Daily Devotionals

Psalm 70

When the chips are down, when the rubber hits the road, when you’ve just drunk the last drop in Last Chance Saloon, what would you pray? If like me when your first read psalm 70 and thought, what has this got to do with me, then the worst crisis you’ve ever had might not have really been that much of a crisis. Not every refugee is threatened with life threatening violence but the numbers that are, are horrific. Not everybody whose life is threatened by violence is a refugee and again the statistics where this is the case is terrifying. What is the women married to a man who regularly beats her meant to pray? What should the teenager forced at gunpoint onto an inflatable to cross the Mediterranean pray. When I explained to an asylum seeker from Eritrea, that the letter he had received from the Home Office meant that they had the right to send him back to his country of birth, he just quietly cried repeating, ‘No, they can’t’, because he had just told me that for years he had been repeatedly beaten in their jails with electric cable on his feet. What should he have prayed? The examples could endlessly carry on. If one is a victim of such events then the prayer, ‘Make haste. O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life.’ ^Vv.1,2 makes complete sense.

The vast majority of people living in fear for their lives are as the psalmist describes, poor and needy. ^v5 In that situation the need for salvation is great. Prayer is urgent and they long to rejoice and be glad. It is into that type of situation that the gospel is so crucial and along with that, the role of the church to bring people the gospel.  When this happens then people can honestly pray, ‘You are my help and my deliverer, O Lord, do not delay.’ ^v5 They can also rejoice with the psalmist affirming, ‘God is great!’ ^v4

In Jesus we have a saviour who knows exactly what it is to have had powerful people to plot to kill him, have him arrested, tortured, publically humiliated and brutally executed. He then overcame through his resurrection but that in no way diminishes his suffering or his experience of fear. Fear so great he sweated blood. The gospel is at its most obviously meaningful in times of the greatest crisis. Perhaps this is why the church often prospers the most in times of greatest oppression because the person of Jesus cuts through empty materialism, temporary sating of senses, self-righteous rituals and the cruelty of one of human to another. Jesus has met people’s needs by giving himself not an ideology. He is the source of love, light, truth and hope.

Jesus though did not simply come to bring urgent relief to those who are suffering, his mission was much more than that, it was to bring people and God back into relationship and establish permanent reconciliation between humans and God through the forgiveness of sin and faith in him. But that does not take away from the repeated biblical opposition to injustice and oppression and the importance of his disciples to love and serve those in greatest need.

How do you think the church should respond to the prayer of psalm 70?

My Help” sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in HD

Psalm 69 and Matthew 10.32

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ^{Matthew 10.32}

The emotional and spiritual price of being a follower or seeker after God is no new thing. Today there are so many long term situations where a Christian can feel alone and unable to see a way forward. It feels unjust and when things don’t seem as if they will ever change then in prayer the Christian will understand David’s words, ‘I am worn out calling for help, my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.’ ^v3 It can be particularly difficult for the adult who has become a Christian when those they know are hostile to their new found trust in Christ. This can often be family who now feel rejected or betrayed and then retaliate by rejecting the new Christian. Many experience opposition in the work place especially where the values at work do not conform to Christian values. Friends may reject a Christian because the Christian does not want to speak the way they used to or do the things the group once did. Living in the context of conflicting beliefs where one stands out as different frequently leads to bullying of various degrees and a tendency to compromise and conform to the group.

Psalm 69 exposes David’s inner life when isolated humanly and spiritually and reassures us that these experiences are not rare, they can be openly expressed to God. Christians have seen how Jesus went through many of these things himself and in that sense the psalm is seen as prophetic. Not all that is written here can be applied to Christ, David’s confession of sin ^v5 in particular does not apply to him. The language is poetic, powerful and evocative but that is appropriate to the internal dialogue that goes on when one feels, ‘up to one’s neck in it’. ^v1

How many of these feelings or situations have applied to you at some time in your Christian discipleship? They carry a contemporary resonance for the modern seeker after God.

It is painful when one feels that one is hated without legitimate reason. Think of a daughter who has become a Christian, that does not mean she no longer loves and respects her mother and family but there have been many who have been rejected by their family for their new found faith. In such circumstances David’s words, ‘Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs on my head; many are my enemies without cause’ will be a shared experience.   When we are in the middle of unjust hostility it easy to be filled with self-righteousness but David avoids this and confesses his own sin. ‘You God, know my folly, my guilt is not hidden from you.’ ^v5

To continue the example of hostility from one’s family David terms it being, ‘a foreigner to my own family’. The most obvious examples may be when one changes faith from the family faith, but it is not limited to that situation. It can be equally and just as painfully when one has abandoned a positively atheist setting or simply a context where no thought has been previously given to faith.

