The verb “coalesce” has a Latin background. It basically means “to grow” or “to grow up” (a Latin infinitive spelled “alescere”), with the prefix “co” (“cum” in Latin) meaning “with” or “together” … we get “a number of elements coming together to form one mass or whole!

So I’m writing about … a place where all prayers meet, come together, grow or blend into each other!

I shall begin with Psalm 83:1-2 … “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.”

Asking God, in other words, do something to reveal Himself, His Mighty Power!

By the way, Psalm 82:1-2 could be prayed today in America with as much pertinence, as much context, as much need … as ever before! Maybe more than ever!

Now I go to the Bible’s last Prayer … “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20, which is essentially the same basic request as Psalm 82:1-2! In my thinking, in my opinion anyway.

Now, we’re going straight to the “heart” of the so-called Lord’s Prayer … “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10, with Luke 11:2 echoing the plea.

Again I ask, are not these three petitions parallel, essentially identical?

One more, Isaiah 52:10, a Prophecy, a Promise, which God means His people to turn into a prayer. “The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” That is … “Lord, make bare Thy Holy Arm! Thy Mighty Arm! Let all the heathen (nations) see Thee! And thy Salvation (Deliverance) to Israel!”

The Goal of all true Prayer … that God be glorified! That God be vindicated! That God be seen! That God be worshipped!

And my friend, that grand Day shall come!

Tell us about it again, dear Lord … “I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone out of My Mouth in Righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” Isaiah 45:23

All prayer ends at the feet of Jesus!

To the Glory of God the Father!

Now, back to where I started the Lesson … “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Amen!

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Yes, God holds Kings accountable for their deeds, good or evil.

That of course includes Presidents as well, or any other head of state.

Even the JUDIACIARY does not escape God’s all-seeing Eye!

Judges, enforcers of right and wrong themselves, may be especially held to God’s Righteous Standards.

Psalm 82 comes to mind, a Passage primarily written to such men (or women), the judges.

“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye JUDGE unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?” Psalm 82:1-2

Psalm 58 asks of this robed class of mankind: “Do ye JUDGE uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye WEIGH (the scales of justice)the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked (these judges) are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear …” Psalm 58:1-4, question asked, and answered!

Isaiah 3:2 lists good “judges” as a class of citizens God will “take away” from a backsliding Land, giving them inferior “leaders” (using the term loosely) instead!

This has happened in America, by and large!

Can you imagine the “Hell” a judge faces … if he votes to murder 62,000,000 babies still in their mothers’ wombs? (That’s how many have been so slaughtered in America since 1973, sine Roe Versus Wade.)

Can you image the “Hell” (literal fire and eternal torment) a judge faces when she votes to legalize the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Yes, wicked judges will one day face “the Righteous Judge!” That’s exactly what Paul calls the Lord Jesus in 2 Timothy 4:8.

Can you image the “Hell” a judge will face when he virtually does all that’s humanly possible to “expel” God Almighty from the life of a Nation?

Folks, Judges are so important to God that He has even named a Book in the Bible for them. They are “ordained of God” to enforce right and wrong in a nation! (Quoting Romans 13:1, King James Version.)

But beware … JUDGES will be JUDGED!

Some day … “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess” at the “Name of Jesus!” (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10, all three Texts!) “Every knee,” including those of Judges!

Confessing (submitting to) the same Jesus they have ruled illegal in so many places in once Christian America!

Their day is coming! (Psalm 37:13)

Mark it down.

A day when “wrong” will no longer be called “right!”

Even so, Come Lord Jesus!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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In Psalm 57 … David is being chased relentlessly by King Saul. For years this was the case! And “the man after God’s Own Heart” (Acts 13:22) had to flee for his life time and time again.

Notice the Introduction to our Psalm, often called the “Superscript.” It reads in part …“Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the CAVE.”

Yes, the Psalm is “set” in a cave!

Verse 1 specifically mentions the “calamities” David was facing. The Hebrew noun means “wicked things,” mischievous and destructive.

The sweet Psalmist (2 Samuel 23:1) feels he is about to be “swallowed up,” to be eaten alive!

Verse 4 relates further David’s fear: “My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.”

Yes, words do hurt, especially if they are lies.

Discouraged, in a cave, knowing … “They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me.”

But (and unique here …. adding to the beauty of the Text) David, through the whole “cave” experience … keeps trusting God, keeps praying to God, keeps hoping in God!

So much so that David turns this cave into a cathedral, into a chapel!

He begins to praise God! Read with me …

Psalm 57:7 … “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will SING and give PRAISE.”

