On the Couch With God - Daily Devotional

Bible Reading - Psalm 134 In the final song of ascents, the pilgrim disciple has finally arrived at their destination: the Temple in Jerusalem, the place of God’s presence with His people. Having worshipped the Lord at the Temple, the pilgrim calls others to bless the Lord and then receives a blessing as well! As sojourners on the earth, we too are on a journey to the place of the Lord’s presence with His people. We have His presence with us now via the Holy Spirit, but we journey toward a destination where He will dwell with us fully and completely, where we will experience the fullness of His glory and worship Him forever! As you journey along today, let this psalm remind you of the immensity of the blessing that is God’s presence with His people, and let it fill you with great joy in the hope of the eternal future with Him that is still to come! ON THE COUCH WITH GOD How does the hope of being in the direct presence of God for all of eternity encourage you to bless His n...

Bible Reading - Psalm 133 This psalm pictures the pilgrim disciples gathered together to worship at Jerusalem in total solidarity and unity. The pilgrim sings this song to be reminded of the joys and the blessing that come from a unified community of the Lord’s people, and it is an ideal to which the church is called as well! The psalmist uses two similes to describe the blessing that comes from this kind of unity among God’s people. The first is the oil on Aaron the priest’s head at his ordination (Ex. 30:22-33). This oil set him and his descendants apart, consecrating them as holy. In the same way, unity in the body of Christ sets us apart as holy as we live in the world but are not of the world! The second simile is of the “dew of Hermon” (v.3), a mountain in the far south of the land of Israel. The rains the psalmist is here describing were essential for the survival of Israel’s vegetation during the dry season. In the same way, unity among brothers and sisters in Christ is...

Bible Reading - Psalm 132 This is a royal psalm in which the pilgrim disciple expresses confidence in the Lord’s faithfulness to his covenant with David. They would sing this song, saying outright that they were on their way to Jerusalem to worship (v.6-7), and ask the Lord to fulfill His purpose in His people. They reflect on the promises that God made to David (v.11-12) and rejoice in the hope that He will restore the Davidic line (v.17-18). As we reflect on this psalm, we remember that God’s promises to David were fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ! Jesus is our Davidic King; He has clothed His priests with righteousness and salvation, His saints with joy; He has made His dwelling place (the church) to prosper! This psalm is a testament to the faithfulness of God to His promises. Every one of His promises to His people are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. Let’s celebrate that truth and trust Him in every circumstance as we worship Him! ON THE COUCH WITH GOD Ho...

Bible Reading - Psalm 131 This is a psalm simply expressing joy and contentment in the presence of God! The pilgrim worshipper is reminded and reminds his companions of the rest and the delight that are to be found simply by being in the presence of the Lord. The psalmist begins with expressions of humility, saying that he is not proud or arrogant nor does he occupy his time attempting to understand things beyond his comprehension. The psalmist knows well his own limitations but, just as a weaned child is content merely with the presence of its mother (v.2), he is content merely to be in the presence of the Lord! This contentment and posture of heart towards God is reason for all of God’s people to have hope! How many of us waste our time seeking to gain things we will never obtain, be fulfilled in things that will never fulfill, or understand things we will never understand? This song is a reminder and an invitation to simply rest and delight in God’s presence! There is hope a...

Bible Reading - Psalm 130 This psalm is a song of penitence for sin and confidence in the sufficiency of God’s mercy. The pilgrim disciples on their way to worship remind themselves with this song that the only right they have to enter God’s presence at all lies in His mercy and grace towards them. We are no different than they in this regard! This psalm represents the movement from brokenness and conviction over one’s own sin to confession of that sin, and finally to confident hope in the Lord’s promises of mercy towards His people. Because God is a God of forgiveness and grace, we can always run to Him and not away from Him when we have stumbled and fallen into sin! The psalmist expresses an eagerness to worship the Lord and receive His mercy that surpasses the longing a watchman who had been standing at his post all night would have for the morning to come (v.6). This eagerness to be in the presence of God and to worship Him among His people should characterize every believe...

Bible Reading - Psalm 129 In this psalm the pilgrim disciple recalls the faithfulness of the Lord, that He has not allowed Israel’s many oppressors and enemies to ultimately prevail over them. He then turns and asks God that no such oppressor would ever prevail over Israel but would instead be put to shame in their purposes against God’s people. This is the story of God’s people! There are many who have come against the church throughout the course of history. Though it is easy for us to not see it in our culture and context, there are many in the world coming against God’s people even now, and there will yet be more in the future. We may be afflicted, but we have assurance that they will not prevail against us in the end. Victory is ours in Jesus Christ because He has gone before us and has already conquered! The Lord is righteous and He has set us free from the oppression of the wicked. Let’s rejoice in that fact and remind ourselves of this victory no matter what may come ag...

Bible Reading - Psalm 128 This is a wisdom psalm which presents us with the blessedness of all people who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. The pilgrim worshipper sings this song as a reminder both to himself and to others of the divine blessing that comes from living in the blessed way which God has called us to! In the song the psalmist paints a picture of the man who fears the Lord having an aura of divine blessing which surrounds both his work and his family. Not only is the man himself blessed, but the land he works is blessed with fruitfulness and his family is blessed too! The ending of the song extends the reach of this blessing even further: the psalmist proclaims a blessing asking that all of God’s people might walk in this way and experience this blessing, which would lead to prosperity for Jerusalem and peace for Israel. The blessing that the individual experiences as a result of fearing the Lord and walking in His ways extends to his work, his family and his enti...

