Psalms 1-5
Chapter 1
Book 1, Psalms 1-41
Book 2, Psalms 42-72
Book 3, Psalms 73-89,
Book 4, Psalms 90-106
Book 5, Psalms 107-150
Righteous and unrighteous contrasted. The righteous prosper, the wicked will perish. This psalm obviously looks to eternity, not to history, for the truth of it. It mentions judgment in vs 5. After judgement, these things will be true.
2021 - Vvs 3,4 - Having just finished Job, these two verses repeat the position of Job's three friends. The righteous prosper, the wicked wither and go away. Yet the whole book of Job is about how this is not the case, not what we observe all around us. How are we to understand this contradiction? Perhaps spiritually. The prosperity and peace of the righteous man is internal, and the destruction of the wicked is internal. But even at that, I don't think it would be a universal truth. Ahhh...then there is verse 5. In heaven, in eternity, the wicked will be long gone. God knows which is which, and only the righteous will be with him in heaven, in glory, with nothing but riches and health. This place of justice is heaven. Only there are the earlier statements universally true.
Chapter 2
God's power over earthly nations and kings. The Messiah's ultimate authority. Another about the far future, but this one does seem to be about history. This verse:
6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." [Psa 2:6 ESV]
This is phrased as a done deal. No turning this back.
2022 - These verses:
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." [Psa 2:2-3 ESV]
Interesting that the civil authority on earth is shown as fully antagonistic and united in their opposition to God. We can take this as the general state of governments. It was on this point that the US was different for a good long time. We were founded by men who believed in God and who saw themselves as subservient to and subject to judgment by the God of the Bible. I don't think, for the most part, that we can claim this anymore. And I think all our troubles as a nation are the result of this change of heart toward God on the part of our leaders...and after all, we elected them, and are just as much to blame as they are.
Possible FB post.
Chapter 3
David, when he fled from Absalom.
David laments his increasing enemies, but turns to God as his shield, the lifter of his head.
Selah.
David says that he woke up from a night's sleep, and it was God who sustained him. He asks that God strike his enemies.
Selah.
7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. [Psa 3:7 ESV] NDP
Chapter 4
David.
A prayer.
First it asks God to hear the prayer.
Then he addresses his enemies and asks how long he will be ashamed.
Then he implores the hearers not to sin.
He finishes by saying he (David) sleeps in peace, because it is God that keeps him safe.
Chapter 5
David.
1st Stanza, Lord, hear my prayer.
2nd, Description of those God dislikes.
3rd, Petition for direction.
4th, Petition for his enemies to fall. (This is not about loving your enemy. This prayer is that the enemies lose, and get what is coming to them for their actions. Further, David judges them himself in calling them liars, their motivations destructive, and flatterers. He sees them, knows them for what they are, and prays that God destroy them. But...he does not grab a sword and Joab and head out to kill them himself. Still, David does not pray for his enemies to turn from their wicked ways.) David prays this prayer:
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. [Psa 5:10 ESV] NDP
Is it only ok to pray this if you are in charge? Or can I pray this about the violent who defy the law, about those who would undermine anyone and everyone for their own greed for money and power? Who can pray t his prayer? MSB note implies that David prayed this in parallel with God's revealed standard, which these were violating. So as long as we are praying that way, I think we can all pray for the destruction of God's enemies.
5th, Show favor to the righteous, to those with the right heart, and judge them.
Psalms 6-10
Chapter 6
David is very troubled, and prays to God for help, for grace he doesn't deserve instead of the angry wrath he does deserve.
He asks God to keep him alive so that he can praise. He says in Sheol, they don't praise???
The Psalm ends with David saying God has heard his prayer, and that his enemies will be troubled now.
Why is it that David is so troubled, why does he have so many enemies, who are they? Is he worried about coup attempts, about assassination plots? Or is this written after Bathsheba and he feels isolated, alone, and estranged from God, and therefore more vulnerable to the random, and to earthly enemies and the plans of those who are always there to seek power and money? How does a king have so much fear of enemies?
2022- In the first 3 verses, David states his problem. There is no confession of sin. So this was probably before Bathsheba, when it was only enemies he had to worry about.
2022- in vs 6 he is sleeping in a bed or on a couch. So this is after he is king but before Bathsheba.
2022- vss 8-10, it is David's enemies, not his sin, that he is delivered from.
Chapter 7
2021 - The intro paragraph says this is a song David sang concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. Can't find out who he really was, or just what words he spoke. So we don't truly know what prompted this psalm.
This is a Psalm of David, and in the chronological Bible I am reading, all these come right after 1 Sa 21-24. In 24, David had a chance to kill Saul, who is pursuing him with intent to kill all over Israel. David spares Saul, and Saul "repents" temporarily from his murderous intentions. So at this sort of "pause" in the narrative of 1 Samuel, the chronological Bible inserts these Psalms. This one, like many we will see from David, is said to have been written as he was in hiding and in flight to avoid Saul. He had been anointed king, but was hiding in caves. This would have been a very difficult time to have faith in God's promises because events were not looking at all in sync with what God had said. This happens to us all, but not usually as dramatically as it happened to David....
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah [Psa 7:3-5 ESV]
2021 - Knowing that this is a response to the words of Cush, one can see this verse being a self-examination. David is asking God if what Cush has accused him of is really true. David is questioning his own motives based on a finger pointed at him. That context does help clarify the verse.
2021 - Is an "enemy without cause" an enemy at all? Or this a huge mistake, making any violence toward that "enemy" an unjustified sin?
It would take a lot better person than me to pray this prayer. That David could pray it should tell us something about the kind of man he really was.
David is perhaps trying to understand the disconnect between events and God's promises. Maybe he is examining himself to see if the events are because of some unrepented sin in his life. He looks to see if he is deserving of what is happening to him, and prays that any sin be dealt with, even if that means his death, before the promises of being king are fulfilled.
Then this in verse 6:
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. [Psa 7:6 ESV]
So first he prays to pay for his own sins, and then he prays for God to rise against his enemies.
2021 - A non-defensive prayer.
Possible FB post.
And here is a really good FB post:
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous-- you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God! [Psa 7:9 ESV]
Or...it would have been last week during the rioting.
Vss 12-16 speak of the inevitable destruction of the wicked. We need not worry about them, plot against them, try to hasten their end. Because vs 12 begins like this:
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; [Psa 7:12 ESV]
God will end the wicked, and he will end up this way:
16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. [Psa 7:16 ESV]
God arranges it so that the unrepentant are in fact the very cause of their own ends.
