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Psalms Manuscript

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An Original Book of Poetry - Psalm 1

Has it ever occurred to you that God is the original Poet? In fact, He created us as a work of divine art. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:10 that we were created as God’s “workmanship.” That word in the Greek language is poiēma, which gives us our word poem. You happen to be an original poem, written by the creator God.

And God evidently loves creating original poetry because no one else in human history has your fingerprints or voice print. Even your eyes and your face can be used today to identify you, because you are one of a kind.

God also created us in His image, and one evidence is that we love poetry too—whether it’s in the music we hear or written in a book. Is it any surprise, then, that in the middle of your Bible is a book of poetry—a book of sacred hymns—poetry that expresses to this day the way we feel to the deepest levels of our soul?

It took more than a thousand years for various people to collect and arrange all the psalms contained in the book of Psalms. These 150 psalms are actually divided into five sections, they are called books. We’ll point out each of the five books as we work through them in our Wisdom Journey.

The psalms are expressive, emotional, passionate, and relational. They teach us how to cry out to God—and sometimes even complain a bit. We learn from them how to pour out our doubts and sorrows and joys and triumphs to God.

The psalms have a way of changing your attitude toward God rather than expecting God to change your circumstances. This book of inspired poetry is intended by God to become an adviser, a counselor, as you walk through every intersection in life.

Now the very first psalm compares the way of the righteous with the way of the wicked. In verse 1 the author writes, “Blessed is the man.” Now this word “blessed” refers to happiness—deep happiness that comes from moving forward in life.[1] The happy person in Psalm 1 is someone who is advancing in his or her commitment to godly living.

But you will notice that advancing involves refusing certain things. In other words, godly living means you are refusing anything associated with ungodly living. And the psalmist describes three refusals here—three times when you need to say “No” if you want to progress in godly living.

Verse 1 continues: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” This pictures an ungodly person merging onto your path and wanting to walk closely next to you. He wants to influence you by joining up with you. And you need to refuse that kind of close companionship.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked”—now notice—“n或者 st和s in the way of sinners.” To st和 means to take your place alongside. It’s not just walking alongside unbelievers but taking your stand with them; it’s approving of them, joining them in their way of thinking.

And the digression continues, demanding a third refusal. Verse 1 goes on to say, “nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” The Hebrew word for “scoffers” refers to those who openly mock the counsel of God.[2]

What starts out with a walk becomes a seat at the table. What the psalmist calls the “seat” we would call the “chair.” Today we talk about a school having an endowed chair of engineering or theology. The influential position on a board is held by the chairperson.

Well, the boardroom described here in verse 1 is entirely cynical and opposed to biblical truth. The psalmist’s warning is this: “Listen, if you don’t ignore the wicked, you will eventually take a stand with them; and soon afterward, you’re going to join the board, where they openly scoff at God.”

Now having told us what a godly person should refuse to do, the psalmist now tells us what a godly person should do. Verse 2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord.” If you delight in a person, you want to spend time with that person; if you delight in a song, you want to sing that song. The blessed persondelights—prioritizes—the law of the Lord.

In the Psalms, the law is a reference to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and especially the fullest expression of the Lord’s mind or will. This means the psalmist here is referring to the totality of God’s Word. The godly person, the blessed person, loves the Word of God.

The second practice of a blessed person is found in the word “meditate.” Verse 2 says that in God’s law “he mediates day and night.”

The Hebrew word for “meditate” literally means to mutter—to utter sounds.[3] This pictures your mind so engaged with God’s Word that it just sort of spills out to your mouth. Your conversation is embroidered with Scripture. Meditation in the Bible is not the emptying of your mind; it’s the filling of your mind with the Word.

The psalmist now uses the image of a tree to give us three characteristics of a godly person’s life. First, the godly person is stable. Verse 3 says, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water.” This tree is firmly rooted. And it’s healthy because it draws from the water nearby and grows strong and stable.

No tree grows up overnight. You don’t go out and measure it every morning. Likewise, the Christian life takes exactly that—a lifetime to build. Don’t go measure your growth every day, unless you want to get discouraged.

Second, the godly person is fruitful. Verse 3 says he is like a tree “that yields its fruit in its season.” The result is spiritual fruit. But do not miss the fact that this fruit is not for the tree; it’s for those who come in contact with that tree.

Third, verse 3 says the godly one will be like a tree whose“leaf does not wither.” He is like an evergreen. Tough times cannot dry him out; dry seasons and winter seasons will not destroy his spiritual health. He is going to continue to prosper spiritually.

Then we are given the contrasting life of the wicked. Verse 4 says, “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” In other words, they are here today but gone tomorrow. They seem powerful and in control now, but verse 5 reminds us, “They will not stand in the judgment.” There is a day coming when divine truth and the piercing wisdom of God will dismantle their arguments and their defiance.

The godly person, like a tree, is rooted in truth; the unbeliever is not. Unbelievers are tossed about by the winds of culture; they know nothing of stability and fruitfulness and endurance. Simply put, their lives never take root.

This is why we must go back to the Bible again and again—and drink. If we are planted— rooted—next to the stream of God’s truth, the results are stability, fruitfulness, and endurance. Whether it is our marriage, our relationships, our work ethic, or our walk. We are going to become like the strong branches of a tree, planted by the stream of divine truth.

So, let’s drink it up, drink it in, and then live it out, every single day!

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The Psalm of Coronation - Psalm 2

The coronation of a king or queen is quite an elaborate event. It sets the stage for the monarch’s reign. I’m sure Queen Victoria wished she had made a better first impression. To start with, her coronation lasted five hours; it was delayed for a bit because the archbishop put the royal ring on the wrong finger—it took ice and soap to get it off!

Another bishop had just one job, and that was to hand the queen her royal orb. He did, but at the wrong moment, which caused a bit of confusion. But the biggest mistake was when Victoria was reading her royal pledge, the bishop in charge of turning the pages turned two pages at once. Nobody noticed, until after the queen left the stage. She had to come back and finish it. Her coronation made history because of some of these blunders. So much for making a good first impression![4]

Now Psalm 2 most likely was sung at the coronation of King David and all the kings who followed him. It is a coronation psalm, and it does indeed make a great first impression. It also has special prophetic significance.

Psalm 2 begins by describing the nations, and I believe that every nation since can be described by the words here in this coronation psalm. Three descriptions of the nations of our world stand out to me.

First, the nations are empty. Verse 1 says, “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?” The Hebrew word for “vain” means “empty,” and the word “plot” means “to growl.” The nations growl with empty threats they cannot follow through on. God does not feel threatened at all.

Second, the nations are rebellious. In verse 2, the psalmist says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.” These nations—these kings—are plotting to overpower the Lord Himself. That isn’t going to work either.

Third, the nations are described not only as empty and rebellious but also as violent. In verse 3, the earth’s kings say, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” In other words, the nations are planning a violent rebellion against God and Israel’s king.

Now with that, the psalmist turns our attention to some of the attributes of the Lord.

First, God is all-knowing. We read in verse 4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”God is not frightened by the rebellious plots of these nations; He is actually humored. He laughs at the utter foolishness of their plans.

Second, God is all-powerful. Look at verses 5 and 6: “Then [the Lord] will speak to them in his wrath … . . saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’” Zion is another term for Jerusalem.

So, what God has done in crowning David as king, no amount of plotting can undo. The coronation cannot be interrupted.

Now the anointed king, begins to deliver his coronation speech:

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (verses 7-9)

As David ascends his throne, he is confident that God has chosen him as king, that God has adopted him as His son.

It was a common practice for pagan kings to claim to be the adopted son of their local, national god. So, what is at stake here is not just the reputation of David but the reputation of God as well. Is this an empty claim here—that David’s kingdom will be superior to the kingdoms of the world?

Well, God does something to make sure the nations know that the promises He makes to King David here in Psalm 2 are not just for show.

Back in 2 Samuel chapter 7, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David some years after his coronation with this promise:

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you . . . I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (verses 12-13)

Forever? That’s quite a promise. Who can unseat a “forever” King?

Well, this “forever” King is a prophetic application of God’s promise here in Psalm 2:7: “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”

Ask yourself this: What son of David would rule over a kingdom forever? None of his sons lasted all that long on the throne. Well, here is the clue—the Son of David is also called here the Son of God. Again, verse 7 reads: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you.”

Just in case there is any doubt who God had in mind, the apostle Paul preached centuries later in Acts chapter 13:

“We bring you the good news that what God promised . . . this he has fulfilled . . . by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’” (verses 32-33)

Paul combined God’s promises to David in Psalm 2 with 2 Samuel 7 and made it very clear that the resurrected Jesus—a descendant of King David—is also the Son of God, the eternal King who will one day rule the nations of the world.

What plotting and strategy can any nation devise against Jesus? He is the resurrected Son of God, the promised King, the descendant of David.

So, God now invites the nations to put down their puny little weapons, their pride, and their plotting and fall on their knees in surrender to Israel’s eternal King Jesus. He says in verse 10, “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”Yes, be wise, be warned, seek after the eternal King who is offering you terms of surrender and everlasting peace.

The psalm ends with an open invitation to the nations—to all the people on Planet Earth:

“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, 和 you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”(verse 12)

Kissing the Son is an expression of humility and reverence. This is not the fake kiss of a Judas; this is the kiss of honor and worship and loyalty to Christ, the everlasting King.

Let me tell you, Queen Victoria’s coronation made history for some of the wrong reasons; the coronation of King Jesus is still making history. The one who came as King, entering Jerusalem riding a donkey to shouts of “Hosanna!” left behind an empty tomb. And that empty tomb declares to the world that He is the living Savior who will one day return and fulfill the promise of Psalm 2—He will reign on David’s throne.

And today, my friend, no matter what nation you live in, you are invited to come and kneel before Him and claim Him as your own personal Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

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Quick to Trust . . . Quick to Confess - Psalms 3–6

We begin this study in Psalm 3, where David is having one of the worst days of his life. He is running for his life from his son, Absalom. Absalom has masterminded a coup, and David is now hunted by his own son. He didn’t have time to even pack a suitcase as he fled from Jerusalem.

