Psalm 26

So I'm back to meditate on this psalm for the second time in writing. The words of the first line have staying power--"Vindicate me, O Lord," and I've found myself praying them multiple times this week over a variety of personal, relational, community, and global circumstances.

David seemed to master at least this--he knew judgement was in God's realm and respected that.  After cutting the hem of Saul's garment he seeks to move Saul with this truth:

"May the LORD judge between me and you; and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you." -1 Samuel 24:12-13

If we are able to trust in God's perfect judgement, then there can be nothing better, more freeing, or higher.  Though in the moment, we long to cut off the head of the Sauls in our world, this psalm models where to go for justice--and it's not to ourselves or our ability to discern. 

When I think of all of the big and little judgements that happen in our world, much of the conflict is generated in the spirit of fairness, rightness, precedence, preference.  Giving up that justice, that decision, that verdict, to God feels precarious to me---not in the eternal sense (somehow this is easier to trust) but in the immediate.  I think of C.S. Lewis' statement about how he doesn't doubt that God has our best interests at heart, but that he wonders what it will cost.  This is a bad paraphrase--need to dig it up.

Trust seems to come easier for some people than others. As a person who has worked through--I'm very picky about whom I trust.  I've been working on trusting God since I was a little girl and had seasons of better success than others.  Sadly, in my early  50's, I find myself feeling regressive--that I am visiting some of the tougher issues of faith that hurt to work through in my teens and early adult years.  I don't understand this--it's frustrating to feel that faith can be circular instead of linear.

King David certainly manifested a circular faith though.  His psalms are full of high highs, low lows, bitter truths and simple trust. He makes it feel simple, but it never is walking it out. Even though I cannot always embrace and live out his moments of straightforward and bold faith, they make a way through the waters for me.

I can plead for him to vindicate me, vindicate others, vindicate the broken, overlooked, abused, ignored, and somehow it is freeing and enough to know where to bring this stuff--these difficult pieces of myself and of the world---to know that it's not only ok, but that it's good and expected to lay those at His doorstep, His gate.  And that His justice will be perfect--even if not today.

March 14th, Psalm 26

 "Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity."  -King David, Psalm 26:1 

Really, Lord?  The word vindicate is a strong way to start an already off Monday morning.  But, in my desire to keep it on the text, and keep the context in the text, and meditate upon that, here we are with "vindicate."

To vindicate is to absolve from false accusation---that's my Monday morning on my second cup of coffee definition. Now for Merriam-Webster's:

Hmmmm.  The #2 definition feels aggressive, jugular, confrontational--throw it down and slay it; an eye for an eye. In contrast, all of the nuances of 1--a, b1, b2, and c feel protective, defensive, a coming alongside. #3 feels cold and legal, neither here nor there #4 feels healing, loose--too bad it's termed obsolete.  Deliverance is a step beyond protection and defense, and certainly a different and better thing than to avenge.

The language of deliverance is a common theme of David's in the psalms. It's also in the Lord's prayer: "deliver us from evil."  That's worth some time.

The connotations of vindication go on and on...

The KJ translates the Hebrew word as judge.  What kind of person is so supremely confident that they start a conversation with God this way? It's ballsy.  He's begging to be judged. 

Judged by God in what way?  Is he suggesting he's entirely innocent? David was chased by Saul and Absalom, but he also sinned big with Bathsheba:

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?"  -Psalm 130:3

My hunch is that our cultural understandings and associations with this word are disparate, disjointed.

Strong's definition for שָׁפַט, shâphaṭ (shaw-fat') comes closest to Merriam's #1:

"A primitive root; to judge, that is, pronounce sentence (for or against)."  But all the other senses are possible extensions and implications as well.

The second half of that first verse helps:

"Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip."

And there is no time to explore all of THAT this morning, sadly.  David is surely bold--that I've got right. If I had any doubts about the confidence and frankly nerviness of Psalm 26:1, the following verse just confirms it:

Psa 26:2  Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. 

I admire David's heart to lay it all bear---his spirit to truth tell, to be known.  It's scary though.  Like Adam and Eve, I'm not so sure I want to meet God during His morning walk and talk about my heart.