2023 - But...Job??? I guess this is not the promise of good to the good, but of justice toward the bad...
Here is an interesting verse: 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. [Psa 7:15 ESV]. Compare to this one: 8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. [Ecc 10:8 KJV]. The first is clearly labeled a Psalm of David. Ecclesiastes is written by Solomon. This could have been a common expression of the time that they both picked up and included. Or it could be that Solomon sought the wisdom of his father. That he read all that his father had written.
Chapter 8
A recounting of the majesty of God, above all the heavens, and all that HE created.
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, [Psa 8:5-6 ESV]
This is a place beyond Genesis where the Bible says man has dominion over the earth God created. It goes on several more verses with specifics.
This Psalm opens and closes with the same words, like bookends:
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! [Psa 8:9 ESV]
2021 - Except...this seems to be a Messianic Psalm, and the one created lower than the angels is Jesus, and it is into HIS hands, not mankind 's in general, that all things are given. This probably does not tie to the dominion of man over the earth in Genesis.
Chapter 9
First 10 verses give the Lord thanks for his help to his people, and for his intervention against their enemies.
Through 16 are praises from David for the things God did for him. Then a Selah.
Through 20 is a plea for God to judge the nations in favor of the needy and the poor. For God to establish his power over men.
Chapter 10
2021 - 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. [Psa 10:2 ESV]. Another non-defensive prayer.
This Psalm questions God's delay in avenging those hurt by the wicked. It asks God why he lets the wicked continue in their ways instead of stopping them. And this verse, which I have missed up until now, is in there:
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." [Psa 10:4 ESV]
Those who habitually do evil, those who take advantage of others for their own gain, want nothing to do with God, and their thoughts - I suspect their hope in many cases - is that God does not exist. Hmm...I haven't seen it before because that's not how it is worded at all in the KJV or NKJV.
Instead of that last phrase in ESV, KJV says "...God is not in all his thoughts." Seems to me there's quite a bit of difference there. The KJV makes it clear the wicked believes in God, but pushes him back from his thoughts so that he does not feel guilty. ESV implies that he doesn't really believe. I am not a linguist. Don't know which is right. The versions all line up as they usually do.
I believe this is how pre-meditated sin takes place, not just with the wicked, but even those who are saved. The only way a saved person can commit sin is to push God completely out of his/her thoughts to do it. We cannot think of the consequences or we wouldn't do it. We'd turn back. We can't consider whether we should or shouldn't, or we wouldn't. BUT, we WANT to do it, so we shut off the consideration of it, and just confine our thoughts to the present, to the doing of it. Even if we're just talking about a second piece of pie. If you think about the consequences, you wouldn't eat it. So all you think about is the desire for it, and your thoughts go no further.
2023 - Look at this one, especially thinking about the Book of Job. There, we saw that sometimes to the wicked DO win and we wonder why they are not afraid:
5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. [Psa 10:5 ESV]. They can't see that real, true, severe judgment will come. They cannot see that wickedness will not be worth it in the long run. Because today, judgment is out of their sight - and our sight also when we sin. We just pull in our "vision", shorten up our future, and sin has no consequences. This isn't really about Job, as I think about it more. This isn't about God's justice on earth. This is about how people can be so evil, so oppressive of the poor or those with fewer resources. This is how evil men rob those who have nothing. The evil don't believe in God, an/or the evil discount the judgment of God. They get away with evil for so long they deny that accountability even exists. In this world, judgment is out of sight, allowing us to act as if it does not exist at all.
Possible FB post?
There is a long section then on how the wicked operate. How they take advantage of the poor, needy, and helpless. That section ends with this verse:
11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." [Psa 10:11 ESV]
The wicked believe their deeds are hidden from God. They forget that He is omnipresent, that he sees everything that they do - that WE do! Nothing escapes him. The wicked choose to forget this.
This Psalm ends with the thought that God will ultimately wipe out all oppression. He is King for ever and ever.
Psalms 11-15
Psalm 11
This psalm pictures the Lord in judgment upon men. It talks about God testing men, and hating those who are not found righteous. The psalm prays - or predicts? - that the wicked have coals rained down on them. It is a plea for justice - for good to the righteous, and for desolation to the wicked. This is not a live and let live psalm. It is ok to pray "harm" to the wicked because it is just, and it is in parallel with God's justice. He punishes the wicked. In His own time to be sure, but the wicked are to be punished, so it is ok to pray that towards them.
But how does this fit with Samuel saying he will pray for Israel even though their desire for a king is "wicked".
This is always a difficult thing. Is it about OT vs NT? Ok to request destruction for our enemies in the OT, but in the NT we are to pray for them?
I note also that David often prays for God to destroy his enemies. Hmm...maybe the key to all this lies in specifying who the enemy is?
2022 - I wonder if these first few Psalms are here to calm everyone back down after reading Job? Job pretty much says that sometimes, the righteous also suffer, and that sometimes the wicked go a whole lifetime without punishment. Then we get to these Psalms, and they all say that God looks after the righteous, and His wrath goes out against the wicked.
Psalm 59 NDP
2021-Like 58, the intro to this Psalm says "according to "Do Not Destroy"? One of David's favorites? One he wanted them to be sure and retain instead of just sing on a special occasion and then throw away? No way to know. This is about the night Michal convinces David to flee from Saul and she helps him to escape. David would otherwise have died that night. He was within hours of death when he wrote this Psalm, yet he escaped.
A prayer for deliverance. Written when Saul's men were watching David's house.
2021 - The first two verses are a very direct prayer for protection from evil men and their designs. David realized he couldn't "outsmart" the conspiracy against him on his own. Either God would help him, or he would die. He had no chance on his own. Prepping is like that. No matter what we do, we won't make it without God. God should be the primary "prep". Hmm... It is also true that David sneaked out of that house and ran for the hills. He prayed, and then he acted. It seems that David is always like this. He prays because he knows he cannot outsmart so many, and then he does his level best to outsmart them, depending on God to fill the gaps. This we've seen many times from David.
This verse is near the end of the Psalm:
16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. [Psa 59:16 ESV]
How often are we like this? We pray earnestly for protection or release from some problem, and God answers, and takes care of us. But we don't pray this last part. We don't praise and thank him for the answer. We just go on as if it was nothing. Thanking God afterward is a big deal too.
Chapter 12
David
1st Stanza, All the godly are gone. Only liars remain.
2nd, May God eliminate those who advance themselves with words. By flattery and verbal manipulation.
