Acts 1:1-5

Acts was almost certainly written by Luke. Although he does not explicitly identify himself as the author, the opening verse strongly indicates that he was the author.

It is noteworthy that he says that in Luke he wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. Jesus continues to do things, mostly through the church, and this continues to this day. We must never view ourselves as a purely human organisation, we are part of the body of Christ and He is the head.

Jesus gave several convincing proofs that He was alive. This gives lie to the idle notion some have that the early church were gullible people who would believe anything. They knew that in the normal course of events people do not rise from the dead, and so they needed proof that Jesus really had done so. Equally, God does not actually expect us to believe things without a good reason.

In the time between the resurrection and the ascension Jesus was teaching and preparing His disciples about the kingdom of God. He had spoken to them about these things before, but they didn't really understand. Now that He had risen from the dead they could begin to truly understand. Likewise, it can take events in our life to enable us to fully understand certain aspects of God's word.

He told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. The church is nothing without the Holy Spirit. He is the One who directs and empowers us.

Psalm 14

There is a great deal of debate about Christianity these days and a rise of militant atheism. Atheists often exhibit an intellectual superiority, but the truth is that it is foolish to deny the existence of God. Denial of God leads to moral decay. Now, of course, many evil things have been done in the name of Christianity, but those who do such things cannot really be Christians, and have denied God. History shows us that societies that deny the existence of God can become the worst perpetrators of evil, Communist Russia and China being examples.

The Lord looks on the earth for people who seek Him, for He can work through such people. No one human being matched up to God's standard. The Old Testament contains many examples of good people, but all of them had fatal flaws as well (eg Moses, David).

The evildoers exploit the poor, but in the end it is God's judgement that will prevail.

Psalm 13

David cries out in despair. He wonders how long he will have to wait for God to rescue him.

Note that the things David fears are being forgotten by God, and God hiding His face from Him. David knows that it is good to be under the Lord's care, whereas many seem to want to run from His presence.

David wrestles with all sorts of thoughts and emotions, with sorrow in his heart. We sometimes labour under the misunderstanding that if only we had enough faith then we would always live life in perfect peace. Psalms like these show that it is perfectly normal for God's people to go through anguish in their hearts, and God is perfectly happy for us to tell Him about it.

David calls on God to look upon him, otherwise his enemies will triumph over him.

Despite all he is going through, and all that he feels, David continues to put his trust in God.

Psalm 12

In this Psalm David despairs of the condition of men. It seems that there is no one who is faithful. The people who once were loyal have vanished. Instead people lie to each other, and any apparently kind words are only flattery. In reality there is deception in their hearts.

This could be a description of much of the world today, especially in politics, but in day-to-day life was well.

The people spoke proudly as well and boasted in their own supposed abilities. David calls on the Lord to silence the flattering and boastful tongues.

The thing that arouses the Lord to action is the plight of the poor and needy. Unlike the words of men, the words of the Lord are flawless and can be completely relied upon.

Psalm 11

Many counselled David that there was no point in standing and fighting, the only thing he could do was flee. Why did they say this? Because the wicked had him in their sights, indeed they had all the righteous in their sights. The situation seemed hopeless for the very foundations were being destroyed.

David saw things completely differently, and their suggestions of fleeing seemed ridiculous because he had taken refuge in the Lord. Some see Christianity as a crutch, something only for the weak, and when we read of "taking refuge" our immediate picture may be of a hiding place. This Psalm shows that taking refuge in the Lord is completely different. It is not something that enables us to hide from reality, but something that enables us to face up to situations. The gospel is not a crutch but a sword with which to fight the battles of life.

Why does taking refuge in the Lord make such a difference? Because the Lord is in His temple observing all the earth. He sees exactly what is happening, and He is on the side of the righteous.

Notice the tactics used by the enemy and David's response to them. The enemy tries to get David to focus on his weaknesses, on his inability to deal with the situation. David's response is to look to the Lord and to focus on His character and His strength. We should do the same.

Psalm 10

It is possible that Psalms 9 and 10 were originally a single Psalm.

In this Psalm David wrestles with the problem of why the Lord sometimes seems to do nothing about the wicked, or to help us in times of trouble. One immediate lesson we can learn from this is that God is perfectly capable of coping with us when we feel like this. We can tell God what we are really thinking and do not need to pretend.

The godless can be boastful, and they can seem to succeed and prosper in what they do. Moreover, they exploit the weak.

