Sunday 31 January 2016

PSALM 23 By Faith

Every verse in Psalm 23 is about  " me ".
           He leadeth me
           You are with me
           comfort me
           mercy shall follow me

the subject of all the verbs is "  I  " .
           I shall not want
           although I walk
           I shall fear no evil
           I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

the song is about my shepherd ,   my enemies
my head ,  my cup,   and, my  life.

Psalm 23 could not be more personal.
Psalm 23 is a personal statement of faith.
Psalm 23 is a personal assertion of faith.
and as it is written;-
              "The righteous shall live by faith"  Romans 1:17
              "The righteous shall live by faith"  Galatians 3:11

We each make our own choices and live according to our own faith.
We could go up a mountain and sing Psalm 23 to an empty hillside.
Or find an empty room and pray psalm 23 in private.
But when we discover people with whom we can sing Psalm 23
with the same fundamental conviction, it is more than edifying to do so.
Number adds strength to conviction because the more people who
think in the same way, the less force dissonance can generate.
The Prayer and Praise of those who are one in the Spirit,
actually diminishes the force of discord and enhances harmony.
In that sense the very strength of our personal faith lets us
participate in Psalm 23 in a way which brings down the strongholds
of the enemy.
Our cup of faith is running over.
It is very good to examine Psalm 23, thoughtfully and prayerfully
in the light of our own faith.
The version we often sing is from The Church of Scotland
PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
1   The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
2   He makes me down to lie.
     In pastures green: he leadeth me
          the quiet waters by.
3   My soul he doth restore again;
         and me to walk doth make
     Within the paths of righteousness,
         ev'n for his own name's sake.
4   Yes , though I walk in death's dark vale,
         yet will I fear none ill:
     For thou art with me; and thy rod 
         and staff me comfort still.
5   My table thou hast furnished
         in presence of my foes;
    My head thou dost with oil anoint
         and my cup overflows.
6  Goodness and mercy all my life
         shall surely follow me:
     And in God's house for evermore
         my dwelling place shall be.           Amen.


Thursday 28 January 2016

PSALM 23 Psalm and Sandwiches

According to Psalm 23 we are at a great victory banquet
in the company of all those who share in the victory.
We stand in the benefit of Christ's victory, Jesus, the victory has won.
God, in whose presence our ancestors walked,
is the God who has continued to shepherd us personally
throughout our whole lives, even until today,
                                             even while we are at work,
                                             even while we are shopping
                                             even while we are singing !
God assures us in Psalm 32:8   ;-
        I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.
        I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

It is the very voice of God who speaks these words
and continues to carry them out every day.
For centuries people have been singing Psalm 23:1-2
from the Book of Common Prayer.
1    The Lord is my shepherd,
             therefore I lack nothing.
2    He shall feed me in green pastures.

The God of Joseph  is ;-
The God who hath fed me all my life long unto this day.                 Genesis 48:15

Psalm 23:2     " He leadeth me "
The psalmist witnesses to the present continuous action of the Lord God in his own life.
Psalm 23:4    "Thou art with me"
In verse four the psalmist gives witness to his ongoing experience of the Divine Presence
of Emmanuel , God With Us.  and of Jehovah Shammah,  The Lord Who is Present.

Ezekiel 34 AV
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel
     shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture
     shall they feed upon the mountain of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.

Today, members of the same flock walk in the presence of the same God,
and we are fed and shepherded by the same Shepherd..
This is the same God who Joseph described when blessing his sons
in Genesis 48:15      "God in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk,
                                     the God who hath fed me all my life long unto this day."

Psalm 23 is a song of  Victory  for us and our God is serving a victory feast
with our enemies looking on !
How else can we have victory unless our God subdues our enemies?
How else can we enjoy the peace of victory?
God has delivered us time and time again
God is still delivering His people from all who hinder or harm the people of God.
and from all those who oppose the will of God,  The Psalmist knows.

Psalm 76:7      but You are to be feared,  who can stand against You ?
Psalm 23:4     Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
                        I will fear no evil      for you are with me......
.....and God is with us now.....and His name shall be called Emmanuel
                                                          which means God With Us .