I want to hide my heart. It feels yucky to me if I'm honest. The world feels scary. My experience is that it will stomp on my heart, and God will allow that. Maybe not facilitate it, but allows it all the same. The harsh nature of this world is unquestionable in my eyes.

So where is David going with this? My time for writing this morning is up....I'll continue my journey into Psalm 26 tomorrow.

March 11, Psalms 25

The psalms, especially David's, anchor me. When my mind threatens to pull and dart away to dark places, David's focus pulls me back.  It's as if he said to his soul---"lets get a few things straight"--tough love from David.

"To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul." Psalm 25:1

To me this means not giving preference or firsts to other events, news, ideologies, perceptions, people, desires, gods in their many faces...first take your soul to God.

"Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day."  -Psalm 25:5

What is the difference between "Your truth" and truth? A matter of perception?  I've witnessed many false truths, some of my own making.  My understanding of the scriptures, of God, and of His truth shifts through study of the scriptures, experiences, conversations, and time.  His truth is not inherently my truth--Lord, close the gap.  I love that we can be lead in His truth, that we are teachable, that He longs to teach us.

"Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old." Psalm 25:5-6

Sin is old. My screw-ups are numerous. But His tender mercies and lovingkindness are even older.  They go back and back and back...

"Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD." Psalm 25:7

I feel David's compassion for himself and for me.  He felt these disparate pieces of himself too---who he was when he was young, when he screwed up, the hot mess of his life unfolding, to his regret, to his renewed desire to seek God amid the wreckage.  Again, the Anchor: "According to Your mercy..."

"Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses." Psalm 25:12

Different people, different methods of teaching.  His choice.

"My eyes are ever toward the LORD...." Psalm 25:15

Ever toward, focus on God--not me--not my untrustworthy understanding. His teaching. His truth. His face.

Group #2--Psalm 31 through 50

"I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities." Psalm 31:7

There is comfort in knowing that God sees our trouble and stress.

"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." Psalm 31:19-20

To think that God stores up goodness for us...

"Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him." Psalm 32:6

There is a time during which God can be found which means there is also a time when it may be too late.

"The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Genesis 32:8

"...but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about." Psalm 32: 10

"Praise befits the upright." Psalm 33:1 ESV

The rhythms of life are a gift:

"When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
shall never cease.”

Genesis 8:21-22

They either point to or from the Lord.  God's either in His Heaven and all is right or not.

"that's part of loving someone--you love them in hard ways." -Grace

"...for praise is comely for the upright." Psalm 33:11 KJ

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations." Ps 33:11

"...he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds." Ps 33:15

"Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love." Ps 33:18

"The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Ps 34:10

"Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." Ps 34:14 KJ

"Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it." Ps 34:14 NLT

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Ps 34:18

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." Ps 34:19

"For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit." Ps 35:20

David knew that there were people who were against him in injustice.  He didn't shirk from praying he would be vindicated against them.  He knew the boundaries and who was wrong/out of line.  I admire his moral clarity in this regard.

"Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!" Psalm 35:24

"Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me." Ps 35:26

Listening to Brooklyn Tabernacle's song based on Psalm 34---it encourages all to "magnify the Lord, bless His name forever."  Eyes on Him.  Eyes on Him.

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." Ps 34:3

"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." Ps 34:1

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." Psalm 34:8

I have always thought this "taste and see" odd.  Think it's on my parent's gravestone thanks to Kathy.  She viewed my dad as a person who enjoyed food and earthly pleasures I guess.  I think that was her reasoning.  What I get out of it is "trust in God."  It's on our currency.  It should be written on and in our hearts. He not only gives us good things, but he himself is a good pleasure.

(1) There is no praise without concentration of soul.
(2) Distracting forces are rife. -Biblical Illustrator on Ps 34

"It is social. The true worshipper becomes magnetic; he draws others to the shrine before which he falls." -BI

Finishing the Year with the Psalms, Batch #1 Psalms 1-30

I bailed on Allistair Begg--just needed to get back to the Word, period.  There is value in listening to preachers, but I don't want to move too far from the primary text. So, to end 2019, I've decided to read 7 psalms a day and started this two or three days ago.

It's been a blur--our Boston Terrier is terminally ill, and I'm not sleeping well.

All that to say, I realized this morning that I need the physical structure of the blog to hold my thoughts and keep them on track.  Today I'm picking up with psalm 18.

