Read Psalm 41

Summary

Perhaps you have heard the saying that we live in a “dog eat dog world.” Everybody looks, in general, out for themselves. They seek to succeed at all costs, even the cost of others. The poor and needy are forgotten and walked over for the success of others.

But God does not love this dog eat dog world. It is the result of our sinfulness. Psalm 41 describes God’s attitude. God loves the poor, and he loves the righteous who love the poor. This psalm, the last in “Book One” of the Psalms, encourages us to care for the poor because it reflects God’s love for the poor, and to take heart that God will see it even if we do not.

Our passage explained

v1-10

The first three verses of Psalm 41 describe God’s love of those who care for the poor. Those who consider the poor by helping or empathising with them are “blessed” and will enjoy his protection as “in the day of trouble the LORD delivers him” (v.1). God protects them and causes them to prosper (v.2), and brings physical health and recovery (v.3).

In verses four to ten, King David describes a situation where he was not cared for by others. He had sinned, but confessed his sins to God and asked God to “be gracious to me; heal me” (v.4). Whatever has happened has laid him low, as if he himself has become a poor man.

Unlike the righteous, his enemies were not interested in comforting him. They instead maliciously said “When will he die, and his name perish?” (v.5). When visitors come, they do not offer true empathy and comfort, but empty words which are later joined by evil lies to others about him (v.6). 

His enemies gather together to “whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me” (v.7). They say to anyone who will listen “a deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies” (v.8). They hope that the trouble which has come on David will be fatal for him. Rather than offer empathy and comfort like the righteous do to the poor and lowly, his enemies wish his death. They should not expect God’s blessing on them.

The neglect David suffered even extended to his closest friends. A close friend “in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” (v.9). David was betrayed by a very close friend, who he should have been able to rely on in his great hour of need. Rejected by all, even his closest friends, David turns once again to God for help, asking “but you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!” (v.10).

v11-13

In verses eleven and twelve, David expresses his confidence that God will bless him, a righteous man who cares for the poor. Having prayed for God’s help to raise him up (v.10, cf. v.3), he states he will know God’s pleasure in him because God’s raising of him will stop his enemies from shouting in triumph over him (v.11). Instead, as one who helps the poor (his “integrity”), he is upheld by God and enjoys his presence forever (v.12).

The psalm concludes with an added doxology, which concludes the first book (section) of the Psalms. It praises God, saying “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen” (v.13). Never should the praises of the everlasting God end; the God who cares for the righteous and the poor.

Our passage applied

As we think about this psalm, the first important point to see is that David’s betrayal at the hands of a closest friend (v.9) prefigured Jesus’ betrayal by Judas, one of his twelve disciples (and closest companions). Jesus applies verse this to Judas in John’s Gospel (John 13:18), showing himself to be the ultimate example of the righteous man betrayed by his closest friend.

Jesus himself showed God’s love for the poor and needy in his earthly ministry. His many acts of feeding and healing showed God’s love and concern for us all. Christ’s resurrection from the dead demonstrates he is the ultimate righteous man, vindicated and restored by God for all the world to see. As the only truly righteous man, God credits Jesus’ righteousness to us in exchange for our unrighteousness (Romans 5; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

This psalm then does not encourage us to look out for the poor and needy as a pay-off for God helping us, but instead encourages us to care for the poor because of God’s care for us through Jesus. There is no dog eat dog in God’s kingdom. As we care for the poor and needy, whether in daily life or through the special care we must show the vulnerable in these next few months, we reflect God’s love to them and the world. We are paying forward what we have received freely from God, a form of praise to the everlasting God.

Resources

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Read Psalm 40

Summary

When difficult times hit, we often know who we can depend upon because they have helped us in previous times. A pattern of support, help, and encouragement helps us to know who is likely to stand beside us. God, who demonstrates his love and support for his people in all ages is the greatest example of that truth.

