Psalm 62

 Psalm 62

1. Upon God alone doth my soul rest peacefully; from him is my salvation.

2. He only is my rock and my salvation; my high fortress: I shall not be greatly moved.

3. How long will ye assail a man; will ye seek , all of you, to break him down as a bowing wall or a tottering fence?

4. They only consult to thrust him down from his excellency; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but in their inward part they curse. Selah.

As we read the psalms of David we often wonder about the circumstances that provoked such praise and prayer and prophecy, for it is easy to see that all of these elements are somewhat indiscriminately mixed into the words we read, and yet instinctively we apply David’s words to our own situation without any problems and we find the same God and the same help that he did, but these verses seem to leave some questions unanswered. Who are these people who assail David and try to break him down? And also what does he mean by excellency?

Of course the Philistines and other unbelieving nations wanted to see David fail, but would they be the ones who said a blessing on him? And the word excellence seems to be another strange word that demands enlightenment. What and who was David talking about?

The word excel is a comparative word, and it is interesting that these men are comparing themselves with David and admitting that he is better than they are, and instead of wanting to excel as they saw David doing they wanted to demote him down to their standard. And because David openly declares that his trust is in God, the inference is that they feel convicted of God by David’s life and moral character. As if David being as out of favour with God as they are would exonerate them, but that seems to be what is described here.

That this is the kind of envy that drives them to assail David and lie to his face is another reason to believe that these are not the outside enemy but the inside enemy, supposedly his friends. We might ask who was Jesus’ worst enemy, Judas who was the liar or the persecuting Pharisees, for it is not hard to see that Jesus might have taken this psalm as His own experience. And there were other disciples than Judas who did not understand the plan of God.

When Jesus began to tell His disciples that He must suffer Peter rebuked Him for thinking that He would have to die, Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” How startled Peter must have been to be called the Devil, the Adversary of God? But Jesus went on to explain to His friend that the cross was the way of excellence even when worldly wisdom thought it was very foolish. Peter, at that time was one of “them” who was nervous and convicted at the idea of the cross, he had consulted with “them”

To start with we notice that their target is better than they are, he excels them in some respect and we suspect this to be a spiritual superiority for surely David is looking at it from that point of view. In such an event it is likely that “they” have been watching David, or us, and noticed something in our conduct or speech or attitude that caused their conscience to poke them into being uncomfortable in the presence of David who seemed so comfortable in God’s presence. We may even have seen it ourselves when someone gets right with God and his old friends avoid him, knowing that he excels them in his response to what God has done.

So although surely the outside enemy, for David the Philistines and others, were included in this word, “they”, there were others in his company who must have felt uncomfortable in His closeness to God. Joab was a nephew of David’s, his general, a man of great courage and valor and leadership ability, but we do not ever hear that he had a personal relationship with God, instead we see instances of his anger and envy and murder and in the end he even turned against David. And yet at the time that this psalm came to David he was probably the closest man to David. Would he once in a while hint to David to tone down his testimony of God’s presence for it made the other followers jittery and convicted? In other words “Do not be so excellent, it shows up how far we are from what we should be?”

When we compare scripture with scripture we find that usually there are deeper meanings than are seen on the surface. This verse in Psalm 62 provoked us to dig deep and we have profited from it. Now we ourselves ask “Who are the ‘they’ he speaks of?”, and just what is it that “they” are doing or trying to do? Are they the enemy outside that we have not met or are they people whom we interact with almost every day? And who is it that they are plotting against?, for we take it that this verse is part of the all scripture that is inspired and meant to help us grow more into the likeness of Christ. May it never be that we be one of “them”?

Psalm 119

 Psalm 119

167 My soul hath observed thy testimonies; And I love them exceedingly.

168 I have observed thy precepts and thy testimonies; For all my ways are before thee.

169 Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah: Give me understanding according to thy word.

170 Let my supplication come before thee: Deliver me according to thy word.

171 Let my lips utter praise; For thou teachest me thy statutes.

172 Let my tongue sing of thy word; For all thy commandments are righteousness.

173 Let thy hand be ready to help me; For I have chosen thy precepts.

174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah; And thy law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; And let thine ordinances help me.