He is looking over his shoulder, so to speak, as he writes this psalm. He begins this way:

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah. (verses 1-2)

Even though David is in the crosshairs of the hunter, he is calling on the Lord with complete confidence that God is listening.

Now this little word “selah” is going to show up throughout the Psalms, and we’re not exactly sure what it means. It might signal a musical interlude, a pause to reflect or meditate; but what it does is obvious—it makes you slow down. It effectively says, “Slow down, and think about what you just read.”

And that is exactly what David does here, as he slows down and takes a deep breath and then composes verses 3-4:

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my gl或者y, 和 the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.

David is now so confident in the Lordthat he says in verse 5, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.” David is leaving the outcome entirely in the Lord’s hands. And here is how you and I can know we have really left something in the Lord’s hands: if we don’t come back around and worry whether He’s got it covered. Instead, we can rest in Him.

Listen to the change in David’s perspective in verse 6: “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” Is David confident because he just came across a wagon load of weapons? No, just one weapon has given him full assurance. Note verses 7-8:

Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

David’s one weapon is confident prayer in his powerful Lord.

Do you ever feel like a target—like you are being hunted and harassed? Let me recommend that you personalize this psalm. Join with David in his song of confidence, “O Lord, you are a shield about me … Salvation belongs to the Lord.”

Now here in the Fourth Psalm, David is still running from Absalom. This time the theme of grace is added to David’s confidence.

Verse 1 says:

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Where is the grace in that statement? It’s in the words “God of my righteousness.” David is claiming righteousness, but he realizes it comes from God, just as the Bible tells us that Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith in God (James 2:23).

With confidence in God’s grace, David now extends grace to his enemies. He writes here in verse 4, “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah.”There’s another selah. David is telling his enemies they had better slow down and think through where their sin is taking them. They need to put their trust in the Lord.

Did David’s enemies deserve the grace of God? No! But neither did David—or you or me. Now here in verse 6, David intercedes for others. And by the way, when we began this psalm, David was praying for himself; now he’s praying for others.

David’s circumstances have not changed, but his heart has. He is still on the run, but he says here in verse 8, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Let me tell you, beloved, there is no softer pillow than trusting in the power 和 plan of God.

Now in Psalm 5, David composes an honest prayer request. He begins by approaching God through the atoning sacrificial system of the Old Testament. In verse 3 he writes, “O Lord, in the m或者ning you hear my voice; in the m或者ning I prepare a sacrifice for you 和 watch.”

Through the sacrificial system, David looked forward to the final sacrifice of Jesus. Today we look back at the final sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Now here is David’s prayer request in verse 8: “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.” Then down in verse 10 he adds this:

Let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

Is David being vindictive? No. I think the rest of the psalm bears out the truth that he wants even his enemies to be at peace with God. He says in verse 11:

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.

Now with that I want to turn to Psalm 6, which we can call a reality check. A friend shared with me the thought that procrastination is a choice that delays God’s grace in your life. That is a good summary of this psalm; David is procrastinating confessing his sin to God.

David begins: 

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, n或者 discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. (verses 1-2)

David has sinned—that’s why God is angry. And David has delayed his confession of sin. We know that from the description of his suffering—“languishing” takes time. He is now eaten up with a guilty conscience.

And let me tell you, procrastinating in confessing your sin is harmful in so many ways. We don’t know how long David delayed, but he says in verse 2 that he has troubled bones. Even his bones ache.

So, what is he waiting for? We don’t know. But the better question is this: What are you and I waiting for? Why does anybody put off repentance? It leads us to the same lonely place where we find David here.

David prays, “How long? Turn, O Lord” (verses 3-4). He feels disconnected, but he is also deceived by his sin. God has not turned His back on David; David has turned his back on God!

Delaying confession makes no sense, and David finally admits it here in verse 6:“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”

Now, can we agree that moaning and weeping all over your furniture is not a good idea? There is no good reason to live like that. And David now stops waiting as well. Having confessed his sin, he says in verse 9, “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.”

Let me tell you, this psalm warns us of the self-inflicted wounds that come from unconfessed sin—loneliness, despair, even aching bones. But it also encourages us that it is never too late to confess. If you are procrastinating right now, God is patiently waiting with open arms, listening ears, and a heart that is ready to forgive.

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Songs for Future Kings and Queens - Psalms 7–8

As we journey through the book of Psalms, you will notice comments at the top of certain psalms. We are now at Psalm 7, and we see one of these superscriptions—you might call them headers—and it says here, “A Shiggaion of David.”

Shiggaion (pronounced Shigaiywn) means “to w和er.” It is possible David used a familiar tune that s或者t of w和ered up 和 down the musical scale.

This psalm is “a Shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.” Now we have no idea who Cush the Benjaminite was, but we do know that David’s history with the tribe of Benjamin was not all that rosy.

In 1 Samuel 13, the Lord judged King Saul, a Benjaminite, and gave the throne to David, a member of the tribe of Judah. I don’t think the tribe of Benjamin ever got over that, and they never seemed to care much for David.

Now this superscription tells us that David was composing this song about something Cush, this Benjaminite, said. And it evidently was not very nice. So, this is going to be a psalm about experiencing hurtful words.

In verses 1-2 we read:

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

David basically just starts praying here. He is hurt, and he wants the Lord to defend him.

Then he says, “O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands ... let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it” (verses 3, 5). David opens himself up for God’s inspection. Don’t skip over this step when you are being attacked. Sometimes there are kernels of truth inside unkind criticism—the Lord might be revealing a blind spot in your life.

So, David surrenders to whatever the Lord wants to do in his own life. He says here in verse 8: “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness [或者 right-st和ing].”

Yes, David can point a finger at Cush, but maybe God can point a finger at David. This is the transparent attitude that allows you to grow during times of unfair treatment and unkind words.

By the way, there is no record of David being vindicated from whatever this slander was. But I can tell you that David ended up with a deeper relationship with God because of it.

In Psalm 8 we have another superscription. This one is addressed to the director of the choir; it says, “To the choirmaster: according to the Gittith.”

Gittith (pronounced Gittee) is a reference to the musical instrument that will accompany this song. David wants it played on the Gittith. Hebrew scholars think this was an instrument that was struck, like a drum or a kettle, but we are not sure.

David begins this psalm and ends it with the same words. These form bookends, so to speak, that give us the psalm’s theme. Here it is in verse 1 and verse 9: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

In this psalm David gives us reasons why God is so highly exalted. Look at verse 2: “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your [enemies].”

Over in Matthew 21, when Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple and then healed the blind and the lame, He said to the infuriated religious leaders in verse 16: “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and . . . babies you have prepared praise’?”

He was quoting this verse in Psalm 8. He didn’t need the powerful and the religious scholars to praise Him; He could get that from the lame and the blind and even little children who praise Him.

Next, David writes:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (verses 3-4)

When David looked up and observed the heavens, he called it the finger work, the sculpting, of the creator God. And he was overwhelmed that such a majestic creator would care about the human race. He writes in verse 5: “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings.”

What does that mean? Well, the word translated “heavenly beings” is Elohim—the name for God. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint, translates it with the Greek word for angels or heavenly beings.

And that is how the writer of Hebrews quoted it (Hebrews 2:7). Using the Greek translation of Psalm 8, he wrote that for a little while, Jesus was made lower than the angels. He was emphasizing the humility of Jesus when He was born here on earth.

But here in Psalm 8, David is not directly referring to the Messiah; he is talking about the human race. And he marvels that we were created a little lower than God.

In other words, we are the highest created order, the apex, of God’s creation. When David looked at the magnificent moon and the stars, he was blown away that God would even care about us; but God created us a little lower than Himself. Wow!

Now, before you swell up and start strutting around, David does not mean that we have divine attributes or that we even come close to being God. David is reminding us here of God’s original created design. Adam and Eve were the apex of God’s creation, created as King and Queen of Planet Earth. The animals were their subjects. But sin ruined all that.

Now David describes what our future will look like one day when God reverses the curse and creates a new earth and a new universe (Revelation 21). So, listen to your future, beloved, described here in verses 5-8:

You have . . . crowned him [the human race] with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea.

Beloved, here is your future when you one day co-reign with Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:6). You will have complete and perfect dominion over earth and the animal kingdom.

I want to remind you, though, that David did not say here in verse 5 that you are a little higher than the animals; he said you are a little lower than God. Charles Darwin wrote, “Man is the most efficient animal ever to emerge on earth.”[5]In other words, you are just a smarter animal; you are just a superior mammal. Well, that is not what the Word of God says you are here in verse 5. You have been created far above the animal kingdom; you have been crowned with special glory and honor.

So, if you have been the object of unfair criticism, unjust treatment, unkind words, perhaps you have concluded that you are a nobody and nobody cares. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just go outside tonight and look up at the stars and listen to the rustling of the leaves and the evening songs of the birds. One day your dominion over God’s creation will be fully realized, as you reign with Christ as a king or queen in the coming kingdom of God.

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The ABC’s of Trust - Psalms 9–10

I read the other day of little Susie, who was learning her ABC’s in kindergarten. When she came home from school, she was ready to play outside, but there were some chores that stood in the way, and her mother wasn’t budging. Finally, out of frustration, Susie clenched her fists and shouted, “A-B-C-D-E-F-G!” Well, who can argue with that? She took what she had learned and put it to good use—even though it didn’t make much sense.

I find it interesting that David’s frustration here in Psalm 9 includes the use of the alphabet. He uses the consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet to start each new stanza. Now, I don’t think David was yelling at God. He was more than likely using this as a way to help people memorize the psalm.

There is a superscription here—a heading, so to speak—and it seems to apply to both Psalms 9 and 10, indicating they were sung as a single song.

The heading reads, “According to Muth-Labben.”Literally, this means “to the tune of ‘The Death of the Son.’” And we are not exactly sure what David had in mind.

