Read Psalm 36

Summary

The Bible teaches that fear of God is the true source of wisdom. In Psalm 36, King David picks up this theme and merges it with a description of God’s unchangeable lovingkindness for his people. By describing the character of the wicked and the character of God, he encourages us to seek the love and fellowship of God instead of wicked ways.

Our passage explained

v1-4

In the first section of this psalm, we read a description of the character of the wicked. For the wicked, “transgression speaks … deep in his heart” because the wicked do not reverently depend on God (v.1). 

Instead, the wicked man believes he can get away with his sins, “for he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated” (v.2). The wicked are foolishly motivated by the sins deep in their hearts, and fool themselves that they will not be uncovered.

The foolishness of their hearts comes out in their acts. “The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good” (v.3). Sinfulness affects true wisdom and ability to do good; instead what replaces goodness and wisdom is the sin of his heart, expressed in words and deeds.

The sin of the wicked extends to all their life, not just a part. Even in bed at night, the wicked “plots trouble” and “sets himself in a way that is not good” (v.4) instead of dwelling on what is good and holy (Phil. 4:8). “He does not reject evil” (v.4) but embraces it as a way of life, a way of being.

v5-7

Compared to the wicked and their ways, the precious character of God is the topic of the second section of the psalm. The wicked bind themselves to sin, but God binds himself to his people with his unchanging, steadfast lovingkindness.

God’s covenant love, his “steadfast love … extends to the heavens, [his] faithfulness to the clouds” (v.5). God’s covenant love is beyond our ability to grasp because it is greater than we can take in, like a mountain soaring skyward into high clouds. 

His righteousness is “like the mountains of God” and his justice “like the great deep” (v.6), visually describing the unchangeable nature of his covenant love as like unchanging parts of our world. We see it expressed in his preservation of Creation, as “man and beast you save, O LORD” (v.6).

These words lead David to proclaim in verse seven “how precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” God’s covenant love for his people is precious, a place we can take shelter in from the storms of life.

v8-12

The grace of God expressed to us through his covenant love is described as being like feasting and drinking. Like a rich and generous host, we “feast on the abundance of your house” (v.8) and we drink of the blessings of a restored Garden of Eden (“the river of your delights”).

We feast and drink, restoring and revitalising our lives, because God “is the fountain of life” and the source of light (v.9) who leads us in righteousness.

With this description of God’s character expressed in his covenant love for his people, the psalm finishes with a prayer for the experience of God’s love. David asks God to “continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!” (v.10). Knowing the wonder of God’s love leads him to desire it forever, continually, and for all God’s people too.

David also prays that God’s covenant love would show expression in protection from the wicked. He asks that God would protect him from the foot or hand of the wicked who would “drive me away” from God’s presence (v.11). 

He extends this prayer to a declaration of trust in ultimate deliverance from the wicked. He believes the sinners, who lie in bed plotting, will in the end perish. “There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise” (v.12) because they sought evil ways, not the covenant love of God.

Our passage applied

This psalm encourages us to seek the love and fellowship of God that we have through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true source of life (John 4:10-14; John 6:35-51) and the true light among us (John 1:4-5; 1 John 1:5-9). It is through Jesus that we have life and walk in the light which the Holy Spirit reveals to us.

The precious love of God – unchanging, long-suffering, righteous and just and so great we cannot grasp its breadth – is so much more appealing than the evil thoughts and acts of the heart. In God’s covenant love, we find shelter and protection from the evils of today and our many sins, and the promise of feasting and drinking of the delights of the New Heaven and New Earth. The wicked, outside God’s covenant love, face ultimate destruction.

May we all find refuge within God’s unchanging covenant love.
You may recognise verses five to nine of this psalm, as we occasionally sing an arrangement by Stephen J. Pearson

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Read Psalm 35

Summary

Many of the psalms we have looked at are written in difficult times, and the reason for that is the psalm writers, like us, went through a variety of difficult times. These times may be personal or corporate, but they are still a far more apparent part of the Christian life than we care to believe today.

Psalm 35 once again cries out in lament at the unjust evils visited on God’s people. But it also encourages us to give thanks to God as well. There are three clear stanzas in the psalm, each ending on a note of praise. From this we can see that this Psalm encourages us to ask God to fight the battle, trusting in him for a deliverance that will come in his timing, and praising him as we wait.

Our passage explained

v1-10

The first stanza, in verses one to ten, expresses a cry for help. David asks God to “contend…with those who contend with me” (which has legal connotations) and to fight against those who fight against him (v.1). He speaks poetically of God taking up a defensive shield and offensive weapons to fight for David, declaring himself “your salvation” (vv.2-3).