"...with the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward." Psalm 18: 26 KJ

"...with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous." Psalm 18: 26 ESV

"The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever." Psalm 19:9

Psalms 20 and 21 war psalms.

 "Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." Psalm 22:21 KJ

Unicorns?  In the Bible?  huh.  Translates to wild ox or bull in other versions...

"I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee." Psalm 22:22

Public praise is a good thing. King David thought so.

"For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help." Psalm 22:24 

I remember making a visual of this verse, and it being on my mom's bedroom wall when Kathy was caring for her. Though we suffer, He listens and is faithful.

 "He restores my soul." -Psalm 23:3

Ah, the word restore.  And to restore one's soul.

"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
"He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully." -Psalm 24:3-4

"All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." Psalm 25:10

All the paths.....not most, not many.

"Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old." -Psalm 22:6

ever of old...duration and time...

"O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells." -Psalm 26:8

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: 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." Psalm 27:4

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart." -Psalm 27:24

"Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle." -Psalm 28:2

What exactly is a supplication?  A plea?  I feel like we've lost this concept.  Lifting up hands when he cries unto him---emotion and gestures in prayer.  What is an oracle exactly?  Interesting word that makes me think of pagan worship.

"The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters." Psalm 29:3

The imagery of "the voice of the Lord" dominates Psalm 29.  This verse reminds me of Genesis 1:2:

"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

There is something about the Spirit of God and water.  I've always been drawn to water which brings life, recreation, mystery, danger, peace, meditation, contemplation, a sense of permanence in change.

"The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory." Psalm 29:9 KJ

"The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”" Psalm 29:9 NLT

The storm imagery seems more in keeping with this psalm--the mention of the Lord inspiring birth is intriguing.

"The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." Psalm 29:10

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Night can be a hard time---literally and figuratively.  This resonates with me as we walk our terminally ill dog through rough nights.  She is better as the morning goes on.

"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." Psalm 30:11-12

God blesses so that we may praise?


God values praise.

Psalm 78:1-4 Mainly my musings

A maschil of Asaph
What is a maskil?  It may mean "instruction" (Scofield, Henry).

Psa 78:2  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
Psa 78:3  things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

What things I wish I knew that my father did not tell me! My mother's legacy was a fragmentary Catholicism which saved her soul but didn't pass on to her children in discernible ways.  It infused her spirit enough to sustain her, but provided no passing generational glow...

This psalm is about passing generational knowledge, "dark sayings of old, things we have heard and know, that our fathers have told us."  Too often I dismiss what I "have heard and know" in preference of whatever "new" wisdom I can unearth on my own.  Is any wisdom new?  Maybe to us as individuals, but the Bible suggests that wisdom was laid down in the foundations of the universe.  And much of the wisdom we need to know is already known.  If only we would do the things known before us...

Dark sayings from of old....wise, dark sayings?  enigmas?  I understand the Jewish fascinating with sayings and wisdom, the thirst to discuss and discuss, to unravel to the bottom.

Several commentators point out nuances here---first that history encapsulates deeper truths than may be obvious on the surface (Bullinger).  Secondly, the idea that a parable may not always be the form we expect in the New Testament through the stories of Christ, but parables may be broader metaphors that reveal God's truths and encourage reflective thought (Biblical Illustrator).

Psa 78:4  We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

How can I express God's work better to our children?  I am not effusively positive about anything, not my outward tendency.  Inwardly, I have learned to find and trust the steel cord of God's will in my life.  My hope is that they see a life shaped by that core, submissive to that core, reliant on that core.

Glorious deeds, His might, the wonders?  Yes, but more I see His tenacity, His patience, His subtle workings.  I wish I knew more "glorious deeds" like angels descending upon the nativity or the parting of the Red Sea.  Are His workings in our lives equally "glorious deeds" or is it that I would not use this elaborate diction? 

Deeds and wonders, might and glory.

Things we have heard and known.   Are these the sayings from generations before?  Things passed onto us.  What we know but don't feel like acting upon or internalizing.  Things we know but struggle to live out?

Psalms and Psalm 19, Alistair Begg

Highlights and take-aways from Alistair Begg's thoughts on Psalm 19--one thing I appreciate about Begg is that his messages are thoughtfully crafted, including both classic and contemporary examples.  He presents his messages with gravity, a touch of humor, and humility--a winsome spirit.