What we do know is that David begins here by making a promise to praise the Lord. Verse 1 reads, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

David goes on to recount some of them. Note verses 4-5:“You have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations.”

It is a great idea to keep a running tab in your heart of God’s grace in your life. We tend to carve our disappointments in stone and write our blessings in the sand. Keep a journal; write down those blessings. Remember the goodness of God yesterday; it will encourage you when you face something difficult today.

In verses 7 through 10, David praises the Lord for being righteous and trustworthy, and he invites everybody to sing along with him:

Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. (verses 11-12)

Now, having praised God for who He is and what He has done in the past, David’s heart is ready to ask the Lord for something that has been on his mind from the beginning—and that is deliverance from his enemies.

He writes in verse 13:“Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me.” Then he says in verses 19-20:

Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!

People tend to strut around the earth—especially those in power. David asks the Lord to remind them that they are mere mortals and ultimately accountable to God.

Psalm 9 uses the first half of the Hebrew alphabet, with a new letter beginning each new stanza. And now, Psalm 10 takes up the last half of the alphabet. Again, more than likely, this was an aid to memorizing this song to the Lord.

Now as we take up Psalm 10, David rehearses his concern that the world seems to be against the Lord. And he wants the Lord to do something about it. He says in verse 1, “Why, O Lord, do you st和 far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

In other words, the wicked seem to be getting away with it. David wants God to step in and address the situation. So, he describes the character of these people, and he starts with the arrogance of the wicked.

“In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the po或者,” he writes in verse 2. And in verse 4, he observes, “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek [the Lord]; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’”

David says their defiance shows up in their faces—their literal countenance. It has been said that a person’s face reveals the condition of his or her soul. And I believe that is true. Worry, anger, frustration, and arrogance have a way of shaping a person’s countenance.

Abraham Lincoln was once asked to appoint a certain individual to an important position, and he declined, saying, “I don’t like his face.” The person who was suggesting this candidate argued, “A man isn’t responsible for his face.” Lincoln replied, “Every man over forty years of age is responsible for his face.” He believed that by that age, what is on the inside has begun to show up on the outside.[6]

Now here in verses 7 through 10, the wicked person’s oppression of others is highlighted. David writes:

His mouth is filled with cursing . . . under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages . . . he murders the innocent. . . . The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

Verse 11 adds concerning the wicked, “He says in his heart, ‘God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’”Wicked people have concluded that since God has not acted in judgment, He will never act in judgment; so, they can continue to do whatever they want.

Oh, but David writes here in verse 14:“But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation.” In other words, “Lord, you know all about their sin; you have taken note of all their wickedness.”

It’s interesting that the word for “evildoer” used in verse 15 refers to someone who breaks up everything that is right and good. This sinner is intent on destroying everything that is good and decent. The Greek translation of this Hebrew word is ponēros. This word is used in the Bible for all sorts of evil and corruption. Some believe our word pornography is derived from it.[7]

David’s complaint here is just what I have voiced and probably you have as well: “Lord, it looks like they’re getting away with all their evil—their immorality, their pornography. They want to destroy everything that’s good and right.”

Throughout this psalm, David has been anxious and frustrated, but in the last few verses, he turns the corner and reminds us that even when God is silent, He is still sovereign—still in control. David sings here:

The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless 和 the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terr或者 no m或者e. (verses 16-18)

Psalms 9 and 10 reveal that while wickedness seems to run rampant and the judgment never shows up, God’s judgment is coming, and it is right on schedule some time in the future. In the meantime, we can trust Him today. Even when God seems to be absent, He is not asleep.

So, here is a song to sing that will encourage your worship and fuel your faith. And by the way, we believers are sinners too, but by coming to faith in Jesus Christ, who suffered the judgment we deserved there on the cross, we are safe in God’s care—even today—through Jesus Christ, our King, our Lord, and our Savior.

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How to Respond when the Foundations are Removed - Psalm 11-12

Many years ago, the Veterans of Foreign Wars put up a cross far out in the Mojave Desert as a memorial to soldiers killed during World War I. In 2001, a former state employee sued the government, demanding that the cross be removed. In the meantime, a judge ordered that the cross be covered with a plywood box so that it ended up looking like some kind of billboard instead of a cross. But even that was not good enough for some people.

After the Supreme Court finally ruled by one vote that this little white cross could stay where it was, someone went out there and cut the mounting bolts and took the cross away. Even out in the Mojave Desert, where almost no one ever saw it, the cross just had to go.[8]

As a believer, what do you do when your culture wants to remove the foundation of our faith—when the cross is just too offensive, when biblical virtues are considered out of date? How do you respond in a world that wants to erase from public view any foundational truth about God?

That is actually the question King David deals with here in Psalms 11 and 12. In fact, he handed these poems to the choir director because he wanted them arranged musically so that everyone would know the question—and the answer—in song.

His question appears now in Psalm 11:3: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Well, let me tell you ahead of time, the crumbling sandstone foundations of man’s opinions have underneath them an eternal, granite foundation of God’s sovereign plans.[9]

We don’t know the exact context of this psalm and what David is referring to here, but from verses 1 and 2 we get the idea that this time of trouble for David and his nation relates to the foundations of society being destroyed by evil people. Everything from law to morality is under attack. And David asks, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

David is going to answer that question. It won’t necessarily change your culture, but it will encourage your heart in the midst of a corrupt culture.

Let me summarize David’s poetic answer with five statements The first is this: God is totally undisturbed in His sovereignty. David says here in verse 4,“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.”

Now he is not telling us to sing about God being far away—distantly removed. The Lord’s heavenly throne doesn’t refer to inactivity, but supremacy.

Beloved, when you are living in circumstances where it seems everything is falling apart, your faithfulness has everything to do with your focus. Do you concentrate on the crumbling foundations around you? Is that all you see—and complain about? Or do you concentrate on the granite foundation underneath all that is—the undisturbed rule of God? God is never unsettled, and He is never going to be unseated.

So, you can look around and say, “I give up.” Or you can look up and say, “God is on the throne.”

Second, God is totally aware of His creation. David writes further in verse 4,“His eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” In other words, God sees—He is not asleep.

Now in Psalm 12, David describes the situation in greater detail. Everyone seems to be a liar (verse 2); people are plundering the poor (verse 5); the wicked are prowling around, and vile behavior is being applauded (verse 8).

Is God aware of all of this? Oh yes! The reference back in Psalm 11:4 to God’s eyelids is a figure of speech in the Hebrew language for somebody squinting to see closely. It has the idea of scrutinizing something. David is saying God not only sees people but He is also taking a close look at them.[10]

Here’s the third answer from David: God is totally just in His rejection of the unrepentant. He says here in verse 5: “[God’s] soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”

This word “hate” carries the idea of rejection; God has rejected unrepentant sinners. Why? Because of their lives, their actions, and their defiance of God.

Yes, God loves the world but not at the expense of His justice. Think about that the next time you are around your unbelieving family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors. They are heading toward the judgment of God.

Fourth, David informs us that God is totally terrifying in His judgment.

Verse 6 says, “Let him rain coals on the wicked;fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.” One biblical archaeologist who studied the cities in the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah found evidence of an eruption of petroleum; it seems that God sent burning showers of ignited gas and oil down on these unrepentant cities.[11]

The apostle Peter warns in 2 Peter 3:7: “The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment.” David is doing the same thing—issuing a warning. In so doing, he is reminding you, if you’re a believer, that when the foundations crumble and people reject God and even persecute believers, the only suffering you will ever have is in this brief lifetime; but the judgment of the unbeliever will last forever.

Think about it this way: the only heaven the unbeliever will ever experience is the best of earth; and the only hell the believer will ever experience is the worst of earth.

Fifth, David ends by telling us God is totally delighted in His beloved.He writes here in Psalm 11:7, “For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”

The upright are not perfect people; they are forgiven people. Upright people are those who are right with God through Christ.

Present circumstances might be dark, but your future is unbelievably bright.[12] The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers these amazing words: “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession”(2 Corinthians 2:14).

Paul is referring to the custom of a victorious Roman general arriving home to a celebration. The crowds would line the streets as the defeated army was marched in front of the parade. Next, would come the victorious general in his chariot and his army marching behind him. They would all be chanting, “Victory!” over and over again.

It was the custom for people to wave censers filled with special incense. The streets of Rome literally would be filled with the aroma of victory. With that in mind, listen again to what Paul writes:

Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 C或者inthians 2:14)

What do you do when the foundations are destroyed? Look to God for your security. He is in control. His hand is still underneath the crumbling foundations of culture and state and kingdoms and world events. His throne is undisturbed; He reigns over even the chaos of our world. 

And one day, we are told, “the upright shall behold his face” (Psalm 11:7). We are going to see Him one day face to face.

So, when the foundations crumble, it is not so much what you do but where you look. Look to Him, trust Him, and sing to Him like never before.

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Courses on Prayer and Human Nature - Psalms 13–15

You could call Psalm 13, Basic Prayer 101. It’s an important course for all believers, who often find themselves attending the School of Hard Knocks.

As class opens, David prays here in verse 1: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”It sounds more like a complaint than a prayer.

Well, David then goes on to complain that God is often late for class or possibly hiding from him, which only causes David greater suffering. This kind of praying is for real. And honestly, have you not felt the same way with God at times? “How long, O Lord? Are you going to forget about me forever?”

Does God respond to David by sending a bolt of lightning? Not at all. In fact, the Lord patiently allows David to give him all the reasons why he is feeling this way. We tend to think that God is not capable of handling our tough questions, our raw emotions. We tend to think that God is going to get His feelings hurt if we are not smiling every time we get on our knees in prayer.

Beloved, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I want to remind you that God already knows you complaint is coming; in fact He knows the worst about you, after all He knew you before He saved you.

So there may be times when you are upset and angry and disappointed with God as David is here, but God can take it, He can handle it. Well, here David feels like God has forgotten about him. This is a wrong assumption. God has not forgotten, God has been following along with David even though troubling times have come into David’s life.