176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek thy servant; For I do not forget thy commandments.

This psalm of David the prophet was most likely produced in his later life after many hard-learned experiences. There were times when he was a winner and times when he was a failure. It is not a prophetic psalm in the sense that it foretells mysteries but it is a teaching psalm in that it reveals him as one giving advice based on his own questions of why things happen the way they do.

Imagine David as a boy sitting by himself and contemplating the laws of God while he kept his eye on his sheep so that he knew where they were and what they were doing. His inquiring mind might ask God the whys and hows about many things, about things that his mother or his father or his brothers or sisters or his Levite teacher could only answer with “I do not know?” And yet there must be answers to all his questions and indeed to every other question that could be asked, for since God made all things He also must know all the answers.

The most unforgettable incident in David’s life was when he asked another question, “Why is there no one to stand up for God when this Goliath blasphemes Him?” And it is most likely that afterward he still looked for the answer to that question why, for certainly there were others more capable than he was of doing what had to be done in God’s Name. Nor would it be difficult for us to recount many other occasions when he failed to find reasons for how people treated him or even for the way he himself treated others. That is until he went to God for answers and found them. 

For as a boy David knew much of the written records and laws of Moses by memory and later as a king he had scribes to read it to him and he must have had a copy of the law to read himself. So he knew and practiced Moses’ instruction to Joshua to meditate in this law day and night.

Now years later we hear the old man David with many questions answered and many waiting for answers in the words of this psalm reminding us in almost every verse that God knows and wants us to know too, that He is the Creator of the law of cause and effect and all the other natural laws just as much as the ten commandments. Is it not interesting that the boy who asked so many why questions, the same person as the man who asked the same whys and now the same old man who had learned the answers to so many of the riddles of life is telling us that the answers are all laws? Why laws?

When we go back to the beginning we learn that the whole of creation including all the rules of nature was perfect. Gravity is the one universal law of that creation that we use most often to illustrate a law of nature, and it is one of them, but it is only one of many invariable dependables. Where would we be if there were no law of gravity, or none of the other laws of the universe? However where do we find the long list of these laws along with the list of what happens if we happen to break them? There is no complete list, although the ten commandments are a few of them that are very special, but nevertheless as David says, the law of the Lord is perfect and we can be quite sure that he means all of them, and yes, even the ones that he has not yet encountered.

Paul said that Jesus is the upholder of all things and we first think of things that do not change like minutes in a day and the beauty of nature, but Jesus also upholds the overall law of cause and effect. Of course when we believe that Jesus is also the God of miracles then the Upholder of all can just as easily change the length of a day as He did for Joshua, but that miracle does not mean that the law of day and night has changed. David would have us accept that the laws of cause and effect are as perfect as their creator and are for our good even though they bring bad things to us. David knew this had happened to him many times, and it is just as sure to happen to us if we step over the line.

But what if we do not see the line or do not know where the line is, will that save us from the consequences of disregarding it? As in a court of law where we are reminded that ignorance of the law is no excuse nor does it excuse us from the penalty. Of course we can be forgiven but that will never change the permanence of the law of positive blessing for obedience and negative sanction for transgression. Ignorance of the laws of nature that the God of nature established will not deliver us from the result of transgression, and we will reap failure. In summary the psalm wants us all to look at what God has already told us in His word, and more than look to study and study and study it in relation to every experience to know why.

Notice also the very last verse of the psalm where David knows that with all the things he has learned and all his years of experience and all his afflictions he still needs to go to what God has already said for the next time and the time after that because there is more, always more to be learned from the Word. To replace the God of wisdom with worldly wisdom is not wise.

So the question to us is are we like David thinking back over our failures and successes and relating them to the laws of God to find the promised outcome of things that His rules of cause and effect have already determined?. We must do this so that we can avoid the negative sanctions for ourselves and our for our organizations. We must search and know the laws of God so that we know how to teach others to not fail over and over again. And because Jesus upholds all things including His determination of cause and effect we can be assured that this relates to every spiritual law, every natural law, and the all the laws of leadership, especially the laws of leadership at this time.