*******************

2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Luther's "conscience was captive to the Word."

Begg urges that Luther's introduction to the psalms is worth contemplating in full.  He shares an excerpt from it:

"There is no book of the Bible to which I have devoted as much labor as to the Psalms, and yet, I must openly admit that I do not know whether I have the accurate interpretation of the psalms or not. The Spirit reserves much for Himself so we may always remain His pupils.  There is much that He reveals only to lure us on, much that He gives only to stir us up.  I know that a person would be guilty of the more shameless boldness if he dared claim that he understood even one book of the scripture in all its parts.  In fact, who would even dare to assert that anyone has completely understood one single psalm." -Martin Luther

Begg goes on to share this pithy reminder:

"Remember that the main things are the plain things and the plain  things are the main things.  The Bible doesn't tell us everything about everything, but it tells us how we can view everything."

C.S. Lewis on Psalm 19:  "The greatest poem in the psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."

Breaks into two parts: 
Revelation--verses 1-11
Response--verses 12-14

or three: 
Revelation of God in His world, verses 1-6
Revelation of God in His Word, verses 7-11
Revelation of God in His worshiper, verses 12-14

Begg's friend views it as a three-fold Invitation:

1. Look up, look to the skies
2. Look down, look to the scriptures
3. Look in, look to yourself.

The Begg makes the connection between Paul in Romans 1 and Psalm 19. 

"The quest for meaning is an understandable quest." -Alistair Begg

Great distinction:

"The idea that you can go up a mountain or sit by a stream or gaze up at the universe and get the answer to these questions is unfounded and is ungrounded because God's Majesty in creation, God's revelation in creation, is sufficient to leave us without excuse when we suppress the truth, but God's revelation in creation is insufficient in bringing us to an understanding of His saving purposes in the person of His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ.  And that takes His Word."  -Alistair Begg

For this reason, the psalm connects from the creation to the Word at the end:

"The law of the Lord is perfect."

"We must make a great difference between God's Word and the word of man.  A man's word is a little sound which flyth into the air and soon vanishes, but the word of God is greater than heaven and earth.  Yeah, it is greater than death and hell for it is the power of God and remains so everlastingly.  Therefore we are diligently to learn God's word and we must know certainly and believe that God Himself speaks with us."  -Martin Luther

Begg elaborates upon this quote and connects it to his prior assertion pointedly:

"In other words, it takes God's revelation in His Word, brought home by His Spirit to the heart of a man or woman, to then look at God's revelation in His works, and to declare as the psalmist declares, "This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Be confident in efficacy and sufficiency of God's Word.

His closing prayer:

"God our Father, thank you that Your Word is fixed in the Heavens, that Your Word accomplishes its purposes.  Otherwise, why would we ever spend the time like this, just to listen to a monologue?  Lord, we long so much that you will conduct that dialogue withiin our hearts, showing us ourself and showing us our Savior and making the book live to us.  Help us to this end.  We pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen."

Psalm Project

Although I love my new study on the New Testament, I've also been missing the psalms. Psalm study is a rich habit which goes along so nicely with daily reading. For me, they help refocus my mind on Him and the nuances of my relationship with Him.  They read very personally in a way that other portions of the scripture do not.  They are whispers.  They are real.  They are pleas.  They showcase the breathe of human emotion and struggle.

This time through them, I have a few novel goals.

1. To document them individually in the labeling section.

2. To write my thoughts on each without consulting any commentary.  (An exercise in pressing into the text more and my ability to express my thoughts without aid or distraction.)

3. One a day would be nice---it's a goal to strive for.  I'd just like to keep moving along lightly, to foster the habit of the writing and reflection.

I've been ruminating on Psalm 16 this week--such solid images to grasp and turn back to Him in petition, pleading.  Here are some of the images I've created in this process:

        

The Psalms Project Band has a song for this psalm here.   I particularly love this bridge:

"You will not leave my soul in the grave,

You will raise me up and I'll fly away.

You did not leave Jesus in the grave.

You will raise me up and we'll fly away."

One more for good measure: here is an image from Psalm 17:5 I created after exploring the definition/sense of preserve from Psalm 16:1.