While David is frustrated by this and cannot understand why God seems to do nothing, deep down he knows that God does care for the weak. He finishes the Psalm by declaring God's concern for the afflicted and calling on Him to act.

Psalm 9

The Jews thought that David wrote this Psalm after killing Goliath. Before taking on Goliath David had declared his trust in God, in fact this was the reason why he had the courage to take on the battle. Confidence in the Lord gives us boldness, for it makes otherwise impossible things suddenly possible. Having won the victory he now praises the Lord who helped him.

David has seen the Lord defeat his enemies, and rebuke the godless nations. David then moves on to wider praise of God. The Lord reigns forever and has established His throne of judgement. The Lord is the one we should fear, no one else, for it is the Lord who has the final say on all things. Moreover, the Lord judges with righteousness and fairness.

The Lord is a refuge. Many things will happen in life that seem to threaten us, but in all these we can make the Lord our refuge. He is our protection. We trust in Him and He has always proved faithful, and His faithfulness is to be proclaimed among the nations.

In verse 13 there is a sudden change in tone as it becomes apparent that David is still in danger. He calls on God to help him so that he can declare God's praises. He also calls on God to rise over his enemies.

Psalm 8

Unlike many of the Psalms there is no mention of David's own feelings or situation in this Psalm, it is just a pure declaration of God's greatness and glory. One is not better than the other, there are times to come to God in both ways. There are times when it is right to start with our situation, and there are times when it is good just to praise God for who He is.

The Lord's name is majestic in all the earth. There is no place, no land, no peoples, where the name of the Lord is not majestic. The whole earth will be filled with His glory, and every tribe and tongue will one day bow down and worship Christ.

Verse 2 reminds us how powerful praise is. It does not just make us feel good (though it will often do that), it has a powerful effect.

It is amazing that this all powerful majestic God should have concern for us. Though we made weak, we have been crowned with glory and honour. He has given us dominion over all things on the earth.

Many object to worshipping God, thinking that it belittles man. The truth is that when we worship Him, we become what we were always meant to be, and when we submit to Him, we find we have more authority than we ever imagined.

Genesis 36

We now get an account of Esau and his descendants. I have to admit I don't find passages like these the most exciting. The purpose is to show what happened to him, and to explain the origins of some of Israel's future enemies. It is interesting that many of her enemies were offshoots of Israel herself in some way or other, as with Ishmael and Esau.

Three wives are named here: Adah, Oholibamah abd Basemath. Two of these are not the same as those mentioned earlier (Gen 26:34 & 28:9), presumably these ones had died. Frequent mention is made of the fact that Esau's descendants became the Edomites, and source of trouble for Israel. Interestingly Esau's sons were born in the land of Canaan, but were not to inherit the land. Jacob's sons were born outside the land, but then moved in to it.


Apologies for the rather brief notes today. Next we will have a week of Psalms and then go onto Acts.

Genesis 35

Jacob is told to go to Bethel and settle there. Bethel is the place where God appeared to him with the vision of the stairway to heaven. We are to build our lives around what God has shown us. This is primarily the word of God, but also personal things that God has shown to us.

Jacob prepares himself and his entourage for returning. God is the God who helped him in his distress and was faithful to him. Remember this is the promise that Jacob made to God at Bethel (Gen 28:20-22). Jacob got everyone to get rid of their idols. If we are to truly follow God we cannot have any idols in our life. God protected the people. We may see danger around us, but that does not mean it is going to harm us, God can protect us. This is not a call to be stupid (there are proverbs warning against ignoring danger), but God's plas for our lives will always seem to involve some risk. We can still trust God.

God appears to Jacob and repeats the promises and commands from the beginning of Genesis and those made to Abraham. The Abrahamic plan is the means of the original purpose of humaity being fulfilled.

Rachel has her last son, Benjamin, and dies. This is why Benjamin was special to Jacob. Also it is the first mention of Bethlehem. Isaac also died, and there is further evidence of trouble amongst the sons.

Genesis 34

This is another story of an incident with little to commend it morally. There is an attack on Jacob's family in the form of Shechem, a Hivite, raping Jacob's daughter Dinah.  Verse 3 seems to indicate there was more to it than mere lust. Hamor then tries to use the incident to get the two people's to intermarry, offering trade as an additional incentive.

Jacob's sons do the right thing by not going along with this, but go about it in a deceitful way, just as Jacob had gone about many things in a deceitful way. They pretend to go along with the offer, but insist that the Hivites circumcise themselves. The Hivites agreed to this, but after they had circumcised themselves, the Israelites attacked and killed the Hivites.