David goes on to give a really good reason why God should show up and act on his behalf. In verse 3, he says, “Consider and answer me, O Lord my God.”Essentially, he is saying, “Hey Lord, remember, I belong to you! You’re my God!”

After pouring out his heart in prayer, David experiences what you and I often have as well—reassurance of the promises and faithfulness of God. David closes this song by writing in verses 5 and 6:

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord.

Now we move from Basic Prayer 101 in Psalm 13 to another class here in Psalm 14. You could call this one Basic Humanity 101. And it isn’t a pretty sight!

The defiance of the human heart against God hasn’t changed over the course of human history. David writes here in verse 1—and this says it all—“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” In other words the fool says, “There is no such deity. God is only a figment of your imagination. God doesn’t even exist.”

If you go back to the end of the nineteenth century, one man carried this idea to the masses in Europe. His name was Friedrich Nietzsche. He was born into the family of a Protestant minister; but his father died while he was still young, and by the time he was twelve, he had rejected the faith of his parents. He blasphemously redefined the Trinity as God the Father, God the Son, and God the devil. This was his first step in a lifetime of defiance.

His writings validated violence and oppression, and his philosophy would impact culture for several generations. His most famous book, entitled The Antichrist, called for people to defy God. Nietzsche would refer to Christianity as “the one great curse … the one immoral blemish of mankind.” “God is dead! God is dead,” he declared. In other words, we need to put to death any notion of a living God.

Nietzsche died literally and tragically insane. But he stands to this day as one more illustration of Psalm 14:1: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”Here is what Nietzsche learned too late: God always has the last word.[13]

Now back to this course on basic humanity, where David writes with prophetic insight here in verse 2:“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”And what does the Lord see?“They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

The apostle Paul will quote this verse in Romans 3:12 as he describes the human race. In fact, this same text will be quoted again in Psalm 53. It’s as if God wants to make sure we grasp this truth—He repeats it three times in the Bible. Here is Basic Humanity 101: All of humanity is born “corrupt,” and “there is none who does good.”

The Hebrew word for “corrupt” in verse 3 literally means tainted. It refers to what is impure.[14]

The other day I pulled some leftover barbecue out of the fridge to make a sandwich. My wife saw me and said, “Oh no, honey, don’t use that meat—it’s old. I should have thrown it out days ago.” Well, it would have made me sick. Why? Because it was corrupted—it was tainted.

That’s the human heart. Even when we do something good, it is tainted with self-interest, self-congratulation, or self-promotion. Even the good we do is tainted with sin. Oh, how we need a Savior who can forgive us, because at our very core we are tainted.

But when you come to the Savior, He forgives you, and He imputes His righteousness to your account. You are bankrupt; He is wealthy. And He changes the name on your account, pays for your sin and bankruptcy, and gives you the wealth of His righteousness.

Now in Psalm 15, David reinforces the relationship we should have with our Lord. He asks two parallel questions in this psalm, and then he gives us the answer. The questions are here in verse 1: “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”

The words for “hill” and “tent” refer to the literal tabernacle, which included the Holy of Holies with God’s presence flaming over it. “Who can reside in the Lord’s tent?” David is asking. Or, “Who could ever be an invited guest in the house of God?”[15]

David answers that in verse 2: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right.”A godly person is not a perfect person but one who pursues a Godlike lifestyle. And when godly people sin, they are going to confess their sin, turn back to God, and start walking like Him again.

In fact, David describes the godly person here as someone who “doesn’t slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor” (verse 3); he “does not take a bribe against the innocent”(verse 5).

In other words, his godly speech and godly conduct relates to all of his personal relationships. In a very real sense, David is saying, “The person who is an invited guest in the house of God is someone who wants to be a guest in the house of God.” Beloved, I know a lot of people who would never want to be a guest in the presence of God. The question is, do you? That is the question for today.

Are you living in Psalm 14, saying in your heart and living your life in such a way that says God does not exist; or do you want to live in Psalm 15, where your priority in life is not only believing that God exists, but also seeking His involvement in every part of your life? God has invited you to live in His house. The question is, have you invited Him to live in yours?

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Keeping Our Inheritance in Mind - Psalms 16–18

Today we begin with Psalm 16, but before we get to verse 1, there’s another superscription at the top that says, “A Miktam of David.” There are six psalms with this same heading. The meaning of miktam is hard to nail down, and Hebrew scholars are divided. Some believe it’s a musical term of some sort; others believe it means to engrave, as if David wanted to engrave the truths of this psalm on the hearts of his people. What we do know is that every one of these six miktam psalms were written when David was facing difficulty and hardship and even danger.

David doesn’t tell us what the danger is, but this psalm opens with a prayer here in verse 1: “Preserve me, O God.” That is his prayer. It’s a short one. God doesn’t require a lot of words—just a transparent heart.

David goes on to remember that he has a “beautiful inheritance” ahead (verse 6); and on the way to that inheritance, he delivers this amazing prophecy in verse 10: “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

Sheol is the Hebrew word that refers broadly to death, or the place of the dead, the graveyard. Through some means, maybe through Nathan the prophet, the Lord has assured David that the danger he currently is experiencing is not going to end his life. So, this psalm essentially ends with David living to fight another day.

But consider this: Over in Acts 2, the apostle Peter is preaching, and in verse 27 he applies Psalm 16:10 to the resurrection of Jesus. Peter sees Jesus’ empty tomb as the fulfillment of David’s words here. God did not allow His Son to remain in the grave to experience the corruption and decay that follows death.

David was speaking prophetically of the Son of David, who would destroy the power of death and the grave and give to His followers everlasting life. He was looking forward to a resurrected Savior. You and I are looking backward at that same resurrection, and by faith in the risen Savior, we are heading to a glorious inheritance—life beyond the grave.

Now here at Psalm 17, David is being falsely accused. We are not told what the accusation is, but he’s about to pray for God to do something about it.

Maybe you have felt the same pain of David’s heart as he prays to the Lord regarding his accusers:

They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. . . . Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! (verses 10-11, 13)

Maybe you’re saying, “Yeah, David! I’m right with you. Lord, confront my accusers and subdue them.” But hold on. David is not actually asking God to crush them. In fact, the word “subdue” here means “to cause to bow down.” David is asking God to make his accusers bow down in worship to the Lord. That would be like you and me today praying that our enemies would get saved and worship the Lord along with us.

I have to admit, that’s not how I feel like praying for my enemies. I don’t think I want them coming to church with me. I would rather they get squashed than saved, while I’m vindicated in the process.

So how do we develop a heart more like David’s? Well, David gets this gracious perspective through the promise of a coming resurrection. He writes in verse 15, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”The assurance of his own future resurrection gives him a patient, gracious heart toward others.When we realize that this life is so brief 和 our eternal life is just ahead, that will change the way we view people 和 the problems of life.

Let me illustrate it this way. Suppose you get a call from your bank, telling you to come down and sign a form regarding an inheritance you have just received. It’s an inheritance of ten million dollars that is going to be deposited into your bank account. You had no idea Uncle Henry was going to leave you all that money. You would have gotten him a nicer Christmas gift if you had known.

So off to the bank you go. Well, suppose on the way to the bank, a guy pulls in front of you, and you have to swerve out of the way. Are you going to honk at him for the next two miles? No, you’re going to the bank.

But then you pass somebody you recognize from work. It’s someone who doesn’t like you and you have pretty much stayed out of his way. He looks over at you, and you find yourself smiling and waving back. How did that happen? You’re on your way to the bank.

Then you get a flat tire. And while you are changing that flat, are you asking God why He allowed this difficult delay? Not at all. You’re out there thanking God for what is just ahead—at the bank.

Recognizing what is just ahead of us—in heaven—should change our attitude along the way. We tend to forget our inheritance in that city of gold, surrounded by the glorious presence of God. It’s just ahead, down the road. So, keep pressing on.

Now let’s look briefly at Psalm 18, where we have a long superscription:

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 delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

Now this psalm covers a time span of almost forty years.It is a memorial of praise to God for deliverance, time and time again, over the course of David’s life.

David begins with these words:

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer . . . in whom I take refuge . . . I call upon the Lord, who is w或者thy to be praised, 和 I am saved from my enemies. (verses 1-3)

Notice, these verbs are all in the present tense: “I love you, O Lord”; “I call upon the Lord”; “I am saved from my enemies.”

David’s testimony is not all about when he was a young boy or thirty years later. His testimony—as yours and mine should be—is as fresh and meaningful in the present as it was in the past.

David describes God’s deliverance in verse 10: “He came swiftly on the wings of the wind.”And again, in verse 19 he writes,“He rescued me, because he delighted in me.”We know, of course, that deliverance does not always arrive immediately. God is more interested in developing us than He is in delivering us—or so it seems!

But when your eyes are on the future and you are thanking the Lord for your future—that day when you arrive and sign the papers, so to speak, on your eternal inheritance—the world around you is not nearly as distracting or troubling.

After almost forty years, this was David’s testimony. He failed, he sinned, he confessed, and he pressed on. And eventually, he did see his Lord, face to face.

So, let’s live a little more like David. When you get cut off in traffic or you get a flat tire or your enemies seem to get the upper hand, keep pressing on. You are closer to home than you know.

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The Voice of Creation - Psalm 19:1-8a

Shortly before his death, Carl Sagan, the scientist and popular television host, wrote, “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”[16]

If King David could have had a cup of coffee with Carl to discuss his hopeless outlook on life, I’m positive David would have handed him a copy of Psalm 19 to challenge his thinking and encourage his heart.

This great psalm illuminates the truth that we are not a lonely speck in the cosmic dark. Indeed, creation teaches us about the Creator. In verse 1, we see that creation reveals the signature of God. David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”

In other words, the sun and stars do more than shine; they speak volumes about the glory of the Creator. Imagine how foolish it is today for people to worship the heavens when the heavens are worshiping God![17]

By the way, the Hebrew verbs here express continuing action. So, we could translate, “The heavens keep on declaring the glory of God, and the sky keeps on proclaiming His handiwork.”[18]

“His h和iw或者k” is another way of saying, “This is God’s signature.” Like an artist, God has signed His masterpiece. And his art collection is on continuous display. Beloved, as we marvel at the universe, it magnifies the glory of God.

