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.