Daily Bible Encouragement: Recent Episodes

Cathy Dalton

Daily Bible reflections, a verse (or a few verses) at a time. Started during the Covid-19 lockdown, these short reflections are intended especially for women under pressure. They aim to help us fix our eyes on the character and promises of our gracious God, whatever our immediate circumstances.

Isaiah 53:11-12

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant willjustify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. Forhe bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

As we saw yesterday, so much of God’s salvation plan has already been accomplished that we can be confident that what still needs to happen will also be fulfilled. And here, in our final verses, we find out what that final stage ofthe salvation plan, which we are still waiting for, looks like. Because we know that our eternal future is already secure, we might not think very much about what will happen when Jesus returns to judge. Perhaps we’re so used to the idea that the cross and resurrection of Jesus are the high point of history (which they are!) that we assume that everything that is still to come is going to bea bit of an anti-climax (which it isn’t!) The victory of Jesus over sin and death is already won. But we can still look forward to the victory parade, where we get to join in the rejoicing as Jesus is displayed as victorious king over all of creation.

I’m not much of a football fan, but even I know that when a team wins a really significant victory, there is often a celebratory parade in their hometown. Open top busses, cheering crowds lining the streets, the cup held high foreveryone to see. The victory is won on the pitch, but the celebrations aren’t complete until everyone has welcomed their heroes home to receive the praise of their fans.

Jesus’ victory was won at the cross, but the victory parade will reach his climax when he gathers his people from every tribe and language and nation to sing hispraises and declare his glory. On that day, he will get to show off ‘the spoils’ which he has snatched from the hands of his enemies – that is, his people who he has rescued from the grip of sin and death and the devil. Sogreat is the glory due to Jesus that it will take all eternity to adequately praise him for what he has done for us.

We live in a world that wants us to believe that we are the heroes, that the spotlight of my life should be firmly fixed on ME. But the victory on which my whole life depends is not mine, but Jesus’. The whole purpose of my life, now and forever, is to sing HIS praises and declareHIS greatness.

So, as we reach the end of our time in Isaiah, let’s do that today. And let’s ask for God’s help to be people who continue to sing his praises and live for his gloryevery single day, both in this world and in the life to come, which he has won for us.

Isaiah 53:10

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life anoffering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

For the past 6 and a half weeks, we’ve listened to Isaiah, and God himself, introducing us to the figure of the Servant. We’ve seen that the Servant will come torescue wayward people, reconciling them to their loving, holy Lord. We’ve seen that this rescue will be achieved through the willing suffering of the Servant. And we’ve seen how all these promises are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, who fleshes out and makes real what the people of Isaiah’s time must have been longing and hoping for.

There was a tension for Isaiah and his generation. Even as they trusted in the promises of the Servant to come, they still had to live through the experience of the coming exile which Isaiah also foretold. Similarly, we who live afterthe coming of Jesus have a much clearer understanding of the life and work of this promised Servant. Much of what was ‘future’ for Isaiah is now ‘history’ for us. We have seen (in the pages of the gospels, if not with our own eyes)Jesus be born, live, die and rise again. But we are still caught in the tension between the ‘now’ of life in a fallen world, where sin still entangles us, and the ‘not yet’ of the heavenly kingdom which we are still waiting to experience.And so today and tomorrow, as we end our time together in this book, these verses turn our attention to what is still to come.

The Servant who suffered and died is already alive again – he is already ‘seeing his offspring’ (those who are born into God’s family because of him) and ‘prolonging his days’ in the present. Today and every day stretching on into eternity, the will of the Lord continues to prosper in his hand. And so, even as we continue to battle with our sin, and struggle with our brokenness, we can do it with hope. So much of what God promised through Isaiah has already been fulfilled that we can trust he will finish what he has started. The Lord Jesus, who suffered and died and is now risen and reigning in glory, WILL come backand take us to be with him forever. The ‘will of the Lord’ will continue to be done, on earth as it is in heaven, every day of our lives and beyond.

Let’s pray that we would continue to trust in that great promise today.

Isaiah 53:9

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

There’s a lot of talk about ‘identity’ in our society at the moment. Whilst we might take issue with where some people now draw the line between which aspects ofidentity are fixed and which can be chosen, we all recognise the frustration that comes from being wrongly-identified. The passionate football supporter doesn’t take kindly to being thought of as supporting an opposing team. If someone makes a wrong assumption about our political affiliations, we may well be offended. From time to time I get emails intended for a woman in America whomust have an email address that’s easily confused with mine. I find it easy to ignore the marketing emails from companies that she has signed up to, giving myemail address by mistake. But I mind much more when I get email reminders in her name from a debt management company. I feel like I’ve been wrongly assigned to the category ‘debtor’ and I don’t like it. At least until I remember that it isn’t really me that they’re talking to.

So imagine how it felt for Jesus to be wrongly assigned to the category ‘wicked’. There could be no greater miscarriage of justice than to identify the perfect and holy Son of God as belonging ‘with the wicked’. In our society, we might think that being identified with ‘the rich’ was a compliment, but from the context of these verses it’s clear that being buried with the rich somehow implies aninvolvement with violence and deceit. His grave ought rightly to have been labelled ‘Here lies the best man who ever lived’. But instead it’s in the section marked ‘Here lie the criminals’.

Yet this wasn’t the first time in his life Jesus had been wrongly-labelled. Throughout his earthly ministry, the Pharisees repeatedly assigned him to an incorrect category. As Jesus himself put it, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “Here is a glutton and adrunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”” The implication is clear – to be a ‘friend of sinners’ must mean that he himself is a sinner. Yet they are only half-wrong. He is certainly not a glutton, nor a drunkard, nor a sinner. But he is the ultimate ‘friend of sinners’. The Servant was willing to be mislabelled, misunderstood andmisrepresented, in order that we might be assigned to a category we could never have expected to belong to. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, sothat in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:8

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

I rather like this phrase ‘the land of the living’. It’s got a much more poetic ring to it than simply saying ‘life’. And the idea of being ‘cut off from the land of the living’ is much more striking than if this verse simply said ‘hewas killed’. The whole verse seems to underline the separation that took place between Jesus and everyone else. He was ‘taken away’ and ‘cut off’. The lonely figure of Jesus walks to his death whilst the whole of the rest of his generation stand idly by, doing nothing and saying nothing to stop it.

He was cut off from the land of the living. Cut off from fellowship with others. Cut off from all that is good, enjoyable, nourishing and happy. That would be badenough. But we know that it was, in fact, even worse. When he was punished for our transgressions, Jesus was also cut off from his heavenly Father. Cut off from the very source of life itself. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he cried out on the cross. But why? Surely God, who sent him to the cross, could at least have hung around to comfort and encourage the Servant during hisdarkest hour? Why all this loneliness and abandonment?

Sin is the ultimate separating force. It cuts us off from a Holy God, and from the life which he gives. And it also cuts us off from fellowship with one another, undermining love and trust and loyalty. Abandoned by his followers and his friends, alienated from his father as he had never been before or since, Jesus was experiencing the separating power of our sin.

It’s hard to imagine the strength of a force that could turn the Father’s face away from his beloved son in the moment of his greatest suffering. And yet, there is an even stronger force at work in the world. The gracious, forgiving, redeeming love of God, expressed in the Servant’s sacrificial death, reconciles us with a power much greater than the separating power of sin.

Because he was cut off, we have been brought near. Because he was excluded from the land of the living, we have been welcomed into an abundant and eternal lifethat is better than anything this world can even begin to imagine.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not openhis mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

One of the things I find most remarkable about the behaviour of Jesus during his arrest and trial is the fact that he remains silent when facing unjust accusations. I realise that his physical suffering and the experience of being separated from his Father on the cross, are in many ways worse things to experience. But they feel very far removed from our everyday lives, whereas the experience of being falsely accused, or misrepresented, or wrongly blamed is something that we probably all know a little of. And I know how much I hate it when it happens to me. I might, perhaps, be willing to bear some small consequence for something that wasn’t actually my fault. But when that does happen, I want to make very sure that everyone knows how undeserved it is! I can’t really imagine being able to bear it silently. Letting go of the opportunity to vindicate myself. I want it clearly on the record that I am innocent. If I have to experience unjust suffering, I want the injustice to be publically noted! The arguments spring easily to mind: “Justice matters. Injustice isn’t OK. It would reflect badly on God if a Christian was thought to have said this or done that.” When really I’m motivated by the desire to vindicate myself. I care much less about justice, or God’s honour,than I care about what people think of me. And in any case, even if I am largely innocent of the particular thingof which I am accused, I can never claim to be totally blameless. Yet Jesus was. If ever anyone had the right to protest against injustice, it was him. Yet he remains silent. Why? Doesn’t he care about injustice? Doesn’t he care that God was mocked because of the verdict of‘guilty’ which his Servant received? Of course he does. But he was motivated by a deeper concern for justice and God’s honour than I will ever be. His desire to see justice done, whilst justly forgiving sinners was what kept him quiet. His concern for God to be glorified as the one who defeats sin and evil and death at the cross is what sustained his silence.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

When our girls were younger we were all great fans of the Australian Christian musician, Colin Buchanan. A significant number of the Bible verses I know by heart are cemented in my memory because of his catchy tunes. So much so that I can’t read or think about today’s verse without mentally adding in the ‘Bah Bah Doo Bah Bah’s at the end of every clause! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, stick Colin Buchanan Isaiah 53:6 into your search engine of choice and have a listen)

Sheep noises aside, this is a verse that deserves to be in the mind and heart of every Christian. If you were only ever going to learn half a dozen Bible verses in your whole life, I’d suggest that this ought to be one of them. In this one sentence we have the heart of the gospel. We have each chosen to wander away from the Lord. And what has he done in response? Sent a sheepdog to fetch us back to face our punishment? Turned us loose to fend for ourselves in a world of thorns and wolves? No. He laid all our wrongdoing on the Servant, Jesus, so that we don’t have to live under the penalty it rightly deserves.

How could this be anything other than wonderful news? Yet it is only good news for those who know themselves to be wandering sheep. Perhaps for city-dwellers, being considered a sheep doesn’t seem so bad. If our ideas about sheep are drawn from children’s picture books and model farms, we might not mind the comparison. Surely they are cute, clean, cuddly and harmless? But if you’ve had dealings with real live sheep, you may feel differently.

My grandparents were farmers on the Welsh border. I remember when we visited, my brother and I having to join in when sheep were being moved from place toplace. Stationed in a gateway or on the yard, we would shout and wave our arms around, attempting to head the sheep towards where they ought to go, and deflect them from where they wanted to go … which was generally anywhere other than the direction intended! Clean, cute and cuddly they were not! In fact, they were often muddy, infuriating and apparently very stupid. Why wouldyou want to go and wedge yourself between a Land Rover and a gatepost, when we’re offering you a huge field full of grass to enjoy? If that’s your experience of sheep, this verse is not so flattering. We all, like mucky, stubborn sheep who have no idea what is good for us, have gone astray. So how wonderfully surprising that the Lord has provided a way for our punishment to fall not on us but on the Servant instead.

However familiar these words are, let’s thank him again for that today, and pray that in our gratitude we would increasingly learn to follow the good shepherd instead of turning away from him.

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Yesterday we saw that the Servant was ‘a man of suffering and familiar with pain’. Today we discover that this wasn’t simply a description of what happened to occur in his life. He wasn’t just a bit unfortunate, someone who attracted more than his share of bad luck. He willingly chose this path. He took up the pain and bore the suffering. Much ofthe time we endure pain and suffering because we have no other choice. We didn’t ask for the chronic illness, or the depression, or the accident that leaves us in plaster for months. But sometimes our suffering is chosen willingly – the discomfort of recovering from an operation to donate a kidney to a loved one, choosing to marry someone who already lives with suffering, knowing that something of their pain will become ours, too, or giving up comfort and security to move to a deprived area on a low salary to care for the needy. In those cases, the sacrifice will – we hope – be worth it, because it eases someone else’s pain. We share their sufferings with them, lightening their load. But I can’t think of a single example of a way in which any of uscould bear someone else’s pain and suffering so completely that it was totally taken away from the other person.

Only the Servant has ever done that. He has completely taken the pain and suffering that our transgressions deserved. Yes, we still experience the pain andsuffering that come from living in a broken world (until he takes us to be with him in the place where there will be no more tears). But those of us who are united to Jesus by faith are completely spared all of the pain of the judgement of our sin. Jesus hasn’t just shared it with us. He has taken it from us. Fully and completely. In place of punishment we have peace with God.

And this was no mere transaction on a balance sheet. Not a nice, neat, clean solution to a theoretical problem. It was real, and physical and brutal. He was punished, stricken, pierced, crushed and wounded. And he did it willingly. For us.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 53:2b-3

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothingin his appearance that we should desire him. He wasdespised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

When we were reading Chapter 49 I said that the Servant was visually unimpressive – if you’d walked past him in the street in 1st Century Palestine you wouldn’t have given him a second look. But actually, it’s worse than that.Today’s verse tells us that rather than being merely ignored, the Servant would be despised and looked down on. Why? Two reasons. Firstly, because he was notbeautiful, and secondly, because he suffered pain.

Both of those things made him uncomfortable to be around, in his own day. And both of those things are still, at the very least, awkward today. We live in a societythat worships physical beauty. Yes, there’s a lot of talk about loving yourself and your body, whatever your shapeor size, but that doesn’t stop us being bombarded by messages encouraging us to pursue greater physical beauty. There’s the occasional marketing campaign thatfeatures ‘real women’ rather than airbrushed models, or models which a visible disability, but they’re still treated as revolutionary, rather than being the norm. Even though we know it’s not really true, we’re still shaped by theassumption that physical beauty matters. That life would be better if I was more attractive. And we easily assume that the effective, successful life, is marked by health and wholeness, rather than pain and suffering.

So, if we were in charge of selecting a man for this role of Servant, wouldn’t be want to pick someone who looks … well, attractive? Yet God very deliberately doesn’t do that. Jesus’ conception was utterly miraculous, so his appearance can’t have been the inevitable consequence of the combination of Mary and Joseph’s genes.However God did it, he created Jesus’ body deliberately and intentionally. If he’d wanted to make Jesus the most handsome man ever born, he could have done.

Similarly, when preparing the way for the Servant, surely God would want to remove every obstacle and difficulty that might interfere with his mission? Yet it turns outthat the suffering and pain are essential to his mission. The coming of this Servant makes clear that - God’s eyes at least - physical beauty doesn’t count for much. And pain and suffering can accomplish things that health, wealth and happiness can’t. God values the obedience of the Servant more than his physique. The suffering and death of the Servant bring more lasting good into the world than the exams he might have passed, the certificates he might have received, or his contribution to his country’s GDP.

What a complete reversal of the values of our world! How wrong must our value judgements be, for us to look at the Servant and despise him.

Let’s pray that God would be teaching us more and more to value what he values, and to worship and honour the Servant who so many looked down on.

Isaiah 53:1-2a

Who has believed our message and to whom has thearm of the Lord been revealed?He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
In yesterday’s verse, we read the promise of a day to come when all people will see and understand who Jesus is and why he came. But in the meantime - in Isaiah’s time and today – the message of a suffering, saving servant, sent by God to rescue his people, will not be widely believed. Isaiah knows that this message is true, but hardly anyone is listening. He knows that God’s arm is active, accomplishing his plans, but hardly anyone can see it. Why not? Because what God is doing is - at first glance – very small and insignificant.

The Servant didn’t come in a flash of blinding lights, surrounded by fireworks and serenaded by angels everywhere he went. Rather, he grew up like a tender shoot. Slowly, gradually, unimpressively. Weak and vulnerable. Not a precious sapling that’s been given a good dose of fertiliser, surrounded by protective fencingand watered regularly. But a seedling that’s appeared against all the odds, in a harsh climate. More like the stray flower that emerges from a crack in the pavement than the plant that flourishes in a well-kept garden.

It’s so small. So ordinary. So unimpressive. For a people who were facing the prospect of being overrun by their hostile neighbours, this wouldn’t have seemed likethe great salvation they needed. It certainly doesn’t seem like a plan that could defeat sin, death, the world and even the devil himself. But, as the Servant himself would one day explain, the Kingdom of God doesn’t look impressive on the outside. Rather, it’s like a mustard seed. The smallest of all seeds that – remarkably - grows into something big and strong and flourishing, out of all proportion to what you would have expected. “God chosethe weak things of the world to shame the strong”, Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians.

And so we can be confident that God’s purposes WILL succeed, however unlikely that might seem. Even when others ridicule our faith, and write Jesus off as irrelevant or ineffective. Even when we look at ourselves and wonder how on earth God could possibly use us to bring others to Jesus. Even when we look at our world, and wonder if there is any power great enough to mend everything that is broken.

Let’s praise God that this tender shoot is stronger and more powerful than we can imagine, and ask for his help to keep believing in Jesus while we wait for the full extent of his glory and greatness to be finally revealed.

Isaiah 52:15b

For what they were not told, they will see, andwhat they have not heard, they will understand.

The ‘they’ in this verse are the kings we thought about yesterday – those people who will stand silent as they face the final judgement, realising that the Servant who they rejected as worthless is in fact the exalted ruler and judge.

At that moment, everything that wasn’t obvious aboutthe Servant during his lifetime will become clear. He may have looked unimpressive but he is in fact the Lord of all creation. He may have seemed powerless in the face of an unjust trial, but he is in fact the righteous judge of all people.

This final day judgement is not just about the punishing of wrongdoing. It’s about the putting right of everything that is wrong or broken, everywhere in the universe. Everything will be made as it should be. And so truth will be clear, hidden things will be revealed, foolishness will be replaced by understanding.

This is a complete contrast to the world we find ourselves in right now. We still live in a fallen world, where we can’t even trust our own thinking because it has been warped by sin. Left to our own devices, we don’t just prefer darkness, we actually think it is light. We not only think and act foolishly, but we pride ourselves on how clever we are. The people of Isaiah’s time were just the same. When God commissions Isaiah to be a prophet, back in Chapter 6, he warns him that the people will “be ever hearing,but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.” They have proved so determined to ignore what God has said to them that God himself willharden their hearts so that they cannot see or hear or understand. “How long will this last?” Isaiah asks. And God explains that it will continue until the promised judgement is complete. But there’s a glimmer of hope that when the Servant comes, things might change. Here, we see that glimmer become clearer.

Here we are promised that there will be a day when people WILL see and hear and understand what is really true – about God, and themselves, and the salvationwhich Jesus offers.

In God’s kindness, we don’t need to wait until the final judgement for those things to become clear. All of us who have put our faith in Jesus have only done so because he has already opened our blind eyes and softened our hard hearts so that we could hear and understand and believe the good news of the gospel.

Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s pray that his Spirit would continue to be at work in the lives of those who don’t yet know him, so that they too might see, understand, repent, believe and be saved, before it is too late.

Isaiah 52:14-15a

Just as there were many who were appalled at him -his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness – so he will sprinkle many nations, and kingswill shut their mouths because of him.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where whatever you say is only going to make things worse? Any excuse, or attempt to explain yourself will only underline your guilt and foolishness, and so you realise that the best thing to say is nothing at all.

Today’s verse reminds me of the scene in John’s gospel where Jesus appears before Pilate in John. Jesus is helpless and Pilate holds all the cards. In that moment, many were appalled by Jesus. He was literally marred and disfigured by the intensity of the beating and whipping he received at the hands of the soldiers. And he was,as we will see next week, in v.7, silent in the face of Pilate’s questioning.

The last time Pilate set eyes on Jesus, it was pretty clear that Pilate was the powerful one, and Jesus’ time was up. But that won’t be the last Pilate ever sees of him. There will come a day when he – and every other human ruler who has ever opposed God’s plans or mistreated God’s people – will again find themselves face to face with Jesus. But next time, the tables will be turned. Jesuswill then be lifted up and exalted, glorious in splendor and majesty. And Pilate will be the silent one. His mouth will be shut because there will be nothing he can possibly say in his own defence. What valid excuse is there for sentencing your creator to death? What do you say when you have presided over a miscarriage of justice, designed to get rid of the one who judges justly?

This verse tells us that kings will shut their mouths on that final day when they face Jesus. But they won’t be the only ones. All of us have, in our own ways, tried to silenceJesus’ voice in our lives and live as our own rulers instead. All of us ought to stand silent before God on the day of judgement, without defence or excuse. Our only hope is in the sprinkled blood of the Servant who suffered and died in our place. Because of him, we – and those from many nations – will face that final day not silenced by guilt and terror, but singing the praises of our savior.

Let open our mouths to praise him for our great salvation today.

Isaiah 52:13

See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raisedand lifted up and highly exalted.

Last week, in Isaiah 50, we saw that the Servant was utterly obedient to his Lord, even when that led to painful suffering. In contrast to God’s people, who are facing his judgement because of their rebellious disobedience.

Now, in chapters 52-53 we get much more detail about the suffering which the Servant will experience, and why he is willing to endure it. But before we get into thedetails, we are given a quick glimpse of the end of the story. My mum has a habit of reading the final chapter of a book first, before starting again at the beginning. I don’t really understand it(!) but I think at least part of thereason is to check whether the book is worth investing time in – if the ending’s unsatisfactory, why bother reading the rest?!

If any of Isaiah’s readers were tempted to do the same thing, this verse saves them the trouble. We don’t need to wait for the end of the story to find out what happens – the outcome of the Servant’s work is guaranteed before it begins. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. But that ending will be a great contrast to the rest of the story. For the next few days, our verses will be long on suffering and short on victory.

Perhaps that’s why we’re told the ending in advance. We will need some hope to sustain us through the suffering. And if we – as readers - need that, how much more didthe Servant need it himself, to endure what we only read about. Hebrews tells that that ‘for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross’. He, too, knew the ending before he began. The one who set aside the glory of heaven to be born as a human baby knew that one dayhe would be returned to his rightful place, ruling at his Father’s right hand. There were plenty of moments inhis life when that looked – humanly speaking – impossible. We may have days now when it seems impossible that we will ever keep going till the day when we get to join him there. But the ending is certain. He has already been raised and lifted up and highly exalted, and one day we will see that with our own eyes.

Let’s praise him for that today, and ask for his help to persevere through the suffering and struggles of this world, until we join him in glory.

Isaiah 50:8-9

He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

In October 1987, at the age of 15, I was baptised as a Christian believer, alongside 6 of my friends. Each of us chose a short Bible passage to read, as we explained how we had come to put our faith in Jesus. My reading wasfrom Romans 8: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along withhim, graciously give us all things? Who willbring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one.”

Thirty-three years later, I’m every bit as grateful now as I was then that this is true. I was, and still am, a sinner who deserved nothing but condemnation from God. Yet hehas acted graciously to justify me because of Jesus’ death in my place. Therefore, all charges against me are dismissed. If God says I’m acceptable to him, who can possibly argue? No one. If the one who I have wronged declares me forgiven, what right does anyone else have to disagree? Absolutely none.

What I’ve only just discovered is that the Apostle Paul wasn’t the first Bible-writer to use this argument. Centuries earlier, the Servant says pretty much the same thing …. “Who will bring charges against me? ... It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me … Who will condemn me?” He’s expecting the same answer. No one. No one cancondemn the one who God has chosen. No one can accuse the one whom God declares innocent. The Servant doesn’t fear anyone else’s verdict. Not even the verdictof those who condemned him to death. God’s decision is the only one that matters.

And because of this Servant’s sacrificial life and death, all of us who trust in him can confidently say along with him “Who will bring charges against me? No one.” As myreading from Romans 8 concluded …. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor anypowers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:7
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

This is a strange verse, isn’t it? Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been using words like ‘humiliated’ to describe the Servant. God himself has said that the Servantwill be ‘despised’ and ‘abhorred’. So how can the Servant say here ‘I will not be disgraced’ and ‘I will not be put to shame’?

It makes more sense when we realise that this idea of ‘being put to shame’ has appeared before, earlier in the book of Isaiah. In chapters 20-45 there are 7 verses where we read of people being put to shame. Each time, the people who face disgrace are the ones who are opposing God. The people who put their trust in other nations, instead of relying on God’s promises to them. Thepeople who make and worship idols instead of worshipping the one true God. The wicked. Those who do evil. Those who blaspheme against the Lord. In those chapters, God makes it clear that those who oppose him will ultimately be put to shame. But he also promises that the people who he saves will never be put to shame.

It’s clear which group the Servant belongs in, isn’tit? He is perfectly obedient to the Lord. He has never rebelled. And so he knows what God’s verdict on him will be. He will never be put to shame. Yes, he will be despised and rejected and humiliated by men, but that will only betemporary. When it comes to God’s final, lasting verdict, the only one that counts, he will be vindicated and honoured. Knowing that, he is able to set his face firmly in the direction of costly obedience, not deflected by any human opinion.

So let’s praise him today for his steadfast obedience,and give him the honour and glory that he rightly deserves.

Isaiah 50:6
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Yesterday we thought about the Servant’s obedience tothe Lord, and how he alone of all people could truthfully say “I have not been rebellious”. Which is a remarkable thing under any circumstances, but is even more amazing when we remember what obedience to the Lord’s will involved for him. The instructions which he wasgiven didn’t lead him down a path of comfortable satisfaction. Instead, they set him on a collision course with the religious leaders of his day which endedin a shameful, agonising public death.

Today’s verse is not just a metaphor, to tell us thathis obedience would be painful. It’s a literal account of the physical pain and humiliation which Jesus endured at the hands of the soldiers who tortured him before his crucifixion. Yet even then, he did not turn away. He didn’t shrink back from the cost of his God-given mission. He does more than simply endure it, like someone resigned to their fate because they have no option to escape.His is a willing, active obedience. He offers his back, his cheeks, his whole body, when he could have escaped in the blink of an eye. As he took his dying breaths he was taunted by the crowd – “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” He stayed where he was, not because he had no choice, but because we willingly accepted his role as our sacrificial substitute.

This is how we know that the cross is not just atragic accident. An unfortunate end to a promising life. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when we went to his death in our place. It was all agreed within the Trinity long before anyone laid a hand on Jesus’s body. Long before he even had a body. From before the creation of the world, God knew exactly, to the last blow, what our redemption would cost. And so we get given just aglimpse of it here, written on Isaiah’s scroll, to reassure us of both the Lord’s complete sovereignty and the Servant’s complete, willing obedience.

Let’s give thanks for those things today.

Isaiah 50:5b

I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

Yesterday, we saw how the Lord speaks daily to theServant. Today, we see how the Servant responds to those words. They are not merely background noise to him, or one voice among many others, which he can pick and choose between. Rather, the Lord’s voice is what the Servant listens to AND obeys. When he hears God’s instructions, he is obedient rather than rebellious.

This is particularly striking when we remember thatIsaiah’s ministry is all about warning God’s people of the judgement that is coming because they have been disobedient. Everywhere we look, in the earlierchapters of the book, we see a people turning their backs on God’s words and doing their own thing instead. And so the obedience of the Servant stands out in complete contrast.

But he’s not just unique amongst the people of Israelin the time of Isaiah. He is uniquely obedient, compared to every person who has ever lived. From Adam and Eve onwards, human history is the story of God speaking, and people turning away. And we’re no different. We too have the privilege of hearing God speak wonderful words of wisdom and grace and compassion to us daily. Indeed, we are more blessed than many previous generations, since we have these words written for us to refer to forourselves, in a language we can understand. It’s on our bookcases, and – probably – electronically in our pockets. An ocean’s-worth of ink has been used to write commentaries and devotions and bible study guides so that we can know and understand these words better. And yet none of that makes us any more obedient than those who didn’t have such advantages!

Only the Servant can say “I have not been rebellious.I have not turned away.” As we look at his life of perfect obedience, it highlights more clearly for us our failure to live like that. Our failure to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself, as Jesus did.

How wonderfully gracious of Jesus, therefore, that hedidn’t come into the world to condemn us – “See, this is what your life ought to look like!” but to save us, bytransferring his perfect obedience to us at the cross.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:4b-5a

He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

Yesterday we heard about the Servant’s well-instructedtongue. Today we find that his ears are equally well-trained! At first glance, we might not be surprised by this verse. We know that the Servant, who is speaking here, has been appointed by God to bring God’s wayward people back to him. Since the Servant is working for the Lord, it makes sense that he should listen to his boss.

But we know, better than Isaiah did, that this Servantis in fact Jesus, God’s own son. God himself in a human body. That being so, why does he need to be quite so disciplined about listening to his Father? Doesn’t he already know everything he needs to know? He has the closest relationship to God of anyone who has ever lived. Yet he still begins each day by listening to the words of the Lord. He comes to his Father humbly, seeking instruction and guidance. As we’ll see tomorrow, he wants to hear and obey the Father, rather than going his own wayand serving his own agenda.

When the Lord wakens the Servant with his words, theServant is alert and attentive. He doesn’t want to miss any of it. No pressing snooze and going back to sleep. God’s voice is not an unwelcome interruption to his day, but the thing he most wants to hear.

If God’s own son needed to listen to the Father, howmuch more do we? If we’re ever tempted to think ‘I don’t need to read the Bible today … I already know what God’s going to say’, let’s remember this image of the Servant, deliberately tuning his ears to his Father’s voice.

And let’s pray today that we would increasingly loveto listen to our Father’s voice, as the Servant does.

Isaiah 50:4a

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.

In our household at the moment there’s a lot of discussion about Christmas presents. The extended family have been asking ‘What would the girls like for Christmas?’ andso lists are being prepared! As far as I know, no-one’s requested ‘a well-instructed tongue’ but now that I’ve read this verse, I think I’d quite like one!

Imagine never being at a loss for what to say … Always ready with the right word in a tricky situation. Able to speak in a way that sustains the weary. Able to unravel acomplicated situation so that the way-ahead is clear. Able to speak the truth gently.

Imagine never having to apologise because you spoke harshly, or got the wrong end of the stick, or said the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. “No humanbeing can tame the tongue”, writes James, in his New Testament letter. “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect.” We all need a well-instructed tongue. Yet none of us has one, and none of us is likely to find out underneath the Christmas tree!

Only Jesus can claim to speak perfectly. His is the only well-instructed tongue the world has ever heard. And what did he do with it? He used it to announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God. To call people to repent of their sin and follow him. To pronounce forgiveness for sinners and healing for sufferers. To teach his followers how to come to the Father in prayer. We know that his words had sufficient authority to cast outdemons and raise the dead. If he’d wanted to, he could absolutely have used his words to raise up a powerful following, entirely devoted to his own comfort andsatisfaction. He could have used his words to serve himself, rather than serving others. But he didn’t. Instead, he used his words to sustain the weary.

Let’s praise him for that today. And let’s pray that we would be those who listen carefully to his words so that our tongues might learn more and more to speak in a way that honours him.

Isaiah 49:7c

This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One ofIsrael, who has chosen you.’

Are you bored of Covid yet? Or maybe it’s somethingelse that is sapping your energy and joy – a long-term medical condition, or some other difficulty that seems to have become a permanent feature of your life rather than just a temporary interruption. Many things in life are hard to experience, but I think we probably struggle most with the ones that drag on without any end in sight. Persevering when there seems to be no light at theend of the tunnel is incredibly tough. That’s why we need to be reminded that the Lord is faithful. He doesn’t giveup. He will never abandon either his purposes or his people.

As we were reminded yesterday, there IS always light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, the story ends with Jesus exalted and victorious, and all evil and suffering done away with completely and forever. We don’t know how soon that day will come, and it’s entirely possiblethat it could be today! But if it isn’t, then we may need to wait for months or years or decades or generations to see God’s plans fully and finally fulfilled.

If that’s the case, what can keep us waiting for itin hope, rather than giving up in despair? What was it that enabled the Servant to keep going through all the days when he was despised and rejected? This verse tells us. It’s “because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One ofIsrael who has chosen you.” If God was simply a great innovator, known for starting remarkable things, that would have been little comfort to the Servant in his suffering. His hope came from knowing that God is a completer-finisher. God’s plan was that he would enjoy glory, through suffering. One day there would be a cross, but beyond that there would be a crown. God’s faithfulness guaranteed that the glory, and the crown, would be given him in the end. God wasn’t going to abandon the plan half-way through.

But nor was he going to leave the servant to perseverealone. Faithfulness is more than a dogged commitment to finish the job, come what may. God’s faithfulness is relational. He’s not simply committed to his plans, he’s committed in love to his people. He is faithful to his people in the way that the best imaginable husband is faithful to his wife. To be properly faithful in marriage means far more than simply not committing adultery! It means consistent, daily, self-giving, generous love. That’s what God’s faithfulness to his people looks like. Even when life is hard, God is faithful. He will bring us throughit, into eternal joy and rest, as he has promised. And in the meantime he is faithfully with us, loving us, protecting us, guiding us and strengthening us to persevere.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:7b

This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,

Back in verse 4, we got our first hint that eventhough the Servant has been called by the God who rules the universe, his work looks more energy-sapping than epically-successfully; more, well, servant-like, thankingly. In today’s verse, that is spelt out even more clearly.

When the Servant comes, people will not be queueingup to listen to him. They won’t even politely ignore him. Instead, he will face outright hostility. He will be despised and rejected. ‘Abhorred’, as it says here – which is such a strong word that I don’t think I’ve ever used it ineveryday conversation! It means, apparently, to regard something or someone with horror or loathing. It’s a shocking way for someone who has been appointedby God to be treated. But that’s not the worst thing. The greater surprise comes when we see just who does the loathing. It’s the whole nation. Not just one or two misguided individuals, but all the people. Isn’t that an accurate description of the reaction that Jesus got when he came to earth? Yes, he did have friends and followers, but he was also widely hated, despised and ridiculed. And by the end of his life, the hostility had the upper hand – hisfollowers fled whilst his opponents delighted in his defeat. As Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, battered and humiliated, he’s being treated far worse than a servant by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers.

And yet, this is not the end of the story. God himself makes a promise to the Servant that one day that picture of the Servant in the hands of human authorities will be completely turned on its head. One day, the kings and rulers who rejected Jesus will stand up to honour him. One day, the nations who saw him as abhorrent will worship him as the greatest and most beautiful man who ever lived. Whenever it seems that evil has the upperhand, we need to remember the end of the story. One day, nothing and no-one will hold any power at all, except the Lord and his Servant. On that day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, either willingly as his children or unwillingly as his defeated enemies.

Let’s praise him for that today, and bow before himwillingly while we have the chance.

Isaiah 49:7a

This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –

Did you notice what Isaiah does in this verse? Just as he’s about to report to the people something that God has said to the Servant, he interrupts himself to tell them something important about who God is. That may not seem very significant on its own, but if we were to read through the whole of chapters 42-49 together, we’d see that it’s not just a one-off, but something he does repeatedly. 13 times in fact. It’s as if he wants to keep reminding the people why they must listen to thewords of the Lord. This isn’t just anyone speaking, but the Redeemer, the Holy One, the creator, the king, the rescuer, the Lord Almighty.

Some of those titles are self-explanatory. But what, exactly, is a redeemer? It’s not a word that we hear much outside of church and the Bible, so even if we recognise it as a description of God, we might not be very clear about what it means.

The best place to look in the Bible to discover what ‘redeemer’ means is in the book of Ruth. There weread the story of a widowed Israelite – Naomi. When she loses first her husband and then both of her sons, she is not just bereaved but also bereft. She has no-one to provide for her and her two daughters-in-law, no breadwinner, no safety or security. So, she returns to Israel – the land of her birth, where she will be dependent on the kindness of others. Ruth, her daughter-in-law,goes with her and keeps them both alive by going into the fields at harvest time to gather up the leftover grain. There she meets Boaz. He turns out to be a distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, who wants to provide for thesevulnerable women by marrying Ruth and buying back the family land. In other words, he wants to act as their ‘kinsman-Redeemer’ - the guardian who bears theresponsibility for safeguarding the weak and providing for the needy within the extended family. We might think that sounds like a burden, but remarkably, it turns out that Boaz doesn’t even have to do it. There is a closer relative, who ought really to be the redeemer in this situation. Yet Boaz goes out of his way to take on the responsibility formeeting Naomi and Ruth’s needs Boaz acts, therefore, asa picture of God’s redeeming work – not only for the people of Isaiah’s day but also for us, who are redeemed by the death of Jesus. Motivated entirely by his own love and goodness, God steps in to meet our needs, pay our debts and secure our safety. He isn’t obligated to do this – he willingly chooses to become our Redeemer.

Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s commit ourselves to listen carefully to what this Redeemer says when he speaks. For who wouldn’t want to listen to someone who has demonstrated such sacrificial love?

Isaiah 49:6

he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be myservant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

As we saw in verse 5, the job of the Servant is torestore God’s people back into right relationship with him. This is not going to be an easy task – it requires the servant to die, taking the judgement that the people deserved upon himself. Yet, remarkably, God says that this is ‘too small a thing’. He can’t possibly mean “it’s not difficult enough, I’d better give you something harder!” Nothing could be more apparently impossible thanfor the sinless son of the everlasting God to die bearing the penalty for sin.

Nor does he say “It isn’t really fair for non-Jews to miss out on this salvation. In the interests of equality, I think we’d better open this covenant up to everyone.” I think that’s what we’d expect. What we’d insist on, even. “Come on God, of course you’ve got to let us in. It’s hardly my fault I was born into the wrong family!” Entirely forgetting that relationship with God has alwaysbeen about his gracious forgiveness being extended to the undeserving, rather than about what any of us might be entitled to.

No. The reason that we – the Gentiles – get to share in the benefits of being God’s people is nothing to do with us! It’s all about the glory of the Servant. He is so great that his light deserves to shine throughout the whole world, not just in one small corner of Palestine. His gracious love is so vast that it overflows national boundaries, to encompass all people everywhere. His sacrificial death is so precious that it saves a countless multitude. His majesty is so great that people from every tribe andlanguage and nation will sing about it for all eternity.

Why do we get to share in the promises first madeto Abraham? Not because we deserve to. But because the servant deserves the glory that comes from such a great salvation.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:5b

for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord andmy God has been my strength –

Whose opinion matters most to you? Some of us feelalmost paralysed by the weight of other people’s expectations, and our desire for them to approve of what we do, say and think. Others of us think less aboutother people’s opinions. But for all of us, there will be some people whose opinions carry particular significance. Some person, or people, who we especially want to think well of us and praise us. Maybe they are the people welove most. Maybe they are especially gifted or successful in a particular field, and we value their expert opinion. Maybe we crave someone’s approval because they’re notoriously hard to please, and so a compliment from them is especially precious.

The Servant is not – at first glance – someone whoeveryone is queueing up to praise. So far, we know that he is quiet and gentle. In future weeks we’ll see that he is also despised and rejected. He’s not a likely candidate for one of those annual lists of ‘The world’s 100 most influential people’. And yet, he doesn’t seem to mind. “For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord” he says. It is theLord’s verdict that matters to him. The rest of the world can hate him, reject him and mistreat him – and indeed, it did, and continues to do so – but that’s not where he looks for validation.

That doesn’t mean that the rejection doesn’t hurt him – it must have wounded him deeply to be despised by those he loves and came to rescue. The world did have the power to bruise him – physically and emotionally. But it doesn’t have the power to completely strip him of hisconfidence and strength, because those things come from his Lord. God’s verdict on him is the only one that really matters. That’s what he will listen to most. Even in his final hours, when the crowd is baying for his blood, he will behonoured in the eyes of the Lord. He will know his Father’s approval, as he is faithful to his calling.

I wonder if the knowledge of his calling was partly what helped him to keep his focus on pleasing God, rather than trying to please the world? The Servant knows who is, and what his life on earth is for. God has chosen and appointed him to his task, so it is God’s honour that he cares about. Although we don’t have the Servant’sunique role, we too have been chosen and appointed by God. Chosen to be adopted as his children and appointed to live as a holy people, declaring his praises to the world around us.

So today, let’s pray that we would learn from Jesushow to value God’s opinion of us – as his precious, loved, forgiven children – more highly than we value the opinion of the world.

Isaiah 49:5aAnd now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him andgather Israel to himself,

From Genesis 12 onwards, God committed himselfespecially to lead and guide and bless one particular family – Abraham’s descendants - that grew into one particular nation – the people of Israel. Even though God always was and continues to be the creator and sustainer of everyone, everywhere, these people enjoyed a unique relationship with him. They had both God’s words – in the law – and his special presence among them – inthe tabernacle (and later, the temple). Yet still they repeatedly turned their backs on him and were unfaithful, following other gods and behaving just like all the other nations around them. And so it will be the job of the Servant to bring them back.

When you think about it, this pattern of turning away and restoration is the constant theme of the whole Bible. We’re given many striking images of God’s relationship with his people to express this same idea: He is the husband of an unfaithful wife in the book of Hosea, he is the shepherd of wandering sheep in Ezekiel 34, he is the patient father of a rebellious son (also in Hosea).

This ‘bringing back’ and ‘gathering to himself’ is not an occasional activity on God’s part. It’s his constant purpose, the expression of his essential character. And so it’s no surprise that this activity is characteristic of Jesus, too. When the promised Servant comes, he announces himself as the ‘good shepherd’ who will restore the lost sheep once and for all. His very first miracle, at Cana, reveals him to be the bridegroom of God’s people, who will purify his bride –the church – so that she can enjoya wedding banquet with him forever. One of his most famous stories features a loving father running with his arms wide open to welcome back the son who hadsquandered his entire inheritance.

We – the rebellious, unfaithful, wandering sheep –are so blessed to have a God like this. One who doesn’t turn his back on us when we turn away from him. One who is patient to restore us, and who gave his one and only son to bring us back to himself. Let’s not despise that because it is so familiar. Rather, let’s thank him for it afresh today. And let’s ask God to teach us to walk more and more closely with him until the day when we are finally gathered into his presence in glory.

Isaiah 49:4b

Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’

As we saw yesterday, the Servant’s mission to save God’s people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death. That’snot a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it’s nosurprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears tohim in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job hehas been given.

If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you’ll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’ if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead. The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord’s hand. He won’t turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil’s offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status fromgoing his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights’, and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father’s will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won’t scheme to get it some other way.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father’s will. And let’s ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.

Isaiah 49:3-4a

3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’
4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

At first glance, today’s verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to the world. Yet the Servant seems to disagree – “I’m exhausted” he says. “I’ve poured out everything I have but there’s nothing to show for it.”There’s nothing splendid about his experience. Yet this is not a disagreement in the heart of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are both always perfectly committed to their shared salvation plan. Rather, I think it’s an example of a paradox that we find repeated time and again in the Bible: Our God is glorified in weakness.

We see this most clearly at the cross. When Jesus is ‘lifted up’ to be crucified we see a weak, tortured, humiliated man. His life’s work seems to have come to nothing. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, yet now he has barely any energy left to speak. He is rejected by the religious establishment and deserted by his followers. Whatdoes he have to show for his life of obedience to the Father? And yet, at the same time it is the greatest display of God’s splendour the world has ever seen. Never before has the extraordinary extent of God’s love and grace and generosity to sinners been so clearly visible. Jesus is not only ‘lifted up’ to die. He is ‘lifted up’ and highly exalted, for his saving work to be seen and marvelled at by all the world.

At the moment when it seems that evil and darkness have won, we see God reveal his glory. At the moment when the suffering Servant takes his last breath we see his majesty. To a world that doesn’t know God, splendour and weakness seem to be irreconcilable opposites. But for those of us who know him, they should be inseparable. The God who reigns over all things is the same one who took on human flesh to live as a servant. Born in poverty,killed in pain and humiliation. Now risen and exalted and reigning in majesty for ever.

So today, let’s praise and worship the one who deserves all glory and honour because he so willingly poured out his life and strength so that we might be saved.

Isaiah 49:2b

in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed mein his quiver.

What’s the safest place you can think of? It’s not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we’d lived in London during the Blitz, we’d probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hideunder if we couldn’t get there in time.

In today’s verse, we discover where the Servant finds safety and security: in the shadow of the hand of God. But the Servant hasn’t had to search out this hiding place for himself. Instead, God reaches out to cover him from harm. It’s a beautiful picture. But it’s also quitesurprising, given everything else we know about this Servant. Taken on its own, this verse might mean that the person God wants to save is swept up into his hand and hidden far away from any possible risk of harm. Wouldn’t that be lovely?! But that can’t be exactly what he means. The Servant has been chosen by God to be the rescuer of his people. As we’ll read later on, this will be no easy job. The Servant will be despised, rejected andeventually killed to accomplish his mission. Surely if God was serious about protecting this Servant, he’d keep him safely out of harm’s way by not sending him to do this painful and difficult work in the first place! Hiding in an Air Raid shelter during the Blitz was better than nothing, but living in a country at peace would surely have been a whole lot safer.

The people of Isaiah’s day faced a similar puzzle. God has already warned them that they face judgement and exile because of their rejection of him. Then they hear that he will send this Servant to be their rescuer. Wouldn’t it be great if the coming of the Servant meant that they were going to be spared the suffering after all? But it turns out not to work likethat. Everything that God has warned of in chapters 1-39 is still going to happen. In fact, the Servant isn’t even going to be born until hundreds of years later. Yet, in Chapter 51, God promises the people the exact same safety and refuge that he gives the Servant here. “I have … covered you with the shadow of my hand” he tells them. Total safety and protection. Not the complete absence of suffering, or judgement, but protection through it.Not an immediate ceasefire, so that no bombs fall, but the provision of a strong enough shelter to withstand the damage.

The Servant was held safely in the shadow of God’s hand throughout his life and death, intoeternal resurrection. And because we have been united to him by faith, that’s where we are too. Even in the midst of all the suffering and dangers of a fallen world, we are safe in the Lord’s hands throughout our life and death and into eternity.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:2a

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword

As I’ve worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I’ve been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before ….’ This is one of those verses!

In the apostle John’s vision, in the Book of Revelation, the risen and exalted Jesus is described as having ‘a sharp double-edged sword’ coming out of his mouth. It’s a striking image, and also an unusual one. Only Jesus’ mouth contains a double-edged sword, because only Jesus’ words have the power to bring judgement, to determine life or death forthose who hear him.

So many people underestimate Jesus … “He was just a good moral teacher” they say. From one perspective, it’s easy to see why – he was, after all, a humble, gentle servant. Born in a stable, not a palace. Riding a donkey, not a war horse. Leading a small, motley band of largely poor and uneducated disciples, rather than a powerful, disciplined, victorious army. If you’d passed him in the street you probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. ‘Nothing to see here’. Which is why we need a powerful visual image, like the one in this verse, to make us look again. After all, if you actually met a man with a sword literally coming out of his mouth, I think you’d stop and take a second look!

Jesus’ physical appearance may have been unimpressive, but his words … well, that’s a whole different matter! When he speaks, that’s when we discover that he is like no other man who ever lived. His words make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead return to life. “I am the way, and the truth and the life” says Jesus. As we listen to him, and trusthis words, we find life and truth and a way into eternal relationship with God as our Father. But those same words bring condemnation and judgement for those who reject them. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” says Jesus. A double-edged sword. Life or death, salvation or judgement. Jesus’ words bring both. They have power greater thanany human weapon ever devised.

Let’s pray today that we will be those who will trust and depend on the life-giving words of Jesus.

Isaiah 49:1b

before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion.You just don’t know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career thatdoesn’t even exist yet.

But that wasn’t the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life’s work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God’s people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells usthat in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God’s perfect creation.

Isn’t that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God’s purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, likethe child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much ratherhave done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us. He didn’t have to go anywhere near a mother’s womb if he didn’t want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake.

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:

Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Israel’. The Servant, when he speaks,addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God’s people. Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, youislands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me!

If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It’s still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn’t say anything too controversial!). It’s definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don’t call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God’s allowed to speak to his followers if they’ve willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they’re pretty convinced that hehasn’t got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.

Except, of course, he has. Because there isn’t a person alive in the world right now who God didn’t make. There isn’t a single square inch of the planet that isn’t his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.

Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.

Let's pray today that allpeople everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:9

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’

So far, we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God’scovenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the life and ministry of Jesus, as described in the pages of the New Testament?

Even the people of Isaiah’s time had some grounds for knowing that God keeps his promises. They have already seen all the ‘former things’ that God has done for his people, from the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land. Again and again, God has announced in advance his good plans forhis people, and then acted mightily to make those things happen. So, when he promised ‘new things’ - that the nation will be brought safely through the comingjudgment and exile, and then restored by the promised Servant - they had good reason to believe that it would happen. But they didn’t get to see the competefulfilment for themselves. The return from exile wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the Servant would set foot in their land.

How much more confident we can be of God’s faithfulness, now that we have seen this Servantfor ourselves. One of the things I love most about the Bible is the way that we get to see God’s purposes developed, from Old Testament promises to real,flesh-and-blood historical New Testament events. It’s like watching an artist sketch a rough pencil outline, lightly at first, but then building up the details and filling in the colours until we see the complete masterpiece in allits glory.

So let’s praise God today for faithfully keeping his promises in the past, and ask for his help to go on trusting him completely as we wait for the completion of the promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is thecreator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the praise and glory which a God like that deserves from all people everywhere.

When human leaders court glory and chase praise,it’s usually a bad sign. We’re rightly sceptical of people who go out of their way to tell us how great they are, or who insist that we celebrate their successes. I think most of us would probably take being described as someonewho ‘blows their own trumpet’ or ‘hogs the limelight’ as criticisms rather than compliments. God alone is right to direct the spotlight onto himself. God alone can draw attention to his greatness, goodness, power and wisdom without being selfish or self-obsessed. God alone isentitled to command that all people everywhere should sing his praises. He deserves all glory and honour. And so it is right that he should guard that glory jealously. Nothing and no-one comes close to God in holiness and might,authority and wisdom, mercy and grace. So nothing and no-one should share the praise which he deserves.

And yet … there is one who is entitled to sit at the Father’s right hand and share the applause of his people for eternity. The Servant, who we see in Isaiah as a humble and often despised figure, is in fact the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ before whom every knee will one daybow. When the LORD shares his glory with the Servant, he is not giving glory to some undeserving other. When Jesus is worshipped in heaven, it is not as an idol who has stolen the praise which is due to God. The Servant deserves to be worshipped as God because he is God. That wasn’t made clear to the people of Isaiah’s day, but we can look back and know that the Servant we read of here is none other than God himself in human form. And so he is fully deserving of all the praise and glory and honour and worship that we – and every creature ever created – can give him.

Let’s praise and worship wholeheartedly today.

Isaiah 42:7

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness

Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I’m targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which Icouldn’t even name! I’m never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they’re not things I’mremotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need.

In this verse we’re shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable toclearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelesslytrapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to set us free.

But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don’t think they are lost. Which are we?

So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let’s ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. Andlet’s thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles

Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for thepeople’ to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God’s people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren’t included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham.

We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands’ putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands’ refers to theGentile nations who don’t yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant’s mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God’s kingdom tothose from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his worldto seek and to save us.

Let’s praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make youto be a covenant for the people

So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself.

It’s a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I’m delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It’s been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it’s been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You’ve been areal encouragement to me.” Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they’ve been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already! Of course, he’s not saying it for Steve’s benefit … He’s speaking to Steve but he’s saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to.

I think it’s the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he’s not speaking for the Servant’s benefit. It’s intended for the people, so thatthey will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He’snot self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people’. What does that mean?!

A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people’ it’s not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God’s relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them. Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by thedeath of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God’s people, in God’s place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham.

So, today, let’s thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.

Isaiah 42:5

This is what God the Lord says –the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it

So far we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He’s exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cynical world needs. But maybe it’s just too good to be true. How can we be sure? How could the people of Isaiah’s day – facing the prospect of judgement and exile – be certain that God really would send them such a wonderful rescuer?

Here in v.5 is God’s answer.

We can be confident that this Servant will come, and will be as wonderful as has been promised, because God’s word is powerful and trustworthy. The God who makes this promise – to Isaiah and to us - is the creator. Everything that exists exists because he made it. He spoke, and galaxies appeared, oceans were tamed, land emerged which produced plants that produced fruit to feed the creatures that his word brought to life. God knows how to make things happen just by speaking. And he is not only the creator but the sustainer. He gives life and breath to his people. Generations of descendants of Adam and Eve have walked the earth since God first spoke. Each one had life and breath only because God decided that they would. He sustains and provides for his people throughout history. If this God has a plan to rescue his people, he will certainly carry it out. If he says he will send them the Servant that they need, then he will surely do it.

So today let’s thank the God who has given us life and breath and all good things. And let’s praise him that he alone is mighty, creating and sustaining us by the power of his words.

Isaiah 42:4b

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.

What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we’re running late. Most of ourhopes are pretty flimsy. They’re things we WANT but we can’t have any great confidence that they will really happen. So often, what we hope for is beyondour control. Sometimes, we may give up hope entirely, overwhelmed by cynicism or despair because we can’t face the prospect of having our hopes raised onlyto be disappointed.

The people of Isaiah’s day were much the same as us. Squeezed on all sides by more powerful nations,they regularly faced decisions about where to put their hope – would they depend on their God to defend and deliver them, or would they trust in their own resources – military might, or political alliances with their neighbours?Into that world, God promises to send a Servant who will bring hope. His teaching will offer true and lasting hope to the islands – that is, not just to God’s people but to the whole earth.

This hope is more than the wishful thinking that makes us long for parking spaces and miracles cures that deep down we don’t expect to get. The words of Jesus give us a hope that is steadfast and certain. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes this hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ It’s a hope we can lean all our weight on. Jesus’ teaching gives us unshakeable hope for the future, because Jesus’ life and death have guaranteed for us a place in heaven with him forever. Not only that, but we have hope for each day in this life, because Jesus promises that he is with us to lead and protect and sustain us, as we trust in him. This is a hope we can rely on. Suchgood news that all the world needs to hear it. However hopeless our circumstances feel right now, however often our other hopes have been crushed, the hope that Jesus offers will never fail us.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for the hope that he brings to our lives. And let’s ask him to help us to put our hope and trust completely in him, for whatever today holds, and for our eternity.

Isaiah 42:3b-4a

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.

If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it’s because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve a goal. But throw in some setbacks, and make the task a long-term project rather than a quick and easy win, and it’s much more tempting to give up. Faithfulness – a long-term commitment to someone or something, come whatmay, is not our natural state.

We know from the earlier chapters of Isaiah that the task God has in store for his servant is definitely not going to be quick and easy! Remember, the people have rebelledagainst God, and are facing invasion from a foreign power. They need both physical and spiritual rescue. Their immediate, practical problems feel enormous but actually their spiritual state is worse. They have seen God commithimself to them over and over again, making a covenant with their forefathers which he has kept even as generation after generation of the people haverebelled. Redeeming a people like that is no small task.

What great news, then, that this servant is going to be faithful. He is going to stick to his God-given task of bringing justice – that is, putting right the people’srelationship with God that they have repeatedly broken. He shares his Father’s unbreakable commitment to these rebels. However often they turn away, his righteousness will be sufficient. He will never resign from his role as theirrescuer, discouraged by their repeated failures. He will never abandon his Father’s salvation plan, and turn aside to some new project. He will persevere until his work is complete.

That’s an amazing promise, even for the people of Isaiah’s day. But how much more amazed should we be by the faithfulness of Jesus to his calling, since we know what it involved. Establishing a just means of rescuing us costhim his life. It meant bearing the weight of our sin and being separated from his eternal Father at the cross. Yet Jesus the servant was faithful in his task, for our sake. Let’s praise and thank him for that today.

Isaiah 42:3a

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.

We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the worldoften expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah’s time, God’speople were a tiny nation, helpless in comparison with the likes of Assyria, Bablyon and Egypt. Surely they needed God to send them a mighty, victorious king to lead them, like the great King David? Someone to bring them militarysuccess, marking them out as a force to be reckoned with.

But God’s plan is different. He promises them a gentle, quiet leader who will protect life rather than destroy it. One who will value the weak and vulnerable rather than the strong and successful. I wonder if Isaiah’s first hearers struggled to get excited about the prospect - perhaps they’d have preferred a more-impressive sounding solution to their problems. Similarly today, those who preach a message of ‘health, wealth and happiness’ sound far more appealing than those who invite us to follow a crucified outcast.

If we like to think we are powerful and success, a gentle leader who keeps stopping to gather up the broken won’t be very attractive. We’d much rather live under a system that promises to reward our achievements and ignores those who don’t make the grade. But once we admit that we ourselves are weak and helpless, it’s a differentstory. When we know that we’re more like a smouldering wick, barely flickering, than a blazing fire, ready to set the world alight, then we will welcome the one who breathes gently on us to sustain us, rather than snuffing us out. When we acknowledge that we are dead in sin we will long for a rescuer who helps the helpless, rather than one who rewards those who help themselves.

There will come a day when this servant will return in blazing glory to crush his enemies forever, but how gracious of him to come first in gentleness and humility, to heal and help and forgive. Let’s thank him for that today and come to him honestly, in all our frailty and need, trusting that he welcomes, not despises, those whoknow that they are weak.

Isaiah 42:2

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

The World Record forthe loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we’d like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about what you are saying and more about how much noise you make. It sometimes feels as ifwhoever makes enough noise to drown out their opponent wins, regardless of who is actually right. In a world like that it’s hard to imagine a quiet leader. We easily associate loudness with strength and we fear that the softly-spoken will be weak and ineffective.

Yet that doesn’t have to be the case. The other day one of our daughters was describing a teacher at her school who never shouts ‘because she doesn’t need to.’ She has such an air of authority that she is able to command the room without ever raising her voice. That’s the sort ofsoftly-spoken person that we see in this verse. It’s not silence of someone who knows they will never be heard so they don’t even bother trying. Here we seesomeone whose authority is so compelling that they don’t need to shout. The promised servant will not come to throw his weight around, drowning out his opponents and bullying his way into leadership.

Isn’t that what we see when we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament? Plenty of people shout at Jesus, or about Jesus, during his life on earth. But he never shouts back at them. He very rarely raises his voice, and when he does it is never to dominate or silence others. It’s only ever to call people to come to him to him for life (John 7:37, John 11:43) or to commit himself humbly to his Father’s keeping as he takes his final breath. His loudest words are not spoken in anger, or self-promotion, as ours so often are, but only ever for the good of others.

So today, let’s thank Jesus for being the one who speaks to us in quiet, gentle, life-giving words. And let’s ask him to help us tune our ears more and more to his voice, and not be swayed by the voices of the world around us who shout louder.

Isaiah 42:1b

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bringjustice to the nations.

Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger thatcomes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done.

God agrees. In Isaiah’s day, injustice is one of the clear indications that God’s people have turned away from him. Back in Chapter 1 God tells them “Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.” Justice matters to God because hehimself is just. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “Forthe Lord is a God of justice” It is an essential aspect of his character. Again and again, throughout the book, whenGod describes the great future which lies ahead for his people, after they have been carried through his judgement, we’re told that it will be a time of justice.

So it’s no surprise that when the Servant comes, he brings justice with him. In fact, it’s such a characteristic of this servant that it’s repeated 3 times in 4 verses! Hewill rule rightly. He will properly discern between right and wrong. He will ensure that righteousness is rewarded and evil is punished. He is not dependent on a committee to agree the rules, or a criminal justice system to hold trials and investigate offences. He has the Spirit of God himself, the one who alone can properly determine right from wrong. So he is uniquely able to establish justice. To put every wrong to rights.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect justice, and thank him that we can look forward to an eternity under his just rule, where every evil will be banished andrighteousness will finally flourish.

Isaiah 42:1a

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;

In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God. But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah’s ministry is spent warning them of great upheaval and suffering which is to come, when they will experience God’s righteous judgement for turning away from him.

So, when we read this verse, at the start of chapter 42, we might expect that the servant God is talking about is still Israel. But as we read through the chapter we discover that he is actually talking about another servant. Abetter servant. One who is faithful and just. One in whom God the Father delights. One who will be a light in the dark world of the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God.

This is not just any servant. This is THE servant. He is not only faithful and obedient himself, but he is the one who will rescue and restore faithless and disobedient Israel. He is Jesus - God’s chosen one.

Beginning today, we will spend the next 7 weeks looking together at what God tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, about this promised servant. We’ll focus on the so-called‘Servant Songs’ – the sections of the book of Isaiah where God speaks to, or about, this promised servant, and where the servant speaks about himself.

It’s my hope and prayer that these passages will help us all to reflect on the character and work of Jesus. That we will appreciate afresh the suffering servant whose perfect life and death have made it possible for rebels like us to be called servants of the Most High God.

So today, let’s pray that as we read about Jesus, God’s chosen one, we too would delight in him. And let’s ask the Spirit to open our eyes in the weeks ahead, to see more clearly the beauty and majesty of Jesus, which Isaiah foretold.

Psalm 62:11-12

One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.’

I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week Idon't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've still been selfish, impatient, more concerned about my own plans than serving others and more focused on my own kingdom than on listening to God and speaking to him in prayer.

How wonderful, then, that our God is full of both power and unfailing love. He alone has the power to defeat our sin and the death which we rightly deserve because of it. Yet his love means that he has chosen to rescue usand forgive us, by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. We can enjoy the reward of an eternity in God’s presence because of what Jesus has done. Praise God for his great power and his unfailing love. And let's pray that we would keep trusting in him, rather than in ourselves, today and every day.

Psalm 62:10

Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Arewe confident because the cupboard and the fridge and the bank account feel full enough? Or are we anxious because they are not?

These things are good gifts from God for which we can bethankful. But David warns us not to 'set our hearts' on them. Not to let them be the things that we long for and cling to, that determine our happiness. Why?Because, though they seem solid and lasting, they – like us - are only a 'breath'. However much we hope or work for material things, we’re not guaranteed to getthem. And if we do get them, they probably won’t last. They will rust or rot, get lost or stolen, or be eaten up by inflation. And even if we keep them and our riches increase in this life, they will never fully satisfy people who were designed to find our ultimate joy in relationship with God.

The only thing secure enough to set our hearts on and not be disappointed by is God himself, our rock and refuge. Let’s pray that we will set our hearts on him.

Psalm 62:9

Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We’re told that if wesimply believe in ourselves we can do anything.

David knows that none of us has the power that we think we have. Recently, we've been reminded that even world leaders and governments are powerless against a microscopic virus. All their apparent power is 'a lie'. Andall of us are but 'a breath' - not the powerful, substantial, world-changing people we aspire to be. But fleeting, temporary, weak mortals.

Let's not put our confidence in ourselves, or in others. Why would we want to lean on 'a breath' when could lean on the rock that is God?

It may be hard to admit that we’re less powerful than wethink we are. But it makes it all the more amazing that God would love fleeting, insubstantial 'breaths' enough to give us solid, everlasting resurrection bodies in which to spend forever with him. Let's praise him for that today!

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'? We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins. But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we’re too upset or ashamed or confused to pray ‘properly’, and have to blurt it all out in one big rambling incoherent mess. Are we even allowed to talk to God like that?

David says Yes! Talking to God like that is a good thing.It's an expression of our trust in him. The times when we most need to pray may be the ones when we are least able to find the words. Yet we can still speak tohim, even then, because he is our refuge at all times.

After all, why is it that God hears and answers our prayers? Is it because of our well-crafted sentences? Of course not. It’s because Jesus died so that we could call God ‘Father’ and he now stands in heaven intercedingfor us. Our prayers are acceptable because of him, not because of the quality of the prayers themselves. Prayer is not a performance to impress God, but an expression of our intimate, personal relationship with him. So, whether we are anxious or excited, sad or celebrating, let’s pour out our hearts to God, today and every day.

Psalm 62:7

My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour'depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes’ on my social media posts in order to feel significant? Do I need the affirmation of my colleagues or theappreciation of my boss in order to feel honoured at work? Do I need someone to recognise how hard I’m working at keeping the wheels on family life? Does whatI do behind closed doors even matter, if no-one sees it and honours me for it?

David is the king of Israel. Surely all his honour comesfrom his role and status? He must have had endless people ready to tell him how great he was. But that’s not where he looked for honour. His honour depends onGod. He is content to place all his confidence in God's name, God's reputation, God's achievements. He doesn’t want his name to be praised. He’s not consumedby building his own reputation. He doesn’t need his achievements to be praised. He would prefer God to get the glory. Enemies may attack him, rubbish hisreputation, slander his name or dismiss him as insignificant. He trusts in God. If David’s name needs to be honoured, God will do it. And if not, that’s OK. Hewill simply depend on God. Let’s pray that we would do the same.

Psalm 62:6

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken.

Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over andover again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his attention away from the God who saves, to look at the enemies who attack.He takes his eyes off the God who is his rock and focuses on himself, the wobbly fence.

That's why we need to hear God speak to us daily. A weekly sermon or Bible study is a wonderful thing. But if David needs to remind himself of the same thingswithin the space of 4 verses we shouldn't be surprised that we reminders to focus on God more than once or twice a week! However often we feel weak,uncertain or afraid, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our rock. However often we face temptation to sin, or discouragement because we’ve failed, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our salvation. And if we don’t feel any of those things, and think we can live perfectly well without God, then we definitely need to fix our eyes on him again and remind ourselves just how much we need the one who made us and gives us our every breath.

Let’s pray that we will be people who build time with Godinto our daily habits so that we stay focused on the one who is our rock, salvation and fortress.

Psalm 62:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

What are you hoping for right now? Back in March we were hoping to find pasta and toilet rolls in the supermarket. By May we were hoping for an end to home-schooling. In June we were hoping for the rain to stop so we could meet a friend outside. For months we’ve been hoping for a vaccine. What we hope for tells us something about where our confidence is. If we're praying for the things we hope for, rather than simply hoping, it's an indication that at least some of our hope and confidence is in God. If so, that’s a great thing - Thank God for it!

But if our hopes and prayers are only ever for bettercircumstances (more pasta, calmer kids, better weather or scientific breakthroughs) we are missing out on the even greater, surer, better hope that God has given to those who trust in Jesus.

We have a sure hope of an eternity with him, when ourcurrent sufferings, however long they last, will feel like the blink of an eye. We have a sure hope that today andtomorrow and every day, whatever our circumstances, God will be with us. We have a sure hope that God will complete his work of making each of us more andmore like Jesus. We have a sure hope that every time we turn away from God to serve our sinful nature, he will be gracious and merciful, forgiving us for Jesus’ sake when we repent and turn back to him.

Let’s pray that each one of us would keep hoping in God, and find the rest that comes from trusting him.

Psalm 62:3-4

How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

The palmist is facing enemies determined to overthrow him. They want to destroy him, perhaps not using a physical army, but certainly by using deceitful words. Our current troubles are different from David’s, but they canhave the same effect on us. We feel weak and vulnerable, like an unstable wall, ready to collapse at any moment. We’re hanging on by our fingernails, knowingthat any second now everything’s going to come crashing down around us. Or maybe it already has.

When he feels weak and helpless, at the end of his ownresources, David reminds himself of the strength and faithfulness of God. He is our rock and salvation, our place of safety and rest. Knowing those things gives David confidence, but it doesn’t turn him into an invincible superhero - he still feels wobbly! David is able to say ‘I shall never be shaken’ while still describing himself as ‘a tottering fence‘.

Isn’t that our experience, too? Trusting God doesn't mean we suddenly feel super-confident. Instead trusting God means turning to him daily, admitting our weakness and asking for his help. We will always be weak but weknow where to look for strength – not in ourselves but in God our fortress, with whom we will be eternally safe, because of the salvation that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s thank God for that security and ask forhis help to turn to him whenever we feel weak.

Psalm 62:1-2

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.

2020 has been a year of great turmoil – our usual routinescompletely destroyed by Covid-19 lockdown, economies around the world decimated, huge protests challenging long-established injustice. Everything seems to bechanging around us. Many of us feel restless and shaken. Unsettled by worries, disconcerted by the loss of normality, second-guessing what on earth we shoulddo now to prepare for whatever is coming next. Or perhaps we’re grieving our own personal tragedies, or battling circumstances close to home that will never hit the headlines.

Psalm 62 is one of my favourite psalms for difficultsituations. Whatever our circumstances, God is our unshakeable refuge. Whatever the reason for our restlessness, our souls can find rest in him. Whatever weneed saving from, salvation is found in God. In fact, he himself IS our salvation. He is our rock and ourfortress.

But we can so easily look for security and rescue elsewhere, relying on hand-washing or social distancing to save us from Covid-19, or insurance policies and detailed planning to save us from an unknown future.Those things have their place. But what we need most is to do what David does here – to direct our hearts and minds back to the strength and faithfulness of God. Whatever happens, whatever changes, he will never fail us.

Let’s thank God for that truth and pray that we willremember it today.

Psalm 51:19

Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Some people just love trying to find parts of the Bible thatappear to contradict each other, in an attempt to undermine our confidence that it is God’s perfect, infallible word. Those people would have a field day with Psalm 51! In verse 16 David clearly states that ‘God does not delight in sacrifice’. Here in v.19 he isequally emphatic that God ‘will delight in sacrifice.’

But, as we’ve seen already, David has multiple sacrifices inmind as he writes this psalm. There’s the blood sacrifice that actually takes away our sin (Jesus’ death on the cross) which isn’t mentioned explicitly, but is implied when he talks about hyssop in v7. This is not a sacrifice that we canbring – it is something that God gives to us. Then there’s the sacrifice of v.16 - any sacrifice that we might think of bringing to God in an attempt to buy our forgiveness. That’s a sacrifice that is never welcome, which weshouldn’t try to bring. Then there are the two sacrifices that we can bring to God – not to earn our forgiveness but in response to it. Firstly, the sacrifice of v.17, the humble, repentant heart of a sinner who has been forgiven byJesus. And finally, here in v.19, the lavish, generous, costly sacrifice of a whole bull, given by grateful people, in thankful celebration of their relationship with God. In our place and time, the burnt offering of a bull is probably not the best way of expressing our gratitude to God. But thatshouldn’t mean that we don’t express it at all! How can we, people who have been made righteous by Jesus, delight God today? By joyfully praising him. Bydemonstrating our trust in him through wholehearted obedience. By telling others how great it is to know a God like this. By coming to him humbly, acknowledging our tendency to sin and asking for his help to resist. In these,and many, many other ways, let’s ask God to make us those who delight him today!

Psalm 51:18

May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

For most of this psalm we've been listening to Davidrelating to God individually. He's talking very personally about his sin, his need for forgiveness, his own individual faith. But in the final two verses we see that he doesn't consider his faith to be purely a private, individualmatter. He is part of the whole people of God ('the righteous' v19). So when he prays for blessing he doesn't say 'May it please you to prosper me'. He wantsto see Zion (that is, Jerusalem) being blessed. He wants the city of God, containing the people of God, to be secure. Building up the walls isn't about beinginsular and inhospitable; it's about being safe from enemy attack.

So it is for us. Awareness of our sin can be a really isolating thing. If we feel ashamed of our failures it can be tempting to withdraw from fellowship with others, forgetting that they too are sinners, every bit as much in need of God's grace as we are. We forget that when Jesus took out sin at the cross he didn't just open the way for us to have a relationship with God, but he also united us together with other Christians. So, every time we repent we can remember that we are part of a body, not alone.

That doesn't mean that we have to tell everyone at churchabout every one of our sins! But it does mean that when the devil tells us that we can't be honest with anyone about what we're really like, we know that he's wrong. And when we celebrate our forgiveness, we're not just thankful for restored relationship with God, but for being part of a body of people who all know the joy of being forgiven. So perhaps we will want to pray not just that I will walk more and more in his ways from now onwards, but that we will. We’ll want to pray that God would prosper our church (and the whole universalchurch) not just ourselves. That he will keep our church, not just me, secure from enemy attack. Let's ask him for those things today, grateful for the fellowship he has given us as we trust and obey him together.

Psalm 51:16-17

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Even though it’s a familiar psalm, I still find these versessurprising. Why would David say 'you do not delight in sacrifice'? He can't mean that the whole temple sacrificial system displeases God - it was God's idea in the first place. Making the Old Testament sacrifices and burntofferings was an act of obedience to God's commands, not a man-made religious system.

And why would God want David to be 'broken' in spirit?Surely the whole point of forgiveness is to heal his broken spirit? It feels like we’ve suddenly rewound to the beginning of the psalm, where David was mourningover his sin and pleading for forgiveness. Isn’t this section, from v.13 onwards, all about David’s response to having been forgiven? Shouldn't he be 'fixed' now, rather thanbroken? Full of rejoicing and evangelistic zeal, no longer weighed down by his sin? If I was writing this psalm, I'd have put these verses nearer the beginning, imagining that the 'sacrifice' of a 'contrite' (i.e. repentant) heart was a good thing to bring to God, to convince him to forgive me. 'Look, Lord, how sorry I am!' And then my psalm would get progressively more upbeat, with a spirit and heart that bounce back to pure joy!

However, we know that David is writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so obviously he is right to put these verses here in the psalm! The fact that they feel out of place shows that I’m misunderstanding somethingimportant. Actually, I’m misunderstanding 2 things….

Firstly, David's contrite heart is NOT the sacrifice thatbrings about God's forgiveness. His sin is not washed away by the volume of his own tears. His transgressions are not wiped away in proportion to how sorry he feels about them. His forgiveness is utterly and completely the result of Jesus' sacrificial death in his place. The only sacrifice that David can bring is one of thankfulness. And, secondly, the point of forgiveness is not, primarily, to make David feel better. Why would I expect that a forgiven sinner wouldn't still mourn over their sin? He's not weighed down by it in the same way he was at the start ... He knows his guilt is taken away so he won't live permanently crushed by it. But a humble heart, aware of its own weakness and need for God's constant help, is the right thing for a Christian to have ALL the time. Joy at having been forgiven doesn't completely remove our sorrow at having needed forgiveness. We, like David, canknow both the complete assurance of having our sins washed away AND the reality that we are permanently 'poor in spirit' before a holy God. Let's pray that Godwould give each of us an appropriately contrite-yet-rejoicing heart, today.

Psalm 51:14-15

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Yesterday we saw that one aspect of David's response tobeing forgiven is a renewed commitment to telling others about his saviour. In today's verses we see a second response ... Singing God's praises.

v.14 isn't the kind of bargaining with God that unbelieversdo in a time of crisis ... 'Get me out of this, God, and I'll do anything you want!' Praising God isn't the penance that David will reluctantly force himself to do in exchange for forgiveness. I imagine that David wants to sing God's praises - after all, he is a psalm-writer and a musician. He loves to celebrate God's righteousness and goodnessin words and songs. But if you remember v.8 you'll remember that he feels crushed by his sin. He is guilty of bloodshed, having ordered the killing of Bathsheba's husband. He cannot sing with joy and gladness to God when his sin hangs heavily over him. But if God will rescue him, deliver him, forgive him and wash him clean, then he will sing with all his heart, at the top of his lungs in gratitude and praise.

Will we do anything less? We who know that Jesus has already died to take away our guilt. Our sin has been atoned for. When we confess it to God and ask for forgiveness it is wiped away forever. There is no reason for us not to sing. And our song will be entirely in praise of God. There's nothing like being confronted by our own sin to remind us that we are not the glorious, strong, successful people we would like to be. We have no reason at all to sing our own praises, or to demand that other people sing our praises. But we have every reason to sing praise to our gracious, loving, righteous, rescuing God.Let’s praise him as he deserves today!

Psalm 51:13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

Now that David has confessed his sin and asked forforgiveness, this next section (verses 13-17) shows us how a forgiven sinner responds to their forgiveness.

Firstly, here in verse 13, he commits himself to sharingwhat he knows of God with others, so that they too can turn away from sin and be forgiven. So often when we think about evangelism, it's as something we OUGHT to do, to please God (or, perhaps, to stop other Christians nagging us about it!) Whereas here we see evangelism as the natural reaction of someone who is so aware of what he has been saved from, and so grateful for thatrescue, that he longs to see others rescued and forgiven as he has been. It's not just that David thinks that their life might be a little bit richer if they knew God ... he sees that they have done evil in God's sight just as David has.And so he knows that their only hope is to have their sins washed away, as his have been.

Is that how we see our unbelieving family, friends andneighbours? Do we long to see them turn back to God not simply so they'd stop thinking we were weird(!) but so that they can have their sins washed away by Jesus. If I'm honest, I don't think I share David's priority here. But rather than needing a course of evangelism training, I think I need to remember again just what a blessing it is for me to be forgiven. So I'm praying that God wouldmake me so grateful for my salvation that I would really want to share it with others. Perhaps you might want to pray the same?

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Back in verse 10, David asked God for a 'steadfastspirit". And perhaps you thought that that sounded a bit dreary. Steadfast can be the sort of word we associate with over-long walks in the rain: plodding along, one foot in front of the other, knowing you'll get there eventually but certainly not enjoying the experience! Some people see the Christian life like that - heaven sounds great but the business of living as a Christian in themeantime seems dull and burdensome.

This verse reminds us that when David thinks about'steadfastness' he doesn't mean 'dull and dreary'. He knows that life in relationship with God is a GOOD thing. Not just an unpleasant necessity to be endured, until we get to the good stuff later on. There is joy in hisrelationship with God - joy in knowing that he is loved and chosen and rescued. That joy has been crushed underthe weight of his sin, but it can be restored. And so he prays that it would be. He doesn't have to try and summon up joy from within himself - it is God's gift to him. Just as his salvation is actually God's salvation - achieved byGod and given by God and not in any way David's own doing.

He also prays that God would give him a spirit that is notonly steadfast but willing. That he would live out his relationship with God enthusiastically, rather than grudgingly.

What about us? Are you joyful about your salvation, andwilling in your following of Jesus? Or unwilling, feeling that discipleship is a burdensome duty? Following Jesus will always be hard - after all, we are called to die to self and live for others, which is bound to be painful. But ifwe are sustained by the joy of knowing that we are loved, chosen, forgiven, rescued children of God, then we can follow Jesus willingly.

If that's your experience today, thank God for the gifts ofsalvation and joy. And if that's not how it feels for you right now, then pray as David does here, that God would restore your joy and willingness to follow him. And spend some time remembering your salvation, which is the best and most lasting source of joy we could ever have.

Psalm 51:11

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Throughout the Psalms we keep coming across this idea of God turning his face away from sinners, or sending sinners away from him. And I keep saying that if we are trusting Jesus we need never be afraid that it will happen to us.

But how can we be sure? After all, it's too important justto take my word for it! In fact, we have Jesus' own words to reassure us. In John 6 he says "All those the Fathergives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.' NEVER. However great our sins, however feeble our faith, however wobbly ourdiscipleship, when we come to Jesus for forgiveness and help he will NEVER send us away. And because Jesus is with the Father right now, if we are always withJesus then we are always in God the Father's presence. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does.

Not only that, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us, whoteaches us not to sin, strengthens our weak faith and keeps pointing us back to Jesus so that we can keep following him.

So let's praise God today for the assurance that he willnever send us away from him, and for the gift of his Spirit living in us. Let's pray that we would grow in our gratitude for these great blessings.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

David knows that deep down, in his heart, he is a sinner.His adultery and murder were not an accidental, out-of-character slip-up. They were the outworking of his lifelong sinful nature. And so he needs more than forgiveness. More than just having his sin wiped from God's record of his life. He needs a new nature. A new heart. This isn’t the prayer of a man becoming a believer for the first time - we know that David is already a follower of God. He has a new nature as well as his sinful nature. But as often as his heart is corrupted by sin, it needs to be made pure again. And as well as a pure heart he needs something else. A steadfast spirit. An inner perseverance to continually say No to sin and Yes to obeying God. It would be ridiculous to come to God for forgiveness of his sin if he fully intended to go back and live the same way again. But he knows that he cannot change unless God changes him.

In the same way, when we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness because of the death of Jesus, we also need more than that. We need the Holy Spirit to strengthen our desire to turn away from sin. We need him to grow in us a steady determination to live more and more like Jesus, and less and less like our sinful nature. We need him to strengthen our conviction thatit is possible to fight against sin. We need him to make us resolute for that fight.

Today, let's each pray as David does here: Create in me apure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:9

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

When we looked at Psalm 80 together we saw how 'God's face' symbolised his relationship with his people. The psalmist prayed that God's face would shine on them with favour. Many other psalms contain prayers for Godnot to 'hide his face' - in other words, not to withdraw from his people or reject them.

This verse is unusual - it's the only the psalms where God'hiding his face' is a good thing. But it makes sense - David knows much his sin offends God. He doesn't want God to have to look at it. But David knows, as we know, that sin is embedded deep within him. How can God turn away fromDavid's sin without rejecting David himself? God would be completely justified in rejecting David completely, turning his face away once and for all. He would be justified in doing the same to us.

Yet, because of his love and mercy, Jesus came into theworld to bear our sin. At the cross, the Father hid his face from the Son. Jesus bore God's rejection so that we don't have to. So we, like David, can have our sin blotted out without us being blotted out forever. Our transgressions and wrongs can be washed away without us being completely swept away in judgement. God is able to both hide his face from our sin and shine his face us, as forgiven sinners.