Bible Reading - Psalm 127 This psalm expresses the idea that, apart from the Lord’s providence, all human effort is in vain. The pilgrim worshipper reflects on the fact that, though His people are certainly required to be diligent in their work, they must also do it in faith. Apart from the Lord making our efforts useful and beneficial, all human effort is ultimately pointless. Verse 2 paints a picture of a man working tirelessly and anxiously to establish his efforts, yet it is clear that all his efforts are vain because they are not done in faith. In contrast, the Lord gives rest to those He loves; to practice diligence in faith means to rest when rest is needed rather than anxiously toiling away, to trust in the Lord to provide for us instead of bending over backwards in our efforts to provide for ourselves. This is why God commanded the Sabbath for His people: to cease from work and rest for an entire day is an act of faith in God’s provision! We need this reminder today as...

Bible Reading - Psalm 126 In this psalm the pilgrims recall a past time when the Lord showed His mercy on His people, restoring their fortunes, and plead with Him to do a similar work in their own day! They speak of how they could hardly believe the way that the Lord had come through for them (v.2), and how this act of mercy and restoration even acted as a witness to the surrounding pagan nations (v.3)! The psalmist then asks the Lord to restore their fortunes once again as He had done in the past. He asks for the Lord to bless the year’s harvest so that weeping will turn into shouts of joy (v.5)! The church has seen the Lord move in powerful ways to bring revival, renewal, and restoration throughout its history. We have every reason to cry out to the Lord to do it again and, in so doing, to ask in confidence and faith that He will respond! God has been faithful and merciful in the past, and because of that we have every reason to trust that He will do so in the present and i...

Bible Reading - Psalm 125 In this song the pilgrim worshipper declares his confidence in the Lord’s protection and vindication towards His faithful ones. He envisions the Lord surrounding His saints as a high wall would surround a fortified city and affirms that He will never cease to protect them in this way. The psalmist expresses trust that the Lord will not allow the unrighteous to rule over His people forever, whether the “scepter of wickedness” (v.3) is in reference to a foreign power or a wicked king in Jerusalem itself, and looks forward with confidence that the Lord will one day “do good…to those who are good” (v.4), but “lead [the unrighteous] away with evildoers” (v.5). God calls His people throughout history to entrust themselves to His care and to His absolute rule whenever they are under the oppression of unjust rulers. For us this can take many forms: wicked men and women in power over our nation, unjust people with power over our communities, and even corrupt lead...

Bible Reading - Psalm 124 This is a song of thanksgiving because of the victory the Lord has given His people, the deliverance He has shown them when there should have been none! The pilgrim journeying to worship in Jerusalem celebrates the Lord’s deliverance from what was a seemingly hopeless situation. He expresses that they would have perished if it had not been for the Lord, but the Lord was with them and for them, and the Lord made a way! This is the story of every one of God’s children. Our situation was hopeless; separated from God, dead in our sins, following the prince of the power of the air, under God’s just wrath with no way to change our situation. But God stepped in and made a way for us through Jesus Christ! “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6 NIV) Now we have been delivered and set free, just as the psalmist expresses in verses 6-7. We have been given the victory in Christ not because of anything we ha...

Bible Reading - Psalm 123 Psalm 123 is a psalm of waiting on the Lord, waiting on His mercy and deliverance. This song envisions a scenario in which the pilgrim worshippers are enduring the scorn and contempt of the proud, those who are at ease. Whether these references are meant towards the unfaithful in Israel itself or the unbelieving Gentiles is unclear, but throughout history God’s people have, more often than not, been objects of ridicule and scorn from those in power. This psalm is simultaneously a plea for God’s mercy to be demonstrated towards His people and a confident declaration of faith that it will. The psalmist writes in verse 2 “so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy on us” (emphasis mine). There is no question as to whether or not God is going to show mercy on His people; it is only a matter of time! This is a great comfort and joy to all God’s people who feel the weight of injustice, oppression, ridicule and scorn against them. We can and shou...

Bible Reading - Psalm 122 If Psalm 120 is a song of departure, this is a song of arrival! The pilgrim recalls his gladness when his companions invited him to come to Jerusalem to worship with them, and now he celebrates that the long journey is over and they have arrived! He marvels at the beauty of the city and prays for the peace and the unity which exist there to continue and to increase. This psalm is a reminder of the great joy, blessing, and gift that is corporate worship. The psalmist cannot contain his joy and wonder at having arrived in the city where God dwells among His people, at having arrived to worship the Lord! There is a peculiar beauty, glory, and hopefulness when God’s people gather together to worship Him. If this was true of the nation of Israel, how much more is it true of the church! There is a very real glory which is so easy to miss when we gather together in the name of Jesus to give Him praise! The Lord is present with us in a special way when we come...

Bible Reading - Psalm 121 This psalm is a song of confidence in the provision and protection of the Lord as the pilgrim makes his way to Jerusalem to worship. The traveler was discontent with the brokenness, deceit, and hostility which surrounded him in Psalm 120, and yearned to go and be in the presence of God; now he expresses his confidence in the Lord to protect him from the dangers of the road as he journeys to Jerusalem! He begins with looking up to the hills. The hilltops were the so-called “high places” where idols were worshipped in the land of Canaan. As the pilgrim looks around at these places of idolatry, he remembers that his help does not come from a mere statue made of wood or metal, but from the Lord who made heaven and earth! The pilgrim’s confidence in God’s protection and provision as he makes his way to Jerusalem is based in God’s character and faithfulness. God’s providence for His faithful ones is absolute because His authority and power are absolute. The ...

Bible Reading - Psalm 120 For the next weeks we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent. The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together! As the first psalm in this collection, this psalm is a sort of “leaving song”, representing the beginning of the pilgrim’s journey to Jerusalem! The psalmist recalls the past faithfulness of the Lord as an encouragement to cry out to Him once more, and then launches into a lament of his present circumstances. He mourns that he is surrounded by a culture filled with lies and deceit, that he is living among people who love war a...