David then appeals indirectly to God by invoking curses on his opponents, asking that God disgrace and shame them, make them as worthless as “chaff before the wind,” and bring confusion and stumbling upon them (vv.4-6). He does this because he is innocent; he is being attacked “without cause” (v.7). David seeks that their own attacks are turned against them (v.8).

The first stanza then finishes with praise, as David anticipates his “soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation” (v.9) and that God will deliver him from powerful foes (v.10).

v11-18

The second stanza in verses eleven to eighteen then provides a description of the enemies. David asked God to contend for him because “malicious witnesses” were accusing him in an irregular court with demands he cannot meet (v.11). He is punished unjustly, with “evil for good” which leaves him desolate (v.12). Their evil is made worse because when they were in strife he displayed mourning and grief for them (vv.13-14).

In contrast, when David’s strife arrives his enemies rejoiced and gathered to gloat (tear at him) and mock him (vv.15-16). This great evil visited on him leads David to cry out “how long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!” (v.17)

Anticipating rescue, the second stanza finishes with David promising to thank and praise God for his deliverance amongst the gathered worshipers of God’s people (v.18).

v19-28

The third stanza in verses nineteen to twenty-eight raises a call for God’s deliverance. David asks God not to allow those who are wrongfully his enemies and look at him with hostility rejoice at his situation (v.19). 

In verses twenty and twenty-one, it becomes clear that this hostility is from treaty partners who are attacking David and his people unjustly, on the basis of fake claims of treaty violations by David and his people. Since God witnessed both the covenant and the events, David asks him to intervene (v.22).

God is asked to intervene in the dispute, in both a legal and military sense. God is asked to awake and vindicate David (vv.23-24). If God does so, David’s enemies will not be able to speak in joy of David’s destruction and their getting their own way (v.25).

Instead of this fate, David asks for two contrasting outcomes. For his unjust enemies, he asks God to disgrace and shame them (v.26). But for his supporters, he desires that they would “shout for joy and be glad” at what God had done for him (v.27).

The third stanza (and psalm) then concludes with David anticipating the praise he will give to God, when “my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long” (v.28).

Our passage applied

Consistently through this psalm are two ideas. Firstly, a reliance upon God to fight and defeat David’s enemies. Secondly, praise offered in anticipation of God’s deliverance.

It may be tempting when we run into the latest unfounded attack, verbal or physical, against the Church and professing Christians here or around the world to charge into battle and overthrow the powers that enable it. But our fight is against the spiritual puppet masters (Eph. 6:12), not the lost sinners who are led along in the dark by those evil masters. 

It is God who has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and will ultimately vindicate us and defeat all who persecute his Church. Like David, we should trust God to win the battle, not try to fight and defeat the enemy ourselves.

Instead, we should sing praises anticipating the full expression of God’s deliverance. We already experience the deliverance from sin and the prince of this age, but not yet to its fullness. In the meantime, we can in faith offer praise to God all the day long.

Resources

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Read Psalm 34

Summary

A New Year is often a time of new resolutions; to change a habit, to alter your lifestyle, to keep in better touch with family or friends, or other similar motives. All of these resolutions may have a good basis in health and wellbeing. It’s a shame that so often, we don’t stick to our resolutions.

When it comes to our lives as Christians, spiritual resolutions can also fall by the wayside. Instead of resolving to “do something more/new/better” this year, perhaps we should choose to adopt a way of life, like that encouraged by King David in Psalm 34. David encourages us to see God’s goodness to his people, and respond accordingly by blessing God, fearing God, and trusting God as a way of life.

Our passage explained

v1-3

Psalm 34 was likely written after David escaped the Philistine king Achish (1 Sam 21:10-15) as he avoided conflict with King Saul. In verses one to seven, David encourages us to bless God. After committing to blessing God “at all times” (v.1) and praising God to others (v.2), he encourages his hearers and readers to “magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (v.3).

v4-7

The reason for blessing and praising God is provided in verses four to seven, where David explains that he sought God’s help, and God “answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (v.4). Instead, their faces (figuratively) display the radiance of God as he delivers those who have no power to save themselves (vv.5-7).

v8-14

Secondly, David encourages us to fear God in verses eight to fourteen. He encourages us to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (v.8), experiencing the blessings of God as he had. He encourages us to fear, that is reverently trust God, because while even the strong and aggressive (described as young lions) do not always get what they need, God’s people do not lack (vv.9-10).

David then turns to instruction on how we can fear God, speaking as a teacher to his “children” of how he “will teach you the fear of the LORD” (v.11). He asks “what man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?” (v.12). 