Monday 18 January 2016

PSALM 22 Prayer of Christ

Psalm 22:1 NASB
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?

The "Why" which Jesus uttered on the cross, quoted from Psalm 22,
is addressed to "my God".
This validates the Psalms as  a source for Christians.
What Jesus did for us on the cross, allows us to enter the sanctuary,
which , till then, had been restricted to the chief priest.
There is no higher priest than Jesus , priest forever after the order of  Melchisedec
If Jesus can pray the the prayer of David, Christians can be quite at
one with David in praying the psalms, the very word of God.

Psalm 31:5 NASB
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O LORD God of Truth.

In prayer and in practice ,we Christians put ourselves into the hands of the Lord
who has demonstrated his love for us in the sacrifice of his redeeming action.
"My God" is a personal term which each of the redeemed may now use.
The address " My God " is confirmed by the words by which Jesus
taught us to pray...."Our Father"
The address "My God" is asserted in Psalm 22:1 and in Psalm 22:10
and again in Psalm 31:14 NASB
14  But as for me, I trust in You , O LORD,
      I say "You are my God".                                     Amen

.Psalm 22:16 NASB
A band of evildoers has encompassed me
they pierced my hands an feet.

Psalm 69:21 NASB
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 22:30-31 NASB
30      Posterity will serve Him
          It will be told of the LORD to coming generations
31      They will come and declare His righteousness
          To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

Reading through Psalm 22 in several translations, one is aware
that the verses quoted here surely speak of Jesus Christ,( God become man)
on the cross of Calvary, and of the physical and spiritual action
of God The Son on our behalf.
In Psalm 22, David sets an example of how to match our plight
with our trust in God.  We affirm the character of God as most holy.
We can recall the trust which the people of God have previously shown,
identifying with them as God's covenant people.
In ourselves we may assume the humility of people who really need help
and are at a loss without God's enabling power.
            Keeping in mind our own relationship with God...........
Psalm 22:10 NASB  You have been my God from my mother's womb.
............helps us to constantly seek God's intervention
            in our own personal circumstances.
In verse 3 the psalmist reveals something of his attitude, his faith,
his experience , and the nature of his own worship .
Psalm 22:3 NASB   Yet You are holy.
O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
             
             Today Jesus is enthroned in the praises of  all who worship in Spirit and Truth;-
             In Him we live (in Jesus) in Him we are, all that we are.


Saturday 16 January 2016

PSALM 21 Victory in God's Strength

Reading Psalm we find that there are half a dozen ways in which
 we can identify with the psalmist and with the subject of his prayer;-
Thanksgiving for help , aid , and enabling .
Thanksgiving for victory.
Praise for victory,
Unity with each other in praise and thanksgiving,
Unity in praise and thanksgiving on behalf of  king and country.
National praise to God  for victory in Yahweh's power,
Gladness that Yahweh's power is with the king and with the nation
even Glad with the joy of your presence {Psalm 21:6}

Our King is God the Son.
a crown of fine gold upon his head (Psalm 21:3)
indicates the splendor , glory , and duration
of the kingdom and authority of Christ.
Isaiah 9:6 RSV
....the government will be upon his  shoulder,
and his name will be called "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end.

Psalm 21:13 ESV
Be exalted , O LORD , in your strength!
we will sing and praise your power.

....for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever ....

We are God,s people, and citizens of the kingdom of God.
In the Psalms, our personal prayer stands as part of the prayer
of the community of the people of God, His covenant community.

2nd Peter 3:8    With the LORD one day is like a  thousand years
                           and a thousand years are like a day.

In the kingdom of God we stand before the throne
shoulder to shoulder with Abraham , Isaac and Jacob.
Our prayers rise in harmony with those of David.
David stands before the eternal God with Moses .
We lift up our hearts to God to whom Peter, James and John  are equally alive.
Every day we are grateful that God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage.
Every day we are grateful that our Saviour delivered us from sin and death.
Every day we stand in the full benefit of that.,
for the mercy which poured from his wounds still swirls around us.
The power and the glory of our God is undiminished.
"Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory"
This morning's prayer ;-" thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
is effective across the distance of the starry skies, and across the ages of time.
Psalm 21 speaks to us about the power of prayer and how far it reaches !
The heartfelt prayer at daybreak  responds to the heartbeat of Eternal God
who is present to every soul of every age.