Jacob is concerned about the after effects, but his sons are more concerned about the loss of honour. Older people tend to have a more pragmatic outlook on life.

Genesis 33

Jacob was still very wary of the situation, but he had no need to fear. Esau was delighted to see him. When we are faced with problems involving other people our minds naturally become focused on the other person and the "need" for them to change. However, God's way is that we focus on our own need to change. When we do this we will often find that God has changed the other person as well, as has happened here. If instead, we continue to be obsessed with the other person changing we will find only frustration.

There was a debate of sorts over the acceptance of gifts, but it was really just a polite ritual.

While the meeting had been cordial, Jacob does not want to closely ally himself to Esau. He knows the promise that God has for him and does not allow himself to be distracted from that. 

Once again there is reference to land being bought, this is emphasising Israel's legal right to the land.

Genesis 32

Jacob went on his way and was met by the angels of God. All seems well, but Jacob is having to face up to a major issue in his life, one which could cost him his life. He has to meet with Esau. Remember that Jacob had been on the run from Esau for many years, and Esau's parting words had been that he wanted Jacob dead. 

Jacob uses his wits to try and get through the situation. He sends messengers ahead to Esau and promises gifts to him. The news Jacob receives does not seem good, for he hears that Esau is on his way with 400 men. Jacob is filled with fear and splits his people and livestock in to two groups, hoping that at least one of the groups would survive. 

Jacob then prays to God. God had told him to return to the land, but doing so means he has to confront Esau, and death seems certain. Sometimes when God calls us to do something it will entail confronting something or someone we would rather not confront. Jacob knows the promises of God for him, but also sees the threat.

At night Jacob sends his servants with gifts, hoping to placate Esau. Jacob sent his servants ahead, then he sent his family ahead. He was left alone. Despite all his planning, he knew that he could do nothing, and he was left alone with God. All night he wrestled with a man. Later it turns out that he was in fact wrestling with God. This can be seen as a picture of Jacob's life. He thought that Esau was his biggest problem, but he in fact needed to get sorted out with God. 

Jacob only realises it is God when the man blesses him. A sure sign of an encounter with God is that God blesses you.

Genesis 31

Jacob's tricks were earning him a bad reputation and the attitude of Laban and Laban's sons was hardening against him. The Lord tells Jacob that it is time for him to return to his home land. Jacob tells his wives that it was God who gave him prosperity through the speckled sheep trick, though the actual account of the event contains no mention of this. 

Rachel and Leah are happy to leave, so they gather up all they have and leave. Like the Egyptians, Laban chases after them three days later and eventually catches up with them. Laban was angered by Jacob's actions, or at least claimed to be. However, God had warned Laban not to harm Jacob. We need to be aware that God does not just speak to the godly, but also to anyone to whom He chooses to speak.

Laban accuses Jacob of taking his household gods. Jacob had no knowledge of this, and vehemently denied it. However, Rachel had indeed stolen the gods. However, she pretended to be having a period, so Laban did not find them. So Laban fails to find anything, and Jacob rebukes him. After something of an argument they make a covenant. It said a boundary between the two peoples.

Genesis 30

Rachel became jealous of her sister. Throughout the Bible you will find rivalries and friction between brothers and sisters, and parents and children. She demanded that Jacob give her children. This was an entirely unreasonable demand for her to make as it was not his fault she didn't have children. However, humans, when under stress, do make unreasonable demands of other people. We need to watch ourselves that we do not follow this road. Jacob's answer contained the clue to the solution, it is God that we need to go to.

Rachel then proposed a solution similar to the one that Sarah suggested to Abraham, though Rachel seems happier with the result than was Sarah (Genesis 16)! Leah, not to be outdone, then gave her servant girl to Jacob. Clearly social mores were different in those days!

Another dispute arises between Rachel and Leah, this time over mandrakes. Mandrakes were thought to have aphrodisiac properties, and to enhance fertility. Hence the argument over who should have them. Jacob seems to have become a sex object by this stage, a reversal of the more commonly associated roles between men and women! Finally, Leah has several more sons, then Rachel finally has a son, Joseph. The whole point of this is to show why Joseph was the favourite son.

Jacob decides he has been with Laban long enough and wants to return to his land. This results in a typical scheme between Laban and Jacob over wages. The outcome was that Jacob became exceedingly wealthy.