The answer in the following two verses is to refrain from speaking evil or deceitful language (v.13), and turn away from evil deeds to do good, pursuing peace rather than strife (v.14). These practical outward steps reflect an inward desire to follow God’ ways rather than our own sinful behaviour. In doing this we will experience the joy of God’s presence with us.

v15-22

Thirdly, David encourages us in verses fifteen to twenty-two to trust God. We can trust God because “the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry” (v.15). The “righteous” here does not refer to sinless people, but as elsewhere in the psalms and Scripture refers to those who trust God and are accepted, as opposed to those who are rejected by God for their evil deeds (v.16).

Those who trust God can be sure of his deliverance, as God hears and delivers them from their troubles (v.17) as he did David. God will bless the brokenhearted with his nearness (v.18). 

David acknowledges that troubles are a general reality for believers, but also that God’s deliverance from those troubles is also a general reality we can trust in (v.19). This is described visually in verse 20 (fulfilled most fully in Christ; John 19:33-37) as God saving us from extreme danger and lasting shame (expressed in avoiding broken bones).

David ends his psalm and his encouragement to trust by restating that God redeems those who trust him (v.22), while those who do evil and afflict God’s people will be condemned (v.21). God is one we can take refuge in, as we have tasted of him and know that he is good.

Our passage applied

David’s encouragement to us to bless, fear, and trust in God finds its fulfillment in Christ. Jesus not only most fully experienced God’s promise in verse nineteen, he embodied the very righteousness that God reckons to us when we trust in God rather than ourselves. 

Jesus truly and reverently trusted God’s provision, even as he was nailed to the cross. The pages of Scripture speak of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. No wonder then that the Apostle Peter encourages us to long for God’s Word (spiritual milk) like infants…” if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:3).

We may or may not need resolutions for the New Year, but we all need to taste the goodness of God to us through Jesus Christ. God delivers us from sin to fellowship with him. While troubles are a reality in our life, God is present and hears us in those difficult days because we trust in Christ as our Saviour. What better way to bless, fear, and trust God than to proclaim God’s goodness as a way of life.

Resources

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Read Psalm 33

Summary

Christmas approaches and we once again enjoy gifts, good food, and hopefully some nice weather. We also as believers rejoice in the birth of Jesus, God the Son incarnate, for us and for our salvation. Christmas reminds us that God is our help and shield, who is working in history to save his people. He is the one who we should praise and put our hope in.

Psalm 33 calls us to praise God, our help and shield. As we celebrate Christmas this year, Psalm 33 reminds us to praise God because of his Word, because his will comes to pass, and because God sees all things. Therefore we trust in God, who sent Jesus to help us from our sins in his first advent and who will return at his second to complete God’s salvation mission.

Our passage explained

v1-5

Psalm 33 begins with a call to praise God in verses one to three. Picking up from the final verse of Psalm 32, God’s people (the righteous and upright) are called to “shout for joy in the LORD” (v.1) with a variety of musical instruments (vv.2-3).

The first reason for offering praise to God is because of God’s Word. God’s word is “upright” (v.4) and reflects everything that makes God good. All God’s work expresses his goodness and faithfulness, his righteousness, justice, and his covenant love (vv.4-5).

v6-12

God’s word is the same word by which he made all things. By God’s word “the heavens were made” (v.6) and the chaotic uncontrollable seas which Canute could not tame were gathered “as a heap” and placed in storehouses (v.7). We ought to fear God, because his word is not only upright but powerful, making and upholding all things (vv.8-9).

The second reason to praise God is because God’s will comes to pass. Godless nations who seek their own will, not God’s, are frustrated in their plans (v.10). But God’s plans endure, “the plans of his heart to all generations” (v.11). God’s salvation plan throughout history cannot be frustrated or interrupted by sinners; what they intend for evil, God intends for good (Gen. 50:20). 

“Blessed” then Psalm 33 says, “is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” (v.12). Those God has chosen in love before the foundation of the world experience his covenant love expressed to us through his Son, Jesus.

v13-22

The third reason to praise God is because God sees all things. God “looks down from heaven” (v.13) which is where he is enthroned in power (v.14) to watch over all creation. He not only observes like a ruler with binoculars, but can discern their hearts (because he made them; v.15) and observe all they do.

God’s watching over all creation is not to see who is strong, but to care for those he loves. Kings are not saved by great armies or powerful weapons, nor warriors by their strength (vv.16-17). Instead, God saves those who look to him in trust (v.18), “that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine” (v.19). God delivers those he cares for, not those who are strongest and rely on themselves.

Since God looks down with care and concern for those he loves to deliver them by his powerful word, Psalm 33 closes by encouraging us to hope in God. We confidently trust (v.21) in God, “our help and our shield” (v.20) to deliver us. As we wait for God to deliver us (v.20), we hope in him and pray that his covenant love and mercy would fall on us (v.22).