Preserve (from Strongs)
shâmar
shaw-mar'
A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc.: - beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man)

Another use of preserve from Job:

William Blake, Job's Comforters

from Spurgeon's Treasury of David:

“Preserve me,” keep, or save me, or as Horsley thinks, “guard me,” even as bodyguards surround their monarch, or as shepherds protect their flocks. Tempted in all points like as we are, the manhood of Jesus needed to be preserved from the power of evil; and though in itself pure, the Lord Jesus did not confide in that purity of nature, but as an example to his followers, looked to the Lord, his God, for preservation. One of the great names of God is “the Preserver of men,” (Job_7:20), and this gracious office the Father exercised towards our Mediator and Representative. It had been promised to the Lord Jesus in express word.

from the Biblical Illustrator:

The Psalmist will be “preserved”; he will not only be created. There is a cold deism which says, “Having been created, that is enough; the rest belongs to myself; I must attend to the details of life; creation may have been a Divine act, but all education, culture, “progress, preservation must fall under my own personal care..... It is, then, not enough to have been created; even that Divine act becomes deteriorated and spoiled, impoverished, utterly depleted of all ennobling purpose and inspiration, unless it be followed by continual husbandry or shepherdliness, nursing or culture—for the figure admits of every variety of change; the end being growth, strength, fruitfulness. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)

This sense of continual trust and growth in God seems right---much greater than believing that a God set our lives in motion--is the truth that He preserves us each day, continually.  Also that His preservation is so much greater than sparing us from harm but growing us up in Him. 

Hebrew Idiom

A gem from my NET notes on Jonah's assessment of the Lord:

"...because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” The Lord said, “Are you really so very angry?”

"Slow to anger" in Hebrew literally means "long of nostrils" --what a word picture!

Psalm 103:8

In contrast, Jonah is angry to the degree that he longs for the Lord to end his own life.  What spite!   

Psalm 139

This one has to be my all time favorite psalm--the intimacy of God's knowledge of us, the detail of His awareness makes me feel comforted, included, well-loved.

Here are some favorite lines:

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." -Psalm 139:16

Although I don't believe that the Lord has predestined every detail of our lives, I do believe He is outside of time and knows the scope of things.  He is unbound by time and His perspective is different and more comprehensive in ways that we cannot fully understand.  This is my best guess at the age old question of predestination vs. free will---that both are true and somehow his perspective is perfect and able to include both as equally true because of this.

John Calvin's Commentaries

At the advice of Spurgeon, I'm dipping into John Calvin's commentaries when able. Tough reading. Ponderous. But, there are gems that reveal the depth of his meditations and relationship with Christ along the way:

Portrait attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger

"There is scarcely any assistance God bestows, however evident and palpable it may be to our senses, which our indifference or proud disdain does not obscure." (on Psalm 18)

"If natural things always flowed in an even and uniform course, the power of God would not be so perceptible. But when he changes the face of the sky by sudden rain, or by loud thunder, or by dreadful tempests, those who before were, as it were, asleep and insensible, must necessarily be awakened, and be tremblingly conscious of the existence of a presiding God. Such sudden and unforeseen changes manifest more clearly the presence of the great Author of nature."

Thy Way Is In the Sea...

"Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, 

and thy footsteps are not known. 

Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." 