Second, creation not only reveals the signature of God; creation reveals the wisdom of God as well. Verse 2 says that creation “day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”

The word David uses here for “pours out” is typically used for a bubbling spring, and the word for “knowledge” refers to observable data.[19] David is saying that creation is constantly bubbling up observable facts about our Creator.

Just look at the complexity of the human body—it has amazing design. At my age, it’s not so amazing, but you get the picture. Study the petals of a flower, a blade of grass, the beauty of a snowflake, the precision of an atom, the nature of gravitation—everything you observe in nature testifies to a wise Creator.[20]

Now, of course, this truth has to be suppressed by an unbelieving world. Paul wrote in the book of Romans that the unbelieving world suppresses the truth of creation (Romans 1:18).

Listen, here is the tragedy of suppressing observable data in this universe: instead of worshiping, you end up worrying and speculating. Instead of worshiping the Creator, you’re left to despairing that you are alone in the cosmic dark—just a speck of dust flying around the Milky Way.

But according to the Word of God, this glorious creation points to a glorious Designer/Creator. The universe is His signature, and the complexity and harmony of nature points to the wisdom of our Creator.

Third, David says creation reveals the grace of God. He writes here in verse 3, “There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice [that of the heavens] is not heard.”

In other words, there actually is a language of creation, but you must have attentive ears and a heart open to listen. Even when the world refuses the obvious, God in His grace just paints another sunset in the sky.

Let me ask you something: If you were God, would you even allow someone who denies you to enjoy a sunset? No, you would probably make sure it was his last one! You see, the grace of God delivers the marvels of His creation to the entire world day after day and night after night.

This is what we call the general revelation of creation. We look around and come to the obvious conclusion that there is a Creator nearby, just like looking at the complexity and order of a wristwatch leads you to know there is a watchmaker nearby.

But we still need special revelation—that is, the Bible. General revelation informs the world that a Creator exists. Special revelation gives us His name.

In fact, David now changes his reference to God here in Psalm 19. He began the psalm by calling God El, a rather generic name for God.[21]

But beginning in verse 7, David refers to God as Yahweh, Jehovah/Lord. This is the name of the personal, loving God. And David begins to describe for us what God’s special revelation—God’s Word—can do in our personal lives.

He writes in verse 7, “The law of the Lord is perfect.” The law, or Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, is perfect. That means it is complete—it is trustworthy and sufficient for your life and mine.[22]

So, what does this perfect law of the Lord do? Verse 7 says it revives the soul. This is the same word David uses in Psalm 23 for the Lord restoring his soul. No matter how far you might stray from your Creator, God has given you an inspired map (His word) to bring you back to Him.

David goes on in verse 7 to give another characteristic of God’s Word: “The testimony of the Lord is sure.” This is legal language. Whenever people are called into court, they testify to what they know for sure.

God is testifying here that His Word is “sure.” His Word can get up on the witness stand and testify to its own truthfulness. God’s Word is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So, what can you expect the truth of God to do in your life today? Well, David answers that it makes “wise the simple.” He is not referring to a simpleton—someone who refuses to learn. He’s referring to the simple—someone who is uninformed but ready to learn.[23]

Over the years, a veteran missionary to Haiti, collected the interesting prayers she heard villagers pray in their village Bible studies as they learned the truths of God’s Word. One of the villagers prayed, “Father, we are all hungry baby birds today; our heart-mouths are wide open, waiting for You to fill us.”[24] That, my friend, is a simple but wise 

David adds another thought here about God’s special revelation, the Word of God. He writes in verse 8, “The precepts of the Lord are right.”

Precepts are those things God commands us to do. They are guiding principles. They are like signs along the highway; you follow them in order to travel safely through life. And what do the Lord’s precepts do for us? David tells us here that they cause our heart to “rejoice.” Not despair but rejoice.

You have a creator God who not only designed you but also delights in you. He loves you enough to have given you a guidebook—a map—through life and then on into heaven, one day.

Now, before we drop anchor on this Wisdom Journey, I wonder if you have somebody like Carl Sagan in your life—someone who denies or perhaps doubts God’s existence and consequently feels hopeless, alone, and obscure in the cosmic darkness of our universe.

Let me encourage you to pray for the right opportunity to invite your friend to read Psalm 19 or listen as you read it. It might just start a conversation that can cause your friend to begin to understand that he or she is not on a speck of dust, alone in the universe, but the result of divine creation, the work of a personal God who has a plan and purpose for your friend’s life.

And while you are at it, don’t forget that God has the same thing for you.

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Better than Gold . . . Sweeter than Honey - Psalm 19:8b-14

I’ve heard it said, “If the average believer truly understood what would happen if he used the Bible more often, he would open it more often.” The reason is simple: Other books are given to us for information; the Bible has been given to us for transformation.

The tragedy is that according to surveys I have read, the average Christian opens his Bible once or twice a week at most—and that includes Sundays.

Well, the fact that you have joined me in this Wisdom Journey through the entire Bible indicates that you are not the average Christian! You are wanting to be transformed by biblical truth as we study together through all sixty-six books of this transforming, inspired book.

Now so far here in Psalm 19, we have discovered that God speaks daily through His big book—that is, creation. We call this general revelation. It’s general, in that it is generally available to everybody on the planet. All they have to do is look around at this big universe.

But God also has given us a little Book—the Bible—which we call special revelation. It is unique for it is divinely inspired—breathed out—by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But you have to read it in order to find out what God has in mind.

What we have read so far in Psalm 19 has told us some of what the Bible is. David also has told us some things the Bible does—it revives us, makes us wise, 和 gives us joy.

We are now in verse 8, where David adds, “The commandment of the Lord is pure.” That word “pure” means without contamination. God’s commandments are free from corruption; they will keep your heart from becoming contaminated too.

One of Satan’s most popular lies is that if you obey God’s Word, you are going to miss out on something in life. That’s a lie!

But how do you get spiritual 20/20 vision so you can spot that kind of lie? David says here at the end of verse 8 that the commandment of the Lord enlightens the eyes. The Hebrew construction implies that God’s Word gives off light—like a candle in a dark room. 

David goes on in verse 9 to say,“The fear of the Lord is clean.”“Fear” is used here as another term for the law. The word for “clean” is used often in Exodus and Leviticus to describe a person who is ceremonially cleansed and able to offer God a sacrifice.

Here’s the picture David is giving us. You think you are walking in the right direction, but then you open God’s Word, and it sheds light on some area in your life that isn’t right. When you confess that sin to the Lord, He cleanses you (1 John 1:9), and then you are able to really enjoy fellowship with the Lord once again.

Imagine that! The God who created the universe wants you to fellowship with Him.

Then David says here in verse 9 that the fear, or Word, of the Lord “endures forever.”The other day my wife had a box of canned goods for me to take to the garbage collector because the items had expired.

David is telling us the Bible does not have an expiration date. And I’m thankful for that, because today our world—and even the church at large—thinks that so much of God’s Word is out of date and needs to be thrown out.

But the Bible lasts forever. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”There is no expiration date on the truth of God’s Word. You might apply things differently in this dispensation than in the Old Testament but its truth remains timeless and its principles can be applied to your life to this very day.

David adds here in verse 9, “The rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.” In other words, the Bible will never lead you astray. Charles Spurgeon wrote many years ago, “The word of God is founded in righteousness and thus it is always right.”[25] That’s true – because God’s Word is God’s words.

These are God’s words. They represent His character and reveal His heart. They cannot be anything but true and righteous altogether.

When you make choices according to God’s Word, you are not going to miss the mark. I remember reading about a television show where they staged an experiment with a real cannon. They wanted to see what would happen if they fired a cannonball into a large container of water. So, they got everything ready, trained their cameras, and then fired that cannon. Unfortunately, the crew had not aimed it correctly. 

According to a newspaper report, “The cannonball missed the water containers, flew through a cinder-block wall, skipped off a hillside, flew 700 yards over a highway, and finally slammed into a minivan parked in a driveway.” Local authorities could only shake their heads in amazement.[26]

That was a lot of damage from one stray cannonball! When you and I get off track, the damage to our lives can be just as terrible. How do we stay on track? How do we hit the mark? How do we aim our lives in the right direction? David would say, “Let God aim your life according to the truth of His Word.”

Now that David has told us what the Bible is and what the Bible does, he tells us what the Bible becomes for us.

First, it becomes our greatest treasure. He says here in verse 10:“More to be desired are they than gold.”“They” is referring to the law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandments, and the rules of God. They are more desirable than gold, and David adds, “even much fine gold.”And remember, this is written by a king who had a lot of gold in his bank account.

If David were living today, he might illustrate this by inviting us to take a trip over to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Go deep down into the vault, where you are surrounded by thousands of tons of gold bullion. Then look at your Bible and say, “You know, if I have to choose, I’ll choose the Bible, over all that gold.” Why? Because gold cannot restore your life and make you wise and give you joy and enlighten your eyes and aim your life in the right direction and keep you on track.

David knew that gold can get us off track, so he made this comparison. Don’t aim your life in that direction. Keep in mind that one day in the Father’s house, we are going to discover that gold has been used to cover all the streets and sidewalks. It is nothing more than common asphalt in heaven.

David goes on to say that the Bible becomes our sweetest delight. Verse 10 says God’s Word is “sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” It makes your mouth water, doesn’t it? In David’s day, sweetness was measured by comparison to honey.

Honey is an amazing product. It is all natural; it digests easily; and it provides immediate energy. I use it to sweeten my cup of coffee every morning at home. If it offends you that I drink coffee, well, you’re just going to have to get over it. I like coffee, and I don’t like cats—you’re going to have to forgive me for that too.