Genesis 29

Jacob, having been a manipulator, is lumbered with another manipulator, Laban, and a battle of wits ensues between the two of them. Jacob meets Laban and Rachel and it seems that a good relationship will develop between them.

Laban offered Jacob something in return for his work. Jacob fancied Rachel and asked for her as a wife. Laban had two daughters, and Rachel was the more beautiful of the two. Jacob offered to work for 7 years for Rachel.

Laban agreed to this, and the time passed quickly. We might think it strange that the 7 years passed quickly, this seeming like an age to us, but there is a difference between love and lust. We would do well to learn patience. There then follows one of the strangest incidents on the Bible. A marriage feast ensues, but Laban gives Leah to Jacob instead. Jacob does not realise this until the morning. Either Jacob must have been very drunk or Leah must have been well covered up.

Laban gives an excuse to Jacob, and he ends up having to work another seven years. Now Leah was not much appreciated by anyone it seems. Laban wanted to get rid of her, and Jacob did not really want her. However, God had concern for her. It doesn't matter whether or not you are naturally popular with people, the Lord is on your side. So the Lord gave Leah children. Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah were born to her.

Genesis 28

Isaac had accepted the situation with the blessings and gave Jacob his blessing before Jacob left. He also passed on the advice that his father had given him on not marrying a Canaanite woman. Isaac also desired that Jacob take possession of the land they currently lived in. Isaac saw the future through the eyes of faith, despite all the circumstances and troubles thrown up by human frailties. We too should be like this. We should not deny the realities of whatever situation we find ourselves in, but we should still look forward with faith. Moreover, we should still pronounce blessings. The most important factors in determining the future are God's grace and God's promises.

Esau's approach to life was to cause trouble. He saw a way of angering his father so he took that course. Esau was motivated by resentment and a focus on the here and now (and not a very healthy focus on the here and now at that). If we do not look forward with faith then we will make wrong decisions about the present.

Jacob left and God gave him a dream of a stairway to heaven. God reiterates the promises and assures him that He will be with him and will protect him.

Jacob's departure had been caused by events, yet he discovers that God "is in this place and I never knew it". Sometimes we should look at our circumstances. We will sometimes be surprised to find that God is in the midst of it in ways we never expected. Jacob then commits his way to the Lord.

Genesis 27

We now see how Jacob finally obtained Esau's  blessing. It is a tale of deception and taking advantage of his father's poor eyesight, and also urged on by his mother.

Isaac fully intended the blessing to go to Esau, and sent Esau out hunting in preparation for the event. Rebekah was listening in and saw that action needed to be taken if Jacob was to receive the blessing, otherwise it would be too late. Jacob was to get some game and pretend to be his brother. This involved dressing up as a hairy man. Rebekah took responsibility for the deception upon herself.

Jacob carried out the deception, but Isaac was a little suspicious. First because of how quick Jacob had been (to which Jacob took God's name in vain, attributing his speed to God). Then Isaac detected a difference in the voice, but was fooled by the animals fur that Jacob was wearing. He even challenged Jacob directly, and Jacob lied. Isaac then gives the blessing to Jacob. It was essentially the promise that God had given to Abraham in Genesis 12.

Just after this Esau arrived back and the deception became apparent. Isaac was trembling with rage. Isaac gave Esau a blessing of sorts, but, not surprisingly, Esau held a grudge against Jacob and vowed to kill him. Rebekah makes sure that Jacob goes away to stay with Laban in order to keep him safe.

All in all this is not a very glorious episode. Esau is reaping the fruit of his willingness to give up his birthright (which is more or less identical to the blessing, both being to do with inheritance). Jacob and Rebekah are acting deceitfully, and Isaac is the victim of a fraud. Yet later on in the Bible there are several references to this being God's plan. If it wasn't for this we could simply put the whole matter down to human frailty and sinfulness, yet it still formed part of God's plan. We can understand why Esau did not deserve the blessing, but there is no way that Jacob did deserve it. Perhaps one lesson is that if we receive the blessing of God we should never presume that this makes us morally superior.

Genesis 26

There was a famine in land. God warned Isaac not to go down to Egypt. In a previous famine (Genesis 12:10) Abraham had gone down to Egypt, and this had caused trouble. God warns Isaac not to make the same mistake. Christians will live in times of difficulty like everyone else (eg the current recession), but we must listen to God and follow His guidance. This applies to general guidance which we all have (eg trust God, do not be anxious, continue to be generous to others etc), and any specific guidance that God might give to us.