-Psalm 77:19-20

“Thou leddest Thy people.” The whole philosophy of life is here, here for us no less than for Israel. If we think we need some other theory of living because the Israelites were only poor slaves, and we intelligent nineteenth-century Christians, we are greatly mistaken. After all these centuries, God has nothing to add to this, that men let Him lead them, in His own way, through the sea if so He will it. The true philosophy of life is summed up here, in simply following God. Over the Apennines there is a wonderful railroad, on which, in a space of less than seventy miles, one passes through forty-three tunnels, some of them of very great length. The road is full of magnificent outlooks, but every few moments you go plunging into a tunnel. And certainly the traveller over this road would show his good sense by sitting still and being carried along the line of the rail; and not by getting out at the first station, and striking into the mountains to find another path, because he did not like the tunnels. He would be almost sure to be lost and to starve to death. The road has been built to carry him to his destination by the shortest way, and he will get there more quickly and safely through the tunnels than in any other way. Oh, if we could only believe the same thing of God’s way! We want to build our own road, all out in the light; and the consequence is, it is much less direct than God’s, and much more dangerous, and we cannot bring it out where we wish. And remember, it is not all tunnels either: in the regions of the high rocks, where the tunnels are needed, are the most glorious prospects. If God’s way is partly in darkness, the light places are full of beauty, commanding such outlooks of mercy and love as ought to reconcile us to the intervals of darkness, I remember once, in Italy, climbing a mountain up which a broad, fine carriage road led almost to the summit; but there the road suddenly ceased, and nothing appeared but a narrow footpath leading round the shoulder of the mountain, and that soon dwindled into a sheep-track; and the sun beat down with terrible power, and the way was rough, and more than once I was tempted to go back; but never shall I forget the vision which burst upon me as at last I reached the end of the narrow way: it repaid all the toil. So, I say, do not be afraid of the narrow way if God turns you into it. The great thing is that He lead you; and if He lead, even though His footsteps are not known, you know that His way is in holiness, and ends at last in eternal good. (Marvin R. Vincent, D. D.)

Favorite Psalms

Every time I read through the Psalms, I find old friends.   Often, I don't know them by number or name, it's more that I enter into a familiar wave of words and ride it out with contentment.  Others are classics, but they never grow tiresome.

Here are some favorites:

Psalm 139
Psalm 123
Psalm 27
Psalm 61
Psalm 103

Good wisdom here:

Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.
-Psalm 4:4

Various Notes on the Psalms

"That which the French proverb hath of sickness is true of all evils, that they come on horseback and go away on foot; we have often seen that a sudden fall, or one meal’s surfeit, has stuck by many to their graves; whereas pleasures come like oxen, slow and heavily, and go away like post horses, upon the spur. Sorrows, because they are lingering guests, I will entertain but moderately, knowing that the more they are made of the longer they will continue; and for pleasures, because they stay not, and do but call to drink at my door, I will use them as passengers with slight respect. He is his own best friend that makes the least of both of them." (Joseph Hall.)

Tough going with 109 and 110---I need to take time to hash through them, but they are not particularly winsome psalms, but psalms of punishment and justice.  I would much rather dwell on the merciful character of the Lord!

Psalm 109

One thing I find interesting is that the psalmist welcomes conflict---especially between the Lord and his enemy.  Our attitudes today are different---"pray for your enemies."  But here, David openly prays against his enemies.  As this is a prayer of David, it makes the whole ball of wax worse---because I don't understand why David gave Saul such a long rope (and Absalom, among others), yet he seems militantly angry and judgmental here.  I clearly don't understand the culture I think.  Or David for that matter.  Digging in....

Well, it looks like I am not alone in my initial reaction:

"Of all the Psalms of imprecation, this one is unrivaled for first place. No other calls down the judgment of God with such distilled vitriol or with such comprehensive detail. The reader cannot fail to be intrigued and fascinated by the sheer ingenuity of the psalmist in the variety of punishments he invokes on his foes!"  -BBC

What is a psalm of "imprecation"  need to dig more when I have inclination and time.

Interesting bit here---David WAS praying for his enemies, yet cursing them to God too.   Hmmmm, new thought here---you can pray for someone and still detest their behavior and bring it to God.

Psa 109:4  For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

Another comment to ponder---the real enemy is the larger evil, not just that person:

"It will help us to understand the severity of this Psalm if we remember that it refers not only to David and his foe, but also to Messiah and His betrayer, and also perhaps to Israel and the Anti-Christ in a day still future."

Here the BBC commentator takes his best stab at it:

 "The explanation that appeals to me most is that the imprecatory Psalms express a spirit that was proper for a Jew living under the law, but not proper for a Christian living under grace. The reason these Psalms seem harsh to us is because we are viewing them in the light of the New Testament revelation. David and the other psalmists did not have the New Testament. As Scroggie points out:
. . . it will be well to recognize at once the fact that the previous dispensation was inferior to the present one, that while the Law is not contrary to the Gospel it is not equal to it, that while Christ came to fulfill the Law He came also to transcend it. We must be careful not to judge of expressions in the Psalter which savor of vindictiveness and vengeance by the standards of the Pauline Epistles."