The actual practices of being a Christian in themselves can be the focus for hostility, that may be reading the bible, taking time for prayer, attending a bible study group and going to church. It could be altering how one uses time such as choosing to join in with a feeding the hungry project one evening a week instead of a social activity. For David the religious and cultural practices in his time were different but they still attracted derision. ‘When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport at me.’ ^vv10.11

When opposition is overwhelming it is OK to plead with God and pour out one’s heart because God does have great love for you. If we are struggling for words then the bible often provides words for us and we can simply pray what we read.

‘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.’ ^vv16-19

If you feel in any way as David did in this psalm have you shared your feelings and circumstances with a trusted Christian?

Does the church you belong to take the time to know who the Christians are in their church who are experiencing opposition in their private life, understand and support them?

At The Cross – Chris Tomlin

Psalm 68

The opening words of Psalm 68 are the words Moses said whenever the Ark set out, ‘Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.’ ^{Numbers 10.35} The Ark representing God’s presence with his people took hundreds of years to travel from Sinai, the place where the law was given to Mount Zion (Jerusalem). One can imagine the words again being incorporated in the rejoicing as David accompanied the Ark into Jerusalem. David draws upon the song of Deborah as she described the Lord as being the God of Israel and Sinai where the mountains quaked, the earth shook and the heavens poured clouds down like water. ^{Judges 5.4,5} David declares God is the ‘God who saves’ ^v20 based on the history of how God has fought for Israel from slavery in Egypt, through the desert and the giving of the law, on to the conquest of the promised land and up to the point where the Ark is now resident with God’s people in Jerusalem.

The wicked who perish before God ^v2 were probably the Egyptians who had for centuries enslaved Israel and the righteous who were glad and rejoicing before God ^v3 were the Israelites. Such simplified statements gloss over many complications, even doubt and rebellion but when in the middle of events it is helpful to remember the big narrative that God has a purpose and history demonstrates that he has fulfilled his promises in his time. As Christians we benefit from knowing Jesus, who he is and what he has done as well as his promises. The same God who kept his promises regarding Israel will keep his promises regarding his people now.

The destruction of his enemies is balanced by the care for his own as in verses 4 to 6, those who call him Lord. ‘A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing’. ^vv5,6 The dwelling of God now resides with the church and these verses capture how the church should be now, a place where God meets the needs of people in need. It describes what contemporary mission should be, not limited to orphans and widows but to all who have need to be in the family of God. Prisoners may be literally in prison but they equally may be people who are imprisoned through sin and need God’s saving grace.

Israel’s victories over the nations as it occupies Canaan are sung of in verses 11 to 14. Again there is no mention of the many failures that occurred during that time as the focus is on God’s faithfulness. The silver sheathed dove with feathers of shining gold is poetic imagery possibly drawing on an ancient practice of sending victory messages by a homing bird. It was the role of women to proclaim the word of the Lord ^v11 and that feminine vocabulary is used again in Isaiah 61.1-2 and repeated by Jesus in Luke 4.18 as good news is proclaimed to the poor. The biblical narrative may be dominated by male perspectives but the role of women is essential and core and this captures the importance of women in proclaiming the gospel.

The narrative moves on to the eventual arrival of the Ark and the Lord’s presence at Sinai. ^{vv 15-19} This is also symbolic of Jesus’ ascension. The remaining verses of the psalm celebrate the rule of God over all nations. David’s psalm looks forward to a time when nations will recognize and honour the God of Israel and Jerusalem. ^v29 However Christians will see in these verses the promise of Jesus’ return and his reign culminating in the defeat of all the spiritual enemies of God. Christians can join in with ancient Israel and sing, ‘You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God! ^v35

Paul saw the whole sweep of the psalm, from Egypt to Zion, as a picture of the saving work of Christ (Michael Wilcock, BST) in Ephesians 4 and from Christ’s place in glory he has given gifts to his people through the Holy Spirit that have meant that God’s praises have been sung throughout the kingdoms of the earth. ^v32 It started at Pentecost and the process continues today as the gospel reaches fresh people worldwide each day.

Do we sometimes focus so much on the details of life that we forget to see the big picture of God’s purposes?

Do we remember what God has achieved in our own lives and draw strength from that as we face the future?

Everlasting God (Chris Tomlin)

Psalm 68, 1 Corinthians 15.54-56, Ephesians 4.7,8

The England cricket team has just celebrated an unlikely victory. When Root, the captain, was interviewed he said the team believed they could win because they had won from seemingly impossible positions twice last year and they drew confidence from that memory. What victories have there been in your life and more importantly what victories do there need to be?