The thing about honey is that we don’t make it, and we didn’t invent it—God did. All we do is collect it, eat it, and gain energy and delight from it.[27]

And that is the sweet delight of God’s Word. We didn’t write it, and we didn’t invent it—God did. All we do is read it and savor it, and it sweetens our lives and brings delight to our hearts.

So, let’s make sure today we thank God for revealing Himself in the big book of creation and in the little Book of great treasure—the Word of God.

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Long Live the King! - Psalms 20–21

I have no doubt today that I’m talking to believers in the middle of trouble, conflict, or some kind of danger or difficulty. Maybe today you are realizing that there is no way around it, and God is going to have to take you through it. Well, beloved, these next two psalms will arm you with what you need for the conflict ahead.

Psalm 20 is a prayer before the battle, and Psalm 21 is praise after the battle.[28]And both point us to our victorious Lord and King.

Here in the first verse of Psalm 20, David immediately prays a prayer that is essentially for you, as you enter the conflict. He writes, “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!”

If you have an open Bible in front of you at the moment, you might want to circle the words, “the name of God.” Three times in this psalm, David refers to the name of God.

God’s name speaks of everything He represents. First John 5:13 says that those who believe in His name have eternal life. To believe in His name is to believe in His nature, His divine attributes, and God the Son’s death and resurrection—everything that His name represents about Him.

Then, here in verse 5 David writes, “May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God, set up our banners!” The congregation is trusting in the name of the Lord. They are waving their banners.

When the nation of Israel marched out to battle, they marched according to their tribes, and each tribe had its own distinctive flag, or banner. Numbers 2:2 refers to this practice.

Each tribe had a special emblem used in their tribal banners. They chose colors and designs that I am sure were beautiful. It must have been a magnificent sight to see the Israelites arrayed for battle and marching under these colorful flags. But as they march out to defend their nation, the song David is teaching them to sing here is all about trust in the name of the Lord.

The third refence to the name of God is in verse 7, where David writes, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

David might be reminiscing here on that moment he faced Goliath. David had bravely walked down into the valley of Elah to face this giant.

I have stood just above that same valley and could just imagine young David descending toward Goliath. And as he moved toward him, David shouted, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear . . . but I come to you in the name of the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:45). 

So, David is telling his people now, as they march out against armies with state-of-the art weapons—chariots and horses—“Let’s fly the banner of faith and sing, ‘We trust in the name of the Lord our God.’”

As we move into Psalm 21, the king and his army are returning from battle as victors. Now this is really a coronation psalm. The last verse of Psalm 20 says, “Lord, save the king!” 和 Psalm 21 will essentially give the shout, “Long live the king!” And by the way, many nations in our w或者ld have used these psalms in the c或者onation of their kings.

Now here in chapter 21, the king has a crown of gold set upon his head. We read, “You set a crown of fine gold upon his head. He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever”(verses 3-4).

So, this sweeps us into the coronation ceremony of royalty. And let us not miss this—it also looks forward prophetically to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Let me tell you, beloved, the kingdoms of this world experience only a taste of what David is writing about here.

The immediate context, however, refers to all the pomp and circumstance of earthly kings. Bible scholars believe that Psalm 21 probably was written for, and then sung during, the coronation of King David and at the coronation ceremony of future kings. This psalm became Israel’s national anthem in a way—a psalm of thanksgiving to God.[29]

And this is David’s personal testimony as well. In verse 7 he writes, “For the king trusts in the Lord, 和 through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.”

That’s another way of saying, “Long live the king! Let his reign last a long time! Let him be given”—as verse 5 tells us—“splendor and majesty.”

One of my favorite authors was born in Great Britain nearly a hundred years ago. He writes about the customs of crowning an English king. After the king is dressed in his royal robe, after the royal ring is placed on his finger, symbolizing the marriage of the king with his kingdom, and after the crown is placed on his head by the archbishop, the people shout, “God save the king!” And that shout echoes throughout the cathedral.

Trumpets begin sounding, and the great guns at the Tower of London boom out so that all of England knows the new king has been crowned. Just before taking his seat on the throne, the king is presented with a copy of the Bible. All the princes and dignitaries then come and swear their allegiance to the new king. And once that ceremony of loyalty is completed, a choir rises to sing a selection of Scripture put to music—it could even be this psalm of David. With that, the people begin to shout and chant again, “Long live the king!”[30]

This is all a little foretaste of the coming millennial kingdom, when all the redeemed will shout and sing to Jesus, “Long live the King!”

The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus Christ will reign during that thousand-year kingdom on earth, which follows the tribulation period. His capital city will be Jerusalem. The people and nations of the world who refused the Antichrist and accepted the true Messiah will enter this glorious kingdom, and they will come to pay their respects and give their worship and praise to the King of Kings. Who knows? We might all be singing these very psalms at that coronation ceremony of King Jesus.

Frankly, I don’t think we can even imagine the splendor of the Lord’s coronation ceremony on that day. It will be glorious. The kings of all the nations of the world who have trusted in Christ during the tribulation period and have entered into that glorious millennial kingdom will come and swear their loyalty to Him (Revelation 21:24).

We will be there along with all the redeemed on that grand occasion as Jesus begins His reign on earth. We may well be shouting, “Long live the King!” And we will know in our hearts that He will indeed live and reign forever!

Now let me remind you that we can all begin rehearsing for that grand day, and we can start today. We can sing in our hearts and live out through our lives the meaning of these coronation psalms. “Lord Jesus, You are my Lord and my King. Reign and rule as King in my heart and in my life today.”

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The Psalm of Christ’s Suffering - Psalm 22

I believe all of Scripture is sacred and inspired—literally, God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). And even though all of this Book, the Bible, is sacred Scripture, there are some passages where you want to slip off your shoes because you recognize that you are standing, as it were, on holy ground.

Psalm 22 is that kind of sacred ground. It is one of the Bible’s most emotional and profound prophecies regarding the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

Now you might recognize the opening line of this great psalm. In fact, Jesus quoted it from the cross a thousand years after it was written: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).Beloved, nothing Jesus said on the cross was random or haphazard.

This psalm also gives us incredible insight into how Jesus felt while forsaken by His Father.The apostle Peter and the apostle John write that when Jesus hung on the cross, He bore in His own body the sins of the whole world (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2). As such, His communion with God the Father was severed.

The Father essentially turned His back on God the Son, as Jesus became drenched, so to say, with our sin.Jesus suffered as a man; but as the infinite Son of God, He was able to pay for all your sins and mine as a sacrifice on that wooden altar called the cross.

The psalm now takes us here in verse 6 to that crucifixion scene, as we hear the Lord saying,“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”Isaiah will later write of the Messiah’s rejection, “He was despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3). Both the Jewish and Gentile worlds conspired together to put Him to death.

In verses 7-8 David cites more words from the Lord’s perspective:“All who see me mock me . . . [They say,] He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him.” Matthew records, “The chief priests . . . scribes and elders, mocked him, saying . . . He trusts in God; let God deliver him” (Matthew 27:41, 43). They were fulfilling Psalm 22, word for word!

Let me go back to this expression in verse 6, where the Lord says of Himself, “I am a worm.” The Hebrew word for “worm” here refers to a specific type of worm called the scarlet worm. The word also can refer simply to a color—“crimson” as in Isaiah 1:18, or “scarlet” as in Exodus 25:4.

The scarlet worm attaches itself to a tree or a wooden post and then delivers her young. They are born, but she dies, and her body becomes their sustenance and refuge until they are old enough to fend for themselves. And when she dies, scarlet fluid from her body stains them and leaves a crimson stain on that tree where she has attached herself.[31] What a powerful illustration this is of Jesus, whose crimson-red blood stained the cross and covered us so that we could become children of God.

David now writes of the physical pain of the Lord’s death:

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd. (verses 14-15)

A potsherd is a broken piece of pottery that is all dried out.

David continues in verse 15, recording, “My tongue sticks to my jaws.” On top of everything else, Jesus was extremely thirsty.

Mark’s Gospel tells us Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh (Mark 15:23). This was a customary drink offered at crucifixion, but He would not drink it. Myrrh served as a narcotic to deaden the pain, and Jesus wanted to be in full control of everything He did and said on the cross. We have already learned that He was quoting Scripture!

Later on, Jesus cried out from the cross, “I thirst.” This time He was given bitter wine, which He accepted (John 19:28-30).

One author wrote that Jesus began His ministry hungry, and He ended His ministry thirsty.[32] And He is the one who gives satisfaction forever to those who hunger and thirst after God.

Now David speaks even more specifically about Christ’s crucifixion. And we need to understand that David is writing here about something he did not fully understand. You see, in his day crucifixion had not even been conceived yet. That would come later by the Persians and then be perfected by the Romans as the most hideous, cruel, painful means of execution.

But listen to what David writes here in verse 16:“They have pierced my hands and feet.”Beloved, this never happened to David. This is a prophecy reserved for the Son of David, the Messiah, whose hands and feet would be nailed to a cross.

David goes on to write in verse 18,“They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Does this sound familiar? This is one of the events at the cross that all four Gospels record. And that is probably because it gives such amazing prophetic testimony that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

John’s Gospel makes the connection crystal clear:

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts . . . But the tunic was seamless . . . so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it . . . This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, ‘They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.’” (John 19:23-24)

Beloved, you can’t miss it. Jesus the Messiah suffered and died on a cross, just as the Bible foretold, so that your sins and mine could be atoned for and forgiven.

Now the very last verse of this psalm triumphantly announces, “He has done it.” That same word is translated “He finished the work” in 2 Chronicles 4:11.[33]What did Jesus say just before He died on the cross? “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus did not say, “I am finished but it is finished.”

This psalm begins with Jesus saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” It ends with this victorious declaration: “He has done it.”

It’s finished. You could translate the expression in John, “Paid in full.” He paid for your redemption; He finished the payment.

The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Salvation is free to you because Jesus made the full payment. In fact, to add your good works as necessary for salvation is offensive to His great work, which He finished for you.