169 Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord: Give me understanding according to thy word.

Psalm 110

this is a Psalm of David.

1  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
2  The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
4  The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
5  The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6  He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. 

In this psalm King David uses many incidents in the history of his people to illustrate how God speaks to His people, and also as prophecies about the Lord Jesus. It is very obvious that this shepherd boy is an artist and not a technician and he expects us to know the things he has learned. It is also obvious that some of the things he mentions speak about the future, they are about the Lord Jesus Christ who came to Earth hundreds of years later than David.

Jesus Himself referred to this psalm when He asked the Jewish teachers how God could be God to this One who was already God Himself, for He knew that this King was not the man David but the God-Man who was indeed a progeny of David but also the Son of God.

Jesus also knew that He was the King of Israel and that not now but after a wait He would rule over His enemies just like it says in Psalm 2. And then we have the wonderful news that during that waiting period many people will choose to willingly repent and believe in Him and be born again into His Kingdom.

Verse 4 prophesies of Jesus that He would also be our high priest to represent us and pray for us to God His Father, He is far more beautiful and holy than the priests David knew because Jesus lives for ever and yet He suffered all the trials and temptations that we ever will have. That is God’s sure promise to those who choose today for this is when we must be willing to come to Him.

Now is the time to find that Jesus is the beautiful Saviour and the holy and merciful High Priest. In that way we will escape the day of His judgement that is spoken of in verses 5 and 6 for that day will come just as surely as He came the first time to pay for the sins of the whole world. Will you be willing to repent and believe today or will you wait for the day of wrath and judgement?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him might be saved. He that believes on Him will be saved, but he that does not believe is already condemned.

Fairbanks Morse hit and miss engine

A few years ago when we went by way of Eatonia we looked at an old elevator engine near the railroad tracks in Eatonia. It was a one cylinder Fairbanks Morse, probably about 12 hp rigged up with a vee belt to a water pump and a car radiator. Of course it was interesting because it was the kind of engine that was used in all the elevators on the prairies to move the grain from the pit up to the top of the building, and it was very interesting to me because my father had a smaller model of Fairbanks Morse in our pump house. On seeing this video I realized that the idea of a "hit and miss" engine has nothing comparable today so I will describe the one we had to pump water and turn the grinder and the post drill and other things.

The engine did not have a magneto but a model T coil for the spark, and that could be run either with a six volt car battery or with a four-pack of telephone batteries. I think I have seen both used just like on the old Model T which used either, until the self starter.

But the hit and miss name came from the speed control, the governor. Can't remember where it was on the engine but it was a little shaft with variable position weights on it that would lift by centrifugal force depending on the speed, and as they lifted they moved a lever which was connected to the front of the engine where the exhaust and intake valves were along with the spark plug. It may have been integral with the rod and lever which pushed the exhaust valve open for the exhaust stroke. So when the gyro sensed that the rpm was up to or past the running speed the lever would keep the exhaust valve open all the time instead of regulating the valve according to the power stroke and the exhaust stroke. That meant that there was no compression and no suction to draw fuel into the cylinder so there was no explosion, only the "miss". As the flywheel momentum died either by inertia or load and the gyro mechanism slowed the lever allowed the exhaust valve too close for the power stroke and there was a "hit" until the proper running speed was regained.

Along with this exhaust valve arrangement the intake valve worked automatically with no mechanical help. The spring on that valve was fairly light and the slightest negative pressure on the intake stroke would pull it open leaving enough vacuum to draw the fuel up from the tank below. Probably not a very fuel efficient system, but it worked. Also for starting one could reach both the intake valve spring — careful not to get your finger on the near-by spark plug — and the flywheel. It was then free-wheeling until the flywheel had enough energy to carry it through the compression stroke, so let go the intake valve and it would chug along as it should, hitting and missing depending on the load.

Here is a picture of what ours looked like or maybe a later model, but we had no shield over the crank and I cannot remember the flywheel shaft extending out on this side of the engine, only the other side where the drive pulley was. The picture even shows some sort of magneto. Notice the cylinder oil system. You would have to make sure there was oil in the cup and turn the valve when you ran the engine. If I remember correctly there was also a similar one on the crank too, or was it a grease cup like those on the main bearings, dunno.