3rd, God will arise to help the poor and needy.
4th, God will keep them and guard them.
These verses:
7 You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. 8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. [Psa 12:7-8 ESV]
Think things have changed? Does this not describe what is going on today? But God guarded his own back then, he will guard his own today.
Possible FB Post
Chapter 13
David.
1st, David asks how long until God turns back to him. How long will God hide his face?
This is very sad. David is feeling separated from God, and indeed God has turned away from him, because of his sins of adultery and murder. For his abuse of the power God gave to him. It is the same for us. When we intentionally, knowingly sin, replacing God's wisdom for our lives with our own desires of the flesh, this separation is what happens. God leaves us to deal with what passes for cause and effect in this world, and that is a very lonely way to live.
2nd, Asking God to consider, or more likely to reconsider.
3rd, Yet David will keep trusting, because despite all, God's blessings still outweigh the current woes.
Chapter 14
One of my favorite verses, though I usually forget where it is found:
1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. [Psa 14:1 ESV]
No good whatsoever is credited to those who do not believe.
Possible FB post.
Chapter 15
David.
Character traits of the righteous. Here is one that seems to have been completely lost in the present time:
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; [Psa 15:4 ESV]
We continue to honor some even after we know they are "vile". George Floyd, for instance. A terrible, violent man. Honored all over the country. And that last...we just don't seem willing to suffer for our commitments. Choose, and then live with the consequences, is no longer anyone's motto.
Psalms 16-20
Chapter 16
I have a note saying that this Psalm is Jesus speaking of his time on earth, as a man. This verse:
2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." [Psa 16:2 ESV]
We don't think about this very much, but Jesus repeats the thought many times in the NT. "There is none good but one" comes to mind. If Jesus himself says that nothing he does is counted as good if it is done without acknowledgement of God, then how much less the things we do.
2023 - This verse:
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. [Psa 16:5 ESV]. Here is a reference to the Lord as both "bread" and "wine". Eating and drinking, as in the Lord's supper, but in the OT, there was no drinking blood. Vs 4 said "their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out". I don't know what this all means, but it seems to be relevant to the whole "this is my blood", and you should drink it at the last supper. Such a huge change. Why does no one talk about it???
2023 - The idea of this being Jesus talking is in vs 10:
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. [Psa 16:10 ESV]. This is quoted in the NT as a reference to Christ, and it says "my soul", therefore Christ is speaking this Psalm...or it is a prophecy of Christ. So it is Jesus here also saying that the Lord is his portion and cup. In the OT, the LORD in all caps is Yehova. God is the portion and the cup.
Chapter 17
David is praying that God would test him, and see that he has been true and righteous for his whole life. His point is that God would protect him from his enemies, because he has remained righteous. These two verses:
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, 9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. [Psa 17:8-9 ESV]
2023 - Vss 3-5 could have been written by Job also. Perhaps the difference is that as David fled from Saul, he too could have asked why, since he was so righteous, he was having to suffer so. But I don't think David ever does that. He asks for protection, and he asks for how long, but does he really ever say "It's not fair"?
Psalm 18
This is what David wrote when he learns that his enemies (Saul and those who follow him) are dead. David has outlasted him with God's help, God had slain the enemies of David. A few verses here:
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. [Psa 18:2 ESV]
This is a verse worth memorizing, even if you haven't been hiding in the desert for years.
22 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. 23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. 24 So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. [Psa 18:22-27 ESV]
David considers himself blameless before God. Hmm...He sees his deliverance as a reward for his blamelessness...hmm...
Then he gives some "principals" that I do not believe are universal. How much doctrine is there here? There is certainly a lot that is not easily understood in one quick reading.
This Psalm is 50 verses long. That's pretty long for a Psalm.
Chapter 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. [Psa 19:1-3 ESV]
These are the verses quoted to say that those who've never heard the gospel are still without excuse. They still go to hell because it is apparent from nature itself that there is an organizer of all things. There is a single creator, and all you have to do is look, and you will believe. This thought - that God is revealed in nature - runs through vs 6. But mostly, they don't. They make idols and worship those instead.
2021 - I like them better in KJV, probably because I first memorized them there:
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. [Psa 19:1-3 ESV]
Starting in verse 7, there is a section about the attributes of God's laws, precepts, commandments and so on. It is a section showing that we should follow God, because all that he says/does/requires is good and right and just. Why would you not follow such a creator???
Beginning in vs 12 is an appeal for acceptance by God, for his help in doing his will, for help against willful sin. It ends with this verse:
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. [Psa 19:14 ESV]
What we say, and what we think, alike, acceptable to God. Tall order there!
Psalm 20
David.
A prayer, that God will answer "you" in the day of trouble. This prayer seems to be addressed to a person - or maybe to the nation, but seems to be to an individual. It "hopes" that this person's prayers will be answered. MSB says this chapter is a prayer from the people of Israel about their King-General. This could make sense as the last verse says "O Lord, save the king." But it is a psalm of David??? There is a pretty long explanation. Psalm 20 and 21 are "warfare events". 20 is a prayer offered before battle, 21 comes after. So the people and soldiers in 20 are praying for their King/General, asking for God to help him with the battle. This context makes the point of view much more clear.
2022 - This makes good sense chronologically also. The Chronological Bible inserts this one right after 2 Sam 10 where David sends Joab out to battle against Ammon's new King and his mercenaries from Syria. All of Ammon AND Syria are defeated in these battles. This would greatly increase the security of Israel under David, and help consolidate his new position as King. It would inspire great loyalty with the rank and file of the kingdom because it increases their security immensely.
Psalms 21-25
Chapter 21
In this Psalm, David thanks God for all He has done for him as King.
2022 - See notes on Psa 20. That Psalm was before the battles with the Ammonites and the Syrians. This Psalm is a thanksgiving for God's help in those battles.
Chapter 22
David
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Psalms 22:1 ESV
These words, written by David, are the very same words spoken by Jesus from the cross. Jesus was quoting this psalm. This psalm was on Jesus' mind as he hung there nailed to a tree. I wonder at what point in his life David wrote these words. What was he thinking about? Is this during his time in hiding from Saul or about the time after Bathsheba and Uriah when David's relationship to God was in turmoil? MSB does not discuss it. And how would you ever really know?
2022 - I see now that verse one is used by Jesus on the cross to call attention to this WHOLE Psalm. Jesus knew he was not abandoned. He knew that glorification was just ahead. When Jesus quoted vs 1 from the cross, he meant ALL the Psalm.