Our passage applied

The wonderful news of Christmas is that God’s covenant love and mercy has fallen on us. At the right time in God’s plan, according to God’s will, Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the prophets foretold (Micah 5:2). The same God, the Word who made all things (John 1), took on human flesh and dwelt among us, that he might save us from our sins (Matt. 1:21).

The coming of Jesus some two thousand years ago demonstrates that God does watch over all the earth, caring for the people he has chosen for himself. God has delivered us from our sins through Jesus, our Immanuel. The plans of Herod, of Satan, of the Romans and the Jewish authorities were frustrated, because in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). 

We are not saved by our own strength, but by God’s grace through faith in his power expressed in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. The same Christ who came to save us some two thousand years ago, promised he would return to finally and completely deliver us from sin and death.

We remember and proclaim “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) because God is our help and shield. Not only now at Christmas time, but always.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Resources

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Read Psalm 32

Summary

There are few things worse in life than suffering the anger and condemnation of others, especially when it is justified. And one of the sweet joys in life is the relief and reconciliation we feel when we receive forgiveness. This is even more so in our relationship with God.

Psalm 32 speaks of the free and rich grace of God to forgive us of our sin. The psalm speaks of the blessing of forgiveness with a personal testimony. It then encourages God’s people to seek God’s forgiveness and follow his teaching, rejoicing in their forgiveness.

Our passage explained

v1-2

Speaking with the voice of wisdom, David opens his psalm speaking of the blessing of forgiveness. Using three different words (in Hebrew) to describe sin, David proclaims “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered … against whom the Lord counts no iniquity” (vv.1-2). 

Forgiveness is receivable for rebelling against God, for “missing the mark” by generally offending God, and for distorting or twisting God’s ways. Forgiveness is then described as a taking away, a covering, or not counting against us. Sin is removed, and in the forgiven ones “spirit there is no deceit” (v.2; that is, no presence of sin).

v3-7

David uses a personal testimony to establish the blessing of forgiveness. At some point he “kept silent” in confessing his sin to God, and as a result felt the burden of God’s anger physically as “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” (v.3). The physical effects from his spiritual condition were caused by God’s hand upon him, sapping his strength like the hot sun (v.4).

God’s discipline drove David to confess his sins, not trying to cover them up himself (v.5). He then experienced God’s free grace as God “forgave the iniquity of my sin” (v.5).

David’s experience of the blessing of forgiveness compels him to encourage all God’s people to seek God’s forgiveness too. He encourages “everyone who is godly”, that is God’s people, to “offer prayer to [God] at a time when you may be found” (v.6). Those who reach out to God in faith will be protected (v.7), even when “the rush of great waters” (v.6) look like overcoming him.

v8-11

David’s encouragement is supported by God’s own words in verses eight and nine. God states he will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” and “counsel you with my eye upon you” (v.8). God encourages his people to accept his teaching and guidance.

The acceptance God seeks is a willingness to follow, not stubborn and reluctant following. We should not be like a horse or a mule which must be reluctantly guided by a bridle or bit in the mouth (v.9). Instead we should joyfully seek to follow God’s ways.

If we joyfully seek God’s ways and seek his forgiveness, joy and assurance are the reward. The wicked who do not see forgiveness from God will endure many sorrows, in this life or the next. But God’s covenant love “surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD” (v.10).

Therefore, David encourages God’s people to “be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (v.11). Gladness, rejoicing, and joy belong to those who rest in God’s free grace.

Our passage applied

The Apostle Paul refers to this psalm in Romans 4, when he discusses how salvation is an act of God’s free gift of grace, and not works. This psalm reminds us that our justification, that which declares us right with God, is received by grace alone through faith alone, not because of our works. 

Just as it was for Abraham and the Patriarchs (see Hebrews 11) and for David, so too it is the case for us. We cannot justify ourselves by our works, we are forgiven by an act of God’s grace.

What a blessing to be forgiven! This psalm reminds us that, in the Apostle John’s words, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God does not require deeds but instead freely forgives the iniquity of our sin.

In this psalm is a great encouragement to us to seek forgiveness from God. We cannot hide our sins from God, nor should we. Instead, like David, we should seek God’s forgiveness and offer prayer to him when he may be found. Like the weeping woman who knew God’s forgiveness granted to her through Jesus and loved Jesus accordingly (Luke 7:36-50), we too can experience great joy and rejoicing in God’s free grace given through Jesus.

Our joy and love in the blessing of forgiveness then motivates our response which is loving service and obedience to God. Not because we feel compelled like a horse with a bridle, but out of devotion and love for what we have received.