YouTube video of 3 HP hit and miss engine

This guy explains it a bit but on a much bigger one.

YouTube video with a Fairbanks Morse 15 HP hit and miss engine

Don Casselman

Psalm 132 David's Distress

David’s Distress

   Psalm 132 may not have been written by King David, but it is about King David and one of his struggles or distresses, a time of deep personal soul searching and God’s reply to his question of why. 

   Perhaps it would be helpful to remind ourselves that in Psalm 15 he asked who would be worthy to go up to the Lord’s hill. In it he carefully lines up all the qualifications but the one about keeping your promise even when it hurts and seems wrong to do so is exactly where we find David in Psalm 132.

   In this psalm the occasion is after Saul had lost the battle with the Philistines and also had lost ownership of the sacred ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence dwelling with Israel..When David realized the horror of this loss and the damage it did to God’s testimony he was very worked up and immediately promised with an oath in God’s name that he would himself not rest until that symbol of God’s presence was resting in its proper place, the city that God had chosen, in Jerusalem.

    So day and night he planned first the building of the tabernacle that would house the ark and then all the wonderful celebrations that would accompany the event of moving the ark to its resting place. When the planned day arrived all the thanksgiving and fellowship sacrifices were ready and the road was lined with thousands of expectant Israelites

   But the oxen stumbled and men died and everything came to a halt. Everybody except God who suddenly became the centre of attention as the Holy One who was not pleased with what was going on. David as the leader was deathly afraid even for his own life as were all the other people including those who had minutes before been shouting and cheering. The fear of God fell on all as they silently returned back to their homes. The text in 2 Samuel 6 also tells us that David was so dumfounded by this turn of events that he became angry with God. His plans had been cut short and stopped and he did not know why.

   It is not hard to imagine that David’s anger was followed by arguments and prayer to God, questions of who among the priests or the crowd to blame or whether he himself was at fault in daring to think that he could or should return the ark to Jerusalem. It was very likely a sleepless night for him and for others whom he wanted to question. The last part of the psalm gives us the answer to one of his questions as to whether he should still keep his promise of bringing the ark up to the city of Zion or not, for here God rehearses His own unalterable promise that He had made to David about the Kingship of the Messiah which would be spurned and in distress and delayed but not never abrogated. In other words the Lord told David that he must keep his promise, distress or not, but do it My way, not yours.

   After David had calmed down and learned from the Law of the Lord and from the Lord’s messengers where he had failed and what he should have done in the first place and was confident that now God would be pleased to return to Jerusalem along with His ark and abide with His people a new moving day was set and preparations were made for bringing up the ark. We have no idea how long the wait was but we know that the new celebration was to be even greater than the failed one. And it was.

   I hope you can see the application of this psalm and its distresses to our own situation, for indeed the oxen have stumbled here too. And it might seem like a very opportune time to enumerate other applications about what we should do next, but that would not be as good as saying that you as leaders are just as responsible as David was for finding out why the oxen stumbled. Was it not better that David took time and effort to study what God had already said to find out why "you prosper, when you do it My way, and just as surely the oxen will again stumble if you do not do it My way."

   And when they did it God’s way there was greater joy and celebration and gladness and God was glorified. Then He rested in the tabernacle in Jerusalem with the ark of His holiness. 

   As the jubilant attitude left our meeting on Tuesday night to be replaced by a quiet sense of the fear of God we all realized that we had done something to offend the holiness of our Lord just as David and the people of his day had done. Even David did not know what it was but he knew that he as leader was to find out. God would never take his excuse that someone else was to blame, not the Philistines nor the builders of the cart nor even absent Uzzo or Ahio who could never again speak a word of defense. Not his best intentioned well meaning worldly advisors, but back to Saul’s instructions to the king as leader, “This book of the law shall not depart . . . “ It does have the answer to this distress and you must find it, and you must find all the other answers and rules there, for there are consequences to all of God’s rules, Jesus created  them for good and He upholds them with both positive and negative sanctions.