Let's praise God for his grace and mercy, and confess oursins to him today, confident that they are fully and completely blotted out and taken away by the blood of Jesus.

Psalm 51:7-8

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

David has been totally honest about the seriousness of hissin. He has done evil. He is unclean before God. What's the solution? How can his sin be dealt with? Notice that he doesn't even consider trying to get rid of it himself. He knows that if he is to be made clean, it must be the God who he has sinned against who does it. But how? What can wash away his sin? The answer is ... hyssop! It's a plant. But not just any plant.

Hyssop is what God told the priests to use when he gave them instructions for cleansing unclean things. Everywhere in the Old Testament where we see hyssop used for cleansing, it's part of a ceremony that involves ablood sacrifice. Hyssop was what the Israelites used to paint the lamb's blood onto their doorposts, so that their firstborn sons would be spared, on the night when God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. When an Israelite heard the word 'hyssop' they'd probably picture a handful of sticks and leaves, dripping with the blood of a sacrifice. It's not the most obvious thing to use if you want whiter-than-white laundry! But it is the perfect thing to take away the guilt of sin. Only the blood of a perfectsacrifice can cleanse sinners.

So perhaps it's no coincidence that when Jesus, dying on the cross, is offered wine vinegar to drink, it's offered to him on a stick of hyssop. There, just as in the Old Testament ceremonies which foreshadowed it,hyssop + blood sacrifice = cleansing.

What can take away OUR sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, which washes us white as snow. Responding rightly to that means doing what David does in this psalm - both grieving the seriousness of our sin and rejoicing in our forgiveness. My sin is so serious it required the Son of God to be crushed in my place. How can I takethat lightly? Yet because he was crushed, I can be free. I don't have to live weighed down for ever by the memory of my past failures. I can rejoice in the grace God has shown me.

So let's thank and praise Jesus today for the joy of knowing that our sins have been completely washed away at the cross.

Psalm 51:5-6

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in thewomb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

There's a strong similarity between the story of David's sinof adultery with Bathsheba, and Adam & Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and David have aGod-given position as ruler and representative of the people (although in Adam's case the people who he represents haven't been born yet). Both saw something that they wanted, that God said they shouldn't have, and both took it anyway. Both then try to cover up their sin. But there is at least one way in which David is different - when he is confronted with his sin, he 'owns' it.When God speaks to Adam and Eve after they've eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they are quick to try and pass the buck, blamingeach other, the serpent and even God himself ('if you hadn't put that woman here with me, none of this would have happened ...') David, on the other hand,knows that his sin is his fault. It's not just a momentary lapse of judgement, totally out of character, prompted by someone else's behaviour. He knows that he sinned because, deep down, he is - and always has been - a sinner. Sinful from birth. In fact, even from before birth.

I don't think he's using that as an excuse - 'It's not myfault, God, I was born this way.' It's an acknowledgement that his sin problem goes right to the very heart of his character. It's who he IS. But, wonderfully, it's not ALL he is. He is also a man made and known and rescued byGod. Even when his unborn body was being made in the womb, God was there with him, relating to him. At that point, God already knew that David would grow upto be a murderer and an adulterer, yet he still taught him wisdom.

Our sin problem is just as deep-rooted. We aren't basicallygood people who occasionally sin by accident. We are sinners by nature, from our earliest days. Yet the God who made us knew us and loved us before the universe was made. And so he sent us Jesus, the only man ever born without sin. The perfect representative of his people who resisted all temptation. Let's confess our sin to God today without making excuses or passing the blame. And let's thank him for Jesus, through whom we have beengiven new birth and new hearts.

Psalm 51:4b

so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

We all want justice. We have an inner instinct that longsfor right judgements and hates unfair decisions. We see it clearly in children, even from a very early age, railing against any perceived injustice: "it's not fair!" Yet we don't have a corresponding ability to judge rightly. We're very quick to judge others, even without knowing the facts. And even quicker to try to justify ourselves: 'Itwasn't me', 'I didn't mean to', 'I know I shouldn't have, but if you'd heard what she said to me ....'

We love the idea of justice but we're unable to be just. Wedon't have all the information, and our inner jury is heavily rigged in our own favour.

Not only that, but we look around us and see so manyexamples of injustice in the wider world. Is there any real hope of justice and right judgements?

Praise God that he is the perfect judge. His verdict isalways right. Under his rule, every judgement is completely fair. We may not see that worked out in the world around us yet, but one day it will be. Therewill be a day of judgment when every wrong ever committed will be fairly dealt with. We know that we also deserve to face that judgement, and later in thispsalm we'll be reminded of why we don't need to be afraid of that. But we should still rejoice that God'sjustice is perfect and his character is righteous. Imagine if it wasn't. Imagine if the world was under the control of a powerful but unjust God. Imagine if the only justice to be had came from someone as biased and selfishas we are. That would be terrifying!

Let's praise God today that he is, and always will be, rightin his verdicts and justified in his judgements.

Psalm 51:4a

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;

As we saw yesterday, David recognises his own sin and calls it what it is. Today we see that he also understands WHY it is so serious. He knows that when he sins, he sins against God himself.

If you're familiar with the Psalm, perhaps v.4 is no longersurprising. But as we slow down to think about it we see that this is actually an extraordinary thing to say! David has committed adultery and murder. We're not told whether Bathsheba was a willing participant in the 'affair' but in a '#MeToo' world, we would certainly call it an abuse of power and ask questions about the extent to which a woman in her situation could meaningfully consent. David has definitely sinned against Bathsheba's husband, and quite possibly against Bathsheba herself. He has sinned against his whole people by pursuing his own selfish desires in place of leading them faithfully in obeying God's commands. Yet he says he has sinnedagainst 'God alone'. What? Doesn't he care about the human cost of his actions? Is he not yet fully repentant for his sin towards them? Yet these aren’t the words of an unrepentant man, trying to cover up or avoid responsibility for his actions. David knows that he has seriously wronged other people. I think what he means here is that his sin is also against God. And that sin against God is so serious that it completely overshadows the sin against other people. Not because he underestimates the seriousness of his actions on a human level, butbecause he rightly appreciates the seriousness of the even greater evil of sinning against God.

Do we? Do we recognise that when we do wrong, the offence against God is greater than the offence against the other person? As we consider that, we realise that our sin is so much more of a problem than we thought! After all, if I feel angry, or proud or envious towards someone else, but manage not to express it outwardly, I can easily think that I have nothing to repent of ... I didn't actually shout at them (although I wanted to), I didn't in fact tell them that their idea was utterly stupid and mine was somuch better (although clearly, to me, it was). If I've managed to stop short of sinning against them in words and actions, then I'm OK. Aren't I?

We would certainly want to thank God for giving us thatself-control! But if sin is primarily rebellion against God, then my heart is still guilty. In my pride I have valued myself more highly than another person made in God's image, and so devalued the creator. In my anger I have assumed that the world should be ordered entirely to suit me, and so dishonoured the real king. In my envy I have concluded that good gifts have been wrongly distributed, and so dishonoured the generosity of the ultimate giver. Even if I have spoken and acted impeccably towardsother people, I've sinned against God in my heart. Let's confess to God the full extent of our sin, which goes far beyond what is visible to others. And let's praise him for his gracious love and forgiveness, which extend furtherstill.

Psalm 51:3

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

I realise that many things about coronavirus have beenterrible for many people, and I don’t want to make light of that in any way. Nevertheless, the Covid lockdown has also been useful, for me at least, in one way. It has shown me my sin more clearly! Perhaps the same is true for you.

Being in close contact with the same people for an extended time with no escape has probably reminded us that they are sinners but it also reveals that we are, too. I've seen my selfishness, my laziness, my impatience,my desire to build my own kingdom in which things are done my way, even more clearly than usual over the past few months.

For those living alone the experience may be different, but I imagine that there have still been many opportunities for sin, and many temptations to use the greater privacy for ungodliness instead of godliness.

When we look back honestly over the past few months, or even the past few days, can we say with David 'I know my transgressions ... my sin is always before me'?

It's uncomfortable, isn't it? Looking straight at our sinand calling it what it is. It's much easier to try and ignore it, or explain it away ... 'I'm sorry I shouted, it's just that I'm so tired.' 'I know I shouldn't gossip about her behaviour, but I’m just so angry about it' Tiredness, hunger, suffering, strong emotions and many other things make us more prone to sin; they can provide both the opportunity and the motive. Nevertheless, sin is still sin. We might think we'll feel better about it if we hide it, or explain it away, or call it something else. But the only thing that can actually take our sin away is forgiveness through the death of Jesus. And the first step to forgiveness is to see our sin for what it is. Only then can we confess it honestly, to ourselves and to God, who already sees it much more clearly than we do. We have nothing to lose by being honest about our sin, as David is here. So, if you are very conscious of your sin today, bring it to God, knowing that he is not surprised by it. And if you find it hard to recognise your sin, ask God to open your eyes to see it more clearly, so that you can call it what it is and bring it to him for forgiveness.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

So far in these psalms we've thought a lot about how God's unfailing love is a help to us in times of trouble. We've seen psalmists facing direct assault from armed enemies, and the treachery of deceitful accusations.But Psalm 51 reminds us that our greatest danger comes to us not from the world outside but from within. It is our sin, our transgressions, our iniquity, from which we most need to be rescued.

Perhaps we especially need to remember this at the moment, when we are so busy 'staying alert' to danger from 'out there'. Yes, Covid-19 is a danger, especially to those who are more physically vulnerable among us.But it's only a possible danger ... Something we MIGHT catch. Sin has infected us already. Every single one of us. There's no 'if I sin' or 'just in case I transgress' in these verses. David knows that his sin is a terrible, presentreality, not just a vague future possibility.

This psalm is David's prayer after being confronted by theprophet Nathan, who rebuked him for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and for arranging the murder of Bathsheba's husband in an attempted cover-up. Badenough for anyone to have done this, but David is the leader of God's people. He’s not only guilty of personal immorality but also of abuse of power and a failureof leadership. No wonder he's conscious of his sin!

Our experience won't be identical to David's, but we arestill in the same boat. We need God to have mercy on us. We are sinners who need to be cleansed. Right now, Iimagine that some of us are really conscious of our sin, some of us are weighed down by guilt for things that aren't actually sinful at all, and some of us areunaware of our guilt, wondering why we can't read a more encouraging psalm instead!

Let's pray that as we work our way through this psalm, God would be at work in each of us, opening our eyes to see clearly both the reality of our sin and the reality of his unfailing love and great compassion.

Psalm 80:19

Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we see again the repeated chorus of this psalm - aprayer that God would restore his people to their special relationship with him, look favourably on them and save them. These words are familiar, but if we look back through the whole Psalm, we see that verses 3, 7 and 19, while very similar are not identical. Verse 3 is addressed simply to God, verse 7 to God Almighty and verse 19 to the LORD God Almighty. There's a rising intensity tothe prayer, expressed by adding something new to the description of God each time.

He is God - the one who deserves to be worshipped by hispeople (and all people everywhere). He is Almighty (or the 'God of hosts', the one who commands all of heaven's armies), powerful to save. And he is LORD. That is his covenant name, a reminder of his faithfulness to his people. This is who the psalmist prays to - the only one worthy of worship, they only one powerful to save, the only one committed to restoring wayward people because of his great love and mercy.

This is the same God who we pray to, too. And if our prayers don't have the same intensity as the psalmist's, if we pray once and then give up rather than persisting, perhaps we've forgotten who we're praying to. Maybewe also need to reflect on some of the names of God - in this psalm and throughout the Bible - so that we are reminded again of his awesome might and his faithful love. Let's praise him for those things today, and let's pray that our dependence on him would grow as our knowledge of him grows.

Psalm 80:18

Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

How competent do you feel today? How able are you to do the things that you want or need to do? I imagine that some of us feel totally UNable today. We may be ill or tired or struggling with difficult circumstances, either temporary or permanent, that make us really aware of ourown weaknesses and inabilities. Perhaps we find it hard to see others apparently 'succeeding' - those who seem able to just get on and achieve what they set their minds to without the obstacles that we face. Others of us might be feeling more capable ... Right now we seem to have all the resources we need for life. We may not even understand why others are struggling. Whichever group we fall into, today's verse is a great leveller. Here is something that NONE of us can do for ourselves!

God’s people's greatest problem - at the time of this psalm and today - is their unfaithfulness to God. They just can't seem to consistently trust and obey him. They know that being his people is a great privilege yet they turn away and behave like the nations around them,worshipping things that are not God. They know that they need to return to God, and live as his people, but they just can't do it. They can't even call on his name without help. They, and we, are utterly helpless when it comes to restoring and remaining in relationship with God. And that really matters. Succeeding in life does us no good at all if we can't maintain a relationship with him. Their only hope lies in the Son of Man at the Father's right hand. If God blesses them through Jesus, THEN they will be able to remain faithful. If God revives them by his Holy Spirit, then they will depend on him in prayer, calling on God's name instead of the names of their idols. The same is true for us. None of us can live in relationship with God unless God makes it possible. So, there is no room for self-sufficiency or pride ... If I am a Christian today, asking God for his help to trust and obey him, all the credit for that belongs to him. And there is no room for despair either ... howeverbadly everything else in life may be going, God is able to keep me trusting and obeying him today.

Let's thank him for that and pray with the psalmist that God would revive and sustain us so that we would call on his name today and every day of our lives.

Psalm 80:17

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

Yesterday's verse warned us that at God's rebuke his people perish. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story. In the final 3 verses of the psalm we discover that there is still the possibility of restoration. Instead of judgement, they could receive the blessing the palmist is prayingfor. But how can that happen? Today's verse tells us. And, as we've already seen, it isn't because of anything that the people do. It's all God's doing. He reaches out his hand to bless. But who is this man at his right hand, whoreceives the blessing?

We saw, back in verses 1&2 that this psalm focusesespecially on Joseph's family, including his younger brother Benjamin. The name Benjamin means 'the son of my right hand' . So when we read the first half ofthis verse it's natural to picture him being blessed by God. But the blessing is not just for him as an individual. He represents the whole tribe of Benjamin. One man's blessing benefits many people. Yet as we read on, the 'man' becomes a 'son of man'. Which could still describe Benjamin, but is also the name Jesus often uses of himself. From our perspective, this side of the cross, we see moreclearly than the psalmist could Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, raised up from the dead, having taken the judgement that should have been ours. Jesus rightly deserves God's hand of blessing to rest on him. But we who are united with him by faith get to share it. One man's blessing benefits many people. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:16

our vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.

Have you ever experienced the frustration of giving anineffective rebuke? Perhaps a family member, or friend, or colleague, says or does something that is clearly wrong or unacceptable, and you need them to know that it shouldn't ever happen again. Not simply because it annoyed you, but because what they did was dangerous in some way ... the colleague who is careless about computer security and risks deleting important data. The young child who discovers a box of matches and thinks the flames are pretty to play with. A rebuke can be appropriate but not always effective. We may feelfrustrated when we see the same wrongs repeated over and over again, and nothing we say makes any difference.

God's rebuke is different. At his rebuke his people perish.God's words, by which everything was created, also have the power to destroy.

Maybe we're the ones who are insensitive to someone else's rebuke. We know that we're consistently saying or doing something that we shouldn't. Not just because it annoys someone else, but because it's actually wrong in God's sight. I don't mean those things where we're askingfor his help to change but still sometimes failing. I mean something we're not even fighting against. We like what we're doing so much that we don't WANT to change. We're quite prepared to ignore anyone who tells us it's wrong, even God himself. After all, what can they really do about it? I seem to be getting away with it so far....

If that's you, be warned. God's rebuke IS effective. He maybe patient now, giving us time to repent, but when he speaks in judgement, his word will be effective and there will be nothing we can do to escape it. So let’s seize the opportunity to repent today, confessing our sin and asking for help to change. Forgiveness is available in Christ for all who ask for it. But to wilfully persist in sin, without any desire to change, is to deliberately refuse that forgiveness.

And let's all of us pray that God would give us soft heartsthat are quick to hear and obey his words, and quick to repent when we fail, taking refuge in Jesus who endured God's deadly rebuke in our place at the cross.

Psalm 80:14-15

Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.

I doubt know about you, but I'm finding this psalm quitesurprising in places. Just when I think I know what the palmist is going to say next, he says the opposite! First we had the shock of discovering that the people's suffering comes not from their enemies, but from their God. They are the ones who turned away and broke the covenant. So surely the solution is going to be for them to repent and turn back to God. I'd expect v. 14 to say something like'Return to God Almighty, you people! Look up to heaven and cry out for help.' In fact, it says the completeopposite. 'Return to us, God Almighty!'

Why does God need to return, since it was the people who went away from him? I don't think the psalmist is blaming God. 'This is all your fault, God, so you'd better fix it.' In fact, he doesn't dwell on whose fault it is at all. (We only know about the people's rebellion by rememberingthings we read elsewhere in the Old Testament). Rather, his focus throughout the whole psalm is on what needs to happen now. His repeated prayer is for God to 'restore' them, to 'return to' them. Not because they are the innocent party, abandoned by God. But because God is their only hope for rescue. The people are at fault, but they can't put it right for themselves. In v.18 we'll see whatthey must do next. But God's part comes first. If he will not return to them, they cannot be saved. If he will notchoose to continue to be their God, they can never again enjoy the blessings of being his people. They are the root he has planted. They are the son he has raised up. Apart from him, they are nothing. Unless he looks on them with favour, they have no hope.

It's the same for us. When we sin, we turn away from God.Yet our hope of forgiveness and restoration is not in our ability to turn back. Our ability to make things right. Our ability to try harder and do better next time. Our hope of forgiveness and rescue is in God. His mercy. His grace. If he chooses not look on us with favour, no amount of repentance on our part will make any difference.

So let's praise him today that he HAS shown us favour,sending Jesus to die in our place. And let's be humbled by the reminder that he is, and always will be, our only hope for rescue and forgiveness.

Psalm 80:8-13

You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountainswere covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, itsshoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.

The reason that the psalmist prays for God to save hispeople throughout this psalm is because he knows that God is a saving God. He is asking God to do again what he has already done in the past. This is the same God who rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and led them into the promised land, driving out their enemiesso that they could live in security and peace. They weren't just a tiny seedling, they were a great and flourishing vine, whose branches and shoots spread over the whole land.

But it didn’t last. We see in v.12-13 that God’s vineyard –his people – is no longer securely protected. The vine is trampled by animals and eaten by insects. A ruined shadow of its former self. The psalmist asks why, but he already knows the answer. The people had turned away from God. It is God who broke down the walls, but only because the people first broke the covenant.

When I read these verses, I find myself thinking 'What awaste.' Not only is the people's situation terrible in itself - insecure, fearing their enemies on all sides, poor and weak and helpless - but they also know what they have lost. The picture here shows us just how much better it is to live under God's blessings than to reject him. The people had been warned what would happen if they turned away from God. But they did it anyway, believing that going their own way would lead to something better thatwhat God offered. That isn't just the experience of Old Testament people. v.12-13 are a picture of the effects of sin in our lives, too. It brings ruin and destruction and disappointment. We know this. But we so easily forget. We need this picture clearly in our minds, for the moments when we are tempted to follow our sinful desires rather than go the way that the Spirit leads. We're so easily fooled into thinking that selfishness, greed, pride, anger orself-sufficiency will bring us the good things we want in life. When in fact they're all ways of knocking down the walls and letting in the wild animals that will destroy the blessings of our relationship with God.

Let's repent today of whatever sins we have believed willbring us something better than knowing God. And let's pray that we would increasingly turn away from sin and towards God, rather than the opposite.

Psalm 80:7

Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we read again the repeated 'chorus' of this psalm, that we looked at back in v3. We reflected on the great blessing it is to have God turn his face towards us and smile on us. But alongside the encouragement, thisverse also contains an uncomfortable truth.

Why do we need God to smile on us? Not simply to make us feel better. But 'that we may be saved'. This God, whose blessing the palmist prays for repeatedly, is the one whose anger smoulders against his people for their rejection of him. They, and we, and everyone we will ever meet rightly deserve God's judgement. We need to be saved.

I was surprised by the number of people who liked 'TheBlessing' and shared it online, who wouldn't necessarily think of themselves at Christians. But perhaps I shouldn't have been. After all, who wouldn't want the warm glow of blessing and favour from a higher power? It might not something they thought they needed, but it's still nice to have. The icing the cake.

Perhaps a 'blessing' song based on this verse wouldn't godown so well.... 'may his blessing be upon you, who are rightly facing judgement for your sin. May his blessing be upon you, so that you can be rescued from hell. May his blessing be upon you, because without it you will remain lost for ever.' For the person who doesn't yet see themselves as needing to be saved this verse doesn't seem to deliver quite the same warm glow. But for any of us who recognise our own sin, and God's holy righteousness, this verse is precious. What greaterblessing could there be than to be saved fully and forever from all our sin and failure, so that we will never face God's judgement? This blessing is not just a warm glow, the icing on the cake. It's the thing we most need. And we can ask for it with even more confidence than the psalmist, because we live this side of the cross. So today, let's ask God to forgive our sins because of Jesus' death in our place. And let's praise him that he has rescued us to enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and restoredrelationship with him forever.

Psalm 80:6

You have made us an object of derision to our neighbours, and our enemies mock us.

We saw yesterday that God's people's suffering at the time of this psalm was a direct consequence of them turning away from him. It's bad enough that their rebellion caused them to lose their land and its blessings. But here we see that they also lose their reputation. Their neighbours laugh at them. Their enemies mock 'Thought you were God's special people, did you? Hasn't done you much good, has it?!' But to mock God's people is to mock God. If the reputation of God's people suffers, it reflects badly on God himself. Can't he protect them better? Has he changed his mind about his promises to them? Why, then, does God do this? Why risk his reputation and honour among the nations?

Perhaps we see the answer to that when we remember another time when God's chosen one was made an object of derision. At the cross, Jesus' enemies mocked him. Indoing so they were mocking God himself. Why let that happen? Why let the one who deserves all glory, respect and praise be ridiculed? 2 reasons. Firstly, out of love for us. In the time of the palmist, God disciplines his people inorder to bring them back to him. He accepts temporary dishonour, for his people and his own name, so that they can be restored. At the cross, Jesus is disgraced so that we can be forgiven. But secondly, just as importantly, it’sfor God’s own greater glory. At the cross it seemed for a moment that God could be mocked. Yet because of the cross we discover that he is greater than we everimagined. He is more gracious, more faithful, more loving, more forgiving, more righteous than we realised. The temporary disgrace only magnifies his glory. So, let's praise our glorious God today.

Psalm 80:4-5

How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smoulder against the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

Yesterday, we delighted in the idea of God turning his facetowards us and shining his favour on us. But as today's verse make clear, that wasn't the palmist's experience. It's what he prays for, but it's not what he currently has. He, and all God's people, are actually experiencing God's rightanger towards them. Perhaps this comes as something of a shock to us. So far in these psalms we've seen peoplesuffering at the hands of their enemies, who are also God’s enemies. But now we see a nation suffering, and it turns out that their own God has done this to them. The God who fed his people with manna and quail in the wilderness now feeds them with tears. Why?

Back in Deuteronomy, when the people God had rescued from slavery stood on the brink of the promised land, Moses reminded them of the covenant God had made with them, and the blessings that they would enjoy ifthey remained faithful to him. But he also warned them of the curses that would come if they turned away. They would lose their land and suffer at the hands oftheir enemies ... exactly the situation that this Psalm describes. Deuteronomy 29:25-26 tells us that when the nations see this they will ask 'Why this burning anger?'and the answer will be 'because the people abandoned the covenant of the Lord ... and worshipped other gods.'

We live under a new covenant. Not all of our presentsuffering is the result of our personal sin. The curse we deserve been taken by Jesus at the cross. Will that make us care less about our sin than the psalmist did? Or will our gratitude for our salvation be an even more powerfulmotivation to trust and obey our gracious and merciful God? Let’s pray today that it would be.

Psalm 80:3

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

This verse is like the chorus of the psalm, repeated between each section. So, we'll come back to it a few times, and consider something different each time we read it. Today, we'll focus on the idea of God's faceshining on us.

Do you remember 'The blessing' - an online music video which was widely circulated during Covid lockdown in the spring of 2020? It's a song, recorded by different Christians, beautifully edited together to show the unityand hope that we all share because of Jesus. Some of the words come from Numbers 6, when God tells Moses how the priests should bless the people of Israel: "The Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace."

That's the blessing that the psalmist asks for here. Helongs for God to smile on his people again. I love how personal this image is.

Back in Numbers this blessing comes in the middle of a long list of instructions about how the people are to approach God, and the offerings they should bring. It would have been easy for them to get so caught up in the instructions that they started to think that their relationship with God was purely transactional, like the currency exchange window at the Post Office. 'I bring my offering to God and swap it for his favour and forgiveness'. Entirely forgetting that all the offerings take place in the context of a personal covenant in which God has become their God and they have become his people.

It's the same for us. We rejoice in 'the swap' of the cross,by which Jesus' death brings us forgiveness. But it isn't an impersonal transaction. Rather, it's the doorway to a personal relationship with God. Apart from Jesus, God's face would be turned away from us in judgement. Because of Jesus, God's face is turned towards us in love and blessing. His face shines on us, and we get to live in that light. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:2

shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.

The way that we describe a place or person often focusses attention on one particular aspect of their character or history. When we read about 'the Britain of Shakespeare and Dickens' we know that the writer wants us to be thinking about our literary heritage. But if we read 'the Britain of Stephenson and Brunel' then the focus isn't on literature, but on engineering.

In this psalm, as we've come to expect in the psalms, thepsalmist responds to great sufferings by crying out to God. But he doesn't just appeal to 'God Almighty'. Instead, he describes God by his relationship to some famous names from history. What it is about God that he is remembering and wants us to focus on, by using that particular description?

To understand that, we need to know who these peopleare! In v.1 God is the shepherd of Israel which is another name for Jacob, the father of Joseph. Ephraim and Manasseh were two of Joseph's sons and Benjamin was Joseph's brother. Why name them particularly? I wonder if it's because the psalmist is remembering how God's might saved Joseph from trouble. Sold into slavery. Wrongly imprisoned. Forgotten by his friends.Joseph knew what it was like to suffer and feel abandoned, just like the psalmist.

But God rescued Joseph, raised him to an exalted position, and blessed him with sons – including Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. But they were not just individuals. They gave their names to three of the twelve tribesof the nation of Israel. What God did individually for Joseph, he repeated time and time again for that whole nation throughout the Old Testament. He awakenedhis might to come and save them. And so the palmist can cry out to God with confidence when he suffers. He knows that his God is a rescuing God who does not abandon his people.

What was true in the past for Joseph, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh was true for the psalmist hundreds of years later and is true for us today. Whatever our struggle or suffering or difficulty, God can be relied onto hear and help his people. Let's cry out to him for the help we need today.

Psalm 80:1

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

Those of you who are as old as I am might remember 'The West Wing' - a TV series from 20 years ago about a fictional President of the United States and his staff team. One of the things I loved about it was the way wesaw the President 'behind the scenes' in his domestic life. One minute he is in the Oval Office, on the phone to another world leader, exerting all his power and influence as the head of a great superpower. The next minute, he's eating chilli at home with his teenage daughter. Sometimes it's hard for his daughter to understand his exalted position - to her, he's just 'Dad'. Both scenes are atrue and accurate reflection of who he is, all the time, even though they seem so different.

Yesterday we were reminded that God is our shepherd. But in fact, that's only half of verse 1! Here in the second half we have another description of him. It might seem very different from the comforting, personal, gentle picture of a shepherd, but both pictures are 100% true of God, all of the time.

Here we see that God is the one 'enthroned between thecherubim'. That is, he is the holy and exalted God who is continually worshipped by heavenly beings who we struggle to even imagine. He is both right with us, to lead and protect AND exalted and glorious, deserving of all praise and worship, so awesome and holy that we sinners ought not to be able to come anywhere near him.

Perhaps it is because we find this so hard to imagine thatback in Exodus, God commanded Moses to make the ark of the covenant, to be kept in the tabernacle (and later, in the temple) as a picture of both God's presence and his inaccessibility to sinners. The ark was covered in gold, andhad golden cherubim attached to its top with their wings outstretched. The ark was kept behind a curtain, accessible only to the High Priest under very particular circumstances. Between these wings was the place where God symbolically dwelled - right in the middle of his people, yet unapproachably holy.

The fact that God is our shepherd is wonderfully comforting, but we should never think that he is ONLY that. He is, always, also the one who dwells in unapproachable light and holiness, awesome ruler over all things. Mighty, righteous, majestic and good beyond anything we can properly imagine. Enthroned between the cherubim. Let's worship him for that today.

Psalm 80:1a

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.

Today we're starting Psalm 80. Although we're not toldexactly when and why it was written, if you read through the whole psalm it seems that God's people are suffering under God's discipline, so it could well have been written hundreds of years after David's time, when the nation ofIsrael had been invaded and taken into captivity by her enemies.

In the midst of this difficult situation, the psalmist criesout to God, confident that God is still 'the shepherd of Israel'. 'Shepherd' is such a powerful picture of whatGod is like that he doesn't need to go into details to spell it out. Even 21st century city-dwellers recognise that a shepherd is someone who leads, protects and provides for his sheep. He commits himself to their well-being. There is a relationship between the shepherd and his flock - the shepherd doesn't wander around looking for any old sheep to feed. He cares for HIS sheep. They belongto him and with him.

This picture of God as a shepherd appears in various places in the Old Testament. Back in Genesis 48, Joseph himself says 'God has been my shepherd all my life to this day.' So, when Jesus arrives on the scene and announces in John 10 'I am the good shepherd' it's not just that 'shepherd' happens to be a good description of his life andministry and self-giving death. He's deliberately describing himself using a very familiar picture of God's relationship with his people.

So today, let's thank and praise God that he is the one who leads, guides, protects and provides for us, his people. And let's thank him especially for sending Jesus to be the good shepherd who laid down his life forus, his sheep.

Psalm 33:22

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

This verse echoes verse 18 in making a connection betweenour hope and God's unfailing love. We can be confident that God will rescue and deliver us because he loves us with an unfailing love - he doesn't get bored of us, or give up on us, or encounter obstacles which prevent him doing the good he wants to do for us.

But there's also a difference between these verses. V.18 isa statement of fact. 'The eyes of the Lord are on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.' V.22 is a prayer 'Mayyour unfailing love be with us, even as we put our hope in you.'

Why does the psalmist bother asking for what he alreadyknows is true? I think it's because he wants it to be true of HIM. He's making it personal. It's one thing to acknowledge that the only secure thing to hope in is God's unfailing love. But to pray that this would actually be MY only hope, our only hope, goes further. To know that God is gracious, or patient, or forgiving is wonderful in theory. But it doesn't actually change my life unlesshe is gracious towards me, patient with me, forgiving of me.

That's where prayer comes in. Prayer is taking God's character and promises - the things he is and does - and asking that they would be true for us. Making them personal. Taking hold of them to bring them into our own, everyday lives. That's why we pray for things that are already true. We ask God to be gracious towards us, not because he isn't gracious already, but because we know that he IS gracious, and we want to experience more of it for ourselves.

Of course, we can ask for other things as well, when we pray- for better sleep, success at work, improved health, an end to coronavirus. But those are a different kind of request. Then, we're asking that God would make something true that isn't true yet. Which he can do. And he will do, at the right time, if it is for our good and his glory. It's right to ask him about these things that concern us, but prayers like that will always be provisional ... 'if it is your will, please would you ...'

What a shame, then, if those requests become the only thingswe ever ask God for. Why would we not want to especially ask for things that we know are guaranteed? To pray, as the psalmist does here, for things that are already true to be true for us. Perhaps we think it's pointless - why ask for what God is already doing anyway? Because we're making it personal. Prayer isn't about getting God to do something he wouldn't otherwise have done. It's about developing our relationship with him. About taking what we know to be true about him in general, and holding onto it firmly for ourselves.

So, let's pray today that what we see of God in this psalm - his unfailing love, his vigilant care and rescue of his people - would be true for us, and that we would increasingly put our hope in him.

Psalm 33:21

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

How does the idea of ‘trusting God’ make you feel? Totallysecure, in the arms of an all-powerful, all-loving heavenly Father? Or dangerously at sea, all out of your own ideas and resources, and forced to reluctantly fall back on Plan B, at least until you can get Plan A up and running again?

I have to admit, sometimes ‘trusting God’ feels more like anegative, rather than a positive. When our situation is hard we may say, through clenched teeth, “I suppose I just need to trust God more.” But what we really want is for things to be easier,for the pain to go away, for life to go back to ‘how it ought to be’, so that we don’t have to trust God quite so desperately.

That’s not what the psalmist has in mind when he thinksabout trusting God. The psalmist’s experience of trust isn’t a grim, clenched-teeth, last-resort thing. It’s joyful. God’s people’s hearts rejoice because they trust in God. Why is that? It’s because of what they know about God – his name, in other words his character.

As we’ve seen from this psalm, our God is faithful, righteous, just, loving and awesomely powerful. So, to trust in this God is toput ourselves utterly in the hands of one who is totally committed to doing what is good and right. However hard our situation, we have no need to fear the outcome with a God like this in charge. Trusting him is the first and best choice we can make, not a reluctant fall-back plan when all else fails.

Let’s praise God for his holy name and righteous character,which make trusting in him such a blessing. And let’s ask him to deepen and strengthen our trust in him, so that our hearts might rejoice in him more and more.

Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

What are you waiting for today? The sun to come back out? Adelivery to arrive? A child to grow out of a particularly frustrating stage of development? We do a lot of waiting. Yet we're not always very good at it. So often, waiting feels frustrating to us. We think it is time wasted. Wouldn't it be better if what we wanted came sooner?

Waiting is a common theme in the Bible - God's people are awaiting, hoping people. Why? Because God is a promise-making, promise-keeping God.

If God just did everything immediately, we would never needto wait. Think back over the stories of the Old Testament. If God had rescued the Israelites from slavery straight away, and deposited them directly in the promised land, it would have saved a whole lot of time and waiting and difficulty - no plagues in Egypt, no Passover, no wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. But then, why wait till they were slaves? Couldn't he haverescued them BEFORE things got tough? In fact ... why bother with sending them into Egypt at all? Why not just establishAbraham in the Promised Land back in Genesis 12? Wouldn't that have been so much better? Instead, God made a promise to Abraham that he, and the generations after him, had to wait hundreds of years to see fulfilled. Why? In the same way, we might ask 'Why can't we just have heaven now? Why all thewaiting?' Well - we're not told directly, so it would be both foolish and arrogant to think that we know God's thinking when he hasn't told us. But I think at least one little bit of the answer is to do with God making and keeping promises.

God's priority in all his dealings with us is relationship. He's not primarily interested in accomplishing a particular end result in themost efficient way. He's primarily committed to being in loving relationship with his people, and to enabling us to be in loving relationship with him. Which means that he wants us to know him. To see his character at work and grow in our understanding of what he is like. We only know that God is a faithful, promise-keeping God because we see him make promises and then keep them, even in the face of significant obstacles. We only know how committed he is to us, his people, because we have a whole Bible full of examples of God working to fulfil his purposes, sometimes over generations. If God accomplishedeverything instantly, how would we ever know anything about his faithfulness, his patience, his unfailing love?

It is for our good, and God's glory, that we get to see him make promises and then keep them. But that requires waiting. There's got to be a gap between the promise and its fulfilment. The longer the gap, the more clearly we see his faithfulness. So, there has to be waiting. But there is also hope. Because the fulfilment ALWAYS comes. Perhaps not as soon as we would have chosen. But always at the right time, according to God's perfect wisdom.

Let's praise God for that today, and ask for his help to be a people who wait in hope.

Psalm 33:18-19

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Yesterday we reflected on the way that we often findourselves putting our confidence and hope in things that are not God. Yet none of those things can save us. 'But' says v.18, there is one who can deliver us. There is one who does live up to the hope we put in him.

The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him. It's an echo of v.13 - God watches us from heaven. Not, as we said then, likesomeone slumped, bored, in front of the TV or a security guard waiting for us to step out of line. Here we see what God's watching IS like ... it's the close attention of the poolside lifeguard who never takes their eyes off the swimmers, ready to jump in and rescue them the moment they are in danger.

God delivers us from death. Yet, we know, each one of uswill one day die. How can the psalmist promise that God's people will be kept alive in famine, when around the world we see so many - including Christians - who do die of starvation? Again, we need to remember that the psalmist is writing under the terms of the Old Covenant, where material prosperity was used as a picture of God's blessings. Under that covenant, material suffering - illness, famine, war etc. – was the consequencefacing those who turned away from God. So I think that 'keeping them alive in famine' is a way of saying that God's people won't suffer the same judgement that awaits God's enemies. Those who put their hope in God are delivered from the curse and punishment which they deserved for their sins and instead get toenjoy God's blessings, because of his mercy and unfailing love.

Living under the New Covenant, our blessings are primarilyspiritual. So, we will one day die, but we will be delivered through death into eternal life with God. We may even physically starve in this life, but we will never be without Jesus - the bread of life - who sustains us spiritually now and with whom we will feast forever in the new creation.

None of the 'God-substitutes' that we thought about yesterdaycan do that. God alone can preserve us in this life until the day he decides to take us to be with him. God alone can deliver us through death into eternal life. He is the only one who is truly worth hoping in.

Let's praise him for delivering us from death, through thedeath of Jesus in our place. And let's ask for his help to keep us trusting and hoping in him alone, whether we live in times of plenty, or times of famine, or anything in between.

Psalm 33:16-17

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;despite all its great strength it cannot save.

Where is your confidence? What do you rely on to make everything alright? None of us has an army. I doubt that many of us even have a horse! And if we did, we probably wouldn't be relying on it for our safety. But we all have something that acts as our comfort blanket. Something that we trust in. As long as I've got .... then everything will be OK. For some it's money in the bank. Or success at work. Or having the house just right. For some it's another person, perhaps a parent, or a husband, or even children - it's their job to make us feel safe and secure. Providing they do what we need them to, everything's OK. Some of ustrust in ourselves - maybe in our physical beauty, our intellect, or a particular skill or talent. What is it for you?

Whatever it is, if it's anything other than God, it won't actually save us. It can't deliver us from danger. It can't live up to the hopethat we're putting in it. These things aren't rubbish - money in the bank DOES make life easier. Other people ARE a source of real comfort and help. An army IS powerful. A horse IS strong. Any of these things can be great blessings from God, to be received with thankfulness. But they cannot save. They may be useful in life, but they can't protect us from death. They may shield us from some of the effects of suffering in this world, but they can't offer us a place in a better world.

In our family bible times at the moment we're reading the book of Daniel. We've seen how King Nebuchadnezzer, ruler of the Babylonian Empire - the great superpower of the time - lost all his mighty power and lived for a time like a wild animal, because he trusted in his own greatness instead of being humble before God. He had money, armies, horses, power and achievement far beyond anything we can even imagine. But in the end they did him no good at all. In fact, they were actually bad for him - they fooled him into thinking he didn't need God.

As we'll see tomorrow, God alone is our strength and hope and rescuer. So let's repent today of putting too much of our confidence in the wrong places, and ask God to teach us to accept his good gifts with humble thankfulness, instead of using them as God-substitutes in our lives.

Psalm 33:13-15

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling-place he watches all who live on earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

During the Covid-19 lockdown it occurred to me just how easy it is to assume that something is pointless if no-one else ever sees it. Why bother doing the washing up/cleaning the flat/getting dressed in the morning, if no-one else is even going to notice? When we were largely confined to the house, I found myself wearing things that were previously banished to the back of the wardrobe 'because no-one (outside the family) is going to see me today'!

Yet these verses remind us that there IS someone who sees us, even when we feel invisible to the rest of the world. Someone who notices everything that we think has gone unnoticed.

I wonder how you feel about that? Is it an encouragement,that you are not forgotten? Or is it a guilt-inducing rebuke, reminding you of everything you do, say and think that you'd prefer was unseen? How we feel about these verses probably depends on the mental picture that we have of God. Is he the bored TV-watcher, seeing everything but distant from it all, totally unengaged and unconcerned about what is going on? Or is he the security guard, sat in front of a panel of CCTV screens, constantly on the lookout for evidence of wrongdoing? No! Remember verse 5 ... God is full of unfailing love. Remember verse 12 ... God's people are blessed to have been chosen by him. As he watches us from heaven, he does so as a father who cares for us. Yes, he sees our sin - even the sins of our thoughts and attitudes that we manage to hide from everyone else. But our response to his gaze needn't be to try and bury those things deeper, or hide from him in despair. Instead, we can confess our sins, confident of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. And we can ask the one who forms our hearts to be at work, remaking our hearts and minds, our attitudes and actions, so that we become more like Jesus. Not just smartening us up on the outside, where others can see it, but transforming us deep within.

Let's praise God today that his all-seeing eye is not a threat to hide from, but a wonderful reminder of his grace. And let's confess to him the sins that he already sees, thankful for the death of Jesus that brings us forgiveness.

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

So far in this Psalm we have been reminded of many wonderfulthings about God. He is faithful, righteous, just and endlessly loving. His word is true and right and powerful enough to bring all creation into being. His plans stand firm, his purposes alone will last for ever. No wonder the psalmist thinks we should praise this Lord! Who wouldn't want to know and worship and obey a God like that? We can see why a people whose God is this Godare blessed!

In the psalmist's time, to belong to God's people was to bepart of the nation of Israel. Even then, 'outsiders' were welcome to become part of God's people. Think of Rahab, in the time when Joshua led Israel to take possession of Jericho. Or Ruth, originally from Moab, who takes the God of Israel as her God. The Old Covenant blessings were expressed materially in terms the Promised Land, an actual place with physical borders, and so God's people were identifiable as a specific nation. To become a follower of God meant 'opting in' to being part of Israel, and physically coming to live there. But now we live under the New Covenant, brought about by the death of Jesus. Our blessings are primarily spiritual. Our 'promised land' is heaven. And so we are no longer constrained by geography. Revelation tells us that God's people are made up of those from EVERY tribe andtongue and language and nation.

God's people are no longer confined to one single nation. But v.12 remains true: Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Blessed are we who belong to him, because of Jesus. He chose us before the creation of the world to be his inheritance. His righteousness and faithfulness and love are directed towards US. His true words are spoken to US. His sure plans and purposes are good for US.

Whatever our particular circumstances today, we are stillblessed beyond anything we deserve, if we can say that the God so wonderfully described in this Psalm is OUR God and we are his children. Wherever we were born, whatever our background or language or skin colour or passport. We now belong, securely and forever, to the people of God. Let's praise him for that today.

Psalm 33:10-11

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Whose plans dominate your life? Yours? Or God's? That’s anawkward question, isn't it? We know what the 'right' answer is! We should be people who live to serve God's purposes. In our best moments, we WANT to be like that. To be able to pray 'Your will be done' and really mean it. But often, for me at least, it's MY plans that dominate my mind. We can tell when we're thinking this way by the things we ask for when we pray. 'Lord, pleasebless what I'm about to do, please take away the obstacles to my success, please remove this irritating situation which is getting in the way of what I want' without ever asking 'Lord, what is it that YOU want to accomplish in and through me today?'

So v.10 is uncomfortable ... What if I don't want a God whois going to foil my plans and thwart my purposes?! That's why we're reading verses 10 and 11 together. v.11 reminds us that only God's purposes are secure. Even if we get our own way, and our plans work out, they won't last. We are limited, finite creatures, and nothing we do really endures. I think that's why we're so fascinated by really old things, that have endured through generations - because it's so incredibly rare for human achievements to last that long. Only God can do anything that will last throughout every generation to come. Only his plans will outlast the end of this world and live on into eternity. Even the oldest human monuments and achievements will be swept away when this earth is destroyed. But God's plans stand firm for ever.

Looked at from that perspective, my obsession with my plansis ridiculous. Who am I to expect that God exists to serve my purposes? To make my agenda run more smoothly? How completely inappropriate to imagine that his divine power and wisdom would be best used in accomplishing my fleeting andoften foolish goals! It is a wonderful truth that God DOES care about the detailed circumstances of our lives. We can bring to him all our needs and concerns. But that doesn't mean that it's his job to serve our plans. Rather, it's an amazing privilege that - somehow - all the details of our lives are woven into HIS plans. We get to do and say things each day that form part of his lasting purposes. When we glorify and worship God, when we obey him, when we share the gospel with someone, when we co-operate with the Spirit to put sin to death in our lives and become more like Jesus, we are taking part in something that really does last forever.

Let's praise God that his plans and purposes endure. Andlet's ask for his help to commit ourselves to his plans rather than our own. 'Your will be done, in my life, and throughout the earth, as it is in heaven.' Amen!

Psalm 33:9

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Already in this Psalm we have reflected on the fact thatwhen God speaks, things happen. God says 'Stars!' and whole galaxies of them appear. His word is powerful not only in creation, but in the new creation that comes through the word of the gospel. God says 'Live!' and spiritually dead sinners are brought to life, as righteous children in God's family.

We've already acknowledged that God's words have a powerthat our words can never have. His words are always effective. But in this verse we see another important difference between his words and ours. What God commands stands firm for as long as he intends. Our words, even when they work, wear off. How many times have we had to say the same thing to someone over andover again? There are people I've known for years, who don't drink tea or coffee, who I still offer hot drinks to automatically. No matter how many times they tell me that they only want coldwater, they still have to say it again next time they visit. Their words don't last.

But God's word endures for ever. What he says stands firm.He doesn't need to recreate the stars every night - they remain. Which is good news for us, if we have been called into new life through the death of Jesus. The word that brought us spiritual life never wears off. It doesn't have an expiry date. All God's promises to us last for ever. Let's praise and thank him for the assurance that gives us today.

Psalm 33:8

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

Verses 6 & 7 have reminded us of God's mighty power increation. As we reflect on the immensity of the galaxy, and the power of the oceans, it is right that we feel small. The sheer scale of creation reminds each of us that we're not actually the centre of the universe. But we can't stop there. The purpose of creation is to declare God's glory. It exists not simply to make us feel small but to remind us that God is great. Nature may be awe-inspiring, but it's not nature itself we should be awed by, but God.

And so the right response, as we gaze at the stars, or contemplate the sea, is to revere the Lord. To fear God. If we are trusting in Jesus, that fear is not the terror of an unforgiven sinner facing judgement. Rather, it is the reverence due to a holy God who has - extraordinarily - chosen to make us his children, at the cost of his only son.

Do you ever think that, because we get to call God 'Dad', wedon't really need to revere him? I often think that way, but I'm realising that I shouldn't. As we look at the cross, don't we see that God is MORE awesome than we realised, not less? More holy, more loving, more righteous. We who are his children get to know him far better than the non-Christian who has neveropened a Bible. Wouldn't we expect that growing knowledge to make us more in awe of him, rather than less? In fact, Proverbs tells us that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge'. Refusing to rightly fear him is foolishness.

So let's pray today that we would grow in our reverence for God, and live as those who rightly fear and honour him.

Psalm 33:7

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

One of the things that we really missed, as a family, duringlockdown, was the sea. Usually in the Spring we'd have at least a couple of day trips to the coast, to sit on the beach and look out at the sea. Huge and wide, stretching away as far as the horizon. Perhaps because we don't have enormous mountains in this part of the world, the sea gives us a rare glimpse of perspective.It is vast and we are very small. Our girls have been taught from an early age that, even though it is beautiful, the sea is a potential danger, a powerful force to be treated carefully. 'Respectthe water' as the RNLI slogan says. We only need to think of the destruction caused by a tsunami to realise that the sea is powerful beyond anything that we could ever hope to control.

The Bible talks about the sea in that way, too. Often, the sea is a picture of chaotic forces, filled with enormous and potentiallydestructive creatures. That's why Revelation tells us that in the new creation there is no longer any sea. It's not that God is depriving us of the joy of a day on the beach. Rather, it's anexpression of safety - the dangerous forces of uncontrolled waters will no longer be a threat to us, as they are now.

If we read verse 7 imagining a calm tide, gently lapping atour feet then it will sound quite poetic, but also a bit pointless. But as we read it, consider the sea as it really is - vaster than we can properly imagine, full of energy with the potential to overwhelm the land, destroying everything in its path. Now we're glad that there is an Almighty God who put the waters in their appointed places back in Gen 1, and who keeps them there.Let's praise him for his power over all created forces, today. And thank him for sending Jesus - who could still a raging sea with a word - so that we will one day enjoy complete and permanent safety with him forever.

Psalm 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

One day last summer, we had a picnic outside, which wasbriefly interrupted by a stranger's over-enthusiastic Labrador. It took the owner several attempts to get the dog to return to them. Our sausage rolls were apparently more compelling than the owner's voice. Any of us who've tried to control a hungry dog, or a small child, will know that our words are - at best - only sometimes effective.

But God's word is always effective. We saw in v.4 that whathe says is true. In fact, what God says MAKES something true. All was utterly dark until God said 'Let there be light' and suddenly 'it is light' was true, and 'it is dark' wasn't. God simply spoke, and whole galaxies of stars appeared. God's words have power and authority unlike anything else.

Even more amazingly, this word is personal. John 1 tells usthat 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.' Jesus himself is 'the word' of God. He is the one by whom and for whom everything was made, even the stars. If you're wondering 'How exactly is it that God's word, which he speaks, can also be a person?' .... Well, me too! But our wondering needn't be the kind that makes us give up thinking, because it's too confusing! Instead, let it be the kind of wonder that fills us with awe, and leads us to worship Jesus - the onewho made all things and who is so great that he simply breathes out a cosmos whose edges we are nowhere near discovering. Let's praise and worship him, today.

Psalm 33:5

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

What is your world full of right now? Uncertainty? Exhaustion?Frustration? Joy? Sunshine? Rest? What is the whole world full of right now? Covid-19? Fear? Acts of kindness, even heroism? All those things may be true, and you could think of many others.

But let's not forget, the whole world is ALSO full of God'sunfailing love. The Hebrew word is 'hesed' and it's a really common Bible word, variously translated as 'love', 'kindness', 'goodness' and 'mercy'. If you know the Jesus Storybook Bible, you'll be familiar with Sally Lloyd-Jones' wonderful phrase 'God's Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always andForever Love.' That's 'hesed'

It's not so much something God does (occasionally, when heremembers or it seems necessary). It's something God IS. All the time. He is completely full of goodness, kindness, mercy and unfailing love. God's love is so abundant that it overflows into the whole world. The earth is full of it. There's nowhere you can go to get away from it. Wherever you are, whatever happens toyou today, you are never out of reach of God's unfailing love. When your love for him or for others fails, his love for you doesn't.

Let's praise him for that today. And ask for his help to remember that whatever our lives are filled with right now, they are alsofilled with his unfailing love, goodness, mercy and kindness.

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

I don’t know what’s in the news today, as you listen tothis. But I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime this week there’s a headline about a celebrity caught doing something that doesn’t match their carefully-constructed image, or a politician acting in a way that doesn’t live up to their promises. We’re used to figures in public life not living up to their words. We may be frustrated and disappointed when it happens but we're rarely completely shocked. It's normal for public figures to sometimes say onething and do another. Or to say one thing in public and another in private.

It's normal, and not completely surprising, because we knowthat we do it too. None of us is consistently right and true in what we say. Even when we do our best to reject every kind of deception, and try to speak only truth, we can never be 100% right. We just don't know enough. Very often, we THINK we are right, but then more facts emerge and it turns out we're wrongafter all. Even the most trustworthy among us cannot claim that our every word is right and true.

But God can. He only ever thinks and speaks what is right.He knows all things. He alone never has to backtrack, because new evidence has emerged. He alone never has to apologise for jumping to a wrong conclusion.

His words are true. He himself IS truth. There is no deceitin him. He doesn't ever have to weigh up the different things he might say next, and decide whether he prefers to tell the truth or to lie. Every word God has ever spoken is 100% true. So true, that his word actually defines the way reality is.

And so he is faithful in all he does. He never has to changehis plans part-way through, because he discovers he was wrong. He never has to swerve off course, to cover up a mistake or avoid being caught in a lie. Everything he says is good and true, so hecan consistently do what he says he will do. He is faithful to all hispromises.

There is absolutely no-one else in the world of whom that istrue. The best and most honest person we know will never be always, completely right. We can't even consistently trust ourselves. But we can trust God. His words will never fail us. His actions will always be right. Let's praise him that he is right and true and faithful. And let's commit ourselves afresh to trustHIS words above anyone else's, even our own.

Psalm 33:2-3

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy.

Hands up anyone who's got their ten-stringed lyre out recently! I'm guessing that's none of us. I'd be surprised if we could evenmuster a harp. Shall we just skim over these verses, then, and move onto the next bit?!

Of course not! After all, as we saw yesterday, it is 'fitting' to praise God. He is praise-worthy, so of course we, his people, should praise him. We probably don't often say 'I haven't got a lyre, so Iwon't praise God.' Yet we might sometimes say something similar .... 'I don't really FEEL like praising God today. I haven't got the right emotions, so I won't praise God.' 'God really deserves me to spend half an hour praying and praising him and I've only got 2 minutes while I load the dishwasher. I haven't got the rightamount of time, so I won't praise God.' Yes, the psalmist tells us to sing 'skillfully' - God absolutely does deserve the best that we've got. It would be well worth looking for a way to find more than 2 minutes at some point if it’s in any way possible.

But better to give him the best of what we've actually got, rightnow, rather than do nothing because of what we haven't got. If I don't have the 'right' emotions, better to praise him that he still hears me when I sob, rather than say nothing to him until I feel better. If I don't have the right time, better to praise him in 2 minutes, with fingers covered in crumbs, than say nothing to him until I have an uninterrupted half hour. After all, when the joy comes, or the half hour comes, we can praise him AGAIN then! But in the meantime, let's praise the Lord with whatever we've got.

During lockdown, at 8pm every Thursday many peoplediscovered that you can make quite a lot of enthusiastic noise with a voice, your hands, and perhaps a saucepan and a wooden spoon. If we can muster a weekly outburst of praise for 1000s of NHS staff and carers, most of whom we've never met, why wouldn't we want to raise an equally enthusiastic shout to the God who made us, loves us, saved us and sustains us?

So, let's grab whatever comes to hand, whether it's an instrument or a Spotify account, a lone voice, or a family banging spoons onsaucepans, and use it to praise God today.

Psalm 33:1

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Sing! Praise God! Rejoice! We've read verses like this a lot over the past few weeks. Is itstarting to feel a little repetitive?! Perhaps it's not very surprising, since we are in the songbook of the Bible. We should expect songs of praise to God to be a big theme.

And it's certainly good for us to keep being reminded topraise him. The world is always telling us to do all kinds of things - buy this! watch that! take more exercise! seize the day! Billions of pounds are invested in capturing our attention, and then encouraging us to do something/buy something/be something. But there's no ad campaign for praising God. Unless you've been VERY deliberate about the settings on your phone, the chances are that you don't get many notifications during the day reminding you to rejoice in the Lord!

And so we need this psalm today, reminding us AGAIN topraise God. Why? Because it is 'fitting' for God's people to praise him. It's appropriate. It's what he deserves. It's the right thing for God's people to do. Today and every day.

But what if I don't feel like praising God? Isn't rejoicingsupposed to be emotional? Isn't it hypocritical to praise God when I don't feel like it?

On the days when we're asking those questions, I think wealso need to ask ourselves 'Is it fitting to praise God today?' 'Is itappropriate?' 'Is God praise-worthy today?' The answer to those questions is ALWAYS '100% Yes!'

Therefore we can still praise him. Not hypocritically, pretending to feel things that we don't feel. Rather, we can praise him honestly: 'Lord, everything feels terrible right now, but I praise you that you still hear me when I cry to you.' 'Father,your word tells me that you are good and that heaven is real. I honestly don't feel like that's true but I praise you that I once believed it. Please help me to believe it again.' And when we can'teven do that, then we can read a psalm of praise and tell God that that's what we wish we could say right now, and ask him to make us able to say it and mean it. Or we ask a friend to praise God for us, and to pray for us, and we simply say Amen. Because it is always fitting to praise God. Whatever our situation, he himself is always worthy of our praise. So let's praise him today. And let's pray for those we know who are finding it hard to praise, that God would enable them to praise him, too.

Psalm 5:12

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

How useful is "God's favour"? What difference does it make, knowing that the God who rules over all things welcomes you as a child instead of turning his back on you as a sinner? Why does it actually matter?

For many people, Christianity is irrelevant because they don't think they need God's favour. It’s a bit like a rainbow - very nice ifyou happen to like that sort of thing, a beautiful addition to life, hovering in the background. But not useful. Not necessary.

Perhaps "God's favour" mostly matters to you because it'll keep you out of hell and get you into heaven. It's a bit like aninsurance policy - you'll need it one day, so it's comforting to know that it's there, ready. But it doesn't do anything for you right now.

David knows that God's favour surrounds him like a shield.David knows what is like to face powerful enemies, intent on destroying him. David is a man who knows the value of a shield. If he likens God's favour to a shield, he must think it is important, something we truly need. Not a rainbow, mildly improving the look of our life, but something actually useful. Not an insurance policy, tucked away in a back pocket for when we die, but something for now.

Reading back through the whole Psalm we see the differencethat God's favour makes to David's life in practice. He can speak to God and God will listen (v1-3). He is welcome in God's presence, to worship him (v7). God leads him in the straight way of righteousness and truth (v8). God is his protection and refuge, so that he can rejoice (v11). God has blessed us with his favour. He has made us righteous. And so today is different. God hears me when I speak. He welcomes me when I am lonely or afraid, or conscious of my sin. He leads me when I am confused or weary and wanting to give up. He gives me reasons to rejoice in him. Surely nothing is more useful, more precious, more a reason for thankfulness, than God's favour? Let's thank him for it, and enjoy it, today.

Psalm 5:11

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Here we get to the 5th and final type of prayer in thisPsalm ... praise/rejoicing.

Joy is in short supply in our house this morning. Between usall we are variously ill, tired, grumpy, missing people who we can't see, frustrated by the ones we can see, bored, busy yet achieving nothing significant, and disappointed - with ourselves, each other and our circumstances. Rejoice David? Really? I don't think so! Not today.

I'm probably being melodramatic, but I'm reminded of theIsraelites in exile: "how can we sing the songs of God in a strangeland?" (Psalm 137). How can we rejoice when people are dying, the country is crumbling, we can't hug our parents, we can't plan ahead ...? How can I rejoice when I'm finding out that I'm so much less godly under pressure than I wanted to believe I would be.

No. We can't rejoice in our situation right now. Or in ourability to handle it well. Or even in the hope of everything going back to normal any time soon. But David doesn't expect us to. He knows that the ones who 'ever' sing for joy - those who can be joyful no matter what - are those who take refuge in God. Our rejoicing is not in our circumstances or in ourselves but in God himself.

There isn't a whole load of joy in our house this morning. But there is abundant joy to be found in the Lord. Boundless love, to meet our loneliness. Endless grace, sufficient for all our failures. Solid truth, to ground us when we're tempted to despair. All these, and so much more, are ours in him. I think I can rejoice in that, even today. I WILL rejoice in him, even today. Will you?

Psalm 5:10

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish no them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

So far in the psalm we've seen prayers of lament, requestand worship. All things that are probably quite common in our prayer life, too. But what on earth is this verse? David is praying for the judgement and banishment of his enemies - we probably don't even know what to call that! (I had to look it up. The technical term is 'imprecation' - calling down a curse/judgement on someone). Isn't that a bit, well, judgemental? Who isDavid to decide who should be banished from God's presence? Isn't he being just as bloodthirsty as they are? But lookcarefully - David isn't asking God to take revenge on these people just because they've attacked David. He's not asking God to take sides in a personal disagreement. These people are God'senemies. And so he asks for God's righteous judgement to take effect in their lives. Do we care enough about God'shonour to want to see his enemies held to account? Not simply because they make our lives miserable, but because we are loyal to our king and don't want to see rebellion against him go unchallenged.

Actually, we DO pray this, maybe more often than we realise.Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, in fact: 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done'. God's righteousness and holiness and majesty require that his enemies should be punished. Opposition to God should be stopped. Rebellion against him should be brought to an end. God wills that it will be. Sometimes that happens in small ways now, when the wicked are brought down by their own schemes, as David prays here. It will certainly happen on the final day of judgement, when all God's enemies will face justice. We should also pray that God would have mercy on them - as he has done on us - and change them from his enemies to his children before it's too late. As we'll see in tomorrow's verse, there is always the hope of salvation. But let's be those who share David's confidence that God always acts justly in judging his enemies. So we can pray along with him: Yourkingdom come. Your will be done.

Psalm 5:9

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Here David's attention returns to his enemies, who are clearlyboth wicked and dangerous. But what I find surprising is the weapons they are armed with. We might expect that enemies of a king would be notable for their violence and their weapons. And perhaps these men are the 'bloodthirsty' of verse 6, keen to attack him physically. But it seems that what David is mostconcerned about are their words. It is their throats and their tongues that do the damage. They are full of lies and cannot be trusted. Looking ahead to verse 10 we see that they are involved in 'intrigues' - presumably plotting to deceive David. Often we consider physical violence to be the greatest evil humankind commits, but reflecting on this verse we are reminded of the destructive power of words. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. The devil himself is described as 'the father of lies' - deception is his speciality. After all, if the truth of God's goodness andlove were clearly visible to all, and our minds were not deceived into believing lies, who would ever rebel against him? All sin grows out of the same lies that Adam and Eve believed in Eden - 'God doesn't really love me'. 'God just wants to deprive me of something good'. 'Surely I know better than God does what will make me happy'.

In contrast to the intrigue and deception of the enemies, the path that God leads David along is straight. We know that he is utterlytrustworthy. His words are always true. God never lies. What great comfort and reassurance that is for us as his people - surrounded as we are by the devil's deceptions, and living in a world where truth is often considered irrelevant.

Let's thank God that his words can be trusted, and pray thatwe will be people marked by a love of truth - that we will treasure his true words and be on our guard against being deceived by his enemies.

Psalm 5:8

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.

We saw yesterday that because of God's great love, David(and we) can safely come into God's presence to worship him. But that's not the end of the Psalm. We might think that being in God's presence was the end goal, the final climax of the story. And one day, it will be. When we are physically in his presence and see him face to face. But until then David isn't only on his knees in worship. He's also on his feet, walking in obedience.

God's righteousness, credited to us through the death ofJesus, is what enables us to come into God's presence to worship. But it is also what leads us, daily, as we live in this world. As we will see tomorrow, David's enemies surround him. Their words are untrustworthy. Following them leads to destruction. And so David asks God to lead him in righteousness. To direct himalong the straight path of godliness. David knows that God's direction is reliable. Walking in his way brings truth and life and safety. This isn't David's way, following David's choices, according to David's ideas of righteousness. It is God's way.

God's people are, and always have been, worshippers - thinkback to the Exodus. Why did Moses ask Pharaoh to 'let God's people go?' Not simply because they were slaves and wanted to be free. But 'so that we may worship the Lord'. But that worship has never been about getting away from real life to pray and praise him. As if only the monk or the reclusive hermit withno everyday responsibilities can worship 'properly'. Of course, we want to set aside time to focus exclusively on God. But we also worship as we walk. Just like David, we need God to lead us in his righteousness every waking moment. Every aspect of life, everything we do, every decision we make, is either about following his straight path, or turning aside to our ownway.

Let's pray that today we would be those who respond to God'sgreat love for us by both worshipping him and walking in the way he leads.

Psalm 5:7

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down towards your holy temple.

Even in the last few hours I've been reminded again that I'mmuch more of a sinner than I like to think, as I've seen the consequence of my anger, laziness and selfishness in the lives of those I'm supposed to love most. This verse is the encouragement I need today. Maybe you do, too. I can come into God's presence. Even though I sin. Even though I mess things up horribly. Not because I deserve God to accept me, but because of his greatlove.

David doesn't yet know how exactly this can happen. We wouldsay something like 'because Jesus took my sin when he died on the cross, I can be treated not as I deserve, but according to his righteous life.' David says the same thing, in less words: 'becauseof your great love'. God has chosen to transfer us out of the category of 'wicked people who are not welcome' and into the category of 'loved children who can share God's house.'

What is David's response to this great reversal? Worship.Number 3 on our list of different kinds of prayer that we see in this psalm. Simply bowing in reverence before God. Acknowledging that he is God and we are not.

Are you frustrated by your sin? Wondering how God wouldpossibly continue to put up with you? Or perhaps there's something else in your life that's causing you to question whether he really loves you - maybe the persistence of your sufferings? Or disappointment that life isn't turning out the way you wanted it to? Here's a verse to cling to. Yes, all those things aretrue and real and sometimes very painful, BUT they are not the whole story. They are not even the most important part of the story. This verse gives us the most important truth any of us could know today ... 'BUT (even in the face of sin or suffering or disappointment) I by your great love can come into yourhouse.'

Whatever else is true in our lives today, God's love for usis great, and he has made it possible for us to be with him. Let's join David in bowing down in reverence to worship God for his unimaginably great and gracious love.

Psalm 5:5-6

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The no bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

Yesterday, we read that 'evil people' are not welcome inGod's presence. But who does David mean? Did you assume that he was talking about you? Or were you pretty confident that he meant someone else? Our world assumes that most people are basically good. There might be a few 'evil people' but they're the extreme cases and it's always someone else, never me.

So, is David is just talking about them? Murderers, oppressive dictators, those who habitually hurt and destroy other people inparticularly brutal ways without any remorse? We might think that if we only read v.4, but today's verses rule it out. Yes, God hates the 'bloodthirsty' but he feels just the same about the liar. Top of his list of those who cannot stand in God's presence are 'thearrogant'. For me, these verses hit close to home. Pride and self-sufficiency come high on my personal list of besetting sins. Your sinful nature may invest its energies in some other way of rebelling against God. But one way or another, we all fall into the category of 'those who do wrong' (v5).

If we rejoice that God punishes wickedness, we must alsoconfess that he would be right to punish us. When we celebrate the fact that heaven will contain nothing evil, we must also admit that we deserve be excluded.

Each one of should be counted amongst the evil people ofv.4-6 but that's not the end of the story. God hates evildoers but he also loves his enemies. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s verse there is a way for us to escape his anger. So, we don't need todespair. But we DO need to acknowledge that we are those who do wrong. We do not love or worship God as he rightly deserves and we do not properly love those around us. Let's confess those things to God today. And if that honest confession of sin isn't part of our regular prayer life, let's ask for God's help to become those who are humble before him, instead of arrogant. The morewe honestly acknowledge our need of the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus, the greater our love and appreciation of him will become.

Psalm 5:4

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

Very often, we turn to the Psalms when we want comfort,reassurance and encouragement. We might, perhaps, come to think of the Psalms as the Bible equivalent of a fluffy blanket and a mug of hot chocolate - warm, soothing and restoring. Thank God that his word IS comforting and encouraging when we are in distress.

But that's not all it is. The whole Bible - Psalms included- speaks to us in many ways: comfort, reassurance, encouragement and hope, but also warning, instruction and rebuke. So, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when we read a verse like v.4. (Not to mention v5-6, when we hear that God'hates' and 'destroys'). It does feel slightly jarring. Haven't we just been revelling in Psalm 27 and the promise that God will never reject us? Haven't we just spent 3 verses of this Psalmenjoying the fact that God listens when we talk to him. How, then, can David suddenly say that some people are NOT welcome in God's presence? It'll take us all the way to v.8 to answerthat question, but for now just notice this: God is not pleased with wickedness. He does not welcome evil people. Heis not the fluffy old-man-on-a-cloud of popular imagination, smiling benignly on everyone and everything.

This may make us uncomfortable, but at the same time, it'sabsolutely what we want to be true! Do we want a God who turns a blind eye to evil? Do we want a God who smiles indulgently on those who hurt and abuse and destroy others? Do we want to spend eternity in a place where evil people are welcome, unchanged and unchallenged? No! Let's praise God today that he is altogether holy, righteous and good, recognising evil and opposing it with power and justice.

Psalm 5:3

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

How do you start your day? Perhaps you're woken by theurgent demands of a small child, and your first conscious thought comes much later on! But some of us wake up to the sound of our own thoughts, and have control over what happens next. What can't you start the day without? A shower? Coffee?The news? Checking your messages?

For David, his mornings aren't complete without speaking toGod. He begins his day by taking his requests to the only one who can really help. (You'll remember I said there were5 kinds of prayer in this Psalm ... #1 was lament #2 is request)

It's not primarily about the time of day when he prays.Rather, it's about priorities. Prayer takes first place on his To Do list. You might have to feed a baby or comfort a toddler in your first waking moments, but when you finally get to choose what to do with your attention, following David's example would mean choosing to pray. Perhaps your main Bible reading and prayer time comes later in the day – that’s fine! But starting our day byspeaking to God - however briefly - reminds us who has given us this day, and who we are living it for and with.

I remember reading once of a famous Christian (I have noidea who!) who used to wake up and pray something like "Hello Lord, what shall we do together today?" I imagine that's a prayer David could have prayed, too. He had that same confidence that God was with him each day, and would be at work in it. And so he could start each day laying his requests before God, trusting that God was listening and would answer in whatever way was best. David could go into his day expectant, looking out for the answers to prayer he knew would come. Probably not always exactly what he asked for or expected, but always for his good.

Let's ask God to help us to be people who can live that sameexpectant life, always on the lookout for answered prayers, because we have brought our requests to God and are trusting him to act in response.

Psalm 5:1-2

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cryfor help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

What's your prayer life like? What sort of prayers do youtend to pray? Psalm 5, which we're starting today, gives us a window into David's prayer life. We will see at least 5 'types' of prayer. They're not exhaustive - David prays other things,in other ways, in other Psalms. But hopefully what we read here will prompt us to think about how we pray, and to broaden our prayer life if we've got into something of a rut.

Psalm 5 begins with David asking God to hear him. We are sofamiliar with the idea of talking to God that we can easily lose the wonder at what a great privilege this is. I know I do. We are talking to God himself - the creator and sustainer of all things. The one whose greatness is beyond anything we can even imagine. We are asking for an audience with the King of the universe, the one who right now is directing every atom in accordance withhis plans, which extend from everlasting to everlasting. David says to THAT God and king 'listen to ME'. A tiny, weak fragile creature who can't even breathe for himself, apart from God's enabling.

It's no surprise that someone like him - like us - would NEED to pray, but it's an amazing surprise that God would hear and answer him - and us!

When we remember the privilege of prayer, we might thinkthat talking to a God this great requires special language, formal words and careful preparation. But v1 tells us it's not like that. David asks God to hear his 'lament'. Other translations say 'sighing' or 'groaning'. He doesn't come to God with a polished speech, designed to impress. He just cries out for help (v2).

So let's thank God again today for the privilege of speakingto him in prayer. And let’s pour out to him whatever is on our hearts ... all our sighing and groaning, our fears and longings, our frustrations and our joys, confident that he will hear us because we pray in the name of his son, our saviour, Jesus.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

How good are you at waiting? We've certainly had lots ofpractice lately. Waiting for lockdown to be over. Waiting in queues. Perhaps you're waiting for bad news ... illness of a loved one, loss of a job. Or maybe you get most frustrated by the shorter, everyday waits .... waiting for a child to go to sleep, waiting for the wi-fi to reconnect. Most of all, as Christians,we are waiting for the day when Jesus will come back and take us to be with him in glory.

But how are we waiting? Perhaps we wait with fear, dwellingon the worst case scenario, minds filled with all the things that could go wrong. Or perhaps we're confident that the future will be better than the present. We're just waiting for the baby tobe older, waiting for the new job, the new house, the new country, even, that will make everything alright. Waiting, discontentedly, for circumstances to change.

David knew what it was like to wait, too. Lots of this Psalm is in the future tense. 'When the wicked advance against me ... I will not fear' (v2-3). 'In the day of trouble he will keep me safe' (v5).

He isn't waiting primarily for things to get worse, or better. He is waiting for the Lord. It's not that God's not there in thepresent, and he's waiting for God to turn up and get involved. His relationship with God is present tense - God IS his light, salvation and stronghold right now.

Rather, I think, he's waiting to see what God will do next.He knows God has plans that aren't finished yet. God will always be at work, so he will spend his whole life looking to see what God is doing. Not waiting passively, sitting back and doing nothing. But waiting actively, trusting God, directing all his attention back to God every time it wanders, seeking him, singing to him, following him. All the active verbs we've seen throughout this Psalm.

Will we learn to wait like that? Not fearfully, or discontentedly, waiting for things to be different. But waiting with strengthened hearts because we KNOW that God is with us now and will be with us throughout all our tomorrows. Let's pray that God would teach us to wait like that.

Psalm 27:13

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Throughout this Psalm we have seen David's confidence inGod. Remember, he is in the midst of a 'day of trouble', facing hostile armies (v4) and enemies who seek to destroy him with false accusations (v12). Yet he knows he doesn't have to be afraid because God is his stronghold. He is sure that God is good, and so he is confident that he will continue to see evidenceof that goodness in his life. This isn't just a future hope for a better life after death. He will see God's goodness right here, right now, in the land of the living.

At the moment, some of us will be finding it hard to thinktoo much about the 'immediate' future. We know we have an ultimate future, with God in heaven, which we can be sure of. But we're very unsure about the bit between today and the final day, when we see Jesus face to face in glory. Will I make it through the next 24 hours without losing my temper with my children? Will we still be dealing with the effects of Covid-19 in 6 months’ time? In 2 years? In 5 years? The future has always been unknown, but now it really FEELS unknown.

Yet we can be confident of this ... we WILL see the goodnessof the Lord today, and tomorrow. Next week. This year. Next year. Every year for ever. I WILL see the goodness of the Lord. Let's thank him for that today, and if we're struggling to really believe it, ask him to grow our confidence and trust in his unending goodness towards us.

Psalm 27:12

Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

Do you know what it feels like to be the victim of maliciousaccusations? To be falsely accused of wrongdoing by someone else? Some of us may have had that experience. Many of us have probably done it to ourselves! "I'm so stupid. I always mess it up. I'm a terrible wife, a hopeless mother, a rubbish friend, an awful employee"

I don't mean the honest, accurate acknowledgement of oursin, that leads us to repentance. I mean the false view of ourselves as totally beyond help or hope, that leads us to despair.

The devil just loves malicious accusations - he's the expertfalse witness. Often his lies are directed against God ("He doesn't love you." "He only wants to make your miserable". "He's left you all alone."). But he's just as happy to accuse us: "You're such a sinner, God could never forgive you" "If your Christian friends knew what you were really like they'd be horrified", "The reason life's so hard is because you're such a rubbish Christian." His desire is not that we come to Jesus for help and mercy, but that we run away from him, ashamed.

When we hear those accusations, we need to remind ourselvesof the truth of verse 1: God is my salvation. He knows I am a sinner and has chosen to save me. My Christian friends are fellow-sinners, equally dependent on his mercy. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verses 4 & 5: Even the person whose heart is fixed on God faces suffering. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verse 10: God will always receive me. I never need to run away from him.

How can we be sure of these things? Because Jesus was handedover to the desire of his foes. False witnesses rose up against him, spouting malicious accusations. He bore it all, willingly, for us, taking our sin on himself and rescuing us from the devil's lies. Let's thank him for that today. And let's pray to we would recognise false accusations when we hear them, and reply to them with the truth.

Psalm 27:11

Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

In verse 10 we saw David's confidence that God will ALWAYSreceive him with open arms. Our world loves that kind of unconditional acceptance, doesn't it? Yet, the world assumes that unconditional welcome also means unconditional approval of whatever we want to and wherever we want go. The world's version of v.11 would say something like "Thank you that youwill look after me as I enjoy my freedom to do whatever I want" but that's not how David's mind works.

It's precisely because God welcomes and rescues him thatDavid wants to stay close to God. "Teach me YOUR way, Lord" he says. In other words, "I don't want to go everywhere and do everything. I only want to go where you are. I only want to do the things that please you. I don't want to live in the midst of your enemies, following their ways. I want to stick to the straight path of humble faith and obedience. I'm content to go wherever you lead me because I trust you. Even when your way is hard, pleasekeep leading me along it." That's how David's mind works. That's what his heart desires.

Let's pray today that God would change our minds and hearts,that we would want more and more to walk in his ways. And notice too that going God's way doesn't involve being given a map and left to get on with it. Instead, we ask him to lead us, and he does. He walks the path with us. Let's pray that each of uswould follow him today.

Psalm 27:10

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

In verse 9, David makes it clear that the worst thing thatcould ever happen in his life would be to lose his personal relationship with God. We rejoice in the fact that this can never happen to us, because of the death of Jesus, which makes us God's children.

Here in v. 10 we see that David has that same confidence even if his closest human relationship fails. Even if he loses his parents, he knows that his God will still be faithful.

Some of us know the pain of rejection or separation in ourhuman families, or other close relationships, when we lose someone who we thought would always be there for us. Perhaps they rejected us, or perhaps they were taken away by circumstances beyond their control. Or perhaps therelationship isn't over, but it is strained. There's something about us - perhaps our relationship with God, or something else - which they just can't accept. If we've experienced any of these things, we might be left longing for a better relationship, in which we will never feel abandoned. Or we might shrink back from trusting anyone in the future, knowing how much pain that would risk.

Whatever our experiences, the promise of this verse is truefor each one of us. God is 100% faithful. He will never reject any of his children. Nor can we be taken away from him by anything outside of his control. Whatever our circumstances today, he will receive us. Whether we are running into his open arms to share our joys, or crawling into his lap to sob out our sorrows, or shuffling slowly towards him, head down, burdened by our guilt, we are guaranteed a warm welcome.

Let's praise God together for his faithful, unchanging love,which guarantees that he will never shut us out of his presence. And let's make the most of that welcome by sharing with him honestly whatever is on our minds and in our hearts today.

Psalm 27:9

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour.

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you inlife?

David’s first priority is seeing God's face; that is,knowing him and being in close relationship with him. So it makes sense that the worst thing David could experience would be God turning his face away, and rejecting him.

At the cross, Jesus experienced something we as Christiansnever need to experience - his Father turned his face away from him. Jesus was rejected and forsaken when he took on our sin. Because he experienced that in our place we need never worry that God will reject us, if we are trusting in Jesus’ death. That is the most amazingly reassuring truth to cling to, perhapsespecially when life is hard and it sometimes feels as if God has turned his back on us for a while.

"What's the worst thing that could happen to you inlife?" Maybe your answer was something like 'having to live without God'. That would be the worst thing, if it could ever happen. Praise God that because of Jesus, it never will!

Or maybe you thought 'well, it isn't living without Godbecause that could never happen'. Thank God for the assurance he has given you, and pray that - familiar as this truth is - you would never take it for granted. Let's ask God to amaze us afresh at his gracious mercy shown to us in Jesus.

And if God was nowhere near your answer to that question,because so many other possible calamities filled your mind, you might want to ask him to give you more of David's perspective. Pray that he would change your heart, so that you would truly be able to say that your relationship with God, in which he will never turn you away, is the most precious thing you have.

Psalm 27:8

My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.

'Seek'. It's not a word we use much in everyday language, unlesswe have children young enough to play 'Hide & Seek', or we’re reading a Harry Potter book! Harry plays 'seeker' in the Quidditch team. Don't worry if you haven't got a clue what that means! Basically, the Seeker's job is to chase after, and catch, a small, flying golden ball, to secure victory for his team. In one particular game, Harry struggles through a storm to get hold of the precious ball. Despite serious opposition, discouragement and pain, he kept his eyes on the prize because it mattered so much to him.

I think that's a bit like David in this psalm. When he seeksGod's face he is focused, deliberate, and diligent. He doesn't want his eyes distracted by anything else. It's not the half-hearted looking of a small child who is meant to be finding their shoes, who instead wanders aimlessly from object to object as something new captures their attention. Rather, it's therelentless focus of a Quidditch seeker.

Why is David so focused? It's not because God is hidden andDavid needs to discover him. David already knows his God, personally. Remember back to verse 1 ... God is his light, salvation and stronghold. David knows that God is beautiful (v4) and merciful (v7). This isn't Hide & Seek, with God lurking in the shadows and David trying to catch him out when he doesn'twant to be found.

Instead, because David already knows God, he reminds himselfthat God is the most precious thing in his life. God is what David wants all his attention to be focused on. Otherwise, like us, he will be distracted by his everyday delights and troubles, and look elsewhere for the light, beauty, safety and salvation that only God can give.

Let's thank God today that he hasn't hidden himself from us,but instead sent Jesus so that we could see him and know him for ourselves. And let's pray that we would 'seek his face' daily, with the enthusiasm and focus of a Quidditch Seeker!