Have you trusted His work on the cross? Have you asked Him to be your personal Savior? Have you asked Him to cover you with His crimson blood, as it were, and wash away your sins? He will, and you can ask Him right now.

“Lord, You gave Your life for me”—say that to Him—“Lord, Your Word says that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13); so I’m calling now. You sacrificed Yourself; You shed Your blood for me; You paid for all my sin; so please forgive me, save me. I am trusting in You alone. Thank You for answering me today. And Lord, now that You’ve saved me, I just want is give my life back to You.”

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Following the Best Shepherd Ever - Psalm 23:1-3

Every time I read Psalm 23 it reminds me of how badly our world needs a shepherd. Whether it’s news of uprisings, rioting, corruption among world leaders, or war between countries, I am reminded again of how desperate the world is today, staggering around morally and ethically and spiritually confused.

The world needs a leader who knows the way to purpose and meaning and hope in life—and can assure those things. There’s only one Shepherd who qualifies to do that.

As David begins this great psalm, he seems to be bubbling over with joy. He says, “The Lord is my shepherd,” as if to say, “I want to introduce the only Shepherd worth following, and it’s the Lord.”

David uses the name Yahweh, translated “Lord” here. This is the Old Testament personal name for God, taken from the Hebrew verb for “I am” (see Exodus 3:14). This Hebrew word Yahweh is sometimes transliterated into English as Yehovah 或者 Jehovah.

This name highlights God’s self-sufficiency.[34]In other words, He doesn’t need anything. He doesn’t even need to be served or helped—even though it is our privilege to serve Him.

Yahweh is self-sufficient, self-contented, and self-sustaining. He doesn’t need anything from you or me. There’s almost a play on words in this psalm—the God who doesn’t need anything is the One who takes care of everything we need.

The key that unlocks this psalm is a personal relationship with the Shepherd. David writes, “The Lordis…” That is present tense. David is not saying, “The Lord used to be my Shepherd,” or, “You know, I’m thinking about trying Him out for a couple of months, and if things work out, I’ll let Him be my Shepherd.” No. David is saying, “Right now—present tense—I am following the Lord.”

The next word here is just as critical: “The Lord is my shepherd.” “My” is possessive. Friend, nothing this psalm promises will apply to you if you are saying, “The Lord is my mom and dad’s shepherd,” or “The Lord is my grandfather’s shepherd,” or “The Lord is my wife’s shepherd.” No. David writes, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Now you will notice that this psalm uses the life of sheep following their shepherd as a metaphor for the believer’s life. In the Old Testament, God is often portrayed as a shepherd. And in the New Testament, Jesus, God the Son, openly calls Himself “the good shepherd” (John 10:11).

David is using this metaphor because he has been a shepherd and he knows that people are a lot like sheep—and that is not necessarily a compliment.

·Sheep don’t clean themselves like other animals; they are content to stay dirty.

·Sheep are not good at finding suitable food or water; they are entirely dependent on their shepherd.

·Sheep wander away and are unable to find their way back; they need to be found and rescued by the shepherd.[35]

That’s the idea here as David begins this list of blessings for following the right Shepherd.

In fact, he completes his opening line here in verse 1 by writing, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” What does that mean? One little boy quoting this verse to his Sunday school teacher got the words turned around a bit and said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I want.”

Well, that is pretty good theology. Beloved, without a shepherd, sheep lack everything. But with the right shepherd, we “want,” or lack, nothing we truly need.

In verse 2, David writes, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” What does it mean, “He makes me lie down”? That reminds me of back when our twin boys were toddlers. Keeping them in their cribs at night was quite the challenge. In fact, we didn’t need an alarm in the morning—there they were, bright and early! We had a lot of trouble making them lie down. 

Well, David is not saying that God is making us lie down in the pasture even if we want to get up and run around. What he means is that God makes it possible for us to lie down.

I have learned from the writings of two experienced shepherds[36] that sheep will refuse to lie down until several things are taken care of. First, sheep will not lie down if they are hungry. They will stay on their feet, foraging for food. That is why David makes a point here that he is lying down in green—that is, fertile, satisfying—pastures. David says, “I can lie down because my soul—the hunger in my heart—is satisfied!”

Second, sheep will not lie down if they are afraid. If they hear the cry of a wolf in the distance or a barking dog, they are going to remain standing, ready to do the only thing they can do to escape, and that’s run.

I have read that as soon as the sheep see their shepherd, they settle down and even lie down. Perhaps that’s why we are encouraged today to keep our eyes on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Third, sheep will not lie down if they are thirsty. David adds at the end of verse 2, “He leads me beside still waters.”

Sheep will not drink from running, fast-moving water. And if they fall or get pushed into the water, their heavy coat of wool can become saturated and pull them under.[37] So, if a shepherd does not lead them to still, clean water, they are going to drink from polluted water and potentially become sick.[38]

Now in verse 3, David writes, “He restores my soul.” That phrase needs to be understood in light of shepherding terminology.

David is referring to the fact that at times he has been a cast sheep. That is a term for sheep that have turned over on their back, and because of their heavy wool, they often cannot roll back over onto their feet. They need to be restored—and quickly.

Cast sheep become easy prey for wild animals, and in the heat of the day, they can die in just a few hours.[39] There is only one solution—an alert, caring shepherd. You see, David is giving his testimony here. He is saying, “I know what it’s like being a cast sheep, flat on my back spiritually; and I know what it’s like for my Shepherd to rescue me and put me back on my feet.”

Notice the next phrase in verse 3. David writes, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The word for “paths” here describes wagon tracks in a road. Our Shepherd leads us along the wagon tracks of righteousness—this is the right path.

The problem with sheep is that they blindly follow each other—sometimes the wrong way! Even though it can be very dangerous, sheep will literally follow the tail of the sheep in front of them. We get the expression “tailing somebody” from sheep. We often follow people too closely as well.

But David says you can always identify the path the Lord is leading you on. It is going to be marked by the wagon tracks of righteousness—by integrity, truth, purity, and satisfaction.

Do you know what David is doing here? He is bragging on his wonderful Shepherd. 

Think about that. Is it not your mission in life as a Christian to do the same thing? You are to tell your wandering, confused, needy world about a Shepherd who is worth following.

You are to say to your world, “Hey, the grass really is greener over here. Why don’t you come over and join me in following the Lord, the Good Shepherd? He is the best Shepherd ever!”

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From the Pasture to the Palace - Psalm 23:4-6

In the first three verses of Psalm 23, David has described the provision of the Lord. Now, in the last three verses, he will describe for us the protection of the Lord.

David writes here in verse 4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” I want you to notice here that David does not write, “Even though I walk through the valley of death.” No, he writes, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”

That is a world of difference. Shadows cannot hold onto you; shadows cannot harm you. David says here that death is just a shadow. Death did not hurt your godly mother or grandfather or little child. To be absent from the body, Paul wrote, is to be immediately in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The grip of death is no more powerful than a shadow. And that means the valley of the shadow of death is not a dead end; it’s a highway. And it’s a busy one too. Some 55 million people will die in the next twelve months on Planet Earth. The valley of the shadow of death is more like an interstate highway, and it always looks like rush hour.

Beloved, we are not in the land of the living, heading for the land of the dying; we are in the land of the dying, heading for the land of the living. That makes it even more important that you are following the right Shepherd, the one who can take you safely all the way to heaven.

David refers here in verse 4 to two instruments used by every good shepherd—the rod and the staff. The rod was typically made from a young sapling about two feet tall. The natural bulb on the root end would be shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood. Shepherds would often put stones or bits of metal into that knob to make it a fearful weapon.[40] Phillip Keller writes that while in Africa, he enjoyed watching the young shepherd boys practicing with their rods, learning how to throw them with amazing speed and accuracy.[41]

The rod came to represent power and authority. Ancient kings are shown in excavated drawings with a shepherd’s rod in their hand. Over the centuries, the shepherd’s rod eventually would morph into the royal scepter. In Psalm 2, David prophesies that the Messiah will one day rule the nations with a rod of iron, meaning He will be invincible.

The staff also was formed from a young sapling with one end soaked in water, heated, rubbed with oil, and bent over so that it hardened into the shape of a crook. It was useful for pulling branches down for food, rescuing animals trapped just out of reach, and pulling out sheep caught in bushes and crevices and mud.[42] 

The staff also was used to guide the sheep and keep them on the path. One author said he has watched a shepherd walking alongside a special or favorite sheep with his staff against the sheep’s side so they are “in touch,” almost as if they were holding hands.[43]

David says of the Lord’s rod and staff here in verse 4, “They comfort me.” The Shepherd gives reassurance. He assists, He cares for, He guides, and He protects His sheep.

Now in verse 5 we are given another picture of the Lord’s protection. David writes, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

This table doesn’t have plates and napkins. In Spanish Bibles this word for table is translated “mesa”; it pictures a flat area with a grassy top. A good shepherd would take the time to prepare this tableland for his flocks. He would walk through it looking for any poisonous weeds.[44]

So, what about the presence of these enemies David writes about? From their hiding places in the shadows and canyon walls, predators are watching and waiting. But in the presence of the Shepherd, there is safety. It’s as if the Lord says to David, “Here, sit down. I have prepared a table for what you need in life. There is no need to rush.”

Next, David writes “You anoint my head with oil.” What does he mean? I have heard preachers say this is the Holy Spirit’s anointing or this is David’s royal consecration as king. But those ideas miss entirely the context of shepherding.

Sheep are especially troubled by nasal flies that buzz around their head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp nose and in the ear passages of the sheep. If they are successful, and they often are, larvae hatch and work their way into the nasal passages and ears of the sheep. For relief from the agony, sheep will beat their heads against trees, posts, or even rocks. In extreme cases, the sheep may fatally hurt themselves in a desperate attempt to rid themselves of the aggravation.

David knew what it meant to pull that sheep close to him and take out his flask of oil—a homemade concoction of olive oil, sulphur, and some spices. The shepherd would rub it around the nose and ears of the sheep, bringing relief and cleansing. David is illustrating a personal encounter with his Shepherd, the Lord, who deals with the sin and contamination that has burrowed into his life and offers forgiveness.