The reason for the instruction from God was that Isaac was to remain in the land that He had promised to him. The famine did not negate the promise of God. Likewise with us, the difficulties do not mean that God is not going to fulfil His promises, and we must continue to live in the "land" He gives us. Ie we must continue to live Christlike lives.

While Isaac obeyed God on this one, he then made the same mistake that Abraham had made and lied about his wife. Fortunately Abimelech realised what was going on before any trouble arose. In fact Isaac was rather fortunate in the way Abimelech reacted, though this may have been a result of the last time it happened with Abraham.

Isaac planted crops and became wealthy, even in a time of famine. This then led to envy and a dispute with the Philistines over the wells. After a series of digging wells and disputes Isaac found a place where he could settle. The Lord then appeared to Isaac and reassured him. After a battle of some sort, even though we may come through it victorious, we can still feel vulnerable or weakened after it. God knows this, and we should look to Him to strengthen us, as He did here with Isaac.

Abimilech came and sought to make a treaty with Isaac, and Isaac agreed. The they found water. Esau, meantime, was marrying the wrong people and causing trouble for his parents.

Genesis 25

Abraham seems to have been reinvigorated, taking another wife. The Midianites were later to be a source of trouble to Israel. He seems to have been somewhat mixed up. He had concubines as well and gave gifts to his various sons, but he knew that the promise of God belonged only to Isaac. 

Ishmael had remained in some sort of contact with Abraham, and he, together with Isaac, buried Abraham. Ishmael gave birth to twelve sons, and thus twelve tribes. Following the prophecy, these tribes lived in hostility to all the related tribes.

Just as Sarah had been unable to have children, so was Rebekah. Isaac prayed, and the Lord enabled her to have children. A number of key people in the Bible had problems having children. She conceived twins, and they fought within her womb. Esau and Jacob received their names on the basis of their birth. Jacob's name means he grabs the heel, and this grasping and manipulating was to characterise much of his life.

They developed different characters. Isaac liked Esau, and Rebekah Jacob. Esau was the more outgoing character, yet the blessing was to go through Jacob. This is a warning that our natural judgement on people can be deeply flawed.

Jacob tricked Esau into giving him his birthright. Esau had a very short term view of life, whereas Jacob looked to the longer term.

Genesis 24

Abraham was reaching the end of his life and was thinking of the next generation. His main concern was that Isaac would not marry a Canaanite. There is no racial prejudice here, the distinction is whether someone is a member of God's people or not. Abraham knew that if Isaac married a Canaanite, then he would be led into following their ways. In today's world it means that Christians should not marry non-Christians. Now a number of things need to be said. If you are already married to a non-Christian then you should stay in the marriage, and it will be blessed by God (1 Corinthians 7). Sometimes a Christian does go out with a non-Christian and the non-Christian gets saved, when that happens we should give thanks to God, but it is more likely that the Christian will drift away from God.

The servant could see obstacles in the way of this plan, namely he not being able to find a suitable woman, but Abraham is confident that God will provide the necessary means for His plan to be fulfilled. Note also that he does not put the responsibility on the servant to force a woman to come back. He only requires of the servant what is reasonable to expect. We too, even if we are following God's plan, should be careful not to put unreasonable burdens on others.

The servant set out to fulfil his task, and prayed to the Lord for guidance and help. Not surprisingly, things worked out, and the servant found Rebekah. She went back to Abraham with him and became Isaac's wife.

Genesis 23

We now continue in Genesis. Abraham is coming to the end of his life and the mantle passes on to Isaac. Sarah, Abraham's wife, has died, and he wants to bury her. He is still a stranger in the land promised to him by God. Abraham has earned a good reputation with the inhabitants of the land, and they want to give him the burial place, but he insists on buying it. This is an act of faith on Abraham's part, because he believes that one day the land will belong to his people.

In the end Abraham paid 400 pieces of silver for the land. The key thing is that it became a permanent possession for the Abraham's people. 400 shekels was actually a large price for a piece of land.

The key thing to learn from this is that Abraham is making decisions about his life based on the promises that God has made to him.

Psalm 7

Yet again David is in trouble. Few of us like facing difficulties or dangers, but the reality is that they can be very effective in our lives. They force us to focus on what is really important and to stop trusting in the wrong things.

Again, David's first concern is whether or not God has anything against him. If God is against us then we really are in trouble, but if God is for us and not against us we have nothing to fear.

David then calls on God to avenge him and to bring an end to wickedness. We may find it hard to take some of the calls for judgement that we find in Psalms. One way to help with this is to ask yourself, what if God never judged evil?