This verse:
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" [Psa 22:8 ESV]
It seems here that the "whole world" has a low opinion of David and of his God. This seems to read as if David has been captured and sentenced to death - as Jesus was indeed - which points to Saul's pursuit of David with intent to kill.
Then this verse, close behind:
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; [Psa 22:14 ESV]
What a description of crucifixion, before the torture was even invented! More here:
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- [Psa 22:16 ESV]
This is beyond possible. This is supernatural, this is divine, this is proof to any rational mind. And if more is needed still:
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. [Psa 22:18 ESV]
Beginning in 22 the psalm turns from lament to praise. A clean break where the enemies are either overcome, or praise breaks out despite them.
This is an unbelievable Psalm. It has far too many accurate details about the crucifixion, though written 1000(?) years before. It is so accurate that I would expect it to be used as evidence of forgery by unbelievers.
For kingship belongs to the Lord , and he rules over the nations.
Psalms 22:28 ESV
It goes on to say this abandoned sufferer will be worshiped by the whole world
2023 - Vss 16-18 of this chapter...
If anyone says to me "the Bible is not God's word", then show me, help me understand, NO! PROVE to me that these three verses are forgeries. Show me earlier manuscripts that lack these three unmistakable, impossibly accurate verses describing the crucifixion of Christ. OR, show me the NT manuscripts of Mark, Luke, and John and how they all fabricated the details of Roman crucifixion - which never really used nails or spears. Or show me how those things were inserted after the fact. When exactly did the writers of the gospels notice that Psa 22, written by David about himself, was also about the details of Jesus' death a thousand years later....in fact, it fits Jesus' death far more than we know about it fitting David. Stop letting unbelievers say "the Bible is full of errors", and instead put the burden on them. Make THEM prove that this part is not true, make them tell us how this could possibly have been predicted so accurately, before crucifixion was even invented. Stop "defending", and start "attacking"! Make them show you the "errors", and then show them what they are missing, because I am unaware of ANY error that "stands". Smarter people than me took care of all those attacks a long time ago. But have the doubters "disproved" anything. Oh! What an answer! I will tell you why that is not really an error in the Bible, AFTER you tell me how Psalms 22:16-18 can be there, a thousand years before the actual event, and describe it in so much detail? Let's add vs 14 also. It is pretty compelling also.
Possible FB post.
23
What can I say about this one...
24
David.
First stanza: who can stand before God?
Second stanza: The King of Glory
A triumphant psalm, praising God as a warrior, mighty in battle. Open the gates for the conqueror.
25
David.
1st stanza - Let not my enemies win.
2nd - Teach me your ways
3rd - Don't remember my youthful sins
4th - God's ways are good
5th - God is a friend to those who fear Him, who look to Him.
6th - A request to be delivered from trouble, distress and affliction. For forgiveness of sins.
7th - Asking God to note the number of enemies and their intense hatred, and to deliver him from them.
These verses for troubled times:
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. 18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. [Psa 25:16-18 ESV]
This is such a good prayer for me to be praying right now. While the trouble in the country right now is not directed right at me, I still feel like a target because of the success God has given me. I feel like I need to protect all my family, but mostly, they don't think protection is needed, they ignore the threat, they take no precautions. Either that, or I am afraid of things that are so unlikely to happen. The troubles of my heart may indeed be enlarged. Oh God, bring me out of my distresses!
Still thinking about this one on 7/5....
Is this saying that sins committed under duress - when we are in extreme affliction and trouble - should be more readily forgiven? If so, it would also follow that sin is more likely in dire circumstances. Is this why Jesus so easily forgave Peter for his three denials but was so hard on David for his sins in connection with Bathsheba and Uriah?
Or is this just a good prayer to pray when things seem dark and we feel helpless, and we really need God's help...but we know that we have sinned in some way and become disconnected from God as a result? For myself, slipping does seem more frequent when I am having trouble coping with "real life".
This verse is next in the text:
19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. [Psa 25:19 ESV]
This describes the organized violence that's been going on. And I fear because the protectors are being de-funded. They are going away. Corruption is seeping in at all levels. Violence to some is ok, to others it gets a nuclear response. So out of whack right now.
Seems kind of like David is asking that his sins, the sins of one man, though they are great, be forgiven and that he be preserved rather than allowing the many enemies, who hate him and would do violence and would shame him win instead. David is not claiming to be perfect, but is asking that God preserve him instead of the evil directed towards him. I think we see this line of reasoning from David a number of places. Try to find some more of them.
I think I remember this theme elsewhere. And there is also the theme of allowing evil to continue for the sake of the good that would be also lost in its destruction. Sodom and Gomorrah for instance.
Psalms 26-30
26
David.
1st Stanza, Vindicate me Lord, try me and prove me.
2nd, David avoids the wicked, those who do not serve God.
3rd, David says he worships aloud, he does not hide his faith.
4th, David loves God's house, and asks that God not let the wicked overcome him.
5th, A final promise to walk in integrity, to stay in God's will.
These verses:
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes. [Psa 26:9-10 ESV]
27
1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? [Psa 27:1 ESV]
A favorite verse of mine.
So in this Psalm, David is not soul searching in the least, nor praying for God to take care of his enemies. In this one, David seems to be pretty afraid of his current situation, and is sort of "praying himself a pep talk".
These verses put it into words. David has faith, but it falters sometimes. He trusts, but he prays that he will trust:
8 You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek." [Psa 27:8 ESV]
David says "I'm doing what you said to keep me from being afraid...but it isn't working." He is praying the promise, looking for faith. This is a prayer for truly dark times, for times of fear.
Good FB post.
2023 - These verses also, for comfort when we are afraid:
13 [I had fainted], unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. [Psa 27:13-14 KJV].
Believe that God still works for good in this life, in these times. Wait on Him, that is, be patient until He should choose to show His goodness and power in this world.
28
David.
1st, These verses:
1 Of David. To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. [Psa 28:1-2 ESV]
David asks God to hear him, to not be deaf to his cries. It seems a number of Psalms start like this, first asking for God's attention to the prayer about to be prayed. I never do this, I don't ever hear anyone who prays aloud at church do this. Shouldn't this be part of our prayer? First, words of sincere honor and praise, then a plea for a hearing, for fairness, for mercy and for justice. This seems a proper way to start a prayer.
2021- Lest I become...David seems to be saying that if God ignores ones prayers for too long, one might stop praying and behave as those who never prayed. He doesn't say they'd be lost, but indistinguishable from the saved. We see this same sort of thing in the NT, about those who've turned away for a long time.