A good solution...except that now I have dissonance about the doctrine of dispensationalism as I think it brings its own problems to the table.

Ahhh, he also seems to believe in the concept of generational sin....one that I tend to lean towards too...not  a spooky kind of "curse," but more that our actions have consequences that project to future generations.   In a very practical way, this is generational sin.

"While the inclusion of a man's family in his judgment seems rather extreme to us, it was justified to the psalmist by the fact that God had threatened to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation (Exo_20:5; Exo_34:7; Num_14:18; Deu_5:9). Whether we like it or not, there are laws in the spiritual realm under which sins have a way of working themselves out in a man's family. No man is an island; the consequences of his acts reach out to others as well as affecting himself."  BBC

Psalm 5

The psalms are gradually becoming an old friend of mine. Although I still cannot claim to know them all, each time through, I recognize more along my journey through them, and some have become dear familiar friends. 

My favorite commentaries on the psalms are Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon's Treasury of David. This time around, I am trying to give some others a fair shot as well. Psalm 5 was on my reading list for today.

"For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 

You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man."

"The passage is worthy of our most special attention. For we know how greatly we are discouraged by the unbounded insolence of the wicked. If God does not immediately restrain it, we are either stupified and dismayed, or cast down into despair. But David, from this, rather finds matter of encouragement and confi-dence. The greater the lawlessness with which his enemies proceeded against him, the more earnestly did he supplicate preservation from God, whose office it is to destroy all the wicked, because he hates all wickedness. Let all the godly, therefore, learn, as often as they have to contend against violence, deceit, and injustice, to raise their thoughts to God in order to encourage themselves in the certain hope of deliverance, according as Paul also exhorts them in 2 Thessalonians 1:5, “Which is,” says he, “a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us.” And assuredly he would not be the judge of the world if there were not laid up in store with him a recompense for all the ungodly. " -JC

For me, it's a continual struggle to watch those who seem far from the Lord flourish in this world. It's a high bar to wait until eternal judgment for amends---distant, intangible. I appreciate Calvin's exhortation to raise our eyes unto Him for our deliverance, and his connection to Paul's sentiments in 2 Thessalonians, which is a passage I'm not as familiar with. Yes, I am, more often than not, "discouraged by the unbounded insolence of the wicked." David was intimately familiar with wickedness. Throughout his life, he had close friends and relatives plot against him, even up to his old age and deathbed. Why should any of us expect any better of this world? 

"At the outset he asks God to hear not only his words but consider his meditation as well. It is a valid request. The Holy Spirit can interpret our meditations just as easily as the words we speak." -BBC

"Give ear to my words, O Lord." Psalm 5:1

"The inward and outward sides of the Divine life

The Psalm falls into two main parts— Psa_5:1-7, and Psa_5:8-12. The inward comes first; for communion with God in the secret place of the Most High must precede all walking in His way, and all blessed experience of His protection, with the joy that springs from it. The Psalm is a prayerful meditation on the inexhaustible theme of the contrasted blessedness of the righteous, and misery of the sinner, as shown in the two great halves of life: the inward of communion, and the outward of action. A Psalmist who has grasped the idea that the true sacrifice is prayer, is not likely to have missed the cognate thought that the “house of the Lord, of which he will presently speak, is something other than any material shrine. But to offer sacrifice is not all which he rejoices to resolve. He will “keep watch”; that can only mean that he will be on the outlook for the answer to his prayer, or, if we may retain the allusion to sacrifice, for the downward flash of the Divine fire, which tells his prayer’s acceptance. " BI, MacLaren

David's Psalms

This summer I've settled into studying the life of King David.   I'd like to be able to clearly remember the psalms he composed under duress and link them to their historical context.  Here's a beginning:



Psalm 18

Inscription--To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

Comments on Psalm 18 from Lawson

"But when the Lord had given him rest from his enemies round about, evil rose up against him out of his own kingdom and out of his own house. Sheba rose up after Absalom to seek his life, but he soon lost his own, as his predecessor in wickedness had done."

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"But we never find David employing his fine genius in celebrating the exploits of these heroes to whom he was so greatly indebted. God is pleased for the most part to employ means and instruments in His works of mercy or of vengeance. But they do neither less nor more than God has intended to accomplish by them."

