LHC Midday Word

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

-=-=-=-

Psalm 56

Ian White

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-

-=-

Tuesday 14 December 2021

PSALM Fifty Five

For the director of music.

With stringed instruments.

A maskil of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me

and assail me in their anger.

My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen on me.

Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

I said, ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.’

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

at the house of God,

as we walked about

among the worshippers.

Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

for evil finds lodging among them.

As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

God, who is enthroned from of old,

who does not change –

he will hear them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.

My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

His talk is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 55 : “wings!” (v.6)

When you’re feeling flattened, or steam is coming out of your ears in rage, you just want to “fly away” (v.6) somewhere else and flee from the situation. David wrote “I said, ‘Oh that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest … far from the tempest and storm” (vv.6-8). He says there are plenty of unpleasant things he could take, but a close friend has let him down badly (vv.12-14).

Well, we haven’t got “wings”! We can’t fly! Or even hide away for a while! So how do we manage things?

David found a way of ‘flying’ : “but I call to God” (v.16). Need ‘lift-off’? Take it to the Lord in prayer.

==========

READING

Psalm Fifty Five

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

-=-=-=-

SONGS

Psalm 55

(Lay All Your Burdens)

He Hears My Voice (Psalm 55:16-17 NLT)

from Labyrinth by David Baloche

Cast Your Burdens Onto Jesus

-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-

Monday 13 December 2021

PSALM Fifty Four

For the director of music.

With stringed instruments.

A maskil of David.

When the Ziphites had gone to Saul

and said, ‘Is not David hiding among us?’

Save me, O God, by your name;

vindicate me by your might.

Hear my prayer, O God;

listen to the words of my mouth.

Arrogant foes are attacking me;

ruthless people are trying to kill me –

people without regard for God.

Surely God is my help;

the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Let evil recoil on those who slander me;

in your faithfulness destroy them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;

I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.

You have delivered me from all my troubles,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 54 : “freewill” (v.6)

The basic ingredient of true devotion is sincerity. The harshest words spoken by Jesus were not to scandalously blatant sinners, but rather to all the pious hypocrites who made an exhibition of their ‘godliness’ and so brought genuine practice into disrepute. David writes about his faith in these terms, “I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you” (v.6).

By the way, this isn’t a comment on the two words ‘free will’ as opposed to predestination, but on the single-word adjective, meaning ‘voluntary’ (i.e. not forced).

In offering “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9 v.7). Happy? Hallelujah!

==========

READING

Psalm Fifty Four

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-

-=-=-=-

SONGS

Psalm 54

Ian White

Psalm 54

God is my helper

Psalm 54

"Save Me O God for Thy Name's Sake"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-

Sunday 12 December 2021

PSALM Fifty Three

For the director of music.

According to mahalath.

A maskil of David.

The fool says in his heart,

‘There is no God.’

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;

there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven

on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

any who seek God.

Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;

they never call on God.

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,

where there was nothing to dread.

God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;

you put them to shame, for God despised them.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores his people,

let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 53 : “vile” (v.1)

Although “the fool says …” (v.1) is obviously Singular, the latter half of the verse is Plural: “they are corrupt, and their ways are vile.” What is implied is that “the fool” is not an isolated example; it’s a generalisation, and there are many such individuals. Note how it spirals downhill :

[A] where it starts : “in his heart”;

[B] “says” silently in thought, not out loud;

[C] “there is no God” which means we’re not accountable;

[D] “they are corrupt” like fruit ‘rotten to the core’ (see in Matthew 15 vv.18-19);

[E] “their ways are vile” as the moral brake on behaviour is released, people slide lower and lower.

==========

READING

Psalm Fifty Three

Read by David Suchet

STUDY - LINKS

How Should You Read the Psalms?

- John Piper -

-=-=-=-

Prayer in the Psalms:

Discovering How to Pray

Timothy Keller

Psalms - Overviews

(The Bible Project)

The Book of Psalms

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-

Psalms part 1

-Study by David Pawson-

Psalms Part 2

-Study by David Pawson-