2nd, David asks God to give the evil what they deserve, to do justice to them for their deeds. This verse, so timely in 2020 with the rioting all over:
4 Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. [Psa 28:4 ESV] NDP
Pure justice. God knows the hearts, may he give to them what they have sown.
3rd, David blesses the Lord, glorifies and praised
Him as his strength, shield, and deliverer.
4th, A further general prayer for the people of God.
29
David.
1st - Give God the glory that is his due.
2nd - The voice of the Lord.
3rd - The voice again
4th - The voice..
5th - The Lord on His throne.
In 29:1 the phrase for heavenly beings is the phrase for sons of God, or could be sons of might. Same phrase where the sons of God looked on human women I think.
2022 - It is an interesting word order. Again, I think Hebrew may be quite difficult to translate into English. I would go further, and say that "ancient" Hebrew is even harder to translate.
It reads "Yehova yahab el ben". Yehova we know. Yahab means give unto. El is an iteration of the noun elim. Elim is almost always translated either God or god. And ben means "sons of". Because the form of ben and the from of elim used are plural, we could say Sons of God, rather than Son of God. But for some reason the translators don't do that here. They decide not to use the phrases "Sons of God", and instead translate it "heavenly beings" in the ESV. This seems much more interpretation than translation. The KJV translates it "Oh ye mighty..". The KJV is not implying that these mighty are in heaven. I don't see how the ESV arrives at the conclusion that David is addressing "heavenly beings", rather than calling on mankind to "Ascribe to the Lord". It has to be based on the use of that word "el", which is a form of "elim" which means "God" or "god". It is translated "God" in 213 of 245 cases in the KJV.
Hmm...here is vs 9b:
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory!" [Psa 29:9 ESV]. Perhaps "in his temple" is considered a reference to a heavenly temple, and this influences the earlier translation in vs 1. Vs 10 gives credence to this "picture":
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. [Psa 29:10 ESV].
2023 - Went and found that reference in Genesis 6 that talks about the "sons of God" looking upon the daughters of men. In that verse, the Hebrew words translated "sons of God" are "ben Elohim". So really not much wiggle room there for the translators. Here in Psalm 29, the construction is "ben el". NOT the full Elohim, but only el. Is that a contraction that was used in David's time that wasn't around when Moses wrote Genesis, but it means essentially the same thing? If we say it does, then the sons of God in Genesis can only be understood as heavenly, mighty beings come down from where God's throne is located and somehow "causing" human women to give birth to mighty men, these men among men, these stronger faster better than human men. The causing could be genetic manipulation. Genesis 6 does not imply that these mighty ones that resulted were bad or evil at all. If you look at Genesis 6, they took human daughters AS WIVES, and the next verse says God at that time limited human lifespan to 120 years. Why? Well immortal angels somehow having children with mortal women might greatly extend the lifespan of that offspring....making all humanity prefer to be born of a woman and an angel instead of a woman and a man. Angel and woman...spirit and flesh? Hmm. That does not seem correct. Then Genesis 6 talks about Nephilim still being around - without explaining what they are - and we see that it is only then that we are told women give birth to "them". Here is the verse:
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. [Gen 6:4 ESV].
If we look closely at this verse, "and also afterward" is a prepositional phrase giving additional information but not fundamental to the sentence. So we might read it like this:
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. .
So now, with that distraction out of the way, we see that "when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, is also a protracted prepositional phrase. Noting this confuses us as to who exactly is fathering the mighty men of old? What if we read it like this:
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and they bore children to them.
"Nephilim" is a masculine plural noun. So the Nephilim are possibly the fathers of the mighty men. It is also possible that the "sons of God" are the fathers. But I think we know enough to realize that this is not the case. The only example we have in the Bible of a spirit fathering a child is here:
35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. [Luk 1:35 ESV]. What we know about this is that the Holy Spirit is part of the trinity. This Spirit is God, a manifestation of God. The Nephilim, and as far as that goes the "ben Elohim", are all created beings, and we have no basis for believing that ANY Spirit could "mate" with human women. Maybe the angels just liked their company, and spent time on earth with them, and "took them out of circulation" because no human male could "compete" with an immortal angel for the attention of a woman. This might also explain the 120 year lifespan. Perhaps these sons of God, though they cannot mate with women, can keep them healthy and extend their lifespans for a very long time. Taking these women out of circulation, keeping them from populating the earth, goes against God's order to go forth and multiply also. 120 years is not very long to an angel, and might well have been a disincentive for the angels to enter into relationships with women after that. IF WE READ IT THIS WAY,
then vs 4 is talking about a whole different thing than vss 1-3 were about. I think it was these Nephilim that were mating with women and the result was these mighty men of renown. Here is the definition of Strong's 5303, the word Nephilim: nᵉphîyl, nef-eel'; or נְפִל nᵉphil; from H5307; properly, a feller, i.e. a bully or tyrant:—giant. So given this definition, the Nephilim were not the good guys. They were giants who "threw their weight around". Perhaps someone had begun a human breeding program to produce larger and larger men. Or women AND men, which would keep you from hitting a wall when the babies got too big for any normal sized woman to carry. Perhaps the huge size and corresponding strength of these giants made them arrogant, and made them the "fittest" to borrow an evolutionary description. These giants were taking over the world, doing what they wanted to whomever they wanted, and were so self-centered that they were pushing God all the way out of their consideration...and they were the ones in charge, and difficult or impossible to oppose in a time when hand to hand was the way things were settled. And it was because of THESE that we get the next few verses:
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. [Gen 6:5-6 ESV]
So that is enough of a complete "goose chase" this morning in '23. I am copying this to Genesis 6 though because I think it has finally made good sense to me.
Perhaps the point of this psalm is the power of God's word. With His word, He rules. There is power of destruction (vss 3, 5, 7, 8) and life (vss 6, 9). Life and death, all in the word. "Thy word is truth". The Bible is the word, the word is a two-edged sword. When God speaks...
2021 - Vs 3 is very interesting in Hebrew. There is much more structure to it. I think English is a difficult language to use for a concise translation of Hebrew. Vs 4 is very succinct in Hebrew.
There is much about the voice of God and about how His power is wielded through His voice. He needs no tools. He just speaks and it happens.
2023 - This Psalm is about the power of God, exercised with his voice. He needs no army, no tool, no helper. He but speaks and it is done. In the ESV, the word voice appears seven times (should we be surprised?). The Psalm says God is to be glorified, because the application of His power requires only that he speak. That's it. His voice carries infinite power.
