Psalm 86:11

Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! I wonder what your school teachers were like. I suspect that we all had a wide range of experiences. Some of my teachers were strict, others were encouraging, a few were inspiring. Some seemed to be in the wrong job, others were funny - and some just thought they were funny! Teachers vary enormously, but when it comes to learning about life itself, we need the very best teacher. Here, David recognises that God is that person. God is often spoken of as Israel’s teacher. In Isaiah 2:3, the prophet identified Jerusalem as the centre of education for the world when he wrote: “People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.” Sadly, God’s teaching was often rejected. In Jeremiah’s prophecy we hear God saying: “My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey” (Jeremiah 32:33). Aren’t they painful words? No one likes it when someone turns their back on them, but when God’s own people reject his teaching, it must be excruciatingly painful. If we are to grow in our walk with God, we need to listen hard to his instruction. Many people will help us on that journey, but God is the source of all faithful teaching. He sends us preachers, teachers, Bibles and study books, and surrounds us with Christian friends who can help us to understand what he is saying to us. To use the powerful language of Jeremiah’s prophecy, we need to make sure that we turn our faces to his teaching and not our backs.

Question What is God teaching you at the moment?

Prayer Loving Father, thank you that your teaching always encourages and strengthens us. Amen

Psalm 86:8

No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do! There have always been lots of gods on offer. A god is anything that calls for our commitment and devotion, and in every age, there has been a colourful variety of options. I once stayed with a journalist in Mumbai who had a remarkable variety of gods in his flat. There were pictures of many Hindu deities, but Jesus and Mary were there as well. Gods also come in more subtle forms. A person’s family or their job, house, bank balance, hobby or sport can be their god. All of those things are good in themselves, but when they are turned into gods, they take on a completely different and potentially destructive significance. King David was well aware of the wide range of gods that he could worship, but he concluded that the God of Israel was incomparably great. He alone was worthy of David’s commitment and devotion. The prophets spent a lot of time mocking the false gods of their time. Isaiah mocked the wood carver who carefully worked with his chisel and plane to carve a human figure. He created a little shrine out of it and fell down in worship before it, crying: “Rescue me! You are my god.” He then took another part of the wood to make a fire with which he warmed himself and baked bread. Isaiah laughed at the sheer absurdity of this and called the wood carver a “poor, deluded fool” (Isaiah 44:20). Tough talk, but Isaiah knew that worshipping the one true God was something of infinite importance. David and Isaiah’s straightforward approach to false gods needs to challenge our own attitudes. Like them, we would let other people down if we didn’t make it clear that any other god will be a complete disappointment. They may give encouragement for a while, but ultimately they are bound to let us down. Only the one true God will be faithful to us for time and eternity. Only he is worthy of our commitment and devotion.

Question What are the most common gods in our society?

Prayer Lord God, I commit my whole self to you as the one true God. Help me to be faithful to you and to take every opportunity to speak to others about your incomparable greatness. Amen

Psalm 86:5

O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Sooner or later, everything breaks down. Whether you are thinking of your health, car, bicycle, microwave, computer, vacuum cleaner or heating system, all of them will, one day, encounter problems. In this psalm, David faces up to the fact that we all sin. It’s not pleasant to admit, but we would be crazy to suggest that it doesn’t affect us. Of course, we may try to wriggle out of this by suggesting that our sins are not nearly as bad as other people’s sins but, at the end of the day, we need to acknowledge that we are sinners, falling well short of God’s standards. The Bible doesn’t draw our attention to our sin in order to humiliate us, or to encourage us to beat ourselves up. It shines the light on our sin in order to show us the remedy. In Romans 3:23, the apostle Paul wrote: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Sadly, we let God down each day through our self-centredness. Our thoughts, words and actions are all cheapened and spoilt through our preoccupation with ourselves. Because we are not entirely in tune with God, we fail to say and do many things that he would have wanted. The remedy for sin is truly amazing. God offers to wipe it out. He offers to forgive our sins. We are familiar with the fact that failings normally lead to penalties. If I fail to drive at an appropriate speed, or to park in the right place, I am likely to get a penalty, and although we huff and puff, we know that’s what happens and we accept it. But what happens about the penalty for our sin? The Bible tells us that Jesus took that penalty upon himself through dying on the cross. He was perfect, so was able to take the weight of our failures upon himself and offer us forgiveness. God offers his forgiveness to us today and, as we face the facts, we all need to turn to him and receive his gift.

Question In what ways do you regularly let God down?

Prayer Lord God, I admit that I have failed you in thought, word and deed and I accept your generous gift of forgiveness. Amen

Psalm 81:10-11

“For it was I, the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around.” We probably all know the feeling when someone doesn’t want us around. It’s painful. For some reason, they don’t come out with it plainly and clearly, but we get the clear impression that we are not welcome. However, it is much more tragic when people decide that they don’t want God around, and that’s how the psalmist described Israel. He was the God who had led them out of slavery in Egypt. He was nothing less than their God of salvation, but time and again they rejected him and refused to listen to him. We are not just talking about ancient history – we are describing our society today. The majority of people totally ignore God. They don’t want him around because they think he will spoil their fun. They are concerned that they will lose their freedom. However, we need to take every opportunity to inform people that actually he is the God who wants to fill their lives with good things. As the psalmist put it in Psalm 84:11, “The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Far from spoiling our fun, God’s desire is to complete our enjoyment of life. Far from limiting our freedom, God enables us to find true freedom for the first time. The key to receiving God’s blessing is listening. Israel’s refusal to listen to God was at the heart of their downfall. God is kind and merciful, and as soon as we listen to him, he is able to bless us. Listening is much more than simply hearing. The listening that we need to do is all about giving God our full attention and showing our willingness to turn his words into action. When we listen like that, it is like opening our mouths wide, and, when we do, God is then able to fill us with good things.

Question Why do we often find it hard to listen to God?

Prayer Lord God our Father, we thank you that you are always looking for an opportunity to bless us. Help us to listen hard to your voice and be willing to turn your words into action. Amen