Psalm 27:7

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

Earlier in this Psalm we thought about how extraordinary itis that a sinful human could ask to come into God's presence and to see his face. In this verse we have an equally bold request: "God, listen to me, and answer me." Prayer is - or should be - an everyday experience for us. But when you think about it, it’s remarkable. A very small, very short-lived creature can address the sovereign creator of the universe and ask him tolisten to this tiny, weak little voice, asking for divine favour and help. No wonder God's mercy is in David's mind as he writes this verse. It is only because he is merciful and gracious that he allows us to speak to him, and is willing to hear us and answer our prayers.

So we need NEVER feel that we can't pray because of something in us or in our lives. Have you ever thought "I can't pray because I'm such a rubbish Christian God won't listen", "I can't ask God to help me because my situation is completely my own fault", "Ican't pray about this thing because it's not important enough for God to bother with"? As if God only hears our prayers the rest of the time because we are 'a good Christian' or because we'veearned a hearing, or because we're praying about something especially important that might change the world. We never deserve a hearing in the throne room of heaven, yet the king is our father, whose son himself taught us to pray as dependent children.

We can only ever pray on the basis of his mercy, which isconstant. So, let's bring our needs, our concerns, our joys and our struggles to God today, trusting that he will hear us because he is merciful.

Psalm 27:6

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

As David reflects on what it means for God to keep him safe,notice how his perspective changes. Even when he is in God's presence, he is still surrounded by enemies, but now he seemslifted up above them. None of his problems have gone away, but he can see them from a different angle. He is not disgraced or defeated by his enemies, but exalted over them. Even as he looks out across the surrounding army, he is shouting for joy.

But what is he shouting? The world tells us that what weneed in the face of problems is positive self-talk. "You've got this!You're amazing! You can do it!" And it's true that changing our thinking, changes our ability to handle stressful situations. But when David stands on his rock, he isn't shouting about his own power and strength and potential. He isn't singing songs about his own heroism and success. His joy is in the Lord. His songs are hymns of praise to the one who has rescued him.

Today, some of us may be feeling completely overwhelmed, outnumbered by our difficulties. We can't see anything to be joyful about. Let's remember that God is always praiseworthy - he is with us, he loves us, he has rescued us and will keep us safe with him forever. Rejoicing in those things won't take the problems away, but it will help us to see them in their right perspective.

Others of us may be feeling more secure. Maybe life isn’tideal, but we're muddling through OK. Our home life is stable, our finances are OK, our children are learning, our work in getting done, our world continues to turn. When we think about those things, whose praises are we singing? Is our song one that the world recognises and could sing along to? "How great amI! All praise to my planning, my diligence, my wisdom, my parenting, my superior coping skills!" Or are we singing a song that David would recognise and join in with? "How great is our God! All praise to his wisdom, his love, his grace, his mercy, his sustaining goodness!"

Let's choose to sing David’s song today.

Psalm 27:5

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

If you've been pondering yesterday's verse, you might stillbe wondering 'Really, David, how would being in God's house help, when you're supposed to be fighting your enemies?' Is it perhaps that the temple is a good, strong building to hide in during an invasion? Well, this verse tells us that'snot the case. The 'house of God' David is talking about turns out to be a tent!

After all, the first permanent temple was only built after David's death, by his son Solomon. The comfort David has from being in the house of the Lord didn't come from its building materials. He is secure in the tent because it is God's tent. He is safely perched 'high upon a rock' - and 'a rock' is a common description of God throughout the psalms. He wants to be in God's house becausethat is where God himself is. His confidence is not dependent on where he is, but on who is with him.

Let's give thanks today that we don't have to visit a special building to be with God. We are safe in his dwelling place right here, right now, because he lives in us by his Spirit. We could also pray especially for Christians we know who are facing particular dangers or difficulties right now. Let's pray that they would know the comfort and assurance that in their 'day of trouble', God is with them and they are secure in him.

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

What one thing do you most want from God today? Everyone inyour house to be cheerful? An uninterrupted night’s sleep? A calm mind that isn't whirling with anxiety?

In this verse we see the 'one thing' that David wants fromGod: to be where God is (dwell in his house) and to see him as he is (gaze upon his beauty). Really, David? You're facing a besieging army, and you want to sit around gazing at God all day?! Surely that's not going to help! It seems impractical and irrelevant, given the serious problems he faces. We might think he should be asking for something bigger - mighty deliverance from his enemies, perhaps?

Yet, there IS nothing bigger. This is the biggest, boldest,most audacious request a sinful man could ever make of a holy God. "I just want to be with you, Lord, even though you are so holy that no-one can stand in your presence and live. I just want to gaze on your beauty, even though it's so dazzling that even Moses was only allowed a glimpse of your back as you passedby."

It should be unthinkable – people like us, living with God. If the idea doesn’t shock us, it's only because we're so familiar with thegospel. What David wants is utterly impossible. Yet, because of the death of Jesus it IS possible. We will one day live where God is and see him as he is in all his glory. Even now, we know thatGod's Spirit lives with us, and we have - in his word - more than enough glimpses of his beauty to gaze on and treasure for a lifetime.

So, today, by all means ask God for sleep and peace and restand everything else that feels important. He is our heavenly father who wants us to bring all our needs and concerns to him. But let's also praise and thank him for the extraordinary gift of being able to live in his presence. And pray that he would change our hearts to be more like David's heart, so that we would recognise just how precious this gift is and would value it above every otherthing we will ever ask for.

Psalm 27:3

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

What an incredible thing to be able to say! And this isn'tjust extravagant language from David ... I doubt that any of us will ever face an army whose sole purpose is to destroy is. None of us will ever be the cause of an all-out war. But David is the King of Israel. The prospect of war or a military coup to overthrow him and put someone else on the throne, was very real. In fact, his own son tried to do it. David knew what it was like to facea threat in a way that we never will. Yet still, he was confident.

I love this verse because it shows us so clearly where hisconfidence lies, and where ours needs to be, too. He doesn't say 'I'm trusting God so I'm confident that there won't be a war.' I imagine he still prayed for peace, and that he hoped the army wouldn't besiege him. But peace and safety aren't what he trusts in. His confidence, and his ultimate hope are in God himself. He'll face a hostile army if he has to, knowing that God is his saviour and stronghold.

How would you express that confidence, in terms of your owncircumstances right now? "Though I am in lockdown, my heart will not fear; though I end up on a ventilator in intensive care, even then I will be confident." Or perhaps "though I am exhausted my heart will not fear; though I don't get an uninterrupted night’s sleep for months, even then I will be confident."

Perhaps you can't say that and really mean it. Very often, the Psalms give us actual words to pray to God. But they also give us a model of what trusting God looks like, to which we aspire. When the palmist's confidence is greater than ours, we needn’t despair. It's a reminder of the direction in which God is changing us. So, whether our confidence in God is strong or weak right now, let's ask him to work in our hearts, so that we would grow to trust him more.

Psalm 27:2

When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Do you ever look around at the world and wonder why, sooften, the bad guys win? Evil triumphs. The rich exploit the poor and no-one stops them. Christians die at the hands of their persecutors and there is no justice. We know it shouldn't be like that. The wicked should suffer. The oppressor should lose their power.

David is confident that this WILL happen - his enemies willbe defeated. They are God's enemies, and therefore they are destined to lose. Maybe now. Maybe not until later. But there will be a day when God’s enemies will be fully and finally overthrown. In the darkest moment of human history - as the son of God hung dying on a cross - it looked like evil had won. Yet that was the moment when the devil and all his forces were defeated. It was their very attack against God's king, trying to 'devour' and destroy him, that brought about their downfall.

The things that attack us today - death, suffering, sickness, sin - are all outworkings of that same wicked opposition to God. Soeven if they look and feel like they're winning right now, that isn'ttrue. Whatever advances against us today will ultimately 'stumble and fall'. One day, it will be dead and gone, powerless to attack us or frighten us any more. But we will still be standing, secure in the Lord who is our stronghold. Let's thank him for that greatassurance and ask for his help to really believe that this verse is as true for us today as it was for David when he wrote it.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Who are you afraid of? Who has the power to take away whatyou love, or withhold what you want? In this psalm, David is facing personal enemies who want to destroy him. Not many of us will have experienced that kind of targeted personal attack. (Although, sadly, some do face violence and hostility even within their own homes. In that situation it would be right toseek practical help and physical protection, as well as turning to God).

But perhaps the 'enemies' you fear right now are things rather than people ... sickness, financial pressures, not being able to cope with lockdown, losing things you've worked hard to achieve, missing out on whatever you 'should' have been doing right now. Maybe those things are happening to you already. Or maybe you're gripped by the fear that they might happen.

In the midst of significant danger, David reminds himself ofsomething wonderful. He is not alone. He is not dependent on his own resources, strength or power.

God is his light in the darkness of fear and uncertainty.God is his rescuer in the face of danger. God is his stronghold when he is weak and vulnerable. If those things are true, our dangers - whether real or imagined - no longer have the power to overcome us.

Who or what are you afraid of today? Talk to God about thosethings, be honest about your worries. And thank him that he is your light, your salvation and your stronghold. Ask him to help you to remember and really believe those things, whatever you are facing today.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16 ends with a focus on the life that awaits us withGod in heaven. Whilst there is joy in knowing God now, David's attention here is on our future joy, when we are eternally in his presence. As we saw yesterday, this Psalm is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who will sit at his father's right hand ruling forever in glory. But because we are united with him in his death and resurrection, we know that we will be there too.

Perhaps right now you're missing some of the earthly pleasures you've enjoyed in the past ... Visiting friends? Meals out? Walkingon the beach or in the countryside? Reflect for a moment on the idea of eternal pleasures. It's hard to imagine, but we are heading for a world of real, physical, tangible enjoyment so deep and rich that our best moments in this life don't even come close. Andthose joys are eternal. They will never be taken away from us. No crisis will ever invade heaven to separate us from one another or undermine our joy. And our greatest joy will be being with God himself.

That is the 'path of life' God has opened up for us ... To live now knowing God, trusting him, walking with him daily, each day bringing us one step closer to our joyful eternal destiny. Let's praise God for that certain hope, and ask him to keep us walking this path of life with our eyes fixed on him today.

Psalm 16:9-10

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

How glad are you feeling right now? Is 'rejoicing' on yourtongue? Or is your song today one of lament rather than praise? For some of us, lament is the right response to our current situation - grief, or significant suffering, or relentless exhaustion should prompt us to cry out to God and share our sorrows with him.

But however terrible our circumstances, there is one thing we CAN rejoice in today (which doesn't cancel out the sadness, but sits alongside it). We can all rejoice in the Resurrection.

David is writing hundreds of years before the first Easter.Yet, somehow, he knows that trust in God is not only for this life. He is certain that death will not be the end for him. Looking back, we can see clearly what David only partially glimpsed - this psalm find its fulfilment in Jesus, the truly 'faithful one' who God did not abandon to the grave but who rose victorious. If we are united to Jesus, we share not only in his death - so that our sins are paid for - but in his resurrection life. We will one day all die, but we will never be abandoned to the grave. Our death will be the doorwayinto resurrection life with God forever. That really is something worth rejoicing over, however difficult our circumstances. Let's thank God today for this great hope, and sing him a song of praise and rejoicing.

Psalm 16:7-8

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With himat my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

'Listen to your heart' - that's the message we absorb fromthe world around us. Whether or not you're old enough to remember the 1980s classic Roxette song of that name, you’ll recognise the idea.

It's surprising to find David saying the same thing … 'evenwhen I lie awake at night, I'm listening to what my heart is telling me'. But what IS his heart telling him? It seems that he listens to his heart only because his heart is full of God's word. It is the LORD who counsels him. He ponders God's words, he remembers God's instructions, he thinks about the ways God has led him so far and marvels at God's wisdom.

Is that where your thoughts go when you lie awake at night?Wouldn't it be great if this was true of us? Instead of lying awake worrying, which leaves us feeling shaky, we could lie awake treasuring God's promises to us, reminding ourselves that ultimately, with him as our refuge, we will neverbe shaken.

How do we get a heart like David's? We probably need tostart by admitting to God that our hearts aren't like that, and ask him to change us, by his Spirit. And then we’ll want to makechoices about what we listen to. We’ll feed ourselves regularly with God's word, storing it up in our hearts ready for when we need it. When we realise that our minds have settled into patterns of worry, or we're dwelling on things that aren't in line with God's truth, we’ll direct our thoughts back to God. We may have to keep redirecting our attention 1000 times a day. But I bet Davidhad to do that too. He made deliberate choices: ‘I WILL praise the Lord’, ‘I KEEP my eyes on him’ (even when they are distracted away). Let's pray that that God would enable us to do the same, and that our hearts and minds would be increasingly filled with his word.

Psalm 16:5-6

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

These two verses are a picture of contentment. Was Davidjust having an especially good day when he wrote these words? After all, we know from some of the other psalms we've looked at together that his circumstances were not always 'secure' or 'pleasant'. He was often in danger, under attack from God's enemies. Yet, when he looks at the big picture of his life, what he sees most clearly is that, in having God as his personal Lord, hehas the very best of everything he could want. His situation in life now - whatever the difficulties - and his future inheritance are everything he desires, because he has God.

Can we say the same? We may feel very unhappy in our currentcircumstances - for some of us, this season may be the hardest thing we've ever experienced in life. We can be honest with God about that. He doesn't expect us to pretend to be delighted when we feel like everything is falling apart. But alongside the struggles, do we share David's deep conviction that God himselfis enough for us? That in him, we have an inheritance to come that outshines anything we are experiencing right now? Do we know, as David knew, that a personal relationship with the God who made the universe gives us security and blessing that are found nowhere else? If we have even a little glimpse of that,let's praise him for it today. And if we can't yet say v5-6 and mean them, let's be honest about that, and ask the one who changes hearts to give us a greater joy and contentment in him.

Psalm 16:4

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

This Psalm is asking us some hard questions, isn't it?!Where is my refuge? How much do I delight in God and his people? And today's verse is similarly uncomfortable. 'I will not make offerings to other Gods' says David. I'm sure we'd all say the same. No worship of Allah, or Buddha, or Shiva here!

But what about the 'small g' gods in our lives? What are thethings we love and serve and pour out our blood, sweat and tears for, as if they could save us. Maybe it’s career. Money. Security. My children's education or success. My marriage. My perfectly curated, well-run house. Other people's opinion of me. Personal ambitions. The possibilities are endless. Any good things can become a god to us, when it becomes the thing that we serve or the place where we look for hope, help or security.

Yet none of these fake gods are worthy of our praise ordevotion. Many of them are crumbling around us in the face of this virus. Only the one true God - our God - has ever been a real helper, comforter and rescuer. Only he deserves our worship & praise today. Let's praise him. And let's ask for his help not to give the worship that only he deserves to anything else.

Psalm 16:3

I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’

Who are the people you really admire? The ones you love tospend time with? The ones you listen to? The ones whose lives you'd like your life to be a bit more like?

David's answer to that question is here in v.3: 'the holypeople'. That is, God's people. His fellow-citizens in God's kingdom. His brothers and sisters in God's family.

They are the people he thinks are 'noble' - the ones herespects and admires. They are the ones he 'delights' in - they're not just the people he should enjoy being with. Hereally enjoys knowing them! Here's a challenge to our value system. If the people we respect and emulate are the rich and successful, that tells us something about how much money matters to us. If the people we want to be with are the popularones, the 'in crowd' it tells us something about how much other people's opinion matters to us. And so on.

David's delight in God's people isn't because they're the'best' people around, by any human measure. He delights in God's people because he delights in God. He wants to be with God's people because they share his love for God. They remind him of why God is so worth trusting and following.

If that's not our experience, let's pray that God would teach us to delight more and more in him, so that we will be drawn towardsothers who share that love for God, rather than being drawn towards those who love worldly things most.

Psalm 16:2

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’

What are you thankful for today? What good thing, or things,are you enjoying right now?

At the moment, we may be especially aware of all the thingsin our lives that are not good, all the things we want but can't have, all the ways life could be easier. Some of us may be facing really significant hardships. Thankfulness never cancels out the suffering in life. Problems don't go away just because we 'count our blessings'. But equally, suffering never means that there is NOTHING to be thankful for. But we might have to make aconscious effort to look for what is good, when what is bad or hard is filling our minds.

So, what good thing(s) can you be thankful for today?Whatever they are, if they are good then we know that they come to us from God. There is nothing good apart from him. The non-Christian may enjoy good things in this world, as part of God's kindness to them, even when they don't acknowledge the giver. But we know where all our good things comes from. Whywouldn’t we want to thank God for them? Even more than that, we know the giver himself, as our loving heavenly Father. Let's also thank him for the great blessing of knowing him and being his children. He himself is the greatest 'good thing' we have, and that can never be taken away from us.

Psalm 16:1

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

What do you take refuge in?

If you’ve already read or heard the reflection on Psalm 62, earlierin this series, the idea of refuge will be familiar. But we need to keep coming back to it because - this side of heaven - we will always be weak, needy, suffering people, in need of safety, shelter and protection. Where will we find the refuge that we need?

If we're honest with ourselves, God isn't necessarily the first place we run to when things are hard.

What do you take refuge in?

What do you rely on to make you feel better? Alcohol?Chocolate? A cup of tea? Medication?

Who do you rely on to make everything alright? Your husband?Your best friend? Your mum? Yourself?

What gives you a feeling of security? Your past achievements? Money in the bank? Your children being there for you when you get old?

Every single one of those things, used rightly, is a blessing from God for which we can be thankful. But none of them will ultimately keep us safe. Only God can do that. He is the only one we can rely on to stay standing, when everything else falls apart.

Let's praise him today that he is our ultimate safe place.And let's remember to turn first of all to him when we feel weak and needy.

Psalm 103:20-22

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

This Psalm ends as it began ... with encouragement to praiseGod. Only now it is not just an individual ('my soul') but the whole company of heaven and all God's creatures on earth ('his works') that are to praise him. We probably don't think much about the 'heavenly hosts', outside of Christmas carols. And the Bible doesn't give us huge amounts of detail about them. But it's clear that they exist, they are numerous, and their whole purpose is to serve God and praise him continually. How wonderful to knowthat, even though we so often fail to worship and obey God as he deserves, there is a glorious multitude wholeheartedly dedicated to doing exactly that, 24/7 for all eternity. That should perhaps remind us that God is so much more praiseworthy than we yet realise.

This Psalm has given us a long list of reasons to praise God.Let's join our voices with the angels in heaven today, remembering his goodness and greatness. It is not only the right and proper thing to do now, but great practice for the day when we will stand alongside that heavenly host, worshipping him face to face! As well as praising God in prayer, why not put your praises to music by listening and singing along to a song or hymn that praises him?

Psalm 103:19

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

It is always encouraging to be reminded that God reigns overeverything, even coronavirus. And that might be what you need to focus on and be thankful for today.

But for me personally, the challenge of this verse is notremembering that God rules over what's going on 'out there'. Rather, I need to be reminded that he also rules over me. At the moment I'm finding the desire to run MY Kingdom, MY way is really strong. I want my little world to be ordered to suit me and me alone. The same seems to be true for some of the people Ilive with!

Isn't that why we struggle to live in close proximity toother people? Because our rule, over our own personal kingdom, gets challenged. But the problem isn't everyone else. It's me. And the solution isn't just to be more accommodating of the people around me. Instead, it starts by remembering that God alone has the right to rule my life. Without his help I will always be a treacherous rebel, undermining his rightful sovereignty. Ouch! How wonderful that when we confess our rebellion and repent, we are coming to a compassionate and gracious father whose love never fails. Praise God that his kingdom rules over all - let's pray that that would be true in each of our lives today, aswell as in the world 'out there'.

Psalm 103:18

with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey hisprecepts.

In verse 17 we saw how God’s love is everlasting towards those who fear him. Here, those same people are described as those who keep his covenant and obey him. That can’t mean that God’s love is conditional on our obedience, getting switched offevery time we sin. That kind of love could never be described as ‘everlasting’ – for most of us, it would only last about 5 minutes! God’s love is dependent on his unchanging character, so we can be confident that it will last.

But this is a reminder to us that God’s love is particularly directed towards his covenant people – those who call him their God and have committed themselves to living for him. If we want to live as enemies of God, ignoring his commands and rejecting his covenant, we can’t expect to experience his covenant love. Being a person of the covenant doesn’t mean we never sin. But it does mean that we WANT to obey. We recognise that God’sways are better than our ways. And we recognise that when we disobey him, we need the blood of the covenant – the sacrifice of Jesus – to restore our relationship with him. Let’s thank him today that our place in his love is secure because of Jesus, and pray that we would increasingly be those who keep his covenant and remember to obey him.

Psalm 103:17

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children

Is your sense of time being challenged by the currentsituation? I find myself having to think quite hard about what day of the week it is sometimes!

In yesterday's verse we thought about our weakness, butthose verses also speak about how fleeting our lives are. Here today and gone tomorrow. Yet it doesn't feel that. We talk about something lasting for 'a lifetime' as though that was a significant period, rather than being the blink of an eye in the context of eternity. Doesn't it already feel as if lockdown has gone on 'for ever'?! Yet there is one thing that really will last forever ...God's love for his people.

We may struggle to get our heads around the idea of 'everlasting', but even the smallest glimpse of what that means, before ourminds become totally boggled, should prompt us to praise God as David does. At the very least, it means that there will never be a day of our lives when God won't love us. There won't be a second of today when he won't be compassionate and gracious to us. Whatever the future holds, for us or those we love, God's love will surround us through it, if we are united to him by faith in Jesus.

Psalm 103:13-16

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

How are you feeling today? Many of us will be feeling weakerthan we're used to. We are aware of our physical frailty in the face of coronavirus but also aware of weakness in other ways ... Our time and attention are finite, but we feel pulled in multiple directions at once, whether by children, work, or concern for neighbours or for family far away. We are spiritually weak - we want to use this season to draw closer to God but we're easilyenticed away by other things. We want to love our household well, but constant confinement feeds our selfish desires and we give in to temptations to be irritable and impatient.

Acknowledging our weakness like this feels uncomfortable, butit ought to be normal! We ARE weak. We are like grass - here today and gone tomorrow. Not because of the coronavirus but because that's how we are made. But God is not disappointed by our weaknesses – he’s the one who made us that way. We are designed to be finite, limited in time and energy, so that we mightworship the one who is all-powerful and everlasting. In fact, far from being disappointed, God has compassion on our weakness. He is the gentle father who picks us up when we fall, who encourages us when we feel like giving up, whose spirit enables us to overcome temptation. Today, let's be honest about ourweakness - to God and to others - and throw ourselves on the compassionate care of our loving heavenly father.

Psalm 103:11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

The furthest galaxy in the universe is thought to be something like 30 billion light years away from earth. A light year is about 9.5 trillion kilometres. Numbers like that feel impossible to get to grips with. When David wrote this psalm, before the days of astrophysicists with sophisticated telescopes, he had a more poetic way of describing the same thing: 'as high as the heavens are above the earth'. He's not thinking of a particular measurement, a specific number. I take it he means 'as far as the biggest thing you could possibly imagine'. There isNOTHING in the entire universe bigger than God's love. Nothing can overwhelm it or eclipse it. There is nowhere you can go that is beyond it.

Concepts that big make us feel very small. Rightly so. God's great love is 'for those who fear him'. This fear is not the terror of the unrepentant sinner facing judgement. It is the right awe and respect of a creature who knows that they are as nothing before their mighty creator who is bigger and more wonderful than they can even begin to understand. It is the deep reverence of a creature who knows that they are like dust, and yet is more loved than they can imagine.

Let's praise God for his limitless love today!

Psalm 103:9-10

He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

"It's not fair!" Have you heard those words recently in your household? They come out of children's mouths fairly easily.We may be more restrained about actually saying it out loud, but don’t our hearts feel the same way? What seems unfair to you right now? Seeing other people whose circumstances are so much easier than yours? We instinctively want justice when we feel disadvantaged. We want life to be 'fair'.

Except ... Maybe we don't. When it comes to judgement forour sin, 'fair' is the last thing we want! When we read that "he does not treat us as our sins deserve", our hearts ought to rejoice. This is BETTER than fair.

God is so amazingly wonderful that he can be both righteous and just (as v6 reminded us) and still show us gracious, merciful forgiveness for our sins. The death of Jesus in our place proves that. God is always both perfectly just and perfectly loving. Yet there’s a sense in which his love outweighs his justice. This verse tells us that he will not 'always' accuse but we read in verse 17 that his love is from everlasting to everlasting. That is so much better than we deserve, we might almost call it unfair! Let's praise him for this great 'unfairness' today.

Psalm 103:7-8

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

How would you describe God's character in one sentence?There are many things we could say. But here’s one really good answer: ‘the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love’! In fact, it's the way God describes himself to Moses in Exodus 34. Knowing that God is compassionate, gracious and loving is always wonderful. But it's especiallyamazing when we remember what the people of Israel were like. When God spoke these words in Exodus 34, he had just given Moses the 10 Commandments. Yet when Moses took them to the people he found that they had made a golden calf idoland were worshipping it, instead of the God who was right in front of them. God had every right to abandon Israel right there and then, but instead he gave Moses a fresh copy of the 10 Commandments. The covenant that the people had already broken was able to stand because God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

We're no different. Do you ever get bored of confessing yoursin to God, or feel that surely this time he will have had enough of you? Maybe we started this new season of life at home full of good intentions to spend time with God daily, engage patiently with our children at all times, and serve our neighbours wholeheartedly. It won’t have taken long to discover that we’restill the same people we were before - easily distracted, quick to turn away from God and look for strength and help elsewhere, more concerned with our own comfort that with living others. Fear not! The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. There is always a loving welcome when we turn back to him in humble repentance. Every. Single. Time.

Psalm 103:5-6

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Have you noticed how, even in a global crisis, some thingscarry on just as before? Oppression and injustice, for example. The news always seems to contain some story of an oppressive regime somewhere in the world mistreating its weakest citizens. Closer to home we hear about companies putting their profits ahead of the well-being of their workers. Of course, there arealso stories of volunteers who sacrifice their own comfort to serve others. But if we're honest we know that the sinful human heart loves to find ways to benefit itself at other people's expense.

How good it is to know, then, that God is never like that.He never uses his power to oppress us. He never treats us as raw materials to use for his own good. He is on the side of the unfairly treated, the oppressed. When he came to earth, in the person of Jesus, he experienced an unjust trial and an undeserved death penalty. And he is always at work to establish justice and righteousness. We won't see that fully completed until heaven, but even now we can pray for justice to be done and wickedness to be restrained. Let's do that today, giving thanks that thepower that ultimately runs this world is only ever good, righteous and loving.

Psalm 103:3-4

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, whoredeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

Yesterday we praised God for his 'holy name' (who he is inhimself). In today's verses David focuses on his 'benefits' (the particular good things God had done for him). At first glance, this verse is confusing. We know that Christians aren’t always healed from disease. The Bible is quite clear that God is always able to heal physically, but– in this world - he only sometimes does so. (In the new creation, he absolutely will heal all diseases and injuries, fully and completely).

We need to remember that David is living under the Old Covenant, in which physical blessings (land, abundant harvest, peace, safety and well-being) were a picture of the blessings that come from being God's people. The opposites (exile, famine, disease and war) were what happened when the people turned away from God. That was a temporary situation, designed toteach them and us how much better it is to belong to God than to reject him.

We live under the New Covenant. Our blessings are primarilyspiritual, not physical. So we shouldn't read Old Testament promises about physical blessings (including protection fromdisease) as being true for us today in the same way that they were for Old Testament Israelites. Instead, we have spiritual blessings that are EVEN BETTER than wealth, peace, long life and freedom from illness!

God forgives us. He rescues us from the dark hopelessness oflife without him. He generously pours out underserved love and compassion on us. How could we possibly forget these things? And yet we do! What we think we need seems so important that these amazing blessings shrink and get buried in a corner our minds, as though they were irrelevant. Today, whatever else is going on around us, let's take a moment to deliberately remember the wonderful things that God has done for us, and thank him.

Psalm 103:1-2

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits

How often do you praise God for who he is? Perhaps it's justme, but I'm much more likely to thank God for things he does or the gifts he gives than to praise him for who he is. I don’t often stop to simply ponder God’s character, and tell him how wonderful he is. So, we’re going to spend the next few days dwelling on this psalm of praise.

Tomorrow we'll come onto some of the many 'benefits' we canthank God for. But today, what can you think of to praise him for? What is wonderful about God and his character? Here's what comes to my mind ... You can come up with your own list!

Lord, you are truly awesome. I praise you for your wisdom.It's incredible that you can know each individual person across the world and throughout human history, and accomplish your plans in each of their lives, all at the same time. Nothing is too complicated or confusing for you. I praise you for your power. Nothing is too hard for you. You are never defeated or frustrated. I praise you for your patience. You are slow to anger and dealgently with us, knowing that we are weak. You are wonderful Lord!

Psalm 1:6

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, butthe way of the wicked leads to destruction.

As we considered yesterday, whether we are treated as ‘righteous’ or ‘wicked’ depends not on our own record, but on the righteousness of Jesus. All those who are united to him by faith are counted as ‘righteous’ because he is ‘righteous’. So we enjoy the privileges of the righteous. Not just the ability to stand before God on Judgement Day and enter into heaven, but also – as we see here – a whole new way of life now.

Notice how wonderfully asymmetric this verse is. We might expect that if ‘the way of the wicked leads to destruction’ then the other half of the sentence would say something like ’the way of the righteous leads to life’. And that’s certainly true. But what it actually says is way better!

Not only do we have life instead of destruction, but that life is lived – now and forever – under the watchful eye of God. He hasn’t just rescued us and left us to get on with things on our own. He cares for us, actively overseeing our every moment. Weget to live, today and every day, under the watchful care and protection of God. Whatever happens, however tough our present circumstances are, however uncertain our future feels, God sees and knows and cares and acts for our good. That’s been a huge encouragement to me. I pray that it is an encouragement to you as well.

So today, let’s thank God that he watches over us through all things.

Psalm 1:5

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, norsinners in the assembly of the righteous.

Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of a group of people, convinced you don’t belong there? In some settings it’s called ‘Imposter Syndrome’. I definitely had that in my first year at University, as one of only a handful of women studying Engineering alongside more than 300 men! Not helped by the fact that people would tell me that I was probably only there because there was a quota of women that had to be met, and I didn’t really deserve a place on the course. That was also what I regularly told myself. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here”,“I’m sure they’re all cleverer than I am”, ”What if I’m not cut out to be an Engineer at all?”

Perhaps we imagine that this is what will happen on the Last Day, when Jesus returns and the dead are raised to face judgment. Do you sometimes wonder if someone will look pityingly at you and say “I’m very sorry, but there’s been a mistake - you don’t really belong here”? The devil loves to tell us that we have no right to stand confidently before God on Judgement Day. He wants us to read the pictures in Revelation of the saints in white robes, worshipping the Lamb on his throne, and conclude that we don’t belong there. After all, we ARE sinners. We don’t belong in the company of the righteous. This verse says so!

Yet, we DO belong. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does. He alone is qualified to stand unashamed at the judgement. He alone is truly righteous, worthy of a place in heaven for all eternity. And he has chosen to share that privilege with all who trust in him for forgiveness and new life. Anyone who chooses not to continue walking with the sinners, but who turnsinstead in repentance to put their hope in God is now counted with the righteous, not with the wicked. Because of Jesus, we belong in heaven.

I never completely silenced the inner voice of my Imposter Syndrome when I was a student. After all, I couldn’t prove that the Admissions Department hadn’t messed up somehow! But we CAN argue back against the Devil’s accusations. Yes, we are undeserving of a place in heaven, but we are nevertheless welcome. Jesus’ death on the cross proves it once and for all.

Let’s thank him for that today, and ask for his help to keep trusting wholeheartedly in the righteousness of Jesus for our salvation.

Psalm 1:4

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

This verse stands in stark contrast to verse 3. The different between a great tree, rooted and flourishing, and the flimsy chaff that is discarded as the grain is harvested couldn’t be greater. Life as one of God’s people isn’t just a minor upgrade on the usual human experience – it’s a completely different kind of life. Theunbeliever is not simply a slightly less sturdy tree, a bit smaller, a bit less fruitful, but more or less the same. They are ‘chaff’. That is, they have no lasting strength. They will be carried off on the breeze and there will be nothing left to show that they were ever there. It’s not that they don’t have any value – we know that everyone is made in the image of God and so has dignity and purpose. It’s just that their life is so empty and fleeting, compared to a life lived in relationship with God, now and in eternity, that itis ‘chaff’ by comparison.

Only, of course, that’s not how it looks or feels – either to us, or to them. We are so convinced by what we can see and touch and hold right now that we THINK this life, in the material world, is all that there is. Or, at least, we think that spiritual life now, and eternity to come, are just the icing on the cake, and that this life we’re in right now is still the most significant part of our experience. This verse tells us we’re wrong. The forever life that comes from belonging to God is as much superior to our present experience as a 100-year-old oak tree is to an empty husk, floating in the breeze.

Let’s praise God today that because we belong to him we have a completely different life to live, compared to those who don’t know him. And let’s ask for his help to really believe that and to rightly value the privilege that it is.

Psalm 1:3

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, whichyields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

Here we see the result of being a person who delights in,and meditates on, God’s word. I think there’s at least 2 surprises in this verse …

Firstly, I love this picture of the tree – stable, rooted, well-fed, well-watered, and fruitful. It’s beautiful, and attractive. Whowouldn’t want to be that kind of person? But it’s also really ‘earthy’ and solid. The absolute opposite of the picture we usually have of ‘bookish’ people. We might imagine that immersing yourself in words would be the sure-fire way to become a grey and dusty academic, living at the top of an ivory tower somewhere. Undoubtedly an expert on something, however irrelevant, but a bit flimsy when faced with any kind of real-world problem. Yet immersing ourselves in God’s words does exactlythe opposite. It makes us more solid, more stable, more fruitful. We are sustained and equipped for our own lives, and more practically useful to the people around us.

Secondly, we might be surprised that a person who delightsin God’s word ‘prospers’. After all, so often we see that Christians are marginalised or persecuted by the world. And we do need to remember that this is poetic language rather than a binding legal document. This verse doesn’t guarantee that a Christian will ALWAYS succeed in everything, and back in v.1 we saw that the blessings we enjoy do not primarily come in the form of health,wealth or happiness. Nevertheless, in general, it is true that those who shape their lives according to God’s word prosper. We do better when we live according to the maker’s instructions thanwhen we ignore his purposes and try to figure out for ourselves what is good for us. Life works better if people are faithful rather than adulterous, generous rather than thieving, loving rather than murderous. So today, let’s pray that we would so delight in God’s word that it would result in ever-increasing fruitfulness in our lives, benefitting not just us but also those around us.

Psalm 1:2

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

We saw yesterday that the blessed person is the one whobelongs to God. So it makes sense that they will want to listen more to God’s voice than the world’s voice. In fact, they don’t just listen to God’s word. They delight in it. They love it. They meditate on it day and night. God’s word doesn’t just pass in through one ear and out of the other. They pause to think about it. They reflect on what they hear, chewing it over, letting it sink in. They keep coming back to it. Sunday’s sermon isn’t gone and forgotten by Monday morning. Instead, they keep it in mind during the week, looking out for situations where the word that they heard might change the way they would otherwise have thought, or spoken or acted.

These people are more interested in what God has to say tothem than what they have to say to themselves. So, they would rather reflect on what God has said than relive their own past conversations. They would rather ponder the truth of God’s words than rehearse imaginary arguments in which they are shown to be right. When their own thoughts about themselves and the worldaround them are out of line with what God’s word says, they’re ready to change their minds.

I wish this was a description of me, but it’s not! At least,not yet. None of us delights in God’s word perfectly, all the time. But all of us could take one small step towards delighting in the word more. How could you make a little bit more space for God’s word in your mind and your schedule this year? Deciding what to read when we get to the end of this Psalm together, perhaps? Committing to read the Bible before you read the news? Deciding to spend at least as long in the Bible as you do on social media?

Let’s thank God for the gift of his word, and ask for his help to become people who delight in it more and more.

Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

Until a few years ago, ‘Blessed’ wasn’t a word you came acrossmuch outside the Bible. But the invention of the hashtag has changed all that!

In the world of social media, being #Blessed often seems to involve being impossible stylish (for women) or having a flash new car (for men). Prosperity gospel preachers would agree withthe world’s view that blessing from God is measured by material wealth.

But in the world of the psalmist, being blessed is very different.Jesus tells us that the blessed are the poor in spirit, the weak, the persecuted and those who mourn. Their blessing is not material comfort or worldly success. No. They are blessed by being citizens of the kingdom of heaven, children of God, adopted into his family through the saving death of Jesus.

The blessed person is the person who belongs to God. Rather than walking in step with the wicked they walk in step with the Spirit. Rather than standing alongside sinners, joining in with the crowd, they stand alongside Jesus, even when that means persecution. Rather than sitting down and getting comfy with the mockers, raising their voices to join in ridiculing what is good, they sit quietly at the feet of Jesus and listen to his words.

Naturally, this isn’t where we belong. Being part of the company of God’s people is a blessing, given to us by God. So today, let’s give thanks that we are truly blessed, far beyond anything that the world of Twitter and Instagram can understand. And let’s pray that we would stand and walk and sit, and speak and think and live not like the world around us, but as the blessed children of God that we are.

Introduction

Welcome to Daily Bible Encouragement!

This podcast will provide a daily bible reading of one or two verses from the psalms, followed by a brief personalreflection and a suggestion for prayer. Each episode will be less than 3 minutes long.

These reflections were originally written for a small groupof women from Dundonald Church in London, during the Covid-19 lockdown. I’m moving them online to make them easily accessible for anyone who missed out on them first time round!

I hope that they will help each of us to fix our eyes on thecharacter and promises of our gracious God, whatever our immediate circumstances.

Micah 7:20

20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.

When we started this book, you might remember that I said that Micah’s name means ‘Who is like the Lord?’ and that this question is one of the main themes of the whole book. It is only explicitly asked once, in chapter 7 verse 18, which we looked at a few days ago. But it has been there all along, as we have circled through the themes of God’s righteous judgment of the people of Israel, and his promised rescue of them.

We have seen that God is holy - he cannot turn a blind eye to idolatry and wickedness, even when it is committed by his own, dearly-loved people. We have seen that God is sovereign - he can use even pagan nations as his instruments. We have seen that God is merciful - the judgment which Micah has been sent to warn of is not going to be the end of the story. And here we are reminded that he is faithful - he always keeps his promises. Throughout all the ups and downs of this book, indeed, throughout all the ups and downs of the whole history of God’s dealings with mankind, whether things seem to be going well or badly, God has always been consistently at work, keeping his promises. And so we can be confident that he will continue to be faithful and loving, whatever lies ahead.

Sometimes, even for those who God has loved and chosen, life is very, very hard. Sometimes that is the result of our own sin, or someone else’s. Sometimes it’s simply the consequence of living in a broken world in which nothing is quite as it was meant to be. But we, like Micah, can be completely sure that God will not abandon those who have put their trust in him. And we can join Micah in looking ahead to the day when we will finally live forever secure with our loving shepherd-king Jesus. So let’s finish our time in Micah by praising and thanking our loving, merciful, faithful Lord.

Micah 7:19

19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Back in verses 16 and 17 we saw what the end of the story looks like for those who will not willingly trust and worship the Lord. Today we see the opposite ending, for those who cling to the Lord as their saviour and willingly identify as his people. It’s a total contrast. Those of us who are trusting in Jesus receive compassion. We are released from the penalty of our wrongdoing. All our sins, failings and wickedness have been taken away. It’s so obviously a better ending that we might be tempted to congratulate ourselves on being the kind of people that God wanted on his team, or on our great wisdom and forward-thinking for choosing the better future. We might get caught up in the ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ language that we see in these verses, and think that WE are the better people, and THEY have only themselves to blame.

If we’re tempted to think that way, we need to go back to yesterday’s verse again. Verse 18 forms the bridge between the dreadful outcome for God’s enemies and the wonderful outcome for his people. And what was verse 18 full of? It wasn’t full of how much better and wiser we were. It didn’t describe what we did to escape the judgment we deserved. It was totally full of God and how good and forgiving he is. If it wasn’t for the fact that God is by nature merciful to the undeserving, we’d still be carrying our own iniquities, and we would be being trodden underfoot along with our sins.

So let’s praise God again for his compassion and mercy. And let’s ask for his help never to look down on ‘them’ - those who have not yet received the forgiveness that we enjoy - but instead to commit ourselves to sharing with them the good news of God’s mercy in Jesus.

Micah 7:18

18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry for ever
but delight to show mercy.

As we saw yesterday, the end of the story is pretty bleak for those who refuse to be reconciled to God and have to stand alone, unprotected on the day of final judgment. And that ending is the one that we all deserve, for we - like the nations of Micah’s day - have treated our creator with contempt. If he chose to remain angry for ever, he would be completely right to do so. We would have no grounds to ask for a different verdict. Yet, wonderfully, that is not the whole story.

The God who is the righteous judge is not ONLY righteous. He is also merciful and forgiving. He does not stay angry for ever. If we’ve been Christians for more than 5 minutes, we can easily take this for granted, but it’s good to pause and consider afresh just how extraordinarily good it is for us that our God is a God who delights to show mercy. He doesn’t have to. That’s the point of mercy - it cannot be earned or deserved or demanded, or it wouldn’t be mercy. We can plead for it, but only if we begin by recognising that to receive it would be a blessing far, far beyond anything we had any right to expect.

What good news it is, then, when we discover that God is a God who delights to show mercy. It’s not something he does reluctantly, occasionally, if he’s in a particularly good mood. It’s something he delights in. It’s an essential part of his character. When Moses asked God to reveal his name and his glory, back in Exodus 33, God replied by telling him “ I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy”. God’s mercy is an essential aspect of his identity. And so we can confidently throw ourselves onto that mercy, knowing that it will never fail or be taken away. What a wonderful God we have! No wonder Micah was moved to ask “Who is a God like you?” Our God is good, forgiving and gloriously merciful. There is no-one like him. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 7:16-17

16 Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the Lord our God
and will be afraid of you.

Throughout this book we’ve seen the nations of the world described in different ways. Sometimes, the focus is on their rebellion against their creator - they are the nations who follow the ways of their own particular false gods, rather than the one true God. Sometimes, the focus is on them as an instrument of God’s righteous judgement on Israel. Sometimes, it’s their own desire to attack and crush Israel that is highlighted. Sometimes, we are shown the judgment that is coming to them for their rebellion. Sometimes we are shown the hope that lies beyond that judgment, when people from all nations will gather to worship the Lord as they were always intended to. It’s a complex picture, that doesn’t allow us to simply hate them for being the bad guys, or wholeheartedly root for them to triumph. In that sense, I think this book is a pretty accurate reflection of the world around us today, many hundreds of years later. God is always at work to judge and to reconcile, and so we can’t write off his enemies as unworthy of our love and concern. But neither do we need to be afraid that they will get away with their mistreatment of us, his people.

We might find that complexity confusing and disorientating. But as we get to the end of the story, the final conclusion is clear. Enemies of God who remain enemies of God will, eventually, see him for who he is and tremble before him. This won’t be the joyful worship of those who bow to their Lord and Saviour willingly. It will be the reluctant acknowledgement of defeated rebels that they have fought consistently on the losing side, and it’s too late to switch allegiance once the battle is over. This might feel like a bleak ending, until we remember that this final day is still to come. It is not yet too late to change sides.

So if we know that we have not yet come to Jesus for forgiveness and the peace with God that is only possible through his death, let’s do that today before it is too late. And if we know and love others in that situation, let’s pray today that God would soften their hearts and call them to faith in him, and would make us bold in encouraging them to switch sides and worship him while they can. As we will see tomorrow, there is a far, far better ending available for those who choose to do just that.

Micah 7:14-15

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasture-lands.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.

15 ‘As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.’

In this final chapter, we find ourselves returning to themes that we’ve heard before throughout this book. Yesterday, it was the nations being drawn to worship God. Today, it’s the picture of Israel as sheep and God as their shepherd. The peace and security which were represented as walls in v11 are now likened to safe, fertile pastures, where sheep can live without fear of hunger or predators.

The reference to Egypt reminds us again of the Exodus, when God rescued his people from slavery and brought them to a land of their own which was - for a while at least - their safe haven. Bashan and Gilead are places they passed through on the way, and where God gave them victory over their enemies. By prompting them to remember this past rescue, the Lord is reminding his people that the future he is promising them through Micah really is possible. Given their current, perilous situation, it might seem too good to be true. But the idea of escaping from slavery to Pharaoh probably seemed pretty unlikely at the time. Yet God made it happen. Looking back to his past faithfulness will enable them to look forward to the promised future with confidence. It’s the same for us. An eternity with our Heavenly Father might seem too good to be true. But we look back to the cross, where God showed us his wonders as he defeated sin, death and the devil, and so are enabled to keep looking forward with confidence. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 7:11-13

11 The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.

Over the past couple of days we’ve heard Micah talking about his enemy - he’s not talking about someone with a grievance against him personally, but an enemy who is opposed to God’s people as a nation. In the time when Micah was writing, the most obvious enemy they faced was Assyria, who was poised to invade and take over the land. Yet God is promising that there will be a time when all their enemies will be stopped in their tracks. In these closing verses of the book we hear more about what that future state of peace and security will be like.

So it’s no surprise that verse 11 talks about walls - a small, besieged country would dream of being able to build a wall around its borders, strong enough to keep their enemies out permanently. Yet it turns out that, although the country will be secure, these walls won’t be designed to keep people out. In fact, a great stream of people will come in. I think we’re intended to understand that the people who come in are not an invading army, but rather the fulfilment of God’s long-standing plan for all nations to be blessed through his chosen people. We’ve cycled back to the scene we saw in Chapter 4, where the people of all nations stream to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

And look which nations are specifically named here: Assyria - who we know are the particular threat of the moment - and Egypt, who enslaved God’s people before they were even a nation. God is able to do something so miraculously transformative that even the very greatest enemies of his people can be brought to worship him. The salvation will be on an extravagant scale - from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. The boundaries of Israel will be extended by God drawing people from every tribe and language and nation to worship himself. I doubt that Micah could have imagined exactly how God would bring this about, but we know. God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ, as Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians. Those who once were enemies of God and each other have been brought together. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 7:10

10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
‘Where is the Lord your God?’
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.

“Where is the Lord your God?” It’s a common question. Even when it isn’t asked in quite those words, it lies behind many of the things people say to us. “How can there be a God when?” or “I could never believe in a God who ….” In other words, they’re looking at the way life is and deciding that they can’t see how God fits into it, so they conclude that he is not there at all.

Thinking that God really is there, staking our lives and our choices on the belief that he is both real and relevant, makes us stand out. We’re so used to it that we often expect everyone else to mock or question our faith, even before they’ve said a word. We might even feel a bit ashamed of always being the ones who are out-of-sync with society. But these verses remind us that there will be a day when the shame falls on those who mock us now. Right now, it is possible to question God’s presence; he is only visible with the eyes of faith. But one day every eye will see him. His presence will be unmistakable and inescapable.

If you find the second half of the verse uncomfortable - so do I! I don’t like to think of unbelievers being trampled underfoot. But I think that’s because I don’t care as much for God’s honour as I should. I underestimate the seriousness of the sin of those who are outwardly respectable and simply ignore God or treat him as irrelevant. It doesn’t look like the worst kind of wickedness that exists in our world. And I’m shaped by the spirit of independence and self-sufficiency that flourishes in our individualistic culture. I forget that we owe God our very lives. Every breath each of us takes is only possible because of his provision. To live as if he wasn’t there, without acknowledging his rightful rule or being grateful for his abundant good gifts is an outrageous offence against the one who deserves all praise and honour and worship. So let’s pray today that God would help us to worship him more as he deserves, and that he would change the hearts of his enemies so that they would do the same.

Micah 7:8-9

8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.

I’m not a massive TV watcher but I do love a good legal drama! I’m not sure how realistic they are. But in high-drama TV world, cases are often won or lost as a result of someone manipulating the evidence. If one side discovers something that goes against their argument, they’ll do whatever they can to keep that evidence out of the courtroom. The prosecution doesn’t want the defence to know that someone disturbed the crime scene before the forensics team got there. The defence doesn’t want the prosecution to find out that the defendant’s blood-stained clothes are hidden in his neighbour’s garage. I’d like to think that it isn’t what actually happens in real life!

Fortunately, there’s no risk of this kind of manipulation in God’s courtroom. Partly because God himself is perfectly just and honest, there is no deceit in him and so his verdicts will always be faultless. But also because, in this court, the prosecutor and the defence are one and the same person. Remember how back in Chapter 6, the Lord was presenting his case against the people. But here we see that this same Lord is pleading their case. He is arguing for their release. Not because he’s missed a crucial piece of evidence. Not because he’s been swayed by an emotional appeal from the one in the dock. The accused knows he is guilty as we see in v9 - ‘I have sinned against him’. The just God can plead our case and uphold our cause because the verdict has already fallen on Jesus at the cross. He has swapped places with us, so that we can move from darkness to light. From condemnation to freedom. There’s no dodgy dealings or manipulation of the facts. Justice has been done. God’s righteousness is satisfied. The only one with any right to condemn declares that we are free to leave the court. Isn’t that wonderful? Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 7:7

7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Saviour;
my God will hear me.

In yesterday’s verses we saw how human help is no help at all when it comes to being rescued from God’s righteous judgment. In today’s verse, we see where Micah has put his confidence: ‘But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord’.

‘But’ is a really powerful word throughout the Bible. In the story of Noah, back in Genesis, we read that ‘The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark’ In the story of Daniel, he is faced with an impossible task when the king asks Daniel to tell him his dream and explain it. “Daniel replied, ‘No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” When Jonah had been thrown into the sea, during his attempt to escape God, he says “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in for ever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.”

Again and again, we see people stuck in apparently hopeless situations, and then we read ‘But …’ and we know that all is not lost. God’s people don’t need to despair. They can commit themselves to him in dependent faith. Help is coming! What we’ve seen repeated hundreds of times in the history of God’s dealings with his people is true for us, too. Whatever is going on around us, we can choose to echo Micah’s words: “But as for me, I wait for God my Saviour.” We can commit ourselves to God’s safe-keeping, confident that he hears us and will answer when we cry out to him. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 7:4b-6

The day God visits you has come,
the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion.
5 Do not trust a neighbour;
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.
6 For a son dishonours his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

Yesterday, we thought about the way in which evil seems to go on unchallenged, and we wonder what God is doing about it. Today’s verses remind us that he doesn’t turn a blind eye. Sooner or later, those who rebel against him will have to give an account of their actions. Those who live as if God wasn’t there will find themselves face to face with him.

When that day comes, it’s no good relying on other people to get you out of trouble. However good our neighbour is, however close our friend is, however much our family members love us, none of them will be able to talk God out of his just verdict against us when we are rightly condemned as rebels. None of them will be strong enough to fend off his anger at the way we have treated him. On that day, human help will be no help at all.

There is only one person who we can rely on to save us from God’s just judgement. Jesus alone is able to rescue us from the penalty of our sin. Other people may love us wonderfully well in all kinds of ways, but we can’t rely on them to do what only Jesus can do. So today let’s thank him that he is willing and able to save us and ask for his help to keep relying on him alone as our hope of salvation.

Micah 7:2b-4a

Everyone lies in wait to shed blood;
they hunt each other with nets.
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire –
they all conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.

Today’s verses continue the theme of yesterday’s. Micah looks around him at the state of the nation and sees only evil and violence. It’s a depressing picture of any nation but it’s so much worse when you remember that this is a place where God is supposed to be worshipped, and his goodness and righteousness reflected in the behaviour of his people.

It would be easy to read these verses in isolation and think that the situation was hopeless. After all, God has spoken through Micah, warning of judgment to come and yet it appears that no-one’s listening. Everything looks much the same as it did in Chapter 1. Perhaps we sometimes feel the same. The world around us looks like it’s going from bad to worse. Evil goes unchecked. People we love steadfastly refuse to pay attention to Jesus. We might even despair of the state of our own hearts - we want to grow in godliness but sometimes we wonder if we’re any different to the say when we first believed. Why doesn’t God DO something?! But, of course, we’re only looking at a couple of verses out of a whole book. We need to take a step back and see the bigger picture. God IS doing something. For a start, he is speaking, addressing the people so that those who choose to listen have time to repent. And he is sending Assyria to act as his agent. And he has promised a greater salvation that will follow the exile. Micah might not have been able to see those things immediately in front of him. But he knows that they are real, as we’ll see over the next couple of days.

So when we feel overwhelmed by the evil around us, and the sin that remains inside us, let’s look up and remember that this isn’t the whole story. God is at work. He is always busy speaking, acting, keeping his promises and rescuing his people. So let’s pray today that he would help us to keep remembering that, whatever is going on around us.

Micah 7:1-2a

1 What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
2 The faithful have been swept from the land;
not one upright person remains.

Although we’re reading a book called Micah, there’s very little of Micah in it. Because he is a prophet, the spotlight is not on himself, it’s on his Lord. Most of the book is rightly taken up with what God has to say. But just occasionally we do get a glimpse of Micah himself. One of those was back in Chapter 1, when Micah responded personally to the destruction that he has been told is coming, saying. “I will weep and wail”. And here in Chapter 7 we see something similar. “What misery is mine!” he says. Micah is not just the postman delivering a message from God to the people, which has no personal significance for him. The land is his land. The people are his people. His country’s rebellion against his God troubles him.

In today’s verses, and again tomorrow, we get to see Micah responding personally to the message he has been given.He’s miserable. And he is right to feel that way. The faithful have gone from the land, none are left. Israel in the Old Testament is sometimes likened to a vineyard, but right now there’s not a single grape to be seen. We’re right back in the depths, as we have been often in this book. And Micah doesn’t hide from that. He faces up to the reality of the situation and laments before God. There’s no putting a brave face on it. He doesn’t have to pretend to be happier than he is. Because he knows that God has a plan that extends beyond what he can see right now, he can afford to face up to the harsh reality of the present.

A believer living in a broken world is always going to be miserable, to some degree, because the world isn’t the way it was meant to be. When we’re prepared to look honestly at how life is there is always something to mourn over, whether it’s the pain of suffering or the ugliness of our own sin. Even when our circumstances are good, the world at large is still living out its opposition to God. The lack of good fruit and right worship in the word God has made will be a cause for lament every day until Jesus returns. So let’s not require ourselves, or each other, to pretend that we’re only ever happy, smiling people. Instead, let’s thank God that he invites us to come to him with our laments as well as our joys. And let’s ask for his help to learn how to lament well - expressing our pain honestly to him without losing sight of his goodness and care for us.

Micah 6:16

16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn of the nations.’

Yesterday we saw one set of consequences of the people’s rejection of God - they will experience frustration and futility, as they lose the blessings God had intended them to enjoy in the Promised Land. Here we see another consequence of their rebellion; they will be publicly disgraced. Again, at first glance it seems to be a fitting punishment for their crimes - they have treated their fellow-Israelites with contempt by stealing their inheritance. So perhaps it’s right that they should feel the contempt of the nations around them. But, just like in yesterday’s verses, there’s more to it than that.

God’s purpose in choosing a nation of people to belong to him was never simply so that they should be blessed. Rather, his people were supposed to be a public demonstration of how wonderful it is to know God and live with him as Lord. As they lived in the Promised Land, obeying the law which reflected God’s goodness, justice and love, the watching nations would see something of God’s character and be drawn to him. Moses looks ahead to this when he says, in Deuteronomy 4, that when Israel obeys God’s commands, the nations will say ““Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

But here we see the opposite. Israel has not listened to their Lord. They have instead followed the ways of King Omri and King Ahab - kings with the dubious distinction of being more wicked than any who had come before them. They have thrown away the blessings that they could have enjoyed. None of the surrounding nations is looking on saying “What wise people those Israelites are.” Quite the opposite. They’re much more likely to have said “See what a mess they’ve made of things. They thought they were God’s chosen ones but they’re just the same as everyone else. And they’re about to get invaded by Assyria. Not so special now, are you?!”

We too deserve the scorn of those around us. We’ve heard God speak, we know how good and gracious he is, and yet we so often think we know better and choose to go our own way instead of following him. Our sin is so obviously foolish. So let’s praise Jesus that he was willing to bear the scorn and disgrace that should be ours, when he took that sin to the cross.

Micah 6:13-15

13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.

Yesterday, we pictured a court scene where the evidence clearly pointed to the people’s guilt. Today, we hear the judge begin to pass the sentence. We know from the earlier chapters that the judgment which the people are facing is going to involve the invasion of the land by an enemy nation, who will destroy their cities and take many of the people into exile. We’ve had some graphic descriptions of what that will be like, but the language here is different. It’s less bloody, but it’s equally chilling.

The people are going to experience frustration and futility. They will eat but still feel hungry. They will plant and tend their crops, but they won’t be around to enjoy the harvest. However hard they work they won’t have anything to show for it. However much they save, every time they check the bank account it will be empty. All their efforts will come to nothing. The punishment certainly seems to fit the crime - it’s only fair that the unjust rich should lose the wealth that they stole from their fellow-Israelites. But there’s something much more significant going on here. Back in Deuteronomy 28 God laid out two possible ways in which his people could live when they entered the land he was about to give them. “Remain faithful to me, and you will enjoy peace and prosperity. Turn away from me and you will face ruin.” One element of that ruin was this: “You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes.” The judgement that Micah’s generation faced is not something God just dreamed up. It’s the inevitable consequence of God’s people turning away from him and abandoning the covenant. And they have been warned.

The blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 are expressed in material terms because they are all tied to the Promised Land. For us as Christians, our blessings are the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ. And the ultimate curse is the spiritual death, for which new life in Jesus is the only antidote. But the same principle is true: for those who turn away from the Lord there is only frustration and futility. So let’s pray today that God would keep us trusting him, so that we might enjoy the blessings that are ours through the faithfulness of Jesus.

Micah 6:9-12

9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city –
and to fear your name is wisdom –
‘Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah, which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
your inhabitants are liars
and their tongues speak deceitfully.

Yesterday we heard what the Lord requires of his people: they are to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with him. And we said that this wasn’t intended to be a tick-list of things they must do to get right with God. but rather a reflection of the hearts of people who recognise the undeserved love and mercy that God had shown to them. It’s a description of how God’s people ought to live, but it’s not an accurate description of Israel in Micah’s day. If we’re still in the courtroom, then this is the moment where the evidence is presented.

Exhibit A - One set of dodgy weights and measures, used to cheat a customer by giving them less than they paid for. An ephah was a measure for dry goods like grain. We can imagine the prosecution holding up a measuring cup of the correct size, alongside one that is smaller than it should be. The dishonesty is obvious. Then they get out a set of weighing scales, and compare the defendant’s false weights with an accurate set. It’s immediately obvious to everyone how the defendant got so rich. Every single transaction left them a bit better off and the customer a bit worse off. It’s blatantly unjust. The evidence cannot be argued with. The judge is not going to turn a blind eye.

So the defendant must face the verdict: “Listen!” God says to the people. “Recognise my authority as the judge. Prepare to face my rod - the sentence is about to be passed” We’ll hear the sentence in the remainder of this chapter. But before we get to that, imagine that the defendant has a moment to think. What will they do next? Will they accept the authority of the judge and hear what he has to say, or will they jump out of their seat, shaking their fist at him and arguing back?

Verse 9 tells us what the wise would do. They would listen. They would fear the name of the Lord, recognising that only he has the authority to judge. Let’s pray today that God would make us wise, so that we would rightly fear and honour him.

Micah 6:6-8

6 With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

The people are guilty of failing to worship God as he deserves. Despite his great mercy and amazing rescue, which we were reminded of yesterday, they have not only ignored him but actually worshipped other gods instead. But what would right worship look like? Can they undo their unfaithfulness by paying off the sacrifices they owe him? If they filled the temple courts with sheep and drowned the city in oil, would that wash away their guilt? Or maybe it needs something even more dramatic. Perhaps he’d like them to offer up some firstborn children, as if he were a pagan god. Of course not!

What does God require of them? It’s not animal sacrifices. Or even child sacrifices. What would please God would be justice, mercy and humility before him. Thinking back to the earlier chapters, we know that justice and mercy were conspicuously absent in Israel at this time. Yet these things are the characteristics of God himself, so they should also characterise his people. They would be the outward signs of a people whose hearts were humble before him, and who wanted to be as closely identified with him as possible.

It’s not that ticking off a long list of just or merciful acts will enable them to earn their way back into God’s good books. Everything we’ve read so far in this book has shown us that the people are facing a problem that it is completely impossible for them to fix themselves. They can only humble themselves before their God, admit that their need of him and trust in his promise of salvation that was hinted at in chapter 5. They couldn’t have foreseen how that salvation would be worked out, but we now know. There was a firstborn who was offered for their transgressions and ours. Let’s praise the Lord for that, and let’s ask him to help to show our gratitude by walking humbly with him every day of our lives.

Micah 6:3-5

3 ‘My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
also Aaron and Miriam.

5 My people, remember
what Balak king of Moab plotted
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.’

As we saw yesterday, the people are in the dock accused of unfaithfulness to their God. Yet it seems as if they feel that God is the one who should be on trial. They consider knowing and serving him to be a burden. Perhaps they feel that being followers of Yahweh is more trouble than it’s worth. He’s such a demanding master that he’s only got himself to blame if they turn their backs on him.

So God shows them just how ridiculous that is. He gives them a quick history lesson, pointing to examples of his faithful care of his people in the past. And it quickly becomes obvious that God is not the one at fault. Far from being demanding, he is the most merciful and generous of Lords. He rescued them from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt. He gave them Moses and Aaron to lead them throughout that unsettled time, journeying through the wilderness. He rescued them from many hostile kings, including Balak king of Moab, and he provided Joshua to lead them to victory over their enemies, when they were camped in Gilgal. Through these events, and many, many more, God has shown his commitment to his people. Yet his people have been quick to forget his goodness towards them.

We can be the same. We have so much more than the people of Micah’s day that we can look at to see God’s commitment to us. Not only the whole Old Testament, but also the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Not to mention the way in which God has established, grown and preserved his church since then. So let’s pray today that God would keep reminding us of his faithfulness, whenever we might be tempted to think that he isn’t worth following.

Micah 6:1-2

Listen to what the Lord says:
‘Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.

2 ‘Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he is lodging a charge against Israel.

For most of chapter 5 Micah has been speaking of a future time, when a promised shepherd-ruler would rescue and purify a remnant of God’s people, so that they could be restored to live in right relationship to their Lord.

The start of Chapter 6 marks a new section. We know this because of the repeated words - we’re told to ‘hear’ and ‘listen’, just as we were at the start of chapter 1 and again in chapter 3. But there’s also a shift in the setting. We’ve moved from the battleground to the law court.

God is bringing charges against his people. Israel is in the dock and God is the lawyer for the prosecution, calling Micah to speak on his behalf and outline the case. But instead of a jury and a public gallery, the onlookers in this courtroom are the mountains and hills. I don’t think it’s entirely obvious why - perhaps because the mountains have witnessed the way that the people have treated God, so now it’s right that they witness the consequences. It’s especially fitting that the land is a witness, when we remember that part of the people’s wickedness is the fact that they have been stealing land from their fellow-Israelites. Perhaps, also, the ‘everlasting’ nature of the mountains means that they are reliable witnesses to the way that God has been faithful to his people over generations (as we will see tomorrow) while the people have been faithless.

Wherever else is going on here, these verses remind us that our sin is never a purely private matter. As Romans tells us, the whole creation is groaning, subjected to frustration because of the fall. Humanity’s rejection of God is so serious that its effects ripple out beyond ourselves, leaving a trail of devastation that impacts not only other people, but the whole created order. And so the judgement and forgiveness of that sin has consequences for the whole creation, too. Why else would this world need to be totally remade when Jesus returns? The salvation that he makes possible is so significant that it requires a whole New Creation for us to experience it fully. And that is just what he provides. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 5:10-15

10 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.
13 I will destroy your idols
and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.’

Today we get another of those sudden about-turns that seem characteristic of Micah.

Yesterday, we were celebrating the prospect of God’s people decisively triumphing over their

enemies. And so we might expect v10 to say something like ‘In that day, you will rest secure,

declares the Lord.” Instead of which, we find a fresh wave of destruction beginning. This

time, it’s not the nation destroying their invader. Rather, we’re back to the theme of God

bringing destruction that we saw in earlier chapters. It feels a bit like one of those complicated

films where the good guys turn out to actually be the bad guys, and people who you thought

were the bad guys end up saving the day. Just whose side is God on here? Are his people

the innocent victims of oppression, who he swoops in to rescue. Or are they idolatrous

rebels who he arrives to judge? We’d really like it to be black and white, clear cut, but

instead it feels more like a confusing mix of shades of grey.

The truth is, this book – like all of life – is more complicated than we’d like it to be. The

people of Micah’s day are both a weak nation, about to be overrun by an aggressive

superpower, from whom God will eventually rescue them AND they’re a rebellious people

facing the consequences of rejecting their Lord. They – like us – are both sufferers and

sinners at the same time. And God is both their rescuing shepherd and their awesome

judge, just as he is ours.

We see that so clearly in these verses – Yes, he acts destructively but look at what he

destroys… their witchcraft, their spells, their idols, their Asherah poles. God is taking a

wrecking ball to the things that they treasure, but only because those things are doing them

great harm. This destruction is not an uncontrollable outburst of anger, but a careful,

thorough cleansing of the people and the land, getting rid of everything that has spoiled their

relationship with their Lord. I think that’s why horses, chariots, strongholds and cities are also

earmarked for destruction – these may well have been the things that the people trusted in

to save them, once they’d stopped trusting God. So, let’s thank God today that he loves us

enough not to leave our idols intact, but it committed to dealing decisively with our sin – even

though it cost him his one and only Son.

Micah 5:7-9

7 The remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.

8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles as it goes,
and no one can rescue.
9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.

What do the morning dew and a hungry young lion have in common? It sounds like it ought to be the lead-in to a joke! Initially, we might read these verses and think: ‘I don’t know. What do the morning dew and a young lion have in common’! It’s hard to imagine two more different things. One of them is calm and tranquil, the other terrifyingly destructive. What does Micah mean by saying that ‘the remnant of Jacob’ - that is, the people who God will rescue out of the coming judgement - is like both of those things at the same time? Fortunately, he gives us some clues…. The dew ‘does not wait for anyone or depend on man’ The emphasis is not on how lovely a field of water droplets looks, sparking in the first light of dawn, ready to be captured and shared on Instagram. Rather, it’s on the fact that dew is sent by the Lord. It’s out of our control. You could stand there with your watering can, sprinkling the grass if you wanted to, but it wouldn’t be producing dew or rain. Only God can do that.

Similarly, we might think all kinds of things when we picture a lion running wild through a flock of sheep, but the thing Micah wants to focus our attention on is how unstoppable the damage is. There is no-one to rescue the sheep. The lion is completely able to overpower and consume them and there’s no way that the sheep can stand against him. From what we’ve heard in this book so far, we might be expecting the lion to represent the enemies who God is using to judge his people, and God’s people to be the sheep. But actually it’s the opposite. It is the remnant who are like a lion. Micah is looking beyond the Assyrian invasion to the deliverance that was promised in yesterday’s verses. Yes - destruction is coming on God’s people, and they will be invaded and exiled. But afterwards, the promised shepherd-king is going to turn the tables and his sheep will become lions, sharing in the Lord’s ultimate triumph over his enemies. God’s opponents, who now seem too strong to be defeated will, in the end, be shown to be as weak as a lamb in the jaws of a hungry predator. This might all sound a bit bloodthirsty to those of us whose lives currently feel fairly secure. But those whose lives are daily threatened by the presence of God’s enemies, such as our persecuted brothers and sisters, would be cheering the arrival of the lion on the scene. And perhaps all of us ought to long more intensely for the day when sin, death and the devil are destroyed for good. So today, let’s praise God that his victory over them is assured because of the cross.

Micah 5:5-6

5 And he will be our peace
when the Assyrians invade our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,

6 who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders.

I said yesterday that the promise of a shepherd-king must have been a great encouragement for the people of Micah’s day. Today’s verses confirm that. It’s as if the song has picked up speed a bit. We’re still hearing the same tune - ‘the Assyrians are coming, the land is going to be conquered’ but now it sounds a little less like a funeral dirge and a little more like a military march. Back in chapters 1 and 2, it seemed as if the destruction of Israel was unavoidable. The language was all about desolation and loss. The only thing the people could do was wail and mourn. But here, they begin to sound as if they believe that the battle might not be as lost as they’d thought.

Notice the ‘we will’ in verse 5. So far in the book we’ve heard from Micah and from God, but this is the first time that the people seem to be speaking as a group. I don’t think they’re literally suggesting that they need to round up exactly 7 shepherds and 8 commanders to face the invading Assyrian army. Often in the Bible, 7 is the number of perfection and completeness. And if 7 is ‘perfectly enough’ then perhaps 8 is ‘even more than enough’. And the combination of shepherds and commanders represents the perfect mighty rule that we thought about yesterday. So I think the people are saying something like ‘Even when the worst thing we can imagine happens, it’s going to be OK because God is going to give us a perfect shepherd-king as our leader, who is more than able to defend and care for us’.

There’s another encouragement here, too - it seems as if the people are beginning to remember what ‘being God’s people’ is all about. See how these verses switch from ‘he’ to ‘we’ and back to ‘he’ again. The judgement that is coming has been prompted by the fact that the people have turned away from God and tried to live independently from him. But here we get a glimpse of what people who really wanted to be God’s people would say. They recognise that it is only God who can help them. ‘He’ will be their peace. ‘He’ will deliver them. They cannot save themselves. But the ‘We will …’ language commits them to being identified with their Lord. No longer are they treating God as their enemy. Rather, they want to be on his side when the battle lines are drawn. Weak as they are, in comparison to Assyria, they can speak with confidence about the outcome of the battle because they are trusting in their God to deliver them from their enemies. Weak as we are, in the face of sin, death and the devil, we can speak with confidence about the ultimate outcome, if we are trusting in our God to deliver us. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 5:3-4

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labour bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.

As I’ve said before, I don’t know the book of Micah particularly well. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it preached or done a Bible study series on it. I wonder if one of the reasons for that is that it’s not really the kind of book that lends itself to being chopped up into sections that you work through in order. Many of the New Testament letters, for instance, progress fairly logically from gospel truths in the first half through to what that looks like lived out in practice in the second half. Micah (along with other Old Testament prophets) is more circular - themes appear in one place then pass out of sight before being picked up and developed again later. So, if it’s starting to feel like we’re slightly going round in circles between judgement and hope … we are! Because Micah does.

So today we’re picking up again on a theme that we saw back in chapter 2 - the people are like sheep in need of a shepherd. You’ll remember that the people of Israel have been ill-treated by those who should have cared for them but God promised that they would one day be gathered together into safe pastures. The focus in chapter 2 was on the security that this would bring to the sheep. Here, the focus is more on the shepherd himself. This shepherd seems to be the same person as the ruler from Bethlehem, who we were introduced to yesterday. That idea of rule is picked up in verse 4 - He will shepherd his flock ‘in the majesty’ of the name of the Lord.’ We might find this surprising. ‘Shepherds’ and ‘majesty’ tend not to go together. Being a shepherd was a pretty low-status task - antisocial hours, working outdoors in all weathers, fending off wild animals. Given the choice between life in a palace and life in a sheep-pen, I imagine most of us would pick the palace. The idea of a shepherd-king is surprising, but it’s not completely unheard of.

Israel’s great King David, whose reign marked something of a high point in the nation’s history, started life as a shepherd boy. The fact that this future shepherd-king will come from Bethlehem is not a coincidence - Bethlehem is the ‘City of David’. That must have been a huge encouragement to the people of Micah’s day, living through a really low point in the nation’s history. God is promising to send them someone who will combine the best of mighty kingship with the tender care of a committed shepherd. It’s even more of an encouragement for us to remember that God has kept that promise, and sent us King Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to rule and care for us. Let’s thank him again for that today.

Micah 5:1-2

1 Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek with a rod.

2 ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.’

Even if you’ve never read the rest of Micah, you might recognise Micah 5:2, since it is quoted in Matthew chapter 2, as part of his account of the birth of Jesus. Over 2000 years ago, these words were sufficient to send a handful of stargazing men on a lengthy journey from an anonymous Eastern country to the palace of King Herod in Jerusalem. That seems pretty surprising in itself. But I think it’s even more surprising when you read these verses in their original context. After all, the reference to Bethlehem doesn’t come in a section headed ‘Notes for Astronomers’ or ‘10 tips to help you find the Messiah.’ Instead, this essential fact, without which the Magi might never have made their journey, is tucked away in a book addressed to people who lived 700 years before any of them ever climbed onto a camel. I can’t even begin to imagine the process by which our sovereign God brought this particular bit of writing into their library, and then caused them to read it at just the right time.

But if that seems remarkable, the events that this verse describes are even more surprising. We already know that the people of Israel are in trouble, and in chapter 4 we heard how God would deal with their problem by sending them a king, who would reign in Jerusalem. This king is going to have to be mighty, able to defeat the strongest of Israel’s enemies. So we’d probably expect him to burst onto the scene with visible power and splendour. We’d expect to find him living in luxury in a palace in Jerusalem, or graduating first in his class from a top military academy. But instead, he’s going to come from Bethlehem, which is ‘small among the clans of Judah’. What we see here faintly is spelled out for us much more clearly in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, and in his life from then on. The eternal one is born as a baby. The great hope for God’s people’s rescue shows up in a borrowed stable and sleeps in an animal trough. He flees as a refugee and grows up to be a homeless wanderer. He rides a donkey not a war horse, and he triumphs by dying. It’s all totally unexpected, human speaking. But it’s completely consistent with the character and purposes of a God who delights in doing marvellous things in very unexpected ways. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 4:11-13

11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, ‘Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat over Zion!’
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing-floor.
13 ‘Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations.’
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

For the past few days we’ve been enjoying a look ahead to the glorious future that awaits those who trust in the Lord. But now Micah brings us back down to earth, to the danger that currently surrounds the people of his day. One day they will be totally secure .‘But now many nations are gathered’ against them. The situation itself hasn’t changed. But now the people have a different perspective. There’s a clear contrast between what they know and what their enemies know, because the enemies ‘do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan.’ Their enemies, primarily Assyria who is poised to invade, can only see what is visible to the human eye. They can see their own military strength and Israel’s weakness. They can’t see what only the eyes of faith can see. They can’t see God’s loving commitment to his people. They can’t see God’s unbreakable faithfulness to his promises. They can’t see the power and might of the creator and sustainer of all things. They can’t see that - in comparison to the Almighty - despite all their armies and achievements, they are as insubstantial as corn being gathered at harvest time.

It’s the same today. The world looks very different depending on whose eyes you see it through. For the person who doesn’t know Jesus, reality is all about the here and now, the material things that we can touch and own. But for the Christian, there is so much more to see. We see the plans of our heavenly Father. We see that he has chosen us and called us and saved us and is taking us to a far more real, solid, lasting home with him than anything we could experience in this world. Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s pray that he would help us to keep looking with the eyes of faith, when the hard things of this life threaten to take our focus off the future that he has prepared for us.

Micah 4:9-10

9 Why do you now cry aloud –
have you no king?
Has your ruler perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labour?
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labour,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem you
out of the hand of your enemies.

In verses 1-8 of this chapter we saw the wonderful future that lies ahead for God’s people. But that isn’t their present experience. The hope that is to come doesn’t cancel out the judgement that this book warns of. Yes, God will rescue them. But he will rescue them ‘out of Babylon’. They have to lose their city, their country, their home, and be taken into exile before God brings them back. Yes, God will redeem them out of the hand of their enemies. But he’s still going to hand them over to those enemies first. There will be blessing in the last days. But those blessings will be enjoyed by a people who have been brought through suffering and out the other side, not by a people who have been wrapped in cotton wool and airlifted directly to glory without having to live through anything difficult.

This pattern is not unusual, purely for the people of Micah’s day. It’s characteristic of the whole Bible story. The nation of Israel had its beginnings when God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt. Presumably, God could have blessed them by not allowing them to be made slaves in the first place, but he didn’t. He blessed them by being with them through their sufferings and then rescuing them from their sufferings. That’s our experience too. As Christians, we don’t get automatically shielded from the pain that comes from life in a broken world. And even though Christ’s death in our place means that we won’t face the judgement from God that our sin deserves, we do often have to live with the consequences of our own sin, and the sin of the people around us, in the here and now.

So let’s not make the mistake of thinking that when life is hard, that must mean that God’s given up on us. It’s the normal pattern for God’s people to experience hard things on the way to glory. That’s how it was in the Old Testament. That’s how it was for Jesus and that’s how it will be for us. God has redeemed us already, in Jesus. And he is with us now, while we wait to experience the wonderful future which he has promised us. So let’s pray today that he would keep us trusting him, while we wait, however hard that seems.

Micah 4:6-8

6 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will gather the lame;
I will assemble the exiles
and those I have brought to grief.
7 I will make the lame my remnant,
those driven away a strong nation.
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
from that day and for ever.
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.’

I wonder what you think your biggest need is right now? If you were looking ahead to a better future, what would it have in it that you don’t have in the present? We might have all kinds of answers to that question. But I’m pretty sure most of us wouldn’t have answered that question by saying ‘a King’!

In today’s verses, God continues to paint a picture of the future that lies ahead for his people, after his judgement has passed and they have returned to worshipping him as they ought to. They will have gone through grief and suffering , scattering and weakness, but God promises to bring them back together and make them strong again. But remember what we have seen so far in Micah - one of their current problems is a failure of leadership and another is the coming invasion by Assyria. It’s not going to help much if God brings the nation back from exile only to have them led astray again by a new generation of leaders who behave just like the ones they have now. And so God promises them a new King. Instead of being at the mercy of selfish leaders from among their own people, or under the oppression of a foreign government, they will live under the everlasting rule of the Lord himself.

Isn’t that what we need too? It might not be at the forefront of our minds, but when we stop and think about it, we know that everything in life goes better when we can be confident that the person in charge is powerful, wise and good. Weak, selfish, ineffective leaders bring misery and anxiety. But the rule of a good leader brings security and prosperity. So let’s praise God today that we get to be citizens for ever in the kingdom of the only perfect King.

Micah 4:5

5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.

I find today’s verse intriguing! What does it mean to walk ‘in the name of ‘ something or someone? Most of the time, when this phrase crops up in the Old Testament it seems to be to do with speaking. People bless or prophesy ‘in the name of the Lord’ - in other words, they speak with his authority, and say things consistent with what God himself says. Or else they ‘trust in the name of the Lord’, looking to him to be their help and hope. But how do you ‘walk in the name of the Lord’? Perhaps the first half of the verse gives us a clue. There’s definitely a stark contrast between the way that the nations walk and the way God’s people are to walk. At the start of this chapter we saw that ‘in the last days’, the nations will flock to worship God as he deserves. But at the time Micah is writing, that’s definitely not the case: instead of walking towards the true God, the nations are walking in the name of their own gods. God’s people are called to be different. They are not to walk in step with those around them. Instead, they are to walk ‘in the name of the Lord their God’ They are to go his way, not the world’s way. They are to walk in ways consistent with God’s character. For example, they should be marked by peace and justice, and by trusting God to provide for them instead of fighting to get what they want.

I suppose it’s a bit like the people who walk to raise money for a charity. Whether it’s a small local stroll, or an 100k ultra-trek, sponsored walkers can often be identified out in teams, in matching T-shirts showing the logo of the charity that they represent. As they walk in the name of their chosen charity they not only raise money but also awareness of their cause. It’s obvious whose name they are walking under. The same should be true of us. It should be obvious by the way we walk - that is, the way we speak, think and act - whether we belong to the so-called gods of the world, or the true and living God. Walking in the name of our Lord will mean being out of step with those around us, and so we will need his help and strength to keep going. So let’s ask him to help us in that today.

Micah 4:3-4

3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war any more.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig-tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

As I write this, the news is full of death and destruction. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been driven off the front pages by fighting in Gaza. There are thought to be more than 100 armed conflicts ongoing across the world in 2023, many of which don’t even register in Western news media. Many of these conflicts have been going on for decades. We don’t seem to know how to bring about lasting peace. And so we long for the situation described in these verses, where a perfectly wise judge settles disputes between nations so well that peace is permanent. In fact, the defence budget can safely be cut to zero and the entire military can retrain as gardeners, recycling their weapons into tools that create rather than destroy.

I don’t think that the picture of everyone under their own tree is meant to present being antisocial as a virtue. These people aren’t deliberately choosing to ignore their neighbours! Instead, I think it’s meant to be a contrast to the situation described in earlier chapters, where people’s land was being stolen by their own countrymen, and where they faced losing it altogether to an invasion by Assyria. Here we get a picture of what it would be like to have both those threats removed, so that the people could live in safety and security. It’s a picture of blessing, expressed in language that would be really vivid for the people of Micah’s day.