By the end David is confident in God again, knowing that it is those who attack him who will come to a sticky end. In many of the Psalms we see David go through a range of emotions. Sometimes we have a silly idea that if we only trusted God enough we would never struggle, or we condemn ourselves if we are finding things difficult. This is not the way the Bible commends to us. Instead we should work through the negative stuff until we come to a place of praise and trust.

Psalm 6

This is a Psalm written by David during a time of serious illness.

His first concern is that the Lord will not be angry with him. He does not want to suffer the Lord's wrath. When things go wrong it is natural to wonder if God has something against us.

Then David appeals to God to heal him, because he is finding the illness so severe. It seems as though God will never answer. Again this is a totally natural reaction.

He calls on the Lord to deliver him because of His unfailing love. The love that God has for us is the grounds we have for hoping that He will come to our rescue. We do well to remember that the Lord loves us.

The he reminds God that the dead cannot praise Him. We are no use to God dead.

At the end of the Psalm David doesn't feel any better physically, but the difference is that he is now confident in the Lord, confident that the Lord will deliver him, and that his enemies will be defeated. The first stage in breakthrough in a situation is having faith that God will deliver us. Faith comes first, then deliverance.

Psalm 5

Like many of the Psalms, this one begins with a cry for help. Maybe sometimes we believe we should start the day full of praise and adoration for God, and sometimes we do, and it would be wonderful if we did this all the time, but we don't, and that is OK. The Psalms show us that God can cope with us the way we are.

This Psalm was a morning Psalm (v3) and David starts out by calling for help to deal with the problems he has, and then reminds himself of who God is. God does not like wickedness, He is a God of justice, therefore David expects God to do something about the situation. In all the circumstances we face we should consider who God is and what He is like. Look at Jesus and remember what the gospels reveal about Him, then ask ourselves what His reaction and attitude is towards our situation.

Then David commits himself to follow God's ways, not the way of the wicked. Whatever the circumstances we must live life the way Jesus wants us to. Then we will live under the protection of God and under His blessing.

Psalm 4

David starts by calling on God to answer him and give him "relief" from his "distress". Then he turns and addresses men. he declares that their schemes are futile. They attacked him and turned his glory to shame, and lived by delusions.

David knows that he is secure because the Lord has set him apart. Every single one of us who belongs to God can claim the same. Jesus said that even the hairs on our head are counter. We belong to the Lord and He looks after us. No matter what we might be going through at this moment, we should declare that the Lord hears us and will act on our behalf. It might not be in the way we expect, but He will act on our behalf.

We must submit to the Lord, not to the circumstances. We should call on Him to fill our hearts with joy. Sometimes we can be filled with sorrow or anguish, but we should call upon the Lord to fill us with joy.

Psalm 3

The Psalms reveal many things, and one is David letting go of his emotions. When we come before God we do not just have to praise Him, we can let Him know exactly how we feel. God knows how we feel anyway, so there is no point hiding anything!

David starts by talking about the number of enemies he had against him, and remember that his life would literally be in danger. This then moves him to declare God's faithfulness. If we try and pretend then we get nowhere, we are just being religious. If we are honest with God, we will find that it moves us from despair to faith, for the Holy Spirit is at work in us.

So in the midst of danger we can sleep in peace and safety because of the presence of the Lord, we can have boldness within. Circumstances do not determine whether or not we are doing OK, it is the state of our heart and spirit that determines this.

So at the end David is able to call on God with confidence, knowing that He will defeat his enemies.

PS I am not going to go through all the Psalms just now, but do a batch of 7 every so often.

Psalm 2

This is really a continuation of Psalm 1. Now the Psalmist turns to the futility of those who plot and rage against God. We should bear this attitude in mind as well when people today scoff and sneer at the gospel. We are not defending an idea, but proclaiming the truth that God gave us. God is the maker and sustained or all things, and in the end He will demonstrate His glory to the whole world. We need not fear when other oppose God. Equally we have no need to indulge in underhand tactics (and definitely not violent ones!). We should proclaim and argue the truth, but we need to remember that God is perfectly able of defending Himself. So we should do everything in a Christlike manner.

Man's rantings and ravings are futile and invite only ridicule from God. Jesus has been declared Lord of All by God, and all the world will become His inheritance.

We also need to remember that the Lord will come again on power and judgement. The rulers of the earth would be wise to submit to God, rather than fight a futile battle.