As we walk in God’s ways, experiencing God’s free grace, we can be glad, rejoice, and shout for joy. The blessing of forgiveness.

Resources

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Read Psalm 31

Summary

When I was a teenager, bracelets with WWJD and FROG were big in some Christian circles. They were meant as reminders to think “What Would Jesus Do?” in situations, or to proclaim that you were “Fully Reliant On God”. But what does it mean to be fully reliant on God?

Psalm 31 expresses some of the meaning behind being truly, fully, reliant on God. Psalm 31, which again raises themes of lament and thanksgiving we have seen in previous psalms, expresses the thankfulness David felt for his deliverance by God. David’s full reliance on God flowed from God’s steadfast love, which sustained him. In Psalm 31, David expresses a prayer of trust for deliverance by God, and thanksgiving for answer to his prayer.

Our passage explained

v1-8

Psalm 31 begins with a prayer of trust for deliverance by God. David proclaims his trust in God by declaring that “In you, O LORD, do I take refuge” and asking God to deliver him (v.1). He desires God to be a refuge place and a fortress, and hear his cries (v.2).

His desire is then expressed in trust, as he declares that God is his refuge and fortress, leading and guiding him and rescuing him (vv.3-4). He expresses complete confidence in God when he declares “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God” (v.5). He does not trust in useless idols or think much of those who do, because he trusts in God (v.6). Instead he rejoices in God’s faithfulness to him, which sees God recognise David’s troubles and rescue him from them (vv.7-8).

v9-18

In verse nine onwards David expands on his prayer for deliverance. He is in distress and grief, experiencing sorrow (vv.9-10). David acknowledges that his own heart is filled with sin, and his condition makes him like an old man struggling along (v.10). His problems are many; he faces enemies, his neighbours shun him, and even his friends abandon him, leaving him to feel as if he is dead (vv.11-12). He faces slander and death threats alone (v.13).

Despite this, David trusts in God and confesses faith in him to save (v.14). All the circumstances of his life “are in your hand” (v.15), so he can appeal to God to deliver him from his enemies and demonstrate God’s covenant love in salvation (v.16) as God had promised (Numbers 6:24-25).

David calls on God to deliver him from his enemies, and for his enemies (instead of him) to “be put to shame” (v.17); that is, to be disgraced. He wishes them dead, where they cannot attack him again. He also asks that the slanderous words (v.13) are silenced, so the righteous such as him will no longer be troubled (v.18).

v19-23

In the remainder of the psalm, David expresses thanksgiving for answer to his prayer. David proclaims the abundant goodness of God “which you have stored up for those who fear you” and displays towards them in the sight of all (v.19). God’s presence with his people covers and hides them from sinners’ schemes and protects them (v.20).

The abundant goodness of God has been displayed to David himself, who proclaims “blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me” (v.21) and responded to David’s situation of distress (v.22). God heard David’s cry for mercy (v.9) and acted out of his unchangeable loving kindness.

Because God is good, and faithful to his promises, David’s psalm ends with an encouragement to all God’s people to “Love the LORD” who shows mercy and preserves his people (“the faithful”, v.23). In times of trouble, we should wait for God to act, being “strong, and let[ting] your heart take courage” because of God’s covenant love for his people.

Our passage applied

This psalm reminds us of two important truths. Firstly, it reminds us of God’s abundant goodness which flows from his nature to all his people. A repeated theme of this psalm is David’s confidence that God cares for his people, and acts to save. David prays to God for help on that basis, he proclaims his trust in God on that basis, and he rejoices in God’s help given. Singing or meditating on this psalm reminds us of God’s goodness to us.

Secondly, this psalm reminds us that we can place our trust in God because of God’s goodness. Nowhere has this been better expressed than on the Cross, as sinless Jesus died for our many iniquities; quoting verse five of this psalm “calling out with a loud voice… ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’” (Luke 23:46). In his life and death Jesus trusted God’s goodness, trusting himself to God as he took his last breath accomplishing salvation.

Because of Jesus’ full reliance on God through his life and death, we too can trust in God’s goodness to save us. Jesus demonstrates God’s goodness to save us from our sins and from death. Because of Jesus, we can commit our spirit into God’s hands.

Resources

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Read Psalm 30

Summary

Whether fiction or nonfiction, stories of healing and recovery from illness always seem to fill both our hearts and those in the story with joy. Families and friends rejoice that their loved one has come through the dark night of sickness and entered a new day of renewed health and healing.

Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving for healing from illness. It separates neatly into two stanzas (or verses, if you will). The first stanza generally outlines David’s illness and deliverance, while the second stanza expands on the first with a detailed description of his deliverance.

