PSALM 130:5-6 His Master's Voice

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits
and in his word I hope.                                   Psalm 130:5 ESV

Many  schools of spirituality meet here.

Behold , as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their  master
as the eyes of the maidservant to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God.            Psalm 123:2 ESV

Ready to spring into action, the eyes and ears of the sheepdog
focus on his master.
Everybody who cares, listens to the word of God in scripture--
eagerly and studiously--it is part of who we are.
But the psalmist and his soul wait for the Lord.
Like sheepdogs wait for their master's bidding.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.          Psalm 130:6 ESV

PSALM 129 The Family of God

According to psalms 127 and 128,  your wife and children
are your community;-
"your children like olive shoots around your table"
"Your children are a heritage from the Lord"
The future prosperity of your community is related
to your children's children.
Yet this family of God is afflicted.
Since biblical times the community of God's people
has been persecuted.
Being  against "family values" the enemies of Zion
try to include adultery, gambling, binge drinking
money lending, pornography, prostitution,
abortion and homosexuality, human trafficking ,
drug dealing, extortion and perversion
 as part of the acceptable norm of society.
What has changed over the centuries ?
The enemies of the children of God make the innocent
children of the family of God their cowardly target
for violence, injustice and sin.

It would be better for him to have a great millstone 
fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the
depth of the sea.                                                      (Matt 18:6)

Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth.
let Israel now say
Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth.
Yet they have not prevailed against me.             Psalm 129:1-2 ESV

PSALM 127-128 Joy In His Ways

Psalm 127 : 1   (Latin 126)  New Catholic Version 2002
If the LORD does not build the house,
those who construct it labour in vain.
If the LORD does not guard the city
those who keep watch over it do so in vain.

The parallel verses of the original Hebrew poetry
still serve to give emphasis and to make the
verse more memorable.

Three passages share the same "eating" figure of speech.

Psalm 127:2  AV        It is vain..........
                       to eat the bread of sorrows.

Psalm 42:3                 My tears have been
                       my meat day and night.

Psalm 128:2               thou shalt eat
                       the labour of thine hands.

As we make our bed, so must we lie on it.
Doing things "My way" may not be as beneficial
for ourselves and those who depend on us,
as doing things " His Way ".
Even  striving , in ones own strength
....as in building a house or guarding a city....
unless we are in harmony with God's intentions
we may be striving in vain.
On the other hand Psalm 128 shows us that those
who walk in His ways "shall eat the labour of thine hands"
From our own experience eating potatoes from
our own garden or tomatoes from our own glasshouse,
is very pleasing. In fact eating things we have baked
or cooked, is a joy.
Scripture shows the contrast between doing things
" My Way" in comparison to doing things "In His Ways".
Clearly this happiness depends on "marching on"
and even  "running in the LORD'S WAYS.

Like Psalm 1, Psalm 128 also promises that walking in
God's ways will make us happy and blessed.

Psalm 127:2 Tree of Life Version
for He provides for His  beloved ones
even in their sleep.

Job 11:18 NIV  
You will be secure, because there is hope.
You will look about you and take your rest in safety.

Psalm 128:1 NIV
Blessed are all who fear the Lord
who walk in His ways.

Psalm 128:4 NASB
Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

PSALM 126 Joy in the Harvest

God's people are a witness to the heathen.
Psalm 126:2b
said they among the heathen
"The LORD hath done great things for them"
The heathen give praise to God because they have
heard and seen the saving and liberating power
of our Lord, and because the mighty acts of God
have demonstrated the Lord's power, both in
nature and in history.
Psalm 98:3   All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God. " Make a joyful noise
unto the LORD all the earth"
Which is an invitation to all, to join us in praise.
5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy
6  Going they went and wept casting their seeds
    But coming they shall come
    with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.
(From the Latin English interlinear text of David Mawson)
And those who  pray in tears may well ask that their tears
shall be "like streams in the Negeb"
irrigating the desert when it is time to sow,
for verse 5 says you will reap with shouts of joy,
and verse 6 says you will bring in the sheaves
with shouts of joy,...and  there will be joy among
the angels of God.

