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Monday, February 3, 2014

Psalm 15:1-5

Salutation

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Psalm 15:1-5[1]

A Psalm of David.

Lord, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? who shall dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He [who] backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is scorned. But he honors those who fear the Lord. [Who] swears to [his own] hurt, and changes not. [Who] puts not out his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He who does these [things] shall never be moved.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] David asks a truly profound question. Human tents (booths or tabernacles) were made for human habitation. What about God’s tent? What about God’s temple that Solomon will build. Samuel lived in God’s tent. An important tradition insists that Samuel even slept in the most holy place, the oracle. Yet, it doesn’t seem that David is asking about Samuel, or listing Samuel’s virtues.

One interpretation would note that these are the virtues of a perfect person, virtues to be copied and practiced, which is true enough. However, when such works are made into an attainable obsession, this interpretation falls flat. Nobody is that good: not Samuel, not David, not anybody. Such goodness cannot be obtained by human effort. This raises the profound question. Adam failed. Perfect man is gone from the earth. Will there ever be a perfect man, who comes to abide in this tent of God. Somehow, David knows that this is the ultimate purpose of perfect man, to abide with God. David even paints a glowing picture of what that man will be like.

Possibly, David has not yet been given the promise of an eternal son: for when David receives that covenant promise he has the final answer to his question, “Who?” We now know that the answer is Jesus, that in the miracle of Jesus life, He lives in us and we live in Him. Jesus is the final answer to David’s question. In the abiding relationship between Jesus and His people, He brings us into God’s abiding presence, His tabernacle, with Him. What we cannot do ourselves, Jesus gives as a wedding present to His bride. James explains the meaning of this Psalm in detail, showing the sins of double mindedness, the tongue, and abuse of wealth. Only in Jesus is the defeat of these sins possible. Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Psalm 115:1-18

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 115:1-18[1]

Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give Glory, for Your mercy, [and] for Your truth’s sake. Why should the heathen say, “Where [is] now their God?” But our God [is] in the heavens. He has done what He has pleased.

Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they, through their throat. Those who make them are like them. [So is] everyone that trusts in them.

O Israel, trust in the Lord. He [is] their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He [is] their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He [is] their help and their shield.

The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless [us]. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, small and great. The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. You [are] blessed of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

The heavens, the heavens [are] the Lord’s. But the earth has He given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, nor any that go down to silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forever.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] God and man both work, but all the Glory belongs to Yahweh: for it is God who strengthens, empowers, teaches, and leads. Without God’s eternal support, man is blind and helpless. The heathen, however, cling to the illusion that their works are their own. Since their works are great, while Israel’s are small, they fancy the conceit that God is like their idols, and they do not understand.

Lest we miss the point the psalmist lampoons idolatry and idolaters in no uncertain terms: they are the height of foolishness. Nevertheless, idolatry is why “we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6).” What the psalmist does not tell us is that behind every idol, is the horrifying reality of demonism.

All who would call themselves God’s children: Israelites, Aaron’s family, God fearers are to trust exclusively in Yahweh. We suspect that Aaron’s name is singled out because there is a special Satanic intensity of temptation to idolatry directed at the priesthood: if the priesthood can be subverted, the rest of the faithful will flounder.

Know this, the psalmist says, Yahweh is always with us in the fullness of His power. He has created us, and He loves us. It only depends of Yahweh’s work, never ours. We are simply reflectors of His love.

In God’s administration territories are delegated to individuals: the earth is man’s delegated responsibility. That Satan is cast down and called the god of this world, indicates his humiliation, not his exaltation. Satan accuses, destroys, obstructs, tempts; but man is still in charge: Satan is just something else that man must cope with. Thus, when Perfect Man comes, He first wrestles with Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4; Luke 4). There are two very different kinds of dead in the Psalms: the dead, dead who are completely dead, cannot praise, and can only be silent; and the resurrected dead, who are completely living, waiting for their bodies to awake, can only praise, and can only sing with angels. These latter, bless Yahweh eternally.

Psalm 114:1-8

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 114:1-8[1]

When Israel went from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of alien language: Judah was His sanctuary. Israel [was] His dominion. The sea saw [Him], and fled. The Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.

What [ailed] you, O sea, so that you fled? Jordan, you were driven back? Mountains, you skipped like rams? Little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. Who turned the rock [to] a pool, the flint to a fountain of waters.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] When people are struggling to cope they turn to the historic acts of God for comfort and stability. In a world where depression is epidemic and coping skills are lacking, a solution, the only real and permanent solution, is found by turning to God. This Psalm seems so childlike that we guess that it was written for a mother to sing to her children: it forms a suitable lullaby, both playful and brief.

However, underneath its playfulness, there is a sober message. God did split the Red Sea, stop the Jordan River, made Sinai shake in a terrifying manner. God brought water came from the Rock when Moses struck it. This Rock is Jesus.