Psalm 40 speaks very personally of the support that David received from God in his life. The first part of the psalm rejoices in God’s support and deliverance in past days. The second part of the psalm switches to a present time of distress, where David calls on God in confidence that he will again deliver.

Our passage explained

v1-10

The first ten verses of Psalm 40 proclaim thanksgiving and praise to God for his past deliverance and help. In the past, when David waited expectantly for God to act, “he inclined to me and heard my cry” (v.1). God then delivered him from his place of distress, which he describes as like being pulled from a pit or a “miry bog” and set on a firm foundation (v.2).

With David rescued, God placed “a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God” as a testimony to others (v.3). Others will hear of his deliverance and themselves trust in God.

Unlike the idols of the nations surrounding, God had power to save. So David contrasts those who trust in God rather than idols, commending them as blessed (v.4). The “proud” referred to in verse four is probably a reference to idols, the “lie” which some go astray after. Unlike the idols, God has provided many wonders of deliverance, so many that while sung of “they are more than can be told” (v.5), much like Jesus’ miracles and deeds (John 21:25).

David then describes how his thankfulness is expressed in obedience rather than bare sacrifice. While God commanded animal sacrifices in the Old Testament as a shadow of Christ’s sacrifice, God prefers obedience rather than animal sacrifice (v.6, cf. Micah 6:6-8). 

Instead, David professes his desire to do God’s will, responding in commitment to him (vv.6-8). These words are fulfilled in Christ’s lifelong obedience and self-sacrifice for our salvation (Hebrews 10:5-7).

The salvation God gave to David brings not only heartfelt obedience but a desire to proclaim it. He announces “glad news of deliverance” to the whole congregation of God’s people, not keeping his mouth shut (v.9). He does not want to hide his experience of deliverance from others, but announce it so others will trust in God’s faithful character (v.10).

v11-17

David’s knowledge of God’s goodness and commitment to his promises helps him confidently call on God for deliverance again. In verse eleven, he confidently expresses that God “will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”

His confidence in God’s continuing presence is because he feels the weight of trouble again. They are both external (“evils have encompassed me beyond number”) and internal (“my iniquities have overtaken me … more than the hairs of my head”), causing great distress (v.12).

In this plight he asks God to come again to deliver him from his distress (v.13). He seeks God’s curse upon his enemies, bringing a reversal in their fortunes (vv.14-15). In the place of enemies shouting, he would rather God’s people sang songs of rejoicing, praising God’s greatness (v.16).

This psalm ends with David proclaiming his dependence on God (“I am poor and needy”), and expresses a desire that God will think of him and act quickly once again for his deliverance (v.17). The God he looked to and received help from in the past is the same he looks to for help in the present.

Our passage applied

Like David, we too have the testimony of our own lives and those of others to rest on in faith and praise. When we sing songs of deliverance together at worship or alone, we proclaim God’s deeds in our own lives and those written in Scripture, expressing God’s greatness and faithfulness to keep his promises. These songs of God’s goodness in the past are often things we remember when trouble hits, and seek God’s help anew today.

We also see in the psalm a reminder of how natural it is to proclaim God’s goodness to others as David did to all God’s people. He is like the new convert who cannot shut up about how God has saved him. In our corporate worship and our daily lives, here is something to aspire to and seek for ourselves!

We also live in the tension of desiring to serve God wholeheartedly but also feeling the weight of our sins and the inadequacy of any offering we could provide. So we can praise God for delivering us through Christ, who truly fulfilled the devotion of this psalm and rescued us from our sins. As God has been faithful to us in the past, so too will he deliver us today and in the future.

Resources

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Read Psalm 39

Summary

The uncertainty of the future and the certainty of death can cause fear and distress for many. We see this right now with the fear of COVID-19, creating anxiety and hysteria in the media which infects us all. Nobody wants to die, certainly not soon, and if we have to die (which we do) we would like to know when so we can settle affairs.