PSALM 125 Hearts In Tune

In Psalm 25, we can find seven identifying characteristics
of Christians to-day . That can be helpful for people trying
to identify who is Christian. We can also check to see if we
exhibit all the characteristics ourselves.

those that be good,                                                               v4

those who are upright in heart                                             v4

who's hearts are in tune with the LORD JESUS               v4 NLT

Those who trust in the LORD JESUS                                 v1

The righteous                                                                         v3

The Godly                                                                               v3 NLT

His People                                                                               v2

In addition to which, Psalm 125 tells us that we are secure,
that we cannot be moved and cannot be shaken and
like Mount Zion, we abideth for ever
and will endure forever.
Peace be upon Israel.

PSALM 124 OUR HELP

Had He not been on our side.

Psalm 124:6-8 J.P.S.
6 Blessed be the LORD, who did not let us
   be ripped apart by their teeth.
7 we are like a bird escaped from the fowler's trap
   the trap broke and we escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD
   maker of heaven and earth.

We have come through many dangers, toils and snares

1 Were it not for the LORD, who was on our side....
4.....the waters would have carried us off,
   the torrent would have swept over us;

Thanks to God we escaped like a bird
but children died of cold last week.
Children died of hunger this week.
They did not escape the teeth of cold or hunger.

Every child should receive good healthcare
every child should receive good education,  good accommodation ,
access to clean water, a healthy ample diet, the care and support
of a loving family.

Matthew 25:40 KJV
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these
my brethren , ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:45 KJV
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to 
one of the least of these, yo did it not unto me.

We are not expected to do much in our own strength.
Our help is in the name of the Lord
maker of heaven and earth.

There are no second class citizens in the body of Christ.
To ensure the good of all children is in the love of God
There should not be any second class healthcare
There should not be any second class education
there should not be any second class accommodation
There should be no hungry children,or cold children
or frightened children or scorned children
or exploited children, or trafficking of children
or adults. .

Let us appreciate that our help is in the name of JESUS
by who's grace we have come this far,
and that we have survived as long as we have
because God has a plan for our life, 

PSALM 124 Barak

The words "Praise the Lord"  serve a social function of
calling people to participate in adoration of the LORD our God.
Baruk.....praise     Barak......to bless God
Baruk sentences explicitly grounds praise in a concrete reason.
The baruk sentence is the most original and immediate
form of the praise of God, the simple joyous response to a
definite act of God which has just been experienced.
Psalm 124:6
Blessed be the LORD who has not given us as pray to their sharp teeth.
Exodus 18:10
Blessed be the LORD who has delivered us from the Egyptians.
Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the Lord.who made heaven and earth.
Concrete experience of God's intervention evokes praise.
A spontaneous response of gratitude, given what God has done,
is truly prayer.
In ritual practice or formal setting, only genuine reflection or meditation
on God's action,
could bring the same personal gratitude into the prayer.
One could meditate on Psalm 72:18
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel
who alone does wonderful things.

PSALM 123 An urgent prayer

Psalm 123 is a prayer for the community that suffers
from the proud who have ease at the community's expense.
Psalm 123:4 NRSV...Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Still today in many countries, a large percentage of the
population lives in poverty and suffers violence and scorn
from " those at ease".
Even in the richest countries, the privileged publicly exhibit
scorn for those lacking equal access to the best healthcare.
Equal access is not available to the best education,
and public provision of homes is sneeringly described as
"social housing"
Psalm 123:1-2 The Orthodox Study Bible
I lift my eyes to You
Who dwell in heaven
Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hands of their masters
As the eyes of the maidservant
look to the hands of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God.
People of faith who feel at ease today, may well pray
for those members of their own community....
the one body of Christ......
for many stand urgently in need of this prayer.

Of Men and Angels

We were made " a little lower than the angels",  Psalm 8:5
In what sense are we lower than the angels?, in strength ?
in power?,  in rank or authority?
Psalm 91:11...he will give his angels charge over you
to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 103:20-21 stresses the strength of the angels, adding
that they are acting in direct response to the commandments
of God , listening to His very voice.i.e. in His authority !
The angels are personally concerned for us,
and have a knowledge of our actions and attitudes !
Luke 15:10....I tell you, there is joy in the presence 
of the angels of God, over one sinner who repents.