30
David.
David, near the end of his life, thanks God for restoring him. This seems to say that David's punishment does end before his death. There is this verse:
[Psa 30:5 ESV] 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
1st Stanza, David thanks God for restoring him.
2nd, Praise encouraged, because God's favor last forever, His anger but a moment.
3rd, David says he was immovable when God was with him, dismayed when God was not. The contrast between being in God's will, and out of it.
4th, David seems to be asking for longer life, so that he may continue to praise God. If he is dead, dust doesn't praise.
5th, Thanks to God for turning mourning to gladness, thanks to God forever.
2021- Preview says this was a song at the dedication of the Temple. Was David still alive, or had he written this for the occasion before he died?
2023 - David still thinks like a warrior. He thanks God for victory over his enemies. Vs 3 seems to say that David was forgiven for the Bathsheba incident and the consequences played out to the end before he died. The closeness that David had with God as a young man finally returned before he died. And doesn't verse 5, so often quoted, completely reinforce this idea? Here are those verses:
3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. ...
5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. ...
And look also at this verse. Doesn't this say that David craved a long life on earth? He justifies continuing on earth because that gives him longer to praise God.
9 "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!" [Psa 30:3, 5, 9-10 ESV].
Wow..."Will the dust praise you?" David loved life.
Psalms 31-35
31
17 O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol. [Psa 31:17 ESV]
Is he saying that he has nothing to be shamed about, no cause to be shamed, and doesn't want lies told about him, or is he saying that though he has sins and has made mistakes, he wants them hidden except from God? MSB has a number of similar verses cross-referenced. David does not want his enemies to have the upper hand over him. He doesn't want to be displayed by them as a defeated enemy, but wants them to receive that fate instead. I don't think the context is about current humiliation for past sin, but about God keeping us from the control of our enemies.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. [Psa 31:10 ESV]
This verse makes me think this psalm may have been written after David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. This seems to me to be out of chronological order.
2022 - The first five verses make it clear that David is seeking protection from his enemies. I think it was written before the Bathsheba incidents. He refers to God as a refuge, he asks for deliverance, not forgiveness, for rescue. He sees God as a fortress. Well you use a fortress to protect yourself from enemies. He knows that God sees the "nets" his enemies prepare for him and can save him out of those situations. Then this verse:
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. [Psa 31:5 ESV]. Doesn't this verse sound familiar?
46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. [Luk 23:46 ESV]. As many times as I've read this Psalm, I never saw that before. I wonder if, like Psa 22, Jesus quotes it to invoke not just this single verse, but the whole Psalm. I will keep this in mind as I read the rest of the Psalm.
Would we believe that as he hung on the cross, Jesus prayed that he would not be put to shame? He was dying a very ignominious death. He was supposed to die that death. I guess that doesn't mean he had to like it. And in fact, in the end, at his resurrection, the shame was all thrown off.
2022 - In vss 6-8, the steadfast love of God, even in dire and trying circumstances, is recognized. David know that despite all that is against him, he is still safe and protected in God's hands. It makes me think of the distress that Jesus endured in the garden the night of his arrest. Satan also came near and tempted him again, this time to forego the cross and come over to him. We know also that angels were sent to comfort him that night, to strengthen him for what lay ahead.
2022 - Big hole in the theory from vs 10:
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. [Psa 31:10 ESV]. Jesus had no iniquity. His sorrow would have been from another source, and the wasting of his bones externally inflicted. Even so, there is much in this Psalm that does apply to Jesus, as he hung on the cross. He was in a shamed position. Many would flee from him, run away, recant their association with him. I think the way to see this Psalm is that as David cried out for help and protection from uncountable enemies in his day, Jesus is looking to God to preserve their purpose, to give him strength to endure through the shameful circumstances and to enthrone him ultimately as king of all. Further, both of them - David and Jesus - are for us examples of faithfulness in time of extreme testing.
2022 - The last verse of 31 sums it up:
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! [Psa 31:24 ESV]. Wait for the Lord. Be guided by the Lord. Submit to circumstances and pray for refuge and protection.
Could I get a FB post out of this? Summarizing what went before, tying the cross and David together?
32
David.
This is a "maskil" of David. This is some kind of term who's meaning is uncertain. Per MSB it could mean "a contemplative poem", "a psalm of understanding", or "a skillful poem". In any case, it is a word that sets apart the psalms so titled.
1st Stanza, Blessed is he to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity.
2nd, When silent, vitality was sapped. This seems to refer back to the deceit mentioned in 1st. Maybe. No...this is about being silent instead of confessing our sins to God. It eats on us. We know it's there, and yet to keep silent is to keep sin in our lives. This rolls right into the next stance where...
2021- He was silent about Bathsheba, hoping to keep it a secret, and the guilt overwhelmed him. Perhaps the rush of water is the flood of events when the sin was discovered anyway. When dark, shameful, secret sin is exposed to public light.
3rd, Confession is made, and leads to forgiveness. Only 1 verse in this stanza. This verse is followed by Selah, ending the "thought".
4th, 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. [Psa 32:6 ESV] It starts with therefore, so this is a conclusion/recommendation based on the truth of the verses preceding Selah. Perhaps the "rush of great waters" is about the cares/troubles/requirements of each day. The things we do to maintain ourselves and our families in this world. Things that "attach" us to this world. I am not really sure about the waters. Maybe the demands of this world, over time, will distance us from feeling guilty about our sin, and make us less and likely likely to go back and confess it.
MSB says David is teaching that we shouldn't wait to confess, because God may no longer be near. If we don't confess, we are "keeping" the sin, and God may turn His back on that. So confess right away. But I have no idea what the rush of great waters is about. MSB doesn't address that phrase at all. Background noise from the continued sin? I really don't know. Just this one verse.
5th, One verse. You are my hiding place.
6th, Listen to God's counsel, and learn, so that you don't have to be led all the time, like a horse or mule.
7th, Rejoice in the Lord, all you upright in heart.
33
1st - A call for praise.
2nd - Why He deserves praise.
2023 - We see again that it is with his Word that he creates. His power is expressed in mere speech. What he commands happens. His word alone - sound - creates. And this verse: 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. [Psa 33:7 ESV]. Last last phrase is interesting. It is a corroborating verse for Noah's flood. Huge volumes of water are stored somewhere. Chemically perhaps or plain old physically, and God controls the release and recovery of that water. Enough water to cover the mountains.
