuel 12:23 RSV
                             and Zephaniah 1:5-6  GNB
for failure to seek God's guidance, see Zephaniah 1:5-6
for immorality  and perversion, see Jude 7: 11,12,13 and 16.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Psalm 58, Do what is just

Psalm 58:1 Psalms of David in metre
Do ye, O congregation,
indeed speak righteousness?
O ye that are the sons of men,
judge ye with uprightness?

The psalmist is desiring true justice,
a justice which cannot be derailed, denied or mocked,
because it is God's justice.
The legal profession is a major industry.
Our courts of justice are fully active and at great cost.
Public awareness of the God of Justice is not so high.
Secularists would even remove God from our courts of justice
in the UK and in the USA.
But for the Christian believer
who is at one with the God of justice,
We must ourselves ;-
                               do what is right,
                               show constant love,
                               and live in humble fellowship
                               with our God.
                                                    (Micah 6:8  GNB)
Men will say,
                    "There is , then , a reward for the righteous;
                     there is, indeed, divine justice on earth."     

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Psalm 58 God of Justice

Psalm 58 is a psalm to which we need to give our serious attention today.
Psalm 58 Reveals to us a God of Justice.
Do converts today groan when they come under conviction ?
We have been told that God is not a policeman in the sky
and that He is not judgmental
So we can get on with our own interests and forget God !
In practice many politicians, bankers and others in authority
have no sense of being answerable to a Sunday school morality
or to the God of the Sunday school.
The provision of public education and health services for all took root in
Europe but it is repeatedly opposed by self gratifying hoards in the U.S.A.

Psalm 58 is dead against injustice, oppression, covetousness, deception,
adultery, human trafficking, human exploitation, degrading entertainment,
and the lowering of standards and values.
Our Lord Jesus did have to pay the price for our sins on the Cross of Calvary,
because we do have a God of Justice.

Psalm 58:11 NRSV
People will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth. " 

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Psalm 58, A Mirror

In verse 1-2 of Psalm 58 the psalmist accuses those in authority,
they are charged with violence and injustice.
In verse 3-5 the wicked are accused of lying and wrong doing.
Since this is a psalm they are accused before God in prayer.
    In the West we make choices every day which doom Chrome miners to a wretched life.
Rhodium miners are shot for striking because they cannot afford education for their children.
Children who harvest coffee get no education because they are working for pennies
to help support their families sustain life itself.
Little old ladies , in twin sets, sip tea while their pension fund depends on bonded labour.
Each of us exercise power and authority in every choice we make, however casual.
Like deaf adders we in the West turn a deaf ear to the advocates of justice !
Verse 6-9 calls for violent defeat of the wicked !
Is Psalm 58 a mirror in which we can see ourselves ?
And are we a people who are willing to change?
Verse 10-11 contains prophecy that the righteous will triumph
when judgement falls upon the wicked. !!!

Sunday 5 January 2014

Psalm 58 Justice and Peace

Noah and his family were rescued from a society which had no fear of God
and had no intention to change their ways.
When God imposed justice , Noah and his family were saved.
The Children of Israel were freed from slavery in Egypt.
Their freedom and justice  was achieved when the judgement of God
fell on the Egyptians.
Those who proclaim "peace at any price" and even pray for "peace at any price"
 are dislocated from the will of God and His active presence in the world.
Since "God With Us" is "God For Us" the psalmist dared to pray
for the judgement of God to come into effect in his own oppressed circumstances.
There is a sense that when we pray for justice and for God's  intervention in a
situation, we are asking God to act according to His judgement (not ours).
So to pray for justice and peace is to pray for the judgement of God to be implemented.

If I was praying for justice and peace for the innocent in Syria or South Sudan or Somalia,
in faith that God would act according to his judgement ,I might not mention the terrorists
or their teeth ; but the psalmist prayed with integrity  and with urgency.
And if I really felt that families of believers in those countries are my brothers and sisters.....
then each news bulletin of atrocities might cause my prayer to become more urgent
and more explicit.
And would righteous men not rejoice if we witnessed that there is indeed
Divine Justice on Earth ?
Lord , may there be divine justice in Syria , in South Sudan and in Somalia. AMEN.

Saturday 4 January 2014

Psalm 57 Universal Audience

Psalm 57:9-10
The New Oxford Annotated Bible
New Revised Standard Version.

9. I will give thanks to you,  O Lord,
                     among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10  For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
             your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

The audience of the psalmist stretches over centuries,
over nations and over many languages.
Spoken Psalms and written Psalms are used by more people than ever.
Recorded Psalms are played privately and are broadcast on radio and TV.
On the net you can hear Psalms sung in Anglican chant, Gregorian chant and
in Orthodox chant. Though each of those may seem a world on their own,
they use the same 150 Psalms as American acappella choirs and brass bands.
Psalms are sung in more than a dozen Indian languages to local accompaniment.
There are Taize Psalms, Reggae Psalms and beautiful Serbian Psalms.
Classical composers have written settings to Psalms which are performed  to
music lovers internationally.
Welsh choirs , Chinese choirs and French Creole choirs sing praises to our One Lord.
Church organs, pan pipes and great orchestras provide accompaniment  to the same
150 Psalms
Hebrew, Byzantine, Greek and Syriac psalms from antiquity are used for worship today.
The words of Psalm 57:9-10 NRSV make a clear statement;-
The universal audience of the psalmist is matched by the universal extent of the divine
love and faithfulness of the One True God.









Psalm 57 Alive in The Spirit

Psalm 57 verses 7-9
THE MESSAGE // REMIX
the Bible in Contemporary Language.

I'm ready,  God,  so ready,
ready from head to toe,
Ready to sing,  ready to raise a tune:
   "Wake up,  harp !  Wake up lute !
         Wake up ,  you sleepyhead sun !"
I'm thanking you God,  out loud in the streets,
     singing your praises in town and country. 

There is nothing dull or tedious here
nothing dreary to induce boredom !
Wouldn't you choose to work with people so motivated,
so eager, so fully alive to the Lord our God,
so in tune with His purposes,
so in harmony with His love!
    In this translation of Psalm 57
We can reflect on the eagerness of the Psalmist.....
not just an academic compliance.......
The psalmist is inspired,  animated by the Spirit of God.
May all of us who call ourselves Christians
find life in the same Spirit.