We might not long for our own vine or fig-tree, but we can still appreciate what it would be like to live in a permanent state of security. No more tiptoeing round the explosive anger of a colleague, neighbour, or family member. No more fear of what the future might hold. No more feeling powerless when what we have worked for gets snatched away because of an accident, illness or act of evil. When we live forever in the New Creation, where the Prince of Peace rules unopposed, no one will make us afraid any more. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 4:2

2 Many nations will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.’
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

We’ve seen already in Micah just what a mess the people have got themselves into, when they’ve misunderstood what it means to be ‘God’s people’. Instead of recognising it as the gracious blessing that it is, they’ve treated it like a ‘get out of jail free’ card that means they can live how they like, treating God with contempt, and not have to face the consequences. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, down the ages, people have struggled to make sense of the idea of God choosing one nation to be particularly his. Isn’t he meant to be the God of all people, everywhere? Surely it’s not fair to favour one particular group, in one particular place. What about those who are left out? After all, they didn’t choose where to be born!

But if we think like that, we’re missing something very important - God’s intention was never that his ‘chosen people’ would be the only ones who would know him and worship him. The whole point of him choosing a nation to belong to him was so that they could show the rest of the world just how good it was to live with him as their God, so that others would come and join them. From the very beginning, when God made promises to Abraham - who would become the founding father of the Jewish people - the plan was that ‘all peoples on earth’ would be blessed as those promises were fulfilled.

So it shouldn’t surprise us that in today’s verse, these ‘last days’ will be a time of blessing for many nations, not just for one. Many nations will come to the God of Jacob. Many nations will worship in his temple. Many nations will learn his ways and walk in them. His words will not be hidden away in a small middle-eastern city where only those born in the right place can hear them. Instead, those words will flow out into all the earth, so that people of every language can hear and believe them. Those of us who weren’t born Jewish are only able to call this God our father because he has chosen to adopt into his family children from every nation, country and culture. Let’s thank him for that today.

Micah 4:1

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.

Here at the start of chapter 4 we get another of the abrupt changes in focus that we saw at the end of chapter 2. One minute everything is darkness and judgement, and the next minute there’s a startlingly unexpected injection of hope. At least, that’s how it seems when we read it. But in practice, there’s going to be quite a long gap between the desolation described at the end of chapter 3 and the glorious future that’s described in today’s verse. In fact, we’ll need to wait until ‘the last days’ to see it happen. But when are ‘the last days’? The phrase is used a handful of times in the Old Testament, by prophets including Isaiah, Micah and Hosea. Each of them announces to their own generation that judgement is coming because the nation has turned away from God. But beyond the destruction, they can see the faint outlines of better things to come, when the people return to the Lord. That far-off time is the ‘last days’ - it’s not so much a calendar entry that marks a precise date that they can count down to, but more a destination to set their sights on to help them to persevere through the hard times. Because the ‘last days’ that these prophets speak about are filled with joy and delight. They are the time when everything is put to rights - God is once more the focus of his people’s delight and worship.

And so the fact that the Lord’s mountain will be the highest of the mountains isn’t an observation about geography. Rather, it’s an expression of the fact that God will once again be exalted in the midst of his people. Of course, he always is and always has been the Almighty - the one who is far above any other power or authority. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at the way his people have treated him. But in the last days he will finally be given all the glory and honour he rightly deserves. Instead of turning away, his people will flock to be near him. What a privilege it is that when that day comes, and every knee finally bows to worship the Lord Jesus, we will be there as children of that mighty king, welcomed to draw near to him because of his death in our place. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 3:11b-12

Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
‘Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.’
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be ploughed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

If you think back to yesterday’s verses, what we’ve just read is completely shocking! Verses 9-11 told us that the leaders of Israel were unjust, wicked and covetous. Yet they still remain convinced that the judgement that Micah warns of is a figment of his imagination. “God is with us” they say. “It’s all going to be fine!”

I think this shows us just what a powerful thing ‘Identity’ is. How we see ourselves affects how we behave. If I feel confident and competent I will be more likely to face a challenge head on. If I feel weak and unskilled I’m more likely to look for ways to avoid doing something that seems difficult. The people of Micah’s day seem to have a very strong sense of Identity. They knew exactly who they were: God’s chosen people. And on the face of it, they were right. After all, God had told them “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). They saw themselves as untouchable by any enemy, because of their special status. And they therefore felt able to completely ignore God’s word to them, through Micah, which warned of coming judgement. Which reveals the great flaw in their position. They are treating God not as their covenant-keeping rescuer, but as their enemy!

The relationship between Identity and behaviour works both ways. How we see ourselves affects how we behave. But how we behave reveals who we really think we are. And the behaviour of the people shows that they’re not really God’s people at all. It’s a badge that they wear, but it’s not who they are at heart. They don’t think of themselves as stubborn rebels, rescued by a God who loves them more than they deserve. In fact, their true identity is very different: They are God’s enemies, who have rejected him and worshipped idols, and so face his just judgement.

What about us? How we respond to these warnings of judgement reveals how we really see ourselves. Do we think “Judgement? No problem! I’m fine”, merely wearing the badge ‘Christian’ whilst continuing to live with hearts that see God as the enemy? If so, today would be a good day to ask God to give us a new identity as his child, by faith in Jesus. Or have we embraced that new identity already, which allows us to think “Judgement? That’s exactly what I deserve. Praise God that Jesus died in my place and I am safe in him.” If that’s us, let’s thank him for that today.

Micah 3:9-11a

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Just in case we’d missed it, these verses reinforce for us the great contrast between the leaders of Micah’s day, and the perfect prophet, priest and ruler, Jesus. The leaders of Jacob hated justice, but when God’s prophet came he was filled with justice. Those with power in Micah’s day used it to build their own kingdom, shedding the blood of the people in the process. Jesus came to build God’s kingdom, shedding his own blood to bring God’s people back to him. The rulers of Israel distorted what was right. When Jesus came he only ever lived and spoke rightly. Israel’s leaders, priests and prophets were out for what they could get. Jesus came to pour himself out generously for the good of others.

If we were in any doubt all about how to tell the difference between a false prophet and one who truly speaks God’s words, these contrasting pictures might give us a clue. Of course, sometimes false teachers come as wolves in sheep’s clothing, looking quite persuasive on the outside. We’ll always need to weigh their words carefully to discern whether they are teaching truth. And it’s also true that no human preacher of God’s word will be completely perfect, apart from Jesus. They will sin, and need to repent, just like the rest of us. But where leaders are characterised by greed, or injustice, or a callous disregard for their people we shouldn’t ignore those things just because they claim to be ‘building Jerusalem.’ God’s kingdom-building project of growing and maturing his church is not one where ‘the end justifies the means.’ You can’t build the body of Christ by being determinedy un-Christlike. You can’t bring a message of grace to the world if your motivation is greed rather than generosity.

So let’s ask God to show us the areas of our lives where we have more in common with the leaders of Micah’s day than with the character of Jesus. We can do this confident of his grace to forgive and change us. And let’s pray for the leaders that God has given us, that he would enable them to do their work in ways that increasingly reflect his character and priorities.

Micah 3:8

But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.

The first 7 verses of chapter 3 have all been pretty bad news. The leaders and prophets have abused their position, misleading and destroying the people, and so they will be silenced. We’re left thinking, “What now? How can these people possibly return to God if they have no way to hear him speak?” But all is not lost. In verse 8 we discover that there is at least one true prophet left in the land. Micah has been appointed and equipped by God to speak with power and justice and might. Here is the prophet that they need - one who will call a spade a spade and confront them with the reality of their sin. We’ll need to wait and see how the people respond to this message, but they definitely can’t blame God for leaving them in the dark. He has silenced the false prophets and sent them a better one, who comes with divine power and authority to declare that they are sinners deserving judgement.

Micah himself may not have known it, but he was just a shadow of the even better prophet that God would one day send. Jesus stepped into our world of false messages, filled with the Spirit of the Lord, to tell us the truth about ourselves - that we are sinners who need to be reconciled to the holy God who made us. Why would the most loving man who ever lived speak so much about sin and judgement? Not to crush us under the weight of our wrong-doing. But to wake us up to our need of a saviour, so that we would come to him, who bore the weight of our sin for us at the cross. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 3:5-7

This is what the Lord says:

‘As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim “peace”
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God.’

We thought yesterday about what it would be like for us as individuals, if God was silent. Here we see the same thing, from the perspective of those whose job it was to speak God’s words to the people. We know from chapter 2 that Israel in Micah’s day was full of false prophets, telling the nation what they wanted to hear instead of what God actually said. These prophets will trade a so-called message from God for a good meal - it’s all about them getting what they want for themselves. Instead of leading the people towards God, these ‘prophets’ are leading people astray. And so it is right that they experience God’s judgement. Once again, we see God’s justice at work. The prophets have been giving the people false messages, so now there will be no messages. They have abused the privileged role of being God’s spokesmen and so their job will be taken away from them. Instead of basking in the spotlight, they find themselves in darkness. What use is a prophet if God doesn’t speak to them? What use is someone who sees visions, when it’s too dark to see anything at all?

If I’m honest, I’ve struggled to find the encouragement in these verses. I’m tempted to jump ahead and think about Jesus, the perfect prophet. But we need to save that for verse 8, which we’ll look at tomorrow!

But I wonder if there is, perhaps, one good thing happening here. The ministry of the false prophets is going to be brought to an end. The seers and the diviners are ashamed and disgraced. No one’s going to be following them anywhere any more. So I wonder if, perhaps, that’s a reflection of God’s care for his people. He’s not going to leave them permanently at the mercy of fake visions and misleading messages. I don’t suppose that the people saw this as a blessing at the time. They probably wanted to cling on to the reassuring lie that everything was going to be just fine, rather than facing the uncomfortable truth of their need to repent. We’re much the same. So let’s ask God to help us recognise when we’re treasuring lies instead of trusting his truth. And thank him that he loves us enough to do whatever it takes to bring us back to him.

Micah 3:4

Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them
because of the evil they have done.

Do you remember the graphic picture we had in chapter 1, of crumbling mountains and destroyed cities? If we found ourselves in the middle of a scene like that, the noise would be deafening. Here in chapter 3, by contrast, there is a moment of silence. It might not seem so scary, but I wonder if this silence is actually more terrifying than the ear-splitting crash of a city turning to rubble. The people cry out to the Lord, in desperate horror, and they hear …… NOTHING in reply.

What would it be like if God didn’t speak to us? I don’t mean a voice speaking audibly into our ears - that’s not something the Bible teaches us to expect. I don’t even mean that sense we sometimes get of a Bible passage really resonating with us, or revealing something to us, that makes us say ‘God really spoke to me through that sermon’ or ‘I was really aware of God speaking to me when I read the Bible today’. Those feelings can be wonderful when they come, but we’re not guaranteed them. No, I’m talking about something much more significant. What if the holy God, who cannot look on sin, chose to treat us as the sinners we really are, and turned his face away? What if he only answered those whose prayers were worthy of his attention? If that was how he treated us we could cry out to him for the rest of our days, and all we would hear back would be silence. It’s a chilling prospect.

There was a man who experienced that silence, so that we don’t have to. When Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” from the cross, what was his father’s answer? Nothing. Just silence. And darkness in the middle of the day, because the light of God’s face was turned away. Jesus bore the horror of separation from his father, so that we never have to. If we are trusting in him, then we are assured that God looks on us with favour. Our cries are heard. Our prayers may not always be answered in ways that we can see, but God is never silent. Every moment of our lives, he is speaking words of hope and reassurance to those who are in Christ: ”You are mine. You are not alone. Your sin is forgiven at the cross. Your eternity is secure.” Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 3:1-3

Then I said,

‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot.’

In chapters 1 and 2 we have seen the sin of God’s people, which is widespread in both the Northern and Southern kingdoms.They have failed to worship their covenant Lord and turned instead to idols. Their rejection of God leads them to care little for his people and so they steal from their fellow Israelites, taking away the land that God had given as an inheritance.

Here in chapter 3 we see a further consequence of this idolatry - the leaders who God had appointed to rule over the people have become the very opposite of what they should be. God loves what is good and hates what is evil, but they hate good and love evil. God tenderly gathers his people like a flock of sheep brought into a safe pasture where they can feed in peace. The leaders, far from feeding the people, feed on the people, exploiting their power to grab whatever they can get. Their role was to lead, teach and protect but all they care about is taking and destroying.

Micah’s language is particularly graphic but we recognise the problem, even if we wouldn’t use quite such stark terms. In every generation there have been those who have used their power for their own good, at others expense, instead of using it for the good of those that they lead. In fact, it’s so common that we might begin to think that it’s just not possible to lead without trampling on those beneath you.

How wonderful, then, that God doesn’t just lay out the job description of a good leader, and leave it at that. He actually stoops down to become the perfect leader in human form. Jesus shows us what it looks like to have all glory and yet to serve. To have all power and yet to care gently for the weak. So let’s thank God that we live under the rule of a just, loving, generous Lord. And let’s ask for his help to use whatever power we have - whether it is a little or a lot - in a way that is consistent with his character.

Micah 2:12-13

‘I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a sheepfold,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord at their head.’

As I write this, we’re having an unseasonably hot week for October. Just when I’d expect to be hunkering down for the dark mornings and evenings, expecting autumnal storms and a drop in temperature, I’ve found myself blinking in the bright sun of a 24 degree afternoon, and wondering why I got my winter jumpers out when what I need instead are shorts and sunglasses!

These verses at the end of Micah chapter 2 feel equally disorientating. We’ve become accustomed to the dark skies of looming judgement and then suddenly a dazzling shaft of hope appears. Up till this point, the message has been about scattering, ruin and destruction. Now God speaks about gathering, safety and preservation. The language of sheep and shepherd is a beautiful metaphor for the rest we were thinking about yesterday - the remnant will once again be with their Lord, in a place of blessing and security. Wow! What an amazing turnaround. Yet it feels a bit abrupt. Back in v11 we heard that what these people deserve is the sort of false prophet who offers them the empty so-called rest of a drunken stupor. And yet in the very next verse, God himself offers them the rich, deep blessings of having him - their Lord and King - living with them to lead them.

But that’s how grace operates, isn’t it? It is, by its very nature, unexpected and out of place. These verses - wonderful as they are - feel like they don’t quite fit here, because they’re so obviously NOT what the people deserve. We’re only just beginning to appreciate the severity of the people’s rebellion - and there’s plenty more chapters to come which will make it even clearer! They certainly aren’t showing any signs of repentance. We’re not even told if they’ve acted on the warnings so far, by mourning their sin and asking for mercy. This first note of hope doesn’t come because the people change their ways. It comes because God makes a promise. The initiative is all on his part. 3 times in 2 verses he says “I will ….” Not “You must …” or “When you have ….”

The grace God offers us is equally unexpected. Romans 5 tells us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before we cleaned up our act. Before we even realised we needed to. In fact, before we were even born, a dazzling shaft of hope broke into the darkness of a world under God’s judgement. Let’s thank God for that today.

Micah 2:10-11

Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
“I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,”
that would be just the prophet for this people!

What does ‘rest’ mean to you? The feeling of sinking into your bed at the end of a long day? 10 minutes on the sofa with a cup of tea? We all want rest, but it can be hard to find. Some of us are so busy that rest feels impossible. For others, empty hours weigh heavily on us rather than providing the refreshment of true rest. What really is rest and where can it be found?

The idolatry of God’s people means they are on the verge of being driven out of their land by the Assyrians. But, as we saw at the start of this chapter, this is about more than just geography. Their land is not only their home but also their inheritance - the physical reminder of their covenant relationship with their God. That’s what lies behind the idea of a ‘resting place’ in verse 10. In the Bible, ‘rest’ is less about feeling comfortable, or the absence of work, as we tend to think of it. Instead, it’s all tied up with enjoying the presence of God. To be with God, in right relationship with him, is to be ‘at rest’. It’s about safety from enemies and the security of knowing we belong to, and with, the Lord. And so the promised land of Canaan should have been the ‘resting place’ of God’s people. Yet Hebrews tells us that a whole generation of Israelites died in the wilderness, after the Exodus, because their unbelief prevented them from entering into the rest which God had offered them. Even for those who did enter, the experience of rest was only partial. At the high point of their history, under the rule of the Christ-like King David, the land was said to be ‘at rest’. But it doesn’t last. The later failure of both kings and people to worship God means that they now look set to lose not only the land but also the rest that it symbolises.

When Jesus says, in Matthew 11 ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” he is offering us something much, much better than 10 minutes on the sofa with a cup of tea! His coming makes possible a full, permanent experience of rest that the Old Testament Israelites only had glimpses of. When we find our rest in him, by faith, it will never be taken away. This life may continue to be busy and difficult, but we can look forward with confidence to the eternal rest of being face to face with Jesus, totally safe and secure. Let’s praise him for that today.

Micah 2:8-9

Lately my people have risen up
like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
from those who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.
9 You drive the women of my people
from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
from their children for ever.

Here’s another one of the shocking statements that we’re coming to expect in this book. God describes his people as ‘like an enemy’. And so he is going to treat them like enemies, driving them from their homes and taking away the blessings that come from being his people. Why would he do such a thing? Has he suddenly decided to turn his back on his promises to them? Of course not. The coming judgement may be God’s doing, as we saw back in Chapter 1. But it’s not his initiative. Verse 8 is clear - it is the people who have ‘risen up’. They are not innocent victims. They have brought this ruin on themselves. They are, as the saying goes, their own worst enemies. But why? It seems so self-defeating! Don’t they know that living as God’s people is vastly better in every possible respect than living as his enemies? Haven’t they paid any attention to the centuries of Bible story that have gone before, where the blessings of covenant relationship, and the hopelessness of life apart from Yahweh, have been vividly illustrated?

But we are just the same. We have that same history to read, plus the example of Micah’s generation, and the exile that followed. We can’t claim ignorance of the consequences of failing to live the way God calls us to. Yet the perverse nature of sin is that it is never, ever truly good for us and we still chase after it. Sometimes we’re unaware of the consequences to come, but sometimes we KNOW, deep down, that what we’re doing is a very bad idea but we do it anyway. It's just so foolish. We're just like the Israelites. Our hands are full of all the rich treasures that God graciously gives us, and we’re so quick to throw them out of the window, so that we can grab hold of a cheap, tarnished imitation instead. We rob ourselves of God’s blessings - not to mention stealing from our children, and from all those who watch what we’re doing and decide to follow in our footsteps.

So today, let’s admit our foolishness to God, asking for his forgiveness and for his help to increasingly choose the blessings of obedience in place of the destructiveness of sin.

Micah 2:6-7

‘Do not prophesy,’ their prophets say.
‘Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us.’
7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
‘Does the Lord become impatient?
Does he do such things?’

‘Do not my words do good
to the one whose ways are upright?’

I imagine I'm not the only who finds these chapters in Micah hard to listen to. I don't really want to have to think about sin and judgement. I'd much rather talk about God's love, faithfulness and generosity. I'd rather read and listen to parts of the Bible that focus on grace and forgiveness. It seems so much more encouraging!

The Israelites felt the same way. "Be quiet" they say to Micah. "Don't talk about judgement. God isn't really going to punish us. He's loving and patient. It'll be fine." It's a common reaction across the generations of God's people. The devil's earliest lie was that God's loving warnings could safely be ignored. "You will not surely die" he told Eve in the garden of Eden. Sadly, throughout the history of God’s people there have always been so-called prophets who will tell people what they want to hear instead of faithfully passing on the message from God that they need to hear. Jeremiah talks about prophets who say “Peace, peace” when there is no peace. Similarly, there have always been people who will seek out a prophet with a reassuring, comfortable message and block their ears to a message that is uncomfortable, even though it’s true.

Which will we be? Will we be people who are willing to hear hard truths from God, confident that his word is good for us even when it sounds like bad news? And will we be those who are willing to pass on that message to others, warning them to take refuge in Jesus from the judgement that will certainly come? Neither of those things is natural human behaviour. Instinctively, we too prefer comforting words that make us feel better about ourselves. We’d much rather tell those around us about the many ways in which knowing God is wonderful, and shy away from telling them that our gentle shepherd-saviour is also our righteous judge. We need God’s Spirit to do some serious work in our hearts if we’re ever going to be people willing to hear, and say, these uncomfortable truths, so let’s pray for that today.

Micah 2:3-5

Therefore, the Lord says:

‘I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
“We are utterly ruined;
my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.”’

5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by lot.

Yesterday we discovered the details of the Israelites’ sin - they have defrauded their own people, taking away not only their homes and livelihoods but their inheritance in the promised land. This sin is shocking, but it is only the visible outworking of something even worse - they have rejected their identity as God’s people and worshipped idols.

Today we find out how God will punish them. As is always the case with God’s judgement, it is both completely inescapable (humanly speaking) and utterly just. God is not offering a few gentle suggestions for ways in which Israel might want to clean up their act. He is sending a disaster from which they cannot save themselves. That’s an accurate description of the ultimate Day of Judgement that will come when Jesus returns - it will be totally inescapable. There will be nothing we can do to avoid it, postpone it or outrun it. And it will be completely just. Notice how fitting verse 5 is - those who stole their fellow-Israelites’ inheritance will lose their inheritance in the land. The assembly that is referred to here is the gathering of the people to cast lots for the land which God has given them. If you’re not present when the land is divided up, you can’t receive a share in it. What they have done to others will be done to them. God’s punishment for sin is always proportionate and just. If it appears to us to be unnecessarily harsh, that just shows how much we underestimate the seriousness of not giving God the honour and worship which he rightly deserves.

That same justice awaits everyone who rejects God. His grand plan is the creation of a people who will worship him for eternity. When we choose to rebel, and worship other things in his place, of course it’s right that we end up outside that worshipping community, denied a place in God’s eternal kingdom. Nothing less than death and destruction can be appropriate for people who have opted out of relationship with the God who is the source of all life. This is the ultimate disaster from which we cannot save ourselves. So let’s ask God to teach us to see our sin as it really is, so that we recognise the justice of his judgement. And let’s praise him afresh that he has sent Jesus to rescue us from it.

Micah 2:1-2

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.

In chapter 1 we saw how God’s people were facing his judgement because they had failed to worship him as they were called to, and had instead become worshippers of idols just like the nations around them. Here in Chapter 2, we discover that this is not their only sin. They had been called to live in a way that reflected God’s character to the watching world, so that others would be drawn to worship him. Yet instead of being a beacon of God-like love, generosity, goodness and justice, they were evil and covetous. They spent their days getting rich at other people’s expense and their nights plotting how to do it even more effectively. This blatant theft of land and property is bad enough, but what’s happening is actually even more wicked than it first appears. They’re not just stealing homes, but inheritances.

The other day, I found myself watching a surprisingly interesting TV programme about beach huts! Among the people interviewed were some who owned huts on a beautiful beach where they had played as children. All their lives, they had returned to the same place each holiday. The hut was passed down through the generations, so that their children and grandchildren experienced the same beach holidays as they had enjoyed, decades before. Other families had done the same thing, and enduring friendships had been formed. The hut was much more than a wooden shed - it was a tangible link to their past and future, and gave them access to a place in the community.

That’s a bit like what ‘land’ meant to the Israelites. More than just a place to live, it represented God’s covenant promise to his people. Those with a share in the promised land belonged to the God who made that promise. Taking away their land destroyed their inheritance - their connection to the generations of God’s people before and after them. These thieves are actively trying to undo what God himself has done. They don’t seem to care at all that they are working against God’s good plans for his people.

Sin is always like that. It’s never just about wrong actions. It’s also a rejection of the God who tells us what is wrong and what is right. Once you’ve decided to disrespect God Almighty, why on earth would you care about harming his people? It’s their idolatry that has led to their covetousness and theft. Our idolatry might express itself differently, but it will express itself somehow. So let’s pray today that God would enable us to repent not only of our outwardly visible sins, but of attitudes in our hearts that put other things in the place that should be only his.

Micah 1:13-16

13 You who live in Lachish, harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah.
The nobles of Israel will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.

Verses 10-15 probably sound very strange to us. I doubt that we’ve visited, or even heard of, Lachish, Moresheth Gath, Akzib, Mareshah and Adullam. But all these place-names have a double-meaning. Not only are they actual towns and cities, threatened with destruction. But Micah picks them out particularly because their names hint at what is to come - Mareshah, for instance, sounds like the Hebrew word for ‘conqueror’. Imagine if Micah had been writing about the north of England - he might have said something like “Bury will be buried”.

This is one of those bits of the Bible that it’s easy to just skip past. Because it’s written about far away places, centuries ago, we can easily assume it doesn’t apply to us. Yet the New Testament tells us that “All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful” for Christians. So we need to resist that urge to skim over things that seem foreign or distant to us, and ask for God’s help to hear and understand what they might mean for us today. As I said in the Introduction, I’m not an expert on the book of Micah, and even if I was, 3 minutes a day is never going to be long enough to properly uncover the full riches of every verse in this book! But even if some sections of Micah leave us with more questions than answers, let’s commit to listening as carefully as we can to the things that are clear.

In this section, I think that’s probably verse 16 - “shave your head in mourning”. At first glance, even that seems a bit long-ago and far-away. But for the Israelites of Micah’s day, shaved heads were a clear sign of grief or repentance. We might not express those things in the same way today, but the underlying command still applies - ‘Grieve for your sin because it brings God’s righteous judgement’. Micah is warning them “Don’t just go on living life as normal when destruction is on the doorstep. Stop. Understand the seriousness of the situation, and respond seriously. Be willing to admit that you deserve punishment for the way that you’ve rejected God and throw yourselves on his mercy.” That’s a message that is as true today as it was when Micah first spoke it. So as we read this unfamiliar, and sometimes difficult, book let’s pray that God’s words would speak clearly to us, in our time and place, and that they would be useful in our lives, teaching, rebuking and correcting us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Micah 1:10-12

10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame, you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning; it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain, waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord, even to the gate of Jerusalem.

So far in Micah, we’ve had some big surprises: God speaks to ordinary people, his coming is terrifying, Jerusalem is no better than a pagan place of worship. Here in v.12 we get another shock.

At the time when Micah was speaking, the nation of Assyria posed a significant threat to Israel. Israel was a pretty small country. Assyria was a great superpower, advancing towards them, ready to conquer the land and take the people captive. The threat was very real. So perhaps the message that ‘disaster is coming’ wouldn’t have been a massive surprise to Micah’s audience. But here’s the shock: he doesn’t say ‘disaster has come from Assyria’, as we might have expected. No. The message is ‘disaster has come from the Lord’. How can that possibly be right? Aren’t these God’s people? Isn’t he supposed to look after them?

God has a long history of exercising his mighty power to rescue his people and destroy their enemies. Just think about the Exodus, when God brought them out of slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt, wiping out every firstborn Egyptian son and the entire chariot section of the Egyptian army. It’s not news that God is able to bring disaster and destruction. But we expect it to fall on Israel’s enemies rather than on Israel itself. Has God forgotten his promises to his people? No! But they have forgotten their loyalty to him. Who needs to fear God’s judgement? God’s enemies do. And the people of Israel, in worshipping other gods, have chosen to put themselves on the side of God’s enemies. The nation lost the benefits of being ‘God’s people’ when they stopped worshipping God as ‘their God’. And so disaster is coming not simply from Assyria, but from God himself, using Assyria as his instrument.

So, let’s never skip over the parts of the Bible that speak about God’s judgement, pretending that ‘our God would never do anything like that.’ Yes, he would. He has judged his enemies in the past. And yes, he will. He will send disaster on his enemies on the last day. But he has also poured out his judgement on Jesus, who went to his death representing all God’s chosen people. Our confidence doesn’t come from imagining that God never sends disaster. It comes from knowing that the ultimate disaster we deserve has already fallen on Jesus, so that it will never fall on us. Let’s give thanks for that today.

Micah 1:8-9

8 Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself.

As we saw yesterday, Samaria – in the North – had a long history of idolatory. But we see from verse 9 that this isn’t just a private matter. Idolatory, like all sin, spreads like a plague. We can imagine a map of Israel, with a dark ink blot over Samaria growing and spreading across the whole land, until it reaches the gate of Jerusalem. Isn’t that our experience of sin, too? What starts small – just a temptation indulged in our minds – turns into an action, which becomes a habit, which starts to reshape our character. And our desire to hide our sin starts to impact our relationships as we hide our true selves from one another, becoming distant or defensive instead of honest and vulnerable. Perhaps others are watching the effects of sin in our lives, and concluding that nothing terrible has happened to us yet, so what we’re doing can’t be that bad. And so they, too, ease up on the fight against temptation. And the stain spreads. Left unchecked, sin is never going to get rid of itself. It’s only going to grow. When did we ever see an ink blot spontaneously shrink?

What are we to do, then? We begin as Micah does in v8. We weep and wail. We see our sin for what it is – not a harmless self-indulgence, or a beautiful route to freedom, but a deadly and destructive evil. We cry out to God, honestly admitting that he is pure and holy but we are not. We admit that we are infected with a plague that we cannot cure and we come to the only one who can heal us. Perhaps the intensity of v8 surprises us – I can’t think of the last time that I howled like a jackal or moaned like an owl! If so, perhaps we’ve forgotten the seriousness of sin and need to look back to the cross. Our rebellion against God required the death of Jesus to restore our relationship with him. Since there is nothing in the universe more valuable than the one and only son of God, any problem that can only be fixed by his death MUST be serious. We need to ask God to help us see our sin as it really is, so that we will come to him for forgiveness and for the help that we need to resist its spread in our lives. Let’s do that today, and every day.

Micah 1:5-7

5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

6 ‘Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.’

Yesterday, we heard Micah warning the people that their God was coming in awesome and earth-shattering judgement. But it’s easy for God’s people to hear warnings about judgement and think ‘It’s OK. He doesn’t mean me. God’s judgement is a problem for other people, but not for us.’ The nation of Israel was very used to God’s judgement falling on their enemies. ‘God’s coming’ could easily have sounded more like a promise than a threat. But then comes v5!

Shockingly, we hear that the judgement is not heading for the pagan nations, as we might have expected. It’s not some foreign city that’s going to be destroyed. It’s Samaria – capital city of the Northern part of the kingdom of Israel. And why? Because of their sins. Samaria is full of idols and images of false gods. Her people have been unfaithful to their God, who has loved them with all the passion and faithfulness of a devoted husband. And they have thrown his kindness back in his face by giving themselves as worshippers to his rivals.

If you know much about the history of Israel, you might not be entirely surprised to hear that the Northern Kingdom is in trouble with God. They had had a succession of terrible kings, who led the people in idol-worship and encouraged sacrifices on the ‘high places’ instead of at the temple in Jerusalem as God commanded. They might have called themselves God’s people, but they’ve behaved like the pagan nations. Of course God’s going to judge that.

The Southern Kingdom, however, did worship in Jerusalem. They looked like the good guys, compared to the North. Sure, they’d had some bad kings but they’d had some good ones too. Maybe they’ll be OK. But v.5 tells us that Jerusalem, far from being a shining example of proper worship of God, is a ‘high place’ – it’s just another site for idol worship, and totally deserving of the destruction that is coming. What was intended to be the place where God lived in the heart of his people has become just another location for worshipping other gods. Destruction is coming right to the very heart of Israel, because at its heart, Israel is unfaithful to her Lord.

Idolatory kills. Whatever blessings the people had hoped to gain from their false gods, all they will end up with is rubble and devastation. The same is true today. There is only one God who is worthy of our worship and praise. It’s bad enough that those who don’t know God worship worthless alternatives. But when his own people, who have been given every reason to trust and adore him, turn away that’s much, much worse. So let’s repent of the ways that we replace him with other things, allowing idolatory into hearts that ought to be his alone. And let’s praise him for Jesus, the only one whose heart was ever perfectly faithful.

Micah 1:3-4

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling-place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.

Yesterday, we thought about the extraordinary privilege that is it to have the Almighty God speak to us. Today we see something even more extraordinary. The God who created and sustains all things doesn’t just speak to us from a distance – he actually comes down to earth.

As New Testament believers, when we think of God coming to earth we probably think first about the coming of Jesus – born as a baby in a Palestinian stable 2000 years ago. If that’s the way we expect God to show up on earth, verses 3 & 4 come as something of a shock! Here, when the Lord comes he is not a helpless human baby, arriving quietly without much fuss in a small, out of the way town. Here we see that when God comes down, mountains melt like candles and valleys are ripped apart with the force of a major earthquake. When God comes like this, you can’t ignore it. You can’t sing a carol, write a Christmas card and then go back to life as normal. According to Micah, the coming of the Lord is an earth-shaking, life-changing event. And it is.

The birth of Jesus as a human child is not less life-changing, just because the mountains stayed standing on that night, 2000 years ago. Let’s not let the apparent ordinariness of the first Christmas fool us into thinking that God coming into the world is no big deal. His first coming was the most earth-shattering, life-changing event in human history. But it wasn’t the end of the story. He came once, quietly, as a baby, but he will come again with all the noise and splendour and might and glory of heaven. If we’re still alive when that day comes, we’ll all be shouting Micah’s words from verse 3: “Look! The Lord is coming!” No-one will miss it. No-one will be carrying on with their day as if nothing important was happening. Mountains melting doesn’t even begin to describe what that day will be like. When Jesus returns, when the Lord comes to earth for the second and final time, the whole creation will be wound up and remade. That’s where history is heading. Second by second, hour by hour, day by day we are getting closer to the moment when God will come to earth again, to judge and to rescue, to destroy and to recreate. That would be an absolutely terrifying prospect, if we didn’t have a safe place to stand when it happens. Only because Jesus came as our Saviour will we be safe when he comes again as our judge.

So, as we begin a book filled with warnings of that coming judgement, let’s thank Jesus that he came first as a baby, to be our saviour, so that we could face his second coming without fear. And if you’ve never asked Jesus to be your saviour, I urge you to take Micah’s warnings seriously, and do so before it’s too late.

Introduction to Micah

The next series of Daily Bible Encouragement will be working through the Old Testament book of Micah. Micah was a prophet who spoke God’s word to God’s people sometime between 748 and 687 BC. The nation of Israel had been living in Canaan, the land God had promised them, for many generations but they had not consistently lived as his people. Micah is one of a number of prophets sent by God to warn them of the consequences of rejecting him, and to call them back to their true identity as his people.

We will work through the whole book, a few verses a day, over 8 weeks. There will be 6 episodes a week to allow for Sundays off (or give you a chance to catch up if you miss one!)

The book ends by asking “Who is a God like you?” and Micah’s own name means ‘Who is like Yahweh?’ So as we look forward to this new series, please join with me in praying that we would see more clearly who our God is, and what he is like, so that we would worship him and follow him as he deserves.

Micah 1:1-2

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah – the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

“Micah? Really? Why?!” Perhaps that’s what you thought when you saw the title of this new series. Micah’s never been a book of the Bible that I regularly turn to for comfort or encouragement. It wasn’t a part of the Bible I knew well, until I went on a conference earlier this year, and heard it taught. Whilst I’m still no Micah expert, I’ve understood enough to realise that this is a book well worth spending time in. I hope that by the end of this series, you’ll feel the same. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Here in verse 1, Micah himself tells us why this book is worth reading, and thinking about. This book contains the word of the Lord!

Just pause for a moment and think about that. The word of the Lord came to Micah. The Almighty eternal God, who made everything that has ever existed, picked a time and place in history in which he spoke intelligibly to a weak and limited human being. The God who dwells in unapproachable holiness made himself known in words to a sinful man, living among a sinful people, in a sin-ravaged world. It's extraordinary, isn't it? Not only that, but God caused those words to be written down, preserved, translated, printed and distributed so that now, centuries later, weak, mortal, sinful people like us would get to hear him speak, too. We might be so used to reading or listening to the Bible that the wonder of it has faded. So as we begin this series, let’s remember just what a great privilege it is to hear God speaking to us. When God speaks, the whole world ought to stop and take notice. “Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it.’

If we were tempted to assume that hearing God speak is some kind of reward for good behaviour, a privilege given only to special, religious people, verse 2 makes us reconsider. This word is for all people. Yet it’s being spoken against them. God speaks, which is good news. But what he says is not going to be flattering. It won’t be easy to hear. It may not be what we would call encouraging. But before you switch off, and look for something a bit more cheerful, consider this. Because this is God who is speaking, we can be sure that his words are always true and important. So let’s pray today that we would be people who are willing to listen carefully to God’s words, whether they are easy or hard to hear, trusting that what he says will be always for our good.

Isaiah 50:8-9

8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

In October 1987, at the age of 15, I was baptised as a Christian believer, alongside 6 of my friends. Each of us chose a short Bible passage to read, as we explained how we had come to put our faith in Jesus. My reading was from Romans 8: “If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one.”

Thirty-three years later, I’m every bit as grateful now as I was then that this is true. I was, and still am, a sinner who deserved nothing but condemnation from God. Yet he has acted graciously to justify me because of Jesus’ death in my place. Therefore, all charges against me are dismissed. If God says I’m acceptable to him, who can possibly argue? No one. If the one who I have wronged declares me forgiven, what right does anyone else have to disagree? Absolutely none.

What I’ve only just discovered is that the Apostle Paul wasn’t the first Bible-writer to use this argument. Centuries earlier, the Servant says pretty much the same thing …. “Who will bring charges against me? ... It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me … Who will condemn me?” He’s expecting the same answer. No one. No one can condemn the one who God has chosen. No one can accuse the one whom God declares innocent. The Servant doesn’t fear anyone else’s verdict. Not even the verdict of those who condemned him to death. God’s decision is the only one that matters.

And because of this Servant’s sacrificial life and death, all of us who trust in him can confidently say along with him “Who will bring charges against me? No one.” As my reading from Romans 8 concluded …. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:7
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.

This is a strange verse, isn’t it? Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been using words like ‘humiliated’ to describe the Servant. God himself has said that the Servant will be ‘despised’ and ‘abhorred’. So how can the Servant say here ‘I will not be disgraced’ and ‘I will not be put to shame’?

It makes more sense when we realise that this idea of ‘being put to shame’ has appeared before, earlier in the book of Isaiah. In chapters 20-45 there are 7 verses where we read of people being put to shame. Each time, the people who face disgrace are the ones who are opposing God. The people who put their trust in other nations, instead of relying on God’s promises to them. The people who make and worship idols instead of worshipping the one true God. The wicked. Those who do evil. Those who blaspheme against the Lord. In those chapters, God makes it clear that those who oppose him will ultimately be put to shame. But he also promises that the people who he saves will never be put to shame.

It’s clear which group the Servant belongs in, isn’t it? He is perfectly obedient to the Lord. He has never rebelled. And so he knows what God’s verdict on him will be. He will never be put to shame. Yes, he will be despised and rejected and humiliated by men, but that will only be temporary. When it comes to God’s final, lasting verdict, the only one that counts, he will be vindicated and honoured. Knowing that, he is able to set his face firmly in the direction of costly obedience, not deflected by any human opinion.

So let’s praise him today for his steadfast obedience, and give him the honour and glory that he rightly deserves.

Isaiah 50:6 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Yesterday we thought about the Servant’s obedience to the Lord, and how he alone of all people could truthfully say “I have not been rebellious”. Which is a remarkable thing under any circumstances, but is even more amazing when we remember what obedience to the Lord’s will involved for him. The instructions which he was given didn’t lead him down a path of comfortable satisfaction. Instead, they set him on a collision course with the religious leaders of his day which ended in a shameful, agonising public death.

Today’s verse is not just a metaphor, to tell us that his obedience would be painful. It’s a literal account of the physical pain and humiliation which Jesus endured at the hands of the soldiers who tortured him before his crucifixion. Yet even then, he did not turn away. He didn’t shrink back from the cost of his God-given mission. He does more than simply endure it, like someone resigned to their fate because they have no option to escape. His is a willing, active obedience. He offers his back, his cheeks, his whole body, when he could have escaped in the blink of an eye. As he took his dying breaths he was taunted by the crowd – “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” He stayed where he was, not because he had no choice, but because we willingly accepted his role as our sacrificial substitute.

This is how we know that the cross is not just a tragic accident. An unfortunate end to a promising life. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when we went to his death in our place. It was all agreed within the Trinity long before anyone laid a hand on Jesus’s body. Long before he even had a body. From before the creation of the world, God knew exactly, to the last blow, what our redemption would cost. And so we get given just a glimpse of it here, written on Isaiah’s scroll, to reassure us of both the Lord’s complete sovereignty and the Servant’s complete, willing obedience.

Let’s give thanks for those things today.

Isaiah 50:5b

I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

Yesterday, we saw how the Lord speaks daily to the Servant. Today, we see how the Servant responds to those words. They are not merely background noise to him, or one voice among many others, which he can pick and choose between. Rather, the Lord’s voice is what the Servant listens to AND obeys. When he hears God’s instructions, he is obedient rather than rebellious.

This is particularly striking when we remember that Isaiah’s ministry is all about warning God’s people of the judgement that is coming because they have been disobedient. Everywhere we look, in the earlier chapters of the book, we see a people turning their backs on God’s words and doing their own thing instead. And so the obedience of the Servant stands out in complete contrast.

But he’s not just unique amongst the people of Israel in the time of Isaiah. He is uniquely obedient, compared to every person who has ever lived. From Adam and Eve onwards, human history is the story of God speaking, and people turning away. And we’re no different. We too have the privilege of hearing God speak wonderful words of wisdom and grace and compassion to us daily. Indeed, we are more blessed than many previous generations, since we have these words written for us to refer to for ourselves, in a language we can understand. It’s on our bookcases, and – probably – electronically in our pockets. An ocean’s-worth of ink has been used to write commentaries and devotions and bible study guides so that we can know and understand these words better. And yet none of that makes us any more obedient than those who didn’t have such advantages!

Only the Servant can say “I have not been rebellious. I have not turned away.” As we look at his life of perfect obedience, it highlights more clearly for us our failure to live like that. Our failure to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself, as Jesus did.

How wonderfully gracious of Jesus, therefore, that he didn’t come into the world to condemn us – “See, this is what your life ought to look like!” but to save us, by transferring his perfect obedience to us at the cross.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:4b-5a

He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

Yesterday we heard about the Servant’s well-instructed tongue. Today we find that his ears are equally well-trained! At first glance, we might not be surprised by this verse. We know that the Servant, who is speaking here, has been appointed by God to bring God’s wayward people back to him. Since the Servant is working for the Lord, it makes sense that he should listen to his boss.

But we know, better than Isaiah did, that this Servant is in fact Jesus, God’s own son. God himself in a human body. That being so, why does he need to be quite so disciplined about listening to his Father? Doesn’t he already know everything he needs to know? He has the closest relationship to God of anyone who has ever lived. Yet he still begins each day by listening to the words of the Lord. He comes to his Father humbly, seeking instruction and guidance. As we’ll see tomorrow, he wants to hear and obey the Father, rather than going his own way and serving his own agenda.

When the Lord wakens the Servant with his words, the Servant is alert and attentive. He doesn’t want to miss any of it. No pressing snooze and going back to sleep. God’s voice is not an unwelcome interruption to his day, but the thing he most wants to hear.

If God’s own son needed to listen to the Father, how much more do we? If we’re ever tempted to think ‘I don’t need to read the Bible today … I already know what God’s going to say’, let’s remember this image of the Servant, deliberately tuning his ears to his Father’s voice.

And let’s pray today that we would increasingly love to listen to our Father’s voice, as the Servant does.

Isaiah 50:4a

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.

In our household at the moment there’s a lot of discussion about Christmas presents. The extended family have been asking ‘What would the girls like for Christmas?’ and so lists are being prepared! As far as I know, no-one’s requested ‘a well-instructed tongue’ but now that I’ve read this verse, I think I’d quite like one!

Imagine never being at a loss for what to say … Always ready with the right word in a tricky situation. Able to speak in a way that sustains the weary. Able to unravel a complicated situation so that the way-ahead is clear. Able to speak the truth gently.

Imagine never having to apologise because you spoke harshly, or got the wrong end of the stick, or said the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. “No human being can tame the tongue”, writes James, in his New Testament letter. “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect.” We all need a well-instructed tongue. Yet none of us has one, and none of us is likely to find out underneath the Christmas tree!

Only Jesus can claim to speak perfectly. His is the only well-instructed tongue the world has ever heard. And what did he do with it? He used it to announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God. To call people to repent of their sin and follow him. To pronounce forgiveness for sinners and healing for sufferers. To teach his followers how to come to the Father in prayer. We know that his words had sufficient authority to cast out demons and raise the dead. If he’d wanted to, he could absolutely have used his words to raise up a powerful following, entirely devoted to his own comfort and satisfaction. He could have used his words to serve himself, rather than serving others. But he didn’t. Instead, he used his words to sustain the weary.

Let’s praise him for that today. And let’s pray that we would be those who listen carefully to his words so that our tongues might learn more and more to speak in a way that honours him.

Isaiah 49:7c

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

Are you bored of Covid yet? Or maybe it’s something else that is sapping your energy and joy – a long-term medical condition, or some other difficulty that seems to have become a permanent feature of your life rather than just a temporary interruption. Many things in life are hard to experience, but I think we probably struggle most with the ones that drag on without any end in sight. Persevering when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly tough. That’s why we need to be reminded that the Lord is faithful. He doesn’t give up. He will never abandon either his purposes or his people.

As we were reminded yesterday, there IS always light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, the story ends with Jesus exalted and victorious, and all evil and suffering done away with completely and forever. We don’t know how soon that day will come, and it’s entirely possible that it could be today! But if it isn’t, then we may need to wait for months or years or decades or generations to see God’s plans fully and finally fulfilled.

If that’s the case, what can keep us waiting for it in hope, rather than giving up in despair? What was it that enabled the Servant to keep going through all the days when he was despised and rejected? This verse tells us. It’s “because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.” If God was simply a great innovator, known for starting remarkable things, that would have been little comfort to the Servant in his suffering. His hope came from knowing that God is a completer-finisher. God’s plan was that he would enjoy glory, through suffering. One day there would be a cross, but beyond that there would be a crown. God’s faithfulness guaranteed that the glory, and the crown, would be given him in the end. God wasn’t going to abandon the plan half-way through.

But nor was he going to leave the servant to persevere alone. Faithfulness is more than a dogged commitment to finish the job, come what may. God’s faithfulness is relational. He’s not simply committed to his plans, he’s committed in love to his people. He is faithful to his people in the way that the best imaginable husband is faithful to his wife. To be properly faithful in marriage means far more than simply not committing adultery! It means consistent, daily, self-giving, generous love. That’s what God’s faithfulness to his people looks like. Even when life is hard, God is faithful. He will bring us through it, into eternal joy and rest, as he has promised. And in the meantime he is faithfully with us, loving us, protecting us, guiding us and strengthening us to persevere.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:7b

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,

Back in verse 4, we got our first hint that even though the Servant has been called by the God who rules the universe, his work looks more energy-sapping than epically-successfully; more, well, servant-like, than kingly. In today’s verse, that is spelt out even more clearly.

When the Servant comes, people will not be queueing up to listen to him. They won’t even politely ignore him. Instead, he will face outright hostility. He will be despised and rejected. ‘Abhorred’, as it says here – which is such a strong word that I don’t think I’ve ever used it in everyday conversation! It means, apparently, to regard something or someone with horror or loathing. It’s a shocking way for someone who has been appointed by God to be treated. But that’s not the worst thing. The greater surprise comes when we see just who does the loathing. It’s the whole nation. Not just one or two misguided individuals, but all the people. Isn’t that an accurate description of the reaction that Jesus got when he came to earth? Yes, he did have friends and followers, but he was also widely hated, despised and ridiculed. And by the end of his life, the hostility had the upper hand – his followers fled whilst his opponents delighted in his defeat. As Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, battered and humiliated, he’s being treated far worse than a servant by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers.

And yet, this is not the end of the story. God himself makes a promise to the Servant that one day that picture of the Servant in the hands of human authorities will be completely turned on its head. One day, the kings and rulers who rejected Jesus will stand up to honour him. One day, the nations who saw him as abhorrent will worship him as the greatest and most beautiful man who ever lived. Whenever it seems that evil has the upper hand, we need to remember the end of the story. One day, nothing and no-one will hold any power at all, except the Lord and his Servant. On that day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, either willingly as his children or unwillingly as his defeated enemies.

Let’s praise him for that today, and bow before him willingly while we have the chance.

Isaiah 49:7a

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –

Did you notice what Isaiah does in this verse? Just as he’s about to report to the people something that God has said to the Servant, he interrupts himself to tell them something important about who God is. That may not seem very significant on its own, but if we were to read through the whole of chapters 42-49 together, we’d see that it’s not just a one-off, but something he does repeatedly. 13 times in fact. It’s as if he wants to keep reminding the people why they must listen to the words of the Lord. This isn’t just anyone speaking, but the Redeemer, the Holy One, the creator, the king, the rescuer, the Lord Almighty.

Some of those titles are self-explanatory. But what, exactly, is a redeemer? It’s not a word that we hear much outside of church and the Bible, so even if we recognise it as a description of God, we might not be very clear about what it means.

The best place to look in the Bible to discover what ‘redeemer’ means is in the book of Ruth. There we read the story of a widowed Israelite – Naomi. When she loses first her husband and then both of her sons, she is not just bereaved but also bereft. She has no-one to provide for her and her two daughters-in-law, no breadwinner, no safety or security. So, she returns to Israel – the land of her birth, where she will be dependent on the kindness of others. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, goes with her and keeps them both alive by going into the fields at harvest time to gather up the leftover grain. There she meets Boaz. He turns out to be a distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, who wants to provide for these vulnerable women by marrying Ruth and buying back the family land. In other words, he wants to act as their ‘kinsman-Redeemer’ - the guardian who bears the responsibility for safeguarding the weak and providing for the needy within the extended family. We might think that sounds like a burden, but remarkably, it turns out that Boaz doesn’t even have to do it. There is a closer relative, who ought really to be the redeemer in this situation. Yet Boaz goes out of his way to take on the responsibility for meeting Naomi and Ruth’s needs

Boaz acts, therefore, as a picture of God’s redeeming work – not only for the people of Isaiah’s day but also for us, who are redeemed by the death of Jesus. Motivated entirely by his own love and goodness, God steps in to meet our needs, pay our debts and secure our safety. He isn’t obligated to do this – he willingly chooses to become our Redeemer.

Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s commit ourselves to listen carefully to what this Redeemer says when he speaks. For who wouldn’t want to listen to someone who has demonstrated such sacrificial love?

Isaiah 49:6

6 he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

As we saw in verse 5, the job of the Servant is to restore God’s people back into right relationship with him. This is not going to be an easy task – it requires the servant to die, taking the judgement that the people deserved upon himself. Yet, remarkably, God says that this is ‘too small a thing’. He can’t possibly mean “it’s not difficult enough, I’d better give you something harder!” Nothing could be more apparently impossible than for the sinless son of the everlasting God to die bearing the penalty for sin.

Nor does he say “It isn’t really fair for non-Jews to miss out on this salvation. In the interests of equality, I think we’d better open this covenant up to everyone.” I think that’s what we’d expect. What we’d insist on, even. “Come on God, of course you’ve got to let us in. It’s hardly my fault I was born into the wrong family!” Entirely forgetting that relationship with God has always been about his gracious forgiveness being extended to the undeserving, rather than about what any of us might be entitled to.

No. The reason that we – the Gentiles – get to share in the benefits of being God’s people is nothing to do with us! It’s all about the glory of the Servant. He is so great that his light deserves to shine throughout the whole world, not just in one small corner of Palestine. His gracious love is so vast that it overflows national boundaries, to encompass all people everywhere. His sacrificial death is so precious that it saves a countless multitude. His majesty is so great that people from every tribe and language and nation will sing about it for all eternity.

Why do we get to share in the promises first made to Abraham? Not because we deserve to. But because the servant deserves the glory that comes from such a great salvation.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:5b

for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength –

Whose opinion matters most to you? Some of us feel almost paralysed by the weight of other people’s expectations, and our desire for them to approve of what we do, say and think. Others of us think less about other people’s opinions. But for all of us, there will be some people whose opinions carry particular significance. Some person, or people, who we especially want to think well of us and praise us. Maybe they are the people we love most. Maybe they are especially gifted or successful in a particular field, and we value their expert opinion. Maybe we crave someone’s approval because they’re notoriously hard to please, and so a compliment from them is especially precious.

The Servant is not – at first glance – someone who everyone is queueing up to praise. So far, we know that he is quiet and gentle. In future weeks we’ll see that he is also despised and rejected. He’s not a likely candidate for one of those annual lists of ‘The world’s 100 most influential people’. And yet, he doesn’t seem to mind. “For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord” he says. It is the Lord’s verdict that matters to him. The rest of the world can hate him, reject him and mistreat him – and indeed, it did, and continues to do so – but that’s not where he looks for validation.

That doesn’t mean that the rejection doesn’t hurt him – it must have wounded him deeply to be despised by those he loves and came to rescue. The world did have the power to bruise him – physically and emotionally. But it doesn’t have the power to completely strip him of his confidence and strength, because those things come from his Lord. God’s verdict on him is the only one that really matters. That’s what he will listen to most. Even in his final hours, when the crowd is baying for his blood, he will be honoured in the eyes of the Lord. He will know his Father’s approval, as he is faithful to his calling.

I wonder if the knowledge of his calling was partly what helped him to keep his focus on pleasing God, rather than trying to please the world? The Servant knows who is, and what his life on earth is for. God has chosen and appointed him to his task, so it is God’s honour that he cares about. Although we don’t have the Servant’s unique role, we too have been chosen and appointed by God. Chosen to be adopted as his children and appointed to live as a holy people, declaring his praises to the world around us.

So today, let’s pray that we would learn from Jesus how to value God’s opinion of us – as his precious, loved, forgiven children – more highly than we value the opinion of the world.

Isaiah 49:5a

5 And now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself,

From Genesis 12 onwards, God committed himself especially to lead and guide and bless one particular family – Abraham’s descendants - that grew into one particular nation – the people of Israel. Even though God always was and continues to be the creator and sustainer of everyone, everywhere, these people enjoyed a unique relationship with him. They had both God’s words – in the law – and his special presence among them – in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Yet still they repeatedly turned their backs on him and were unfaithful, following other gods and behaving just like all the other nations around them. And so it will be the job of the Servant to bring them back.

When you think about it, this pattern of turning away and restoration is the constant theme of the whole Bible. We’re given many striking images of God’s relationship with his people to express this same idea: He is the husband of an unfaithful wife in the book of Hosea, he is the shepherd of wandering sheep in Ezekiel 34, he is the patient father of a rebellious son (also in Hosea).

This ‘bringing back’ and ‘gathering to himself’ is not an occasional activity on God’s part. It’s his constant purpose, the expression of his essential character. And so it’s no surprise that this activity is characteristic of Jesus, too. When the promised Servant comes, he announces himself as the ‘good shepherd’ who will restore the lost sheep once and for all. His very first miracle, at Cana, reveals him to be the bridegroom of God’s people, who will purify his bride –the church – so that she can enjoy a wedding banquet with him forever. One of his most famous stories features a loving father running with his arms wide open to welcome back the son who had squandered his entire inheritance.

We – the rebellious, unfaithful, wandering sheep – are so blessed to have a God like this. One who doesn’t turn his back on us when we turn away from him. One who is patient to restore us, and who gave his one and only son to bring us back to himself. Let’s not despise that because it is so familiar. Rather, let’s thank him for it afresh today. And let’s ask God to teach us to walk more and more closely with him until the day when we are finally gathered into his presence in glory.

Isaiah 49:4b

Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’

As we saw yesterday, the Servant’s mission to save God’s people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death. That’s not a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears to him in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job he has been given.

If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you’ll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’ if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead. The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord’s hand. He won’t turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil’s offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status from going his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights’, and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father’s will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won’t scheme to get it some other way.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father’s will. And let’s ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.

Isaiah 49:3-4a

3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’ 4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

At first glance, today’s verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to the world. Yet the Servant seems to disagree – “I’m exhausted” he says. “I’ve poured out everything I have but there’s nothing to show for it.” There’s nothing splendid about his experience. Yet this is not a disagreement in the heart of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are both always perfectly committed to their shared salvation plan. Rather, I think it’s an example of a paradox that we find repeated time and again in the Bible: Our God is glorified in weakness.

We see this most clearly at the cross. When Jesus is ‘lifted up’ to be crucified we see a weak, tortured, humiliated man. His life’s work seems to have come to nothing. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, yet now he has barely any energy left to speak. He is rejected by the religious establishment and deserted by his followers. What does he have to show for his life of obedience to the Father? And yet, at the same time it is the greatest display of God’s splendour the world has ever seen. Never before has the extraordinary extent of God’s love and grace and generosity to sinners been so clearly visible. Jesus is not only ‘lifted up’ to die. He is ‘lifted up’ and highly exalted, for his saving work to be seen and marvelled at by all the world.

At the moment when it seems that evil and darkness have won, we see God reveal his glory. At the moment when the suffering Servant takes his last breath we see his majesty. To a world that doesn’t know God, splendour and weakness seem to be irreconcilable opposites. But for those of us who know him, they should be inseparable. The God who reigns over all things is the same one who took on human flesh to live as a servant. Born in poverty, killed in pain and humiliation. Now risen and exalted and reigning in majesty for ever.

So today, let’s praise and worship the one who deserves all glory and honour because he so willingly poured out his life and strength so that we might be saved.

Isaiah 49:2b

in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

What’s the safest place you can think of? It’s not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we’d lived in London during the Blitz, we’d probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hide under if we couldn’t get there in time.

In today’s verse, we discover where the Servant finds safety and security: in the shadow of the hand of God. But the Servant hasn’t had to search out this hiding place for himself. Instead, God reaches out to cover him from harm. It’s a beautiful picture. But it’s also quite surprising, given everything else we know about this Servant. Taken on its own, this verse might mean that the person God wants to save is swept up into his hand and hidden far away from any possible risk of harm. Wouldn’t that be lovely?! But that can’t be exactly what he means. The Servant has been chosen by God to be the rescuer of his people. As we’ll read later on, this will be no easy job. The Servant will be despised, rejected and eventually killed to accomplish his mission. Surely if God was serious about protecting this Servant, he’d keep him safely out of harm’s way by not sending him to do this painful and difficult work in the first place! Hiding in an Air Raid shelter during the Blitz was better than nothing, but living in a country at peace would surely have been a whole lot safer.

The people of Isaiah’s day faced a similar puzzle. God has already warned them that they face judgement and exile because of their rejection of him. Then they hear that he will send this Servant to be their rescuer. Wouldn’t it be great if the coming of the Servant meant that they were going to be spared the suffering after all? But it turns out not to work like that. Everything that God has warned of in chapters 1-39 is still going to happen. In fact, the Servant isn’t even going to be born until hundreds of years later. Yet, in Chapter 51, God promises the people the exact same safety and refuge that he gives the Servant here. “I have … covered you with the shadow of my hand” he tells them. Total safety and protection. Not the complete absence of suffering, or judgement, but protection through it. Not an immediate ceasefire, so that no bombs fall, but the provision of a strong enough shelter to withstand the damage.

The Servant was held safely in the shadow of God’s hand throughout his life and death, into eternal resurrection. And because we have been united to him by faith, that’s where we are too. Even in the midst of all the suffering and dangers of a fallen world, we are safe in the Lord’s hands throughout our life and death and into eternity.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:2a

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword

As I’ve worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I’ve been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before ….’ This is one of those verses!

In the apostle John’s vision, in the Book of Revelation, the risen and exalted Jesus is described as having ‘a sharp double-edged sword’ coming out of his mouth. It’s a striking image, and also an unusual one. Only Jesus’ mouth contains a double-edged sword, because only Jesus’ words have the power to bring judgement, to determine life or death for those who hear him.

So many people underestimate Jesus … “He was just a good moral teacher” they say. From one perspective, it’s easy to see why – he was, after all, a humble, gentle servant. Born in a stable, not a palace. Riding a donkey, not a war horse. Leading a small, motley band of largely poor and uneducated disciples, rather than a powerful, disciplined, victorious army. If you’d passed him in the street you probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. ‘Nothing to see here’. Which is why we need a powerful visual image, like the one in this verse, to make us look again. After all, if you actually met a man with a sword literally coming out of his mouth, I think you’d stop and take a second look!

Jesus’ physical appearance may have been unimpressive, but his words … well, that’s a whole different matter! When he speaks, that’s when we discover that he is like no other man who ever lived. His words make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead return to life. “I am the way, and the truth and the life” says Jesus. As we listen to him, and trust his words, we find life and truth and a way into eternal relationship with God as our Father. But those same words bring condemnation and judgement for those who reject them. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” says Jesus. A double-edged sword. Life or death, salvation or judgement. Jesus’ words bring both. They have power greater than any human weapon ever devised.

Let’s pray today that we will be those who will trust and depend on the life-giving words of Jesus.

Isaiah 49:1b

before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion. You just don’t know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career that doesn’t even exist yet.

But that wasn’t the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life’s work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God’s people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells us that in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God’s perfect creation.

Isn’t that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God’s purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, like the child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much rather have done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us. He didn’t have to go anywhere near a mother’s womb if he didn’t want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake.

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:

Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Israel’. The Servant, when he speaks, addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God’s people. Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, you islands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me!

If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It’s still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn’t say anything too controversial!). It’s definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don’t call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God’s allowed to speak to his followers if they’ve willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they’re pretty convinced that he hasn’t got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.

Except, of course, he has. Because there isn’t a person alive in the world right now who God didn’t make. There isn’t a single square inch of the planet that isn’t his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.

Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.

Let's pray today that all people everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:9

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’

So far, we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God’s covenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the life and ministry of Jesus, as described in the pages of the New Testament?

Even the people of Isaiah’s time had some grounds for knowing that God keeps his promises. They have already seen all the ‘former things’ that God has done for his people, from the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land. Again and again, God has announced in advance his good plans for his people, and then acted mightily to make those things happen. So, when he promised ‘new things’ - that the nation will be brought safely through the coming judgment and exile, and then restored by the promised Servant - they had good reason to believe that it would happen. But they didn’t get to see the compete fulfilment for themselves. The return from exile wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the Servant would set foot in their land.

How much more confident we can be of God’s faithfulness, now that we have seen this Servant for ourselves. One of the things I love most about the Bible is the way that we get to see God’s purposes developed, from Old Testament promises to real, flesh-and-blood historical New Testament events. It’s like watching an artist sketch a rough pencil outline, lightly at first, but then building up the details and filling in the colours until we see the complete masterpiece in all its glory.

So let’s praise God today for faithfully keeping his promises in the past, and ask for his help to go on trusting him completely as we wait for the completion of the promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the praise and glory which a God like that deserves from all people everywhere.

When human leaders court glory and chase praise, it’s usually a bad sign. We’re rightly sceptical of people who go out of their way to tell us how great they are, or who insist that we celebrate their successes. I think most of us would probably take being described as someone who ‘blows their own trumpet’ or ‘hogs the limelight’ as criticisms rather than compliments. God alone is right to direct the spotlight onto himself. God alone can draw attention to his greatness, goodness, power and wisdom without being selfish or self-obsessed. God alone is entitled to command that all people everywhere should sing his praises. He deserves all glory and honour. And so it is right that he should guard that glory jealously. Nothing and no-one comes close to God in holiness and might, authority and wisdom, mercy and grace. So nothing and no-one should share the praise which he deserves.

And yet … there is one who is entitled to sit at the Father’s right hand and share the applause of his people for eternity. The Servant, who we see in Isaiah as a humble and often despised figure, is in fact the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ before whom every knee will one day bow. When the LORD shares his glory with the Servant, he is not giving glory to some undeserving other. When Jesus is worshipped in heaven, it is not as an idol who has stolen the praise which is due to God. The Servant deserves to be worshipped as God because he is God. That wasn’t made clear to the people of Isaiah’s day, but we can look back and know that the Servant we read of here is none other than God himself in human form. And so he is fully deserving of all the praise and glory and honour and worship that we – and every creature ever created – can give him.

Let’s praise and worship wholeheartedly today.

Isaiah 42:7

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness

Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I’m targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which I couldn’t even name! I’m never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they’re not things I’m remotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need.

In this verse we’re shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable to clearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelessly trapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to set us free.

But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don’t think they are lost. Which are we?

So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let’s ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. And let’s thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles

Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for the people’ to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God’s people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren’t included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham.

We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands’ putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands’ refers to the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant’s mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God’s kingdom to those from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his world to seek and to save us.

Let’s praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people

So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself.

It’s a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I’m delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It’s been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it’s been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You’ve been a real encouragement to me.” Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they’ve been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already! Of course, he’s not saying it for Steve’s benefit … He’s speaking to Steve but he’s saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to.

I think it’s the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he’s not speaking for the Servant’s benefit. It’s intended for the people, so that they will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He’s not self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people’. What does that mean?!

A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people’ it’s not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God’s relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them. Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by the death of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God’s people, in God’s place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham.

So, today, let’s thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.

Isaiah 42:5

This is what God the Lord says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it

So far we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He’s exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cynical world needs. But maybe it’s just too good to be true. How can we be sure? How could the people of Isaiah’s day – facing the prospect of judgement and exile – be certain that God really would send them such a wonderful rescuer? Here in v.5 is God’s answer.

We can be confident that this Servant will come, and will be as wonderful as has been promised, because God’s word is powerful and trustworthy. The God who makes this promise – to Isaiah and to us - is the creator. Everything that exists exists because he made it. He spoke, and galaxies appeared, oceans were tamed, land emerged which produced plants that produced fruit to feed the creatures that his word brought to life. God knows how to make things happen just by speaking. And he is not only the creator but the sustainer. He gives life and breath to his people. Generations of descendants of Adam and Eve have walked the earth since God first spoke. Each one had life and breath only because God decided that they would. He sustains and provides for his people throughout history. If this God has a plan to rescue his people, he will certainly carry it out. If he says he will send them the Servant that they need, then he will surely do it.

So today let’s thank the God who has given us life and breath and all good things. And let’s praise him that he alone is mighty, creating and sustaining us by the power of his words.

Isaiah 42:4b

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.

What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we’re running late. Most of our hopes are pretty flimsy. They’re things we WANT but we can’t have any great confidence that they will really happen. So often, what we hope for is beyond our control. Sometimes, we may give up hope entirely, overwhelmed by cynicism or despair because we can’t face the prospect of having our hopes raised only to be disappointed.

The people of Isaiah’s day were much the same as us. Squeezed on all sides by more powerful nations, they regularly faced decisions about where to put their hope – would they depend on their God to defend and deliver them, or would they trust in their own resources – military might, or political alliances with their neighbours? Into that world, God promises to send a Servant who will bring hope. His teaching will offer true and lasting hope to the islands – that is, not just to God’s people but to the whole earth.

This hope is more than the wishful thinking that makes us long for parking spaces and miracles cures that deep down we don’t expect to get. The words of Jesus give us a hope that is steadfast and certain. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes this hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ It’s a hope we can lean all our weight on. Jesus’ teaching gives us unshakeable hope for the future, because Jesus’ life and death have guaranteed for us a place in heaven with him forever. Not only that, but we have hope for each day in this life, because Jesus promises that he is with us to lead and protect and sustain us, as we trust in him. This is a hope we can rely on. Such good news that all the world needs to hear it. However hopeless our circumstances feel right now, however often our other hopes have been crushed, the hope that Jesus offers will never fail us.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for the hope that he brings to our lives. And let’s ask him to help us to put our hope and trust completely in him, for whatever today holds, and for our eternity.

Isaiah 42:3b-4a

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.

If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it’s because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve a goal. But throw in some setbacks, and make the task a long-term project rather than a quick and easy win, and it’s much more tempting to give up. Faithfulness – a long-term commitment to someone or something, come what may, is not our natural state.

We know from the earlier chapters of Isaiah that the task God has in store for his servant is definitely not going to be quick and easy! Remember, the people have rebelled against God, and are facing invasion from a foreign power. They need both physical and spiritual rescue. Their immediate, practical problems feel enormous but actually their spiritual state is worse. They have seen God commit himself to them over and over again, making a covenant with their forefathers which he has kept even as generation after generation of the people have rebelled. Redeeming a people like that is no small task.

What great news, then, that this servant is going to be faithful. He is going to stick to his God-given task of bringing justice – that is, putting right the people’s relationship with God that they have repeatedly broken. He shares his Father’s unbreakable commitment to these rebels. However often they turn away, his righteousness will be sufficient. He will never resign from his role as their rescuer, discouraged by their repeated failures. He will never abandon his Father’s salvation plan, and turn aside to some new project. He will persevere until his work is complete.

That’s an amazing promise, even for the people of Isaiah’s day. But how much more amazed should we be by the faithfulness of Jesus to his calling, since we know what it involved. Establishing a just means of rescuing us cost him his life. It meant bearing the weight of our sin and being separated from his eternal Father at the cross. Yet Jesus the servant was faithful in his task, for our sake. Let’s praise and thank him for that today.

Isaiah 42:3a

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.

We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the world often expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah’s time, God’s people were a tiny nation, helpless in comparison with the likes of Assyria, Bablyon and Egypt. Surely they needed God to send them a mighty, victorious king to lead them, like the great King David? Someone to bring them military success, marking them out as a force to be reckoned with.

But God’s plan is different. He promises them a gentle, quiet leader who will protect life rather than destroy it. One who will value the weak and vulnerable rather than the strong and successful. I wonder if Isaiah’s first hearers struggled to get excited about the prospect - perhaps they’d have preferred a more-impressive sounding solution to their problems. Similarly today, those who preach a message of ‘health, wealth and happiness’ sound far more appealing than those who invite us to follow a crucified outcast.

If we like to think we are powerful and success, a gentle leader who keeps stopping to gather up the broken won’t be very attractive. We’d much rather live under a system that promises to reward our achievements and ignores those who don’t make the grade. But once we admit that we ourselves are weak and helpless, it’s a different story. When we know that we’re more like a smouldering wick, barely flickering, than a blazing fire, ready to set the world alight, then we will welcome the one who breathes gently on us to sustain us, rather than snuffing us out. When we acknowledge that we are dead in sin we will long for a rescuer who helps the helpless, rather than one who rewards those who help themselves.

There will come a day when this servant will return in blazing glory to crush his enemies forever, but how gracious of him to come first in gentleness and humility, to heal and help and forgive. Let’s thank him for that today and come to him honestly, in all our frailty and need, trusting that he welcomes, not despises, those who know that they are weak.

Isaiah 42:2

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.The World Record for the loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we’d like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about what you are saying and more about how much noise you make. It sometimes feels as if whoever makes enough noise to drown out their opponent wins, regardless of who is actually right. In a world like that it’s hard to imagine a quiet leader. We easily associate loudness with strength and we fear that the softly-spoken will be weak and ineffective.

Yet that doesn’t have to be the case. The other day one of our daughters was describing a teacher at her school who never shouts ‘because she doesn’t need to.’ She has such an air of authority that she is able to command the room without ever raising her voice. That’s the sort of softly-spoken person that we see in this verse. It’s not silence of someone who knows they will never be heard so they don’t even bother trying. Here we see someone whose authority is so compelling that they don’t need to shout. The promised servant will not come to throw his weight around, drowning out his opponents and bullying his way into leadership.

Isn’t that what we see when we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament? Plenty of people shout at Jesus, or about Jesus, during his life on earth. But he never shouts back at them. He very rarely raises his voice, and when he does it is never to dominate or silence others. It’s only ever to call people to come to him for life (John 7:37, John 11:43) or to commit himself humbly to his Father’s keeping as he takes his final breath. His loudest words are not spoken in anger, or self-promotion, as ours so often are, but only ever for the good of others.

So today, let’s thank Jesus for being the one who speaks to us in quiet, gentle, life-giving words. And let’s ask him to help us tune our ears more and more to his voice, and not be swayed by the voices of the world around us who shout louder.

Isaiah 42:1b

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger that comes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done.

God agrees. In Isaiah’s day, injustice is one of the clear indications that God’s people have turned away from him. Back in Chapter 1 God tells them “Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.” Justice matters to God because he himself is just. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “For the Lord is a God of justice” It is an essential aspect of his character. Again and again, throughout the book, when God describes the great future which lies ahead for his people, after they have been carried through his judgement, we’re told that it will be a time of justice.

So it’s no surprise that when the Servant comes, he brings justice with him. In fact, it’s such a characteristic of this servant that it’s repeated 3 times in 4 verses! He will rule rightly. He will properly discern between right and wrong. He will ensure that righteousness is rewarded and evil is punished. He is not dependent on a committee to agree the rules, or a criminal justice system to hold trials and investigate offences. He has the Spirit of God himself, the one who alone can properly determine right from wrong. So he is uniquely able to establish justice. To put every wrong to rights.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect justice, and thank him that we can look forward to an eternity under his just rule, where every evil will be banished and righteousness will finally flourish.

Isaiah 42:1a

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;

In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God. But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah’s ministry is spent warning them of great upheaval and suffering which is to come, when they will experience God’s righteous judgement for turning away from him.

So, when we read this verse, at the start of chapter 42, we might expect that the servant God is talking about is still Israel. But as we read through the chapter we discover that he is actually talking about another servant. A better servant. One who is faithful and just. One in whom God the Father delights. One who will be a light in the dark world of the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God.

This is not just any servant. This is THE servant. He is not only faithful and obedient himself, but he is the one who will rescue and restore faithless and disobedient Israel. He is Jesus - God’s chosen one.

Beginning today, we will spend the next 7 weeks looking together at what God tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, about this promised servant. We’ll focus on the so-called ‘Servant Songs’ – the sections of the book of Isaiah where God speaks to, or about, this promised servant, and where the servant speaks about himself.

It’s my hope and prayer that these passages will help us all to reflect on the character and work of Jesus. That we will appreciate afresh the suffering servant whose perfect life and death have made it possible for rebels like us to be called servants of the Most High God.

So today, let’s pray that as we read about Jesus, God’s chosen one, we too would delight in him. And let’s ask the Spirit to open our eyes in the weeks ahead, to see more clearly the beauty and majesty of Jesus, which Isaiah foretold.

Psalm 51:19

Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Some people just love trying to find parts of the Bible that appear to contradict each other, in an attempt to undermine our confidence that it is God’s perfect, infallible word. Those people would have a field day with Psalm 51! In verse 16 David clearly states that ‘God does not delight in sacrifice’. Here in v.19 he is equally emphatic that God ‘will delight in sacrifice.’

But, as we’ve seen already, David has multiple sacrifices in mind as he writes this psalm. There’s the blood sacrifice that actually takes away our sin (Jesus’ death on the cross) which isn’t mentioned explicitly, but is implied when he talks about hyssop in v7. This is not a sacrifice that we can bring – it is something that God gives to us. Then there’s the sacrifice of v.16 - any sacrifice that we might think of bringing to God in an attempt to buy our forgiveness. That’s a sacrifice that is never welcome, which we shouldn’t try to bring. Then there are the two sacrifices that we can bring to God – not to earn our forgiveness but in response to it. Firstly, the sacrifice of v.17, the humble, repentant heart of a sinner who has been forgiven by Jesus. And finally, here in v.19, the lavish, generous, costly sacrifice of a whole bull, given by grateful people, in thankful celebration of their relationship with God.

In our place and time, the burnt offering of a bull is probably not the best way of expressing our gratitude to God. But that shouldn’t mean that we don’t express it at all! How can we, people who have been made righteous by Jesus, delight God today? By joyfully praising him. By demonstrating our trust in him through wholehearted obedience. By telling others how great it is to know a God like this. By coming to him humbly, acknowledging our tendency to sin and asking for his help to resist. In these, and many, many other ways, let’s ask God to make us those who delight him today!

Psalm 51:18

May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

For most of this psalm we've been listening to David relating to God individually. He's talking very personally about his sin, his need for forgiveness, his own individual faith. But in the final two verses we see that he doesn't consider his faith to be purely a private, individual matter. He is part of the whole people of God ('the righteous' v19). So when he prays for blessing he doesn't say 'May it please you to prosper me'. He wants to see Zion (that is, Jerusalem) being blessed. He wants the city of God, containing the people of God, to be secure. Building up the walls isn't about being insular and inhospitable; it's about being safe from enemy attack.

So it is for us. Awareness of our sin can be a really isolating thing. If we feel ashamed of our failures it can be tempting to withdraw from fellowship with others, forgetting that they too are sinners, every bit as much in need of God's grace as we are. We forget that when Jesus took out sin at the cross he didn't just open the way for us to have a relationship with God, but he also united us together with other Christians. So, every time we repent we can remember that we are part of a body, not alone.

That doesn't mean that we have to tell everyone at church about every one of our sins! But it does mean that when the devil tells us that we can't be honest with anyone about what we're really like, we know that he's wrong. And when we celebrate our forgiveness, we're not just thankful for restored relationship with God, but for being part of a body of people who all know the joy of being forgiven. So perhaps we will want to pray not just that I will walk more and more in his ways from now onwards, but that we will. We’ll want to pray that God would prosper our church (and the whole universal church) not just ourselves. That he will keep our church, not just me, secure from enemy attack. Let's ask him for those things today, grateful for the fellowship he has given us as we trust and obey him together.

Psalm 51:16-17

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Even though it’s a familiar psalm, I still find these verses surprising. Why would David say 'you do not delight in sacrifice'? He can't mean that the whole temple sacrificial system displeases God - it was God's idea in the first place. Making the Old Testament sacrifices and burnt offerings was an act of obedience to God's commands, not a man-made religious system.

And why would God want David to be 'broken' in spirit? Surely the whole point of forgiveness is to heal his broken spirit? It feels like we’ve suddenly rewound to the beginning of the psalm, where David was mourning over his sin and pleading for forgiveness. Isn’t this section, from v.13 onwards, all about David’s response to having been forgiven? Shouldn't he be 'fixed' now, rather than broken? Full of rejoicing and evangelistic zeal, no longer weighed down by his sin? If I was writing this psalm, I'd have put these verses nearer the beginning, imagining that the 'sacrifice' of a 'contrite' (i.e. repentant) heart was a good thing to bring to God, to convince him to forgive me. 'Look, Lord, how sorry I am!' And then my psalm would get progressively more upbeat, with a spirit and heart that bounce back to pure joy!

However, we know that David is writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so obviously he is right to put these verses here in the psalm! The fact that they feel out of place shows that I’m misunderstanding something important. Actually, I’m misunderstanding 2 things….

Firstly, David's contrite heart is NOT the sacrifice that brings about God's forgiveness. His sin is not washed away by the volume of his own tears. His transgressions are not wiped away in proportion to how sorry he feels about them. His forgiveness is utterly and completely the result of Jesus' sacrificial death in his place. The only sacrifice that David can bring is one of thankfulness. And, secondly, the point of forgiveness is not, primarily, to make David feel better. Why would I expect that a forgiven sinner wouldn't still mourn over their sin? He's not weighed down by it in the same way he was at the start ... He knows his guilt is taken away so he won't live permanently crushed by it. But a humble heart, aware of its own weakness and need for God's constant help, is the right thing for a Christian to have ALL the time. Joy at having been forgiven doesn't completely remove our sorrow at having needed forgiveness. We, like David, can know both the complete assurance of having our sins washed away AND the reality that we are permanently 'poor in spirit' before a holy God. Let's pray that God would give each of us an appropriately contrite-yet-rejoicing heart, today.

Psalm 51:14-15

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Yesterday we saw that one aspect of David's response to being forgiven is a renewed commitment to telling others about his saviour. In today's verses we see a second response ... Singing God's praises.

v.14 isn't the kind of bargaining with God that unbelievers do in a time of crisis ... 'Get me out of this, God, and I'll do anything you want!' Praising God isn't the penance that David will reluctantly force himself to do in exchange for forgiveness. I imagine that David wants to sing God's praises - after all, he is a psalm-writer and a musician. He loves to celebrate God's righteousness and goodness in words and songs. But if you remember v.8 you'll remember that he feels crushed by his sin. He is guilty of bloodshed, having ordered the killing of Bathsheba's husband. He cannot sing with joy and gladness to God when his sin hangs heavily over him. But if God will rescue him, deliver him, forgive him and wash him clean, then he will sing with all his heart, at the top of his lungs in gratitude and praise.

Will we do anything less? We who know that Jesus has already died to take away our guilt. Our sin has been atoned for. When we confess it to God and ask for forgiveness it is wiped away forever. There is no reason for us not to sing. And our song will be entirely in praise of God. There's nothing like being confronted by our own sin to remind us that we are not the glorious, strong, successful people we would like to be. We have no reason at all to sing our own praises, or to demand that other people sing our praises. But we have every reason to sing praise to our gracious, loving, righteous, rescuing God. Let’s praise him as he deserves today!