The approach of death and the brevity of human life is a subject of Psalm 39. King David, perhaps approaching older age, reflects on how short life is. Acknowledging his silent suffering, David speaks out in prayer, asking God to make him aware of his life’s brevity, and appealing for deliverance from his sins and suffering.

Our passage explained

v1-3

Psalm 39 begins in verses one to three with a description of silent suffering. David had wanted to speak, but because “the wicked are in my presence” he does not speak to avoid sinful speech, even to the point of (metaphorically) muzzling himself (v.1). 

Despite his active silence, his feelings do not go away. He keeps silent “to no avail” and his distress (literally: pain) grows worse (v.2). Instead, feelings of anger grew as his heart burned inside him, overwhelming his control of his tongue (v.3). Finally, he had to speak.

v4-8

David’s speech does not condemn the wicked or blame God, but instead asks God for an awareness of life’s brevity. He asks God to “make me know my end and what is the measure of my days, let me know how fleeting I am!” (v.4). David wants to understand how short his life is, and how frail.

Compared to God, David proclaims our lives are insignificant; “a few handbreadths … as nothing before you” and all of us are like a breath that floats away in the breeze (v.5, cf. Ecclesiastes 1:1-11). Our lives are short and pass like a shadow from a person walking by. we suffer all sorts of turmoil in our brief lives collecting wealth which others will enjoy, whether our children or others (v.6, cf. Eccl. 5:8-20). These statements have a sorrowful sense.

In the midst of his suffering, and the brevity of human life, David appeals to God for deliverance. The only hope for the psalmist is in God (v.7). He asks God to deliver him from “all my transgressions” (v.8), which includes his sinful thoughts and ideas expressed earlier. It may also include his over-thinking on the shortness of life, for which he has already asked God for a proper perspective (vv.4-6). Even a fool can see he is too caught up in these things, and scorn him for it (v.8).

v9-13

David recognises that his suffering is ultimately from God, and so is silent (v.9). He recognises God’s sovereignty and rule over all things, including the number of days we are given. Where before (v.2) he forced himself to keep quiet, here (v.9) he accepts and is content to stay silent.

He then asks God to remove his discipline, which he describes as a “stroke” delivered from God’s hand (v.10). The suffering he feels is discipline from God as a rebuke for sin. Whether it is comfort or wealth, God’s discipline eats it away like a moth eats clothes, so there is no point in getting in turmoil over it (v.11).

David’s prayer for deliverance ends with two requests. He asks that God hear his prayer and listen, because he walks with God as his ancestors (like Abraham) did, on a pilgrimage to the celestial city (v.12). He then asks God to “look away” (with his judgemental face) so his knowledge of the joy of God’s love returns before his days on Earth end (v.13).

Our passage applied

This psalm covers themes which we see in Job and Ecclesiastes; the shortness of human life and understanding suffering of the righteous. Instead of raging in anger (spoken or not) at the supposed injustice, this psalm encourages us to recognise God’s hand over all events, and find silent contentedness in God’s rule.

Finding contentedness in God and his rule over all things allows us to live rightly. It can help us see the turmoils of life from a different perspective, as the discipline of a loving father as a rebuke for sin, and brief at that as we are not long for this Earth. Viewed from eternity, our turmoils and sufferings are just a moment.

Since our lives are in God’s hands and are his to number, the troubles which come are just part of our pilgrimage to the New Heaven and Earth. 

We could get worked up about wealth (or COVID-19), but in God’s eyes they are just brief breaths that pass away, nothing that lasts. There is no value in getting worked up over them, as either they do not last or we do not last long enough to enjoy them.

In Christ we experience the love of God, so the sufferings of this brief moment are nothing compared to the riches of eternity with God.

Resources

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

Read Psalm 38

Summary

Every week in our service we have a prayer of confession, and sing a responsive song after the prayer. It is part of our liturgy, our order of service. In the early church, various psalms were sung in this part of the service. Psalm 38 is one of those psalms, a penitential psalm.