Our passage explained

v1-3

Psalm 30 begins with a song of thankfulness for his deliverance. David promises that he will “extol you, O LORD” (v.1) because God had “drawn me up” like a bucket from a dark well. In verse three, the idea of being drawn up is expanded on where God has “brought up my soul from Sheol” and “restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.” Sheol, the place of death is often described as a dark gloomy place like the bottom of a pit or a well.

The other reason for extolling God is that he did “not let my foes rejoice over me” (v.1), but instead when David cried to God for help he healed him (v.2). Presumably, the foes would be happy at David’s death by sickness, as he would no longer get in the way of their plans.

v4-5

In verses four and five David encourages all of God’s people to join him in extolling God. He wants all God’s “saints” to praise God’s name for his deliverance of David (v.4). The term saints refers to everyone in a covenant relationship with God.

David’s encouragement to praise is because of God’s lovingkindness. Speaking of the triumph of mercy over judgment, David proclaims “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” (v.5). 

While God’s anger lasts only a short time, God’s love and mercy endures forever. The interruption of sadness may intrude for a season, but God’s love chases it away like the sun’s dawn rays chase away the darkness.

v6-9

In the second stanza of this psalm, David provides more details of his deliverance. We learn that David had been self-reliant in his prosperity before his sickness (v.6), forgetting health and prosperity are gifts from God (v.7). When God took away his strength and hid his face, “I was dismayed” (v.7).

Realising his condition, David turned to God for help. He cried out to God, pleading for mercy (v.8), arguing “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?” (v.9). 

v10-12

From David’s perspective, if God allowed him to die there would be no gain, as it would stop David from glorifying God in this life. Casting aside his earlier self-reliance, he asks God to “be merciful to me” and “be my helper” (v.10).

Expanding on verses four and five, David describes the deliverance from sickness he received. God takes away David’s sorrow, described outwardly as mourning. He removes his “sackcloth” (v.11), common clothes worn in mourning, much like we often wear black to funerals. Instead he is given signs of joy, as mourning becomes “dancing” and sackcloth becomes garments of “gladness” (v.11).

Instead of mourning and death, God has healed him and clothed him in gladness so that he “may sing your praise and not be silent” as he would have been if he had died (v.12). For this, David “will give thanks” to the “LORD my God … forever” (v.12).

Our passage applied

David admits in this psalm to self-reliance. Like David, we can fall into the trap of thinking our good health and prosperity is entirely of our own making, rather than a gift of God which could be removed. This psalm reminds us that self-reliance is something we should always seek to avoid in our hearts. 

Instead, we should seek to trust and rely on God, as David did when he fell into sickness. Indeed, it is entirely biblical to turn to God when sickness and affliction strikes. God is sovereign over all things, and perhaps he will respond to our requests for healing positively. 

This trust and reliance should also feature when things go well, praying God will continue to keep us prosperous and with opportunities to sing praises to his name among the nations.

But this psalm also reminds and encourages us that God’s mercy triumphs over judgment for all who trust in him. God may or may not grant health in this life, but if he does not then we will not be silenced forever. One day, redeemed in Christ, we will stand in God’s presence where he will wipe away every tear, singing praises for eternity. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

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Read Psalm 29

Summary

We live in a society where many gods are worshiped, whether in temples with names or in lives given over to desires and passions which reign as deities. This situation is no different to the days of the early Church, or the days of Israel when false gods competed for the devotion of God’s covenant people and the nations surrounding.

Psalm 29 asserts that only God is truly powerful and reigns, using themes from the surrounding pagan nations and ascribing them not to their false gods (eg, Baal), but to Yahweh, our God. This psalm calls us to worship God, praise him for his power and glory, and praise him as our enthroned king.

Our passage explained

v1-2

As with many of the psalms, Psalm 29 begins with a call to worship God in verses one and two. Using repetition, these two verses encourage us to worship God for his “glory and strength” (v.1). This glory is “due his name” (v.2) through his glorious acts in history, where he reveals himself. Even the “heavenly beings” (v.1) are called to submit and bow before the only powerful God.

v3-4

In verses three to nine, God’s power and glory is praised as a divine presence controlling a thunderstorm. There are seven separate references to the “voice of the LORD” which demonstrates God’s complete control and power over the storm.

In verse three, God’s power is over the thunderstorm gathering its strength at sea (“over the waters”). This demonstrates God’s power over chaos and nature, which was often described in terms of the power of the sea (cf. Genesis 1 where God creates land and order from the waters). God’s voice roars out like “thunder” exercising control.