Verse 9 … “I will PRAISE thee, O Lord, among the people: I will SING unto thee among the nations.

Remember: a good number of the Psalms are “built” this way, so true to the life experience of a godly man or woman. They start in some low, discouraged setting … only to end a few verses later on a mountaintop somewhere, shouting the (soon coming) victory!

Do YOU know the God Who can turn a valley into a peak?

Discouragement into praise?

A cave (ultimately) into a palace!

God did so for David, literally.

He can for us too, spiritually.

Friend, get out of that cave today!

Join the choir, the chorus!

Sing praises to our dear Lord and Saviour!

(Praising one’s way out of a dungeon!)

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Psalm 56 is our Text this morning.

And we notice particularly Verse 4 where David resolutely writes: “In God I will praise His Word.”

Then again in Verse 10 the pledge is repeated: “In God will I praise His Word.”

Well really this promise is iterated (reiterated) a third time, just using a different Name for God: “In the LORD will I praise His Word.” Still in Verse 10 of the Psalm!

Three times in one Psalm!

And in each case the verb “praise” is grammatically the same. In Hebrew it’s called a Piel imperfect! Let me explain … the “Piel” stem of any Hebrew verb intensifies the action! David says that he will REALLY PRAISE the Word of God, with all his might! The “imperfect” sense of timing suggests David plans to praise God’s Word today and tomorrow and every day thereafter! This exalting the Word will be a habitual lifestyle for this dear man! An ongoing activity!

Oh, by the way, the verb is spelled “halal,” forming our word “Hallelujah,” meaning “praise God!” Furthermore and on a deeper level, it means “to commend, to celebrate, to boast on,” from a root verb indicating “to shine,” to so reflect God’s Glory!

But exactly what is David praising?

GOD’S WORD!

This makes me wonder if David might be (though it is not a stated fact) the human author of Psalm 119, which praises God’s Word over 170 times! Yes, that single Chapter!

So I am thinking this Monday morning … if David can boast in God’s Word, surely I can as well. If David can praise all that God has said, His “logos” (His very “Logic”) … surely I can agree with him!

Our strength comes from Scripture!

Our Wisdom and Doctrine too!

Our standard for Christian behaviour as well!

I’ve heard enough belittling of the Bible.

I plan to spend my days exalting (praising) it!

Am I wrong?

In Psalm 138:2 (still David holding the pen) I am taught … “God, Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy Name.”

So I conclude … if God so praises His Own Word … surely I can (and must) as well!

Hallelujah for the Bible!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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The Christian life (for most people anyway) is not lived on an even “keel.” That’s nautical language meaning we all have our “ups” and “downs!” An “even keel” … the boat is not in a storm, is smoothly plying the waters!

Yes, we all subscribe to Psalm 118:24 … “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” But even Paul had a few “bad” days! (That last trip to Jerusalem being among them.)

Psalm 55 gives us very clear example of a man of God having such days, “high” and “low.” And that man is David, “the sweet singer of Israel.” (Quoting 2 Samuel 23:1.)

Among enemies, chased by wicked King Saul … David confessed “the terrors of death are fallen upon me.” Psalm 55:4

(And I do not doubt that death has terrors. It has even been called “the king of terrors.” Death apparently has a “sting” too, or once had. According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:56.)

David, tell us how you’re feeling again, maybe understandably so. “The terrors of death are fallen upon me.”

I certainly do not doubt David’s sincerity here, not for a moment. He is scared, maybe even in “panic” mode!

But, wait a second. This is the same David who wrote … “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

The same David who wrote … “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.” Psalm 3:6

Who also wrote … “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1, a comfort to millions through the years.

Do you see my point yet?

David … afraid (on a bad day, spiritually speaking) … Psalm 55.

Then David fearless, even bold (on a good day, spiritually speaking) … a host of Scripture Verses!

I am just thinking that if a giant like David had them, we likely will experience them too … occasional bad days.

If “bad days,” that expression, bothers you … “weak days in the faith” might suit you better. Admit it or not … they occur!

The “KEY” … when you fall (have a bad day, stumble in your faith) GET BACK UP AGAIN!

Keep getting back up, after every bad day … “A just man falleth seven times, but riseth up again.” Proverbs 24:16

Wow!

A great Preacher once said: “No Christian is consistently as bad as the worse day he ever lived. And no Christian is consistently as good as the best day she ever lived!”

Probably so!

But we can stay Jesus-centered, even in all life’s “ups” and “downs.” The great Old Testament Patriarch Job sure did!

One Preacher said recently: “My worst day as a Christian is far better than by finest day as a sinner!”

After all, we’re going to spend eternity with Jesus!

Hallelujah!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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