Psalm 51:13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

Now that David has confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness, this next section (verses 13-17) shows us how a forgiven sinner responds to their forgiveness.

Firstly, here in verse 13, he commits himself to sharing what he knows of God with others, so that they too can turn away from sin and be forgiven. So often when we think about evangelism, it's as something we OUGHT to do, to please God (or, perhaps, to stop other Christians nagging us about it!) Whereas here we see evangelism as the natural reaction of someone who is so aware of what he has been saved from, and so grateful for that rescue, that he longs to see others rescued and forgiven as he has been. It's not just that David thinks that their life might be a little bit richer if they knew God ... he sees that they have done evil in God's sight just as David has. And so he knows that their only hope is to have their sins washed away, as his have been.

Is that how we see our unbelieving family, friends and neighbours? Do we long to see them turn back to God not simply so they'd stop thinking we were weird(!) but so that they can have their sins washed away by Jesus. If I'm honest, I don't think I share David's priority here. But rather than needing a course of evangelism training, I think I need to remember again just what a blessing it is for me to be forgiven. So I'm praying that God would make me so grateful for my salvation that I would really want to share it with others. Perhaps you might want to pray the same?

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Back in verse 10, David asked God for a 'steadfast spirit". And perhaps you thought that that sounded a bit dreary. Steadfast can be the sort of word we associate with over-long walks in the rain: plodding along, one foot in front of the other, knowing you'll get there eventually but certainly not enjoying the experience! Some people see the Christian life like that - heaven sounds great but the business of living as a Christian in the meantime seems dull and burdensome.

This verse reminds us that when David thinks about 'steadfastness' he doesn't mean 'dull and dreary'. He knows that life in relationship with God is a GOOD thing. Not just an unpleasant necessity to be endured, until we get to the good stuff later on. There is joy in his relationship with God - joy in knowing that he is loved and chosen and rescued. That joy has been crushed under the weight of his sin, but it can be restored. And so he prays that it would be. He doesn't have to try and summon up joy from within himself - it is God's gift to him. Just as his salvation is actually God's salvation - achieved by God and given by God and not in any way David's own doing.

He also prays that God would give him a spirit that is not only steadfast but willing. That he would live out his relationship with God enthusiastically, rather than grudgingly.

What about us? Are you joyful about your salvation, and willing in your following of Jesus? Or unwilling, feeling that discipleship is a burdensome duty? Following Jesus will always be hard - after all, we are called to die to self and live for others, which is bound to be painful. But if we are sustained by the joy of knowing that we are loved, chosen, forgiven, rescued children of God, then we can follow Jesus willingly.

If that's your experience today, thank God for the gifts of salvation and joy. And if that's not how it feels for you right now, then pray as David does here, that God would restore your joy and willingness to follow him. And spend some time remembering your salvation, which is the best and most lasting source of joy we could ever have.

Psalm 51:11

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Throughout the Psalms we keep coming across this idea of God turning his face away from sinners, or sending sinners away from him. And I keep saying that if we are trusting Jesus we need never be afraid that it will happen to us.

But how can we be sure? After all, it's too important just to take my word for it! In fact, we have Jesus' own words to reassure us. In John 6 he says "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.' NEVER. However great our sins, however feeble our faith, however wobbly our discipleship, when we come to Jesus for forgiveness and help he will NEVER send us away. And because Jesus is with the Father right now, if we are always with Jesus then we are always in God the Father's presence. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does.

Not only that, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us, who teaches us not to sin, strengthens our weak faith and keeps pointing us back to Jesus so that we can keep following him.

So let's praise God today for the assurance that he will never send us away from him, and for the gift of his Spirit living in us. Let's pray that we would grow in our gratitude for these great blessings.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

David knows that deep down, in his heart, he is a sinner. His adultery and murder were not an accidental, out-of-character slip-up. They were the outworking of his lifelong sinful nature. And so he needs more than forgiveness. More than just having his sin wiped from God's record of his life. He needs a new nature. A new heart. This isn’t the prayer of a man becoming a believer for the first time - we know that David is already a follower of God. He has a new nature as well as his sinful nature. But as often as his heart is corrupted by sin, it needs to be made pure again. And as well as a pure heart he needs something else. A steadfast spirit. An inner perseverance to continually say No to sin and Yes to obeying God. It would be ridiculous to come to God for forgiveness of his sin if he fully intended to go back and live the same way again. But he knows that he cannot change unless God changes him.

In the same way, when we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness because of the death of Jesus, we also need more than that. We need the Holy Spirit to strengthen our desire to turn away from sin. We need him to grow in us a steady determination to live more and more like Jesus, and less and less like our sinful nature. We need him to strengthen our conviction that it is possible to fight against sin. We need him to make us resolute for that fight.

Today, let's each pray as David does here: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:9

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

When we looked at Psalm 80 together we saw how 'God's face' symbolised his relationship with his people. The psalmist prayed that God's face would shine on them with favour. Many other psalms contain prayers for God not to 'hide his face' - in other words, not to withdraw from his people or reject them.

This verse is unusual - it's the only the psalms where God 'hiding his face' is a good thing. But it makes sense - David knows much his sin offends God. He doesn't want God to have to look at it. But David knows, as we know, that sin is embedded deep within him. How can God turn away from David's sin without rejecting David himself? God would be completely justified in rejecting David completely, turning his face away once and for all. He would be justified in doing the same to us.

Yet, because of his love and mercy, Jesus came into the world to bear our sin. At the cross, the Father hid his face from the Son. Jesus bore God's rejection so that we don't have to.

So we, like David, can have our sin blotted out without us being blotted out forever. Our transgressions and wrongs can be washed away without us being completely swept away in judgement. God is able to both hide his face from our sin and shine his face us, as forgiven sinners.

Let's praise God for his grace and mercy, and confess our sins to him today, confident that they are fully and completely blotted out and taken away by the blood of Jesus.

Psalm 51:7-8

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

David has been totally honest about the seriousness of his sin. He has done evil. He is unclean before God. What's the solution? How can his sin be dealt with? Notice that he doesn't even consider trying to get rid of it himself. He knows that if he is to be made clean, it must be the God who he has sinned against who does it. But how? What can wash away his sin? The answer is ... hyssop! It's a plant. But not just any plant.

Hyssop is what God told the priests to use when he gave them instructions for cleansing unclean things. Everywhere in the Old Testament where we see hyssop used for cleansing, it's part of a ceremony that involves a blood sacrifice. Hyssop was what the Israelites used to paint the lamb's blood onto their doorposts, so that their firstborn sons would be spared, on the night when God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. When an Israelite heard the word 'hyssop' they'd probably picture a handful of sticks and leaves, dripping with the blood of a sacrifice. It's not the most obvious thing to use if you want whiter-than-white laundry! But it is the perfect thing to take away the guilt of sin. Only the blood of a perfect sacrifice can cleanse sinners.

So perhaps it's no coincidence that when Jesus, dying on the cross, is offered wine vinegar to drink, it's offered to him on a stick of hyssop. There, just as in the Old Testament ceremonies which foreshadowed it, hyssop + blood sacrifice = cleansing.

What can take away OUR sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, which washes us white as snow. Responding rightly to that means doing what David does in this psalm - both grieving the seriousness of our sin and rejoicing in our forgiveness. My sin is so serious it required the Son of God to be crushed in my place. How can I take that lightly? Yet because he was crushed, I can be free. I don't have to live weighed down for ever by the memory of my past failures. I can rejoice in the grace God has shown me.

So let's thank and praise Jesus today for the joy of knowing that our sins have been completely washed away at the cross.

Psalm 51:5-6

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

There's a strong similarity between the story of David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and Adam & Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and David have a God-given position as ruler and representative of the people (although in Adam's case the people who he represents haven't been born yet). Both saw something that they wanted, that God said they shouldn't have, and both took it anyway. Both then try to cover up their sin. But there is at least one way in which David is different - when he is confronted with his sin, he 'owns' it. When God speaks to Adam and Eve after they've eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they are quick to try and pass the buck, blaming each other, the serpent and even God himself ('if you hadn't put that woman here with me, none of this would have happened ...') David, on the other hand, knows that his sin is his fault. It's not just a momentary lapse of judgement, totally out of character, prompted by someone else's behaviour. He knows that he sinned because, deep down, he is - and always has been - a sinner. SInful from birth. In fact, even from before birth.

I don't think he's using that as an excuse - 'It's not my fault, God, I was born this way.' It's an acknowledgement that his sin problem goes right to the very heart of his character. It's who he IS. But, wonderfully, it's not ALL he is. He is also a man made and known and rescued by God. Even when his unborn body was being made in the womb, God was there with him, relating to him. At that point, God already knew that David would grow up to be a murderer and an adulterer, yet he still taught him wisdom.

Our sin problem is just as deep-rooted. We aren't basically good people who occasionally sin by accident. We are sinners by nature, from our earliest days. Yet the God who made us knew us and loved us before the universe was made. And so he sent us Jesus, the only man ever born without sin. The perfect representative of his people who resisted all temptation.

Let's confess our sin to God today without making excuses or passing the blame. And let's thank him for Jesus, through whom we have been given new birth and new hearts.

Psalm 51:4b

so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

We all want justice. We have an inner instinct that longs for right judgements and hates unfair decisions. We see it clearly in children, even from a very early age, railing against any perceived injustice: "it's not fair!" Yet we don't have a corresponding ability to judge rightly. We're very quick to judge others, even without knowing the facts. And even quicker to try to justify ourselves: 'It wasn't me', 'I didn't mean to', 'I know I shouldn't have, but if you'd heard what she said to me ....'

We love the idea of justice but we're unable to be just. We don't have all the information, and our inner jury is heavily rigged in our own favour.

Not only that, but we look around us and see so many examples of injustice in the wider world. Is there any real hope of justice and right judgements?

Praise God that he is the perfect judge. His verdict is always right. Under his rule, every judgement is completely fair. We may not see that worked out in the world around us yet, but one day it will be. There will be a day of judgment when every wrong ever committed will be fairly dealt with. We know that we also deserve to face that judgement, and later in this psalm we'll be reminded of why we don't need to be afraid of that. But we should still rejoice that God's justice is perfect and his character is righteous. Imagine if it wasn't. Imagine if the world was under the control of a powerful but unjust God. Imagine if the only justice to be had came from someone as biased and selfish as we are. That would be terrifying!

Let's praise God today that he is, and always will be, right in his verdicts and justified in his judgements.

Psalm 51:4a

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;

As we saw yesterday, David recognises his own sin and calls it what it is. Today we see that he also understands WHY it is so serious. He knows that when he sins, he sins against God himself.

If you're familiar with the Psalm, perhaps v.4 is no longer surprising. But as we slow down to think about it we see that this is actually an extraordinary thing to say! David has committed adultery and murder. We're not told whether Bathsheba was a willing participant in the 'affair' but in a '#MeToo' world, we would certainly call it an abuse of power and ask questions about the extent to which a woman in her situation could meaningfully consent. David has definitely sinned against Bathsheba's husband, and quite possibly against Bathsheba herself. He has sinned against his whole people by pursuing his own selfish desires in place of leading them faithfully in obeying God's commands. Yet he says he has sinned against 'God alone'. What? Doesn't he care about the human cost of his actions? Is he not yet fully repentant for his sin towards them? Yet these aren’t the words of an unrepentant man, trying to cover up or avoid responsibility for his actions. David knows that he has seriously wronged other people. I think what he means here is that his sin is also against God. And that sin against God is so serious that it completely overshadows the sin against other people. Not because he underestimates the seriousness of his actions on a human level, but because he rightly appreciates the seriousness of the even greater evil of sinning against God.

Do we? Do we recognise that when we do wrong, the offence against God is greater than the offence against the other person? As we consider that, we realise that our sin is so much more of a problem than we thought! After all, if I feel angry, or proud or envious towards someone else, but manage not to express it outwardly, I can easily think that I have nothing to repent of ... I didn't actually shout at them (although I wanted to), I didn't in fact tell them that their idea was utterly stupid and mine was so much better (although clearly, to me, it was). If I've managed to stop short of sinning against them in words and actions, then I'm OK. Aren't I?

We would certainly want to thank God for giving us that self-control! But if sin is primarily rebellion against God, then my heart is still guilty. In my pride I have valued myself more highly than another person made in God's image, and so devalued the creator. In my anger I have assumed that the world should be ordered entirely to suit me, and so dishonoured the real king. In my envy I have concluded that good gifts have been wrongly distributed, and so dishonoured the generosity of the ultimate giver. Even if I have spoken and acted impeccably towards other people, I've sinned against God in my heart. Let's confess to God the full extent of our sin, which goes far beyond what is visible to others. And let's praise him for his gracious love and forgiveness, which extend further still.

Psalm 51:3

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

I realise that many things about coronavirus have been terrible for many people, and I don’t want to make light of that in any way. Nevertheless, the Covid lockdown has also been useful, for me at least, in one way. It has shown me my sin more clearly! Perhaps the same is true for you.

Being in close contact with the same people for an extended time with no escape has probably reminded us that they are sinners but it also reveals that we are, too. I've seen my selfishness, my laziness, my impatience, my desire to build my own kingdom in which things are done my way, even more clearly than usual over the past few months. For those living alone the experience may be different, but I imagine that there have still been many opportunities for sin, and many temptations to use the greater privacy for ungodliness instead of godliness.

When we look back honestly over the past few months, or even the past few days, can we say with David 'I know my transgressions ... my sin is always before me'?

It's uncomfortable, isn't it? Looking straight at our sin and calling it what it is. It's much easier to try and ignore it, or explain it away ... 'I'm sorry I shouted, it's just that I'm so tired.' 'I know I shouldn't gossip about her behaviour, but I’m just so angry about it' Tiredness, hunger, suffering, strong emotions and many other things make us more prone to sin; they can provide both the opportunity and the motive. Nevertheless, sin is still sin. We might think we'll feel better about it if we hide it, or explain it away, or call it something else. But the only thing that can actually take our sin away is forgiveness through the death of Jesus. And the first step to forgiveness is to see our sin for what it is. Only then can we confess it honestly, to ourselves and to God, who already sees it much more clearly than we do. We have nothing to lose by being honest about our sin, as David is here.

So, if you are very conscious of your sin today, bring it to God, knowing that he is not surprised by it. And if you find it hard to recognise your sin, ask God to open your eyes to see it more clearly, so that you can call it what it is and bring it to him for forgiveness.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

So far in these psalms we've thought a lot about how God's unfailing love is a help to us in times of trouble. We've seen psalmists facing direct assault from armed enemies, and the treachery of deceitful accusations. But Psalm 51 reminds us that our greatest danger comes to us not from the world outside but from within. It is our sin, our transgressions, our iniquity, from which we most need to be rescued.

Perhaps we especially need to remember this at the moment, when we are so busy 'staying alert' to danger from 'out there'. Yes, Covid-19 is a danger, especially to those who are more physically vulnerable among us. But it's only a possible danger ... Something we MIGHT catch. Sin has infected us already. Every single one of us. There's no 'if I sin' or 'just in case I transgress' in these verses. David knows that his sin is a terrible, present reality, not just a vague future possibility.

This psalm is David's prayer after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, who rebuked him for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and for arranging the murder of Bathsheba's husband in an attempted cover-up. Bad enough for anyone to have done this, but David is the leader of God's people. He’s not only guilty of personal immorality but also of abuse of power and a failure of leadership. No wonder he's conscious of his sin!

Our experience won't be identical to David's, but we are still in the same boat. We need God to have mercy on us. We are sinners who need to be cleansed. Right now, I imagine that some of us are really conscious of our sin, some of us are weighed down by guilt for things that aren't actually sinful at all, and some of us are unaware of our guilt, wondering why we can't read a more encouraging psalm instead!

Let's pray that as we work our way through this psalm, God would be at work in each of us, opening our eyes to see clearly both the reality of our sin and the reality of his unfailing love and great compassion.

Psalm 80:19

Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we see again the repeated chorus of this psalm - a prayer that God would restore his people to their special relationship with him, look favourably on them and save them. These words are familiar, but if we look back through the whole Psalm, we see that verses 3, 7 and 19, while very similar are not identical. Verse 3 is addressed simply to God, verse 7 to God Almighty and verse 19 to the LORD God Almighty. There's a rising intensity to the prayer, expressed by adding something new to the description of God each time.

He is God - the one who deserves to be worshipped by his people (and all people everywhere). He is Almighty (or the 'God of hosts', the one who commands all of heaven's armies), powerful to save. And he is LORD. That is his covenant name, a reminder of his faithfulness to his people. This is who the psalmist prays to - the only one worthy of worship, they only one powerful to save, the only one committed to restoring wayward people because of his great love and mercy.

This is the same God who we pray to, too. And if our prayers don't have the same intensity as the psalmist's, if we pray once and then give up rather than persisting, perhaps we've forgotten who we're praying to. Maybe we also need to reflect on some of the names of God - in this psalm and throughout the Bible - so that we are reminded again of his awesome might and his faithful love. Let's praise him for those things today, and let's pray that our dependence on him would grow as our knowledge of him grows.

Psalm 80:18

Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

How competent do you feel today? How able are you to do the things that you want or need to do? I imagine that some of us feel totally UNable today. We may be ill or tired or struggling with difficult circumstances, either temporary or permanent, that make us really aware of our own weaknesses and inabilities. Perhaps we find it hard to see others apparently 'succeeding' - those who seem able to just get on and achieve what they set their minds to without the obstacles that we face. Others of us might be feeling more capable ... Right now we seem to have all the resources we need for life. We may not even understand why others are struggling. Whichever group we fall into, today's verse is a great leveller. Here is something that NONE of us can do for ourselves!

God’s people's greatest problem - at the time of this psalm and today - is their unfaithfulness to God. They just can't seem to consistently trust and obey him. They know that being his people is a great privilege yet they turn away and behave like the nations around them, worshipping things that are not God. They know that they need to return to God, and live as his people, but they just can't do it. They can't even call on his name without help. They, and we, are utterly helpless when it comes to restoring and remaining in relationship with God. And that really matters. Succeeding in life does us no good at all if we can't maintain a relationship with him.

Their only hope lies in the Son of Man at the Father's right hand. If God blesses them through Jesus, THEN they will be able to remain faithful. If God revives them by his Holy Spirit, then they will depend on him in prayer, calling on God's name instead of the names of their idols. The same is true for us. None of us can live in relationship with God unless God makes it possible. So, there is no room for self-sufficiency or pride ... If I am a Christian today, asking God for his help to trust and obey him, all the credit for that belongs to him. And there is no room for despair either ... however badly everything else in life may be going, God is able to keep me trusting and obeying him today.

Let's thank him for that and pray with the psalmist that God would revive and sustain us so that we would call on his name today and every day of our lives.

Psalm 80:17

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

Yesterday's verse warned us that at God's rebuke his people perish. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story. In the final 3 verses of the psalm we discover that there is still the possibility of restoration. Instead of judgement, they could receive the blessing the palmist is praying for. But how can that happen? Today's verse tells us. And, as we've already seen, it isn't because of anything that the people do. It's all God's doing. He reaches out his hand to bless. But who is this man at his right hand, who receives the blessing?

We saw, back in verses 1&2 that this psalm focuses especially on Joseph's family, including his younger brother Benjamin. The name Benjamin means 'the son of my right hand' . So when we read the first half of this verse it's natural to picture him being blessed by God. But the blessing is not just for him as an individual. He represents the whole tribe of Benjamin. One man's blessing benefits many people. Yet as we read on, the 'man' becomes a 'son of man'. Which could still describe Benjamin, but is also the name Jesus often uses of himself. From our perspective, this side of the cross, we see more clearly than the psalmist could Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, raised up from the dead, having taken the judgement that should have been ours. Jesus rightly deserves God's hand of blessing to rest on him. But we who are united with him by faith get to share it. One man's blessing benefits many people. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:16

our vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.

Have you ever experienced the frustration of giving an ineffective rebuke? Perhaps a family member, or friend, or colleague, says or does something that is clearly wrong or unacceptable, and you need them to know that it shouldn't ever happen again. Not simply because it annoyed you, but because what they did was dangerous in some way ... the colleague who is careless about computer security and risks deleting important data. The young child who discovers a box of matches and thinks the flames are pretty to play with. A rebuke can be appropriate but not always effective. We may feel frustrated when we see the same wrongs repeated over and over again, and nothing we say makes any difference.

God's rebuke is different. At his rebuke his people perish. God's words, by which everything was created, also have the power to destroy.

Maybe we're the ones who are insensitive to someone else's rebuke. We know that we're consistently saying or doing something that we shouldn't. Not just because it annoys someone else, but because it's actually wrong in God's sight. I don't mean those things where we're asking for his help to change but still sometimes failing. I mean something we're not even fighting against. We like what we're doing so much that we don't WANT to change. We're quite prepared to ignore anyone who tells us it's wrong, even God himself. After all, what can they really do about it? I seem to be getting away with it so far....

If that's you, be warned. God's rebuke IS effective. He may be patient now, giving us time to repent, but when he speaks in judgement, his word will be effective and there will be nothing we can do to escape it. So let’s seize the opportunity to repent today, confessing our sin and asking for help to change. Forgiveness is available in Christ for all who ask for it. But to wilfully persist in sin, without any desire to change, is to deliberately refuse that forgiveness.

And let's all of us pray that God would give us soft hearts that are quick to hear and obey his words, and quick to repent when we fail, taking refuge in Jesus who endured God's deadly rebuke in our place at the cross.

Psalm 80:14-15

Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.

I doubt know about you, but I'm finding this psalm quite surprising in places. Just when I think I know what the palmist is going to say next, he says the opposite! First we had the shock of discovering that the people's suffering comes not from their enemies, but from their God. They are the ones who turned away and broke the covenant. So surely the solution is going to be for them to repent and turn back to God. I'd expect v. 14 to say something like 'Return to God Almighty, you people! Look up to heaven and cry out for help.' In fact, it says the complete opposite. 'Return to us, God Almighty!'

Why does God need to return, since it was the people who went away from him? I don't think the psalmist is blaming God. 'This is all your fault, God, so you'd better fix it.' In fact, he doesn't dwell on whose fault it is at all. (We only know about the people's rebellion by remembering things we read elsewhere in the Old Testament). Rather, his focus throughout the whole psalm is on what needs to happen now. His repeated prayer is for God to 'restore' them, to 'return to' them. Not because they are the innocent party, abandoned by God. But because God is their only hope for rescue. The people are at fault, but they can't put it right for themselves. In v.18 we'll see what they must do next. But God's part comes first. If he will not return to them, they cannot be saved. If he will not choose to continue to be their God, they can never again enjoy the blessings of being his people. They are the root he has planted. They are the son he has raised up. Apart from him, they are nothing. Unless he looks on them with favour, they have no hope.

It's the same for us. When we sin, we turn away from God. Yet our hope of forgiveness and restoration is not in our ability to turn back. Our ability to make things right. Our ability to try harder and do better next time. Our hope of forgiveness and rescue is in God. His mercy. His grace. If he chooses not look on us with favour, no amount of repentance on our part will make any difference.

So let's praise him today that he HAS shown us favour, sending Jesus to die in our place. And let's be humbled by the reminder that he is, and always will be, our only hope for rescue and forgiveness.

Psalm 80:8-13

You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.

The reason that the psalmist prays for God to save his people throughout this psalm is because he knows that God is a saving God. He is asking God to do again what he has already done in the past. This is the same God who rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and led them into the promised land, driving out their enemies so that they could live in security and peace. They weren't just a tiny seedling, they were a great and flourishing vine, whose branches and shoots spread over the whole land.

But it didn’t last. We see in v.12-13 that God’s vineyard – his people – is no longer securely protected. The vine is trampled by animals and eaten by insects. A ruined shadow of its former self. The psalmist asks why, but he already knows the answer. The people had turned away from God. It is God who broke down the walls, but only because the people first broke the covenant.

When I read these verses, I find myself thinking 'What a waste.' Not only is the people's situation terrible in itself - insecure, fearing their enemies on all sides, poor and weak and helpless - but they also know what they have lost. The picture here shows us just how much better it is to live under God's blessings than to reject him. The people had been warned what would happen if they turned away from God. But they did it anyway, believing that going their own way would lead to something better that what God offered. That isn't just the experience of Old Testament people.

v.12-13 are a picture of the effects of sin in our lives, too. It brings ruin and destruction and disappointment. We know this. But we so easily forget. We need this picture clearly in our minds, for the moments when we are tempted to follow our sinful desires rather than go the way that the Spirit leads. We're so easily fooled into thinking that selfishness, greed, pride, anger or self-sufficiency will bring us the good things we want in life. When in fact they're all ways of knocking down the walls and letting in the wild animals that will destroy the blessings of our relationship with God.

Let's repent today of whatever sins we have believed will bring us something better than knowing God. And let's pray that we would increasingly turn away from sin and towards God, rather than the opposite.

Psalm 80:7

Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we read again the repeated 'chorus' of this psalm, that we looked at back in v3. We reflected on the great blessing it is to have God turn his face towards us and smile on us. But alongside the encouragement, this verse also contains an uncomfortable truth.

Why do we need God to smile on us? Not simply to make us feel better. But 'that we may be saved'. This God, whose blessing the palmist prays for repeatedly, is the one whose anger smoulders against his people for their rejection of him. They, and we, and everyone we will ever meet rightly deserve God's judgement. We need to be saved.

I was surprised by the number of people who liked 'The Blessing' and shared it online, who wouldn't necessarily think of themselves at Christians. But perhaps I shouldn't have been. After all, who wouldn't want the warm glow of blessing and favour from a higher power? It might not something they thought they needed, but it's still nice to have. The icing the cake.

Perhaps a 'blessing' song based on this verse wouldn't go down so well.... 'may his blessing be upon you, who are rightly facing judgement for your sin. May his blessing be upon you, so that you can be rescued from hell. May his blessing be upon you, because without it you will remain lost for ever.' For the person who doesn't yet see themselves as needing to be saved this verse doesn't seem to deliver quite the same warm glow. But for any of us who recognise our own sin, and God's holy righteousness, this verse is precious. What greater blessing could there be than to be saved fully and forever from all our sin and failure, so that we will never face God's judgement? This blessing is not just a warm glow, the icing on the cake. It's the thing we most need. And we can ask for it with even more confidence than the psalmist, because we live this side of the cross. So today, let's ask God to forgive our sins because of Jesus' death in our place. And let's praise him that he has rescued us to enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and restored relationship with him forever.

Psalm 80:6

You have made us an object of derision to our neighbours, and our enemies mock us.

We saw yesterday that God's people's suffering at the time of this psalm was a direct consequence of them turning away from him. It's bad enough that their rebellion caused them to lose their land and its blessings. But here we see that they also lose their reputation. Their neighbours laugh at them. Their enemies mock 'Thought you were God's special people, did you? Hasn't done you much good, has it?!' But to mock God's people is to mock God. If the reputation of God's people suffers, it reflects badly on God himself. Can't he protect them better? Has he changed his mind about his promises to them? Why, then, does God do this? Why risk his reputation and honour among the nations?

Perhaps we see the answer to that when we remember another time when God's chosen one was made an object of derision. At the cross, Jesus' enemies mocked him. In doing so they were mocking God himself. Why let that happen? Why let the one who deserves all glory, respect and praise be ridiculed? 2 reasons. Firstly, out of love for us. In the time of the palmist, God disciplines his people in order to bring them back to him. He accepts temporary dishonour, for his people and his own name, so that they can be restored. At the cross, Jesus is disgraced so that we can be forgiven. But secondly, just as importantly, it’s for God’s own greater glory. At the cross it seemed for a moment that God could be mocked. Yet because of the cross we discover that he is greater than we ever imagined. He is more gracious, more faithful, more loving, more forgiving, more righteous than we realised. The temporary disgrace only magnifies his glory. So, let's praise our glorious God today.

Psalm 80:4-5

How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smoulder against the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

Yesterday, we delighted in the idea of God turning his face towards us and shining his favour on us. But as today's verse make clear, that wasn't the palmist's experience. It's what he prays for, but it's not what he currently has. He, and all God's people, are actually experiencing God's right anger towards them. Perhaps this comes as something of a shock to us. So far in these psalms we've seen people suffering at the hands of their enemies, who are also God’s enemies. But now we see a nation suffering, and it turns out that their own God has done this to them. The God who fed his people with manna and quail in the wilderness now feeds them with tears. Why?

Back in Deuteronomy, when the people God had rescued from slavery stood on the brink of the promised land, Moses reminded them of the covenant God had made with them, and the blessings that they would enjoy if they remained faithful to him. But he also warned them of the curses that would come if they turned away. They would lose their land and suffer at the hands of their enemies ... exactly the situation that this Psalm describes. Deuteronomy 29:25-26 tells us that when the nations see this they will ask 'Why this burning anger?' and the answer will be 'because the people abandoned the covenant of the Lord ... and worshipped other gods.'

We live under a new covenant. Not all of our present suffering is the result of our personal sin. The curse we deserve been taken by Jesus at the cross. Will that make us care less about our sin than the psalmist did? Or will our gratitude for our salvation be an even more powerful motivation to trust and obey our gracious and merciful God? Let’s pray today that it would be.

Psalm 80:3

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

This verse is like the chorus of the psalm, repeated between each section. So, we'll come back to it a few times, and consider something different each time we read it. Today, we'll focus on the idea of God's face shining on us.

Do you remember 'The blessing' - an online music video which was widely circulated during Covid lockdown in the spring of 2020? It's a song, recorded by different Christians, beautifully edited together to show the unity and hope that we all share because of Jesus. Some of the words come from Numbers 6, when God tells Moses how the priests should bless the people of Israel: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace."

That's the blessing that the psalmist asks for here. He longs for God to smile on his people again. I love how personal this image is. Back in Numbers this blessing comes in the middle of a long list of instructions about how the people are to approach God, and the offerings they should bring. It would have been easy for them to get so caught up in the instructions that they started to think that their relationship with God was purely transactional, like the currency exchange window at the Post Office. 'I bring my offering to God and swap it for his favour and forgiveness'. Entirely forgetting that all the offerings take place in the context of a personal covenant in which God has become their God and they have become his people.

It's the same for us. We rejoice in 'the swap' of the cross, by which Jesus' death brings us forgiveness. But it isn't an impersonal transaction. Rather, it's the doorway to a personal relationship with God. Apart from Jesus, God's face would be turned away from us in judgement. Because of Jesus, God's face is turned towards us in love and blessing. His face shines on us, and we get to live in that light. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:2

shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.

The way that we describe a place or person often focusses attention on one particular aspect of their character or history. When we read about 'the Britain of Shakespeare and Dickens' we know that the writer wants us to be thinking about our literary heritage. But if we read 'the Britain of Stephenson and Brunel' then the focus isn't on literature, but on engineering.

In this psalm, as we've come to expect in the psalms, the psalmist responds to great sufferings by crying out to God. But he doesn't just appeal to 'God Almighty'. Instead, he describes God by his relationship to some famous names from history. What it is about God that he is remembering and wants us to focus on, by using that particular description?

To understand that, we need to know who these people are! In v.1 God is the shepherd of Israel which is another name for Jacob, the father of Joseph. Ephraim and Manasseh were two of Joseph's sons and Benjamin was Joseph's brother. Why name them particularly? I wonder if it's because the psalmist is remembering how God's might saved Joseph from trouble. Sold into slavery. Wrongly imprisoned. Forgotten by his friends. Joseph knew what it was like to suffer and feel abandoned, just like the psalmist.

But God rescued Joseph, raised him to an exalted position, and blessed him with sons – including Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. But they were not just individuals. They gave their names to three of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. What God did individually for Joseph, he repeated time and time again for that whole nation throughout the Old Testament. He awakened his might to come and save them. And so the palmist can cry out to God with confidence when he suffers. He knows that his God is a rescuing God who does not abandon his people.

What was true in the past for Joseph, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh was true for the psalmist hundreds of years later and is true for us today. Whatever our struggle or suffering or difficulty, God can be relied on to hear and help his people. Let's cry out to him for the help we need today.

Psalm 80:1

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

Those of you who are as old as I am might remember 'The West Wing' - a TV series from 20 years ago about a fictional President of the United States and his staff team. One of the things I loved about it was the way we saw the President 'behind the scenes' in his domestic life. One minute he is in the Oval Office, on the phone to another world leader, exerting all his power and influence as the head of a great superpower. The next minute, he's eating chilli at home with his teenage daughter. Sometimes it's hard for his daughter to understand his exalted position - to her, he's just 'Dad'. Both scenes are a true and accurate reflection of who he is, all the time, even though they seem so different.

Yesterday we were reminded that God is our shepherd. But in fact, that's only half of verse 1! Here in the second half we have another description of him. It might seem very different from the comforting, personal, gentle picture of a shepherd, but both pictures are 100% true of God, all of the time.

Here we see that God is the one 'enthroned between the cherubim'. That is, he is the holy and exalted God who is continually worshipped by heavenly beings who we struggle to even imagine. He is both right with us, to lead and protect AND exalted and glorious, deserving of all praise and worship, so awesome and holy that we sinners ought not to be able to come anywhere near him.

Perhaps it is because we find this so hard to imagine that back in Exodus, God commanded Moses to make the ark of the covenant, to be kept in the tabernacle (and later, in the temple) as a picture of both God's presence and his inaccessibility to sinners. The ark was covered in gold, and had golden cherubim attached to its top with their wings outstretched. The ark was kept behind a curtain, accessible only to the High Priest under very particular circumstances. Between these wings was the place where God symbolically dwelled - right in the middle of his people, yet unapproachably holy.

The fact that God is our shepherd is wonderfully comforting, but we should never think that he is ONLY that. He is, always, also the one who dwells in unapproachable light and holiness, awesome ruler over all things. Mighty, righteous, majestic and good beyond anything we can properly imagine. Enthroned between the cherubim. Let's worship him for that today.

Psalm 80:1a

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.

Today we're starting Psalm 80. Although we're not told exactly when and why it was written, if you read through the whole psalm it seems that God's people are suffering under God's discipline, so it could well have been written hundreds of years after David's time, when the nation of Israel had been invaded and taken into captivity by her enemies.

In the midst of this difficult situation, the psalmist cries out to God, confident that God is still 'the shepherd of Israel'. 'Shepherd' is such a powerful picture of what God is like that he doesn't need to go into details to spell it out. Even 21st century city-dwellers recognise that a shepherd is someone who leads, protects and provides for his sheep. He commits himself to their well-being. There is a relationship between the shepherd and his flock - the shepherd doesn't wander around looking for any old sheep to feed. He cares for HIS sheep. They belong to him and with him.

This picture of God as a shepherd appears in various places in the Old Testament. Back in Genesis 48, Joseph himself says 'God has been my shepherd all my life to this day.' So, when Jesus arrives on the scene and announces in John 10 'I am the good shepherd' it's not just that 'shepherd' happens to be a good description of his life and ministry and self-giving death. He's deliberately describing himself using a very familiar picture of God's relationship with his people.

So today, let's thank and praise God that he is the one who leads, guides, protects and provides for us, his people. And let's thank him especially for sending Jesus to be the good shepherd who laid down his life for us, his sheep.

Psalm 33:22

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

This verse echoes verse 18 in making a connection between our hope and God's unfailing love. We can be confident that God will rescue and deliver us because he loves us with an unfailing love - he doesn't get bored of us, or give up on us, or encounter obstacles which prevent him doing the good he wants to do for us.

But there's also a difference between these verses. V.18 is a statement of fact. 'The eyes of the Lord are on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.' V.22 is a prayer 'May your unfailing love be with us, even as we put our hope in you.'

Why does the psalmist bother asking for what he already knows is true? I think it's because he wants it to be true of HIM. He's making it personal. It's one thing to acknowledge that the only secure thing to hope in is God's unfailing love. But to pray that this would actually be MY only hope, our only hope, goes further. To know that God is gracious, or patient, or forgiving is wonderful in theory. But it doesn't actually change my life unless he is gracious towards me, patient with me, forgiving of me.

That's where prayer comes in. Prayer is taking God's character and promises - the things he is and does - and asking that they would be true for us. Making them personal. Taking hold of them to bring them into our own, everyday lives. That's why we pray for things that are already true. We ask God to be gracious towards us, not because he isn't gracious already, but because we know that he IS gracious, and we want to experience more of it for ourselves.

Of course, we can ask for other things as well, when we pray - for better sleep, success at work, improved health, an end to coronavirus. But those are a different kind of request. Then, we're asking that God would make something true that isn't true yet. Which he can do. And he will do, at the right time, if it is for our good and his glory. It's right to ask him about these things that concern us, but prayers like that will always be provisional ... 'if it is your will, please would you ...'

What a shame, then, if those requests become the only things we ever ask God for. Why would we not want to especially ask for things that we know are guaranteed? To pray, as the psalmist does here, for things that are already true to be true for us. Perhaps we think it's pointless - why ask for what God is already doing anyway? Because we're making it personal. Prayer isn't about getting God to do something he wouldn't otherwise have done. It's about developing our relationship with him. About taking what we know to be true about him in general, and holding onto it firmly for ourselves.

So, let's pray today that what we see of God in this psalm - his unfailing love, his vigilant care and rescue of his people - would be true for us, and that we would increasingly put our hope in him.

Psalm 33:21

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

How does the idea of ‘trusting God’ make you feel? Totally secure, in the arms of an all-powerful, all-loving heavenly Father? Or dangerously at sea, all out of your own ideas and resources, and forced to reluctantly fall back on Plan B, at least until you can get Plan A up and running again?

I have to admit, sometimes ‘trusting God’ feels more like a negative, rather than a positive. When our situation is hard we may say, through clenched teeth, “I suppose I just need to trust God more.” But what we really want is for things to be easier, for the pain to go away, for life to go back to ‘how it ought to be’, so that we don’t have to trust God quite so desperately.

That’s not what the psalmist has in mind when he thinks about trusting God. The psalmist’s experience of trust isn’t a grim, clenched-teeth, last-resort thing. It’s joyful. God’s people’s hearts rejoice because they trust in God. Why is that? It’s because of what they know about God – his name, in other words his character.

As we’ve seen from this psalm, our God is faithful, righteous, just, loving and awesomely powerful. So, to trust in this God is to put ourselves utterly in the hands of one who is totally committed to doing what is good and right. However hard our situation, we have no need to fear the outcome with a God like this in charge. Trusting him is the first and best choice we can make, not a reluctant fall-back plan when all else fails.

Let’s praise God for his holy name and righteous character, which make trusting in him such a blessing. And let’s ask him to deepen and strengthen our trust in him, so that our hearts might rejoice in him more and more.

Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

What are you waiting for today? The sun to come back out? A delivery to arrive? A child to grow out of a particularly frustrating stage of development? We do a lot of waiting. Yet we're not always very good at it. So often, waiting feels frustrating to us. We think it is time wasted. Wouldn't it be better if what we wanted came sooner?

Waiting is a common theme in the Bible - God's people are a waiting, hoping people. Why? Because God is a promise-making, promise-keeping God.

If God just did everything immediately, we would never need to wait. Think back over the stories of the Old Testament. If God had rescued the Israelites from slavery straight away, and deposited them directly in the promised land, it would have saved a whole lot of time and waiting and difficulty - no plagues in Egypt, no Passover, no wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. But then, why wait till they were slaves? Couldn't he have rescued them BEFORE things got tough? In fact ... why bother with sending them into Egypt at all? Why not just establish Abraham in the Promised Land back in Genesis 12? Wouldn't that have been so much better? Instead, God made a promise to Abraham that he, and the generations after him, had to wait hundreds of years to see fulfilled. Why? In the same way, we might ask 'Why can't we just have heaven now? Why all the waiting?' Well - we're not told directly, so it would be both foolish and arrogant to think that we know God's thinking when he hasn't told us. But I think at least one little bit of the answer is to do with God making and keeping promises.

God's priority in all his dealings with us is relationship. He's not primarily interested in accomplishing a particular end result in the most efficient way. He's primarily committed to being in loving relationship with his people, and to enabling us to be in loving relationship with him. Which means that he wants us to know him. To see his character at work and grow in our understanding of what he is like. We only know that God is a faithful, promise-keeping God because we see him make promises and then keep them, even in the face of significant obstacles. We only know how committed he is to us, his people, because we have a whole Bible full of examples of God working to fulfil his purposes, sometimes over generations. If God accomplished everything instantly, how would we ever know anything about his faithfulness, his patience, his unfailing love?

It is for our good, and God's glory, that we get to see him make promises and then keep them. But that requires waiting. There's got to be a gap between the promise and its fulfilment. The longer the gap, the more clearly we see his faithfulness. So, there has to be waiting. But there is also hope. Because the fulfilment ALWAYS comes. Perhaps not as soon as we would have chosen. But always at the right time, according to God's perfect wisdom.

Let's praise God for that today, and ask for his help to be a people who wait in hope.

Psalm 33:18-19

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Yesterday we reflected on the way that we often find ourselves putting our confidence and hope in things that are not God. Yet none of those things can save us. 'But' says v.18, there is one who can deliver us. There is one who does live up to the hope we put in him.

The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him. It's an echo of v.13 - God watches us from heaven. Not, as we said then, like someone slumped, bored, in front of the TV or a security guard waiting for us to step out of line. Here we see what God's watching IS like ... it's the close attention of the poolside lifeguard who never takes their eyes off the swimmers, ready to jump in and rescue them the moment they are in danger.

God delivers us from death. Yet, we know, each one of us will one day die. How can the psalmist promise that God's people will be kept alive in famine, when around the world we see so many - including Christians - who do die of starvation? Again, we need to remember that the psalmist is writing under the terms of the Old Covenant, where material prosperity was used as a picture of God's blessings. Under that covenant, material suffering - illness, famine, war etc. – was the consequence facing those who turned away from God. So I think that 'keeping them alive in famine' is a way of saying that God's people won't suffer the same judgement that awaits God's enemies. Those who put their hope in God are delivered from the curse and punishment which they deserved for their sins and instead get to enjoy God's blessings, because of his mercy and unfailing love.

Living under the New Covenant, our blessings are primarily spiritual. So, we will one day die, but we will be delivered through death into eternal life with God. We may even physically starve in this life, but we will never be without Jesus - the bread of life - who sustains us spiritually now and with whom we will feast forever in the new creation.

None of the 'God-substitutes' that we thought about yesterday can do that. God alone can preserve us in this life until the day he decides to take us to be with him. God alone can deliver us through death into eternal life. He is the only one who is truly worth hoping in.

Let's praise him for delivering us from death, through the death of Jesus in our place. And let's ask for his help to keep us trusting and hoping in him alone, whether we live in times of plenty, or times of famine, or anything in between.

Psalm 33:16-17

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

Where is your confidence? What do you rely on to make everything alright? None of us has an army. I doubt that many of us even have a horse! And if we did, we probably wouldn't be relying on it for our safety. But we all have something that acts as our comfort blanket. Something that we trust in. As long as I've got .... then everything will be OK. For some it's money in the bank. Or success at work. Or having the house just right. For some it's another person, perhaps a parent, or a husband, or even children - it's their job to make us feel safe and secure. Providing they do what we need them to, everything's OK. Some of us trust in ourselves - maybe in our physical beauty, our intellect, or a particular skill or talent. What is it for you?

Whatever it is, if it's anything other than God, it won't actually save us. It can't deliver us from danger. It can't live up to the hope that we're putting in it. These things aren't rubbish - money in the bank DOES make life easier. Other people ARE a source of real comfort and help. An army IS powerful. A horse IS strong. Any of these things can be great blessings from God, to be received with thankfulness. But they cannot save. They may be useful in life, but they can't protect us from death. They may shield us from some of the effects of suffering in this world, but they can't offer us a place in a better world.

In our family bible times at the moment we're reading the book of Daniel. We've seen how King Nebuchadnezzer, ruler of the Babylonian Empire - the great superpower of the time - lost all his mighty power and lived for a time like a wild animal, because he trusted in his own greatness instead of being humble before God. He had money, armies, horses, power and achievement far beyond anything we can even imagine. But in the end they did him no good at all. In fact, they were actually bad for him - they fooled him into thinking he didn't need God.

As we'll see tomorrow, God alone is our strength and hope and rescuer. So let's repent today of putting too much of our confidence in the wrong places, and ask God to teach us to accept his good gifts with humble thankfulness, instead of using them as God-substitutes in our lives.

Psalm 33:13-15

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling-place he watches all who live on earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

During the Covid-19 lockdown it occurred to me just how easy it is to assume that something is pointless if no-one else ever sees it. Why bother doing the washing up/cleaning the flat/getting dressed in the morning, if no-one else is even going to notice? When we were largely confined to the house, I found myself wearing things that were previously banished to the back of the wardrobe 'because no-one (outside the family) is going to see me today'!

Yet these verses remind us that there IS someone who sees us, even when we feel invisible to the rest of the world. Someone who notices everything that we think has gone unnoticed.

I wonder how you feel about that? Is it an encouragement, that you are not forgotten? Or is it a guilt-inducing rebuke, reminding you of everything you do, say and think that you'd prefer was unseen?

How we feel about these verses probably depends on the mental picture that we have of God. Is he the bored TV-watcher, seeing everything but distant from it all, totally unengaged and unconcerned about what is going on? Or is he the security guard, sat in front of a panel of CCTV screens, constantly on the lookout for evidence of wrongdoing? No! Remember verse 5 ... God is full of unfailing love. Remember verse 12 ... God's people are blessed to have been chosen by him. As he watches us from heaven, he does so as a father who cares for us. Yes, he sees our sin - even the sins of our thoughts and attitudes that we manage to hide from everyone else. But our response to his gaze needn't be to try and bury those things deeper, or hide from him in despair. Instead, we can confess our sins, confident of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. And we can ask the one who forms our hearts to be at work, remaking our hearts and minds, our attitudes and actions, so that we become more like Jesus. Not just smartening us up on the outside, where others can see it, but transforming us deep within.

Let's praise God today that his all-seeing eye is not a threat to hide from, but a wonderful reminder of his grace. And let's confess to him the sins that he already sees, thankful for the death of Jesus that brings us forgiveness.

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

So far in this Psalm we have been reminded of many wonderful things about God. He is faithful, righteous, just and endlessly loving. His word is true and right and powerful enough to bring all creation into being. His plans stand firm, his purposes alone will last for ever. No wonder the psalmist thinks we should praise this Lord! Who wouldn't want to know and worship and obey a God like that? We can see why a people whose God is this God are blessed!

In the psalmist's time, to belong to God's people was to be part of the nation of Israel. Even then, 'outsiders' were welcome to become part of God's people. Think of Rahab, in the time when Joshua led Israel to take possession of Jericho. Or Ruth, originally from Moab, who takes the God of Israel as her God. The Old Covenant blessings were expressed materially in terms the Promised Land, an actual place with physical borders, and so God's people were identifiable as a specific nation. To become a follower of God meant 'opting in' to being part of Israel, and physically coming to live there. But now we live under the New Covenant, brought about by the death of Jesus. Our blessings are primarily spiritual. Our 'promised land' is heaven. And so we are no longer constrained by geography. Revelation tells us that God's people are made up of those from EVERY tribe and tongue and language and nation.

God's people are no longer confined to one single nation. But v.12 remains true: Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Blessed are we who belong to him, because of Jesus. He chose us before the creation of the world to be his inheritance. His righteousness and faithfulness and love are directed towards US. His true words are spoken to US. His sure plans and purposes are good for US.

Whatever our particular circumstances today, we are still blessed beyond anything we deserve, if we can say that the God so wonderfully described in this Psalm is OUR God and we are his children. Wherever we were born, whatever our background or language or skin colour or passport. We now belong, securely and forever, to the people of God. Let's praise him for that today.

Psalm 33:10-11

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Whose plans dominate your life? Yours? Or God's? That’s an awkward question, isn't it? We know what the 'right' answer is! We should be people who live to serve God's purposes. In our best moments, we WANT to be like that. To be able to pray 'Your will be done' and really mean it. But often, for me at least, it's MY plans that dominate my mind. We can tell when we're thinking this way by the things we ask for when we pray. 'Lord, please bless what I'm about to do, please take away the obstacles to my success, please remove this irritating situation which is getting in the way of what I want' without ever asking 'Lord, what is it that YOU want to accomplish in and through me today?'

So v.10 is uncomfortable ... What if I don't want a God who is going to foil my plans and thwart my purposes?! That's why we're reading verses 10 and 11 together. v.11 reminds us that only God's purposes are secure. Even if we get our own way, and our plans work out, they won't last. We are limited, finite creatures, and nothing we do really endures. I think that's why we're so fascinated by really old things, that have endured through generations - because it's so incredibly rare for human achievements to last that long. Only God can do anything that will last throughout every generation to come. Only his plans will outlast the end of this world and live on into eternity. Even the oldest human monuments and achievements will be swept away when this earth is destroyed. But God's plans stand firm for ever.

Looked at from that perspective, my obsession with my plans is ridiculous. Who am I to expect that God exists to serve my purposes? To make my agenda run more smoothly? How completely inappropriate to imagine that his divine power and wisdom would be best used in accomplishing my fleeting and often foolish goals! It is a wonderful truth that God DOES care about the detailed circumstances of our lives. We can bring to him all our needs and concerns. But that doesn't mean that it's his job to serve our plans. Rather, it's an amazing privilege that - somehow - all the details of our lives are woven into HIS plans. We get to do and say things each day that form part of his lasting purposes. When we glorify and worship God, when we obey him, when we share the gospel with someone, when we co-operate with the Spirit to put sin to death in our lives and become more like Jesus, we are taking part in something that really does last forever.

Let's praise God that his plans and purposes endure. And let's ask for his help to commit ourselves to his plans rather than our own. 'Your will be done, in my life, and throughout the earth, as it is in heaven.' Amen!

Psalm 33:9

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Already in this Psalm we have reflected on the fact that when God speaks, things happen. God says 'Stars!' and whole galaxies of them appear. His word is powerful not only in creation, but in the new creation that comes through the word of the gospel. God says 'Live!' and spiritually dead sinners are brought to life, as righteous children in God's family.

We've already acknowledged that God's words have a power that our words can never have. His words are always effective. But in this verse we see another important difference between his words and ours. What God commands stands firm for as long as he intends. Our words, even when they work, wear off. How many times have we had to say the same thing to someone over and over again? There are people I've known for years, who don't drink tea or coffee, who I still offer hot drinks to automatically. No matter how many times they tell me that they only want cold water, they still have to say it again next time they visit. Their words don't last.

But God's word endures for ever. What he says stands firm. He doesn't need to recreate the stars every night - they remain. Which is good news for us, if we have been called into new life through the death of Jesus. The word that brought us spiritual life never wears off. It doesn't have an expiry date. All God's promises to us last for ever. Let's praise and thank him for the assurance that gives us today.

Psalm 33:8

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

Verses 6 & 7 have reminded us of God's mighty power in creation. As we reflect on the immensity of the galaxy, and the power of the oceans, it is right that we feel small. The sheer scale of creation reminds each of us that we're not actually the centre of the universe. But we can't stop there. The purpose of creation is to declare God's glory. It exists not simply to make us feel small but to remind is that God is great. Nature may be awe-inspiring, but it's not nature itself we should be awed by, but God.

And so the right response, as we gaze at the stars, or contemplate the sea, is to revere the Lord. To fear God.

If we are trusting in Jesus, that fear is not the terror of an unforgiven sinner facing judgement. Rather, it is the reverence due to a holy God who has - extraordinarily - chosen to make us his children, at the cost of his only son.

Do you ever think that, because we get to call God 'Dad', we don't really need to revere him? I often think that way, but I'm realising that I shouldn't. As we look at the cross, don't we see that God is MORE awesome than we realised, not less? More holy, more loving, more righteous. We who are his children get to know him far better than the non-Christian who has never opened a Bible. Wouldn't we expect that growing knowledge to make us more in awe of him, rather than less? In fact, Proverbs tells us that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge'. Refusing to rightly fear him is foolishness. So let's pray today that we would grow in our reverence for God, and live as those who rightly fear and honour him.

Psalm 33:7

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

One of the things that we really missed, as a family, during lockdown, was the sea. Usually in the Spring we'd have at least a couple of day trips to the coast, to sit on the beach and look out at the sea. Huge and wide, stretching away as far as the horizon. Perhaps because we don't have enormous mountains in this part of the world, the sea gives us a rare glimpse of perspective. It is vast and we are very small. Our girls have been taught from an early age that, even though it is beautiful, the sea is a potential danger, a powerful force to be treated carefully. 'Respect the water' as the RNLI slogan says. We only need to think of the destruction caused by a tsunami to realise that the sea is powerful beyond anything that we could ever hope to control.

The Bible talks about the sea in that way, too. Often, the sea is a picture of chaotic forces, filled with enormous and potentially destructive creatures. That's why Revelation tells us that in the new creation there is no longer any sea. It's not that God is depriving us of the joy of a day on the beach. Rather, it's an expression of safety - the dangerous forces of uncontrolled waters will no longer be a threat to us, as they are now.

If we read verse 7 imagining a calm tide, gently lapping at our feet then it will sound quite poetic, but also a bit pointless. But as we read it, consider the sea as it really is - vaster than we can properly imagine, full of energy with the potential to overwhelm the land, destroying everything in its path. Now we're glad that there is an Almighty God who put the waters in their appointed places back in Gen 1, and who keeps them there. Let's praise him for his power over all created forces, today. And thank him for sending Jesus - who could still a raging sea with a word - so that we will one day enjoy complete and permanent safety with him forever.

Psalm 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

One day last summer, we had a picnic outside, which was briefly interrupted by a stranger's over-enthusiastic Labrador. It took the owner several attempts to get the dog to return to them. Our sausage rolls were apparently more compelling than the owner's voice. Any of us who've tried to control a hungry dog, or a small child, will know that our words are - at best - only sometimes effective.

But God's word is always effective. We saw in v.4 that what he says is true. In fact, what God says MAKES something true. All was utterly dark until God said 'Let there be light' and suddenly 'it is light' was true, and 'it is dark' wasn't. God simply spoke, and whole galaxies of stars appeared. God's words have power and authority unlike anything else.

Even more amazingly, this word is personal. John 1 tells us that 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.' Jesus himself is 'the word' of God. He is the one by whom and for whom everything was made, even the stars. If you're wondering 'How exactly is it that God's word, which he speaks, can also be a person?' .... Well, me too! But our wondering needn't be the kind that makes us give up thinking, because it's too confusing! Instead, let it be the kind of wonder that fills us with awe, and leads us to worship Jesus - the one who made all things and who is so great that he simply breathes out a cosmos whose edges we are nowhere near discovering. Let's praise and worship him, today.

Psalm 33:5

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

What is your world full of right now? Uncertainty? Exhaustion? Frustration? Joy? Sunshine? Rest? What is the whole world full of right now? Covid-19? Fear? Acts of kindness, even heroism? All those things may be true, and you could think of many others.

But let's not forget, the whole world is ALSO full of God's unfailing love. The Hebrew word is 'hesed' and it's a really common Bible word, variously translated as 'love', 'kindness', 'goodness' and 'mercy'. If you know the Jesus Storybook Bible, you'll be familiar with Sally LLoyd-Jones' wonderful phrase 'God's Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.' That's 'hesed'

It's not so much something God does (occasionally, when he remembers or it seems necessary). It's something God IS. All the time. He is completely full of goodness, kindness, mercy and unfailing love. God's love is so abundant that it overflows into the whole world. The earth is full of it. There's nowhere you can go to get away from it. Wherever you are, whatever happens to you today, you are never out of reach of God's unfailing love. When your love for him or for others fails, his love for you doesn't.

Let's praise him for that today. And ask for his help to remember that whatever our lives are filled with right now, they are also filled with his unfailing love, goodness, mercy and kindness.

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

I don’t know what’s in the news today, as you listen to this. But I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime this week there’s a headline about a celebrity caught doing something that doesn’t match their carefully-constructed image, or a politician acting in a way that doesn’t live up to their promises. We’re used to figures in public life not living up to their words. We may be frustrated and disappointed when it happens but we're rarely completely shocked. It's normal for public figures to sometimes say one thing and do another. Or to say one thing in public and another in private.

It's normal, and not completely surprising, because we know that we do it too. None of us is consistently right and true in what we say. Even when we do our best to reject every kind of deception, and try to speak only truth, we can never be 100% right. We just don't know enough. Very often, we THINK we are right, but then more facts emerge and it turns out we're wrong after all. Even the most trustworthy among us cannot claim that our every word is right and true.

But God can. He only ever thinks and speaks what is right. He knows all things. He alone never has to backtrack, because new evidence has emerged. He alone never has to apologise for jumping to a wrong conclusion.

His words are true. He himself IS truth. There is no deceit in him. He doesn't ever have to weigh up the different things he might say next, and decide whether he prefers to tell the truth or to lie. Every word God has ever spoken is 100% true. So true, that his word actually defines the way reality is.

And so he is faithful in all he does. He never has to change his plans part-way through, because he discovers he was wrong. He never has to swerve off course, to cover up a mistake or avoid being caught in a lie. Everything he says is good and true, so he can consistently do what he says he will do. He is faithful to all his promises.

There is absolutely no-one else in the world of whom that is true. The best and most honest person we know will never be always, completely right. We can't even consistently trust ourselves. But we can trust God. His words will never fail us. His actions will always be right. Let's praise him that he is right and true and faithful. And let's commit ourselves afresh to trust HIS words above anyone else's, even our own.

Psalm 33:2-3

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy.

Hands up anyone who's got their ten-stringed lyre out recently! I'm guessing that's none of us. I'd be surprised if we could even muster a harp. Shall we just skim over these verses, then, and move onto the next bit?!

Of course not! After all, as we saw yesterday, it is 'fitting' to praise God. He is praise-worthy, so of course we, his people, should praise him. We probably don't often say 'I haven't got a lyre, so I won't praise God.' Yet we might sometimes say something similar .... 'I don't really FEEL like praising God today. I haven't got the right emotions, so I won't praise God.' 'God really deserves me to spend half an hour praying and praising him and I've only got 2 minutes while I load the dishwasher. I haven't got the right amount of time, so I won't praise God.' Yes, the psalmist tells us to sing 'skillfully' - God absolutely does deserve the best that we've got. It would be well worth looking for a way to find more than 2 minutes at some point if it’s in any way possible.

But better to give him the best of what we've actually got, right now, rather than do nothing because of what we haven't got. If I don't have the 'right' emotions, better to praise him that he still hears me when I sob, rather than say nothing to him until I feel better. If I don't have the right time, better to praise him in 2 minutes, with fingers covered in crumbs, than say nothing to him until I have an uninterrupted half hour. After all, when the joy comes, or the half hour comes, we can praise him AGAIN then! But in the meantime, let's praise the Lord with whatever we've got.

During lockdown, at 8pm every Thursday many people discovered that you can make quite a lot of enthusiastic noise with a voice, your hands, and perhaps a saucepan and a wooden spoon. If we can muster a weekly outburst of praise for 1000s of NHS staff and carers, most of whom we've never met, why wouldn't we want to raise an equally enthusiastic shout to the God who made us, loves us, saved us and sustains us?

So, let's grab whatever comes to hand, whether it's an instrument or a Spotify account, a lone voice, or a family banging spoons on saucepans, and use it to praise God today.

Psalm 33:1

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Sing! Praise God! Rejoice! We've read verses like this a lot over the past few weeks. Is it starting to feel a little repetitive?! Perhaps it's not very surprising, since we are in the songbook of the Bible. We should expect songs of praise to God to be a big theme.

And it's certainly good for us to keep being reminded to praise him. The world is always telling us to do all kinds of things - buy this! watch that! take more exercise! seize the day! Billions of pounds are invested in capturing our attention, and then encouraging us to do something/buy something/be something. But there's no ad campaign for praising God. Unless you've been VERY deliberate about the settings on your phone, the chances are that you don't get many notifications during the day reminding you to rejoice in the Lord!

And so we need this psalm today, reminding us AGAIN to praise God. Why? Because it is 'fitting' for God's people to praise him. It's appropriate. It's what he deserves. It's the right thing for God's people to do. Today and every day.

But what if I don't feel like praising God? Isn't rejoicing supposed to be emotional? Isn't it hypocritical to praise God when I don't feel like it?

On the days when we're asking those questions, I think we also need to ask ourselves 'Is it fitting to praise God today?' 'Is it appropriate?' 'Is God praise-worthy today?' The answer to those questions is ALWAYS '100% Yes!'

Therefore we can still praise him. Not hypocritically, pretending to feel things that we don't feel. Rather, we can praise him honestly: 'Lord, everything feels terrible right now, but I praise you that you still hear me when I cry to you.' 'Father, your word tells me that you are good and that heaven is real. I honestly don't feel like that's true but I praise you that I once believed it. Please help me to believe it again.' And when we can't even do that, then we can read a psalm of praise and tell God that that's what we wish we could say right now, and ask him to make us able to say it and mean it. Or we ask a friend to praise God for us, and to pray for us, and we simply say Amen. Because it is always fitting to praise God. Whatever our situation, he himself is always worthy of our praise. So let's praise him today. And let's pray for those we know who are finding it hard to praise, that God would enable them to praise him, too.

Psalm 5:12

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

How useful is "God's favour"? What difference does it make, knowing that the God who rules over all things welcomes you as a child instead of turning his back on you as a sinner? Why does it actually matter?

For many people, Christianity is irrelevant because they don't think they need God's favour. It’s a bit like a rainbow - very nice if you happen to like that sort of thing, a beautiful addition to life, hovering in the background. But not useful. Not necessary.

Perhaps "God's favour" mostly matters to you because it'll keep you out of hell and get you into heaven. It's a bit like an insurance policy - you'll need it one day, so it's comforting to know that it's there, ready. But it doesn't do anything for you right now.

David knows that God's favour surrounds him like a shield. David knows what is like to face powerful enemies, intent on destroying him. David is a man who knows the value of a shield. If he likens God's favour to a shield, he must think it is important, something we truly need. Not a rainbow, mildly improving the look of our life, but something actually useful. Not an insurance policy, tucked away in a back pocket for when we die, but something for now.

Reading back through the whole Psalm we see the difference that God's favour makes to David's life in practice. He can speak to God and God will listen (v1-3). He is welcome in God's presence, to worship him (v7). God leads him in the straight way of righteousness and truth (v8). God is his protection and refuge, so that he can rejoice (v11).

God has blessed us with his favour. He has made us righteous. And so today is different. God hears me when I speak. He welcomes me when I am lonely or afraid, or conscious of my sin. He leads me when I am confused or weary and wanting to give up. He gives me reasons to rejoice in him. Surely nothing is more useful, more precious, more a reason for thankfulness, than God's favour? Let's thank him for it, and enjoy it, today.

Psalm 5:11

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Here we get to the 5th and final type of prayer in this Psalm ... praise/rejoicing.

Joy is in short supply in our house this morning. Between us all we are variously ill, tired, grumpy, missing people who we can't see, frustrated by the ones we can see, bored, busy yet achieving nothing significant, and disappointed - with ourselves, each other and our circumstances. Rejoice David? Really? I don't think so! Not today.

I'm probably being melodramatic, but I'm reminded of the Israelites in exile: "how can we sing the songs of God in a strange land?" (Psalm 137). How can we rejoice when people are dying, the country is crumbling, we can't hug our parents, we can't plan ahead ...? How can I rejoice when I'm finding out that I'm so much less godly under pressure than I wanted to believe I would be.

No. We can't rejoice in our situation right now. Or in our ability to handle it well. Or even in the hope of everything going back to normal any time soon. But David doesn't expect us to. He knows that the ones who 'ever' sing for joy - those who can be joyful no matter what - are those who take refuge in God. Our rejoicing is not in our circumstances or in ourselves but in God himself.

There isn't a whole load of joy in our house this morning. But there is abundant joy to be found in the Lord. Boundless love, to meet our loneliness. Endless grace, sufficient for all our failures. Solid truth, to ground us when we're tempted to despair. All these, and so much more, are ours in him. I think I can rejoice in that, even today. I WILL rejoice in him, even today. Will you?

Psalm 5:10

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish no them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

So far in the psalm we've seen prayers of lament, request and worship. All things that are probably quite common in our prayer life, too. But what on earth is this verse? David is praying for the judgement and banishment of his enemies - we probably don't even know what to call that! (I had to look it up. The technical term is 'imprecation' - calling down a curse/judgement on someone). Isn't that a bit, well, judgemental? Who is David to decide who should be banished from God's presence? Isn't he being just as bloodthirsty as they are? But look carefully - David isn't asking God to take revenge on these people just because they've attacked David. He's not asking God to take sides in a personal disagreement. These people are God's enemies. And so he asks for God's righteous judgement to take effect in their lives. Do we care enough about God's honour to want to see his enemies held to account? Not simply because they make our lives miserable, but because we are loyal to our king and don't want to see rebellion against him go unchallenged.

Actually, we DO pray this, maybe more often than we realise. Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, in fact: 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done'. God's righteousness and holiness and majesty require that his enemies should be punished. Opposition to God should be stopped. Rebellion against him should be brought to an end. God wills that it will be. Sometimes that happens in small ways now, when the wicked are brought down by their own schemes, as David prays here. It will certainly happen on the final day of judgement, when all God's enemies will face justice. We should also pray that God would have mercy on them - as he has done on us - and change them from his enemies to his children before it's too late. As we'll see in tomorrow's verse, there is always the hope of salvation. But let's be those who share David's confidence that God always acts justly in judging his enemies. So we can pray along with him: Your kingdom come. Your will be done.

Psalm 5:9

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Here David's attention returns to his enemies, who are clearly both wicked and dangerous. But what I find surprising is the weapons they are armed with. We might expect that enemies of a king would be notable for their violence and their weapons. And perhaps these men are the 'bloodthirsty' of verse 6, keen to attack him physically. But it seems that what David is most concerned about are their words. It is their throats and their tongues that do the damage. They are full of lies and cannot be trusted. Looking ahead to verse 10 we see that they are involved in 'intrigues' - presumably plotting to deceive David. Often we consider physical violence to be the greatest evil humankind commits, but reflecting on this verse we are reminded of the destructive power of words. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. The devil himself is described as 'the father of lies' - deception is his speciality. After all, if the truth of God's goodness and love were clearly visible to all, and our minds were not deceived into believing lies, who would ever rebel against him? All sin grows out of the same lies that Adam and Eve believed in Eden - 'God doesn't really love me'. 'God just wants to deprive me of something good'. 'Surely I know better than God does what will make me happy'.

In contrast to the intrigue and deception of the enemies, the path that God leads David along is straight. We know that he is utterly trustworthy. His words are always true. God never lies. What great comfort and reassurance that is for us as his people - surrounded as we are by the devil's deceptions, and living in a world where truth is often considered irrelevant.

Let's thank God that his words can be trusted, and pray that we will be people marked by a love of truth - that we will treasure his true words and be on our guard against being deceived by his enemies.

Psalm 5:8

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.

We saw yesterday that because of God's great love, David (and we) can safely come into God's presence to worship him. But that's not the end of the Psalm. We might think that being in God's presence was the end goal, the final climax of the story. And one day, it will be. When we are physically in his presence and see him face to face. But until then David isn't only on his knees in worship. He's also on his feet, walking in obedience.

God's righteousness, credited to us through the death of Jesus, is what enables us to come into God's presence to worship. But it is also what leads us, daily, as we live in this world. As we will see tomorrow, David's enemies surround him. Their words are untrustworthy. Following them leads to destruction. And so David asks God to lead him in righteousness. To direct him along the straight path of godliness. David knows that God's direction is reliable. Walking in his way brings truth and life and safety. This isn't David's way, following David's choices, according to David's ideas of righteousness. It is God's way.

God's people are, and always have been, worshippers - think back to the Exodus. Why did Moses ask Pharaoh to 'let God's people go?' Not simply because they were slaves and wanted to be free. But 'so that we may worship the Lord'. But that worship has never been about getting away from real life to pray and praise him. As if only the monk or the reclusive hermit with no everyday responsibilities can worship 'properly'. Of course, we want to set aside time to focus exclusively on God. But we also worship as we walk. Just like David, we need God to lead us in his righteousness every waking moment. Every aspect of life, everything we do, every decision we make, is either about following his straight path, or turning aside to our own way.

Let's pray that today we would be those who respond to God's great love for us by both worshipping him and walking in the way he leads.

Psalm 5:7

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down towards your holy temple.

Even in the last few hours I've been reminded again that I'm much more of a sinner than I like to think, as I've seen the consequence of my anger, laziness and selfishness in the lives of those I'm supposed to love most. This verse is the encouragement I need today. Maybe you do, too. I can come into God's presence. Even though I sin. Even though I mess things up horribly. Not because I deserve God to accept me, but because of his great love.

David doesn't yet know how exactly this can happen. We would say something like 'because Jesus took my sin when he died on the cross, I can be treated not as I deserve, but according to his righteous life.' David says the same thing, in less words: 'because of your great love'. God has chosen to transfer us out of the category of 'wicked people who are not welcome' and into the category of 'loved children who can share God's house.'

What is David's response to this great reversal? Worship. Number 3 on our list of different kinds of prayer that we see in this psalm. Simply bowing in reverence before God. Acknowledging that he is God and we are not.

Are you frustrated by your sin? Wondering how God would possibly continue to put up with you? Or perhaps there's something else in your life that's causing you to question whether he really loves you - maybe the persistence of your sufferings? Or disappointment that life isn't turning out the way you wanted it to? Here's a verse to cling to. Yes, all those things are true and real and sometimes very painful, BUT they are not the whole story. They are not even the most important part of the story. This verse gives us the most important truth any of us could know today ... 'BUT (even in the face of sin or suffering or disappointment) I by your great love can come into your house.'

Whatever else is true in our lives today, God's love for us is great, and he has made it possible for us to be with him. Let's join David in bowing down in reverence to worship God for his unimaginably great and gracious love.

Psalm 5:5-6

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The no bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

Yesterday, we read that 'evil people' are not welcome in God's presence. But who does David mean? Did you assume that he was talking about you? Or were you pretty confident that he meant someone else? Our world assumes that most people are basically good. There might be a few 'evil people' but they're the extreme cases and it's always someone else, never me.

So, is David is just talking about them? Murderers, oppressive dictators, those who habitually hurt and destroy other people in particularly brutal ways without any remorse? We might think that if we only read v.4, but today's verses rule it out. Yes, God hates the 'bloodthirsty' but he feels just the same about the liar. Top of his list of those who cannot stand in God's presence are 'the arrogant'. For me, these verses hit close to home. Pride and self-sufficiency come high on my personal list of besetting sins. Your sinful nature may invest its energies in some other way of rebelling against God. But one way or another, we all fall into the category of 'those who do wrong' (v5).

If we rejoice that God punishes wickedness, we must also confess that he would be right to punish us. When we celebrate the fact that heaven will contain nothing evil, we must also admit that we deserve be excluded.

Each one of should be counted amongst the evil people of v.4-6 but that's not the end of the story. God hates evildoers but he also loves his enemies. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s verse there is a way for us to escape his anger. So, we don't need to despair. But we DO need to acknowledge that we are those who do wrong. We do not love or worship God as he rightly deserves and we do not properly love those around us. Let's confess those things to God today. And if that honest confession of sin isn't part of our regular prayer life, let's ask for God's help to become those who are humble before him, instead of arrogant. The more we honestly acknowledge our need of the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus, the greater our love and appreciation of him will become.

Psalm 5:4

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

Very often, we turn to the Psalms when we want comfort, reassurance and encouragement. We might, perhaps, come to think of the Psalms as the Bible equivalent of a fluffy blanket and a mug of hot chocolate - warm, soothing and restoring. Thank God that his word IS comforting and encouraging when we are in distress.

But that's not all it is. The whole Bible - Psalms included - speaks to us in many ways: comfort, reassurance, encouragement and hope, but also warning, instruction and rebuke. So, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when we read a verse like v.4. (Not to mention v5-6, when we hear that God 'hates' and 'destroys'). It does feel slightly jarring.

Haven't we just been revelling in Psalm 27 and the promise that God will never reject us? Haven't we just spent 3 verses of this Psalm enjoying the fact that God listens when we talk to him. How, then, can David suddenly say that some people are NOT welcome in God's presence? It'll take us all the way to v.8 to answer that question, but for now just notice this: God is not pleased with wickedness. He does not welcome evil people. He is not the fluffy old-man-on-a-cloud of popular imagination, smiling benignly on everyone and everything.

This may make us uncomfortable, but at the same time, it's absolutely what we want to be true! Do we want a God who turns a blind eye to evil? Do we want a God who smiles indulgently on those who hurt and abuse and destroy others? Do we want to spend eternity in a place where evil people are welcome, unchanged and unchallenged? No! Let's praise God today that he is altogether holy, righteous and good, recognising evil and opposing it with power and justice.

Psalm 5:3

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

How do you start your day? Perhaps you're woken by the urgent demands of a small child, and your first conscious thought comes much later on! But some of us wake up to the sound of our own thoughts, and have control over what happens next. What can't you start the day without? A shower? Coffee? The news? Checking your messages?

For David, his mornings aren't complete without speaking to God. He begins his day by taking his requests to the only one who can really help. (You'll remember I said there were 5 kinds of prayer in this Psalm ... #1 was lament #2 is request)

It's not primarily about the time of day when he prays. Rather, it's about priorities. Prayer takes first place on his To Do list. You might have to feed a baby or comfort a toddler in your first waking moments, but when you finally get to choose what to do with your attention, following David's example would mean choosing to pray. Perhaps your main Bible reading and prayer time comes later in the day – that’s fine! But starting our day by speaking to God - however briefly - reminds us who has given us this day, and who we are living it for and with.

I remember reading once of a famous Christian (I have no idea who!) who used to wake up and pray something like "Hello Lord, what shall we do together today?" I imagine that's a prayer David could have prayed, too. He had that same confidence that God was with him each day, and would be at work in it. And so he could start each day laying his requests before God, trusting that God was listening and would answer in whatever way was best. David could go into his day expectant, looking out for the answers to prayer he knew would come. Probably not always exactly what he asked for or expected, but always for his good.

Let's ask God to help us to be people who can live that same expectant life, always on the lookout for answered prayers, because we have brought our requests to God and are trusting him to act in response.

Psalm 5:1-2

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

What's your prayer life like? What sort of prayers do you tend to pray? Psalm 5, which we're starting today, gives us a window into David's prayer life. We will see at least 5 'types' of prayer. They're not exhaustive - David prays other things, in other ways, in other Psalms. But hopefully what we read here will prompt us to think about how we pray, and to broaden our prayer life if we've got into something of a rut.

Psalm 5 begins with David asking God to hear him. We are so familiar with the idea of talking to God that we can easily lose the wonder at what a great privilege this is. I know I do. We are talking to God himself - the creator and sustainer of all things. The one whose greatness is beyond anything we can even imagine. We are asking for an audience with the King of the universe, the one who right now is directing every atom in accordance with his plans, which extend from everlasting to everlasting. David says to THAT God and king 'listen to ME'. A tiny, weak fragile creature who can't even breathe for himself, apart from God's enabling. It's no surprise that someone like him - like us - would NEED to pray, but it's an amazing surprise that God would hear and answer him - and us!

When we remember the privilege of prayer, we might think that talking to a God this great requires special language, formal words and careful preparation. But v1 tells us it's not like that. David asks God to hear his 'lament'. Other translations say 'sighing' or 'groaning'. He doesn't come to God with a polished speech, designed to impress. He just cries out for help (v2).

So let's thank God again today for the privilege of speaking to him in prayer. And let’s pour out to him whatever is on our hearts ... all our sighing and groaning, our fears and longings, our frustrations and our joys, confident that he will hear us because we pray in the name of his son, our saviour, Jesus.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

How good are you at waiting? We've certainly had lots of practice lately. Waiting for lockdown to be over. Waiting in queues. Perhaps you're waiting for bad news ... illness of a loved one, loss of a job. Or maybe you get most frustrated by the shorter, everyday waits .... waiting for a child to go to sleep, waiting for the wi-fi to reconnect. Most of all, as Christians, we are waiting for the day when Jesus will come back and take us to be with him in glory.

But how are we waiting? Perhaps we wait with fear, dwelling on the worst case scenario, minds filled with all the things that could go wrong. Or perhaps we're confident that the future will be better than the present. We're just waiting for the baby to be older, waiting for the new job, the new house, the new country, even, that will make everything alright. Waiting, discontentedly, for circumstances to change.

David knew what it was like to wait, too. Lots of this Psalm is in the future tense. 'When the wicked advance against me ... I will not fear' (v2-3). 'In the day of trouble he will keep me safe' (v5).

He isn't waiting primarily for things to get worse, or better. He is waiting for the Lord. It's not that God's not there in the present, and he's waiting for God to turn up and get involved. His relationship with God is present tense - God IS his light, salvation and stronghold right now.

Rather, I think, he's waiting to see what God will do next. He knows God has plans that aren't finished yet. God will always be at work, so he will spend his whole life looking to see what God is doing. Not waiting passively, sitting back and doing nothing. But waiting actively, trusting God, directing all his attention back to God every time it wanders, seeking him, singing to him, following him. All the active verbs we've seen throughout this Psalm.

Will we learn to wait like that? Not fearfully, or discontentedly, waiting for things to be different. But waiting with strengthened hearts because we KNOW that God is with us now and will be with us throughout all our tomorrows. Let's pray that God would teach us to wait like that.

Psalm 27:13

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Throughout this Psalm we have seen David's confidence in God. Remember, he is in the midst of a 'day of trouble', facing hostile armies (v4) and enemies who seek to destroy him with false accusations (v12). Yet he knows he doesn't have to be afraid because God is his stronghold. He is sure that God is good, and so he is confident that he will continue to see evidence of that goodness in his life. This isn't just a future hope for a better life after death. He will see God's goodness right here, right now, in the land of the living.

At the moment, some of us will be finding it hard to think too much about the 'immediate' future. We know we have an ultimate future, with God in heaven, which we can be sure of. But we're very unsure about the bit between today and the final day, when we see Jesus face to face in glory. Will I make it through the next 24 hours without losing my temper with my children? Will we still be dealing with the effects of Covid-19 in 6 months’ time? In 2 years? In 5 years? The future has always been unknown, but now it really FEELS unknown.

Yet we can be confident of this ... we WILL see the goodness of the Lord today, and tomorrow. Next week. This year. Next year. Every year for ever. I WILL see the goodness of the Lord. Let's thank him for that today, and if we're struggling to really believe it, ask him to grow our confidence and trust in his unending goodness towards us.

Psalm 27:12

Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

Do you know what it feels like to be the victim of malicious accusations? To be falsely accused of wrongdoing by someone else? Some of us may have had that experience. Many of us have probably done it to ourselves! "I'm so stupid. I always mess it up. I'm a terrible wife, a hopeless mother, a rubbish friend, an awful employee"

I don't mean the honest, accurate acknowledgement of our sin, that leads us to repentance. I mean the false view of ourselves as totally beyond help or hope, that leads us to despair.

The devil just loves malicious accusations - he's the expert false witness. Often his lies are directed against God ("He doesn't love you." "He only wants to make your miserable". "He's left you all alone."). But he's just as happy to accuse us: "You're such a sinner, God could never forgive you" "If your Christian friends knew what you were really like they'd be horrified", "The reason life's so hard is because you're such a rubbish Christian." His desire is not that we come to Jesus for help and mercy, but that we run away from him, ashamed.

When we hear those accusations, we need to remind ourselves of the truth of verse 1: God is my salvation. He knows I am a sinner and has chosen to save me. My Christian friends are fellow-sinners, equally dependent on his mercy. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verses 4 & 5: Even the person whose heart is fixed on God faces suffering. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verse 10: God will always receive me. I never need to run away from him.

How can we be sure of these things? Because Jesus was handed over to the desire of his foes. False witnesses rose up against him, spouting malicious accusations. He bore it all, willingly, for us, taking our sin on himself and rescuing us from the devil's lies. Let's thank him for that today. And let's pray to we would recognise false accusations when we hear them, and reply to them with the truth.

Psalm 27:11

Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

In verse 10 we saw David's confidence that God will ALWAYS receive him with open arms. Our world loves that kind of unconditional acceptance, doesn't it? Yet, the world assumes that unconditional welcome also means unconditional approval of whatever we want to and wherever we want go. The world's version of v.11 would say something like "Thank you that you will look after me as I enjoy my freedom to do whatever I want" but that's not how David's mind works.

It's precisely because God welcomes and rescues him that David wants to stay close to God. "Teach me YOUR way, Lord" he says. In other words, "I don't want to go everywhere and do everything. I only want to go where you are. I only want to do the things that please you. I don't want to live in the midst of your enemies, following their ways. I want to stick to the straight path of humble faith and obedience. I'm content to go wherever you lead me because I trust you. Even when your way is hard, please keep leading me along it." That's how David's mind works. That's what his heart desires.

