LHC Midday Word

Monday, 16 May 2022

PSALM Seventy Five

For the director of music.

To the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy’.

A psalm of Asaph.

A song.

We praise you, God,

we praise you, for your Name is near;

people tell of your wonderful deeds.

You say, ‘I choose the appointed time;

it is I who judge with equity.

When the earth and all its people quake,

it is I who hold its pillars firm.

To the arrogant I say, “Boast no more,”

and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horns.

Do not lift your horns against heaven;

do not speak so defiantly.”’

No one from the east or the west

or from the desert can exalt themselves.

It is God who judges:

he brings one down, he exalts another.

In the hand of the Lord is a cup

full of foaming wine mixed with spices;

he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth

drink it down to its very dregs.

As for me, I will declare this for ever;

I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,

who says, ‘I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,

but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.’

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 75: “wonderful” (v.1)

What does the Psalmist describe as “wonderful”? Not subjectively either, because he writes, “men tell of your wonderful deeds” (v.1). He is not commenting on the attributes of God, his kindness or mercy or holiness, but on his actions – his visible intervention in the world. “Deeds”, not just words. God in action.

Things happening that defy any other rational explanation except the LORD’s “hand” (v.8). And when it is at such a providential “appointed time” (v.2), coincidence isn’t credible. Why should praise use flowery ‘airy-fairy’ language, with little substance, despite his “wonderful deeds”?

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READINGS

PSALM 75

Read by Sir David Suchet

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OVERVIEW

Psalms

- Overview -

The Bible Project

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STUDY - LINKS

Psalms

David Pawson

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SONGS

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Sunday, 15 May 2022

PSALM Seventy Four

A maskil of Asaph.

O God, why have you rejected us for ever?

Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember the nation you purchased long ago,

the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed –

Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

Turn your steps towards these everlasting ruins,

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standards as signs.

They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.

They smashed all the carved panelling

with their axes and hatchets.

They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name.

They said in their hearts, ‘We will crush them completely!’

They burned every place where God was worshipped in the land.

We are given no signs from God;

no prophets are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

How long will the enemy mock you, God?

Will the foe revile your name for ever?

Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

But God is my King from long ago;

he brings salvation on the earth.

It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,

how foolish people have reviled your name.

Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people for ever.

Have regard for your covenant,

because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needy praise your name.

Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;

remember how fools mock you all day long.

Do not ignore the clamour of your adversaries,

the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 74: “smashed” (v.6)

Asaph’s heart bleeds at “the destruction the enemy has brought to the sanctuary” (v.3). He pours out his prayer about how “they smashed all the carved paneling with their axes” (v.6) and “burned your sanctuary to the ground”, saying “they defiled the dwelling place of your Name” (v.7).

How it hurts if we see people profane the things of God! We cannot fathom God’s ways any more than Asaph could: “why do you hold back your hand?” (v.11). And yet he does, “not wanting anyone to perish” (2 Peter 3 v.9).

Many ‘foes’ have finally become ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ of Jesus! He can ‘smash’ antagonism!

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READINGS

PSALM 74

Read by Sir David Suchet

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OVERVIEW

Psalms

- Overview -

The Bible Project

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STUDY - LINKS

Psalms

David Pawson

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SONGS

Psalm 74

O God, wherefore art thou absent

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Saturday, 14 May 2022

PSALM Seventy Three

A psalm of Asaph.

Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.

They are free from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

they clothe themselves with violence.

From their callous hearts comes iniquity;

their evil imaginations have no limits.

They scoff, and speak with malice;

with arrogance they threaten oppression.

Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.

They say, ‘How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?’

This is what the wicked are like –

always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.

All day long I have been afflicted,

and every morning brings new punishments.

If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

When I tried to understand all this,

it troubled me deeply

till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

They are like a dream when one awakes;

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterwards you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion for ever.

Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 73: “sanctuary” (v.17)

In this third section of five, this Psalm, in addition to the next 10 (74 to 83), is written by a man called Asaph. He is searingly honest about his own shortcomings: “my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold … I envied the arrogant” (vv.2-3). He felt “they have no struggles” (v.4), whereas he certainly had. When we are wobbly, what better remedy than to get alone with God.

It doesn’t need to be in a chapel or church. Asaph says “I entered the sanctuary [i.e. the temple], then I understood their final destiny” (v.17).

When the going gets tough, the tough LORD gets going – if we go to him.

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READINGS

PSALM 73

Read by Sir David Suchet