In verse four, “the voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty”. Much as a storm is powerful and looks majestic in the sky as it approaches with lightning flashes and thunder rolling, so too God is powerful and majestic, imposing himself over nature.

v5-9

In verse five, the voice of the LORD “breaks the cedars of Lebanon” as the storm moves from the sea onto land. The cedars of Lebanon were well known for their size and strength and associated with this nation to Israel’s north. They were used in the building of Solomon’s temple to God (1 Kings 5). Yet God is more powerful than the strength of a foreign land; he snaps them like we snap twigs.

In verse six, the storm moves further over Lebanon and Sirion (Mount Hermon, the border of Israel’s conquest). There it makes the land “skip like a calf… like a young wild ox”. Not even the solid ground can withstand God’s power metaphorically described in the storm. The land bucks and weaves like in an earthquake at God’s power.

In verse seven, the voice of the LORD “flashes forth flames of fire”. God’s power is likened to lightning striking the land, setting alight flammable material. Nothing escapes God’s power and judgment.

In verse eight, the voice of the LORD “shakes the wilderness …the wilderness of Kadesh”. God’s power and control extends over vast territories, not just small parts of the world.

In verse nine, the voice of the LORD “makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare”. God’s power can upset the natural world, causing animals to give birth and flattening forests. Yet despite this, in God’s presence there is peace as “in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

v10-11

Faced with this description of God alone as the one whose power and control extends beyond challenge over all things, the psalm concludes in verses ten and eleven to praise God as our enthroned King. God sits enthroned “over the flood” (v.10), that is, over Creation (recalling Genesis 1) and the floodwaters that fell in Noah’s day (Gen. 6)  as “king forever”.

The strength that belongs to God, demonstrated in the power of the storm, is available for God’s people. So the psalm concludes asking God to “give strength to the people” (v.11) and blessing them with his peace.

Our passage applied

This psalm encourages us to recognise that God is the only powerful God, who controls nature and whose control extends over vast territories – over all Creation! His power and control is complete. Nothing can thwart God’s will, or master him. No matter what happens, God is ruling over it and “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).

It does not matter what, where, or how powerful anything other than God is, they are no match for him. This is the God who we worship and ought to devote our lives to, not other deities or the desires of our bodies.

This is who we ask for strength and peace from, to endure the troubles of the day. The same God who rules all Creation is he who gave us peace in Christ, at whose birth the angels proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). He is the only powerful God.

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Read Psalm 28

Summary

Nobody likes receiving injustice. It hurts when we are taken advantage of, abused and hurt, or in some way punished for a wrong we did not commit. Many of Psalms 23 through 28 bring up recurring themes of a desire for justice and deliverance by God, and the righting of wrongs committed.

In Psalm 28 we read of a king crying out on behalf of his people for justice against enemies from within their own people. After a general plea to God, King David seeks justice from God against his enemies, and then sings praise to God for the deliverance received from God.

Our passage explained

v1-3

Psalm 28 begins with a general plea to God. David cries to God, his covenant Lord, who is his “rock.” (v.1) He asks God to listen to his prayers, and not be deaf (that is, inactive) to his pleas for mercy (v.2). It is life or death, because if God does not respond he will “become like those who go down to the pit” of death (v.1). His pleas for mercy are directed worshipfully towards God, present in his holy place in the innermost place of the Temple (v.2).

David’s general plea to God for mercy and hearing is followed by a cry for justice. He does not want to be associated with wicked people. He asks “do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts” (v.3). 

v4-5

The wicked whose ultimate end is being dragged off to judgment and death are notable for three things: they commit evil deeds, they speak (outwardly) nicely to their neighbours, but have evil desires and intentions inwardly. That they are spoken of as behaving pleasantly outwardly to their neighbours suggests that the enemies discussed here are part of the broader community, not outside enemy nations.

David asks that God “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” (v.4). David is asking for retribution – that the enemies receive the due penalty for their evil deeds which is legally due to them.

The enemies should receive retribution because “they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands” (v.5). The works of the evildoers are not in obedience and respect of the works of God’s hands. Because of this, David prays that God will “tear them down” in judgment (v.5).

v6-9

The final half of Psalm 28 praises God for the deliverance received by David and the people from their enemies. Verses 1 through 5 as a whole sought God’s intervention and judgment of the wicked. Verses six through nine make it clear that God has intervened.

Firstly David announces a prayer of thanksgiving. “ Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy” (v.6). God has not been deaf to his pleadings (see v.1) but has listened to his pleas for mercy (v.2). He confesses “The LORD is my strength and my shield” and his deliverance as “in him my heart trusts, and I am helped” (v.7). It concludes with David singing “my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (v.7).

Not only does David confess that God is his strength and shield, but “the LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed” as well (v.8). Not only is the king God’s anointed, but also the people are God’s anointed ones, to whom God lends his strength.

