Daily Bible Devotionals

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Psalm 55. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life; they have not set God before them.  Selah   Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble; and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.”  Psalm 54:1-7 (NKJV)

We could easily weigh the value of David’s psalm solely by virtue of its declarations about God and David’s faithfulness in the midst of trouble.  We could also focus on God’s judgment of David’s enemies.  But today’s psalm has a header that tells us David wrote the song in response to a specific instance or instances, as the case may be.  The header in my Bible reads:  “To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, ‘Is David not hiding with us?’”  We find those instances in 1 Samuel 23 and 26. (NKJV)

“And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, ‘Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.’  So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house. Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ‘Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.’”  1 Samuel 23:14-19 (NKJV)

“Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ‘Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?’” 1 Samuel 26:1 (NKJV)

There are two profoundly interesting things about both Biblical instances, where the Ziphites attempted to rat out David. 1) God allowed David to escape and foiled the plans of His enemies, and 2) God’s deliverance of David set up situations where David spared Saul’s life.  In both instances where the Ziphites sought to aid Saul in killing David, God used that situation to spare both David’s and Saul’s lives.  BOTH of His anointed kings were in His sovereign grasp, even while one was trying to kill the other.  David’s psalm, then, takes on a different meaning thru the filter of these 1 Samuel accounts.  If God is preserving His anointed (David) from Saul, surely He will protect His anointed (Saul) from David were David to "go rogue."  David declares God is the Judge, and His Word (Truth) will be the scale by which both of His anointed are weighed.  It was by the Word that David prevailed.

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.”  Psalm 53:1-3 (NKJV)

In today’s psalm, David contrasts the folly of the godless nations (those who are either atheists or who believe in false gods and not the God of Israel) with the restoration of Israel.  To be clear, when David says no one “understands or seeks after God,” he is not speaking of all mankind.  David is saying that none of the pagans who oppress Israel seek God, and together they have become corrupt.  

That is not to say that God is a racist or that He loves Israel and hates all other nations.  God created all men.  Furthermore, Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of the world, making a way of salvation for all mankind!  There are many foreigners in the Old Testament who turned from their pagan ways, sought the Lord, and found salvation (Ruth, Naaman, Tamar, Rahab, Nebuchadnezzar, Nineveh, etc.).  David’s point is that it is impossible to seek after God AND be an anti-Semite.  While God has a history of using pagan nations to rebuke Israel, no nation who calls upon God could say that He told them to hate Israel.  Ultimately, Israel will prevail by God’s grace.

“Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? There they are in great fear where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; you have put them to shame, because God has despised them.”  Psalm 53:4-5 (NKJV)

Speaking prophetically, David looks far into Israel’s future and depicts a time when Israel would be taken captive.  This was obviously God speaking through David because the kingdom would not be divided until the reign of his grandson Rehoboam.  Several generations later, Assyria would conquer and exile the ten tribes of Israel’s Northern Kingdom, followed by Babylon’s eventual conquering and dispossessing of the remaining Israelites from the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

“Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” Psalm 53:6 (NKJV)

Was Israel on a downward trend, and did David see their eventual downfall?  Absolutely!  But the greater lesson is that God would allow His own people, and even His own Name, to be tarnished with rebuke by pagan non-believers for both His Name and “namesake” to eventually be restored to their proper place of honor and respect among the nations.  It is amazing to me how far God will go to see His people, the priesthood of all believers, return to Him and testify of His greatness among the nations so that the nations will, in turn, believe in Him!

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking righteousness.  Selah  You love all devouring words, you deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and uproot you from the land of the living.  Selah  The righteous also shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, ‘Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.’ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your Name, for it is good." Psalm 52:1-9 (NKJV)

Today’s psalm is a “Contemplation of David” when Doeg the Edomite told King Saul that David and his men had been given refuge at the house of Ahimelech, the priest.  The story is found in 1 Samuel.  

“And the king (Saul) said, ‘You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!’ Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.’ But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. And the king said to Doeg, ‘You turn and kill the priests!’ So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep - with the edge of the sword. Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. So David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.’” 1 Samuel 22:16-23 (NKJV)

Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother, as was Doeg.  It helps to understand that because none of Saul’s Jewish soldiers would dare kill Ahimelech, the priest—no problem for the Gentile.  David’s psalm is a reminder that God sees and repays injustices.  It is a psalm of hope in God’s justice, even when we are at our most vulnerable and helpless seasons of life (green olive tree in the house of God).  Have you put your faith and trust in Him, or are you still trying to reason & hustle your way through life?  All who turn to Him through the “Son of David,” Jesus, He will hold you in His hand (John 10:28-29) and by no means cast out!  (John 6:37)

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

A Prayer of Repentance - To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.”  Psalm 51:1-4 (NKJV)

In order to fully understand the context of today’s psalm, we must see it through the narrative of 2 Samuel 12.