In Old Testament literature victory was often recorded over Israel’s enemies, in the New Testament it was victory over spiritual opposition to the gospel of Jesus, sin or death. Whilst victory may occur through the agency of humans, although not necessarily, it was always by the grace (underserved favour) of God. Thus, David opens his song (Psalm 68) with, ‘May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him’. ^v1

Life faces us with many obstacles and battles that can stand between us and a fulfilling relationship with God. They often centre around sin in some form but ultimately the greatest battle is with death, not just physical death but also spiritual death. Most of us for most of the time refuse to engage with this battle and when we have to we are unprepared. The sweep of history covered in David’s song (Psalm 68) acts as a metaphor for the victory over sin and death achieved by Jesus through his death, resurrection and crucially his ascension.

Paul in Ephesians 4.8 quotes Psalm 68.18 with a twist. ‘But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people”.’ ^{Ephesians 4.8} The psalmist has the people bringing gifts to God (entirely appropriate) but Paul has God providing gifts to his people to equip them for works of service and growth in their Christian life to enable them to attain the, ‘whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’ It is for this reason that the psalm is used by Christians as a Pentecost psalm because it was following Christ’s ascension that the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to equip the church for gospel outreach and a holy life.

1 Corinthians 15 is a wonderful summary statement of the gospel which as Paul puts it, ‘You have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain’. ^{1 Corinthians 15.1,2}  The chapter develops until it culminates in Christ’s victory over both sin and death. Over sin through his death and resurrection as he takes God’s judgement over us upon himself. He explains as we share in Jesus’ death so we also will share in his resurrection. Paul summarizes this victory over sin for those who have faith in Jesus with these words. ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory: Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’. ^{1 Corinthians 15.54-56}

The result of Jesus’ victory then should be as emphasized in both Ephesians and Corinthians is to be the capability to give oneself fully to ‘the work of the Lord’. ^{1 Corinthians 15.58} In the next reflection we will look at the victory events celebrated in the psalm that give confidence to his people as they are not immediately obvious. However, the ascension of Christ raises some questions for the modern Christian.

Have we appreciated the extent of Jesus’ victory over all dominions?

Is there any aspect of our life that we need to gain the Holy Spirit’s victory over?

Have we grasped the grace Christ has apportioned us so that the body of Christ may be built up?

Eben – Victory [Africa Gospel Music]

Psalm 67.3-7

Tearfund are campaigning for the government to see the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to provide reasons for the peoples of the nations to praise God. If the nations are led in the light of the character and ways of God then they will be singing praises. Why is this? Because the Godly way to rule is with equity. It also has a world wide view because God wishes to bless the whole world, not to benefit some peoples at the detriment of others. Gospel living and governing is radically different from government by unfair self-interest. It has a different perception of self-interest in that it is in everybody’s interest that governance is equitable.

Psalm 67 is a harvest psalm but it is clear from verse 7 that the harvest is spiritual and global, not just material. Read again Psalm 67 in the light of the e mail content below from Tearfund.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we see the world.

It’s forced us to pause and reflect.

It’s reminded us of the fragility of life and exposed inequalities in society. But it’s also brought communities together and given us the chance to reimagine what life could be like.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be part of rebuilding a society which reflects God’s kingdom values.

As Christians, we can play a vital role by living differently and calling for change as we move forward. Christians have often been central at moments of social renewal and justice – from the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to the civil rights struggle.

And now, we can urge our leaders to prioritise loving our neighbours near and far, protecting the most vulnerable, and caring for God’s creation. Here are two easy ways you can take action today with our Reboot Campaign.

First, you can join us in urging the UK government to reboot the economy in a way that prioritises the poorest and creates a better world for everyone. We have limited time to influence our leaders as they respond to the current crisis.

Add your voice by sending a ‘reboot message’ to the prime minister using the link below. You’ll find easy instructions to send an email or write a letter.

You can also use our Reboot Campaign video and discussion guide to explore with others how you are experiencing the pandemic, and how you can play your part in building a better world. We’d love to hear how you get on.

Respond: Share vaccines with developing countries

Reset: Cancel debt and release emergency funding to help developing countries respond to the crisis

Recognise: Include local faith groups in the response and recovery plans

Recover: Ensure the global recovery creates a better world for people in poverty, including by supporting small businesses, clamping down on tax loopholes and tackling climate change.

Renew: Work with the devolved nations to reboot the UK economy in a way that creates jobs and tackles the climate crisis

To find out more about these recommendations, please refer to
Tearfund’s policy paper Coronavirus crisis: Restoring societies.

Are we prepared to see advocacy as part of our Christian discipleship?

Do we see the world through the eyes of the Holy Spirit and take Jesus teachings to heart?

Psalm 67 (Lyric Video) | The Corner Room