To conclude his thanksgiving, he prays that God will “save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever” (v.9). He seeks God’s continued protection of the people, that God’s name might be blessed with a people calling on his name. Echoing Psalm 23, he asks God to be the peoples’ shepherd, caring and protecting his people.

Our passage applied

When we read passages which speak of seeking retribution for our enemies, it causes us discomfort. After all, Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). We seek the repentance of those who oppose Christ, not their immediate judgment. Yet we must remember that for those who consistently rebel against God will in the end receive the due punishment for their errors, whether they are outside the church or false teachers within. It is for us in the meantime to warn that some may repent.

We can take heart that this Psalm demonstrates justice will ultimately be done. Those who do not regard God’s works and commit evil deeds will receive the due punishment for their sins, because God is not deaf to our pleadings, but is a refuge and strength to all his people. Nor will he treat us as we deserve, because he will answer our pleas for mercy through the forgiveness we receive in Jesus Christ.

Resources

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Read Psalm 27

Summary

Reflecting on God’s goodness to us and to others in days past helps us to feel and express confidence in God to follow through on his promises. As we reflect on times when God has been our help in the days before, and has been a help to fellow believers in ages past, we are encouraged to express confidence in the present day.

Psalm 27 expresses David’s confidence in God to deliver him from opposition. David expresses confidence in God, confidence in God’s presence in the sanctuary, confidence that God would deliver him expressed through prayer, and confidence in waiting for God to act.

Our passage explained

v1-6

David’s psalm begins by expressing confidence in God. God is “my light and my salvation” who illumines David’s path and delivers him from enemies, so “whom shall I fear?” (v.1). He reinforces this idea by describing God as “the stronghold of my life” so he has no reason to be afraid.

David’s confidence in God as a deliverer and a stable protection against foes is expanded through two examples of attack. Firstly, when evil men attack to “eat up my flesh” (either metaphorical wild enemies or slanderers) it is they who “stumble and fall” (v.2). Secondly, even if an “army encamp against me” cutting off Jerusalem from food or “war arise against me” (v.3) he will still be confident in God to deliver.

Next we see confidence in God’s presence in the sanctuary. David asks in verse four of God “that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” David wants to dwell in God’s presence and remain there as a place of joy.

In God’s presence, David would most fully know God’s protection. There God “will hide me in his shelter…conceal me under the cover of his tent” and “lift me high upon a rock” safely away from trouble (v.5). Because of this protection his “head shall be lifted up” above his enemies and David will respond in thanksgiving by “offer[ing] in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD” (v.6).

v7-11

Then the psalm shifts to express David’s confident prayer for deliverance. He cries to God to show compassion in his time of need (v.7), and acknowledges he is seeking God’s presence to bring his request (v.8; cf. Deut. 4:29). Despite this, he knows he can only come to God’s presence if God allows it, so asks that God “hide not your face from me” nor refuse to speak to him, God’s servant (v.9).

David approaches God because he is confident that God has helped him before. He acknowledges that, as one of God’s servants, God has helped him in the past (v.9). So he asks God to “Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!” (v.9). David then figuratively refers to the covenant God made with him (2 Sam. 7) in verse ten, where he describes God as having replaced his parents by adopting him.

v12-14

David concludes his confident prayer by asking God to teach him and “lead me on a level path” (v.12, cf. Psalm 25) because enemies have plans for him. He asks God not to deliver him into their hands, because they are slandering him and threatening violence (v.13). Perhaps they are foreign nations who do not want to see David and his people following God’s ways.

The psalm concludes with David expressing confidence in God to act by waiting. David is confident he will experience God’s goodness when he is alive (v.13). On this basis, David proclaims “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (v.14). He is confident that God will respond at the right time, in the right way. Rather than despair, David counsels all who hear to wait and allow God time to answer his prayer.

Our passage applied

As difficult as it is (and as David suggests by encouraging strength and courage), we do well to listen to David’s advice and wait. We want results instantly, but often the answer comes with time, continued prayer, and courageous waiting. God does not respond instantly to our whims, but as Sovereign King acts as he wills and pleases. We should give him time to respond.

As we wait, we join David in showing confidence in God to respond in keeping with his promises. We do not know precisely how he will respond, but the evidence of the past shows God will protect and deliver his people, whether it is momentary opposition or delivery from sin and death’s dominion through the Cross.

As we confidently wait for God to fulfil his promises, we can join David in singing of our desire to enjoy fellowship with God forever. What we enjoy now through the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in us will one day be fulfilled when we see God face to face.

Resources

Questions? Please contact us. Inspired? Come and worship with us on Sundays.