Let's pray today that God would change our minds and hearts, that we would want more and more to walk in his ways. And notice too that going God's way doesn't involve being given a map and left to get on with it. Instead, we ask him to lead us, and he does. He walks the path with us. Let's pray that each of us would follow him today.

Psalm 27:10

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

In verse 9, David makes it clear that the worst thing that could ever happen in his life would be to lose his personal relationship with God. We rejoice in the fact that this can never happen to us, because of the death of Jesus, which makes us God's children. Here in v. 10 we see that David has that same confidence even if his closest human relationship fails. Even if he loses his parents, he knows that his God will still be faithful.

Some of us know the pain of rejection or separation in our human families, or other close relationships, when we lose someone who we thought would always be there for us. Perhaps they rejected us, or perhaps they were taken away by circumstances beyond their control. Or perhaps the relationship isn't over, but it is strained. There's something about us - perhaps our relationship with God, or something else - which they just can't accept. If we've experienced any of these things, we might be left longing for a better relationship, in which we will never feel abandoned. Or we might shrink back from trusting anyone in the future, knowing how much pain that would risk.

Whatever our experiences, the promise of this verse is true for each one of us. God is 100% faithful. He will never reject any of his children. Nor can we be taken away from him by anything outside of his control. Whatever our circumstances today, he will receive us. Whether we are running into his open arms to share our joys, or crawling into his lap to sob out our sorrows, or shuffling slowly towards him, head down, burdened by our guilt, we are guaranteed a warm welcome.

Let's praise God together for his faithful, unchanging love, which guarantees that he will never shut us out of his presence. And let's make the most of that welcome by sharing with him honestly whatever is on our minds and in our hearts today.

Psalm 27:9

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour.

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you in life?

David’s first priority is seeing God's face; that is, knowing him and being in close relationship with him. So it makes sense that the worst thing David could experience would be God turning his face away, and rejecting him.

At the cross, Jesus experienced something we as Christians never need to experience - his Father turned his face away from him. Jesus was rejected and forsaken when he took on our sin. Because he experienced that in our place we need never worry that God will reject us, if we are trusting in Jesus’ death. That is the most amazingly reassuring truth to cling to, perhaps especially when life is hard and it sometimes feels as if God has turned his back on us for a while.

"What's the worst thing that could happen to you in life?" Maybe your answer was something like 'having to live without God'. That would be the worst thing, if it could ever happen. Praise God that because of Jesus, it never will!

Or maybe you thought 'well, it isn't living without God because that could never happen'. Thank God for the assurance he has given you, and pray that - familiar as this truth is - you would never take it for granted. Let's ask God to amaze us afresh at his gracious mercy shown to us in Jesus.

And if God was nowhere near your answer to that question, because so many other possible calamities filled your mind, you might want to ask him to give you more of David's perspective. Pray that he would change your heart, so that you would truly be able to say that your relationship with God, in which he will never turn you away, is the most precious thing you have.

Psalm 27:8

My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.

'Seek'. It's not a word we use much in everyday language, unless we have children young enough to play 'Hide & Seek', or we’re reading a Harry Potter book! Harry plays 'seeker' in the Quidditch team. Don't worry if you haven't got a clue what that means! Basically, the Seeker's job is to chase after, and catch, a small, flying golden ball, to secure victory for his team. In one particular game, Harry struggles through a storm to get hold of the precious ball. Despite serious opposition, discouragement and pain, he kept his eyes on the prize because it mattered so much to him.

I think that's a bit like David in this psalm. When he seeks God's face he is focused, deliberate, and diligent. He doesn't want his eyes distracted by anything else. It's not the half-hearted looking of a small child who is meant to be finding their shoes, who instead wanders aimlessly from object to object as something new captures their attention. Rather, it's the relentless focus of a Quidditch seeker.

Why is David so focused? It's not because God is hidden and David needs to discover him. David already knows his God, personally. Remember back to verse 1 ... God is his light, salvation and stronghold. David knows that God is beautiful (v4) and merciful (v7). This isn't Hide & Seek, with God lurking in the shadows and David trying to catch him out when he doesn't want to be found.

Instead, because David already knows God, he reminds himself that God is the most precious thing in his life. God is what David wants all his attention to be focused on. Otherwise, like us, he will be distracted by his everyday delights and troubles, and look elsewhere for the light, beauty, safety and salvation that only God can give.

Let's thank God today that he hasn't hidden himself from us, but instead sent Jesus so that we could see him and know him for ourselves. And let's pray that we would 'seek his face' daily, with the enthusiasm and focus of a Quidditch Seeker!

Psalm 27:7

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

Earlier in this Psalm we thought about how extraordinary it is that a sinful human could ask to come into God's presence and to see his face. In this verse we have an equally bold request: "God, listen to me, and answer me." Prayer is - or should be - an everyday experience for us. But when you think about it, it’s remarkable. A very small, very short-lived creature can address the sovereign creator of the universe and ask him to listen to this tiny, weak little voice, asking for divine favour and help. No wonder God's mercy is in David's mind as he writes this verse. It is only because he is merciful and gracious that he allows us to speak to him, and is willing to hear us and answer our prayers.

So we need NEVER feel that we can't pray because of something in us or in our lives. Have you ever thought "I can't pray because I'm such a rubbish Christian God won't listen", "I can't ask God to help me because my situation is completely my own fault", "I can't pray about this thing because it's not important enough for God to bother with"? As if God only hears our prayers the rest of the time because we are 'a good Christian' or because we've earned a hearing, or because we're praying about something especially important that might change the world. We never deserve a hearing in the throne room of heaven, yet the king is our father, whose son himself taught us to pray as dependent children.

We can only ever pray on the basis of his mercy, which is constant. So, let's bring our needs, our concerns, our joys and our struggles to God today, trusting that he will hear us because he is merciful.

Psalm 27:6

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

As David reflects on what it means for God to keep him safe, notice how his perspective changes. Even when he is in God's presence, he is still surrounded by enemies, but now he seems lifted up above them. None of his problems have gone away, but he can see them from a different angle. He is not disgraced or defeated by his enemies, but exalted over them. Even as he looks out across the surrounding army, he is shouting for joy.

But what is he shouting? The world tells us that what we need in the face of problems is positive self-talk. "You've got this! You're amazing! You can do it!" And it's true that changing our thinking, changes our ability to handle stressful situations. But when David stands on his rock, he isn't shouting about his own power and strength and potential. He isn't singing songs about his own heroism and success. His joy is in the Lord. His songs are hymns of praise to the one who has rescued him.

Today, some of us may be feeling completely overwhelmed, outnumbered by our difficulties. We can't see anything to be joyful about. Let's remember that God is always praiseworthy - he is with us, he loves us, he has rescued us and will keep us safe with him forever. Rejoicing in those things won't take the problems away, but it will help us to see them in their right perspective.

Others of us may be feeling more secure. Maybe life isn’t ideal, but we're muddling through OK. Our home life is stable, our finances are OK, our children are learning, our work in getting done, our world continues to turn. When we think about those things, whose praises are we singing? Is our song one that the world recognises and could sing along to? "How great am I! All praise to my planning, my diligence, my wisdom, my parenting, my superior coping skills!" Or are we singing a song that David would recognise and join in with? "How great is our God! All praise to his wisdom, his love, his grace, his mercy, his sustaining goodness!"

Let's choose to sing David’s song today.

Psalm 27:5

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

If you've been pondering yesterday's verse, you might still be wondering 'Really, David, how would being in God's house help, when you're supposed to be fighting your enemies?' Is it perhaps that the temple is a good, strong building to hide in during an invasion? Well, this verse tells us that's not the case. The 'house of God' David is talking about turns out to be a tent! After all, the first permanent temple was only built after David's death, by his son Solomon. The comfort David has from being in the house of the Lord didn't come from its building materials. He is secure in the tent because it is God's tent. He is safely perched 'high upon a rock' - and 'a rock' is a common description of God throughout the psalms. He wants to be in God's house because that is where God himself is. His confidence is not dependent on where he is, but on who is with him.

Let's give thanks today that we don't have to visit a special building to be with God. We are safe in his dwelling place right here, right now, because he lives in us by his Spirit. We could also pray especially for Christians we know who are facing particular dangers or difficulties right now. Let's pray that they would know the comfort and assurance that in their 'day of trouble', God is with them and they are secure in him.

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

What one thing do you most want from God today? Everyone in your house to be cheerful? An uninterrupted night’s sleep? A calm mind that isn't whirling with anxiety?

In this verse we see the 'one thing' that David wants from God: to be where God is (dwell in his house) and to see him as he is (gaze upon his beauty). Really, David? You're facing a besieging army, and you want to sit around gazing at God all day?! Surely that's not going to help! It seems impractical and irrelevant, given the serious problems he faces. We might think he should be asking for something bigger - mighty deliverance from his enemies, perhaps?

Yet, there IS nothing bigger. This is the biggest, boldest, most audacious request a sinful man could ever make of a holy God. "I just want to be with you, Lord, even though you are so holy that no-one can stand in your presence and live. I just want to gaze on your beauty, even though it's so dazzling that even Moses was only allowed a glimpse of your back as you passed by."

It should be unthinkable – people like us, living with God. If the idea doesn’t shock us, it's only because we're so familiar with the gospel. What David wants is utterly impossible. Yet, because of the death of Jesus it IS possible. We will one day live where God is and see him as he is in all his glory. Even now, we know that God's Spirit lives with us, and we have - in his word - more than enough glimpses of his beauty to gaze on and treasure for a lifetime.

So, today, by all means ask God for sleep and peace and rest and everything else that feels important. He is our heavenly father who wants us to bring all our needs and concerns to him. But let's also praise and thank him for the extraordinary gift of being able to live in his presence. And pray that he would change our hearts to be more like David's heart, so that we would recognise just how precious this gift is and would value it above every other thing we will ever ask for.

Psalm 27:3

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

What an incredible thing to be able to say! And this isn't just extravagant language from David ... I doubt that any of us will ever face an army whose sole purpose is to destroy is. None of us will ever be the cause of an all-out war. But David is the King of Israel. The prospect of war or a military coup to overthrow him and put someone else on the throne, was very real. In fact, his own son tried to do it. David knew what it was like to face a threat in a way that we never will. Yet still, he was confident.

I love this verse because it shows us so clearly where his confidence lies, and where ours needs to be, too. He doesn't say 'I'm trusting God so I'm confident that there won't be a war.' I imagine he still prayed for peace, and that he hoped the army wouldn't besiege him. But peace and safety aren't what he trusts in. His confidence, and his ultimate hope are in God himself. He'll face a hostile army if he has to, knowing that God is his saviour and stronghold.

How would you express that confidence, in terms of your own circumstances right now? "Though I am in lockdown, my heart will not fear; though I end up on a ventilator in intensive care, even then I will be confident." Or perhaps "though I am exhausted my heart will not fear; though I don't get an uninterrupted night’s sleep for months, even then I will be confident."

Perhaps you can't say that and really mean it. Very often, the Psalms give us actual words to pray to God. But they also give us a model of what trusting God looks like, to which we aspire. When the palmist's confidence is greater than ours, we needn’t despair. It's a reminder of the direction in which God is changing us. So, whether our confidence in God is strong or weak right now, let's ask him to work in our hearts, so that we would grow to trust him more.

Psalm 27:2

When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Do you ever look around at the world and wonder why, so often, the bad guys win? Evil triumphs. The rich exploit the poor and no-one stops them. Christians die at the hands of their persecutors and there is no justice. We know it shouldn't be like that. The wicked should suffer. The oppressor should lose their power.

David is confident that this WILL happen - his enemies will be defeated. They are God's enemies, and therefore they are destined to lose. Maybe now. Maybe not until later. But there will be a day when God’s enemies will be fully and finally overthrown. In the darkest moment of human history - as the son of God hung dying on a cross - it looked like evil had won. Yet that was the moment when the devil and all his forces were defeated. It was their very attack against God's king, trying to 'devour' and destroy him, that brought about their downfall.

The things that attack us today - death, suffering, sickness, sin - are all outworkings of that same wicked opposition to God. So even if they look and feel like they're winning right now, that isn't true. Whatever advances against us today will ultimately 'stumble and fall'. One day, it will be dead and gone, powerless to attack us or frighten us any more. But we will still be standing, secure in the Lord who is our stronghold. Let's thank him for that great assurance and ask for his help to really believe that this verse is as true for us today as it was for David when he wrote it.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Who are you afraid of? Who has the power to take away what you love, or withhold what you want? In this psalm, David is facing personal enemies who want to destroy him. Not many of us will have experienced that kind of targeted personal attack. (Although, sadly, some do face violence and hostility even within their own homes. In that situation it would be right to seek practical help and physical protection, as well as turning to God).

But perhaps the 'enemies' you fear right now are things rather than people ... sickness, financial pressures, not being able to cope with lockdown, losing things you've worked hard to achieve, missing out on whatever you 'should' have been doing right now. Maybe those things are happening to you already. Or maybe you're gripped by the fear that they might happen.

In the midst of significant danger, David reminds himself of something wonderful. He is not alone. He is not dependent on his own resources, strength or power.

God is his light in the darkness of fear and uncertainty. God is his rescuer in the face of danger. God is his stronghold when he is weak and vulnerable. If those things are true, our dangers - whether real or imagined - no longer have the power to overcome us.

Who or what are you afraid of today? Talk to God about those things, be honest about your worries. And thank him that he is your light, your salvation and your stronghold. Ask him to help you to remember and really believe those things, whatever you are facing today.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16 ends with a focus on the life that awaits us with God in heaven. Whilst there is joy in knowing God now, David's attention here is on our future joy, when we are eternally in his presence. As we saw yesterday, this Psalm is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who will sit at his father's right hand ruling forever in glory. But because we are united with him in his death and resurrection, we know that we will be there too.

Perhaps right now you're missing some of the earthly pleasures you've enjoyed in the past ... Visiting friends? Meals out? Walking on the beach or in the countryside? Reflect for a moment on the idea of eternal pleasures. It's hard to imagine, but we are heading for a world of real, physical, tangible enjoyment so deep and rich that our best moments in this life don't even come close. And those joys are eternal. They will never be taken away from us. No crisis will ever invade heaven to separate us from one another or undermine our joy. And our greatest joy will be being with God himself.

That is the 'path of life' God has opened up for us ... To live now knowing God, trusting him, walking with him daily, each day bringing us one step closer to our joyful eternal destiny. Let's praise God for that certain hope, and ask him to keep us walking this path of life with our eyes fixed on him today.

Psalm 16:9-10

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

How glad are you feeling right now? Is 'rejoicing' on your tongue? Or is your song today one of lament rather than praise? For some of us, lament is the right response to our current situation - grief, or significant suffering, or relentless exhaustion should prompt us to cry out to God and share our sorrows with him.

But however terrible our circumstances, there is one thing we CAN rejoice in today (which doesn't cancel out the sadness, but sits alongside it). We can all rejoice in the Resurrection.

David is writing hundreds of years before the first Easter. Yet, somehow, he knows that trust in God is not only for this life. He is certain that death will not be the end for him. Looking back, we can see clearly what David only partially glimpsed - this psalm find its fulfilment in Jesus, the truly 'faithful one' who God did not abandon to the grave but who rose victorious. If we are united to Jesus, we share not only in his death - so that our sins are paid for - but in his resurrection life. We will one day all die, but we will never be abandoned to the grave. Our death will be the doorway into resurrection life with God forever. That really is something worth rejoicing over, however difficult our circumstances. Let's thank God today for this great hope, and sing him a song of praise and rejoicing.

Psalm 16:7-8

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

'Listen to your heart' - that's the message we absorb from the world around us. Whether or not you're old enough to remember the 1980s classic Roxette song of that name, you’ll recognise the idea.

It's surprising to find David saying the same thing … 'even when I lie awake at night, I'm listening to what my heart is telling me'. But what IS his heart telling him? It seems that he listens to his heart only because his heart is full of God's word. It is the LORD who counsels him. He ponders God's words, he remembers God's instructions, he thinks about the ways God has led him so far and marvels at God's wisdom.

Is that where your thoughts go when you lie awake at night? Wouldn't it be great if this was true of us? Instead of lying awake worrying, which leaves us feeling shaky, we could lie awake treasuring God's promises to us, reminding ourselves that ultimately, with him as our refuge, we will never be shaken.

How do we get a heart like David's? We probably need to start by admitting to God that our hearts aren't like that, and ask him to change us, by his Spirit. And then we’ll want to make choices about what we listen to. We’ll feed ourselves regularly with God's word, storing it up in our hearts ready for when we need it. When we realise that our minds have settled into patterns of worry, or we're dwelling on things that aren't in line with God's truth, we’ll direct our thoughts back to God. We may have to keep redirecting our attention 1000 times a day. But I bet David had to do that too. He made deliberate choices: ‘I WILL praise the Lord’, ‘I KEEP my eyes on him’ (even when they are distracted away). Let's pray that that God would enable us to do the same, and that our hearts and minds would be increasingly filled with his word.

Psalm 16:5-6

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

These two verses are a picture of contentment. Was David just having an especially good day when he wrote these words? After all, we know from some of the other psalms we've looked at together that his circumstances were not always 'secure' or 'pleasant'. He was often in danger, under attack from God's enemies. Yet, when he looks at the big picture of his life, what he sees most clearly is that, in having God as his personal Lord, he has the very best of everything he could want. His situation in life now - whatever the difficulties - and his future inheritance are everything he desires, because he has God.

Can we say the same? We may feel very unhappy in our current circumstances - for some of us, this season may be the hardest thing we've ever experienced in life. We can be honest with God about that. He doesn't expect us to pretend to be delighted when we feel like everything is falling apart. But alongside the struggles, do we share David's deep conviction that God himself is enough for us? That in him, we have an inheritance to come that outshines anything we are experiencing right now? Do we know, as David knew, that a personal relationship with the God who made the universe gives us security and blessing that are found nowhere else? If we have even a little glimpse of that, let's praise him for it today. And if we can't yet say v5-6 and mean them, let's be honest about that, and ask the one who changes hearts to give us a greater joy and contentment in him.

Psalm 16:4

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

This Psalm is asking us some hard questions, isn't it?! Where is my refuge? How much do I delight in God and his people? And today's verse is similarly uncomfortable. 'I will not make offerings to other Gods' says David. I'm sure we'd all say the same. No worship of Allah, or Buddha, or Shiva here!

But what about the 'small g' gods in our lives? What are the things we love and serve and pour out our blood, sweat and tears for, as if they could save us. Maybe it’s career. Money. Security. My children's education or success. My marriage. My perfectly curated, well-run house. Other people's opinion of me. Personal ambitions. The possibilities are endless. Any good things can become a god to us, when it becomes the thing that we serve or the place where we look for hope, help or security.

Yet none of these fake gods are worthy of our praise or devotion. Many of them are crumbling around us in the face of this virus. Only the one true God - our God - has ever been a real helper, comforter and rescuer. Only he deserves our worship & praise today. Let's praise him. And let's ask for his help not to give the worship that only he deserves to anything else.

Psalm 16:3

I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’

Who are the people you really admire? The ones you love to spend time with? The ones you listen to? The ones whose lives you'd like your life to be a bit more like?

David's answer to that question is here in v.3: 'the holy people'. That is, God's people. His fellow-citizens in God's kingdom. His brothers and sisters in God's family.

They are the people he thinks are 'noble' - the ones he respects and admires. They are the ones he 'delights' in - they're not just the people he should enjoy being with. He really enjoys knowing them!

Here's a challenge to our value system. If the people we respect and emulate are the rich and successful, that tells us something about how much money matters to us. If the people we want to be with are the popular ones, the 'in crowd' it tells us something about how much other people's opinion matters to us. And so on.

David's delight in God's people isn't because they're the 'best' people around, by any human measure. He delights in God's people because he delights in God. He wants to be with God's people because they share his love for God. They remind him of why God is so worth trusting and following.

If that's not our experience, let's pray that God would teach us to delight more and more in him, so that we will be drawn towards others who share that love for God, rather than being drawn towards those who love worldly things most.

Psalm 16:2

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’

What are you thankful for today? What good thing, or things, are you enjoying right now?

At the moment, we may be especially aware of all the things in our lives that are not good, all the things we want but can't have, all the ways life could be easier. Some of us may be facing really significant hardships. Thankfulness never cancels out the suffering in life. Problems don't go away just because we 'count our blessings'. But equally, suffering never means that there is NOTHING to be thankful for. But we might have to make a conscious effort to look for what is good, when what is bad or hard is filling our minds.

So, what good thing(s) can you be thankful for today? Whatever they are, if they are good then we know that they come to us from God. There is nothing good apart from him. The non-Christian may enjoy good things in this world, as part of God's kindness to them, even when they don't acknowledge the giver. But we know where all our good things comes from. Why wouldn’t we want to thank God for them? Even more than that, we know the giver himself, as our loving heavenly Father. Let's also thank him for the great blessing of knowing him and being his children. He himself is the greatest 'good thing' we have, and that can never be taken away from us.

Psalm 16:1

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

What do you take refuge in?

If you’ve already read or heard the reflection on Psalm 62, earlier in this series, the idea of refuge will be familiar. But we need to keep coming back to it because - this side of heaven - we will always be weak, needy, suffering people, in need of safety, shelter and protection. Where will we find the refuge that we need?

If we're honest with ourselves, God isn't necessarily the first place we run to when things are hard.

What do you take refuge in?

What do you rely on to make you feel better? Alcohol? Chocolate? A cup of tea? Medication?

Who do you rely on to make everything alright? Your husband? Your best friend? Your mum? Yourself?

What gives you a feeling of security? Your past achievements? Money in the bank? Your children being there for you when you get old?

Every single one of those things, used rightly, is a blessing from God for which we can be thankful. But none of them will ultimately keep us safe. Only God can do that. He is the only one we can rely on to stay standing, when everything else falls apart.

Let's praise him today that he is our ultimate safe place. And let's remember to turn first of all to him when we feel weak and needy.

Psalm 103:20-22

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

This Psalm ends as it began ... with encouragement to praise God. Only now it is not just an individual ('my soul') but the whole company of heaven and all God's creatures on earth ('his works') that are to praise him.

We probably don't think much about the 'heavenly hosts', outside of Christmas carols. And the Bible doesn't give us huge amounts of detail about them. But it's clear that they exist, they are numerous, and their whole purpose is to serve God and praise him continually. How wonderful to know that, even though we so often fail to worship and obey God as he deserves, there is a glorious multitude wholeheartedly dedicated to doing exactly that, 24/7 for all eternity. That should perhaps remind us that God is so much more praiseworthy than we yet realise.

This Psalm has given us a long list of reasons to praise God. Let's join our voices with the angels in heaven today, remembering his goodness and greatness. It is not only the right and proper thing to do now, but great practice for the day when we will stand alongside that heavenly host, worshipping him face to face!

As well as praising God in prayer, why not put your praises to music by listening and singing along to a song or hymn that praises him?

Psalm 103:19

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

It is always encouraging to be reminded that God reigns over everything, even coronavirus. And that might be what you need to focus on and be thankful for today.

But for me personally, the challenge of this verse is not remembering that God rules over what's going on 'out there'. Rather, I need to be reminded that he also rules over me. At the moment I'm finding the desire to run MY Kingdom, MY way is really strong. I want my little world to be ordered to suit me and me alone. The same seems to be true for some of the people I live with!

Isn't that why we struggle to live in close proximity to other people? Because our rule, over our own personal kingdom, gets challenged. But the problem isn't everyone else. It's me. And the solution isn't just to be more accommodating of the people around me. Instead, it starts by remembering that God alone has the right to rule my life. Without his help I will always be a treacherous rebel, undermining his rightful sovereignty. Ouch! How wonderful that when we confess our rebellion and repent, we are coming to a compassionate and gracious father whose love never fails. Praise God that his kingdom rules over all - let's pray that that would be true in each of our lives today, as well as in the world 'out there'.

Psalm 103:18

with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

In verse 17 we saw how God’s love is everlasting towards those who fear him. Here, those same people are described as those who keep his covenant and obey him. That can’t mean that God’s love is conditional on our obedience, getting switched off every time we sin. That kind of love could never be described as ‘everlasting’ – for most of us, it would only last about 5 minutes! God’s love is dependent on his unchanging character, so we can be confident that it will last.

But this is a reminder to us that God’s love is particularly directed towards his covenant people – those who call him their God and have committed themselves to living for him. If we want to live as enemies of God, ignoring his commands and rejecting his covenant, we can’t expect to experience his covenant love. Being a person of the covenant doesn’t mean we never sin. But it does mean that we WANT to obey. We recognise that God’s ways are better than our ways. And we recognise that when we disobey him, we need the blood of the covenant – the sacrifice of Jesus – to restore our relationship with him. Let’s thank him today that our place in his love is secure because of Jesus, and pray that we would increasingly be those who keep his covenant and remember to obey him.

Psalm 103:17

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children

Is your sense of time being challenged by the current situation? I find myself having to think quite hard about what day of the week it is sometimes!

In yesterday's verse we thought about our weakness, but those verses also speak about how fleeting our lives are. Here today and gone tomorrow. Yet it doesn't feel that. We talk about something lasting for 'a lifetime' as though that was a significant period, rather than being the blink of an eye in the context of eternity. Doesn't it already feel as if lockdown has gone on 'for ever'?! Yet there is one thing that really will last forever ... God's love for his people.

We may struggle to get our heads around the idea of 'everlasting', but even the smallest glimpse of what that means, before our minds become totally boggled, should prompt us to praise God as David does. At the very least, it means that there will never be a day of our lives when God won't love us. There won't be a second of today when he won't be compassionate and gracious to us. Whatever the future holds, for us or those we love, God's love will surround us through it, if we are united to him by faith in Jesus.

Psalm 103:13-16

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

How are you feeling today? Many of us will be feeling weaker than we're used to. We are aware of our physical frailty in the face of coronavirus but also aware of weakness in other ways ... Our time and attention are finite, but we feel pulled in multiple directions at once, whether by children, work, or concern for neighbours or for family far away. We are spiritually weak - we want to use this season to draw closer to God but we're easily enticed away by other things. We want to love our household well, but constant confinement feeds our selfish desires and we give in to temptations to be irritable and impatient.

Acknowledging our weakness like this feels uncomfortable, but it ought to be normal! We ARE weak. We are like grass - here today and gone tomorrow. Not because of the coronavirus but because that's how we are made. But God is not disappointed by our weaknesses – he’s the one who made us that way. We are designed to be finite, limited in time and energy, so that we might worship the one who is all-powerful and everlasting. In fact, far from being disappointed, God has compassion on our weakness. He is the gentle father who picks us up when we fall, who encourages us when we feel like giving up, whose spirit enables us to overcome temptation. Today, let's be honest about our weakness - to God and to others - and throw ourselves on the compassionate care of our loving heavenly father.

Psalm 103:11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

The furthest galaxy in the universe is thought to be something like 30 billion light years away from earth. A light year is about 9.5 trillion kilometres. Numbers like that feel impossible to get to grips with. When David wrote this psalm, before the days of astrophysicists with sophisticated telescopes, he had a more poetic way of describing the same thing: 'as high as the heavens are above the earth'. He's not thinking of a particular measurement, a specific number. I take it he means 'as far as the biggest thing you could possibly imagine'. There is NOTHING in the entire universe bigger than God's love. Nothing can overwhelm it or eclipse it. There is nowhere you can go that is beyond it.

Concepts that big make us feel very small. Rightly so. God's great love is 'for those who fear him'. This fear is not the terror of the unrepentant sinner facing judgement. It is the right awe and respect of a creature who knows that they are as nothing before their mighty creator who is bigger and more wonderful than they can even begin to understand. It is the deep reverence of a creature who knows that they are like dust, and yet is more loved than they can imagine. Let's praise God for his limitless love today!

Psalm 103:9-10

He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

"It's not fair!" Have you heard those words recently in your household? They come out of children's mouths fairly easily. We may be more restrained about actually saying it out loud, but don’t our heart feel the same way? What seems unfair to you right now? Seeing other people whose circumstances in lockdown are so much easier than yours? We instinctively want justice when we feel disadvantaged. We want life to be 'fair'.

Except ... Maybe we don't. When it comes to judgement for our sin, 'fair' is the last thing we want! When we read that "he does not treat us as our sins deserve", our hearts ought to rejoice. This is BETTER than fair. God is so amazingly wonderful that he can be both righteous and just (as v6 reminded us) and still show us gracious, merciful forgiveness for our sins. The death of Jesus in our place proves that. God is always both perfectly just and perfectly loving. Yet there’s a sense in which his love outweighs his justice. This verse tells us that he will not 'always' accuse but we read in verse 17 that his love is from everlasting to everlasting. That is so much better than we deserve, we might almost call it unfair! Let's praise him for this great 'unfairness' today.

Psalm 103:7-8

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

How would you describe God's character in one sentence? There are many things we could say. But here’s one really good answer: ‘the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love’! In fact, it's the way God describes himself to Moses in Exodus 34. Knowing that God is compassionate, gracious and loving is always wonderful. But it's especially amazing when we remember what the people of Israel were like. When God spoke these words in Exodus 34, he had just given Moses the 10 Commandments. Yet when Moses took them to the people he found that they had made a golden calf idol and were worshipping it, instead of the God who was right in front of them. God had every right to abandon Israel right there and then, but instead he gave Moses a fresh copy of the 10 Commandments. The covenant that the people had already broken was able to stand because God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

We're no different. Do you ever get bored of confessing your sin to God, or feel that surely this time he will have had enough of you? Maybe we started this new season of life at home full of good intentions to spend time with God daily, engage patiently with our children at all times, and serve our neighbours wholeheartedly. It won’t have taken long to discover that we’re still the same people we were before - easily distracted, quick to turn away from God and look for strength and help elsewhere, more concerned with our own comfort that with living others. Fear not! The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. There is always a loving welcome when we turn back to him in humble repentance. Every. Single. Time.

Psalm 103:5-6

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Have you noticed how, even in a global crisis, some things carry on just as before? Oppression and injustice, for example. The news always seems to contain some story of an oppressive regime somewhere in the world mistreating its weakest citizens. Closer to home we hear about companies putting their profits ahead of the well-being of their workers. Of course, there are also stories of volunteers who sacrifice their own comfort to serve others. But if we're honest we know that the sinful human heart loves to find ways to benefit itself at other people's expense.

How good it is to know, then, that God is never like that. He never uses his power to oppress us. He never treats us as raw materials to use for his own good. He is on the side of the unfairly treated, the oppressed. When he came to earth, in the person of Jesus, he experienced an unjust trial and an undeserved death penalty. And he is always at work to establish justice and righteousness. We won't see that fully completed until heaven, but even now we can pray for justice to be done and wickedness to be restrained. Let's do that today, giving thanks that the power that ultimately runs this world is only ever good, righteous and loving.

Psalm 103:3-4

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

Yesterday we praised God for his 'holy name' (who he is in himself). In today's verses David focuses on his 'benefits' (the particular good things God had done for him). At first glance, this verse is confusing. We know that Christians aren’t always healed from disease. The Bible is quite clear that God is always able to heal physically, but– in this world - he only sometimes does so. (In the new creation, he absolutely will heal all diseases and injuries, fully and completely).

We need to remember that David is living under the Old Covenant, in which physical blessings (land, abundant harvest, peace, safety and well-being) were a picture of the blessings that come from being God's people. The opposites (exile, famine, disease and war) were what happened when the people turned away from God. That was a temporary situation, designed to teach them and us how much better it is to belong to God than to reject him.

We live under the New Covenant. Our blessings are primarily spiritual, not physical. So we shouldn't read Old Testament promises about physical blessings (including protection from disease) as being true for us today in the same way that they were for Old Testament Israelites. Instead, we have spiritual blessings that are EVEN BETTER than wealth, peace, long life and freedom from illness!

God forgives us. He rescues us from the dark hopelessness of life without him. He generously pours out underserved love and compassion on us. How could we possibly forget these things? And yet we do! What we think we need seems so important that these amazing blessings shrink and get buried in a corner our minds, as though they were irrelevant. Today, whatever else is going on around us, let's take a moment to deliberately remember the wonderful things that God has done for us, and thank him.

Psalm 103:1-2

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits

How often do you praise God for who he is? Perhaps it's just me, but I'm much more likely to thank God for things he does or the gifts he gives than to praise him for who he is. I don’t often stop to simply ponder God’s character, and tell him how wonderful he is. So, we’re going to spend the next few days dwelling on this psalm of praise.

Tomorrow we'll come onto some of the many 'benefits' we can thank God for. But today, what can you think of to praise him for? What is wonderful about God and his character? Here's what comes to my mind ... You can come up with your own list!

Lord, you are truly awesome. I praise you for your wisdom. It's incredible that you can know each individual person across the world and throughout human history, and accomplish your plans in each of their lives, all at the same time. Nothing is too complicated or confusing for you. I praise you for your power. Nothing is too hard for you. You are never defeated or frustrated. I praise you for your patience. You are slow to anger and deal gently with us, knowing that we are weak. You are wonderful Lord!

Psalm 1:6

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

As we considered yesterday, whether we are treated as ‘righteous’ or ‘wicked’ depends not on our own record, but on the righteousness of Jesus. All those who are united to him by faith are counted as ‘righteous’ because he is ‘righteous’. So we enjoy the privileges of the righteous. Not just the ability to stand before God on Judgement Day and enter into heaven, but also – as we see here – a whole new way of life now.

Notice how wonderfully asymmetric this verse is. We might expect that if ‘the way of the wicked leads to destruction’ then the other half of the sentence would say something like ’the way of the righteous leads to life’. And that’s certainly true. But what it actually says is way better!

Not only do we have life instead of destruction, but that life is lived – now and forever – under the watchful eye of God. He hasn’t just rescued us and left us to get on with things on our own. He cares for us, actively overseeing our every moment. We get to live, today and every day, under the watchful care and protection of God. Whatever happens, however tough our present circumstances are, however uncertain our future feels, God sees and knows and cares and acts for our good. That’s been a huge encouragement to me over the past 14 weeks or so. I pray that it is an encouragement to you as well.

So today, let’s thank God that he watches over us through all things.

Psalm 1:5

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of a group of people, convinced you don’t belong there? In some settings it’s called ‘Imposter Syndrome’. I definitely had that in my first year at University, as one of only a handful of women studying Engineering alongside more than 300 men! Not helped by the fact that people would tell me that I was probably only there because there was a quota of women that had to be met, and I didn’t really deserve a place on the course. That was also what I regularly told myself. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here”,“I’m sure they’re all cleverer than I am”, ”What if I’m not cut out to be an Engineer at all?”

Perhaps we imagine that this is what will happen on the Last Day, when Jesus returns and the dead are raised to face judgment. Do you sometimes wonder if someone will look pityingly at you and say “I’m very sorry, but there’s been a mistake - you don’t really belong here”? The devil loves to tell us that we have no right to stand confidently before God on Judgement Day. He wants us to read the pictures in Revelation of the saints in white robes, worshipping the Lamb on his throne, and conclude that we don’t belong there. After all, we ARE sinners. We don’t belong in the company of the righteous. This verse says so!

Yet, we DO belong. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does. He alone is qualified to stand unashamed at the judgement. He alone is truly righteous, worthy of a place in heaven for all eternity. And he has chosen to share that privilege with all who trust in him for forgiveness and new life. Anyone who chooses not to continue walking with the sinners, but who turns instead in repentance to put their hope in God is now counted with the righteous, not with the wicked. Because of Jesus, we belong in heaven.

I never completely silenced the inner voice of my Imposter Syndrome when I was a student. After all, I couldn’t prove that the Admissions Department hadn’t messed up somehow! But we CAN argue back against the Devil’s accusations. Yes, we are undeserving of a place in heaven, but we are nevertheless welcome. Jesus’ death on the cross proves it once and for all.

Let’s thank him for that today, and ask for his help to keep trusting wholeheartedly in the righteousness of Jesus for our salvation.

Psalm 1:4

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

This verse stands in stark contrast to verse 3. The different between a great tree, rooted and flourishing, and the flimsy chaff that is discarded as the grain is harvested couldn’t be greater. Life as one of God’s people isn’t just a minor upgrade on the usual human experience – it’s a completely different kind of life. The unbeliever is not simply a slightly less sturdy tree, a bit smaller, a bit less fruitful, but more or less the same. They are ‘chaff’. That is, they have no lasting strength. They will be carried off on the breeze and there will be nothing left to show that they were ever there. It’s not that they don’t have any value – we know that everyone is made in the image of God and so has dignity and purpose. It’s just that their life is so empty and fleeting, compared to a life lived in relationship with God, now and in eternity, that it is ‘chaff’ by comparison.

Only, of course, that’s not how it looks or feels – either to us, or to them. We are so convinced by what we can see and touch and hold right now that we THINK this life, in the material world, is all that there is. Or, at least, we think that spiritual life now, and eternity to come, are just the icing on the cake, and that this life we’re in right now is still the most significant part of our experience. This verse tells us we’re wrong. The forever life that comes from belonging to God is as much superior to our present experience as a 100-year-old oak tree is to an empty husk, floating in the breeze.

Let’s praise God today that because we belong to him we have a completely different life to live, compared to those who don’t know him. And let’s ask for his help to really believe that and to rightly value the privilege that it is.

Psalm 1:3

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

Here we see the result of being a person who delights in, and meditates on, God’s word. I think there’s at least 2 surprises in this verse …

Firstly, I love this picture of the tree – stable, rooted, well-fed, well-watered, and fruitful. It’s beautiful, and attractive. Who wouldn’t want to be that kind of person? But it’s also really ‘earthy’ and solid. The absolute opposite of the picture we usually have of ‘bookish’ people. We might imagine that immersing yourself in words would be the sure-fire way to become a grey and dusty academic, living at the top of an ivory tower somewhere. Undoubtedly an expert on something, however irrelevant, but a bit flimsy when faced with any kind of real-world problem. Yet immersing ourselves in God’s words does exactly the opposite. It makes us more solid, more stable, more fruitful. We are sustained and equipped for our own lives, and more practically useful to the people around us.

Secondly, we might be surprised that a person who delights in God’s word ‘prospers’. After all, so often we see that Christians are marginalised or persecuted by the world. And we do need to remember that this is poetic language rather than a binding legal document. This verse doesn’t guarantee that a Christian will ALWAYS succeed in everything, and back in v.1 we saw that the blessings we enjoy do not primarily come in the form of health, wealth or happiness. Nevertheless, in general, it is true that those who shape their lives according to God’s word prosper. We do better when we live according to the maker’s instructions than when we ignore his purposes and try to figure out for ourselves what is good for us. Life works better if people are faithful rather than adulterous, generous rather than thieving, loving rather than murderous.

So today, let’s pray that we would so delight in God’s word that it would result in ever-increasing fruitfulness in our lives, benefitting not just us but also those around us.

Psalm 1:2

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

We saw yesterday that the blessed person is the one who belongs to God. So it makes sense that they will want to listen more to God’s voice than the world’s voice. In fact, they don’t just listen to God’s word. They delight in it. They love it. They meditate on it day and night. God’s word doesn’t just pass in through one ear and out of the other. They pause to think about it. They reflect on what they hear, chewing it over, letting it sink in. They keep coming back to it. Sunday’s sermon isn’t gone and forgotten by Monday morning. Instead, they keep it in mind during the week, looking out for situations where the word that they heard might change the way they would otherwise have thought, or spoken or acted.

These people are more interested in what God has to say to them than what they have to say to themselves. So, they would rather reflect on what God has said than relive their own past conversations. They would rather ponder the truth of God’s words than rehearse imaginary arguments in which they are shown to be right. When their own thoughts about themselves and the world around them are out of line with what God’s word says, they’re ready to change their minds.

I wish this was a description of me, but it’s not! At least, not yet. None of us delights in God’s word perfectly, all the time. But all of us could take one small step towards delighting in the word more. How could you make a little bit more space for God’s word in your mind and your schedule this summer? Deciding what to read when we get to the end of this Psalm together, perhaps? Committing to read the Bible before you read the news? Deciding to spend at least as long in the Bible as you do on social media?

Let’s thank God for the gift of his word, and ask for his help to become people who delight in it more and more.

Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

Until a few years ago, ‘Blessed’ wasn’t a word you came across much outside the Bible. But the invention of the hashtag has changed all that! In the world of social media, being #Blessed often seems to involve being impossible stylish (for women) or having a flash new car (for men). Prosperity gospel preachers would agree with the world’s view that blessing from God is measured by material wealth.

But in the world of the psalmist, being blessed is very different. Jesus tells us that the blessed are the poor in spirit, the weak, the persecuted and those who mourn. Their blessing is not material comfort or worldly success. No. They are blessed by being citizens of the kingdom of heaven, children of God, adopted into his family through the saving death of Jesus.

The blessed person is the person who belongs to God. Rather than walking in step with the wicked they walk in step with the Spirit. Rather than standing alongside sinners, joining in with the crowd, they stand alongside Jesus, even when that means persecution. Rather than sitting down and getting comfy with the mockers, raising their voices to join in ridiculing what is good, they sit quietly at the feet of Jesus and listen to his words.

Naturally, this isn’t where we belong. Being part of the company of God’s people is a blessing, given to us by God.

So today, let’s give thanks that we are truly blessed, far beyond anything that the world of Twitter and Instagram can understand. And let’s pray that we would stand and walk and sit, and speak and think and live not like the world around us, but as the blessed children of God that we are.

Psalm 62:1-2

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.

2020 has been a year of great turmoil – our usual routines completely destroyed by Covid-19 lockdown, economies around the world decimated, huge protests challenging long-established injustice. Everything seems to be changing around us. Many of us feel restless and shaken. Unsettled by worries, disconcerted by the loss of normality, second-guessing what on earth we should do now to prepare for whatever is coming next. Or perhaps we’re grieving our own personal tragedies, or battling circumstances close to home that will never hit the headlines.

Psalm 62 is one of my favourite psalms for difficult situations. Whatever our circumstances, God is our unshakeable refuge. Whatever the reason for our restlessness, our souls can find rest in him. Whatever we need saving from, salvation is found in God. In fact, he himself IS our salvation. He is our rock and our fortress.

But we can so easily look for security and rescue elsewhere, relying on hand-washing or social distancing to save us from Covid-19, or insurance policies and detailed planning to save us from an unknown future. Those things have their place. But what we need most is to do what David does here – to direct our hearts and minds back to the strength and faithfulness of God. Whatever happens, whatever changes, he will never fail us.

Let’s thank God for that truth and pray that we will remember it today.

Psalm 62:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

What are you hoping for right now? Back in March we were hoping to find pasta and toilet rolls in the supermarket. By May we were hoping for an end to home-schooling. In June we were hoping for the rain to stop so we could meet a friend outside. For months we’ve been hoping for a vaccine. What we hope for tells us something about where our confidence is. If we're praying for the things we hope for, rather than simply hoping, it's an indication that at least some of our hope and confidence is in God. If so, that’s a great thing - Thank God for it!

But if our hopes and prayers are only ever for better circumstances (more pasta, calmer kids, better weather or scientific breakthroughs) we are missing out on the even greater, surer, better hope that God has given to those who trust in Jesus.

We have a sure hope of an eternity with him, when our current sufferings, however long they last, will feel like the blink of an eye. We have a sure hope that today and tomorrow and every day, whatever our circumstances, God will be with us. We have a sure hope that God will complete his work of making each of us more and more like Jesus. We have a sure hope that every time we turn away from God to serve our sinful nature, he will be gracious and merciful, forgiving us for Jesus’ sake when we repent and turn back to him.

Let’s pray that each one of us would keep hoping in God, and find the rest that comes from trusting him.

Psalm 62:10

Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Are we confident because the cupboard and the fridge and the bank account feel full enough? Or are we anxious because they are not?

These things are good gifts from God for which we can be thankful. But David warns us not to 'set our hearts' on them. Not to let them be the things that we long for and cling to, that determine our happiness. Why? Because, though they seem solid and lasting, they – like us - are only a 'breath'. However much we hope or work for material things, we’re not guaranteed to get them. And if we do get them, they probably won’t last. They will rust or rot, get lost or stolen, or be eaten up by inflation. And even if we keep them and our riches increase in this life, they will never fully satisfy people who were designed to find our ultimate joy in relationship with God.

The only thing secure enough to set our hearts on and not be disappointed by is God himself, our rock and refuge. Let’s pray that we will set our hearts on him.

Psalm 62:3-4

How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

The palmist is facing enemies determined to overthrow him. They want to destroy him, perhaps not using a physical army, but certainly by using deceitful words. Our current troubles are different from David’s, but they can have the same effect on us. We feel weak and vulnerable, like an unstable wall, ready to collapse at any moment. We’re hanging on by our fingernails, knowing that any second now everything’s going to come crashing down around us. Or maybe it already has.

When he feels weak and helpless, at the end of his own resources, David reminds himself of the strength and faithfulness of God. He is our rock and salvation, our place of safety and rest. Knowing those things gives David confidence, but it doesn’t turn him into an invincible superhero - he still feels wobbly! David is able to say ‘I shall never be shaken’ while still describing himself as ‘a tottering fence‘.

Isn’t that our experience, too? Trusting God doesn't mean we suddenly feel super-confident. Instead trusting God means turning to him daily, admitting our weakness and asking for his help. We will always be weak but we know where to look for strength – not in ourselves but in God our fortress, with whom we will be eternally safe, because of the salvation that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s thank God for that security and ask for his help to turn to him whenever we feel weak.

Psalm 62:9

Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We’re told that if we simply believe in ourselves we can do anything.

David knows that none of us has the power that we think we have. Recently, we've been reminded that even world leaders and governments are powerless against a microscopic virus. All their apparent power is 'a lie'. And all of us are but 'a breath' - not the powerful, substantial, world-changing people we aspire to be. But fleeting, temporary, weak mortals.

Let's not put our confidence in ourselves, or in others. Why would we want to lean on 'a breath' when could lean on the rock that is God?

It may be hard to admit that we’re less powerful than we think we are. But it makes it all the more amazing that God would love fleeting, insubstantial 'breaths' enough to give us solid, everlasting resurrection bodies in which to spend forever with him. Let's praise him for that today!

Psalm 62:6

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken.

Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over and over again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his attention away from the God who saves, to look at the enemies who attack. He takes his eyes off the God who is his rock and focuses on himself, the wobbly fence.

That's why we need to hear God speak to us daily. A weekly sermon or Bible study is a wonderful thing. But if David needs to remind himself of the same things within the space of 4 verses we shouldn't be surprised that we reminders to focus on God more than once or twice a week! However often we feel weak, uncertain or afraid, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our rock. However often we face temptation to sin, or discouragement because we’ve failed, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our salvation. And if we don’t feel any of those things, and think we can live perfectly well without God, then we definitely need to fix our eyes on him again and remind ourselves just how much we need the one who made us and gives us our every breath.

Let’s pray that we will be people who build time with God into our daily habits so that we stay focused on the one who is our rock, salvation and fortress.

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'? We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins. But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we’re too upset or ashamed or confused to pray ‘properly’, and have to blurt it all out in one big rambling incoherent mess. Are we even allowed to talk to God like that?

David says Yes! Talking to God like that is a good thing. It's an expression of our trust in him. The times when we most need to pray may be the ones when we are least able to find the words. Yet we can still speak to him, even then, because he is our refuge at all times.

After all, why is it that God hears and answers our prayers? Is it because of our well-crafted sentences? Of course not. It’s because Jesus died so that we could call God ‘Father’ and he now stands in heaven interceding for us. Our prayers are acceptable because of him, not because of the quality of the prayers themselves. Prayer is not a performance to impress God, but an expression of our intimate, personal relationship with him. So, whether we are anxious or excited, sad or celebrating, let’s pour out our hearts to God, today and every day.

Psalm 62:7

My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour' depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes’ on my social media posts in order to feel significant? Do I need the affirmation of my colleagues or the appreciation of my boss in order to feel honoured at work? Do I need someone to recognise how hard I’m working at keeping the wheels on family life? Does what I do behind closed doors even matter, if no-one sees it and honours me for it?

David is the king of Israel. Surely all his honour comes from his role and status? He must have had endless people ready to tell him how great he was. But that’s not where he looked for honour. His honour depends on God. He is content to place all his confidence in God's name, God's reputation, God's achievements. He doesn’t want his name to be praised. He’s not consumed by building his own reputation. He doesn’t need his achievements to be praised. He would prefer God to get the glory. Enemies may attack him, rubbish his reputation, slander his name or dismiss him as insignificant. He trusts in God. If David’s name needs to be honoured, God will do it. And if not, that’s OK. He will simply depend on God. Let’s pray that we would do the same.

Psalm 62:11-12

One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.’

I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week I don't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've still been selfish, impatient, more concerned about my own plans than serving others and more focused on my own kingdom than on listening to God and speaking to him in prayer.

How wonderful, then, that our God is full of both power and unfailing love. He alone has the power to defeat our sin and the death which we rightly deserve because of it. Yet his love means that he has chosen to rescue us and forgive us, by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. We can enjoy the reward of an eternity in God’s presence because of what Jesus has done. Praise God for his great power and his unfailing love. And let's pray that we would keep trusting in him, rather than in ourselves, today and every day.

Isaiah 53:11-12

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

As we saw yesterday, so much of God’s salvation plan has already been accomplished that we can be confident that what still needs to happen will also be fulfilled. And here, in our final verses, we find out what that final stage of the salvation plan, which we are still waiting for, looks like. Because we know that our eternal future is already secure, we might not think very much about what will happen when Jesus returns to judge. Perhaps we’re so used to the idea that the cross and resurrection of Jesus are the high point of history (which they are!) that we assume that everything that is still to come is going to be a bit of an anti-climax (which it isn’t!) The victory of Jesus over sin and death is already won. But we can still look forward to the victory parade, where we get to join in the rejoicing as Jesus is displayed as victorious king over all of creation.

I’m not much of a football fan, but even I know that when a team wins a really significant victory, there is often a celebratory parade in their hometown. Open top busses, cheering crowds lining the streets, the cup held high for everyone to see. The victory is won on the pitch, but the celebrations aren’t complete until everyone has welcomed their heroes home to receive the praise of their fans.

Jesus’ victory was won at the cross, but the victory parade will reach his climax when he gathers his people from every tribe and language and nation to sing his praises and declare his glory. On that day, he will get to show off ‘the spoils’ which he has snatched from the hands of his enemies – that is, his people who he has rescued from the grip of sin and death and the devil. So great is the glory due to Jesus that it will take all eternity to adequately praise him for what he has done for us.

We live in a world that wants us to believe that we are the heroes, that the spotlight of my life should be firmly fixed on ME. But the victory on which my whole life depends is not mine, but Jesus’. The whole purpose of my life, now and forever, is to sing HIS praises and declare HIS greatness.

So, as we reach the end of our time in Isaiah, let’s do that today. And let’s ask for God’s help to be people who continue to sing his praises and live for his glory every single day, both in this world and in the life to come, which he has won for us.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these bible readings from Isaiah’s Servant Songs.

Daily Bible Encouragement is going to be taking a short break, but look out for a new series in the book of Micah, starting after Easter.

Isaiah 53:10

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

For the past 6 and a half weeks, we’ve listened to Isaiah, and God himself, introducing us to the figure of the Servant. We’ve seen that the Servant will come to rescue wayward people, reconciling them to their loving, holy Lord. We’ve seen that this rescue will be achieved through the willing suffering of the Servant. And we’ve seen how all these promises are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, who fleshes out and makes real what the people of Isaiah’s time must have been longing and hoping for.

There was a tension for Isaiah and his generation. Even as they trusted in the promises of the Servant to come, they still had to live through the experience of the coming exile which Isaiah also foretold. Similarly, we who live after the coming of Jesus have a much clearer understanding of the life and work of this promised Servant. Much of what was ‘future’ for Isaiah is now ‘history’ for us. We have seen (in the pages of the gospels, if not with our own eyes) Jesus be born, live, die and rise again. But we are still caught in the tension between the ‘now’ of life in a fallen world, where sin still entangles us, and the ‘not yet’ of the heavenly kingdom which we are still waiting to experience. And so today and tomorrow, as we end our time together in this book, these verses turn our attention to what is still to come.

The Servant who suffered and died is already alive again – he is already ‘seeing his offspring’ (those who are born into God’s family because of him) and ‘prolonging his days’ in the present. Today and every day stretching on into eternity, the will of the Lord continues to prosper in his hand. And so, even as we continue to battle with our sin, and struggle with our brokenness, we can do it with hope. So much of what God promised through Isaiah has already been fulfilled that we can trust he will finish what he has started. The Lord Jesus, who suffered and died and is now risen and reigning in glory, WILL come back and take us to be with him forever. The ‘will of the Lord’ will continue to be done, on earth as it is in heaven, every day of our lives and beyond.

Let’s pray that we would continue to trust in that great promise today.

Isaiah 53:9

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

There’s a lot of talk about ‘identity’ in our society at the moment. Whilst we might take issue with where some people now draw the line between which aspects of identity are fixed and which can be chosen, we all recognise the frustration that comes from being wrongly-identified. The passionate football supporter doesn’t take kindly to being thought of as supporting an opposing team. If someone makes a wrong assumption about our political affiliations, we may well be offended. From time to time I get emails intended for a woman in America who must have an email address that’s easily confused with mine. I find it easy to ignore the marketing emails from companies that she has signed up to, giving my email address by mistake. But I mind much more when I get email reminders in her name from a debt management company. I feel like I’ve been wrongly assigned to the category ‘debtor’ and I don’t like it. At least until I remember that it isn’t really me that they’re talking to.

So imagine how it felt for Jesus to be wrongly assigned to the category ‘wicked’. There could be no greater miscarriage of justice than to identify the perfect and holy Son of God as belonging ‘with the wicked’. In our society, we might think that being identified with ‘the rich’ was a compliment, but from the context of these verses it’s clear that being buried with the rich somehow implies an involvement with violence and deceit. His grave ought rightly to have been labelled ‘Here lies the best man who ever lived’. But instead it’s in the section marked ‘Here lie the criminals’.

Yet this wasn’t the first time in his life Jesus had been wrongly-labelled. Throughout his earthly ministry, the Pharisees repeatedly assigned him to an incorrect category. As Jesus himself put it, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”” The implication is clear – to be a ‘friend of sinners’ must mean that he himself is a sinner. Yet they are only half-wrong. He is certainly not a glutton, nor a drunkard, nor a sinner. But he is the ultimate ‘friend of sinners’. The Servant was willing to be mislabelled, misunderstood and misrepresented, in order that we might be assigned to a category we could never have expected to belong to. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:8

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

I rather like this phrase ‘the land of the living’. It’s got a much more poetic ring to it than simply saying ‘life’. And the idea of being ‘cut off from the land of the living’ is much more striking than if this verse simply said ‘he was killed’. The whole verse seems to underline the separation that took place between Jesus and everyone else. He was ‘taken away’ and ‘cut off’. The lonely figure of Jesus walks to his death whilst the whole of the rest of his generation stand idly by, doing nothing and saying nothing to stop it.

He was cut off from the land of the living. Cut off from fellowship with others. Cut off from all that is good, enjoyable, nourishing and happy. That would be bad enough. But we know that it was, in fact, even worse. When he was punished for our transgressions, Jesus was also cut off from his heavenly Father. Cut off from the very source of life itself. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he cried out on the cross. But why? Surely God, who sent him to the cross, could at least have hung around to comfort and encourage the Servant during his darkest hour? Why all this loneliness and abandonment?

Sin is the ultimate separating force. It cuts us off from a Holy God, and from the life which he gives. And it also cuts us off from fellowship with one another, undermining love and trust and loyalty. Abandoned by his followers and his friends, alienated from his father as he had never been before or since, Jesus was experiencing the separating power of our sin. It’s hard to imagine the strength of a force that could turn the Father’s face away from his beloved son in the moment of his greatest suffering. And yet, there is an even stronger force at work in the world. The gracious, forgiving, redeeming love of God, expressed in the Servant’s sacrificial death, reconciles us with a power much greater than the separating power of sin.

Because he was cut off, we have been brought near. Because he was excluded from the land of the living, we have been welcomed into an abundant and eternal life that is better than anything this world can even begin to imagine. Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

One of the things I find most remarkable about the behaviour of Jesus during his arrest and trial is the fact that he remains silent when facing unjust accusations. I realise that his physical suffering and the experience of being separated from his Father on the cross, are in many ways worse things to experience. But they feel very far removed from our everyday lives, whereas the experience of being falsely accused, or misrepresented, or wrongly blamed is something that we probably all know a little of. And I know how much I hate it when it happens to me. I might, perhaps, be willing to bear some small consequence for something that wasn’t actually my fault. But when that does happen, I want to make very sure that everyone knows how undeserved it is! I can’t really imagine being able to bear it silently. Letting go of the opportunity to vindicate myself. I want it clearly on the record that I am innocent. If I have to experience unjust suffering, I want the injustice to be publically noted! The arguments spring easily to mind: “Justice matters. Injustice isn’t OK. It would reflect badly on God if a Christian was thought to have said this or done that.” When really I’m motivated by the desire to vindicate myself. I care much less about justice, or God’s honour, than I care about what people think of me. And in any case, even if I am largely innocent of the particular thing of which I am accused, I can never claim to be totally blameless. Yet Jesus was. If ever anyone had the right to protest against injustice, it was him. Yet he remains silent. Why? Doesn’t he care about injustice? Doesn’t he care that God was mocked because of the verdict of ‘guilty’ which his Servant received? Of course he does. But he was motivated by a deeper concern for justice and God’s honour than I will ever be. His desire to see justice done, whilst justly forgiving sinners was what kept him quiet. His concern for God to be glorified as the one who defeats sin and evil and death at the cross is what sustained his silence.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

When our girls were younger we were all great fans of the Australian Christian musician, Colin Buchanan. A significant number of the Bible verses I know by heart are cemented in my memory because of his catchy tunes. So much so that I can’t read or think about today’s verse without mentally adding in the ‘Bah Bah Doo Bah Bah’s at the end of every clause! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, stick Colin Buchanan Isaiah 53:6 into your search engine of choice and have a listen)

Sheep noises aside, this is a verse that deserves to be in the mind and heart of every Christian. If you were only ever going to learn half a dozen Bible verses in your whole life, I’d suggest that this ought to be one of them. In this one sentence we have the heart of the gospel. We have each chosen to wander away from the Lord. And what has he done in response? Sent a sheepdog to fetch us back to face our punishment? Turned us loose to fend for ourselves in a world of thorns and wolves? No. He laid all our wrongdoing on the Servant, Jesus, so that we don’t have to live under the penalty it rightly deserves.

How could this be anything other than wonderful news? Yet it is only good news for those who know themselves to be wandering sheep. Perhaps for city-dwellers, being considered a sheep doesn’t seem so bad. If our ideas about sheep are drawn from children’s picture books and model farms, we might not mind the comparison. Surely they are cute, clean, cuddly and harmless? But if you’ve had dealings with real live sheep, you may feel differently.

My grandparents were farmers on the Welsh border. I remember when we visited, my brother and I having to join in when sheep were being moved from place to place. Stationed in a gateway or on the yard, we would shout and wave our arms around, attempting to head the sheep towards where they ought to go, and deflect them from where they wanted to go … which was generally anywhere other than the direction intended! Clean, cute and cuddly they were not! In fact, they were often muddy, infuriating and apparently very stupid. Why would you want to go and wedge yourself between a Land Rover and a gatepost, when we’re offering you a huge field full of grass to enjoy? If that’s your experience of sheep, this verse is not so flattering. We all, like mucky, stubborn sheep who have no idea what is good for us, have gone astray. So how wonderfully surprising that the Lord has provided a way for our punishment to fall not on us but on the Servant instead.

However familiar these words are, let’s thank him again for that today, and pray that in our gratitude we would increasingly learn to follow the good shepherd instead of turning away from him.

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Yesterday we saw that the Servant was ‘a man of suffering and familiar with pain’. Today we discover that this wasn’t simply a description of what happened to occur in his life. He wasn’t just a bit unfortunate, someone who attracted more than his share of bad luck. He willingly chose this path. He took up the pain and bore the suffering. Much of the time we endure pain and suffering because we have no other choice. We didn’t ask for the chronic illness, or the depression, or the accident that leaves us in plaster for months. But sometimes our suffering is chosen willingly – the discomfort of recovering from an operation to donate a kidney to a loved one, choosing to marry someone who already lives with suffering, knowing that something of their pain will become ours, too, or giving up comfort and security to move to a deprived area on a low salary to care for the needy. In those cases, the sacrifice will – we hope – be worth it, because it eases someone else’s pain. We share their sufferings with them, lightening their load. But I can’t think of a single example of a way in which any of us could bear someone else’s pain and suffering so completely that it was totally taken away from the other person.

Only the Servant has ever done that. He has completely taken the pain and suffering that our transgressions deserved. Yes, we still experience the pain and suffering that come from living in a broken world (until he takes us to be with him in the place where there will be no more tears). But those of us who are united to Jesus by faith are completely spared all of the pain of the judgement of our sin. Jesus hasn’t just shared it with us. He has taken it from us. Fully and completely. In place of punishment we have peace with God.

And this was no mere transaction on a balance sheet. Not a nice, neat, clean solution to a theoretical problem. It was real, and physical and brutal. He was punished, stricken, pierced, crushed and wounded. And he did it willingly. For us.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 53:2b-3

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

When we were reading Chapter 49 I said that the Servant was visually unimpressive – if you’d walked past him in the street in 1st Century Palestine you wouldn’t have given him a second look. But actually, it’s worse than that. Today’s verse tells us that rather than being merely ignored, the Servant would be despised and looked down on. Why? Two reasons. Firstly, because he was not beautiful, and secondly, because he suffered pain.

Both of those things made him uncomfortable to be around, in his own day. And both of those things are still, at the very least, awkward today. We live in a society that worships physical beauty. Yes, there’s a lot of talk about loving yourself and your body, whatever your shape or size, but that doesn’t stop us being bombarded by messages encouraging us to pursue greater physical beauty. There’s the occasional marketing campaign that features ‘real women’ rather than airbrushed models, or models which a visible disability, but they’re still treated as revolutionary, rather than being the norm. Even though we know it’s not really true, we’re still shaped by the assumption that physical beauty matters. That life would be better if I was more attractive. And we easily assume that the effective, successful life, is marked by health and wholeness, rather than pain and suffering.

So, if we were in charge of selecting a man for this role of Servant, wouldn’t be want to pick someone who looks … well, attractive? Yet God very deliberately doesn’t do that. Jesus’ conception was utterly miraculous, so his appearance can’t have been the inevitable consequence of the combination of Mary and Joseph’s genes. However God did it, he created Jesus’ body deliberately and intentionally. If he’d wanted to make Jesus the most handsome man ever born, he could have done.

Similarly, when preparing the way for the Servant, surely God would want to remove every obstacle and difficulty that might interfere with his mission? Yet it turns out that the suffering and pain are essential to his mission. The coming of this Servant makes clear that - God’s eyes at least - physical beauty doesn’t count for much. And pain and suffering can accomplish things that health, wealth and happiness can’t. God values the obedience of the Servant more than his physique. The suffering and death of the Servant bring more lasting good into the world than the exams he might have passed, the certificates he might have received, or his contribution to his country’s GDP.

What a complete reversal of the values of our world! How wrong must our value judgements be, for us to look at the Servant and despise him.

Let’s pray that God would be teaching us more and more to value what he values, and to worship and honour the Servant who so many looked down on.

Isaiah 53:1-2a

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.

In yesterday’s verse, we read the promise of a day to come when all people will see and understand who Jesus is and why he came. But in the meantime - in Isaiah’s time and today – the message of a suffering, saving servant, sent by God to rescue his people, will not be widely believed. Isaiah knows that this message is true, but hardly anyone is listening. He knows that God’s arm is active, accomplishing his plans, but hardly anyone can see it. Why not? Because what God is doing is - at first glance – very small and insignificant.

The Servant didn’t come in a flash of blinding lights, surrounded by fireworks and serenaded by angels everywhere he went. Rather, he grew up like a tender shoot. Slowly, gradually, unimpressively. Weak and vulnerable. Not a precious sapling that’s been given a good dose of fertiliser, surrounded by protective fencing and watered regularly. But a seedling that’s appeared against all the odds, in a harsh climate. More like the stray flower that emerges from a crack in the pavement than the plant that flourishes in a well-kept garden.

It’s so small. So ordinary. So unimpressive. For a people who were facing the prospect of being overrun by their hostile neighbours, this wouldn’t have seemed like the great salvation they needed. It certainly doesn’t seem like a plan that could defeat sin, death, the world and even the devil himself. But, as the Servant himself would one day explain, the Kingdom of God doesn’t look impressive on the outside. Rather, it’s like a mustard seed. The smallest of all seeds that – remarkably - grows into something big and strong and flourishing, out of all proportion to what you would have expected. “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong”, Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians.

And so we can be confident that God’s purposes WILL succeed, however unlikely that might seem. Even when others ridicule our faith, and write Jesus off as irrelevant or ineffective. Even when we look at ourselves and wonder how on earth God could possibly use us to bring others to Jesus. Even when we look at our world, and wonder if there is any power great enough to mend everything that is broken.

Let’s praise God that this tender shoot is stronger and more powerful than we can imagine, and ask for his help to keep believing in Jesus while we wait for the full extent of his glory and greatness to be finally revealed.

Isaiah 52:15b

For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

The ‘they’ in this verse are the kings we thought about yesterday – those people who will stand silent as they face the final judgement, realising that the Servant who they rejected as worthless is in fact the exalted ruler and judge.

At that moment, everything that wasn’t obvious about the Servant during his lifetime will become clear. He may have looked unimpressive but he is in fact the Lord of all creation. He may have seemed powerless in the face of an unjust trial, but he is in fact the righteous judge of all people.

This final day judgement is not just about the punishing of wrongdoing. It’s about the putting right of everything that is wrong or broken, everywhere in the universe. Everything will be made as it should be. And so truth will be clear, hidden things will be revealed, foolishness will be replaced by understanding.

This is a complete contrast to the world we find ourselves in right now. We still live in a fallen world, where we can’t even trust our own thinking because it has been warped by sin. Left to our own devices, we don’t just prefer darkness, we actually think it is light. We not only think and act foolishly, but we pride ourselves on how clever we are. The people of Isaiah’s time were just the same. When God commissions Isaiah to be a prophet, back in Chapter 6, he warns him that the people will “be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.” They have proved so determined to ignore what God has said to them that God himself will harden their hearts so that they cannot see or hear or understand. “How long will this last?” Isaiah asks. And God explains that it will continue until the promised judgement is complete. But there’s a glimmer of hope that when the Servant comes, things might change. Here, we see that glimmer become clearer. Here we are promised that there will be a day when people WILL see and hear and understand what is really true – about God, and themselves, and the salvation which Jesus offers.

In God’s kindness, we don’t need to wait until the final judgement for those things to become clear. All of us who have put our faith in Jesus have only done so because he has already opened our blind eyes and softened our hard hearts so that we could hear and understand and believe the good news of the gospel.

Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s pray that his Spirit would continue to be at work in the lives of those who don’t yet know him, so that they too might see, understand, repent, believe and be saved, before it is too late.

Isaiah 52:14-15a

Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness – so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where whatever you say is only going to make things worse? Any excuse, or attempt to explain yourself will only underline your guilt and foolishness, and so you realise that the best thing to say is nothing at all.

Today’s verse reminds me of the scene in John’s gospel where Jesus appears before Pilate in John. Jesus is helpless and Pilate holds all the cards. In that moment, many were appalled by Jesus. He was literally marred and disfigured by the intensity of the beating and whipping he received at the hands of the soldiers. And he was, as we will see next week, in v.7, silent in the face of Pilate’s questioning. The last time Pilate set eyes on Jesus, it was pretty clear that Pilate was the powerful one, and Jesus’ time was up. But that won’t be the last Pilate ever sees of him. There will come a day when he – and every other human ruler who has ever opposed God’s plans or mistreated God’s people – will again find themselves face to face with Jesus. But next time, the tables will be turned. Jesus will then be lifted up and exalted, glorious in splendor and majesty. And Pilate will be the silent one. His mouth will be shut because there will be nothing he can possibly say in his own defence. What valid excuse is there for sentencing your creator to death? What do you say when you have presided over a miscarriage of justice, designed to get rid of the one who judges justly?

This verse tells us that kings will shut their mouths on that final day when they face Jesus. But they won’t be the only ones. All of us have, in our own ways, tried to silence Jesus’ voice in our lives and live as our own rulers instead. All of us ought to stand silent before God on the day of judgement, without defence or excuse. Our only hope is in the sprinkled blood of the Servant who suffered and died in our place. Because of him, we – and those from many nations – will face that final day not silenced by guilt and terror, but singing the praises of our savior.

Let open our mouths to praise him for our great salvation today.

Isaiah 52:13

See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Last week, in Isaiah 50, we saw that the Servant was utterly obedient to his Lord, even when that led to painful suffering. In contrast to God’s people, who are facing his judgement because of their rebellious disobedience.

Now, in chapters 52-53 we get much more detail about the suffering which the Servant will experience, and why he is willing to endure it. But before we get into the details, we are given a quick glimpse of the end of the story. My mum has a habit of reading the final chapter of a book first, before starting again at the beginning. I don’t really understand it(!) but I think at least part of the reason is to check whether the book is worth investing time in – if the ending’s unsatisfactory, why bother reading the rest?!

If any of Isaiah’s readers were tempted to do the same thing, this verse saves them the trouble. We don’t need to wait for the end of the story to find out what happens – the outcome of the Servant’s work is guaranteed before it begins. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. But that ending will be a great contrast to the rest of the story. For the next few days, our verses will be long on suffering and short on victory.

Perhaps that’s why we’re told the ending in advance. We will need some hope to sustain us through the suffering. And if we – as readers - need that, how much more did the Servant need it himself, to endure what we only read about. Hebrews tells that that ‘for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross’. He, too, knew the ending before he began. The one who set aside the glory of heaven to be born as a human baby knew that one day he would be returned to his rightful place, ruling at his Father’s right hand. There were plenty of moments in his life when that looked – humanly speaking – impossible. We may have days now when it seems impossible that we will ever keep going till the day when we get to join him there. But the ending is certain. He has already been raised and lifted up and highly exalted, and one day we will see that with our own eyes.

Let’s praise him for that today, and ask for his help to persevere through the suffering and struggles of this world, until we join him in glory.

Isaiah 50:8-9

8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

In October 1987, at the age of 15, I was baptised as a Christian believer, alongside 6 of my friends. Each of us chose a short Bible passage to read, as we explained how we had come to put our faith in Jesus. My reading was from Romans 8: “If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one.”

Thirty-three years later, I’m every bit as grateful now as I was then that this is true. I was, and still am, a sinner who deserved nothing but condemnation from God. Yet he has acted graciously to justify me because of Jesus’ death in my place. Therefore, all charges against me are dismissed. If God says I’m acceptable to him, who can possibly argue? No one. If the one who I have wronged declares me forgiven, what right does anyone else have to disagree? Absolutely none.

What I’ve only just discovered is that the Apostle Paul wasn’t the first Bible-writer to use this argument. Centuries earlier, the Servant says pretty much the same thing …. “Who will bring charges against me? ... It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me … Who will condemn me?” He’s expecting the same answer. No one. No one can condemn the one who God has chosen. No one can accuse the one whom God declares innocent. The Servant doesn’t fear anyone else’s verdict. Not even the verdict of those who condemned him to death. God’s decision is the only one that matters.

And because of this Servant’s sacrificial life and death, all of us who trust in him can confidently say along with him “Who will bring charges against me? No one.” As my reading from Romans 8 concluded …. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:7
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.

This is a strange verse, isn’t it? Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been using words like ‘humiliated’ to describe the Servant. God himself has said that the Servant will be ‘despised’ and ‘abhorred’. So how can the Servant say here ‘I will not be disgraced’ and ‘I will not be put to shame’?

It makes more sense when we realise that this idea of ‘being put to shame’ has appeared before, earlier in the book of Isaiah. In chapters 20-45 there are 7 verses where we read of people being put to shame. Each time, the people who face disgrace are the ones who are opposing God. The people who put their trust in other nations, instead of relying on God’s promises to them. The people who make and worship idols instead of worshipping the one true God. The wicked. Those who do evil. Those who blaspheme against the Lord. In those chapters, God makes it clear that those who oppose him will ultimately be put to shame. But he also promises that the people who he saves will never be put to shame.

It’s clear which group the Servant belongs in, isn’t it? He is perfectly obedient to the Lord. He has never rebelled. And so he knows what God’s verdict on him will be. He will never be put to shame. Yes, he will be despised and rejected and humiliated by men, but that will only be temporary. When it comes to God’s final, lasting verdict, the only one that counts, he will be vindicated and honoured. Knowing that, he is able to set his face firmly in the direction of costly obedience, not deflected by any human opinion.

So let’s praise him today for his steadfast obedience, and give him the honour and glory that he rightly deserves.

Isaiah 50:6 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Yesterday we thought about the Servant’s obedience to the Lord, and how he alone of all people could truthfully say “I have not been rebellious”. Which is a remarkable thing under any circumstances, but is even more amazing when we remember what obedience to the Lord’s will involved for him. The instructions which he was given didn’t lead him down a path of comfortable satisfaction. Instead, they set him on a collision course with the religious leaders of his day which ended in a shameful, agonising public death.

Today’s verse is not just a metaphor, to tell us that his obedience would be painful. It’s a literal account of the physical pain and humiliation which Jesus endured at the hands of the soldiers who tortured him before his crucifixion. Yet even then, he did not turn away. He didn’t shrink back from the cost of his God-given mission. He does more than simply endure it, like someone resigned to their fate because they have no option to escape. His is a willing, active obedience. He offers his back, his cheeks, his whole body, when he could have escaped in the blink of an eye. As he took his dying breaths he was taunted by the crowd – “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” He stayed where he was, not because he had no choice, but because we willingly accepted his role as our sacrificial substitute.

This is how we know that the cross is not just a tragic accident. An unfortunate end to a promising life. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when we went to his death in our place. It was all agreed within the Trinity long before anyone laid a hand on Jesus’s body. Long before he even had a body. From before the creation of the world, God knew exactly, to the last blow, what our redemption would cost. And so we get given just a glimpse of it here, written on Isaiah’s scroll, to reassure us of both the Lord’s complete sovereignty and the Servant’s complete, willing obedience.

Let’s give thanks for those things today.

Isaiah 50:5b

I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

Yesterday, we saw how the Lord speaks daily to the Servant. Today, we see how the Servant responds to those words. They are not merely background noise to him, or one voice among many others, which he can pick and choose between. Rather, the Lord’s voice is what the Servant listens to AND obeys. When he hears God’s instructions, he is obedient rather than rebellious.

This is particularly striking when we remember that Isaiah’s ministry is all about warning God’s people of the judgement that is coming because they have been disobedient. Everywhere we look, in the earlier chapters of the book, we see a people turning their backs on God’s words and doing their own thing instead. And so the obedience of the Servant stands out in complete contrast.

But he’s not just unique amongst the people of Israel in the time of Isaiah. He is uniquely obedient, compared to every person who has ever lived. From Adam and Eve onwards, human history is the story of God speaking, and people turning away. And we’re no different. We too have the privilege of hearing God speak wonderful words of wisdom and grace and compassion to us daily. Indeed, we are more blessed than many previous generations, since we have these words written for us to refer to for ourselves, in a language we can understand. It’s on our bookcases, and – probably – electronically in our pockets. An ocean’s-worth of ink has been used to write commentaries and devotions and bible study guides so that we can know and understand these words better. And yet none of that makes us any more obedient than those who didn’t have such advantages!

Only the Servant can say “I have not been rebellious. I have not turned away.” As we look at his life of perfect obedience, it highlights more clearly for us our failure to live like that. Our failure to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself, as Jesus did.

How wonderfully gracious of Jesus, therefore, that he didn’t come into the world to condemn us – “See, this is what your life ought to look like!” but to save us, by transferring his perfect obedience to us at the cross.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:4b-5a

He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

Yesterday we heard about the Servant’s well-instructed tongue. Today we find that his ears are equally well-trained! At first glance, we might not be surprised by this verse. We know that the Servant, who is speaking here, has been appointed by God to bring God’s wayward people back to him. Since the Servant is working for the Lord, it makes sense that he should listen to his boss.

But we know, better than Isaiah did, that this Servant is in fact Jesus, God’s own son. God himself in a human body. That being so, why does he need to be quite so disciplined about listening to his Father? Doesn’t he already know everything he needs to know? He has the closest relationship to God of anyone who has ever lived. Yet he still begins each day by listening to the words of the Lord. He comes to his Father humbly, seeking instruction and guidance. As we’ll see tomorrow, he wants to hear and obey the Father, rather than going his own way and serving his own agenda.

When the Lord wakens the Servant with his words, the Servant is alert and attentive. He doesn’t want to miss any of it. No pressing snooze and going back to sleep. God’s voice is not an unwelcome interruption to his day, but the thing he most wants to hear.

If God’s own son needed to listen to the Father, how much more do we? If we’re ever tempted to think ‘I don’t need to read the Bible today … I already know what God’s going to say’, let’s remember this image of the Servant, deliberately tuning his ears to his Father’s voice.

And let’s pray today that we would increasingly love to listen to our Father’s voice, as the Servant does.

Isaiah 50:4a

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.

In our household at the moment there’s a lot of discussion about Christmas presents. The extended family have been asking ‘What would the girls like for Christmas?’ and so lists are being prepared! As far as I know, no-one’s requested ‘a well-instructed tongue’ but now that I’ve read this verse, I think I’d quite like one!

Imagine never being at a loss for what to say … Always ready with the right word in a tricky situation. Able to speak in a way that sustains the weary. Able to unravel a complicated situation so that the way-ahead is clear. Able to speak the truth gently.

Imagine never having to apologise because you spoke harshly, or got the wrong end of the stick, or said the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. “No human being can tame the tongue”, writes James, in his New Testament letter. “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect.” We all need a well-instructed tongue. Yet none of us has one, and none of us is likely to find out underneath the Christmas tree!

Only Jesus can claim to speak perfectly. His is the only well-instructed tongue the world has ever heard. And what did he do with it? He used it to announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God. To call people to repent of their sin and follow him. To pronounce forgiveness for sinners and healing for sufferers. To teach his followers how to come to the Father in prayer. We know that his words had sufficient authority to cast out demons and raise the dead. If he’d wanted to, he could absolutely have used his words to raise up a powerful following, entirely devoted to his own comfort and satisfaction. He could have used his words to serve himself, rather than serving others. But he didn’t. Instead, he used his words to sustain the weary.

Let’s praise him for that today. And let’s pray that we would be those who listen carefully to his words so that our tongues might learn more and more to speak in a way that honours him.

Isaiah 49:7c

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

Are you bored of Covid yet? Or maybe it’s something else that is sapping your energy and joy – a long-term medical condition, or some other difficulty that seems to have become a permanent feature of your life rather than just a temporary interruption. Many things in life are hard to experience, but I think we probably struggle most with the ones that drag on without any end in sight. Persevering when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly tough. That’s why we need to be reminded that the Lord is faithful. He doesn’t give up. He will never abandon either his purposes or his people.

As we were reminded yesterday, there IS always light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, the story ends with Jesus exalted and victorious, and all evil and suffering done away with completely and forever. We don’t know how soon that day will come, and it’s entirely possible that it could be today! But if it isn’t, then we may need to wait for months or years or decades or generations to see God’s plans fully and finally fulfilled.

If that’s the case, what can keep us waiting for it in hope, rather than giving up in despair? What was it that enabled the Servant to keep going through all the days when he was despised and rejected? This verse tells us. It’s “because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.” If God was simply a great innovator, known for starting remarkable things, that would have been little comfort to the Servant in his suffering. His hope came from knowing that God is a completer-finisher. God’s plan was that he would enjoy glory, through suffering. One day there would be a cross, but beyond that there would be a crown. God’s faithfulness guaranteed that the glory, and the crown, would be given him in the end. God wasn’t going to abandon the plan half-way through.

But nor was he going to leave the servant to persevere alone. Faithfulness is more than a dogged commitment to finish the job, come what may. God’s faithfulness is relational. He’s not simply committed to his plans, he’s committed in love to his people. He is faithful to his people in the way that the best imaginable husband is faithful to his wife. To be properly faithful in marriage means far more than simply not committing adultery! It means consistent, daily, self-giving, generous love. That’s what God’s faithfulness to his people looks like. Even when life is hard, God is faithful. He will bring us through it, into eternal joy and rest, as he has promised. And in the meantime he is faithfully with us, loving us, protecting us, guiding us and strengthening us to persevere.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:7b

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,

Back in verse 4, we got our first hint that even though the Servant has been called by the God who rules the universe, his work looks more energy-sapping than epically-successfully; more, well, servant-like, than kingly. In today’s verse, that is spelt out even more clearly.