Psalm 113:1-9

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 113:1-9[1]

Praise the Lord.

Praise, servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord’s name [is] to be praised.

The Lord [is] high above all nations. His Glory [is] above the heavens. Who [is] like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles [Himself] to behold [things] in heaven, and in the earth!

He raises up the poor from the dust. [He] lifts the needy from the dunghill: so that He may set [him] with princes, with the princes of His people. He makes the barren woman keep house, a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] This delightful Psalm of Praise gives no author or date; it focuses on the Glory of God. We remember that the Glory of God is not an abstraction, but His real presence in talking flame and smoke, seated on the Ark of the Covenant, and resident in the most holy place within the Tabernacle or Temple. The Psalmist moves on to observe that God’s real presence is simply His visibility; His real Glory is greater than the Universe (heaven) itself; but He stoops (humbles) to give special loving attention to humanity: this looks forward to the Incarnation of Jesus, which is God’s greatest act of humbling, actually becoming complete and true man. Hence, as Theanthropos or Theandros (God-man) he humbles Himself to forgive, heal, and justify the poor, needy, and barren.

We note with astonishment the emphasis on fruitfulness. This could be a reference to Samuel and his mother, Hannah, or a prophecy concerning John (the Baptist) and his mother, Elisabeth. It draws attention to the fact that for both men and women, spiritual fruitfulness is among the most important things in our lives. These noblewomen did more than merely give birth; they themselves were great servants of God: thus, they gave birth to great servants of God. Both Samuel and John introduced the King: David, the type of the Incarnation; Jesus, the reality of the Incarnation.

Psalm 112:1-10

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 112:1-10[1]

Praise the Lord.

Blessed [is] the man [who] fears the Lord, [who] delights greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty on earth.

The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches [shall be] in his house. His righteousness endures forever. To the upright there rises light in the darkness. [He is] gracious, full of compassion, and righteous. A good man shows favor, and lends. He will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved forever. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart [is] established. He shall not be afraid, until he see [its desire] on his enemies. He has dispersed. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor.

The wicked shall see, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked shall perish.

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[1] The unnamed psalmist moves from the topic of the blessed man to the upright or righteous man; and finally, to the wicked man. The phrase, “His righteousness endures forever,” shows us clearly that these first two are one and the same. Less clear is that Jesus is the perfection of this blessed-righteous man.

Nor is this the sort of self-righteousness that flows from human works-righteousness: for the core of this righteousness is the fear of the Lord. This fear, Jesus perfects, and then produces in us. The lending spoken of, is really giving: for nothing is expected in return. Jesus freely gives His body and blood. His only repayment is that we trust, love, and are grateful to Him for His immeasurable gift.

It is this perfection in the crucifixion and resurrection that results in Jesus coronation and seating on the throne of David (Acts 2:29-36). Jesus is the horn because He is the King. We will be exalted with Him and also reign with Him.

The wicked, who want Him dead, cannot stand or understand the fact of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Their rage is very self-destructive. “Judas goes out and hangs himself.”

Psalm 111:1-10

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 111:1-10[1]

Praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord with whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, the congregation.

The works of the Lord [are] great, sought out by all those who have pleasure in them. His work [is] honorable and glorious. His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord [is] gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him. He will be ever mindful of His covenant. He has showed His people the power of His works, so that He may give them the heritage of the heathen.

The works of His hands [are] reality and judgment. All His commandments [are] sure. They stand fast forever and ever. [They are] done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption to His people. He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and reverend [is] His name.

The fear of the Lord [is] the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do [His commandments]. His praise endures forever.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] The great works of God are: His creation of the Universe; His ongoing provision for that creation; and His Law given through Moses. These great works are administered on earth by an eternal covenant, which unfolds in history: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the tribes of Israel, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus. Yes, all these are pictures pointing to Jesus. Solomon employs a latter verse of this Psalm, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom,” as the motto of Proverbs, where he unfolds the wise nature of Jesus in great detail.

Psalm 110:1-7

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 110:1-7[1]

A Psalm of David.

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength from Zion. Rule in the heart of Your enemies.

Your people [shall be] willing in the day of Your power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning. You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn, and will not repent. You [are] a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord at Your right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His fury. He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill [the places] with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way. Therefore He shall lift up the head.

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If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

[1] This may be the most frequently quoted Psalm in the New Testament: Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:16; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35; Hebrews 6:20; 7:1-28; 8:1-5. Hebrews shows how this Psalm is prophetic of Jesus, by giving us the detailed meaning of the Psalm. The promises of Psalm 2 are also fulfilled in this Psalm. The judgment speaks of the course of history since 33 AD, as man continues to war against God. The brook shows us the close relationship that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have through the Father. This relationship extends to The Church, the body of Christ, as she continues to lift up her Head. He, Jesus lifts up His head (Himself) through the Holy Spirits work in and through The Church.