3rd - God created all, all should fear Him.
4th - God rules over the nations, over all of man's devising.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! [Psa 33:12 ESV]
5th - God looks down on men, and observes all they do.
6th - God watches over, and delivers, those who fear Him.
7th - A request for God's continued care.
2022 - Here is an interesting, and I am sure a very misapplied verse:
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! [Psa 33:12 ESV]. You have to consider that last part of the verse also. He has chosen Israel, not just anybody who makes God the Lord. I think we, the US, got a lot of blessings early on because we have been a Christian nation with Christian values. We were settled by people looking for a place to worship God in peace. But...we are not chosen as a nation, and THAT is what David is talking about here. We cannot just take the first part of this verse as a promise to any nation that asks for it.
34
The introduction to this Psalm says David wrote it when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech. Wasn't this in Gath, where David pretended nsanity before the Philistine king? MSB note says yes, it refers to 1Sa 21:10-15. That note also says there is nothing in the Psalm that makes that connection. MSB note also says this Psalm is very similar to Psa 25. This Psalm in the original language is an acrostic.
These verses, appropriate for funerals:
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. [Psa 34:17-18 ESV]
And this verse:
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. [Psa 34:19 ESV]
We have to expect not just trouble, but a lot of trouble. Good FB post.
20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. [Psa 34:20 ESV]
This verse is about the crucifixion. Yet, it is stuck in the middle of a lot of verses that do not seem to be about the crucifixion at all. I don't see how, in the time it was written, that this verse could possibly have been recognized for what it is. There are verses where Jesus tells his disciples that they are privileged to see what the prophets and angels searched for and could not find. Maybe this is one of the things he was talking about.
35
In this and the previous...and the following...Psalms, David is asking for God to deliver him from his enemies. David maintains that he has been good, that his ways are right before God, and that he has done nothing to deserve what his enemies intend for him. He is not asking for God to strengthen him so that he can lay waste to his enemies - like Samson did - but that God and/or God's angel will intervene on his behalf and do the fighting for him.
19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. [Psa 35:19 ESV]
24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! [Psa 35:24 ESV]
2021 - Several non-defensive prayers in this chapter, like this one:
Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
Psalm 35:6 ESV
Verse 8 is even better.
Psalms 36-41
36
David.
1st - How the evil think. A description of what goes on the mind of those who are evil. They do not fear God. They don't think their crimes can be discovered. Wisdom and good have no part in their actions. They plot 24/7, set themselves on evil, and do not reject evil. They are 'round the bend when it comes to good vs evil. They no longer see evil as bad. They embrace it.
2021- Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
Psalm 36:1 ESV This is it in a nutshell.
2022 - Here is the whole passage:
1 To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 4 He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. [Psa 36:1-4 ESV]. How do you know if someone is truly wicked or just a sinner like the rest of us? Here is insight into what goes on in the mind of the wicked, how they think. They are motivated by transgression - it is their way. They have no guilt about what they do, they believe their true character is beyond discovery. We can never really know what goes on in the mind of another person. But these verses do give us some outward, observable indicators to help us know what we are dealing with. Listen to what they say. Are they escalators or de-escalators? Are they inciteful? Do you ever see them trying to ease the burdens of other people? Do they condemn the perpetrators or do they laugh at the victims? This description, this "guide", is here so that we know who the players are, and so we can focus on those who are receptive, and not waste time on the truly evil.
Possible FB post for 9/19/22.
2nd - God's love contrasted
3rd - Life in God's love. Refuge in the shadow of his wings, feasting in his house, drinking from his river, the fountain of life, the light for our eyes.
4th - A prayer for God's continuing love, while the evil are "thrust down".
37
2023 - In the chronological Bible, this Psalm comes after IKgs 1 and 2. In those, David is old, near the end of his reign. We might think of this chapter as a reflection of David's thoughts after the life he lived - from shepherd, to the King's palace, to the King's arch enemy, to King, to murderer and adulterer, to fleeing as his own son tries to kill him, to the years of asking how long, and finally to peace at the end of his life.
David. This Psalm reads differently than others. It seems more like a chapter of Proverbs than of Psalms.
1st Stanza, 2 verses only. Don't fret over bad guys, they won't last long, won't be in power long.
2nd, Trust in the Lord to look after you. He will be good to you. I think this is contrasting looking to the evil in power, and trying to get what you want from them, through them, or by joining them, but David urges looking to God for our desires instead of to men.
3rd, Same sense as the 2nd.
4th, Again, urging not to worry about the evil, not to get twisted off about them, not to be angry with them, but to wait on the Lord. This would be a good one to post!
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. [Psa 37:7-9 ESV]
5th, The wicked are transient. Not only will they be gone, but there will be no sign they were ever there.
6th, The Lord laughs at the wicked.
7th, The wicked are their own worst enemy. They will destroy themselves.
8th, Contrast between the better way of being righteous with little instead of much because of evil. God is with the first group.
9th, God watches over the blameless.
10th, This verse:
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; [Psa 37:21 ESV]
Doesn't leave much doubt about how to classify those who won't pay.
11th, If the righteous stumble/fall, God helps them back up. Not so the wicked. These verses:
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. [Psa 37:23-24 ESV]
The implication is that even good and righteous men may have some pretty awful setbacks, but they are not to be completely undone.
12th, God cares for the righteous. These verses:
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. [Psa 37:25-26 ESV]
Even so, Amen. This is the hope I have. I have many sins in my past, too many, and I know that consequences for those are ongoing. But I hope the righteousness of Christ conferred by salvation makes me a recipient of the promises in this verse.
2022 - I wonder if this was true in David's time because he led the country according to God's word and God's promises, and so even the poorest of the poor at least had enough to eat? Is it true in a nation that spurns God and all his ways...a nation that seems to pick out verses just so they can be sure and violate them and do just the opposite of them? Is that why there are so many places where this statement does not apply?
13th, So do good, and your children will inherit the land of the wicked.
14th, More about the good
15th, and so on. The rest of the chapter repeats these themes. Some of the "doublets" are wicked/good, others are good/wicked, and some are the same for both verses. I wonder if there is a pattern? Would be interesting to go back and look at them.
This is a long Psalm. 40 verses.
