LHC Midday Word: December 2021

Friday, 31 December 2021

PSALM Seventy Two

Of Solomon.

Endow the king with your justice, O God,

the royal son with your righteousness.

May he judge your people in righteousness,

your afflicted ones with justice.

May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

the hills the fruit of righteousness.

May he defend the afflicted among the people

and save the children of the needy;

may he crush the oppressor.

May he endure as long as the sun,

as long as the moon, through all generations.

May he be like rain falling on a mown field,

like showers watering the earth.

In his days may the righteous flourish

and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

May he rule from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

May the desert tribes bow before him

and his enemies lick the dust.

May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

bring tribute to him.

May the kings of Sheba and Seba

present him with gifts.

May all kings bow down to him

and all nations serve him.

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

the afflicted who have no one to help.

He will take pity on the weak and the needy

and save the needy from death.

He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

for precious is their blood in his sight.

Long may he live!

May gold from Sheba be given to him.

May people ever pray for him

and bless him all day long.

May corn abound throughout the land;

on the tops of the hills may it sway.

May the crops flourish like Lebanon

and thrive like the grass of the field.

May his name endure for ever;

may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,

and they will call him blessed.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvellous deeds.

Praise be to his glorious name for ever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen.

This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 72 : “through” (v.17)

In the heading (‘of Solomon’) the identity of the person prayed for (“endow the king with your justice” v.1) is given. It’s asking for a reign which will do good with God’s help.

All believers (not just leaders) need to receive the right qualities from above so that they “will be like … showers watering the earth” (v.6).

The Psalm looks ahead to King Jesus, a more distant but distinguished descendant of David, “all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed” (v.17). That’s how it works

– folk get “blessed through him”, then naturally “call him blessed”!

Be blessed yourself all next year too!

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READING

Psalm Seventy Two

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

https://youtu.be/enxKd2YKgjI

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Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

https://youtu.be/QgwzuFG5LCk

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/j9phNEaPrv8

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/dpny22k_7uk

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Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/qB3QV713xm0

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/hQJNMgIHVKwSONGS

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SONGS

Psalm 72

Prayer for the king

Psalm 72

Long Live the King

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Thursday, 30 December 2021

PSALM Seventy One

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;

turn your ear to me and save me.

Be my rock of refuge,

to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,

my confidence since my youth.

From my birth I have relied on you;

you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

I will ever praise you.

I have become a sign to many;

you are my strong refuge.

My mouth is filled with your praise,

declaring your splendour all day long.

Do not cast me away when I am old;

do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

For my enemies speak against me;

those who wait to kill me conspire together.

They say, ‘God has forsaken him;

pursue him and seize him,

for no one will rescue him.’

Do not be far from me, my God;

come quickly, God, to help me.

May my accusers perish in shame;

may those who want to harm me

be covered with scorn and disgrace.

As for me, I shall always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,

of your saving acts all day long –

though I know not how to relate them all.

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;

I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.

Even when I am old and grey,

do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

you who have done great things.

Who is like you, God?

Though you have made me see troubles,

many and bitter,

you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

you will again bring me up.

You will increase my honour

and comfort me once more.

I will praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you –

I whom you have delivered.

My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

have been put to shame and confusion.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 71 : “grey” (v.18)

Observe the way the psalmist looks back to the Lord’s working in his life since his “birth” (v.6) and his “youth” (v.5); then ahead to being “old and grey” (v.18). Is he just wrapped up in himself, simply self-obsessed? Not at all.

Past experiences help to remind us how God has accompanied us, especially if we have seen “troubles, many and bitter” (v.20). In the tough times we find He is our “rock of refuge” (v.3). He is our “confidence” (v.5) when our own “strength is gone” (v.9).

It is a very personal issue. We need to grasp him and say in faith “as for me, I will always have hope” (v.14). In old age too!