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"Had we hearts like David we would often be rejoicing in God, and singing His praises, when our corrupt dispositions prompt us to utter complaints as if God had forgotten to be gracious, because He will not resign the management of all our affairs into our own hands."-G. Lawson

Psalm 34
Psalm 57--David at the Cave of Adullam 1 Samuel 22:1-2
Psalm 142-David at the cave of Adullam 1 Samuel 22:1-2

"A practical realization of our dependence on our Maker is true prayer, and this is the essence of religion. Prayer is not language, but life: it is the soul turned ever to the Almighty, as the flower to the sun, as the river to the sea." B.I.

" Is it not a curious thing that, whenever God means to make a man great, He always breaks him in pieces first? David was to be king over all Israel. What was the way to Jerusalem for David? What was the way to the throne? Well, it was round by the cave of Adullam, He must go there and be an outlaw and an outcast, for that was the way by which he would be made king. Have none of you ever noticed, in your own lives, that whenever God is going to give you an enlargement, and bring you out to a larger sphere of service, or a higher platform of spiritual life, you always get thrown down? Why is that?" BI

Psalm 56

"For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. To be sung to the tune "Dove on Distant Oaks." Psalm 56:1

1 Samuel 29 & 30

Psalm 144

So many images in here worth pondering--

I like the nod to vocational usefulness here---feel like intellectual abilities are vastly overrated and physical skills/craftsmanship vastly under-valued:

"If we have strength we are not much the better unless we have skill also. Untrained force is often an injury to the man who possesses it, and it even becomes a danger to those who are round about him; and therefore the Psalmist blesses the Lord as much for teaching as for strength. Let us also bless Jehovah if he has in anything made us efficient. The tuition mentioned was very practical, it was not so much of the brain as of the hands and fingers; for these were the members most needful for conflict. Men with little scholastic education should be grateful for deftness and skill in their handicrafts. To a fighting man the education of the hands is of far more value than mere book-learning could ever be; he who has to use a sling or a bow needs suitable training, quite as much as a scientific man or a classical professor. Men are too apt to fancy that an artisan's efficiency is to be ascribed to himself; but this is a popular fallacy. A clergyman may be supposed to be taught of God, but people do not allow this to be true of weavers or workers in brass; yet these callings are specially mentioned in the Bible as having been taught to holy women and earnest men when the tabernacle was set up at the first. All wisdom and skill are from the Lord, and for them he deserves to be gratefully extolled. This teaching extends to the smallest members of our frame: the Lord teaches fingers as well as hands; indeed, it sometimes happens that if the finger is not well trained the whole hand is incapable." -Spurgeon


More Spurgeon:

This verse is full of personality; it is mercy shown to David himself which is the subject of grateful song. It has also a presentness about it; for Jehovah is now his strength, and is still teaching him; we ought to make a point of presenting praise while yet the blessing is on the wing. The verse is also pre-eminently practical, and full of the actual life of every day; for David's days were spent in camps and conflicts. Some of us who are grievously tormented with rheumatism might cry, “Blessed be the Lord, my Comforter, who teacheth my knees to bear in patience, and my feet to endure in resignation”; others who are on the look out to help young converts might say, “Blessed be God who teaches my eyes to see wounded souls, and my lips to cheer them”; but David has his own peculiar help from God, and praises him accordingly. This tends to make the harmony of heaven perfect when all the singers take their parts; if we all followed the same score, the music would not be so full and rich.

Psalm 140

"O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle." -Psalm 140:7

What a gorgeous and comforting image---that He covers our heads in the day of battle.  Our protection is from Him.

Most of this psalm is a curse of sorts upon the wicked--that the psalmist would be delivered and preserved from them.

Psalm 138:6

"For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar." -Psalm 138:6

Humility of spirit brings us closer to Him.  Self-sufficiency separates us.

"The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me."  -Psalm 138:8

Such a comforting promise---His hand is in His purposes for my life.

"The assurance we have that whatever good work God has begun in and for his people he will perform it (Psa_138:8): The Lord will perfect that which concerns me, 1. That which is most needful for me; and he knows best what is so. We are careful and cumbered about many things that do not concern us, but he knows what are the things that really are of consequence to us (Mat_6:32) and he will order them for the best." -Matthew Henry