“…Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’  So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.’ Then Nathan departed to his house.  And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.”  2 Samuel 12:7a-15 (NKJV)

I remember reading 2 Samuel 12 as a new believer, young in the faith, and I could not understand how King David could mutter, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and actually be forgiven.  Oh, the injustice!  Who would avenge Uriah the Hittite?  Something about God’s forgiveness seemed wrong.  But today’s psalm helps us understand that David did not simply utter a short prayer.  David fully acknowledged his sin and articulated to anyone watching-on (the whole nation soon saw David’s kingdom under siege from within his family) that, unlike Job, David was about to get what he deserved, but with mercy. Instead of dying for his sin, David had to live with it.

This account is both frightening and comforting. David knew he could never cleanse himself, but that God could and would.  He begged God for a new heart and a steadfast spirit.  And, like all believers, David received it.  (Romans 15:13; Jeremiah 24:7)

“Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:22-23 (NKJV)

The cultural era in which we live rejects established institutions and moral absolutes. If it has a place for ‘god,’ it is not the God of the Bible. The god this generation establishes is a god of love without judgment. This being the case, many so-called “believers” are rejecting the notion of a literal hell, a real place where real people who do not receive the real gospel will really go.   To them, Jesus is the ultimate pacifist. Perhaps they simply ignore that Scripture says He made a whip and drove buyers and sellers from the Temple complex!

Today’s passage focuses on the Messiah and reminds us of a God of judgment and grace with limits. He says, “Consider, lest I tear you to pieces.”  God communicates His desire to commune with His people while at the same time declaring a certain judgment if they do not repent. This is the same picture we get of Messiah Jesus from the gospels.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all His angels are with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. The people of every nation will be gathered in front of Him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right but the goats on His left.” Matthew 25:31-33 (NKJV)

So, we have a picture of a God who will judge unrepentant sinners righteously yet will show salvation to those who “order their conduct” (repent). Notice this same message being preached by John the Baptist before Jesus’ public ministry began.

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:7-12 (NKJV)

But shortly, Jesus would arrive, whose Hebrew Name, “Yeshua” means “Salvation.”

“‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’” Matthew 1:20b-21 (NKJV)

“This is the way of those who are foolish, and of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me. Selah. Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), he, shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.” Psalm 49:13-20 (NKJV)

In early 2016, Republican political outsider Donald Trump began amassing power. One by one, he took down establishment “shoe-in” candidates. His style was brash and unpredictable. His campaign slogan was simple: “Make America Great Again.”  On an election night that stunned the nation, Trump won.  

Donald Trump’s presidential victory was primarily because Americans were tired of politicians. They believed a billionaire (the man whose book “The Art Of The Deal” was a best-seller) could make us prosperous again. Time would tell whether Trump would bring back financial & military prosperity to the nation through shrewd business deals. Sadly, many Americans don’t read the Bible. If they did, they would have gleaned wisdom from today’s psalm entitled “Confidence of the Foolish  .”Remember, God does not look at the outward appearance; He judges the heart.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

Based on today’s psalm, ask yourself what good it is for a nation to become financially & militarily prosperous yet lose its soul.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36-37 (NKJV)

Our nation should trust the Lord and, specifically, place its faith in the Messiah Jesus. Only He can redeem our souls “from the power of the grave.”

“If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:9-12 (NKJV)

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Psalm 48. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.”  Psalm 47:1-9 (NKJV)

When we read, “Clap your hands, all you peoples…” we must remember that the psalmist is not speaking exclusively to folks within hearing distance, listening to the song. Different than when we go to a concert and the singer exhorts the crowd to clap along. For example, no singer at a concert in Memphis expects people in China to clap along. But that is exactly the intent of the psalmist here in Psalm 47. He is writing a song, not for the people, but for the PEOPLES…all people, everywhere. Why? Because God is not the creator of just the Jewish people. He is the creator of the whole earth! And there is inclusion with respect to worship. Even though the cultures are separated by geographical boundaries, God calls all men everywhere to worship Him! It is not an exclusively New Testament idea, but we see it articulated by Paul in the book of Acts, God’s heart for the Nations.  

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.” Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.’ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’ So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” Acts 17:22-34 (NKJV)