!st Timothy 2:1 NAB
First of all I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings
be offered for all men.

Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we all ask or imagine
according to his power that is at work within us.......................



Tuesday 12 January 2016

PSALM 20 Intercession for Victory

In intercessory prayer we ask God for something
on behalf of somebody else.
In England, people pray " God Save The Queen "
on behalf of the sovereign Queen and head of the Church of England
....."send her victorious"
,,,which are words of the national anthem.
Psalm 20 is an intercessory prayer for the King of Israel.
The people pray on behalf of the king
who is making a meal offering....a sacrifice.
They are speaking for him and praying for his victory..

Our King is Jesus, who has made an offering for us.
Our petition accompanies our King's offering.
We can pray with great faith because
we are praying for our King's victory over evil and death,
a victory which we know to be won.
Verse 5 anticipates our King's victory
which is the cause of our joy and celebration,
the joy and celebration of the people of God.
We speak of future victory as if it has already happened,
because " Jesus the victory has won "

Romans 8:11  ESV                                                                              Trinity
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Psalm 20:16 ESV
Now I know that the LORD will save [NRSV: help] his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven.

Psalm 20 :5 RSV
May we shout for joy over your victory.
Proverbs 2:7 NIV                                      Something in Store 
He holds victory in store for the upright.

Psalm 60:12 NIV
With God we shall gain the victory.

Psalm 108 13 NIV
With God we shall gain the victory.

Matthew 12:21-22 NIV                               God For Us
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will  not snuff out.
till he leads justice to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.    Jesus

1st John 5:5 NIV                                          
This is the victory that has overcome the world
5 Who is it that overcomes the world?
Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.      God with us

!st Corinthians 15:57 NIV                                                      
But thanks be to God!                                                      Living God
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Friday 8 January 2016

PSALM 18 God For Us

Psalm 18 is numbered Psalm 17 in the Septuagint and in the translation
from the Latin Vulgate by Monsignor Knox; from these line are taken.
The Lord is our defender                     v2
The Lord is our stronghold                  v3
The Lord is our rescuer                        v3
The Lord is our hiding place                v3
The Lord is our safety                           v3
The Lord is our shield                           v3
The Lord is our weapon of deliverance           v3
and              our refuge                                       v3
The Lord listens to our voice                             v9
To-day The Lord stands by us                           v19
              and brings us out into freedom            v20
and in His great love, The Lord befriends us   v20
                                      brings deliverance to humble folk          v28
              and is the sure defence of all who trust in Him             v31
The Lord ;-  girds us with strength                                              v33
                      bids us go on our way untroubled                          v33
                      gives us freedom                                                       v35
His saving power is our defence                                                   v36
His right hand supports us                                                           v36
His tender care fosters us                                                             v36
Blessed be the Living Lord who is our refuge                            v47
                   and grants Victory to His anointed.                         v51

Each phrase here can be the subject of our prayerful reflection,   and worship.

Augustus M Toplady   1740- 1778

                                   Rock of Ages, cleft for me
                                   Let me hide myself in Thee;
                                   Let the water and the blood,
                                   From Thy riven side which flowed,
                                   Be of sin the double cure
                                   Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

If we look at Psalm 18 in the English Standard version, we read;-
                         31      For who is God, but the Lord?
                         32      And who is a rock, except our God ?--
Jesus--the rock from whom water and blood flowed.
                         46      The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
                                   and exalted be the God of my salvation.

Believers to-day can sing the words of the psalmist, from their own experience.
                                    Psalm 18:46 KJV
                                    The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock;
                                     and let the God of my salvation  be exalted.

God with us is God for us,   The Living God .
                                     Psalm 42:2
                                     My soul thirsts for God
                                     for the living God.
                                     Jeremiah 10:10
                                     But the Lord is the true God
                                     He is the living God,
                                     1st Timothy 4:10
                                      We trust in the living God.
                       