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READING

Psalm Seventy One

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

https://youtu.be/enxKd2YKgjI

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

https://youtu.be/QgwzuFG5LCk

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/j9phNEaPrv8

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/dpny22k_7uk

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/qB3QV713xm0

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/hQJNMgIHVKwSONGS

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SONGS

Psalm 71

Ian White

Psalm 71

- Proclaim -

Psalm 71

Wednesday, 29 December 2021

PSALM Seventy

For the director of music.

Of David. A petition.

Hasten, O God, to save me;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

May those who want to take my life

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.

May those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’

turn back because of their shame.

But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who long for your saving help always say,

‘The Lord is great!’

But as for me, I am poor and needy;

come quickly to me, O God.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Lord, do not delay.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 70 : “aha!” (v.3)

David is praying for God’s urgent help – “hasten … come quickly … do not delay” (vv.1 & 5). His plea isn’t trivial; he says there are “those who seek my life” (v.2). What is his enemies’ attitude in saying “aha!” (v.3)? It isn’t clear.

Is it

[A] mocking? Are they deriding his god-centred lifestyle? Or is it per-haps

[B] threatening? Are they implying that, wherever he ran and hid, he wouldn’t be able to elude them? Or is it perhaps

[C] gloating? Are they delighted that hardship had already overtaken him?

It gets doubly hard to cope if your plight is intensified by people’s enjoyment of it. Do a David – pray!

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READING

Psalm Seventy

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

https://youtu.be/enxKd2YKgjI

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

https://youtu.be/QgwzuFG5LCk

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/j9phNEaPrv8

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

https://youtu.be/dpny22k_7uk

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/qB3QV713xm0

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

https://youtu.be/hQJNMgIHVKwSONGS

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SONGS

Psalm 70

Dr. David Erb

Psalm 70

Help Me

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Tuesday, 28 December 2021

PSALM Sixty Nine

For the director of music.

To the tune of ‘Lilies’.

Of David.

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me.

I am worn out calling for help;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail,

looking for my God.

Those who hate me without reason

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are my enemies without cause,

those who seek to destroy me.

I am forced to restore

what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

Lord, the Lord Almighty,

may those who hope in you

not be disgraced because of me;

God of Israel,

may those who seek you

not be put to shame because of me.

For I endure scorn for your sake,

and shame covers my face.

I am a foreigner to my own family,

a stranger to my own mother’s children;

for zeal for your house consumes me,

and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

When I weep and fast,

I must endure scorn;

when I put on sackcloth,

people make sport of me.

Those who sit at the gate mock me,

and I am the song of the drunkards.

But I pray to you, Lord,

in the time of your favour;

in your great love, O God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;

in your great mercy turn to me.

Do not hide your face from your servant;

answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

Come near and rescue me;

deliver me because of my foes.

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;

all my enemies are before you.

Scorn has broken my heart

and has left me helpless;

I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

for comforters, but I found none.

They put gall in my food

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

May the table set before them become a snare;

may it become retribution and a trap.

May their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and their backs be bent for ever.

Pour out your wrath on them;

let your fierce anger overtake them.

May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

For they persecute those you wound

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

Charge them with crime upon crime;

do not let them share in your salvation.

May they be blotted out of the book of life

and not be listed with the righteous.

But as for me, afflicted and in pain –

may your salvation, God, protect me.

I will praise God’s name in song

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the Lord more than an ox,

more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

The poor will see and be glad –

you who seek God, may your hearts live!

The Lord hears the needy

and does not despise his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that move in them,

for God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah.

Then people will settle there and possess it;

the children of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 69 : “vinegar” (v.21)

King David takes his struggles to God, admitting his imperfections: “you know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you” (v.7). Yet in the midst of his prayer about his own life come flashes of revelation. When he writes “zeal for your house consumes me” (v.9), the New Testament clarifies that this phrase refers to Jesus clearing the money-makers out of the temple (see John 2 v.17).

We read “they gave me vinegar for my thirst” (v.21), which was precisely what happened on Calvary at the crucifixion (Luke 23 v.36). Be real as you pray, and the Lord will reveal things to you as well!

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READING

Psalm Sixty Nine

Read by David Suchet