Psalm 38 is a song of lament for the suffering caused by sin. The psalmist, David, suffers under God’s discipline for his sins, affecting his own personal health and his relationship to others. Yet despite God’s discipline so keenly felt, he turns to God for forgiveness of sins and rescue.

Our passage explained

v1-10

The psalm begins with David recognising he is under God’s discipline for his sins. He asks God to “rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!” (v.1). He knows that his suffering which he will describe is the result of his sin.

In verses two to ten David describes the effect on his personal health. While God’s arrows are (metaphorically) said to fall into the enemies of his people, in this case they “have sunk into me” and God’s hand is against David because of his sin (v.2). His physical health has suffered “because of your indignation … because of my sin” (v.3), recognising that divine punishment of his sin is the cause. His sins are like water over his head or a heavy burden he cannot bear (v.4).

The physical suffering he experiences is dramatic. His sins (which he describes as foolishness) have caused “wounds [to] stink and fester” (v.5), while he feels physically feeble and crushed as “all the day I go about mourning” (vv.6-8). Physically and mentally he is beaten down by his sin.

David knows his sin and his pain is not hidden from God, who sees all things. He knows that God sees his longing (v.9) and that his ill health and lack of vitality is apparent in his eyes (v.10).

v11-16

David’s sin has also affected his relationship with others. Firstly, friends and family have deserted him (v.11), perhaps because of his physical affliction but possibly also because they realise it is from God and do not want to get caught in the backwash.

Secondly it provides opportunities for his enemies to seek his ruin and further harm (v.12). Instead of trying to defend himself against their accusations, he stays mute (vv.13-14). He cannot help himself (recognising his discipline from God, it is possible they will not listen) and does not try.

Instead, David relies on God to deliver him from his enemies. He directs his prayer to God, trusting him to respond and that his enemies are not enabled to rejoice at the downfall of one of God’s people (vv.15-16).

v17-20

We then see David turn to God for forgiveness and rescue. He describes himself as ready to fall, perhaps in shame before his enemies (v.17). He repents and confesses his sin before God, saying “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin” (v.18). He must do so before he can be restored.

David then expresses his need for deliverance. He describes his enemies (from verse twelve) as being strong and ready to attack him (v.18), repaying his good deeds with evil in their own sinfulness (vv.19-20). They hate him wrongfully, and “accuse me because I follow after good” in confessing his sins and seeking to do God’s will (vv.19-20).

The psalm closes with David seeking restoration and help. In verse twenty one, he describes the feeling of isolation from God he feels and asks God not to forsake him or be distant from him. He then asks God to come and save him quickly from his enemies (v.22).

Our passage applied

In this passage we are reminded of the very real consequences of sin. Sin affects our relationship with God, with others, and afflicts our very being. As God’s children, we should not be surprised when God disciplines us like a loving father (Hebrews 12:5-11). We should also not be surprised when sin, which is not part of God’s good creation, affects our relationship to other parts of creation.

But we should also be careful not to over apply this psalm to all situations. Sometimes, as in this psalm, physical suffering is clearly the result of sin (eg, certain diseases or physical pains which come from sinful acts). However, other times, physical suffering or estrangement from family and friends is not (eg, John 9, or Job’s suffering). Physical or other harms may be the result of sin or not; we should not jump to conclusions in other’s lives.

Instead, we should see in this psalm hope. Our sins and the consequences are too much to bear (v.4), but Christ bore the cup of sin and God’s wrath for us (Luke 22:42-5). Because Jesus bore sin’s penalty, we may receive forgiveness and rescue from our sins and its eternal consequences, and restored fellowship with God. All if we join David in saying “I am sorry for my sin.”

Resources

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Read Psalm 37

Summary

We live in a time in the Western World where it appears that the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. The vulnerable and oppressed are walked over, God and his Church are marginalised and mocked, and immoral thoughts and deeds are celebrated by the cultural elites and media.

Faced with this appearance, it seems tempting to sell up and move to the rural Manawatu where we can insulate ourselves and our children. But Psalm 37, a wisdom psalm, reminds us of the ultimate fate of the wicked and the righteous, and encourages us to trust in God while we await the end result.