2022 - This Psalm (37) seems to be written specifically for those who find themselves "eaten up" with apparent injustice in the world. We see those who are laughing at God's ways, and yet they just go right along, getting by as wells as we do, or very often even better than we do. And we get angry. We indulge in self-pity because we are so very good, and they are worse, and they are better off. Like those chapters in Job where he talks about the evil dying fat and happy in their beds as he sits and suffers from the sores. We are not to be this way. We are to persevere in faithfulness, and look for God's purpose in our lives right where we are, in the circumstances where we live. The evil have it good sometimes because God doesn't want any to perish. And the better they have it, and don't honor God for it, the less excuse they will have for the hell that awaits them, and the more just God's punishment. Unrepentant, vile, evil, wealthy, happy, people ought to be seen as examples of God's love, patience, and extended opportunity in this life, and of the assurance of justice in the next. (God's justice).
I also can't help but tie this back to Rummages message on the "older brother" in the Prodigal Son parable yesterday. He was jealous that one had come in from the sentence of death. Jealous that one who'd lived like the devil was now welcome in the house of the saints. Heaven is not like a chocolate pie. You don't get less just because there are more people at the table. The is no end of pie.
Possible FB post, using a verse, or several verses from 37.
38
David.
1st, Request for relief from the punishment ongoing from God. (Not trying to deny that he deserves it, or that is too harsh. But still, David wants it to end.)
2nd, Much the same.
3rd, Still more. David is feeling the weight of the just punishment God is sending his way. David says it is more than he can bear, and he asks for relief.
4th, One verse. About his enemies.
5th, David is like a deaf man, who does not hear the plots against him, the treachery being plotted.
6th, David waits for relief. He doesn't want his enemies to laugh at his mistakes, his slips, his punishment.
7th, David confesses his many sins, but says that he still follows after good. And he says that is the reason he has enemies. He's done nothing to them personally, they just hate David for his striving after good.
8th, Asking God to help him, and soon.
Another prayer of David while he is left to himself, while God is letting the world's ways take their course. I don't know that God is actually punishing David here, so much as he is just not protecting or helping him. For one used to communion with God, used to God's intervention in their life, this is a devastatingly lonely and frightening state of affairs. David knows that it is only God's protection that will keep him safe, keep him in power as King, keep him safe and alive despite the unceasing plots of his enemies. David realizes that he is powerless to discern all these plots, and that everything depends on God's watchful eye.
39
David.
1st - David struggles to remain silent in the presence of the wicked.
2022 - I think this 1st verse is worth looking at specifically:
1 To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence." [Psa 39:1 ESV]
Why would it be such a big deal to keep your mouth shut until the wicked leave? Is this about not arguing with, not "engaging" the wicked in a debate? Is this just about Kings or does this apply to everyone? So interesting that we ought to keep our thoughts to ourselves - as if we are wearing a muzzle - rather than let the wicked know our thoughts. MSB says it may be about complaining as to the workings of God in the presence of the wicked, and/or criticizing God for not bringing earthly retribution to the wicked. I would think this second would mean criticizing in the presence of the wicked. Wouldn't they feel all smart and smug if you whine because they are still doing so well though they deserve the worst? To do either of these things in the hearing of the wicked is tantamount to giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
2nd - The transience of a man's life. It is short. Ends with "Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!"
3rd - Like the 2nd. This verse:
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! [Psa 39:6 ESV]
Why do we worry so about ourselves, our possessions, our "things". We aren't even a blip on history. We take ourselves far too seriously.
4th - Our hope is in God. "surely all mankind is a mere breath!" Here is the thought:
11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah [Psa 39:11 ESV]
Here it is in black and white. If we have sin, and we are rebuked, look what we lose. We lose what is dear to us. We open a drawer and what was precious to us is riddled with holes, of no practical use, and only a memory. This is a fearful, terrible thing. This is something we never ever want to happen.
5th - Hear my prayer...
Here's the last verse in this chapter:
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!" [Psa 39:13 ESV]
Look away and stop rebuking me, punishing me? Leave me alone so that I can die happier? What does this verse mean??? MSB says this is the same thought as vs 10...which didn't get my attention the first time, but here it is:
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. [Psa 39:10 ESV]...doesn't really get your attention. Here it is in NASB:
10 "Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing. [Psa 39:10 NASB]. You can see the parallel here.
So these verses are what they seem to be. God's punishment is devastating. David wants the punishing to be ended. This must have been written after Bathsheba, after Absalom ran him out of Jerusalem. During the time when he was under God's wrath for adultery and murder and conspiracy and for bringing in others to assist him with murder. All that was precious to him was tainted. He just wanted it to end before he died, to get back into God's good graces, to be blessed again instead of punished. He was separated from God by his sins, God had looked away, had left him to the vagaries and randomness of this world. He wanted out of this situation. He just wanted to be free of this. This is a very sad psalm, written from the pit of regret. May I never be in this pit.
Possible FB post.
2021 - This verse:
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!" [Psa 39:13 ESV]. What a terrible place to be. Sin so thick that it has gotten God's attention and His anger and His wrath. Justice from God is being dispensed. Better to have Him move on to somewhere else and leave us entirely alone with ourselves and our grief and our regret, and not even have Him to pray to, than to continue as the object of His wrath. A very sad thing indeed.
40
David.
1st, Wait on God, and he will lift you up, renew your path.
2nd, Depend on God, not on the proud. Thanks to God for His wondrous deeds.
3rd, Sacrifices and offerings mean little, but God loves those who obey His laws.
We see this many times over in the Psalms. David recognizes that it is the heart, not the sacrifices, that God takes note of.
4th, David has proclaimed what God has done. David is not a secret closet Christian. David delights in speaking of God.
5th, David depends on God's mercy, despite his own failures, his countless sins.
6th, David asks that God deliver him, and shame his enemies in the process, and embarrass them for their actions.
7th, Those who love God are blessed, David asks one last time for help without delay.
2023 - Noticed this verse: 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God! [Psa 40:17 ESV]. As King, David had learned, surely, that he could not help everyone. He couldn't answer every petition. David had to choose whom he would hear. Likely, the more poor and needy you were, the less likely you were to get an audience with the King. It is the same today. The more powerful are more often heard than the poor. But it doesn't work that way with God. He is not less likely to hear us when we are poor in righteousness. He hears ALL whose hearts are set upon Him. God's attention is sufficient to hear ALL who call upon him...and material, worldly standing is irrelevant to Him.
Possible FB post.
41
David.
1st, God is blessed because he looks after the poor, the weak.
2nd, David says his enemies want him to die, and they conspire and whisper about him.
3rd, The prayer turns here, to a request for God to lift him up, so he can repay his enemies.
4th, David will conclude that God delights in him when David's enemies do not win.
5th, Blessed be the Lord.