When the Servant comes, people will not be queueing up to listen to him. They won’t even politely ignore him. Instead, he will face outright hostility. He will be despised and rejected. ‘Abhorred’, as it says here – which is such a strong word that I don’t think I’ve ever used it in everyday conversation! It means, apparently, to regard something or someone with horror or loathing. It’s a shocking way for someone who has been appointed by God to be treated. But that’s not the worst thing. The greater surprise comes when we see just who does the loathing. It’s the whole nation. Not just one or two misguided individuals, but all the people. Isn’t that an accurate description of the reaction that Jesus got when he came to earth? Yes, he did have friends and followers, but he was also widely hated, despised and ridiculed. And by the end of his life, the hostility had the upper hand – his followers fled whilst his opponents delighted in his defeat. As Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, battered and humiliated, he’s being treated far worse than a servant by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers.

And yet, this is not the end of the story. God himself makes a promise to the Servant that one day that picture of the Servant in the hands of human authorities will be completely turned on its head. One day, the kings and rulers who rejected Jesus will stand up to honour him. One day, the nations who saw him as abhorrent will worship him as the greatest and most beautiful man who ever lived. Whenever it seems that evil has the upper hand, we need to remember the end of the story. One day, nothing and no-one will hold any power at all, except the Lord and his Servant. On that day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, either willingly as his children or unwillingly as his defeated enemies.

Let’s praise him for that today, and bow before him willingly while we have the chance.

Isaiah 49:7a

7 This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –

Did you notice what Isaiah does in this verse? Just as he’s about to report to the people something that God has said to the Servant, he interrupts himself to tell them something important about who God is. That may not seem very significant on its own, but if we were to read through the whole of chapters 42-49 together, we’d see that it’s not just a one-off, but something he does repeatedly. 13 times in fact. It’s as if he wants to keep reminding the people why they must listen to the words of the Lord. This isn’t just anyone speaking, but the Redeemer, the Holy One, the creator, the king, the rescuer, the Lord Almighty.

Some of those titles are self-explanatory. But what, exactly, is a redeemer? It’s not a word that we hear much outside of church and the Bible, so even if we recognise it as a description of God, we might not be very clear about what it means.

The best place to look in the Bible to discover what ‘redeemer’ means is in the book of Ruth. There we read the story of a widowed Israelite – Naomi. When she loses first her husband and then both of her sons, she is not just bereaved but also bereft. She has no-one to provide for her and her two daughters-in-law, no breadwinner, no safety or security. So, she returns to Israel – the land of her birth, where she will be dependent on the kindness of others. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, goes with her and keeps them both alive by going into the fields at harvest time to gather up the leftover grain. There she meets Boaz. He turns out to be a distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, who wants to provide for these vulnerable women by marrying Ruth and buying back the family land. In other words, he wants to act as their ‘kinsman-Redeemer’ - the guardian who bears the responsibility for safeguarding the weak and providing for the needy within the extended family. We might think that sounds like a burden, but remarkably, it turns out that Boaz doesn’t even have to do it. There is a closer relative, who ought really to be the redeemer in this situation. Yet Boaz goes out of his way to take on the responsibility for meeting Naomi and Ruth’s needs

Boaz acts, therefore, as a picture of God’s redeeming work – not only for the people of Isaiah’s day but also for us, who are redeemed by the death of Jesus. Motivated entirely by his own love and goodness, God steps in to meet our needs, pay our debts and secure our safety. He isn’t obligated to do this – he willingly chooses to become our Redeemer.

Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s commit ourselves to listen carefully to what this Redeemer says when he speaks. For who wouldn’t want to listen to someone who has demonstrated such sacrificial love?

Isaiah 49:6

6 he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

As we saw in verse 5, the job of the Servant is to restore God’s people back into right relationship with him. This is not going to be an easy task – it requires the servant to die, taking the judgement that the people deserved upon himself. Yet, remarkably, God says that this is ‘too small a thing’. He can’t possibly mean “it’s not difficult enough, I’d better give you something harder!” Nothing could be more apparently impossible than for the sinless son of the everlasting God to die bearing the penalty for sin.

Nor does he say “It isn’t really fair for non-Jews to miss out on this salvation. In the interests of equality, I think we’d better open this covenant up to everyone.” I think that’s what we’d expect. What we’d insist on, even. “Come on God, of course you’ve got to let us in. It’s hardly my fault I was born into the wrong family!” Entirely forgetting that relationship with God has always been about his gracious forgiveness being extended to the undeserving, rather than about what any of us might be entitled to.

No. The reason that we – the Gentiles – get to share in the benefits of being God’s people is nothing to do with us! It’s all about the glory of the Servant. He is so great that his light deserves to shine throughout the whole world, not just in one small corner of Palestine. His gracious love is so vast that it overflows national boundaries, to encompass all people everywhere. His sacrificial death is so precious that it saves a countless multitude. His majesty is so great that people from every tribe and language and nation will sing about it for all eternity.

Why do we get to share in the promises first made to Abraham? Not because we deserve to. But because the servant deserves the glory that comes from such a great salvation.

Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:5b

for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength –

Whose opinion matters most to you? Some of us feel almost paralysed by the weight of other people’s expectations, and our desire for them to approve of what we do, say and think. Others of us think less about other people’s opinions. But for all of us, there will be some people whose opinions carry particular significance. Some person, or people, who we especially want to think well of us and praise us. Maybe they are the people we love most. Maybe they are especially gifted or successful in a particular field, and we value their expert opinion. Maybe we crave someone’s approval because they’re notoriously hard to please, and so a compliment from them is especially precious.

The Servant is not – at first glance – someone who everyone is queueing up to praise. So far, we know that he is quiet and gentle. In future weeks we’ll see that he is also despised and rejected. He’s not a likely candidate for one of those annual lists of ‘The world’s 100 most influential people’. And yet, he doesn’t seem to mind. “For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord” he says. It is the Lord’s verdict that matters to him. The rest of the world can hate him, reject him and mistreat him – and indeed, it did, and continues to do so – but that’s not where he looks for validation.

That doesn’t mean that the rejection doesn’t hurt him – it must have wounded him deeply to be despised by those he loves and came to rescue. The world did have the power to bruise him – physically and emotionally. But it doesn’t have the power to completely strip him of his confidence and strength, because those things come from his Lord. God’s verdict on him is the only one that really matters. That’s what he will listen to most. Even in his final hours, when the crowd is baying for his blood, he will be honoured in the eyes of the Lord. He will know his Father’s approval, as he is faithful to his calling.

I wonder if the knowledge of his calling was partly what helped him to keep his focus on pleasing God, rather than trying to please the world? The Servant knows who is, and what his life on earth is for. God has chosen and appointed him to his task, so it is God’s honour that he cares about. Although we don’t have the Servant’s unique role, we too have been chosen and appointed by God. Chosen to be adopted as his children and appointed to live as a holy people, declaring his praises to the world around us.

So today, let’s pray that we would learn from Jesus how to value God’s opinion of us – as his precious, loved, forgiven children – more highly than we value the opinion of the world.

Isaiah 49:5a

5 And now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself,

From Genesis 12 onwards, God committed himself especially to lead and guide and bless one particular family – Abraham’s descendants - that grew into one particular nation – the people of Israel. Even though God always was and continues to be the creator and sustainer of everyone, everywhere, these people enjoyed a unique relationship with him. They had both God’s words – in the law – and his special presence among them – in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Yet still they repeatedly turned their backs on him and were unfaithful, following other gods and behaving just like all the other nations around them. And so it will be the job of the Servant to bring them back.

When you think about it, this pattern of turning away and restoration is the constant theme of the whole Bible. We’re given many striking images of God’s relationship with his people to express this same idea: He is the husband of an unfaithful wife in the book of Hosea, he is the shepherd of wandering sheep in Ezekiel 34, he is the patient father of a rebellious son (also in Hosea).

This ‘bringing back’ and ‘gathering to himself’ is not an occasional activity on God’s part. It’s his constant purpose, the expression of his essential character. And so it’s no surprise that this activity is characteristic of Jesus, too. When the promised Servant comes, he announces himself as the ‘good shepherd’ who will restore the lost sheep once and for all. His very first miracle, at Cana, reveals him to be the bridegroom of God’s people, who will purify his bride –the church – so that she can enjoy a wedding banquet with him forever. One of his most famous stories features a loving father running with his arms wide open to welcome back the son who had squandered his entire inheritance.

We – the rebellious, unfaithful, wandering sheep – are so blessed to have a God like this. One who doesn’t turn his back on us when we turn away from him. One who is patient to restore us, and who gave his one and only son to bring us back to himself. Let’s not despise that because it is so familiar. Rather, let’s thank him for it afresh today. And let’s ask God to teach us to walk more and more closely with him until the day when we are finally gathered into his presence in glory.

Isaiah 49:4b

Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’

As we saw yesterday, the Servant’s mission to save God’s people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death. That’s not a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears to him in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job he has been given.

If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you’ll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’ if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead. The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord’s hand. He won’t turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil’s offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status from going his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights’, and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father’s will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won’t scheme to get it some other way.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father’s will. And let’s ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.

Isaiah 49:3-4a

3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’ 4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

At first glance, today’s verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to the world. Yet the Servant seems to disagree – “I’m exhausted” he says. “I’ve poured out everything I have but there’s nothing to show for it.” There’s nothing splendid about his experience. Yet this is not a disagreement in the heart of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are both always perfectly committed to their shared salvation plan. Rather, I think it’s an example of a paradox that we find repeated time and again in the Bible: Our God is glorified in weakness.

We see this most clearly at the cross. When Jesus is ‘lifted up’ to be crucified we see a weak, tortured, humiliated man. His life’s work seems to have come to nothing. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, yet now he has barely any energy left to speak. He is rejected by the religious establishment and deserted by his followers. What does he have to show for his life of obedience to the Father? And yet, at the same time it is the greatest display of God’s splendour the world has ever seen. Never before has the extraordinary extent of God’s love and grace and generosity to sinners been so clearly visible. Jesus is not only ‘lifted up’ to die. He is ‘lifted up’ and highly exalted, for his saving work to be seen and marvelled at by all the world.

At the moment when it seems that evil and darkness have won, we see God reveal his glory. At the moment when the suffering Servant takes his last breath we see his majesty. To a world that doesn’t know God, splendour and weakness seem to be irreconcilable opposites. But for those of us who know him, they should be inseparable. The God who reigns over all things is the same one who took on human flesh to live as a servant. Born in poverty, killed in pain and humiliation. Now risen and exalted and reigning in majesty for ever.

So today, let’s praise and worship the one who deserves all glory and honour because he so willingly poured out his life and strength so that we might be saved.

Isaiah 49:2b

in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

What’s the safest place you can think of? It’s not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we’d lived in London during the Blitz, we’d probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hide under if we couldn’t get there in time.

In today’s verse, we discover where the Servant finds safety and security: in the shadow of the hand of God. But the Servant hasn’t had to search out this hiding place for himself. Instead, God reaches out to cover him from harm. It’s a beautiful picture. But it’s also quite surprising, given everything else we know about this Servant. Taken on its own, this verse might mean that the person God wants to save is swept up into his hand and hidden far away from any possible risk of harm. Wouldn’t that be lovely?! But that can’t be exactly what he means. The Servant has been chosen by God to be the rescuer of his people. As we’ll read later on, this will be no easy job. The Servant will be despised, rejected and eventually killed to accomplish his mission. Surely if God was serious about protecting this Servant, he’d keep him safely out of harm’s way by not sending him to do this painful and difficult work in the first place! Hiding in an Air Raid shelter during the Blitz was better than nothing, but living in a country at peace would surely have been a whole lot safer.

The people of Isaiah’s day faced a similar puzzle. God has already warned them that they face judgement and exile because of their rejection of him. Then they hear that he will send this Servant to be their rescuer. Wouldn’t it be great if the coming of the Servant meant that they were going to be spared the suffering after all? But it turns out not to work like that. Everything that God has warned of in chapters 1-39 is still going to happen. In fact, the Servant isn’t even going to be born until hundreds of years later. Yet, in Chapter 51, God promises the people the exact same safety and refuge that he gives the Servant here. “I have … covered you with the shadow of my hand” he tells them. Total safety and protection. Not the complete absence of suffering, or judgement, but protection through it. Not an immediate ceasefire, so that no bombs fall, but the provision of a strong enough shelter to withstand the damage.

The Servant was held safely in the shadow of God’s hand throughout his life and death, into eternal resurrection. And because we have been united to him by faith, that’s where we are too. Even in the midst of all the suffering and dangers of a fallen world, we are safe in the Lord’s hands throughout our life and death and into eternity.

Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:2a

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword

As I’ve worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I’ve been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before ….’ This is one of those verses!

In the apostle John’s vision, in the Book of Revelation, the risen and exalted Jesus is described as having ‘a sharp double-edged sword’ coming out of his mouth. It’s a striking image, and also an unusual one. Only Jesus’ mouth contains a double-edged sword, because only Jesus’ words have the power to bring judgement, to determine life or death for those who hear him.

So many people underestimate Jesus … “He was just a good moral teacher” they say. From one perspective, it’s easy to see why – he was, after all, a humble, gentle servant. Born in a stable, not a palace. Riding a donkey, not a war horse. Leading a small, motley band of largely poor and uneducated disciples, rather than a powerful, disciplined, victorious army. If you’d passed him in the street you probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. ‘Nothing to see here’. Which is why we need a powerful visual image, like the one in this verse, to make us look again. After all, if you actually met a man with a sword literally coming out of his mouth, I think you’d stop and take a second look!

Jesus’ physical appearance may have been unimpressive, but his words … well, that’s a whole different matter! When he speaks, that’s when we discover that he is like no other man who ever lived. His words make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead return to life. “I am the way, and the truth and the life” says Jesus. As we listen to him, and trust his words, we find life and truth and a way into eternal relationship with God as our Father. But those same words bring condemnation and judgement for those who reject them. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” says Jesus. A double-edged sword. Life or death, salvation or judgement. Jesus’ words bring both. They have power greater than any human weapon ever devised.

Let’s pray today that we will be those who will trust and depend on the life-giving words of Jesus.

Isaiah 49:1b

before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion. You just don’t know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career that doesn’t even exist yet.

But that wasn’t the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life’s work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God’s people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells us that in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God’s perfect creation.

Isn’t that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God’s purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, like the child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much rather have done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us. He didn’t have to go anywhere near a mother’s womb if he didn’t want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake.

Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:

Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Israel’. The Servant, when he speaks, addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God’s people. Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, you islands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me!

If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It’s still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn’t say anything too controversial!). It’s definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don’t call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God’s allowed to speak to his followers if they’ve willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they’re pretty convinced that he hasn’t got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.

Except, of course, he has. Because there isn’t a person alive in the world right now who God didn’t make. There isn’t a single square inch of the planet that isn’t his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.

Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.

Let's pray today that all people everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:7

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness

Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I’m targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which I couldn’t even name! I’m never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they’re not things I’m remotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need.

In this verse we’re shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable to clearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelessly trapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to set us free.

But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don’t think they are lost. Which are we?

So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let’s ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. And let’s thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles

Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for the people’ to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God’s people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren’t included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham.

We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands’ putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands’ refers to the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant’s mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God’s kingdom to those from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his world to seek and to save us.

Let’s praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people

So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself.

It’s a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I’m delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It’s been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it’s been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You’ve been a real encouragement to me.” Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they’ve been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already! Of course, he’s not saying it for Steve’s benefit … He’s speaking to Steve but he’s saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to.

I think it’s the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he’s not speaking for the Servant’s benefit. It’s intended for the people, so that they will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He’s not self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people’. What does that mean?!

A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people’ it’s not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God’s relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them. Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by the death of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God’s people, in God’s place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham.

So, today, let’s thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.

Isaiah 42:5

This is what God the Lord says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it

So far we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He’s exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cynical world needs. But maybe it’s just too good to be true. How can we be sure? How could the people of Isaiah’s day – facing the prospect of judgement and exile – be certain that God really would send them such a wonderful rescuer? Here in v.5 is God’s answer.

We can be confident that this Servant will come, and will be as wonderful as has been promised, because God’s word is powerful and trustworthy. The God who makes this promise – to Isaiah and to us - is the creator. Everything that exists exists because he made it. He spoke, and galaxies appeared, oceans were tamed, land emerged which produced plants that produced fruit to feed the creatures that his word brought to life. God knows how to make things happen just by speaking. And he is not only the creator but the sustainer. He gives life and breath to his people. Generations of descendants of Adam and Eve have walked the earth since God first spoke. Each one had life and breath only because God decided that they would. He sustains and provides for his people throughout history. If this God has a plan to rescue his people, he will certainly carry it out. If he says he will send them the Servant that they need, then he will surely do it.

So today let’s thank the God who has given us life and breath and all good things. And let’s praise him that he alone is mighty, creating and sustaining us by the power of his words.

Isaiah 42:4b

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.

What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we’re running late. Most of our hopes are pretty flimsy. They’re things we WANT but we can’t have any great confidence that they will really happen. So often, what we hope for is beyond our control. Sometimes, we may give up hope entirely, overwhelmed by cynicism or despair because we can’t face the prospect of having our hopes raised only to be disappointed.

The people of Isaiah’s day were much the same as us. Squeezed on all sides by more powerful nations, they regularly faced decisions about where to put their hope – would they depend on their God to defend and deliver them, or would they trust in their own resources – military might, or political alliances with their neighbours? Into that world, God promises to send a Servant who will bring hope. His teaching will offer true and lasting hope to the islands – that is, not just to God’s people but to the whole earth.

This hope is more than the wishful thinking that makes us long for parking spaces and miracles cures that deep down we don’t expect to get. The words of Jesus give us a hope that is steadfast and certain. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes this hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ It’s a hope we can lean all our weight on. Jesus’ teaching gives us unshakeable hope for the future, because Jesus’ life and death have guaranteed for us a place in heaven with him forever. Not only that, but we have hope for each day in this life, because Jesus promises that he is with us to lead and protect and sustain us, as we trust in him. This is a hope we can rely on. Such good news that all the world needs to hear it. However hopeless our circumstances feel right now, however often our other hopes have been crushed, the hope that Jesus offers will never fail us.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for the hope that he brings to our lives. And let’s ask him to help us to put our hope and trust completely in him, for whatever today holds, and for our eternity.

Isaiah 42:3b-4a

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.

If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it’s because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve a goal. But throw in some setbacks, and make the task a long-term project rather than a quick and easy win, and it’s much more tempting to give up. Faithfulness – a long-term commitment to someone or something, come what may, is not our natural state.

We know from the earlier chapters of Isaiah that the task God has in store for his servant is definitely not going to be quick and easy! Remember, the people have rebelled against God, and are facing invasion from a foreign power. They need both physical and spiritual rescue. Their immediate, practical problems feel enormous but actually their spiritual state is worse. They have seen God commit himself to them over and over again, making a covenant with their forefathers which he has kept even as generation after generation of the people have rebelled. Redeeming a people like that is no small task.

What great news, then, that this servant is going to be faithful. He is going to stick to his God-given task of bringing justice – that is, putting right the people’s relationship with God that they have repeatedly broken. He shares his Father’s unbreakable commitment to these rebels. However often they turn away, his righteousness will be sufficient. He will never resign from his role as their rescuer, discouraged by their repeated failures. He will never abandon his Father’s salvation plan, and turn aside to some new project. He will persevere until his work is complete.

That’s an amazing promise, even for the people of Isaiah’s day. But how much more amazed should we be by the faithfulness of Jesus to his calling, since we know what it involved. Establishing a just means of rescuing us cost him his life. It meant bearing the weight of our sin and being separated from his eternal Father at the cross. Yet Jesus the servant was faithful in his task, for our sake. Let’s praise and thank him for that today.

Isaiah 42:3a

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.

We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the world often expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah’s time, God’s people were a tiny nation, helpless in comparison with the likes of Assyria, Bablyon and Egypt. Surely they needed God to send them a mighty, victorious king to lead them, like the great King David? Someone to bring them military success, marking them out as a force to be reckoned with.

But God’s plan is different. He promises them a gentle, quiet leader who will protect life rather than destroy it. One who will value the weak and vulnerable rather than the strong and successful. I wonder if Isaiah’s first hearers struggled to get excited about the prospect - perhaps they’d have preferred a more-impressive sounding solution to their problems. Similarly today, those who preach a message of ‘health, wealth and happiness’ sound far more appealing than those who invite us to follow a crucified outcast.

If we like to think we are powerful and success, a gentle leader who keeps stopping to gather up the broken won’t be very attractive. We’d much rather live under a system that promises to reward our achievements and ignores those who don’t make the grade. But once we admit that we ourselves are weak and helpless, it’s a different story. When we know that we’re more like a smouldering wick, barely flickering, than a blazing fire, ready to set the world alight, then we will welcome the one who breathes gently on us to sustain us, rather than snuffing us out. When we acknowledge that we are dead in sin we will long for a rescuer who helps the helpless, rather than one who rewards those who help themselves.

There will come a day when this servant will return in blazing glory to crush his enemies forever, but how gracious of him to come first in gentleness and humility, to heal and help and forgive. Let’s thank him for that today and come to him honestly, in all our frailty and need, trusting that he welcomes, not despises, those who know that they are weak.

Isaiah 42:2

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

The World Record for the loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we’d like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about what you are saying and more about how much noise you make. It sometimes feels as if whoever makes enough noise to drown out their opponent wins, regardless of who is actually right. In a world like that it’s hard to imagine a quiet leader. We easily associate loudness with strength and we fear that the softly-spoken will be weak and ineffective.

Yet that doesn’t have to be the case. The other day one of our daughters was describing a teacher at her school who never shouts ‘because she doesn’t need to.’ She has such an air of authority that she is able to command the room without ever raising her voice. That’s the sort of softly-spoken person that we see in this verse. It’s not silence of someone who knows they will never be heard so they don’t even bother trying. Here we see someone whose authority is so compelling that they don’t need to shout. The promised servant will not come to throw his weight around, drowning out his opponents and bullying his way into leadership.

Isn’t that what we see when we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament? Plenty of people shout at Jesus, or about Jesus, during his life on earth. But he never shouts back at them. He very rarely raises his voice, and when he does it is never to dominate or silence others. It’s only ever to call people to come to him to him for life (John 7:37, John 11:43) or to commit himself humbly to his Father’s keeping as he takes his final breath. His loudest words are not spoken in anger, or self-promotion, as ours so often are, but only ever for the good of others.

So today, let’s thank Jesus for being the one who speaks to us in quiet, gentle, life-giving words. And let’s ask him to help us tune our ears more and more to his voice, and not be swayed by the voices of the world around us who shout louder.

Isaiah 42:1b

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger that comes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done.

God agrees. In Isaiah’s day, injustice is one of the clear indications that God’s people have turned away from him. Back in Chapter 1 God tells them “Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.” Justice matters to God because he himself is just. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “For the Lord is a God of justice” It is an essential aspect of his character. Again and again, throughout the book, when God describes the great future which lies ahead for his people, after they have been carried through his judgement, we’re told that it will be a time of justice.

So it’s no surprise that when the Servant comes, he brings justice with him. In fact, it’s such a characteristic of this servant that it’s repeated 3 times in 4 verses! He will rule rightly. He will properly discern between right and wrong. He will ensure that righteousness is rewarded and evil is punished. He is not dependent on a committee to agree the rules, or a criminal justice system to hold trials and investigate offences. He has the Spirit of God himself, the one who alone can properly determine right from wrong. So he is uniquely able to establish justice. To put every wrong to rights.

So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect justice, and thank him that we can look forward to an eternity under his just rule, where every evil will be banished and righteousness will finally flourish.

Isaiah 42:1a

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;

In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God. But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah’s ministry is spent warning them of great upheaval and suffering which is to come, when they will experience God’s righteous judgement for turning away from him.

So, when we read this verse, at the start of chapter 42, we might expect that the servant God is talking about is still Israel. But as we read through the chapter we discover that he is actually talking about another servant. A better servant. One who is faithful and just. One in whom God the Father delights. One who will be a light in the dark world of the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God.

This is not just any servant. This is THE servant. He is not only faithful and obedient himself, but he is the one who will rescue and restore faithless and disobedient Israel. He is Jesus - God’s chosen one.

Beginning today, we will spend the next 7 weeks looking together at what God tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, about this promised servant. We’ll focus on the so-called ‘Servant Songs’ – the sections of the book of Isaiah where God speaks to, or about, this promised servant, and where the servant speaks about himself.

It’s my hope and prayer that these passages will help us all to reflect on the character and work of Jesus. That we will appreciate afresh the suffering servant whose perfect life and death have made it possible for rebels like us to be called servants of the Most High God.

So today, let’s pray that as we read about Jesus, God’s chosen one, we too would delight in him. And let’s ask the Spirit to open our eyes in the weeks ahead, to see more clearly the beauty and majesty of Jesus, which Isaiah foretold.

Psalm 62:11-12

One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.’

I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week I don't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've still been selfish, impatient, more concerned about my own plans than serving others and more focused on my own kingdom than on listening to God and speaking to him in prayer.

How wonderful, then, that our God is full of both power and unfailing love. He alone has the power to defeat our sin and the death which we rightly deserve because of it. Yet his love means that he has chosen to rescue us and forgive us, by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. We can enjoy the reward of an eternity in God’s presence because of what Jesus has done. Praise God for his great power and his unfailing love. And let's pray that we would keep trusting in him, rather than in ourselves, today and every day.

Psalm 62:10

Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Are we confident because the cupboard and the fridge and the bank account feel full enough? Or are we anxious because they are not?

These things are good gifts from God for which we can be thankful. But David warns us not to 'set our hearts' on them. Not to let them be the things that we long for and cling to, that determine our happiness. Why? Because, though they seem solid and lasting, they – like us - are only a 'breath'. However much we hope or work for material things, we’re not guaranteed to get them. And if we do get them, they probably won’t last. They will rust or rot, get lost or stolen, or be eaten up by inflation. And even if we keep them and our riches increase in this life, they will never fully satisfy people who were designed to find our ultimate joy in relationship with God.

The only thing secure enough to set our hearts on and not be disappointed by is God himself, our rock and refuge. Let’s pray that we will set our hearts on him.

Psalm 62:9

Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We’re told that if we simply believe in ourselves we can do anything.

David knows that none of us has the power that we think we have. Recently, we've been reminded that even world leaders and governments are powerless against a microscopic virus. All their apparent power is 'a lie'. And all of us are but 'a breath' - not the powerful, substantial, world-changing people we aspire to be. But fleeting, temporary, weak mortals.

Let's not put our confidence in ourselves, or in others. Why would we want to lean on 'a breath' when could lean on the rock that is God?

It may be hard to admit that we’re less powerful than we think we are. But it makes it all the more amazing that God would love fleeting, insubstantial 'breaths' enough to give us solid, everlasting resurrection bodies in which to spend forever with him. Let's praise him for that today!

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'? We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins. But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we’re too upset or ashamed or confused to pray ‘properly’, and have to blurt it all out in one big rambling incoherent mess. Are we even allowed to talk to God like that?

David says Yes! Talking to God like that is a good thing. It's an expression of our trust in him. The times when we most need to pray may be the ones when we are least able to find the words. Yet we can still speak to him, even then, because he is our refuge at all times.

After all, why is it that God hears and answers our prayers? Is it because of our well-crafted sentences? Of course not. It’s because Jesus died so that we could call God ‘Father’ and he now stands in heaven interceding for us. Our prayers are acceptable because of him, not because of the quality of the prayers themselves. Prayer is not a performance to impress God, but an expression of our intimate, personal relationship with him. So, whether we are anxious or excited, sad or celebrating, let’s pour out our hearts to God, today and every day.

Psalm 62:7

My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour' depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes’ on my social media posts in order to feel significant? Do I need the affirmation of my colleagues or the appreciation of my boss in order to feel honoured at work? Do I need someone to recognise how hard I’m working at keeping the wheels on family life? Does what I do behind closed doors even matter, if no-one sees it and honours me for it?

David is the king of Israel. Surely all his honour comes from his role and status? He must have had endless people ready to tell him how great he was. But that’s not where he looked for honour. His honour depends on God. He is content to place all his confidence in God's name, God's reputation, God's achievements. He doesn’t want his name to be praised. He’s not consumed by building his own reputation. He doesn’t need his achievements to be praised. He would prefer God to get the glory. Enemies may attack him, rubbish his reputation, slander his name or dismiss him as insignificant. He trusts in God. If David’s name needs to be honoured, God will do it. And if not, that’s OK. He will simply depend on God. Let’s pray that we would do the same.

Psalm 62:6

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken.

Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over and over again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his attention away from the God who saves, to look at the enemies who attack. He takes his eyes off the God who is his rock and focuses on himself, the wobbly fence.

That's why we need to hear God speak to us daily. A weekly sermon or Bible study is a wonderful thing. But if David needs to remind himself of the same things within the space of 4 verses we shouldn't be surprised that we reminders to focus on God more than once or twice a week! However often we feel weak, uncertain or afraid, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our rock. However often we face temptation to sin, or discouragement because we’ve failed, that’s how often we need to fix our eyes on God our salvation. And if we don’t feel any of those things, and think we can live perfectly well without God, then we definitely need to fix our eyes on him again and remind ourselves just how much we need the one who made us and gives us our every breath.

Let’s pray that we will be people who build time with God into our daily habits so that we stay focused on the one who is our rock, salvation and fortress.

Psalm 62:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

What are you hoping for right now? Back in March we were hoping to find pasta and toilet rolls in the supermarket. By May we were hoping for an end to home-schooling. In June we were hoping for the rain to stop so we could meet a friend outside. For months we’ve been hoping for a vaccine. What we hope for tells us something about where our confidence is. If we're praying for the things we hope for, rather than simply hoping, it's an indication that at least some of our hope and confidence is in God. If so, that’s a great thing - Thank God for it!

But if our hopes and prayers are only ever for better circumstances (more pasta, calmer kids, better weather or scientific breakthroughs) we are missing out on the even greater, surer, better hope that God has given to those who trust in Jesus.

We have a sure hope of an eternity with him, when our current sufferings, however long they last, will feel like the blink of an eye. We have a sure hope that today and tomorrow and every day, whatever our circumstances, God will be with us. We have a sure hope that God will complete his work of making each of us more and more like Jesus. We have a sure hope that every time we turn away from God to serve our sinful nature, he will be gracious and merciful, forgiving us for Jesus’ sake when we repent and turn back to him.

Let’s pray that each one of us would keep hoping in God, and find the rest that comes from trusting him.

Psalm 62:3-4

How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

The palmist is facing enemies determined to overthrow him. They want to destroy him, perhaps not using a physical army, but certainly by using deceitful words. Our current troubles are different from David’s, but they can have the same effect on us. We feel weak and vulnerable, like an unstable wall, ready to collapse at any moment. We’re hanging on by our fingernails, knowing that any second now everything’s going to come crashing down around us. Or maybe it already has.

When he feels weak and helpless, at the end of his own resources, David reminds himself of the strength and faithfulness of God. He is our rock and salvation, our place of safety and rest. Knowing those things gives David confidence, but it doesn’t turn him into an invincible superhero - he still feels wobbly! David is able to say ‘I shall never be shaken’ while still describing himself as ‘a tottering fence‘.

Isn’t that our experience, too? Trusting God doesn't mean we suddenly feel super-confident. Instead trusting God means turning to him daily, admitting our weakness and asking for his help. We will always be weak but we know where to look for strength – not in ourselves but in God our fortress, with whom we will be eternally safe, because of the salvation that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s thank God for that security and ask for his help to turn to him whenever we feel weak.

Psalm 62:1-2

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.

2020 has been a year of great turmoil – our usual routines completely destroyed by Covid-19 lockdown, economies around the world decimated, huge protests challenging long-established injustice. Everything seems to be changing around us. Many of us feel restless and shaken. Unsettled by worries, disconcerted by the loss of normality, second-guessing what on earth we should do now to prepare for whatever is coming next. Or perhaps we’re grieving our own personal tragedies, or battling circumstances close to home that will never hit the headlines.

Psalm 62 is one of my favourite psalms for difficult situations. Whatever our circumstances, God is our unshakeable refuge. Whatever the reason for our restlessness, our souls can find rest in him. Whatever we need saving from, salvation is found in God. In fact, he himself IS our salvation. He is our rock and our fortress.

But we can so easily look for security and rescue elsewhere, relying on hand-washing or social distancing to save us from Covid-19, or insurance policies and detailed planning to save us from an unknown future. Those things have their place. But what we need most is to do what David does here – to direct our hearts and minds back to the strength and faithfulness of God. Whatever happens, whatever changes, he will never fail us.

Let’s thank God for that truth and pray that we will remember it today.

Psalm 51:19

Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Some people just love trying to find parts of the Bible that appear to contradict each other, in an attempt to undermine our confidence that it is God’s perfect, infallible word. Those people would have a field day with Psalm 51! In verse 16 David clearly states that ‘God does not delight in sacrifice’. Here in v.19 he is equally emphatic that God ‘will delight in sacrifice.’

But, as we’ve seen already, David has multiple sacrifices in mind as he writes this psalm. There’s the blood sacrifice that actually takes away our sin (Jesus’ death on the cross) which isn’t mentioned explicitly, but is implied when he talks about hyssop in v7. This is not a sacrifice that we can bring – it is something that God gives to us. Then there’s the sacrifice of v.16 - any sacrifice that we might think of bringing to God in an attempt to buy our forgiveness. That’s a sacrifice that is never welcome, which we shouldn’t try to bring. Then there are the two sacrifices that we can bring to God – not to earn our forgiveness but in response to it. Firstly, the sacrifice of v.17, the humble, repentant heart of a sinner who has been forgiven by Jesus. And finally, here in v.19, the lavish, generous, costly sacrifice of a whole bull, given by grateful people, in thankful celebration of their relationship with God.

In our place and time, the burnt offering of a bull is probably not the best way of expressing our gratitude to God. But that shouldn’t mean that we don’t express it at all! How can we, people who have been made righteous by Jesus, delight God today? By joyfully praising him. By demonstrating our trust in him through wholehearted obedience. By telling others how great it is to know a God like this. By coming to him humbly, acknowledging our tendency to sin and asking for his help to resist. In these, and many, many other ways, let’s ask God to make us those who delight him today!

Psalm 51:18

May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

For most of this psalm we've been listening to David relating to God individually. He's talking very personally about his sin, his need for forgiveness, his own individual faith. But in the final two verses we see that he doesn't consider his faith to be purely a private, individual matter. He is part of the whole people of God ('the righteous' v19). So when he prays for blessing he doesn't say 'May it please you to prosper me'. He wants to see Zion (that is, Jerusalem) being blessed. He wants the city of God, containing the people of God, to be secure. Building up the walls isn't about being insular and inhospitable; it's about being safe from enemy attack.

So it is for us. Awareness of our sin can be a really isolating thing. If we feel ashamed of our failures it can be tempting to withdraw from fellowship with others, forgetting that they too are sinners, every bit as much in need of God's grace as we are. We forget that when Jesus took out sin at the cross he didn't just open the way for us to have a relationship with God, but he also united us together with other Christians. So, every time we repent we can remember that we are part of a body, not alone.

That doesn't mean that we have to tell everyone at church about every one of our sins! But it does mean that when the devil tells us that we can't be honest with anyone about what we're really like, we know that he's wrong. And when we celebrate our forgiveness, we're not just thankful for restored relationship with God, but for being part of a body of people who all know the joy of being forgiven. So perhaps we will want to pray not just that I will walk more and more in his ways from now onwards, but that we will. We’ll want to pray that God would prosper our church (and the whole universal church) not just ourselves. That he will keep our church, not just me, secure from enemy attack. Let's ask him for those things today, grateful for the fellowship he has given us as we trust and obey him together.

Psalm 51:16-17

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Even though it’s a familiar psalm, I still find these verses surprising. Why would David say 'you do not delight in sacrifice'? He can't mean that the whole temple sacrificial system displeases God - it was God's idea in the first place. Making the Old Testament sacrifices and burnt offerings was an act of obedience to God's commands, not a man-made religious system.

And why would God want David to be 'broken' in spirit? Surely the whole point of forgiveness is to heal his broken spirit? It feels like we’ve suddenly rewound to the beginning of the psalm, where David was mourning over his sin and pleading for forgiveness. Isn’t this section, from v.13 onwards, all about David’s response to having been forgiven? Shouldn't he be 'fixed' now, rather than broken? Full of rejoicing and evangelistic zeal, no longer weighed down by his sin? If I was writing this psalm, I'd have put these verses nearer the beginning, imagining that the 'sacrifice' of a 'contrite' (i.e. repentant) heart was a good thing to bring to God, to convince him to forgive me. 'Look, Lord, how sorry I am!' And then my psalm would get progressively more upbeat, with a spirit and heart that bounce back to pure joy!

However, we know that David is writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so obviously he is right to put these verses here in the psalm! The fact that they feel out of place shows that I’m misunderstanding something important. Actually, I’m misunderstanding 2 things….

Firstly, David's contrite heart is NOT the sacrifice that brings about God's forgiveness. His sin is not washed away by the volume of his own tears. His transgressions are not wiped away in proportion to how sorry he feels about them. His forgiveness is utterly and completely the result of Jesus' sacrificial death in his place. The only sacrifice that David can bring is one of thankfulness. And, secondly, the point of forgiveness is not, primarily, to make David feel better. Why would I expect that a forgiven sinner wouldn't still mourn over their sin? He's not weighed down by it in the same way he was at the start ... He knows his guilt is taken away so he won't live permanently crushed by it. But a humble heart, aware of its own weakness and need for God's constant help, is the right thing for a Christian to have ALL the time. Joy at having been forgiven doesn't completely remove our sorrow at having needed forgiveness. We, like David, can know both the complete assurance of having our sins washed away AND the reality that we are permanently 'poor in spirit' before a holy God. Let's pray that God would give each of us an appropriately contrite-yet-rejoicing heart, today.

Psalm 51:14-15

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Yesterday we saw that one aspect of David's response to being forgiven is a renewed commitment to telling others about his saviour. In today's verses we see a second response ... Singing God's praises.

v.14 isn't the kind of bargaining with God that unbelievers do in a time of crisis ... 'Get me out of this, God, and I'll do anything you want!' Praising God isn't the penance that David will reluctantly force himself to do in exchange for forgiveness. I imagine that David wants to sing God's praises - after all, he is a psalm-writer and a musician. He loves to celebrate God's righteousness and goodness in words and songs. But if you remember v.8 you'll remember that he feels crushed by his sin. He is guilty of bloodshed, having ordered the killing of Bathsheba's husband. He cannot sing with joy and gladness to God when his sin hangs heavily over him. But if God will rescue him, deliver him, forgive him and wash him clean, then he will sing with all his heart, at the top of his lungs in gratitude and praise.

Will we do anything less? We who know that Jesus has already died to take away our guilt. Our sin has been atoned for. When we confess it to God and ask for forgiveness it is wiped away forever. There is no reason for us not to sing. And our song will be entirely in praise of God. There's nothing like being confronted by our own sin to remind us that we are not the glorious, strong, successful people we would like to be. We have no reason at all to sing our own praises, or to demand that other people sing our praises. But we have every reason to sing praise to our gracious, loving, righteous, rescuing God. Let’s praise him as he deserves today!

Psalm 51:13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

Now that David has confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness, this next section (verses 13-17) shows us how a forgiven sinner responds to their forgiveness.

Firstly, here in verse 13, he commits himself to sharing what he knows of God with others, so that they too can turn away from sin and be forgiven. So often when we think about evangelism, it's as something we OUGHT to do, to please God (or, perhaps, to stop other Christians nagging us about it!) Whereas here we see evangelism as the natural reaction of someone who is so aware of what he has been saved from, and so grateful for that rescue, that he longs to see others rescued and forgiven as he has been. It's not just that David thinks that their life might be a little bit richer if they knew God ... he sees that they have done evil in God's sight just as David has. And so he knows that their only hope is to have their sins washed away, as his have been.

Is that how we see our unbelieving family, friends and neighbours? Do we long to see them turn back to God not simply so they'd stop thinking we were weird(!) but so that they can have their sins washed away by Jesus. If I'm honest, I don't think I share David's priority here. But rather than needing a course of evangelism training, I think I need to remember again just what a blessing it is for me to be forgiven. So I'm praying that God would make me so grateful for my salvation that I would really want to share it with others. Perhaps you might want to pray the same?

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Back in verse 10, David asked God for a 'steadfast spirit". And perhaps you thought that that sounded a bit dreary. Steadfast can be the sort of word we associate with over-long walks in the rain: plodding along, one foot in front of the other, knowing you'll get there eventually but certainly not enjoying the experience! Some people see the Christian life like that - heaven sounds great but the business of living as a Christian in the meantime seems dull and burdensome.

This verse reminds us that when David thinks about 'steadfastness' he doesn't mean 'dull and dreary'. He knows that life in relationship with God is a GOOD thing. Not just an unpleasant necessity to be endured, until we get to the good stuff later on. There is joy in his relationship with God - joy in knowing that he is loved and chosen and rescued. That joy has been crushed under the weight of his sin, but it can be restored. And so he prays that it would be. He doesn't have to try and summon up joy from within himself - it is God's gift to him. Just as his salvation is actually God's salvation - achieved by God and given by God and not in any way David's own doing.

He also prays that God would give him a spirit that is not only steadfast but willing. That he would live out his relationship with God enthusiastically, rather than grudgingly.

What about us? Are you joyful about your salvation, and willing in your following of Jesus? Or unwilling, feeling that discipleship is a burdensome duty? Following Jesus will always be hard - after all, we are called to die to self and live for others, which is bound to be painful. But if we are sustained by the joy of knowing that we are loved, chosen, forgiven, rescued children of God, then we can follow Jesus willingly.

If that's your experience today, thank God for the gifts of salvation and joy. And if that's not how it feels for you right now, then pray as David does here, that God would restore your joy and willingness to follow him. And spend some time remembering your salvation, which is the best and most lasting source of joy we could ever have.

Psalm 51:11

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Throughout the Psalms we keep coming across this idea of God turning his face away from sinners, or sending sinners away from him. And I keep saying that if we are trusting Jesus we need never be afraid that it will happen to us.

But how can we be sure? After all, it's too important just to take my word for it! In fact, we have Jesus' own words to reassure us. In John 6 he says "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.' NEVER. However great our sins, however feeble our faith, however wobbly our discipleship, when we come to Jesus for forgiveness and help he will NEVER send us away. And because Jesus is with the Father right now, if we are always with Jesus then we are always in God the Father's presence. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does.

Not only that, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us, who teaches us not to sin, strengthens our weak faith and keeps pointing us back to Jesus so that we can keep following him.

So let's praise God today for the assurance that he will never send us away from him, and for the gift of his Spirit living in us. Let's pray that we would grow in our gratitude for these great blessings.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

David knows that deep down, in his heart, he is a sinner. His adultery and murder were not an accidental, out-of-character slip-up. They were the outworking of his lifelong sinful nature. And so he needs more than forgiveness. More than just having his sin wiped from God's record of his life. He needs a new nature. A new heart. This isn’t the prayer of a man becoming a believer for the first time - we know that David is already a follower of God. He has a new nature as well as his sinful nature. But as often as his heart is corrupted by sin, it needs to be made pure again. And as well as a pure heart he needs something else. A steadfast spirit. An inner perseverance to continually say No to sin and Yes to obeying God. It would be ridiculous to come to God for forgiveness of his sin if he fully intended to go back and live the same way again. But he knows that he cannot change unless God changes him.

In the same way, when we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness because of the death of Jesus, we also need more than that. We need the Holy Spirit to strengthen our desire to turn away from sin. We need him to grow in us a steady determination to live more and more like Jesus, and less and less like our sinful nature. We need him to strengthen our conviction that it is possible to fight against sin. We need him to make us resolute for that fight.

Today, let's each pray as David does here: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:9

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

When we looked at Psalm 80 together we saw how 'God's face' symbolised his relationship with his people. The psalmist prayed that God's face would shine on them with favour. Many other psalms contain prayers for God not to 'hide his face' - in other words, not to withdraw from his people or reject them.

This verse is unusual - it's the only the psalms where God 'hiding his face' is a good thing. But it makes sense - David knows much his sin offends God. He doesn't want God to have to look at it. But David knows, as we know, that sin is embedded deep within him. How can God turn away from David's sin without rejecting David himself? God would be completely justified in rejecting David completely, turning his face away once and for all. He would be justified in doing the same to us.

Yet, because of his love and mercy, Jesus came into the world to bear our sin. At the cross, the Father hid his face from the Son. Jesus bore God's rejection so that we don't have to.

So we, like David, can have our sin blotted out without us being blotted out forever. Our transgressions and wrongs can be washed away without us being completely swept away in judgement. God is able to both hide his face from our sin and shine his face us, as forgiven sinners.

Let's praise God for his grace and mercy, and confess our sins to him today, confident that they are fully and completely blotted out and taken away by the blood of Jesus.

Psalm 51:7-8

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

David has been totally honest about the seriousness of his sin. He has done evil. He is unclean before God. What's the solution? How can his sin be dealt with? Notice that he doesn't even consider trying to get rid of it himself. He knows that if he is to be made clean, it must be the God who he has sinned against who does it. But how? What can wash away his sin? The answer is ... hyssop! It's a plant. But not just any plant.

Hyssop is what God told the priests to use when he gave them instructions for cleansing unclean things. Everywhere in the Old Testament where we see hyssop used for cleansing, it's part of a ceremony that involves a blood sacrifice. Hyssop was what the Israelites used to paint the lamb's blood onto their doorposts, so that their firstborn sons would be spared, on the night when God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. When an Israelite heard the word 'hyssop' they'd probably picture a handful of sticks and leaves, dripping with the blood of a sacrifice. It's not the most obvious thing to use if you want whiter-than-white laundry! But it is the perfect thing to take away the guilt of sin. Only the blood of a perfect sacrifice can cleanse sinners.

So perhaps it's no coincidence that when Jesus, dying on the cross, is offered wine vinegar to drink, it's offered to him on a stick of hyssop. There, just as in the Old Testament ceremonies which foreshadowed it, hyssop + blood sacrifice = cleansing.

What can take away OUR sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, which washes us white as snow. Responding rightly to that means doing what David does in this psalm - both grieving the seriousness of our sin and rejoicing in our forgiveness. My sin is so serious it required the Son of God to be crushed in my place. How can I take that lightly? Yet because he was crushed, I can be free. I don't have to live weighed down for ever by the memory of my past failures. I can rejoice in the grace God has shown me.

So let's thank and praise Jesus today for the joy of knowing that our sins have been completely washed away at the cross.

Psalm 51:5-6

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

There's a strong similarity between the story of David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and Adam & Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and David have a God-given position as ruler and representative of the people (although in Adam's case the people who he represents haven't been born yet). Both saw something that they wanted, that God said they shouldn't have, and both took it anyway. Both then try to cover up their sin. But there is at least one way in which David is different - when he is confronted with his sin, he 'owns' it. When God speaks to Adam and Eve after they've eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they are quick to try and pass the buck, blaming each other, the serpent and even God himself ('if you hadn't put that woman here with me, none of this would have happened ...') David, on the other hand, knows that his sin is his fault. It's not just a momentary lapse of judgement, totally out of character, prompted by someone else's behaviour. He knows that he sinned because, deep down, he is - and always has been - a sinner. SInful from birth. In fact, even from before birth.

I don't think he's using that as an excuse - 'It's not my fault, God, I was born this way.' It's an acknowledgement that his sin problem goes right to the very heart of his character. It's who he IS. But, wonderfully, it's not ALL he is. He is also a man made and known and rescued by God. Even when his unborn body was being made in the womb, God was there with him, relating to him. At that point, God already knew that David would grow up to be a murderer and an adulterer, yet he still taught him wisdom.

Our sin problem is just as deep-rooted. We aren't basically good people who occasionally sin by accident. We are sinners by nature, from our earliest days. Yet the God who made us knew us and loved us before the universe was made. And so he sent us Jesus, the only man ever born without sin. The perfect representative of his people who resisted all temptation.

Let's confess our sin to God today without making excuses or passing the blame. And let's thank him for Jesus, through whom we have been given new birth and new hearts.

Psalm 51:4b

so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

We all want justice. We have an inner instinct that longs for right judgements and hates unfair decisions. We see it clearly in children, even from a very early age, railing against any perceived injustice: "it's not fair!" Yet we don't have a corresponding ability to judge rightly. We're very quick to judge others, even without knowing the facts. And even quicker to try to justify ourselves: 'It wasn't me', 'I didn't mean to', 'I know I shouldn't have, but if you'd heard what she said to me ....'

We love the idea of justice but we're unable to be just. We don't have all the information, and our inner jury is heavily rigged in our own favour.

Not only that, but we look around us and see so many examples of injustice in the wider world. Is there any real hope of justice and right judgements?

Praise God that he is the perfect judge. His verdict is always right. Under his rule, every judgement is completely fair. We may not see that worked out in the world around us yet, but one day it will be. There will be a day of judgment when every wrong ever committed will be fairly dealt with. We know that we also deserve to face that judgement, and later in this psalm we'll be reminded of why we don't need to be afraid of that. But we should still rejoice that God's justice is perfect and his character is righteous. Imagine if it wasn't. Imagine if the world was under the control of a powerful but unjust God. Imagine if the only justice to be had came from someone as biased and selfish as we are. That would be terrifying!

Let's praise God today that he is, and always will be, right in his verdicts and justified in his judgements.

Psalm 51:4a

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;

As we saw yesterday, David recognises his own sin and calls it what it is. Today we see that he also understands WHY it is so serious. He knows that when he sins, he sins against God himself.

If you're familiar with the Psalm, perhaps v.4 is no longer surprising. But as we slow down to think about it we see that this is actually an extraordinary thing to say! David has committed adultery and murder. We're not told whether Bathsheba was a willing participant in the 'affair' but in a '#MeToo' world, we would certainly call it an abuse of power and ask questions about the extent to which a woman in her situation could meaningfully consent. David has definitely sinned against Bathsheba's husband, and quite possibly against Bathsheba herself. He has sinned against his whole people by pursuing his own selfish desires in place of leading them faithfully in obeying God's commands. Yet he says he has sinned against 'God alone'. What? Doesn't he care about the human cost of his actions? Is he not yet fully repentant for his sin towards them? Yet these aren’t the words of an unrepentant man, trying to cover up or avoid responsibility for his actions. David knows that he has seriously wronged other people. I think what he means here is that his sin is also against God. And that sin against God is so serious that it completely overshadows the sin against other people. Not because he underestimates the seriousness of his actions on a human level, but because he rightly appreciates the seriousness of the even greater evil of sinning against God.

Do we? Do we recognise that when we do wrong, the offence against God is greater than the offence against the other person? As we consider that, we realise that our sin is so much more of a problem than we thought! After all, if I feel angry, or proud or envious towards someone else, but manage not to express it outwardly, I can easily think that I have nothing to repent of ... I didn't actually shout at them (although I wanted to), I didn't in fact tell them that their idea was utterly stupid and mine was so much better (although clearly, to me, it was). If I've managed to stop short of sinning against them in words and actions, then I'm OK. Aren't I?

We would certainly want to thank God for giving us that self-control! But if sin is primarily rebellion against God, then my heart is still guilty. In my pride I have valued myself more highly than another person made in God's image, and so devalued the creator. In my anger I have assumed that the world should be ordered entirely to suit me, and so dishonoured the real king. In my envy I have concluded that good gifts have been wrongly distributed, and so dishonoured the generosity of the ultimate giver. Even if I have spoken and acted impeccably towards other people, I've sinned against God in my heart. Let's confess to God the full extent of our sin, which goes far beyond what is visible to others. And let's praise him for his gracious love and forgiveness, which extend further still.

Psalm 51:3

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

I realise that many things about coronavirus have been terrible for many people, and I don’t want to make light of that in any way. Nevertheless, the Covid lockdown has also been useful, for me at least, in one way. It has shown me my sin more clearly! Perhaps the same is true for you.

Being in close contact with the same people for an extended time with no escape has probably reminded us that they are sinners but it also reveals that we are, too. I've seen my selfishness, my laziness, my impatience, my desire to build my own kingdom in which things are done my way, even more clearly than usual over the past few months. For those living alone the experience may be different, but I imagine that there have still been many opportunities for sin, and many temptations to use the greater privacy for ungodliness instead of godliness.

When we look back honestly over the past few months, or even the past few days, can we say with David 'I know my transgressions ... my sin is always before me'?

It's uncomfortable, isn't it? Looking straight at our sin and calling it what it is. It's much easier to try and ignore it, or explain it away ... 'I'm sorry I shouted, it's just that I'm so tired.' 'I know I shouldn't gossip about her behaviour, but I’m just so angry about it' Tiredness, hunger, suffering, strong emotions and many other things make us more prone to sin; they can provide both the opportunity and the motive. Nevertheless, sin is still sin. We might think we'll feel better about it if we hide it, or explain it away, or call it something else. But the only thing that can actually take our sin away is forgiveness through the death of Jesus. And the first step to forgiveness is to see our sin for what it is. Only then can we confess it honestly, to ourselves and to God, who already sees it much more clearly than we do. We have nothing to lose by being honest about our sin, as David is here.

So, if you are very conscious of your sin today, bring it to God, knowing that he is not surprised by it. And if you find it hard to recognise your sin, ask God to open your eyes to see it more clearly, so that you can call it what it is and bring it to him for forgiveness.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

So far in these psalms we've thought a lot about how God's unfailing love is a help to us in times of trouble. We've seen psalmists facing direct assault from armed enemies, and the treachery of deceitful accusations. But Psalm 51 reminds us that our greatest danger comes to us not from the world outside but from within. It is our sin, our transgressions, our iniquity, from which we most need to be rescued.

Perhaps we especially need to remember this at the moment, when we are so busy 'staying alert' to danger from 'out there'. Yes, Covid-19 is a danger, especially to those who are more physically vulnerable among us. But it's only a possible danger ... Something we MIGHT catch. Sin has infected us already. Every single one of us. There's no 'if I sin' or 'just in case I transgress' in these verses. David knows that his sin is a terrible, present reality, not just a vague future possibility.

This psalm is David's prayer after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, who rebuked him for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and for arranging the murder of Bathsheba's husband in an attempted cover-up. Bad enough for anyone to have done this, but David is the leader of God's people. He’s not only guilty of personal immorality but also of abuse of power and a failure of leadership. No wonder he's conscious of his sin!

Our experience won't be identical to David's, but we are still in the same boat. We need God to have mercy on us. We are sinners who need to be cleansed. Right now, I imagine that some of us are really conscious of our sin, some of us are weighed down by guilt for things that aren't actually sinful at all, and some of us are unaware of our guilt, wondering why we can't read a more encouraging psalm instead!

Let's pray that as we work our way through this psalm, God would be at work in each of us, opening our eyes to see clearly both the reality of our sin and the reality of his unfailing love and great compassion.

Psalm 80:19

Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we see again the repeated chorus of this psalm - a prayer that God would restore his people to their special relationship with him, look favourably on them and save them. These words are familiar, but if we look back through the whole Psalm, we see that verses 3, 7 and 19, while very similar are not identical. Verse 3 is addressed simply to God, verse 7 to God Almighty and verse 19 to the LORD God Almighty. There's a rising intensity to the prayer, expressed by adding something new to the description of God each time.

He is God - the one who deserves to be worshipped by his people (and all people everywhere). He is Almighty (or the 'God of hosts', the one who commands all of heaven's armies), powerful to save. And he is LORD. That is his covenant name, a reminder of his faithfulness to his people. This is who the psalmist prays to - the only one worthy of worship, they only one powerful to save, the only one committed to restoring wayward people because of his great love and mercy.

This is the same God who we pray to, too. And if our prayers don't have the same intensity as the psalmist's, if we pray once and then give up rather than persisting, perhaps we've forgotten who we're praying to. Maybe we also need to reflect on some of the names of God - in this psalm and throughout the Bible - so that we are reminded again of his awesome might and his faithful love. Let's praise him for those things today, and let's pray that our dependence on him would grow as our knowledge of him grows.

Psalm 80:18

Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

How competent do you feel today? How able are you to do the things that you want or need to do? I imagine that some of us feel totally UNable today. We may be ill or tired or struggling with difficult circumstances, either temporary or permanent, that make us really aware of our own weaknesses and inabilities. Perhaps we find it hard to see others apparently 'succeeding' - those who seem able to just get on and achieve what they set their minds to without the obstacles that we face. Others of us might be feeling more capable ... Right now we seem to have all the resources we need for life. We may not even understand why others are struggling. Whichever group we fall into, today's verse is a great leveller. Here is something that NONE of us can do for ourselves!

God’s people's greatest problem - at the time of this psalm and today - is their unfaithfulness to God. They just can't seem to consistently trust and obey him. They know that being his people is a great privilege yet they turn away and behave like the nations around them, worshipping things that are not God. They know that they need to return to God, and live as his people, but they just can't do it. They can't even call on his name without help. They, and we, are utterly helpless when it comes to restoring and remaining in relationship with God. And that really matters. Succeeding in life does us no good at all if we can't maintain a relationship with him.

Their only hope lies in the Son of Man at the Father's right hand. If God blesses them through Jesus, THEN they will be able to remain faithful. If God revives them by his Holy Spirit, then they will depend on him in prayer, calling on God's name instead of the names of their idols. The same is true for us. None of us can live in relationship with God unless God makes it possible. So, there is no room for self-sufficiency or pride ... If I am a Christian today, asking God for his help to trust and obey him, all the credit for that belongs to him. And there is no room for despair either ... however badly everything else in life may be going, God is able to keep me trusting and obeying him today.

Let's thank him for that and pray with the psalmist that God would revive and sustain us so that we would call on his name today and every day of our lives.

Psalm 80:17

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

Yesterday's verse warned us that at God's rebuke his people perish. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story. In the final 3 verses of the psalm we discover that there is still the possibility of restoration. Instead of judgement, they could receive the blessing the palmist is praying for. But how can that happen? Today's verse tells us. And, as we've already seen, it isn't because of anything that the people do. It's all God's doing. He reaches out his hand to bless. But who is this man at his right hand, who receives the blessing?

We saw, back in verses 1&2 that this psalm focuses especially on Joseph's family, including his younger brother Benjamin. The name Benjamin means 'the son of my right hand' . So when we read the first half of this verse it's natural to picture him being blessed by God. But the blessing is not just for him as an individual. He represents the whole tribe of Benjamin. One man's blessing benefits many people. Yet as we read on, the 'man' becomes a 'son of man'. Which could still describe Benjamin, but is also the name Jesus often uses of himself. From our perspective, this side of the cross, we see more clearly than the psalmist could Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, raised up from the dead, having taken the judgement that should have been ours. Jesus rightly deserves God's hand of blessing to rest on him. But we who are united with him by faith get to share it. One man's blessing benefits many people. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:16

our vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.

Have you ever experienced the frustration of giving an ineffective rebuke? Perhaps a family member, or friend, or colleague, says or does something that is clearly wrong or unacceptable, and you need them to know that it shouldn't ever happen again. Not simply because it annoyed you, but because what they did was dangerous in some way ... the colleague who is careless about computer security and risks deleting important data. The young child who discovers a box of matches and thinks the flames are pretty to play with. A rebuke can be appropriate but not always effective. We may feel frustrated when we see the same wrongs repeated over and over again, and nothing we say makes any difference.

God's rebuke is different. At his rebuke his people perish. God's words, by which everything was created, also have the power to destroy.

Maybe we're the ones who are insensitive to someone else's rebuke. We know that we're consistently saying or doing something that we shouldn't. Not just because it annoys someone else, but because it's actually wrong in God's sight. I don't mean those things where we're asking for his help to change but still sometimes failing. I mean something we're not even fighting against. We like what we're doing so much that we don't WANT to change. We're quite prepared to ignore anyone who tells us it's wrong, even God himself. After all, what can they really do about it? I seem to be getting away with it so far....

If that's you, be warned. God's rebuke IS effective. He may be patient now, giving us time to repent, but when he speaks in judgement, his word will be effective and there will be nothing we can do to escape it. So let’s seize the opportunity to repent today, confessing our sin and asking for help to change. Forgiveness is available in Christ for all who ask for it. But to wilfully persist in sin, without any desire to change, is to deliberately refuse that forgiveness.

And let's all of us pray that God would give us soft hearts that are quick to hear and obey his words, and quick to repent when we fail, taking refuge in Jesus who endured God's deadly rebuke in our place at the cross.

Psalm 80:14-15

Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.

I doubt know about you, but I'm finding this psalm quite surprising in places. Just when I think I know what the palmist is going to say next, he says the opposite! First we had the shock of discovering that the people's suffering comes not from their enemies, but from their God. They are the ones who turned away and broke the covenant. So surely the solution is going to be for them to repent and turn back to God. I'd expect v. 14 to say something like 'Return to God Almighty, you people! Look up to heaven and cry out for help.' In fact, it says the complete opposite. 'Return to us, God Almighty!'

Why does God need to return, since it was the people who went away from him? I don't think the psalmist is blaming God. 'This is all your fault, God, so you'd better fix it.' In fact, he doesn't dwell on whose fault it is at all. (We only know about the people's rebellion by remembering things we read elsewhere in the Old Testament). Rather, his focus throughout the whole psalm is on what needs to happen now. His repeated prayer is for God to 'restore' them, to 'return to' them. Not because they are the innocent party, abandoned by God. But because God is their only hope for rescue. The people are at fault, but they can't put it right for themselves. In v.18 we'll see what they must do next. But God's part comes first. If he will not return to them, they cannot be saved. If he will not choose to continue to be their God, they can never again enjoy the blessings of being his people. They are the root he has planted. They are the son he has raised up. Apart from him, they are nothing. Unless he looks on them with favour, they have no hope.

It's the same for us. When we sin, we turn away from God. Yet our hope of forgiveness and restoration is not in our ability to turn back. Our ability to make things right. Our ability to try harder and do better next time. Our hope of forgiveness and rescue is in God. His mercy. His grace. If he chooses not look on us with favour, no amount of repentance on our part will make any difference.

So let's praise him today that he HAS shown us favour, sending Jesus to die in our place. And let's be humbled by the reminder that he is, and always will be, our only hope for rescue and forgiveness.

Psalm 80:8-13

You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.

The reason that the psalmist prays for God to save his people throughout this psalm is because he knows that God is a saving God. He is asking God to do again what he has already done in the past. This is the same God who rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and led them into the promised land, driving out their enemies so that they could live in security and peace. They weren't just a tiny seedling, they were a great and flourishing vine, whose branches and shoots spread over the whole land.

But it didn’t last. We see in v.12-13 that God’s vineyard – his people – is no longer securely protected. The vine is trampled by animals and eaten by insects. A ruined shadow of its former self. The psalmist asks why, but he already knows the answer. The people had turned away from God. It is God who broke down the walls, but only because the people first broke the covenant.

When I read these verses, I find myself thinking 'What a waste.' Not only is the people's situation terrible in itself - insecure, fearing their enemies on all sides, poor and weak and helpless - but they also know what they have lost. The picture here shows us just how much better it is to live under God's blessings than to reject him. The people had been warned what would happen if they turned away from God. But they did it anyway, believing that going their own way would lead to something better that what God offered. That isn't just the experience of Old Testament people.

v.12-13 are a picture of the effects of sin in our lives, too. It brings ruin and destruction and disappointment. We know this. But we so easily forget. We need this picture clearly in our minds, for the moments when we are tempted to follow our sinful desires rather than go the way that the Spirit leads. We're so easily fooled into thinking that selfishness, greed, pride, anger or self-sufficiency will bring us the good things we want in life. When in fact they're all ways of knocking down the walls and letting in the wild animals that will destroy the blessings of our relationship with God.

Let's repent today of whatever sins we have believed will bring us something better than knowing God. And let's pray that we would increasingly turn away from sin and towards God, rather than the opposite.

Psalm 80:7

Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Here we read again the repeated 'chorus' of this psalm, that we looked at back in v3. We reflected on the great blessing it is to have God turn his face towards us and smile on us. But alongside the encouragement, this verse also contains an uncomfortable truth.

Why do we need God to smile on us? Not simply to make us feel better. But 'that we may be saved'. This God, whose blessing the palmist prays for repeatedly, is the one whose anger smoulders against his people for their rejection of him. They, and we, and everyone we will ever meet rightly deserve God's judgement. We need to be saved.

I was surprised by the number of people who liked 'The Blessing' and shared it online, who wouldn't necessarily think of themselves at Christians. But perhaps I shouldn't have been. After all, who wouldn't want the warm glow of blessing and favour from a higher power? It might not something they thought they needed, but it's still nice to have. The icing the cake.

Perhaps a 'blessing' song based on this verse wouldn't go down so well.... 'may his blessing be upon you, who are rightly facing judgement for your sin. May his blessing be upon you, so that you can be rescued from hell. May his blessing be upon you, because without it you will remain lost for ever.' For the person who doesn't yet see themselves as needing to be saved this verse doesn't seem to deliver quite the same warm glow. But for any of us who recognise our own sin, and God's holy righteousness, this verse is precious. What greater blessing could there be than to be saved fully and forever from all our sin and failure, so that we will never face God's judgement? This blessing is not just a warm glow, the icing on the cake. It's the thing we most need. And we can ask for it with even more confidence than the psalmist, because we live this side of the cross. So today, let's ask God to forgive our sins because of Jesus' death in our place. And let's praise him that he has rescued us to enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and restored relationship with him forever.

Psalm 80:6

You have made us an object of derision to our neighbours, and our enemies mock us.

We saw yesterday that God's people's suffering at the time of this psalm was a direct consequence of them turning away from him. It's bad enough that their rebellion caused them to lose their land and its blessings. But here we see that they also lose their reputation. Their neighbours laugh at them. Their enemies mock 'Thought you were God's special people, did you? Hasn't done you much good, has it?!' But to mock God's people is to mock God. If the reputation of God's people suffers, it reflects badly on God himself. Can't he protect them better? Has he changed his mind about his promises to them? Why, then, does God do this? Why risk his reputation and honour among the nations?

Perhaps we see the answer to that when we remember another time when God's chosen one was made an object of derision. At the cross, Jesus' enemies mocked him. In doing so they were mocking God himself. Why let that happen? Why let the one who deserves all glory, respect and praise be ridiculed? 2 reasons. Firstly, out of love for us. In the time of the palmist, God disciplines his people in order to bring them back to him. He accepts temporary dishonour, for his people and his own name, so that they can be restored. At the cross, Jesus is disgraced so that we can be forgiven. But secondly, just as importantly, it’s for God’s own greater glory. At the cross it seemed for a moment that God could be mocked. Yet because of the cross we discover that he is greater than we ever imagined. He is more gracious, more faithful, more loving, more forgiving, more righteous than we realised. The temporary disgrace only magnifies his glory. So, let's praise our glorious God today.

Psalm 80:4-5

How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smoulder against the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

Yesterday, we delighted in the idea of God turning his face towards us and shining his favour on us. But as today's verse make clear, that wasn't the palmist's experience. It's what he prays for, but it's not what he currently has. He, and all God's people, are actually experiencing God's right anger towards them. Perhaps this comes as something of a shock to us. So far in these psalms we've seen people suffering at the hands of their enemies, who are also God’s enemies. But now we see a nation suffering, and it turns out that their own God has done this to them. The God who fed his people with manna and quail in the wilderness now feeds them with tears. Why?

Back in Deuteronomy, when the people God had rescued from slavery stood on the brink of the promised land, Moses reminded them of the covenant God had made with them, and the blessings that they would enjoy if they remained faithful to him. But he also warned them of the curses that would come if they turned away. They would lose their land and suffer at the hands of their enemies ... exactly the situation that this Psalm describes. Deuteronomy 29:25-26 tells us that when the nations see this they will ask 'Why this burning anger?' and the answer will be 'because the people abandoned the covenant of the Lord ... and worshipped other gods.'

We live under a new covenant. Not all of our present suffering is the result of our personal sin. The curse we deserve been taken by Jesus at the cross. Will that make us care less about our sin than the psalmist did? Or will our gratitude for our salvation be an even more powerful motivation to trust and obey our gracious and merciful God? Let’s pray today that it would be.

Psalm 80:3

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

This verse is like the chorus of the psalm, repeated between each section. So, we'll come back to it a few times, and consider something different each time we read it. Today, we'll focus on the idea of God's face shining on us.

Do you remember 'The blessing' - an online music video which was widely circulated during Covid lockdown in the spring of 2020? It's a song, recorded by different Christians, beautifully edited together to show the unity and hope that we all share because of Jesus. Some of the words come from Numbers 6, when God tells Moses how the priests should bless the people of Israel: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace."

That's the blessing that the psalmist asks for here. He longs for God to smile on his people again. I love how personal this image is. Back in Numbers this blessing comes in the middle of a long list of instructions about how the people are to approach God, and the offerings they should bring. It would have been easy for them to get so caught up in the instructions that they started to think that their relationship with God was purely transactional, like the currency exchange window at the Post Office. 'I bring my offering to God and swap it for his favour and forgiveness'. Entirely forgetting that all the offerings take place in the context of a personal covenant in which God has become their God and they have become his people.

It's the same for us. We rejoice in 'the swap' of the cross, by which Jesus' death brings us forgiveness. But it isn't an impersonal transaction. Rather, it's the doorway to a personal relationship with God. Apart from Jesus, God's face would be turned away from us in judgement. Because of Jesus, God's face is turned towards us in love and blessing. His face shines on us, and we get to live in that light. Let's thank him for that today.

Psalm 80:2

shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.

The way that we describe a place or person often focusses attention on one particular aspect of their character or history. When we read about 'the Britain of Shakespeare and Dickens' we know that the writer wants us to be thinking about our literary heritage. But if we read 'the Britain of Stephenson and Brunel' then the focus isn't on literature, but on engineering.

In this psalm, as we've come to expect in the psalms, the psalmist responds to great sufferings by crying out to God. But he doesn't just appeal to 'God Almighty'. Instead, he describes God by his relationship to some famous names from history. What it is about God that he is remembering and wants us to focus on, by using that particular description?

To understand that, we need to know who these people are! In v.1 God is the shepherd of Israel which is another name for Jacob, the father of Joseph. Ephraim and Manasseh were two of Joseph's sons and Benjamin was Joseph's brother. Why name them particularly? I wonder if it's because the psalmist is remembering how God's might saved Joseph from trouble. Sold into slavery. Wrongly imprisoned. Forgotten by his friends. Joseph knew what it was like to suffer and feel abandoned, just like the psalmist.

But God rescued Joseph, raised him to an exalted position, and blessed him with sons – including Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. But they were not just individuals. They gave their names to three of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. What God did individually for Joseph, he repeated time and time again for that whole nation throughout the Old Testament. He awakened his might to come and save them. And so the palmist can cry out to God with confidence when he suffers. He knows that his God is a rescuing God who does not abandon his people.

What was true in the past for Joseph, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh was true for the psalmist hundreds of years later and is true for us today. Whatever our struggle or suffering or difficulty, God can be relied on to hear and help his people. Let's cry out to him for the help we need today.

Psalm 80:1

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

Those of you who are as old as I am might remember 'The West Wing' - a TV series from 20 years ago about a fictional President of the United States and his staff team. One of the things I loved about it was the way we saw the President 'behind the scenes' in his domestic life. One minute he is in the Oval Office, on the phone to another world leader, exerting all his power and influence as the head of a great superpower. The next minute, he's eating chilli at home with his teenage daughter. Sometimes it's hard for his daughter to understand his exalted position - to her, he's just 'Dad'. Both scenes are a true and accurate reflection of who he is, all the time, even though they seem so different.

Yesterday we were reminded that God is our shepherd. But in fact, that's only half of verse 1! Here in the second half we have another description of him. It might seem very different from the comforting, personal, gentle picture of a shepherd, but both pictures are 100% true of God, all of the time.

Here we see that God is the one 'enthroned between the cherubim'. That is, he is the holy and exalted God who is continually worshipped by heavenly beings who we struggle to even imagine. He is both right with us, to lead and protect AND exalted and glorious, deserving of all praise and worship, so awesome and holy that we sinners ought not to be able to come anywhere near him.

Perhaps it is because we find this so hard to imagine that back in Exodus, God commanded Moses to make the ark of the covenant, to be kept in the tabernacle (and later, in the temple) as a picture of both God's presence and his inaccessibility to sinners. The ark was covered in gold, and had golden cherubim attached to its top with their wings outstretched. The ark was kept behind a curtain, accessible only to the High Priest under very particular circumstances. Between these wings was the place where God symbolically dwelled - right in the middle of his people, yet unapproachably holy.

The fact that God is our shepherd is wonderfully comforting, but we should never think that he is ONLY that. He is, always, also the one who dwells in unapproachable light and holiness, awesome ruler over all things. Mighty, righteous, majestic and good beyond anything we can properly imagine. Enthroned between the cherubim. Let's worship him for that today.

Psalm 80:1a

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.

Today we're starting Psalm 80. Although we're not told exactly when and why it was written, if you read through the whole psalm it seems that God's people are suffering under God's discipline, so it could well have been written hundreds of years after David's time, when the nation of Israel had been invaded and taken into captivity by her enemies.

In the midst of this difficult situation, the psalmist cries out to God, confident that God is still 'the shepherd of Israel'. 'Shepherd' is such a powerful picture of what God is like that he doesn't need to go into details to spell it out. Even 21st century city-dwellers recognise that a shepherd is someone who leads, protects and provides for his sheep. He commits himself to their well-being. There is a relationship between the shepherd and his flock - the shepherd doesn't wander around looking for any old sheep to feed. He cares for HIS sheep. They belong to him and with him.

This picture of God as a shepherd appears in various places in the Old Testament. Back in Genesis 48, Joseph himself says 'God has been my shepherd all my life to this day.' So, when Jesus arrives on the scene and announces in John 10 'I am the good shepherd' it's not just that 'shepherd' happens to be a good description of his life and ministry and self-giving death. He's deliberately describing himself using a very familiar picture of God's relationship with his people.

So today, let's thank and praise God that he is the one who leads, guides, protects and provides for us, his people. And let's thank him especially for sending Jesus to be the good shepherd who laid down his life for us, his sheep.

Psalm 33:22

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

This verse echoes verse 18 in making a connection between our hope and God's unfailing love. We can be confident that God will rescue and deliver us because he loves us with an unfailing love - he doesn't get bored of us, or give up on us, or encounter obstacles which prevent him doing the good he wants to do for us.

But there's also a difference between these verses. V.18 is a statement of fact. 'The eyes of the Lord are on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.' V.22 is a prayer 'May your unfailing love be with us, even as we put our hope in you.'

Why does the psalmist bother asking for what he already knows is true? I think it's because he wants it to be true of HIM. He's making it personal. It's one thing to acknowledge that the only secure thing to hope in is God's unfailing love. But to pray that this would actually be MY only hope, our only hope, goes further. To know that God is gracious, or patient, or forgiving is wonderful in theory. But it doesn't actually change my life unless he is gracious towards me, patient with me, forgiving of me.

That's where prayer comes in. Prayer is taking God's character and promises - the things he is and does - and asking that they would be true for us. Making them personal. Taking hold of them to bring them into our own, everyday lives. That's why we pray for things that are already true. We ask God to be gracious towards us, not because he isn't gracious already, but because we know that he IS gracious, and we want to experience more of it for ourselves.

Of course, we can ask for other things as well, when we pray - for better sleep, success at work, improved health, an end to coronavirus. But those are a different kind of request. Then, we're asking that God would make something true that isn't true yet. Which he can do. And he will do, at the right time, if it is for our good and his glory. It's right to ask him about these things that concern us, but prayers like that will always be provisional ... 'if it is your will, please would you ...'

What a shame, then, if those requests become the only things we ever ask God for. Why would we not want to especially ask for things that we know are guaranteed? To pray, as the psalmist does here, for things that are already true to be true for us. Perhaps we think it's pointless - why ask for what God is already doing anyway? Because we're making it personal. Prayer isn't about getting God to do something he wouldn't otherwise have done. It's about developing our relationship with him. About taking what we know to be true about him in general, and holding onto it firmly for ourselves.

So, let's pray today that what we see of God in this psalm - his unfailing love, his vigilant care and rescue of his people - would be true for us, and that we would increasingly put our hope in him.

Psalm 33:21

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

How does the idea of ‘trusting God’ make you feel? Totally secure, in the arms of an all-powerful, all-loving heavenly Father? Or dangerously at sea, all out of your own ideas and resources, and forced to reluctantly fall back on Plan B, at least until you can get Plan A up and running again?

I have to admit, sometimes ‘trusting God’ feels more like a negative, rather than a positive. When our situation is hard we may say, through clenched teeth, “I suppose I just need to trust God more.” But what we really want is for things to be easier, for the pain to go away, for life to go back to ‘how it ought to be’, so that we don’t have to trust God quite so desperately.

That’s not what the psalmist has in mind when he thinks about trusting God. The psalmist’s experience of trust isn’t a grim, clenched-teeth, last-resort thing. It’s joyful. God’s people’s hearts rejoice because they trust in God. Why is that? It’s because of what they know about God – his name, in other words his character.

As we’ve seen from this psalm, our God is faithful, righteous, just, loving and awesomely powerful. So, to trust in this God is to put ourselves utterly in the hands of one who is totally committed to doing what is good and right. However hard our situation, we have no need to fear the outcome with a God like this in charge. Trusting him is the first and best choice we can make, not a reluctant fall-back plan when all else fails.

Let’s praise God for his holy name and righteous character, which make trusting in him such a blessing. And let’s ask him to deepen and strengthen our trust in him, so that our hearts might rejoice in him more and more.

Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

What are you waiting for today? The sun to come back out? A delivery to arrive? A child to grow out of a particularly frustrating stage of development? We do a lot of waiting. Yet we're not always very good at it. So often, waiting feels frustrating to us. We think it is time wasted. Wouldn't it be better if what we wanted came sooner?

Waiting is a common theme in the Bible - God's people are a waiting, hoping people. Why? Because God is a promise-making, promise-keeping God.

If God just did everything immediately, we would never need to wait. Think back over the stories of the Old Testament. If God had rescued the Israelites from slavery straight away, and deposited them directly in the promised land, it would have saved a whole lot of time and waiting and difficulty - no plagues in Egypt, no Passover, no wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. But then, why wait till they were slaves? Couldn't he have rescued them BEFORE things got tough? In fact ... why bother with sending them into Egypt at all? Why not just establish Abraham in the Promised Land back in Genesis 12? Wouldn't that have been so much better? Instead, God made a promise to Abraham that he, and the generations after him, had to wait hundreds of years to see fulfilled. Why? In the same way, we might ask 'Why can't we just have heaven now? Why all the waiting?' Well - we're not told directly, so it would be both foolish and arrogant to think that we know God's thinking when he hasn't told us. But I think at least one little bit of the answer is to do with God making and keeping promises.

God's priority in all his dealings with us is relationship. He's not primarily interested in accomplishing a particular end result in the most efficient way. He's primarily committed to being in loving relationship with his people, and to enabling us to be in loving relationship with him. Which means that he wants us to know him. To see his character at work and grow in our understanding of what he is like. We only know that God is a faithful, promise-keeping God because we see him make promises and then keep them, even in the face of significant obstacles. We only know how committed he is to us, his people, because we have a whole Bible full of examples of God working to fulfil his purposes, sometimes over generations. If God accomplished everything instantly, how would we ever know anything about his faithfulness, his patience, his unfailing love?

It is for our good, and God's glory, that we get to see him make promises and then keep them. But that requires waiting. There's got to be a gap between the promise and its fulfilment. The longer the gap, the more clearly we see his faithfulness. So, there has to be waiting. But there is also hope. Because the fulfilment ALWAYS comes. Perhaps not as soon as we would have chosen. But always at the right time, according to God's perfect wisdom.

Let's praise God for that today, and ask for his help to be a people who wait in hope.

Psalm 33:18-19

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Yesterday we reflected on the way that we often find ourselves putting our confidence and hope in things that are not God. Yet none of those things can save us. 'But' says v.18, there is one who can deliver us. There is one who does live up to the hope we put in him.

The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him. It's an echo of v.13 - God watches us from heaven. Not, as we said then, like someone slumped, bored, in front of the TV or a security guard waiting for us to step out of line. Here we see what God's watching IS like ... it's the close attention of the poolside lifeguard who never takes their eyes off the swimmers, ready to jump in and rescue them the moment they are in danger.