Saturday 2 January 2016

PSALM 19 God is Glorified


The community which prays Psalm 19 is a faith community
involving fellowship in obedience.
 We contemplate Psalm 19 with a desire to observe the rule
 made explicit in the words we sing regularly..

 A modern Jewish translation of Psalm 19:15 reads;-

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations
of my heart, fulfill Your will,
Adonai,  my Rock and my Redeemer.

At every new dawn, this obedient, contemplative community
is addressed by our creator,  and every night, endless galaxies
display the majesty of our God, for all to see,

So here we have a whole community of people
who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
This is a people who give real priority to applying
the precepts of the living God to the social. political and moral
fabric of our community.

One nation under God would be the body of Christ made visible.
Each individual who is faithful to growing in grace
and in the knowledge of God
is a member of this obedient community.
In the power of the Holy Spirit, this is made possible.
It is because we seek first the Kingdom of God
and all these things are added unto us !
allelu   alleluia.
The source of spiritual  light in our lives is a witness.
The law of God which gives moral cohesion to our community,
is a witness.  Our steadfast love is a witness.
To us the Psalms are a gift and a source of physical, emotional,
and intellectual strength and spiritual transformation :
restoring the Spirit; making the simple wise, gladdening the heart,
and filling the eyes with light.....and that is just from Psalm no 19 !

Consistency in belief among members of the community
augments, strengthens our own attitudes
and reinforces the witness of the whole group, in which
The Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit are active together
in continuous creation.

Psalm 84: 12   NCV
The LORD GOD serves as our sun and our shield
the LORD showers us with grace and glory.
He does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk in integrity.

In the heavens 
 He has placed a tent for the sun. Psalm 19:5

The whole of the starry heavens is the tent of His presence !
When we walk in all God has given us,
   and walk in all God has done for us,
        God is glorified.

Friday 1 January 2016

PSALM 19 Live to declare the Glory of God

Psalm 19:1  ESV
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Creation includes us. When things are right, our lives declare the glory of God.
Our eyes are very beautiful.  The living engineering of our eyes has megapixel
optical connections to our brain. Nowadays we can appreciate the wonderful
 precision and  refinement of our eyes. The glory of God can be seen in your eyes !
Just as the laws of physics are perfect,
  the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.                                          v7
His precepts are right, rejoicing the heart.                                                     v8
The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether                               v9.
More to be desired than gold, even much fine gold,                                       v10
sweeter than honey which drips from the honeycomb.

When our own lives and communities declare the glory of God,
only our own fallenness detracts from that.
God speaks to us in Psalm 19,
To be right with God is perfect for us.
We pray Thy will be done" with desperate passion
because anything less would fall short of the  glory of God.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote ;-
"Earth's crammed with heaven,
and almost every bush afire with God,
but only he who sees takes off his shoes,
the rest sir round and pluck blackberries.

In Psalm 19 ,  we are God's creation, we are even the burning bush.

Loving God and loving God's will,    is Christian.
Knowing that what God wants for us is the very best,
and wanting what God wants for us all,    is also Christian.
The beauty of the law of God and the sweetness of the will of God,
the preciousness of the purposes of God
is the lived experience of those who;-
Love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
                                                                            Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.
                                                                             Psalm 19:8      TLV
The laws of the LORD are true: each one is fair.
                                                                             Psalm 19:9b TLV
The rules of the LORD are true and righteous altogether,
the pure joy of which contrasts with the godless ocean
which laps around Christianity today
New tides of greed, perversion, cruelty and hatred lap higher up the beaches
beaches which Christians will continue to defend.
Of course we need to take the plank out of our own eye first.
When did our heart really rejoice because "the statutes of the LORD are right"
This week ? or last week ? When last did our eyes light up
because "the commandments of the LORD are pure"   ?

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my rock and my redeemer.
                                                                               Psalm 19:14 ESV
We would enjoy singing these words in church if Boney M were in the choir.
Imagine the people of God coming together to put Psalm 19 into action in all our lives.