But, speaking of our state in the next world, the Lord Jesus tells us;-
we shall neither marry nor be given in marriage,
Neither can they die any more:
for they are equal to the angels;
and are the children of  God,
being the children of the resurrection...Luke 20:36 KJV

PSALM 122 Jerusalem

The angel of God is mentioned in Psalm 34:7  ESV
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and delivers them.

In Psalm 35:4-8 is a prayer that  the angel of God
will not only defend the people of God,
but drive away and persue persons and forces which
threaten the life and honour  of God's people.

So, when in psalm 122, the word of God tells us to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem, we are praying, not only for the
peace of unity, but the peace of security.

Psalm 122:6-7 ESV
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
May they be secure who love you !
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers.

In the KJV Psalm 122 verse 6 is first a command
and second a prophecy.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
they shall prosper that love thee.

This is the word of God. It is addressed to all who hear or
read or sing it.  To pray for the peace of Jerusalem is to
align ourselves with the will of God.

PSALM 121 Assurance in the Spirit

Exodus 19: 3-4
Israel encamped before the mountain
while Moses went up to God.

Exodus 34:4-5
4 Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first
And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai.
5.the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him.

Moses definitely went up the mountain where he had a personal
encounter with The Lord Our God.

Psalm 121:1-2 in metre
I to the hills will lift mine eyes
from whence doth come mine aid.
My safety cometh from the Lord
who heaven and earth hath made.

Psalm 123:1  ESV
To you I lift my eyes
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 121:5 NRSV
The LORD is your guardian
your protector at your right hand.

The psalmist knows that the Lord our God,
enthroned in heaven,
is God-With-Us at our right hand.

To lift up the eyes
frequently means;- to direct and make known
our desires to God in prayer.

Matthew 17:1-2
Jesus took Peter,  James, and John and 
led them up on a high mountain by themselves
and He was transfigured  before them.
His face shone like the sun and his clothes
became as white as the light.

Mark 6:46 ESV
And after he had taken leave of them
he ( Jesus ) went up on the mountain to pray.

We might well lift our eyes to the hills
with the psalmist.
When I go up the mountain with Jesus,
to pray,
my help cometh from the LORD
who heaven and earth hath made.

The believer who has the faith to proclaim and sing
this psalm in Spirit and truth may bring comfort and
assurance to those who hear it in times of trouble.

PSALM 120 PRAYER

Psalm 120  ( Psalm 119 in the Vulgate)  is a good prayer for Christians
who have to live as a minority in countries where they are violently oppressed.
When we  as Christians are "sent out into the world" (a hostile environment ),
this psalm is our prayer on our pilgrimage towards the New Jerusalem.
     The formula for a curse is in Ruth 1:17  1Sam 3:7 2sam 3:35  1Kings 2:23.
"May the Lord do such and such to you and more besides"
In Psalm 120 the curse formula is used;-
"What will He inflict on you and more besides"
The psalmists curse is that the shafts of God's arrows of truth(Psalm 64:8)
will prevail over the harmful arrows of the liar's sharp tongue,
And that the hot coals of judgement will come upon the wicked.

The roots of the broom bush were made into charcoal which produces an intense heat;-
to be cast upon the wicked as in Psalm 140:11.

Historically Christians have endured "a long exile" while their lands were
overrun by Saracens , Vikings, Nazis, Communists and other Godless governments.

Meshech refers to the ancient people of Northern Asia Minor
( Today Turkey, the remains of the Ottoman empire)
Kedar refers to tribesmen of the Arabian desert, regarded as barbarian and ungodly
people  by their victims, since the days of king David
to the days of the ISIS Caliphate.

Psalm 120:7
When I speak of peace they are ready for war.

These are words which could have been spoken by ;-
Clement Richard Attlee and Benjamin Netanyahu.

In all societies  "the Godly" bring peace
The wicked sow discord and adversity.

When we prayerfully review any situation,
we can often discern who is bringing peace
and who is sowing discord.

Psalm 120    NAB
In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
O Lord, deliver me from the lying lip, 
from the treacherous tongue.
What will he inflict on you, with more besides,
O treacherous tongue?

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is;- (Galatians 5:22-23)
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
gentleness and self control 
against such there is no law.

Psalm 62:2-3  NAB
2   Only in God is my soul at rest
             from him comes my salvation
3   He only is my rock and my salvation,
             my stronghold;
     I shall not be disturbed at all.