Our passage explained

v1-9

Firstly, Psalm 37 encourages us to trust in God. Beginning with a negative command, we are encouraged not to fret or be envious of evildoers, “for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb” (vv.1-2). 

Instead we should “trust in the LORD”, committing ourselves to following him and his commands, delighting in God who will cause us to ultimately prosper (vv.3-4). These thoughts are repeated in verses five and six, where trusting God will see our cause flourish.

Instead of anger at the wicked’s prosperity, we should wait on God to act, and not fret, as it only stirs up sin in our own hearts (vv.7-8). We should remember that evildoers will face death and judgement, while “those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land” (v.9).

v10-26

Secondly, the psalm describes the fates of the wicked and the righteous. The seeming prosperity of the wicked will soon (from eternal perspective) be upended in their death, while the meek will inherit God’s promises (vv.10-11). Anger and aggression towards God’s people is characteristic of the wicked, but “the Lord laughs at the wicked” (vv.12-13) because he causes their weapons to turn on them (vv.14-15).

Instead, it is better to be righteous and have little than much in your wickedness, because of the fate of each (vv.16-17). God will meet the needs of his people, even in times of suffering, but the wicked will perish in God’s wrath (vv.18-20). This is evident in how the wicked borrow greatly but will not repay, breaking the eighth commandment, while the righteous are generous in giving because God provides their needs and more (vv.21-2). 

God ultimately ensures that the righteous are upheld, so even if they stumble and fall he lifts them up rather than leaving them face down in the dirt (vv.23-4). The psalmist has seen this in his own long lifetime, as God has ensured the righteous are never completely forsaken and their children left “begging for bread” because there is none to support them (v.25). The righteous are known by their acts of mercy (lending generously which was without interest, v.26).

v27-40

Thirdly the psalm discusses the marks of the righteous. The righteous are encouraged to turn from sin and do good; because God is just, and preserves his people so they may dwell with him forever (vv.27-9). The righteous person speaks wisdom and justice from dwelling on God’s word, his feet not slipping (vv.30-31). For this, while the wicked seek his harm, God ensures the righteous are acquitted (vv.32-3).

The psalm concludes with an encouragement to wait on God to deliver. Again, the psalm encourages waiting on God and following him, for the righteous will be blessed and watch the destruction of the wicked (vv.34, 37-8). The psalmist recalls his own personal experience of this truth, describing the passing of a wicked man who sought his own success (vv.35-6). 

While we may fret and grow angry, seeking to right injustice ourselves, the psalm closes by reminding us that God saves and protects the righteous (v.39). He helps and delivers them because they trust in God to save them from the wicked (v.40). Therefore, we should wait for God to act, trusting in God to fulfill his promises.

Our passage applied

In this psalm we see a wise reminder to put the present troubles of our day in perspective. While our natural response is to worry or to anger at the evildoers, this psalm reminds us to trust in God for deliverance. We should instead be marked by characteristics of that trust – doing good, speaking wisdom and justice derived from soaking in God’s word, and enjoying his good gifts.

This psalm reminds us that God is almighty and sovereign, working out his plans. The wicked cannot resist him, but will receive punishment in due course for their sin. God will uphold his people, ensuring their eternal safety. The outcome for each group is certain, even if it does not appear that way today.

We also see promises in this psalm of God’s love and care for us. God will not leave us to the plans of the wicked, but ensure our deliverance and safety. Though we go through troubles now, these are only for a time and will not lead to our ultimate demise. The wicked will fade like the grass, but the meek will inherit the earth.

Psalm 37 has inspired different recent musical adaptations. These include “Settled” (Psalm 37:1-11) by the Psalter Project and two pieces by the Sons of Korah – Psalm 37(1) – Shine Like the Dawn and Psalm 37(2) – Be Still Before The Lord

Resources

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

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

Resources

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

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.

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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.

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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

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