God delivers us from death. Yet, we know, each one of us will one day die. How can the psalmist promise that God's people will be kept alive in famine, when around the world we see so many - including Christians - who do die of starvation? Again, we need to remember that the psalmist is writing under the terms of the Old Covenant, where material prosperity was used as a picture of God's blessings. Under that covenant, material suffering - illness, famine, war etc. – was the consequence facing those who turned away from God. So I think that 'keeping them alive in famine' is a way of saying that God's people won't suffer the same judgement that awaits God's enemies. Those who put their hope in God are delivered from the curse and punishment which they deserved for their sins and instead get to enjoy God's blessings, because of his mercy and unfailing love.

Living under the New Covenant, our blessings are primarily spiritual. So, we will one day die, but we will be delivered through death into eternal life with God. We may even physically starve in this life, but we will never be without Jesus - the bread of life - who sustains us spiritually now and with whom we will feast forever in the new creation.

None of the 'God-substitutes' that we thought about yesterday can do that. God alone can preserve us in this life until the day he decides to take us to be with him. God alone can deliver us through death into eternal life. He is the only one who is truly worth hoping in.

Let's praise him for delivering us from death, through the death of Jesus in our place. And let's ask for his help to keep us trusting and hoping in him alone, whether we live in times of plenty, or times of famine, or anything in between.

Psalm 33:16-17

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

Where is your confidence? What do you rely on to make everything alright? None of us has an army. I doubt that many of us even have a horse! And if we did, we probably wouldn't be relying on it for our safety. But we all have something that acts as our comfort blanket. Something that we trust in. As long as I've got .... then everything will be OK. For some it's money in the bank. Or success at work. Or having the house just right. For some it's another person, perhaps a parent, or a husband, or even children - it's their job to make us feel safe and secure. Providing they do what we need them to, everything's OK. Some of us trust in ourselves - maybe in our physical beauty, our intellect, or a particular skill or talent. What is it for you?

Whatever it is, if it's anything other than God, it won't actually save us. It can't deliver us from danger. It can't live up to the hope that we're putting in it. These things aren't rubbish - money in the bank DOES make life easier. Other people ARE a source of real comfort and help. An army IS powerful. A horse IS strong. Any of these things can be great blessings from God, to be received with thankfulness. But they cannot save. They may be useful in life, but they can't protect us from death. They may shield us from some of the effects of suffering in this world, but they can't offer us a place in a better world.

In our family bible times at the moment we're reading the book of Daniel. We've seen how King Nebuchadnezzer, ruler of the Babylonian Empire - the great superpower of the time - lost all his mighty power and lived for a time like a wild animal, because he trusted in his own greatness instead of being humble before God. He had money, armies, horses, power and achievement far beyond anything we can even imagine. But in the end they did him no good at all. In fact, they were actually bad for him - they fooled him into thinking he didn't need God.

As we'll see tomorrow, God alone is our strength and hope and rescuer. So let's repent today of putting too much of our confidence in the wrong places, and ask God to teach us to accept his good gifts with humble thankfulness, instead of using them as God-substitutes in our lives.

Psalm 33:13-15

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling-place he watches all who live on earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

During the Covid-19 lockdown it occurred to me just how easy it is to assume that something is pointless if no-one else ever sees it. Why bother doing the washing up/cleaning the flat/getting dressed in the morning, if no-one else is even going to notice? When we were largely confined to the house, I found myself wearing things that were previously banished to the back of the wardrobe 'because no-one (outside the family) is going to see me today'!

Yet these verses remind us that there IS someone who sees us, even when we feel invisible to the rest of the world. Someone who notices everything that we think has gone unnoticed.

I wonder how you feel about that? Is it an encouragement, that you are not forgotten? Or is it a guilt-inducing rebuke, reminding you of everything you do, say and think that you'd prefer was unseen?

How we feel about these verses probably depends on the mental picture that we have of God. Is he the bored TV-watcher, seeing everything but distant from it all, totally unengaged and unconcerned about what is going on? Or is he the security guard, sat in front of a panel of CCTV screens, constantly on the lookout for evidence of wrong-doing? No! Remember verse 5 ... God is full of unfailing love. Remember verse 12 ... God's people are blessed to have been chosen by him. As he watches us from heaven, he does so as a father who cares for us. Yes, he sees our sin - even the sins of our thoughts and attitudes that we manage to hide from everyone else. But our response to his gaze needn't be to try and bury those things deeper, or hide from him in despair. Instead, we can confess our sins, confident of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. And we can ask the one who forms our hearts to be at work, remaking our hearts and minds, our attitudes and actions, so that we become more like Jesus. Not just smartening us up on the outside, where others can see it, but transforming us deep within.

Let's praise God today that his all-seeing eye is not a threat to hide from, but a wonderful reminder of his grace. And let's confess to him the sins that he already sees, thankful for the death of Jesus that brings us forgiveness.

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

So far in this Psalm we have been reminded of many wonderful things about God. He is faithful, righteous, just and endlessly loving. His word is true and right and powerful enough to bring all creation into being. His plans stand firm, his purposes alone will last for ever. No wonder the psalmist thinks we should praise this Lord! Who wouldn't want to know and worship and obey a God like that? We can see why a people whose God is this God are blessed!

In the psalmist's time, to belong to God's people was to be part of the nation of Israel. Even then, 'outsiders' were welcome to become part of God's people. Think of Rahab, in the time when Joshua led Israel to take possession of Jericho. Or Ruth, originally from Moab, who takes the God of Israel as her God. The Old Covenant blessings were expressed materially in terms the Promised Land, an actual place with physical borders, and so God's people were identifiable as a specific nation. To become a follower of God meant 'opting in' to being part of Israel, and physically coming to live there. But now we live under the New Covenant, brought about by the death of Jesus. Our blessings are primarily spiritual. Our 'promised land' is heaven. And so we are no longer constrained by geography. Revelation tells us that God's people are made up of those from EVERY tribe and tongue and language and nation.

God's people are no longer confined to one single nation. But v.12 remains true: Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Blessed are we who belong to him, because of Jesus. He chose us before the creation of the world to be his inheritance. His righteousness and faithfulness and love are directed towards US. His true words are spoken to US. His sure plans and purposes are good for US.

Whatever our particular circumstances today, we are still blessed beyond anything we deserve, if we can say that the God so wonderfully described in this Psalm is OUR God and we are his children. Wherever we were born, whatever our background or language or skin colour or passport. We now belong, securely and forever, to the people of God. Let's praise him for that today.

Psalm 33:10-11

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Whose plans dominate your life? Yours? Or God's? That’s an awkward question, isn't it? We know what the 'right' answer is! We should be people who live to serve God's purposes. In our best moments, we WANT to be like that. To be able to pray 'Your will be done' and really mean it. But often, for me at least, it's MY plans that dominate my mind. We can tell when we're thinking this way by the things we ask for when we pray. 'Lord, please bless what I'm about to do, please take away the obstacles to my success, please remove this irritating situation which is getting in the way of what I want' without ever asking 'Lord, what is it that YOU want to accomplish in and through me today?'

So v.10 is uncomfortable ... What if I don't want a God who is going to foil my plans and thwart my purposes?! That's why we're reading verses 10 and 11 together. v.11 reminds us that only God's purposes are secure. Even if we get our own way, and our plans work out, they won't last. We are limited, finite creatures, and nothing we do really endures. I think that's why we're so fascinated by really old things, that have endured through generations - because it's so incredibly rare for human achievements to last that long. Only God can do anything that will last throughout every generation to come. Only his plans will outlast the end of this world and live on into eternity. Even the oldest human monuments and achievements will be swept away when this earth is destroyed. But God's plans stand firm for ever.

Looked at from that perspective, my obsession with my plans is ridiculous. Who am I to expect that God exists to serve my purposes? To make my agenda run more smoothly? How completely inappropriate to imagine that his divine power and wisdom would be best used in accomplishing my fleeting and often foolish goals! It is a wonderful truth that God DOES care about the detailed circumstances of our lives. We can bring to him all our needs and concerns. But that doesn't mean that it's his job to serve our plans. Rather, it's an amazing privilege that - somehow - all the details of our lives are woven into HIS plans. We get to do and say things each day that form part of his lasting purposes. When we glorify and worship God, when we obey him, when we share the gospel with someone, when we co-operate with the Spirit to put sin to death in our lives and become more like Jesus, we are taking part in something that really does last forever.

Let's praise God that his plans and purposes endure. And let's ask for his help to commit ourselves to his plans rather than our own. 'Your will be done, in my life, and throughout the earth, as it is in heaven.' Amen!

Psalm 33:9

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Already in this Psalm we have reflected on the fact that when God speaks, things happen. God says 'Stars!' and whole galaxies of them appear. His word is powerful not only in creation, but in the new creation that comes through the word of the gospel. God says 'Live!' and spiritually dead sinners are brought to life, as righteous children in God's family.

We've already acknowledged that God's words have a power that our words can never have. His words are always effective. But in this verse we see another important difference between his words and ours. What God commands stands firm for as long as he intends. Our words, even when they work, wear off. How many times have we had to say the same thing to someone over and over again? There are people I've known for years, who don't drink tea or coffee, who I still offer hot drinks to automatically. No matter how many times they tell me that they only want cold water, they still have to say it again next time they visit. Their words don't last.

But God's word endures for ever. What he says stands firm. He doesn't need to recreate the stars every night - they remain. Which is good news for us, if we have been called into new life through the death of Jesus. The word that brought us spiritual life never wears off. It doesn't have an expiry date. All God's promises to us last for ever. Let's praise and thank him for the assurance that gives us today.

Psalm 33:8

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

Verses 6 & 7 have reminded us of God's mighty power in creation. As we reflect on the immensity of the galaxy, and the power of the oceans, it is right that we feel small. The sheer scale of creation reminds each of us that we're not actually the centre of the universe. But we can't stop there. The purpose of creation is to declare God's glory. It exists not simply to make us feel small but to remind is that God is great. Nature may be awe-inspiring, but it's not nature itself we should be awed by, but God.

And so the right response, as we gaze at the stars, or contemplate the sea, is to revere the Lord. To fear God.

If we are trusting in Jesus, that fear is not the terror of an unforgiven sinner facing judgement. Rather, it is the reverence due to a holy God who has - extraordinarily - chosen to make us his children, at the cost of his only son.

Do you ever think that, because we get to call God 'Dad', we don't really need to revere him? I often think that way, but I'm realising that I shouldn't. As we look at the cross, don't we see that God is MORE awesome than we realised, not less? More holy, more loving, more righteous. We who are his children get to know him far better than the non-Christian who has never opened a Bible. Wouldn't we expect that growing knowledge to make us more in awe of him, rather than less? In fact, Proverbs tells us that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge'. Refusing to rightly fear him is foolishness. So let's pray today that we would grow in our reverence for God, and live as those who rightly fear and honour him.

Psalm 33:7

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

One of the things that we really missed, as a family, during lockdown, was the sea. Usually in the Spring we'd have at least a couple of day trips to the coast, to sit on the beach and look out at the sea. Huge and wide, stretching away as far as the horizon. Perhaps because we don't have enormous mountains in this part of the world, the sea gives us a rare glimpse of perspective. It is vast and we are very small. Our girls have been taught from an early age that, even though it is beautiful, the sea is a potential danger, a powerful force to be treated carefully. 'Respect the water' as the RNLI slogan says. We only need to think of the destruction caused by a tsunami to realise that the sea is powerful beyond anything that we could ever hope to control.

The Bible talks about the sea in that way, too. Often, the sea is a picture of chaotic forces, filled with enormous and potentially destructive creatures. That's why Revelation tells us that in the new creation there is no longer any sea. It's not that God is depriving us of the joy of a day on the beach. Rather, it's an expression of safety - the dangerous forces of uncontrolled waters will no longer be a threat to us, as they are now.

If we read verse 7 imagining a calm tide, gently lapping at our feet then it will sound quite poetic, but also a bit pointless. But as we read it, consider the sea as it really is - vaster than we can properly imagine, full of energy with the potential to overwhelm the land, destroying everything in its path. Now we're glad that there is an Almighty God who put the waters in their appointed places back in Gen 1, and who keeps them there. Let's praise him for his power over all created forces, today. And thank him for sending Jesus - who could still a raging sea with a word - so that we will one day enjoy complete and permanent safety with him forever.

Psalm 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

One day last summer, we had a picnic outside, which was briefly interrupted by a stranger's over-enthusiastic Labrador. It took the owner several attempts to get the dog to return to them. Our sausage rolls were apparently more compelling than the owner's voice. Any of us who've tried to control a hungry dog, or a small child, will know that our words are - at best - only sometimes effective.

But God's word is always effective. We saw in v.4 that what he says is true. In fact, what God says MAKES something true. All was utterly dark until God said 'Let there be light' and suddenly 'it is light' was true, and 'it is dark' wasn't. God simply spoke, and whole galaxies of stars appeared. God's words have power and authority unlike anything else.

Even more amazingly, this word is personal. John 1 tells us that 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.' Jesus himself is 'the word' of God. He is the one by whom and for whom everything was made, even the stars. If you're wondering 'How exactly is it that God's word, which he speaks, can also be a person?' .... Well, me too! But our wondering needn't be the kind that makes us give up thinking, because it's too confusing! Instead, let it be the kind of wonder that fills us with awe, and leads us to worship Jesus - the one who made all things and who is so great that he simply breathes out a cosmos whose edges we are nowhere near discovering. Let's praise and worship him, today.

Psalm 33:5

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

What is your world full of right now? Uncertainty? Exhaustion? Frustration? Joy? Sunshine? Rest? What is the whole world full of right now? Covid-19? Fear? Acts of kindness, even heroism? All those things may be true, and you could think of many others.

But let's not forget, the whole world is ALSO full of God's unfailing love. The Hebrew word is 'hesed' and it's a really common Bible word, variously translated as 'love', 'kindness', 'goodness' and 'mercy'. If you know the Jesus Storybook Bible, you'll be familiar with Sally Lloyd-Jones' wonderful phrase 'God's Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.' That's 'hesed'

It's not so much something God does (occasionally, when he remembers or it seems necessary). It's something God IS. All the time. He is completely full of goodness, kindness, mercy and unfailing love. God's love is so abundant that it overflows into the whole world. The earth is full of it. There's nowhere you can go to get away from it. Wherever you are, whatever happens to you today, you are never out of reach of God's unfailing love. When your love for him or for others fails, his love for you doesn't.

Let's praise him for that today. And ask for his help to remember that whatever our lives are filled with right now, they are also filled with his unfailing love, goodness, mercy and kindness.

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

I don’t know what’s in the news today, as you listen to this. But I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime this week there’s a headline about a celebrity caught doing something that doesn’t match their carefully-constructed image, or a politician acting in a way that doesn’t live up to their promises. We’re used to figures in public life not living up to their words. We may be frustrated and disappointed when it happens but we're rarely completely shocked. It's normal for public figures to sometimes say one thing and do another. Or to say one thing in public and another in private.

It's normal, and not completely surprising, because we know that we do it too. None of us is consistently right and true in what we say. Even when we do our best to reject every kind of deception, and try to speak only truth, we can never be 100% right. We just don't know enough. Very often, we THINK we are right, but then more facts emerge and it turns out we're wrong after all. Even the most trustworthy among us cannot claim that our every word is right and true.

But God can. He only ever thinks and speaks what is right. He knows all things. He alone never has to backtrack, because new evidence has emerged. He alone never has to apologise for jumping to a wrong conclusion.

His words are true. He himself IS truth. There is no deceit in him. He doesn't ever have to weigh up the different things he might say next, and decide whether he prefers to tell the truth or to lie. Every word God has ever spoken is 100% true. So true, that his word actually defines the way reality is.

And so he is faithful in all he does. He never has to change his plans part-way through, because he discovers he was wrong. He never has to swerve off course, to cover up a mistake or avoid being caught in a lie. Everything he says is good and true, so he can consistently do what he says he will do. He is faithful to all his promises.

There is absolutely no-one else in the world of whom that is true. The best and most honest person we know will never be always, completely right. We can't even consistently trust ourselves. But we can trust God. His words will never fail us. His actions will always be right. Let's praise him that he is right and true and faithful. And let's commit ourselves afresh to trust HIS words above anyone else's, even our own.

Psalm 33:2-3

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy.

Hands up anyone who's got their ten-stringed lyre out recently! I'm guessing that's none of us. I'd be surprised if we could even muster a harp. Shall we just skim over these verses, then, and move onto the next bit?!

Of course not! After all, as we saw yesterday, it is 'fitting' to praise God. He is praise-worthy, so of course we, his people, should praise him. We probably don't often say 'I haven't got a lyre, so I won't praise God.' Yet we might sometimes say something similar .... 'I don't really FEEL like praising God today. I haven't got the right emotions, so I won't praise God.' 'God really deserves me to spend half an hour praying and praising him and I've only got 2 minutes while I load the dishwasher. I haven't got the right amount of time, so I won't praise God.' Yes, the psalmist tells us to sing 'skillfully' - God absolutely does deserve the best that we've got. It would be well worth looking for a way to find more than 2 minutes at some point if it’s in any way possible.

But better to give him the best of what we've actually got, right now, rather than do nothing because of what we haven't got. If I don't have the 'right' emotions, better to praise him that he still hears me when I sob, rather than say nothing to him until I feel better. If I don't have the right time, better to praise him in 2 minutes, with fingers covered in crumbs, than say nothing to him until I have an uninterrupted half hour. After all, when the joy comes, or the half hour comes, we can praise him AGAIN then! But in the meantime, let's praise the Lord with whatever we've got.

During lockdown, at 8pm every Thursday many people discovered that you can make quite a lot of enthusiastic noise with a voice, your hands, and perhaps a saucepan and a wooden spoon. If we can muster a weekly outburst of praise for 1000s of NHS staff and carers, most of whom we've never met, why wouldn't we want to raise an equally enthusiastic shout to the God who made us, loves us, saved us and sustains us?

So, let's grab whatever comes to hand, whether it's an instrument or a Spotify account, a lone voice, or a family banging spoons on saucepans, and use it to praise God today.

Psalm 33:1

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Sing! Praise God! Rejoice! We've read verses like this a lot over the past few weeks. Is it starting to feel a little repetitive?! Perhaps it's not very surprising, since we are in the songbook of the Bible. We should expect songs of praise to God to be a big theme.

And it's certainly good for us to keep being reminded to praise him. The world is always telling us to do all kinds of things - buy this! watch that! take more exercise! seize the day! Billions of pounds are invested in capturing our attention, and then encouraging us to do something/buy something/be something. But there's no ad campaign for praising God. Unless you've been VERY deliberate about the settings on your phone, the chances are that you don't get many notifications during the day reminding you to rejoice in the Lord!

And so we need this psalm today, reminding us AGAIN to praise God. Why? Because it is 'fitting' for God's people to praise him. It's appropriate. It's what he deserves. It's the right thing for God's people to do. Today and every day.

But what if I don't feel like praising God? Isn't rejoicing supposed to be emotional? Isn't it hypocritical to praise God when I don't feel like it?

On the days when we're asking those questions, I think we also need to ask ourselves 'Is it fitting to praise God today?' 'Is it appropriate?' 'Is God praise-worthy today?' The answer to those questions is ALWAYS '100% Yes!'

Therefore we can still praise him. Not hypocritically, pretending to feel things that we don't feel. Rather, we can praise him honestly: 'Lord, everything feels terrible right now, but I praise you that you still hear me when I cry to you.' 'Father, your word tells me that you are good and that heaven is real. I honestly don't feel like that's true but I praise you that I once believed it. Please help me to believe it again.' And when we can't even do that, then we can read a psalm of praise and tell God that that's what we wish we could say right now, and ask him to make us able to say it and mean it. Or we ask a friend to praise God for us, and to pray for us, and we simply say Amen. Because it is always fitting to praise God. Whatever our situation, he himself is always worthy of our praise. So let's praise him today. And let's pray for those we know who are finding it hard to praise, that God would enable them to praise him, too.

Psalm 5:12

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

How useful is "God's favour"? What difference does it make, knowing that the God who rules over all things welcomes you as a child instead of turning his back on you as a sinner? Why does it actually matter?

For many people, Christianity is irrelevant because they don't think they need God's favour. It’s a bit like a rainbow - very nice if you happen to like that sort of thing, a beautiful addition to life, hovering in the background. But not useful. Not necessary.

Perhaps "God's favour" mostly matters to you because it'll keep you out of hell and get you into heaven. It's a bit like an insurance policy - you'll need it one day, so it's comforting to know that it's there, ready. But it doesn't do anything for you right now.

David knows that God's favour surrounds him like a shield. David knows what is like to face powerful enemies, intent on destroying him. David is a man who knows the value of a shield. If he likens God's favour to a shield, he must think it is important, something we truly need. Not a rainbow, mildly improving the look of our life, but something actually useful. Not an insurance policy, tucked away in a back pocket for when we die, but something for now.

Reading back through the whole Psalm we see the difference that God's favour makes to David's life in practice. He can speak to God and God will listen (v1-3). He is welcome in God's presence, to worship him (v7). God leads him in the straight way of righteousness and truth (v8). God is his protection and refuge, so that he can rejoice (v11).

God has blessed us with his favour. He has made us righteous. And so today is different. God hears me when I speak. He welcomes me when I am lonely or afraid, or conscious of my sin. He leads me when I am confused or weary and wanting to give up. He gives me reasons to rejoice in him. Surely nothing is more useful, more precious, more a reason for thankfulness, than God's favour? Let's thank him for it, and enjoy it, today.

Psalm 5:11

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Here we get to the 5th and final type of prayer in this Psalm ... praise/rejoicing.

Joy is in short supply in our house this morning. Between us all we are variously ill, tired, grumpy, missing people who we can't see, frustrated by the ones we can see, bored, busy yet achieving nothing significant, and disappointed - with ourselves, each other and our circumstances. Rejoice David? Really? I don't think so! Not today.

I'm probably being melodramatic, but I'm reminded of the Israelites in exile: "how can we sing the songs of God in a strange land?" (Psalm 137). How can we rejoice when people are dying, the country is crumbling, we can't hug our parents, we can't plan ahead ...? How can I rejoice when I'm finding out that I'm so much less godly under pressure than I wanted to believe I would be.

No. We can't rejoice in our situation right now. Or in our ability to handle it well. Or even in the hope of everything going back to normal any time soon. But David doesn't expect us to. He knows that the ones who 'ever' sing for joy - those who can be joyful no matter what - are those who take refuge in God. Our rejoicing is not in our circumstances or in ourselves but in God himself.

There isn't a whole load of joy in our house this morning. But there is abundant joy to be found in the Lord. Boundless love, to meet our loneliness. Endless grace, sufficient for all our failures. Solid truth, to ground us when we're tempted to despair. All these, and so much more, are ours in him. I think I can rejoice in that, even today. I WILL rejoice in him, even today. Will you?

Psalm 5:10

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish no them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

So far in the psalm we've seen prayers of lament, request and worship. All things that are probably quite common in our prayer life, too. But what on earth is this verse? David is praying for the judgement and banishment of his enemies - we probably don't even know what to call that! (I had to look it up. The technical term is 'imprecation' - calling down a curse/judgement on someone). Isn't that a bit, well, judgemental? Who is David to decide who should be banished from God's presence? Isn't he being just as bloodthirsty as they are? But look carefully - David isn't asking God to take revenge on these people just because they've attacked David. He's not asking God to take sides in a personal disagreement. These people are God's enemies. And so he asks for God's righteous judgement to take effect in their lives. Do we care enough about God's honour to want to see his enemies held to account? Not simply because they make our lives miserable, but because we are loyal to our king and don't want to see rebellion against him go unchallenged.

Actually, we DO pray this, maybe more often than we realise. Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, in fact: 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done'. God's righteousness and holiness and majesty require that his enemies should be punished. Opposition to God should be stopped. Rebellion against him should be brought to an end. God wills that it will be. Sometimes that happens in small ways now, when the wicked are brought down by their own schemes, as David prays here. It will certainly happen on the final day of judgement, when all God's enemies will face justice. We should also pray that God would have mercy on them - as he has done on us - and change them from his enemies to his children before it's too late. As we'll see in tomorrow's verse, there is always the hope of salvation. But let's be those who share David's confidence that God always acts justly in judging his enemies. So we can pray along with him: Your kingdom come. Your will be done.

Psalm 5:9

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Here David's attention returns to his enemies, who are clearly both wicked and dangerous. But what I find surprising is the weapons they are armed with. We might expect that enemies of a king would be notable for their violence and their weapons. And perhaps these men are the 'bloodthirsty' of verse 6, keen to attack him physically. But it seems that what David is most concerned about are their words. It is their throats and their tongues that do the damage. They are full of lies and cannot be trusted. Looking ahead to verse 10 we see that they are involved in 'intrigues' - presumably plotting to deceive David. Often we consider physical violence to be the greatest evil humankind commits, but reflecting on this verse we are reminded of the destructive power of words. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. The devil himself is described as 'the father of lies' - deception is his speciality. After all, if the truth of God's goodness and love were clearly visible to all, and our minds were not deceived into believing lies, who would ever rebel against him? All sin grows out of the same lies that Adam and Eve believed in Eden - 'God doesn't really love me'. 'God just wants to deprive me of something good'. 'Surely I know better than God does what will make me happy'.

In contrast to the intrigue and deception of the enemies, the path that God leads David along is straight. We know that he is utterly trustworthy. His words are always true. God never lies. What great comfort and reassurance that is for us as his people - surrounded as we are by the devil's deceptions, and living in a world where truth is often considered irrelevant.

Let's thank God that his words can be trusted, and pray that we will be people marked by a love of truth - that we will treasure his true words and be on our guard against being deceived by his enemies.

Psalm 5:8

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.

We saw yesterday that because of God's great love, David (and we) can safely come into God's presence to worship him. But that's not the end of the Psalm. We might think that being in God's presence was the end goal, the final climax of the story. And one day, it will be. When we are physically in his presence and see him face to face. But until then David isn't only on his knees in worship. He's also on his feet, walking in obedience.

God's righteousness, credited to us through the death of Jesus, is what enables us to come into God's presence to worship. But it is also what leads us, daily, as we live in this world. As we will see tomorrow, David's enemies surround him. Their words are untrustworthy. Following them leads to destruction. And so David asks God to lead him in righteousness. To direct him along the straight path of godliness. David knows that God's direction is reliable. Walking in his way brings truth and life and safety. This isn't David's way, following David's choices, according to David's ideas of righteousness. It is God's way.

God's people are, and always have been, worshippers - think back to the Exodus. Why did Moses ask Pharaoh to 'let God's people go?' Not simply because they were slaves and wanted to be free. But 'so that we may worship the Lord'. But that worship has never been about getting away from real life to pray and praise him. As if only the monk or the reclusive hermit with no everyday responsibilities can worship 'properly'. Of course, we want to set aside time to focus exclusively on God. But we also worship as we walk. Just like David, we need God to lead us in his righteousness every waking moment. Every aspect of life, everything we do, every decision we make, is either about following his straight path, or turning aside to our own way.

Let's pray that today we would be those who respond to God's great love for us by both worshipping him and walking in the way he leads.

Psalm 5:7

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down towards your holy temple.

Even in the last few hours I've been reminded again that I'm much more of a sinner than I like to think, as I've seen the consequence of my anger, laziness and selfishness in the lives of those I'm supposed to love most. This verse is the encouragement I need today. Maybe you do, too. I can come into God's presence. Even though I sin. Even though I mess things up horribly. Not because I deserve God to accept me, but because of his great love.

David doesn't yet know how exactly this can happen. We would say something like 'because Jesus took my sin when he died on the cross, I can be treated not as I deserve, but according to his righteous life.' David says the same thing, in less words: 'because of your great love'. God has chosen to transfer us out of the category of 'wicked people who are not welcome' and into the category of 'loved children who can share God's house.'

What is David's response to this great reversal? Worship. Number 3 on our list of different kinds of prayer that we see in this psalm. Simply bowing in reverence before God. Acknowledging that he is God and we are not.

Are you frustrated by your sin? Wondering how God would possibly continue to put up with you? Or perhaps there's something else in your life that's causing you to question whether he really loves you - maybe the persistence of your sufferings? Or disappointment that life isn't turning out the way you wanted it to? Here's a verse to cling to. Yes, all those things are true and real and sometimes very painful, BUT they are not the whole story. They are not even the most important part of the story. This verse gives us the most important truth any of us could know today ... 'BUT (even in the face of sin or suffering or disappointment) I by your great love can come into your house.'

Whatever else is true in our lives today, God's love for us is great, and he has made it possible for us to be with him. Let's join David in bowing down in reverence to worship God for his unimaginably great and gracious love.

Psalm 5:5-6

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The no bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

Yesterday, we read that 'evil people' are not welcome in God's presence. But who does David mean? Did you assume that he was talking about you? Or were you pretty confident that he meant someone else? Our world assumes that most people are basically good. There might be a few 'evil people' but they're the extreme cases and it's always someone else, never me.

So, is David is just talking about them? Murderers, oppressive dictators, those who habitually hurt and destroy other people in particularly brutal ways without any remorse? We might think that if we only read v.4, but today's verses rule it out. Yes, God hates the 'bloodthirsty' but he feels just the same about the liar. Top of his list of those who cannot stand in God's presence are 'the arrogant'. For me, these verses hit close to home. Pride and self-sufficiency come high on my personal list of besetting sins. Your sinful nature may invest its energies in some other way of rebelling against God. But one way or another, we all fall into the category of 'those who do wrong' (v5).

If we rejoice that God punishes wickedness, we must also confess that he would be right to punish us. When we celebrate the fact that heaven will contain nothing evil, we must also admit that we deserve be excluded.

Each one of should be counted amongst the evil people of v.4-6 but that's not the end of the story. God hates evildoers but he also loves his enemies. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s verse there is a way for us to escape his anger. So, we don't need to despair. But we DO need to acknowledge that we are those who do wrong. We do not love or worship God as he rightly deserves and we do not properly love those around us. Let's confess those things to God today. And if that honest confession of sin isn't part of our regular prayer life, let's ask for God's help to become those who are humble before him, instead of arrogant. The more we honestly acknowledge our need of the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus, the greater our love and appreciation of him will become.

Psalm 5:4

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

Very often, we turn to the Psalms when we want comfort, reassurance and encouragement. We might, perhaps, come to think of the Psalms as the Bible equivalent of a fluffy blanket and a mug of hot chocolate - warm, soothing and restoring. Thank God that his word IS comforting and encouraging when we are in distress.

But that's not all it is. The whole Bible - Psalms included - speaks to us in many ways: comfort, reassurance, encouragement and hope, but also warning, instruction and rebuke. So, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when we read a verse like v.4. (Not to mention v5-6, when we hear that God 'hates' and 'destroys'). It does feel slightly jarring.

Haven't we just been revelling in Psalm 27 and the promise that God will never reject us? Haven't we just spent 3 verses of this Psalm enjoying the fact that God listens when we talk to him. How, then, can David suddenly say that some people are NOT welcome in God's presence? It'll take us all the way to v.8 to answer that question, but for now just notice this: God is not pleased with wickedness. He does not welcome evil people. He is not the fluffy old-man-on-a-cloud of popular imagination, smiling benignly on everyone and everything.

This may make us uncomfortable, but at the same time, it's absolutely what we want to be true! Do we want a God who turns a blind eye to evil? Do we want a God who smiles indulgently on those who hurt and abuse and destroy others? Do we want to spend eternity in a place where evil people are welcome, unchanged and unchallenged? No! Let's praise God today that he is altogether holy, righteous and good, recognising evil and opposing it with power and justice.

Psalm 5:3

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

How do you start your day? Perhaps you're woken by the urgent demands of a small child, and your first conscious thought comes much later on! But some of us wake up to the sound of our own thoughts, and have control over what happens next. What can't you start the day without? A shower? Coffee? The news? Checking your messages?

For David, his mornings aren't complete without speaking to God. He begins his day by taking his requests to the only one who can really help. (You'll remember I said there were 5 kinds of prayer in this Psalm ... #1 was lament #2 is request)

It's not primarily about the time of day when he prays. Rather, it's about priorities. Prayer takes first place on his To Do list. You might have to feed a baby or comfort a toddler in your first waking moments, but when you finally get to choose what to do with your attention, following David's example would mean choosing to pray. Perhaps your main Bible reading and prayer time comes later in the day – that’s fine! But starting our day by speaking to God - however briefly - reminds us who has given us this day, and who we are living it for and with.

I remember reading once of a famous Christian (I have no idea who!) who used to wake up and pray something like "Hello Lord, what shall we do together today?" I imagine that's a prayer David could have prayed, too. He had that same confidence that God was with him each day, and would be at work in it. And so he could start each day laying his requests before God, trusting that God was listening and would answer in whatever way was best. David could go into his day expectant, looking out for the answers to prayer he knew would come. Probably not always exactly what he asked for or expected, but always for his good.

Let's ask God to help us to be people who can live that same expectant life, always on the lookout for answered prayers, because we have brought our requests to God and are trusting him to act in response.

Psalm 5:1-2

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

What's your prayer life like? What sort of prayers do you tend to pray? Psalm 5, which we're starting today, gives us a window into David's prayer life. We will see at least 5 'types' of prayer. They're not exhaustive - David prays other things, in other ways, in other Psalms. But hopefully what we read here will prompt us to think about how we pray, and to broaden our prayer life if we've got into something of a rut.

Psalm 5 begins with David asking God to hear him. We are so familiar with the idea of talking to God that we can easily lose the wonder at what a great privilege this is. I know I do. We are talking to God himself - the creator and sustainer of all things. The one whose greatness is beyond anything we can even imagine. We are asking for an audience with the King of the universe, the one who right now is directing every atom in accordance with his plans, which extend from everlasting to everlasting. David says to THAT God and king 'listen to ME'. A tiny, weak fragile creature who can't even breathe for himself, apart from God's enabling. It's no surprise that someone like him - like us - would NEED to pray, but it's an amazing surprise that God would hear and answer him - and us!

When we remember the privilege of prayer, we might think that talking to a God this great requires special language, formal words and careful preparation. But v1 tells us it's not like that. David asks God to hear his 'lament'. Other translations say 'sighing' or 'groaning'. He doesn't come to God with a polished speech, designed to impress. He just cries out for help (v2).

So let's thank God again today for the privilege of speaking to him in prayer. And let’s pour out to him whatever is on our hearts ... all our sighing and groaning, our fears and longings, our frustrations and our joys, confident that he will hear us because we pray in the name of his son, our saviour, Jesus.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

How good are you at waiting? We've certainly had lots of practice lately. Waiting for lockdown to be over. Waiting in queues. Perhaps you're waiting for bad news ... illness of a loved one, loss of a job. Or maybe you get most frustrated by the shorter, everyday waits .... waiting for a child to go to sleep, waiting for the wi-fi to reconnect. Most of all, as Christians, we are waiting for the day when Jesus will come back and take us to be with him in glory.

But how are we waiting? Perhaps we wait with fear, dwelling on the worst case scenario, minds filled with all the things that could go wrong. Or perhaps we're confident that the future will be better than the present. We're just waiting for the baby to be older, waiting for the new job, the new house, the new country, even, that will make everything alright. Waiting, discontentedly, for circumstances to change.

David knew what it was like to wait, too. Lots of this Psalm is in the future tense. 'When the wicked advance against me ... I will not fear' (v2-3). 'In the day of trouble he will keep me safe' (v5).

He isn't waiting primarily for things to get worse, or better. He is waiting for the Lord. It's not that God's not there in the present, and he's waiting for God to turn up and get involved. His relationship with God is present tense - God IS his light, salvation and stronghold right now.

Rather, I think, he's waiting to see what God will do next. He knows God has plans that aren't finished yet. God will always be at work, so he will spend his whole life looking to see what God is doing. Not waiting passively, sitting back and doing nothing. But waiting actively, trusting God, directing all his attention back to God every time it wanders, seeking him, singing to him, following him. All the active verbs we've seen throughout this Psalm.

Will we learn to wait like that? Not fearfully, or discontentedly, waiting for things to be different. But waiting with strengthened hearts because we KNOW that God is with us now and will be with us throughout all our tomorrows. Let's pray that God would teach us to wait like that.

Psalm 27:13

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Throughout this Psalm we have seen David's confidence in God. Remember, he is in the midst of a 'day of trouble', facing hostile armies (v4) and enemies who seek to destroy him with false accusations (v12). Yet he knows he doesn't have to be afraid because God is his stronghold. He is sure that God is good, and so he is confident that he will continue to see evidence of that goodness in his life. This isn't just a future hope for a better life after death. He will see God's goodness right here, right now, in the land of the living.

At the moment, some of us will be finding it hard to think too much about the 'immediate' future. We know we have an ultimate future, with God in heaven, which we can be sure of. But we're very unsure about the bit between today and the final day, when we see Jesus face to face in glory. Will I make it through the next 24 hours without losing my temper with my children? Will we still be dealing with the effects of Covid-19 in 6 months’ time? In 2 years? In 5 years? The future has always been unknown, but now it really FEELS unknown.

Yet we can be confident of this ... we WILL see the goodness of the Lord today, and tomorrow. Next week. This year. Next year. Every year for ever. I WILL see the goodness of the Lord. Let's thank him for that today, and if we're struggling to really believe it, ask him to grow our confidence and trust in his unending goodness towards us.

Psalm 27:12

Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

Do you know what it feels like to be the victim of malicious accusations? To be falsely accused of wrongdoing by someone else? Some of us may have had that experience. Many of us have probably done it to ourselves! "I'm so stupid. I always mess it up. I'm a terrible wife, a hopeless mother, a rubbish friend, an awful employee"

I don't mean the honest, accurate acknowledgement of our sin, that leads us to repentance. I mean the false view of ourselves as totally beyond help or hope, that leads us to despair.

The devil just loves malicious accusations - he's the expert false witness. Often his lies are directed against God ("He doesn't love you." "He only wants to make your miserable". "He's left you all alone."). But he's just as happy to accuse us: "You're such a sinner, God could never forgive you" "If your Christian friends knew what you were really like they'd be horrified", "The reason life's so hard is because you're such a rubbish Christian." His desire is not that we come to Jesus for help and mercy, but that we run away from him, ashamed.

When we hear those accusations, we need to remind ourselves of the truth of verse 1: God is my salvation. He knows I am a sinner and has chosen to save me. My Christian friends are fellow-sinners, equally dependent on his mercy. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verses 4 & 5: Even the person whose heart is fixed on God faces suffering. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of verse 10: God will always receive me. I never need to run away from him.

How can we be sure of these things? Because Jesus was handed over to the desire of his foes. False witnesses rose up against him, spouting malicious accusations. He bore it all, willingly, for us, taking our sin on himself and rescuing us from the devil's lies. Let's thank him for that today. And let's pray to we would recognise false accusations when we hear them, and reply to them with the truth.

Psalm 27:11

Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

In verse 10 we saw David's confidence that God will ALWAYS receive him with open arms. Our world loves that kind of unconditional acceptance, doesn't it? Yet, the world assumes that unconditional welcome also means unconditional approval of whatever we want to and wherever we want go. The world's version of v.11 would say something like "Thank you that you will look after me as I enjoy my freedom to do whatever I want" but that's not how David's mind works.

It's precisely because God welcomes and rescues him that David wants to stay close to God. "Teach me YOUR way, Lord" he says. In other words, "I don't want to go everywhere and do everything. I only want to go where you are. I only want to do the things that please you. I don't want to live in the midst of your enemies, following their ways. I want to stick to the straight path of humble faith and obedience. I'm content to go wherever you lead me because I trust you. Even when your way is hard, please keep leading me along it." That's how David's mind works. That's what his heart desires.

Let's pray today that God would change our minds and hearts, that we would want more and more to walk in his ways. And notice too that going God's way doesn't involve being given a map and left to get on with it. Instead, we ask him to lead us, and he does. He walks the path with us. Let's pray that each of us would follow him today.

Psalm 27:10

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

In verse 9, David makes it clear that the worst thing that could ever happen in his life would be to lose his personal relationship with God. We rejoice in the fact that this can never happen to us, because of the death of Jesus, which makes us God's children. Here in v. 10 we see that David has that same confidence even if his closest human relationship fails. Even if he loses his parents, he knows that his God will still be faithful.

Some of us know the pain of rejection or separation in our human families, or other close relationships, when we lose someone who we thought would always be there for us. Perhaps they rejected us, or perhaps they were taken away by circumstances beyond their control. Or perhaps the relationship isn't over, but it is strained. There's something about us - perhaps our relationship with God, or something else - which they just can't accept. If we've experienced any of these things, we might be left longing for a better relationship, in which we will never feel abandoned. Or we might shrink back from trusting anyone in the future, knowing how much pain that would risk.

Whatever our experiences, the promise of this verse is true for each one of us. God is 100% faithful. He will never reject any of his children. Nor can we be taken away from him by anything outside of his control. Whatever our circumstances today, he will receive us. Whether we are running into his open arms to share our joys, or crawling into his lap to sob out our sorrows, or shuffling slowly towards him, head down, burdened by our guilt, we are guaranteed a warm welcome.

Let's praise God together for his faithful, unchanging love, which guarantees that he will never shut us out of his presence. And let's make the most of that welcome by sharing with him honestly whatever is on our minds and in our hearts today.

Psalm 27:9

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour.

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you in life?

David’s first priority is seeing God's face; that is, knowing him and being in close relationship with him. So it makes sense that the worst thing David could experience would be God turning his face away, and rejecting him.

At the cross, Jesus experienced something we as Christians never need to experience - his Father turned his face away from him. Jesus was rejected and forsaken when he took on our sin. Because he experienced that in our place we need never worry that God will reject us, if we are trusting in Jesus’ death. That is the most amazingly reassuring truth to cling to, perhaps especially when life is hard and it sometimes feels as if God has turned his back on us for a while.

"What's the worst thing that could happen to you in life?" Maybe your answer was something like 'having to live without God'. That would be the worst thing, if it could ever happen. Praise God that because of Jesus, it never will!

Or maybe you thought 'well, it isn't living without God because that could never happen'. Thank God for the assurance he has given you, and pray that - familiar as this truth is - you would never take it for granted. Let's ask God to amaze us afresh at his gracious mercy shown to us in Jesus.

And if God was nowhere near your answer to that question, because so many other possible calamities filled your mind, you might want to ask him to give you more of David's perspective. Pray that he would change your heart, so that you would truly be able to say that your relationship with God, in which he will never turn you away, is the most precious thing you have.

Psalm 27:8

My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.

'Seek'. It's not a word we use much in everyday language, unless we have children young enough to play 'Hide & Seek', or we’re reading a Harry Potter book! Harry plays 'seeker' in the Quidditch team. Don't worry if you haven't got a clue what that means! Basically, the Seeker's job is to chase after, and catch, a small, flying golden ball, to secure victory for his team. In one particular game, Harry struggles through a storm to get hold of the precious ball. Despite serious opposition, discouragement and pain, he kept his eyes on the prize because it mattered so much to him.

I think that's a bit like David in this psalm. When he seeks God's face he is focused, deliberate, and diligent. He doesn't want his eyes distracted by anything else. It's not the half-hearted looking of a small child who is meant to be finding their shoes, who instead wanders aimlessly from object to object as something new captures their attention. Rather, it's the relentless focus of a Quidditch seeker.

Why is David so focused? It's not because God is hidden and David needs to discover him. David already knows his God, personally. Remember back to verse 1 ... God is his light, salvation and stronghold. David knows that God is beautiful (v4) and merciful (v7). This isn't Hide & Seek, with God lurking in the shadows and David trying to catch him out when he doesn't want to be found.

Instead, because David already knows God, he reminds himself that God is the most precious thing in his life. God is what David wants all his attention to be focused on. Otherwise, like us, he will be distracted by his everyday delights and troubles, and look elsewhere for the light, beauty, safety and salvation that only God can give.

Let's thank God today that he hasn't hidden himself from us, but instead sent Jesus so that we could see him and know him for ourselves. And let's pray that we would 'seek his face' daily, with the enthusiasm and focus of a Quidditch Seeker!

Psalm 27:7

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

Earlier in this Psalm we thought about how extraordinary it is that a sinful human could ask to come into God's presence and to see his face. In this verse we have an equally bold request: "God, listen to me, and answer me." Prayer is - or should be - an everyday experience for us. But when you think about it, it’s remarkable. A very small, very short-lived creature can address the sovereign creator of the universe and ask him to listen to this tiny, weak little voice, asking for divine favour and help. No wonder God's mercy is in David's mind as he writes this verse. It is only because he is merciful and gracious that he allows us to speak to him, and is willing to hear us and answer our prayers.

So we need NEVER feel that we can't pray because of something in us or in our lives. Have you ever thought "I can't pray because I'm such a rubbish Christian God won't listen", "I can't ask God to help me because my situation is completely my own fault", "I can't pray about this thing because it's not important enough for God to bother with"? As if God only hears our prayers the rest of the time because we are 'a good Christian' or because we've earned a hearing, or because we're praying about something especially important that might change the world. We never deserve a hearing in the throne room of heaven, yet the king is our father, whose son himself taught us to pray as dependent children.

We can only ever pray on the basis of his mercy, which is constant. So, let's bring our needs, our concerns, our joys and our struggles to God today, trusting that he will hear us because he is merciful.

Psalm 27:6

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

As David reflects on what it means for God to keep him safe, notice how his perspective changes. Even when he is in God's presence, he is still surrounded by enemies, but now he seems lifted up above them. None of his problems have gone away, but he can see them from a different angle. He is not disgraced or defeated by his enemies, but exalted over them. Even as he looks out across the surrounding army, he is shouting for joy.

But what is he shouting? The world tells us that what we need in the face of problems is positive self-talk. "You've got this! You're amazing! You can do it!" And it's true that changing our thinking, changes our ability to handle stressful situations. But when David stands on his rock, he isn't shouting about his own power and strength and potential. He isn't singing songs about his own heroism and success. His joy is in the Lord. His songs are hymns of praise to the one who has rescued him.

Today, some of us may be feeling completely overwhelmed, outnumbered by our difficulties. We can't see anything to be joyful about. Let's remember that God is always praiseworthy - he is with us, he loves us, he has rescued us and will keep us safe with him forever. Rejoicing in those things won't take the problems away, but it will help us to see them in their right perspective.

Others of us may be feeling more secure. Maybe life isn’t ideal, but we're muddling through OK. Our home life is stable, our finances are OK, our children are learning, our work in getting done, our world continues to turn. When we think about those things, whose praises are we singing? Is our song one that the world recognises and could sing along to? "How great am I! All praise to my planning, my diligence, my wisdom, my parenting, my superior coping skills!" Or are we singing a song that David would recognise and join in with? "How great is our God! All praise to his wisdom, his love, his grace, his mercy, his sustaining goodness!"

Let's choose to sing David’s song today.

Psalm 27:5

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

If you've been pondering yesterday's verse, you might still be wondering 'Really, David, how would being in God's house help, when you're supposed to be fighting your enemies?' Is it perhaps that the temple is a good, strong building to hide in during an invasion? Well, this verse tells us that's not the case. The 'house of God' David is talking about turns out to be a tent! After all, the first permanent temple was only built after David's death, by his son Solomon. The comfort David has from being in the house of the Lord didn't come from its building materials. He is secure in the tent because it is God's tent. He is safely perched 'high upon a rock' - and 'a rock' is a common description of God throughout the psalms. He wants to be in God's house because that is where God himself is. His confidence is not dependent on where he is, but on who is with him.

Let's give thanks today that we don't have to visit a special building to be with God. We are safe in his dwelling place right here, right now, because he lives in us by his Spirit. We could also pray especially for Christians we know who are facing particular dangers or difficulties right now. Let's pray that they would know the comfort and assurance that in their 'day of trouble', God is with them and they are secure in him.

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

What one thing do you most want from God today? Everyone in your house to be cheerful? An uninterrupted night’s sleep? A calm mind that isn't whirling with anxiety?

In this verse we see the 'one thing' that David wants from God: to be where God is (dwell in his house) and to see him as he is (gaze upon his beauty). Really, David? You're facing a besieging army, and you want to sit around gazing at God all day?! Surely that's not going to help! It seems impractical and irrelevant, given the serious problems he faces. We might think he should be asking for something bigger - mighty deliverance from his enemies, perhaps?

Yet, there IS nothing bigger. This is the biggest, boldest, most audacious request a sinful man could ever make of a holy God. "I just want to be with you, Lord, even though you are so holy that no-one can stand in your presence and live. I just want to gaze on your beauty, even though it's so dazzling that even Moses was only allowed a glimpse of your back as you passed by."

It should be unthinkable – people like us, living with God. If the idea doesn’t shock us, it's only because we're so familiar with the gospel. What David wants is utterly impossible. Yet, because of the death of Jesus it IS possible. We will one day live where God is and see him as he is in all his glory. Even now, we know that God's Spirit lives with us, and we have - in his word - more than enough glimpses of his beauty to gaze on and treasure for a lifetime.

So, today, by all means ask God for sleep and peace and rest and everything else that feels important. He is our heavenly father who wants us to bring all our needs and concerns to him. But let's also praise and thank him for the extraordinary gift of being able to live in his presence. And pray that he would change our hearts to be more like David's heart, so that we would recognise just how precious this gift is and would value it above every other thing we will ever ask for.

Psalm 27:3

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

What an incredible thing to be able to say! And this isn't just extravagant language from David ... I doubt that any of us will ever face an army whose sole purpose is to destroy is. None of us will ever be the cause of an all-out war. But David is the King of Israel. The prospect of war or a military coup to overthrow him and put someone else on the throne, was very real. In fact, his own son tried to do it. David knew what it was like to face a threat in a way that we never will. Yet still, he was confident.

I love this verse because it shows us so clearly where his confidence lies, and where ours needs to be, too. He doesn't say 'I'm trusting God so I'm confident that there won't be a war.' I imagine he still prayed for peace, and that he hoped the army wouldn't besiege him. But peace and safety aren't what he trusts in. His confidence, and his ultimate hope are in God himself. He'll face a hostile army if he has to, knowing that God is his saviour and stronghold.

How would you express that confidence, in terms of your own circumstances right now? "Though I am in lockdown, my heart will not fear; though I end up on a ventilator in intensive care, even then I will be confident." Or perhaps "though I am exhausted my heart will not fear; though I don't get an uninterrupted night’s sleep for months, even then I will be confident."

Perhaps you can't say that and really mean it. Very often, the Psalms give us actual words to pray to God. But they also give us a model of what trusting God looks like, to which we aspire. When the palmist's confidence is greater than ours, we needn’t despair. It's a reminder of the direction in which God is changing us. So, whether our confidence in God is strong or weak right now, let's ask him to work in our hearts, so that we would grow to trust him more.

Psalm 27:2

When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Do you ever look around at the world and wonder why, so often, the bad guys win? Evil triumphs. The rich exploit the poor and no-one stops them. Christians die at the hands of their persecutors and there is no justice. We know it shouldn't be like that. The wicked should suffer. The oppressor should lose their power.

David is confident that this WILL happen - his enemies will be defeated. They are God's enemies, and therefore they are destined to lose. Maybe now. Maybe not until later. But there will be a day when God’s enemies will be fully and finally overthrown. In the darkest moment of human history - as the son of God hung dying on a cross - it looked like evil had won. Yet that was the moment when the devil and all his forces were defeated. It was their very attack against God's king, trying to 'devour' and destroy him, that brought about their downfall.

The things that attack us today - death, suffering, sickness, sin - are all outworkings of that same wicked opposition to God. So even if they look and feel like they're winning right now, that isn't true. Whatever advances against us today will ultimately 'stumble and fall'. One day, it will be dead and gone, powerless to attack us or frighten us any more. But we will still be standing, secure in the Lord who is our stronghold. Let's thank him for that great assurance and ask for his help to really believe that this verse is as true for us today as it was for David when he wrote it.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Who are you afraid of? Who has the power to take away what you love, or withhold what you want? In this psalm, David is facing personal enemies who want to destroy him. Not many of us will have experienced that kind of targeted personal attack. (Although, sadly, some do face violence and hostility even within their own homes. In that situation it would be right to seek practical help and physical protection, as well as turning to God).

But perhaps the 'enemies' you fear right now are things rather than people ... sickness, financial pressures, not being able to cope with lockdown, losing things you've worked hard to achieve, missing out on whatever you 'should' have been doing right now. Maybe those things are happening to you already. Or maybe you're gripped by the fear that they might happen.

In the midst of significant danger, David reminds himself of something wonderful. He is not alone. He is not dependent on his own resources, strength or power.

God is his light in the darkness of fear and uncertainty. God is his rescuer in the face of danger. God is his stronghold when he is weak and vulnerable. If those things are true, our dangers - whether real or imagined - no longer have the power to overcome us.

Who or what are you afraid of today? Talk to God about those things, be honest about your worries. And thank him that he is your light, your salvation and your stronghold. Ask him to help you to remember and really believe those things, whatever you are facing today.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16 ends with a focus on the life that awaits us with God in heaven. Whilst there is joy in knowing God now, David's attention here is on our future joy, when we are eternally in his presence. As we saw yesterday, this Psalm is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who will sit at his father's right hand ruling forever in glory. But because we are united with him in his death and resurrection, we know that we will be there too.

Perhaps right now you're missing some of the earthly pleasures you've enjoyed in the past ... Visiting friends? Meals out? Walking on the beach or in the countryside? Reflect for a moment on the idea of eternal pleasures. It's hard to imagine, but we are heading for a world of real, physical, tangible enjoyment so deep and rich that our best moments in this life don't even come close. And those joys are eternal. They will never be taken away from us. No crisis will ever invade heaven to separate us from one another or undermine our joy. And our greatest joy will be being with God himself.

That is the 'path of life' God has opened up for us ... To live now knowing God, trusting him, walking with him daily, each day bringing us one step closer to our joyful eternal destiny. Let's praise God for that certain hope, and ask him to keep us walking this path of life with our eyes fixed on him today.

Psalm 16:9-10

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

How glad are you feeling right now? Is 'rejoicing' on your tongue? Or is your song today one of lament rather than praise? For some of us, lament is the right response to our current situation - grief, or significant suffering, or relentless exhaustion should prompt us to cry out to God and share our sorrows with him.

But however terrible our circumstances, there is one thing we CAN rejoice in today (which doesn't cancel out the sadness, but sits alongside it). We can all rejoice in the Resurrection.

David is writing hundreds of years before the first Easter. Yet, somehow, he knows that trust in God is not only for this life. He is certain that death will not be the end for him. Looking back, we can see clearly what David only partially glimpsed - this psalm find its fulfilment in Jesus, the truly 'faithful one' who God did not abandon to the grave but who rose victorious. If we are united to Jesus, we share not only in his death - so that our sins are paid for - but in his resurrection life. We will one day all die, but we will never be abandoned to the grave. Our death will be the doorway into resurrection life with God forever. That really is something worth rejoicing over, however difficult our circumstances. Let's thank God today for this great hope, and sing him a song of praise and rejoicing.

Psalm 16:7-8

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

'Listen to your heart' - that's the message we absorb from the world around us. Whether or not you're old enough to remember the 1980s classic Roxette song of that name, you’ll recognise the idea.

It's surprising to find David saying the same thing … 'even when I lie awake at night, I'm listening to what my heart is telling me'. But what IS his heart telling him? It seems that he listens to his heart only because his heart is full of God's word. It is the LORD who counsels him. He ponders God's words, he remembers God's instructions, he thinks about the ways God has led him so far and marvels at God's wisdom.

Is that where your thoughts go when you lie awake at night? Wouldn't it be great if this was true of us? Instead of lying awake worrying, which leaves us feeling shaky, we could lie awake treasuring God's promises to us, reminding ourselves that ultimately, with him as our refuge, we will never be shaken.

How do we get a heart like David's? We probably need to start by admitting to God that our hearts aren't like that, and ask him to change us, by his Spirit. And then we’ll want to make choices about what we listen to. We’ll feed ourselves regularly with God's word, storing it up in our hearts ready for when we need it. When we realise that our minds have settled into patterns of worry, or we're dwelling on things that aren't in line with God's truth, we’ll direct our thoughts back to God. We may have to keep redirecting our attention 1000 times a day. But I bet David had to do that too. He made deliberate choices: ‘I WILL praise the Lord’, ‘I KEEP my eyes on him’ (even when they are distracted away). Let's pray that that God would enable us to do the same, and that our hearts and minds would be increasingly filled with his word.

Psalm 16:5-6

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

These two verses are a picture of contentment. Was David just having an especially good day when he wrote these words? After all, we know from some of the other psalms we've looked at together that his circumstances were not always 'secure' or 'pleasant'. He was often in danger, under attack from God's enemies. Yet, when he looks at the big picture of his life, what he sees most clearly is that, in having God as his personal Lord, he has the very best of everything he could want. His situation in life now - whatever the difficulties - and his future inheritance are everything he desires, because he has God.

Can we say the same? We may feel very unhappy in our current circumstances - for some of us, this season may be the hardest thing we've ever experienced in life. We can be honest with God about that. He doesn't expect us to pretend to be delighted when we feel like everything is falling apart. But alongside the struggles, do we share David's deep conviction that God himself is enough for us? That in him, we have an inheritance to come that outshines anything we are experiencing right now? Do we know, as David knew, that a personal relationship with the God who made the universe gives us security and blessing that are found nowhere else? If we have even a little glimpse of that, let's praise him for it today. And if we can't yet say v5-6 and mean them, let's be honest about that, and ask the one who changes hearts to give us a greater joy and contentment in him.

Psalm 16:4

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

This Psalm is asking us some hard questions, isn't it?! Where is my refuge? How much do I delight in God and his people? And today's verse is similarly uncomfortable. 'I will not make offerings to other Gods' says David. I'm sure we'd all say the same. No worship of Allah, or Buddha, or Shiva here!

But what about the 'small g' gods in our lives? What are the things we love and serve and pour out our blood, sweat and tears for, as if they could save us. Maybe it’s career. Money. Security. My children's education or success. My marriage. My perfectly curated, well-run house. Other people's opinion of me. Personal ambitions. The possibilities are endless. Any good things can become a god to us, when it becomes the thing that we serve or the place where we look for hope, help or security.

Yet none of these fake gods are worthy of our praise or devotion. Many of them are crumbling around us in the face of this virus. Only the one true God - our God - has ever been a real helper, comforter and rescuer. Only he deserves our worship & praise today. Let's praise him. And let's ask for his help not to give the worship that only he deserves to anything else.

Psalm 16:3

I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’

Who are the people you really admire? The ones you love to spend time with? The ones you listen to? The ones whose lives you'd like your life to be a bit more like?

David's answer to that question is here in v.3: 'the holy people'. That is, God's people. His fellow-citizens in God's kingdom. His brothers and sisters in God's family.

They are the people he thinks are 'noble' - the ones he respects and admires. They are the ones he 'delights' in - they're not just the people he should enjoy being with. He really enjoys knowing them!

Here's a challenge to our value system. If the people we respect and emulate are the rich and successful, that tells us something about how much money matters to us. If the people we want to be with are the popular ones, the 'in crowd' it tells us something about how much other people's opinion matters to us. And so on.

David's delight in God's people isn't because they're the 'best' people around, by any human measure. He delights in God's people because he delights in God. He wants to be with God's people because they share his love for God. They remind him of why God is so worth trusting and following.

If that's not our experience, let's pray that God would teach us to delight more and more in him, so that we will be drawn towards others who share that love for God, rather than being drawn towards those who love worldly things most.

Psalm 16:2

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’

What are you thankful for today? What good thing, or things, are you enjoying right now?

At the moment, we may be especially aware of all the things in our lives that are not good, all the things we want but can't have, all the ways life could be easier. Some of us may be facing really significant hardships. Thankfulness never cancels out the suffering in life. Problems don't go away just because we 'count our blessings'. But equally, suffering never means that there is NOTHING to be thankful for. But we might have to make a conscious effort to look for what is good, when what is bad or hard is filling our minds.

So, what good thing(s) can you be thankful for today? Whatever they are, if they are good then we know that they come to us from God. There is nothing good apart from him. The non-Christian may enjoy good things in this world, as part of God's kindness to them, even when they don't acknowledge the giver. But we know where all our good things comes from. Why wouldn’t we want to thank God for them? Even more than that, we know the giver himself, as our loving heavenly Father. Let's also thank him for the great blessing of knowing him and being his children. He himself is the greatest 'good thing' we have, and that can never be taken away from us.

Psalm 16:1

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

What do you take refuge in?

If you’ve already read or heard the reflection on Psalm 62, earlier in this series, the idea of refuge will be familiar. But we need to keep coming back to it because - this side of heaven - we will always be weak, needy, suffering people, in need of safety, shelter and protection. Where will we find the refuge that we need?

If we're honest with ourselves, God isn't necessarily the first place we run to when things are hard.

What do you take refuge in?

What do you rely on to make you feel better? Alcohol? Chocolate? A cup of tea? Medication?

Who do you rely on to make everything alright? Your husband? Your best friend? Your mum? Yourself?

What gives you a feeling of security? Your past achievements? Money in the bank? Your children being there for you when you get old?

Every single one of those things, used rightly, is a blessing from God for which we can be thankful. But none of them will ultimately keep us safe. Only God can do that. He is the only one we can rely on to stay standing, when everything else falls apart.

Let's praise him today that he is our ultimate safe place. And let's remember to turn first of all to him when we feel weak and needy.

Psalm 103:20-22

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

This Psalm ends as it began ... with encouragement to praise God. Only now it is not just an individual ('my soul') but the whole company of heaven and all God's creatures on earth ('his works') that are to praise him.

We probably don't think much about the 'heavenly hosts', outside of Christmas carols. And the Bible doesn't give us huge amounts of detail about them. But it's clear that they exist, they are numerous, and their whole purpose is to serve God and praise him continually. How wonderful to know that, even though we so often fail to worship and obey God as he deserves, there is a glorious multitude wholeheartedly dedicated to doing exactly that, 24/7 for all eternity. That should perhaps remind us that God is so much more praiseworthy than we yet realise.

This Psalm has given us a long list of reasons to praise God. Let's join our voices with the angels in heaven today, remembering his goodness and greatness. It is not only the right and proper thing to do now, but great practice for the day when we will stand alongside that heavenly host, worshipping him face to face!

As well as praising God in prayer, why not put your praises to music by listening and singing along to a song or hymn that praises him?

Psalm 103:19

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

It is always encouraging to be reminded that God reigns over everything, even coronavirus. And that might be what you need to focus on and be thankful for today.

But for me personally, the challenge of this verse is not remembering that God rules over what's going on 'out there'. Rather, I need to be reminded that he also rules over me. At the moment I'm finding the desire to run MY Kingdom, MY way is really strong. I want my little world to be ordered to suit me and me alone. The same seems to be true for some of the people I live with!

Isn't that why we struggle to live in close proximity to other people? Because our rule, over our own personal kingdom, gets challenged. But the problem isn't everyone else. It's me. And the solution isn't just to be more accommodating of the people around me. Instead, it starts by remembering that God alone has the right to rule my life. Without his help I will always be a treacherous rebel, undermining his rightful sovereignty. Ouch! How wonderful that when we confess our rebellion and repent, we are coming to a compassionate and gracious father whose love never fails. Praise God that his kingdom rules over all - let's pray that that would be true in each of our lives today, as well as in the world 'out there'.

Psalm 103:18

with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

In verse 17 we saw how God’s love is everlasting towards those who fear him. Here, those same people are described as those who keep his covenant and obey him. That can’t mean that God’s love is conditional on our obedience, getting switched off every time we sin. That kind of love could never be described as ‘everlasting’ – for most of us, it would only last about 5 minutes! God’s love is dependent on his unchanging character, so we can be confident that it will last.

But this is a reminder to us that God’s love is particularly directed towards his covenant people – those who call him their God and have committed themselves to living for him. If we want to live as enemies of God, ignoring his commands and rejecting his covenant, we can’t expect to experience his covenant love. Being a person of the covenant doesn’t mean we never sin. But it does mean that we WANT to obey. We recognise that God’s ways are better than our ways. And we recognise that when we disobey him, we need the blood of the covenant – the sacrifice of Jesus – to restore our relationship with him. Let’s thank him today that our place in his love is secure because of Jesus, and pray that we would increasingly be those who keep his covenant and remember to obey him.

Psalm 103:17

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children

Is your sense of time being challenged by the current situation? I find myself having to think quite hard about what day of the week it is sometimes!

In yesterday's verse we thought about our weakness, but those verses also speak about how fleeting our lives are. Here today and gone tomorrow. Yet it doesn't feel that. We talk about something lasting for 'a lifetime' as though that was a significant period, rather than being the blink of an eye in the context of eternity. Doesn't it already feel as if lockdown has gone on 'for ever'?! Yet there is one thing that really will last forever ... God's love for his people.

We may struggle to get our heads around the idea of 'everlasting', but even the smallest glimpse of what that means, before our minds become totally boggled, should prompt us to praise God as David does. At the very least, it means that there will never be a day of our lives when God won't love us. There won't be a second of today when he won't be compassionate and gracious to us. Whatever the future holds, for us or those we love, God's love will surround us through it, if we are united to him by faith in Jesus.

Psalm 103:13-16

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

How are you feeling today? Many of us will be feeling weaker than we're used to. We are aware of our physical frailty in the face of coronavirus but also aware of weakness in other ways ... Our time and attention are finite, but we feel pulled in multiple directions at once, whether by children, work, or concern for neighbours or for family far away. We are spiritually weak - we want to use this season to draw closer to God but we're easily enticed away by other things. We want to love our household well, but constant confinement feeds our selfish desires and we give in to temptations to be irritable and impatient.

Acknowledging our weakness like this feels uncomfortable, but it ought to be normal! We ARE weak. We are like grass - here today and gone tomorrow. Not because of the coronavirus but because that's how we are made. But God is not disappointed by our weaknesses – he’s the one who made us that way. We are designed to be finite, limited in time and energy, so that we might worship the one who is all-powerful and everlasting. In fact, far from being disappointed, God has compassion on our weakness. He is the gentle father who picks us up when we fall, who encourages us when we feel like giving up, whose spirit enables us to overcome temptation. Today, let's be honest about our weakness - to God and to others - and throw ourselves on the compassionate care of our loving heavenly father.

Psalm 103:11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

The furthest galaxy in the universe is thought to be something like 30 billion light years away from earth. A light year is about 9.5 trillion kilometres. Numbers like that feel impossible to get to grips with. When David wrote this psalm, before the days of astrophysicists with sophisticated telescopes, he had a more poetic way of describing the same thing: 'as high as the heavens are above the earth'. He's not thinking of a particular measurement, a specific number. I take it he means 'as far as the biggest thing you could possibly imagine'. There is NOTHING in the entire universe bigger than God's love. Nothing can overwhelm it or eclipse it. There is nowhere you can go that is beyond it.

Concepts that big make us feel very small. Rightly so. God's great love is 'for those who fear him'. This fear is not the terror of the unrepentant sinner facing judgement. It is the right awe and respect of a creature who knows that they are as nothing before their mighty creator who is bigger and more wonderful than they can even begin to understand. It is the deep reverence of a creature who knows that they are like dust, and yet is more loved than they can imagine. Let's praise God for his limitless love today!

Psalm 103:9-10

He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

"It's not fair!" Have you heard those words recently in your household? They come out of children's mouths fairly easily. We may be more restrained about actually saying it out loud, but don’t our heart feel the same way? What seems unfair to you right now? Seeing other people whose circumstances in lockdown are so much easier than yours? We instinctively want justice when we feel disadvantaged. We want life to be 'fair'.

Except ... Maybe we don't. When it comes to judgement for our sin, 'fair' is the last thing we want! When we read that "he does not treat us as our sins deserve", our hearts ought to rejoice. This is BETTER than fair. God is so amazingly wonderful that he can be both righteous and just (as v6 reminded us) and still show us gracious, merciful forgiveness for our sins. The death of Jesus in our place proves that. God is always both perfectly just and perfectly loving. Yet there’s a sense in which his love outweighs his justice. This verse tells us that he will not 'always' accuse but we read in verse 17 that his love is from everlasting to everlasting. That is so much better than we deserve, we might almost call it unfair! Let's praise him for this great 'unfairness' today.

Psalm 103:7-8

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

How would you describe God's character in one sentence? There are many things we could say. But here’s one really good answer: ‘the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love’! In fact, it's the way God describes himself to Moses in Exodus 34. Knowing that God is compassionate, gracious and loving is always wonderful. But it's especially amazing when we remember what the people of Israel were like. When God spoke these words in Exodus 34, he had just given Moses the 10 Commandments. Yet when Moses took them to the people he found that they had made a golden calf idol and were worshipping it, instead of the God who was right in front of them. God had every right to abandon Israel right there and then, but instead he gave Moses a fresh copy of the 10 Commandments. The covenant that the people had already broken was able to stand because God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

We're no different. Do you ever get bored of confessing your sin to God, or feel that surely this time he will have had enough of you? Maybe we started this new season of life at home full of good intentions to spend time with God daily, engage patiently with our children at all times, and serve our neighbours wholeheartedly. It won’t have taken long to discover that we’re still the same people we were before - easily distracted, quick to turn away from God and look for strength and help elsewhere, more concerned with our own comfort that with living others. Fear not! The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. There is always a loving welcome when we turn back to him in humble repentance. Every. Single. Time.

Psalm 103:5-6

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Have you noticed how, even in a global crisis, some things carry on just as before? Oppression and injustice, for example. The news always seems to contain some story of an oppressive regime somewhere in the world mistreating its weakest citizens. Closer to home we hear about companies putting their profits ahead of the well-being of their workers. Of course, there are also stories of volunteers who sacrifice their own comfort to serve others. But if we're honest we know that the sinful human heart loves to find ways to benefit itself at other people's expense.

How good it is to know, then, that God is never like that. He never uses his power to oppress us. He never treats us as raw materials to use for his own good. He is on the side of the unfairly treated, the oppressed. When he came to earth, in the person of Jesus, he experienced an unjust trial and an undeserved death penalty. And he is always at work to establish justice and righteousness. We won't see that fully completed until heaven, but even now we can pray for justice to be done and wickedness to be restrained. Let's do that today, giving thanks that the power that ultimately runs this world is only ever good, righteous and loving.

Psalm 103:3-4

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

Yesterday we praised God for his 'holy name' (who he is in himself). In today's verses David focuses on his 'benefits' (the particular good things God had done for him). At first glance, this verse is confusing. We know that Christians aren’t always healed from disease. The Bible is quite clear that God is always able to heal physically, but– in this world - he only sometimes does so. (In the new creation, he absolutely will heal all diseases and injuries, fully and completely).

We need to remember that David is living under the Old Covenant, in which physical blessings (land, abundant harvest, peace, safety and well-being) were a picture of the blessings that come from being God's people. The opposites (exile, famine, disease and war) were what happened when the people turned away from God. That was a temporary situation, designed to teach them and us how much better it is to belong to God than to reject him.

We live under the New Covenant. Our blessings are primarily spiritual, not physical. So we shouldn't read Old Testament promises about physical blessings (including protection from disease) as being true for us today in the same way that they were for Old Testament Israelites. Instead, we have spiritual blessings that are EVEN BETTER than wealth, peace, long life and freedom from illness!

God forgives us. He rescues us from the dark hopelessness of life without him. He generously pours out underserved love and compassion on us. How could we possibly forget these things? And yet we do! What we think we need seems so important that these amazing blessings shrink and get buried in a corner our minds, as though they were irrelevant. Today, whatever else is going on around us, let's take a moment to deliberately remember the wonderful things that God has done for us, and thank him.

Psalm 103:1-2

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits

How often do you praise God for who he is? Perhaps it's just me, but I'm much more likely to thank God for things he does or the gifts he gives than to praise him for who he is. I don’t often stop to simply ponder God’s character, and tell him how wonderful he is. So, we’re going to spend the next few days dwelling on this psalm of praise.

Tomorrow we'll come onto some of the many 'benefits' we can thank God for. But today, what can you think of to praise him for? What is wonderful about God and his character? Here's what comes to my mind ... You can come up with your own list!

Lord, you are truly awesome. I praise you for your wisdom. It's incredible that you can know each individual person across the world and throughout human history, and accomplish your plans in each of their lives, all at the same time. Nothing is too complicated or confusing for you. I praise you for your power. Nothing is too hard for you. You are never defeated or frustrated. I praise you for your patience. You are slow to anger and deal gently with us, knowing that we are weak. You are wonderful Lord!

Psalm 1:6

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

As we considered yesterday, whether we are treated as ‘righteous’ or ‘wicked’ depends not on our own record, but on the righteousness of Jesus. All those who are united to him by faith are counted as ‘righteous’ because he is ‘righteous’. So we enjoy the privileges of the righteous. Not just the ability to stand before God on Judgement Day and enter into heaven, but also – as we see here – a whole new way of life now.

Notice how wonderfully asymmetric this verse is. We might expect that if ‘the way of the wicked leads to destruction’ then the other half of the sentence would say something like ’the way of the righteous leads to life’. And that’s certainly true. But what it actually says is way better!

Not only do we have life instead of destruction, but that life is lived – now and forever – under the watchful eye of God. He hasn’t just rescued us and left us to get on with things on our own. He cares for us, actively overseeing our every moment. We get to live, today and every day, under the watchful care and protection of God. Whatever happens, however tough our present circumstances are, however uncertain our future feels, God sees and knows and cares and acts for our good. That’s been a huge encouragement to me over the past 14 weeks or so. I pray that it is an encouragement to you as well.

So today, let’s thank God that he watches over us through all things.

Psalm 1:5

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of a group of people, convinced you don’t belong there? In some settings it’s called ‘Imposter Syndrome’. I definitely had that in my first year at University, as one of only a handful of women studying Engineering alongside more than 300 men! Not helped by the fact that people would tell me that I was probably only there because there was a quota of women that had to be met, and I didn’t really deserve a place on the course. That was also what I regularly told myself. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here”,“I’m sure they’re all cleverer than I am”, ”What if I’m not cut out to be an Engineer at all?”

Perhaps we imagine that this is what will happen on the Last Day, when Jesus returns and the dead are raised to face judgment. Do you sometimes wonder if someone will look pityingly at you and say “I’m very sorry, but there’s been a mistake - you don’t really belong here”? The devil loves to tell us that we have no right to stand confidently before God on Judgement Day. He wants us to read the pictures in Revelation of the saints in white robes, worshipping the Lamb on his throne, and conclude that we don’t belong there. After all, we ARE sinners. We don’t belong in the company of the righteous. This verse says so!

Yet, we DO belong. Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus does. He alone is qualified to stand unashamed at the judgement. He alone is truly righteous, worthy of a place in heaven for all eternity. And he has chosen to share that privilege with all who trust in him for forgiveness and new life. Anyone who chooses not to continue walking with the sinners, but who turns instead in repentance to put their hope in God is now counted with the righteous, not with the wicked. Because of Jesus, we belong in heaven.

I never completely silenced the inner voice of my Imposter Syndrome when I was a student. After all, I couldn’t prove that the Admissions Department hadn’t messed up somehow! But we CAN argue back against the Devil’s accusations. Yes, we are undeserving of a place in heaven, but we are nevertheless welcome. Jesus’ death on the cross proves it once and for all.

Let’s thank him for that today, and ask for his help to keep trusting wholeheartedly in the righteousness of Jesus for our salvation.

Psalm 1:4

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

This verse stands in stark contrast to verse 3. The different between a great tree, rooted and flourishing, and the flimsy chaff that is discarded as the grain is harvested couldn’t be greater. Life as one of God’s people isn’t just a minor upgrade on the usual human experience – it’s a completely different kind of life. The unbeliever is not simply a slightly less sturdy tree, a bit smaller, a bit less fruitful, but more or less the same. They are ‘chaff’. That is, they have no lasting strength. They will be carried off on the breeze and there will be nothing left to show that they were ever there. It’s not that they don’t have any value – we know that everyone is made in the image of God and so has dignity and purpose. It’s just that their life is so empty and fleeting, compared to a life lived in relationship with God, now and in eternity, that it is ‘chaff’ by comparison.

Only, of course, that’s not how it looks or feels – either to us, or to them. We are so convinced by what we can see and touch and hold right now that we THINK this life, in the material world, is all that there is. Or, at least, we think that spiritual life now, and eternity to come, are just the icing on the cake, and that this life we’re in right now is still the most significant part of our experience. This verse tells us we’re wrong. The forever life that comes from belonging to God is as much superior to our present experience as a 100-year-old oak tree is to an empty husk, floating in the breeze.

Let’s praise God today that because we belong to him we have a completely different life to live, compared to those who don’t know him. And let’s ask for his help to really believe that and to rightly value the privilege that it is.

Psalm 1:3

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

Here we see the result of being a person who delights in, and meditates on, God’s word. I think there’s at least 2 surprises in this verse …

Firstly, I love this picture of the tree – stable, rooted, well-fed, well-watered, and fruitful. It’s beautiful, and attractive. Who wouldn’t want to be that kind of person? But it’s also really ‘earthy’ and solid. The absolute opposite of the picture we usually have of ‘bookish’ people. We might imagine that immersing yourself in words would be the sure-fire way to become a grey and dusty academic, living at the top of an ivory tower somewhere. Undoubtedly an expert on something, however irrelevant, but a bit flimsy when faced with any kind of real-world problem. Yet immersing ourselves in God’s words does exactly the opposite. It makes us more solid, more stable, more fruitful. We are sustained and equipped for our own lives, and more practically useful to the people around us.

Secondly, we might be surprised that a person who delights in God’s word ‘prospers’. After all, so often we see that Christians are marginalised or persecuted by the world. And we do need to remember that this is poetic language rather than a binding legal document. This verse doesn’t guarantee that a Christian will ALWAYS succeed in everything, and back in v.1 we saw that the blessings we enjoy do not primarily come in the form of health, wealth or happiness. Nevertheless, in general, it is true that those who shape their lives according to God’s word prosper. We do better when we live according to the maker’s instructions than when we ignore his purposes and try to figure out for ourselves what is good for us. Life works better if people are faithful rather than adulterous, generous rather than thieving, loving rather than murderous.

So today, let’s pray that we would so delight in God’s word that it would result in ever-increasing fruitfulness in our lives, benefitting not just us but also those around us.

Psalm 1:2

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

We saw yesterday that the blessed person is the one who belongs to God. So it makes sense that they will want to listen more to God’s voice than the world’s voice. In fact, they don’t just listen to God’s word. They delight in it. They love it. They meditate on it day and night. God’s word doesn’t just pass in through one ear and out of the other. They pause to think about it. They reflect on what they hear, chewing it over, letting it sink in. They keep coming back to it. Sunday’s sermon isn’t gone and forgotten by Monday morning. Instead, they keep it in mind during the week, looking out for situations where the word that they heard might change the way they would otherwise have thought, or spoken or acted.

These people are more interested in what God has to say to them than what they have to say to themselves. So, they would rather reflect on what God has said than relive their own past conversations. They would rather ponder the truth of God’s words than rehearse imaginary arguments in which they are shown to be right. When their own thoughts about themselves and the world around them are out of line with what God’s word says, they’re ready to change their minds.

I wish this was a description of me, but it’s not! At least, not yet. None of us delights in God’s word perfectly, all the time. But all of us could take one small step towards delighting in the word more. How could you make a little bit more space for God’s word in your mind and your schedule this summer? Deciding what to read when we get to the end of this Psalm together, perhaps? Committing to read the Bible before you read the news? Deciding to spend at least as long in the Bible as you do on social media?

Let’s thank God for the gift of his word, and ask for his help to become people who delight in it more and more.

Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

Until a few years ago, ‘Blessed’ wasn’t a word you came across much outside the Bible. But the invention of the hashtag has changed all that! In the world of social media, being #Blessed often seems to involve being impossible stylish (for women) or having a flash new car (for men). Prosperity gospel preachers would agree with the world’s view that blessing from God is measured by material wealth.

But in the world of the psalmist, being blessed is very different. Jesus tells us that the blessed are the poor in spirit, the weak, the persecuted and those who mourn. Their blessing is not material comfort or worldly success. No. They are blessed by being citizens of the kingdom of heaven, children of God, adopted into his family through the saving death of Jesus.

The blessed person is the person who belongs to God. Rather than walking in step with the wicked they walk in step with the Spirit. Rather than standing alongside sinners, joining in with the crowd, they stand alongside Jesus, even when that means persecution. Rather than sitting down and getting comfy with the mockers, raising their voices to join in ridiculing what is good, they sit quietly at the feet of Jesus and listen to his words.

Naturally, this isn’t where we belong. Being part of the company of God’s people is a blessing, given to us by God.

So today, let’s give thanks that we are truly blessed, far beyond anything that the world of Twitter and Instagram can understand. And let’s pray that we would stand and walk and sit, and speak and think and live not like the world around us, but as the blessed children of God that we are.