And what a relief that is to his mind and heart! David puts it this way: “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” That is another way of saying, “I am overjoyed to be rid of that sin that so disturbed and irritated and distracted me.”

Then David writes in verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”The Hebrew verb actually means David is being pursued—he is being pursued—by goodness and mercy.[45]

You have the Shepherd in front of you and His two faithful sheepdogs following behind you. And what are their names? Goodness and Mercy. This refers to the Lord’s care and His unbreakable promises.[46]

Notice especially how David settles forever an important issue here—one that might be on your mind today. Is God’s care for me—His goodness and mercy—given to me only when I deserve it? On good days only? What about when I fail Him? What about on those bad days? David writes, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days”—every day—“of my life.”

So, look behind you, beloved—you are being chased, as it were, all the way home by His mercy and goodness. And then what?

David says here at the end of Psalm 23 that he is going to change locations. When he comes to the end of his days, David writes, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Notice that change. He is going to move out of the pasture and into the Father’s house.

That’s quite a change of address. But mark this: one thing is not changing through life and here at the end of life, and that’s the one who led him all the way—his Shepherd.

So, David writes with confidence here—and this is for all believers as well—when our days are done, we will trade in that pasture for a palace and dwell in the house of the Lord, our Shepherd, our King; and we will dwell with Him forever.

Adopting the Testimony of David - Psalms 24–26

In Psalm 24, David asks similar questions to those he asked back in Psalm 15:1. Let’s take a closer look here in verse 3, where David asks, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?”

As you read the Psalms, you will come across these two places David mentions here—the hill 和 the holy place. The hill refers to Mount Zion, or simply Zion. The first time we see the word Zion in Scripture is back in 2 Samuel 5:7, where we read, “David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.”

So, Mount Zion is in this range of hills where David builds the capital city of Jerusalem. This hill country was important real estate long before David captured it from the Jebusites. This was the same place where Abraham had been willing to offer up his only son Isaac. It was also the place where Solomon would build that beautiful temple for the worship of God.

And along this same ridge of hills was the place where Jesus would be crucified on an altar, in the shape of a cross. We call that hilltop, Mount Calvary, where the final sacrificial Lamb of God came to die for the sins of the world.

Now David not only refers to the hill (Mount Zion) in this psalm; he also refers to the holy place. This is in the same neighborhood, but the holy place refers specifically to the temple mount. The holy place is essentially a reference to the temple and to the presence of God and the worship of God at this sacred spot. Frankly, there’s no piece of real estate in the world as sacred as this range of hills.

Throughout the Bible you will read references to the hill and the holy place. The hill represents the capital city of King David, and the holy place is a reference to spiritual power—the glorious temple of God.

So, the hill represents secular power, and the temple represents spiritual power.[47] And let’s remember that it is in the spiritual realm where the real power resides. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;he turns it wherever he will.” Kings and congresses might think they are up there on their little hill running things, but God is ultimately steering everything toward His divine purposes.

David, then, is asking here in verse 3, “Who has the right to go up that hill and rest in the power of God, and who can go up to that holy place to worship God?” Immediately, he gives the answer in verse 4: “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.”

David goes on in the next verse to say that the one who can stand in this holy place will “receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

The clear implication here is that you get clean hands and a pure heart by being forgiven. You have to make a trip up Mount Calvary and kneel, as it were, at the foot of the cross where Jesus paid for your sin. He is the only one who can clean your hands and clean your heart and make you righteous—that is, make you right with God.

With that, David breaks out in a song of triumph through the rest of this psalm. Verse 7 celebrates: “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”

During the earthly days of the Lord Jesus, this passage was quoted by religious leaders on the day following the Sabbath; that is, on the first day of the week, or Sunday. And what happened on a Sunday, a thousand years after David wrote this psalm? Well, here came Jesus, mounted on a donkey (which represented a peaceful reign), entering Jerusalem. The people sang, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” while priests were in the temple singing, “Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” Well, the King of glory had just come in through those gates.[48]

Did any of them connect the dots back then? Sadly, they did not, and the singing would soon turn to shouting for His death. And they would take Jesus up that ridge of hills to the place we call Mount Calvary, where he would die, just as He had planned, as our substitute, dying to pay the penalty for our sin.

Now we come to Psalm 25, where David begins each stanza with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet—a device that serves as a memory aid for the people. David gives us the theme of this psalm in verses 4-5:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.

David is effectively saying, “Lord, unless You teach me and You lead me, I’m going to choose the wrong path.”

David then praises the Lord, saying, “He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way” (verses 8-9).

You see, David knows he didn’t sin just when he was younger; now he’s an older sinner. Frankly, you and I were sinners when we were younger too, and we’re still sinners today. Our hearts get dirty so quickly. Sometimes our hearts get dirty before we are even out of the driveway in the morning. We need daily cleansing, and we need daily direction.

As we move on to Psalm 26, David begins in verse 1, saying to the Lord, “I have walked in my integrity,” and near the end in verse 11, he states, “I shall walk in my integrity.” He’s saying, “This is my testimony today, and I want this to be my testimony in the future!”

I was curious, so I searched the word integrity on the internet. In less than a second, there were literally 26 million places for me to go.

I looked at some of them, and it became obvious that nobody knew how to get integrity. There was no connection between integrity and a relationship with the Lord. But that is exactly how David describes integrity here. It’s having a right relationship with God.

David illustrates integrity, writing further in verse 1, “I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.”Now David is not claiming perfection; he is claiming progression. At this moment he is thrilled to have a testimony of trusting the Lord. Read all of David’s psalms, and you will find there were times when he wasn’t trusting the Lord—but in this psalm he is.

So, what is your testimony today? That’s the question. Adopt David’s testimony. Make it your testimony today to worship God and rest in the power of God and find cleansing in your heart through the forgiveness of God.(end)

William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army in 1870 used to say, “You can’t make a person clean by washing his shirt.”[49] In other words, true cleansing is a matter of the heart. And only Jesus can cleanse your heart from sin.

So, let’s adopt David’s testimony as our own. Let’s ask for cleansing today and then declare, “I will walk with integrity and in a right relationship with God today.”

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Waiting on God - Psalms 27–29

I’ll never forget years ago when my youngest daughter was around four years of age. She was riding along with me, and the traffic light turned yellow. I gave it the gas and scooted through the intersection just in time. I can still remember her looking over at me and in perfect innocence and sincerity asking me, “Daddy, does yellow mean speed up?” I wish my wife hadn’t taught her the colors so soon. I had some explaining to do.

The truth is, I just don’t like to wait. I imagine you are the same way—although I hope you are a better example. But I must tell you, few things are more challenging to me than having to wait on God. How about you?

One author challenged my thinking when he wrote, “[How long we] wait is not as important as what we’re doing while we wait . . . Give us something to do while we wait, and the wait becomes [bearable].”[50]

And that is exactly what David has in mind as he writes here in Psalm 27 on the subject of waiting on God. The theme of this psalm is actually in the last verse, where David writes, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, 和 let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (verse 14).

Wait for the Lord, but don’t just sit there and wait. David gives us some good things to do while we wait.

First, start reminding yourself of the truths you already know. That’s what David does here in verse 1, when he writes, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”In other words, “I’m going to remind myself that the God who saved me isn’t going to abandon me; He is the source of my light and my salvation.”

As David reminds himself of who God is, he is moved to worship the Lord. He says in verse 6, “I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”

In other words, “It’s dark all around me, but I’m going to sing to Him: my light and my salvation.”Maybe that is why the Lord sometimes has us wait—to remind us of who He is and what He has done. That has a way of infusing courage into our hearts as we wait for whatever He is going to do next.

Here’s a second thing we can do: remain open to new truths you haven’t yet learned. David writes in verse 11,“Teach me your way, O Lord.”

David is saying, “Lord, I’m willing to sign up for some new course in life.” By the way, when you are waiting on God, He has essentially enrolled you in some new faith-building course. You can’t audit the course; you have to do all the homework.

Are you willing to take a seat in that classroom God has assigned for you today? David writes, “Teach me your way, O Lord.” In other words, “Don’t let me stay ign或者ant in my way of thinking—my way of living. Teach me Your way, Lord.”

He writes further here in verse 11, “Lead me on a level path.” David is not praying, “Lord, lead me on an easy path.” His prayer is, “Lead me on a level path—that is, a path I can walk, as You lead me.”

Now in Psalm 28 David writes with a heart of confidence and hope. He sings here in verses 6-7:

Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped.

David now prays for his people in verse 9: “Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” What a great example this is of caring about others even when you have plenty to be concerned about yourself.

This reminds me of the apostle Paul, who wrote:

[God] comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

(2 C或者inthians 1:4)

Hope and comfort are things God intends for us to constantly give away.

Unless you are living in a bubble, your life is touching others. You have other people in the traffic pattern of your life—a spouse, children, neighbors, friends, coworkers—who have been impacted by some challenge in life.

Well, share what you have learned in class, where the Lord taught you His ways and gave your heart courage. Don’t keep what you have learned all to yourself. This is the one time you can actually let somebody copy your answers on a test—that test you have had in life. Share your answers with others.

Now Psalm 29 takes us into a scene where David is evidently witnessing a storm rising over the Mediterranean Sea and then moving eastward and over the mountains and on south to the wilderness. On a clear day in Israel, you can stand on a mountain as I have and see for miles around.

David is perched somewhere, and he is watching this storm. He writes in verse 3, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters.” He’s referring to thunder crashing out over the Mediterranean Sea.

By the way, the pagan nations around him believed that Baal was the god of thunder—the god who controlled the storms. But David says here, “No, that’s the Creator’s voice; He is the one in control of every storm in life.”

David even writes in verse 5, “The voice of the Lord breaks . . . the cedars of Lebanon.”Storms can actually topple the trees in Lebanon. And these cedar trees in Lebanon grew 100 feet tall and six feet in diameter.[51]Yet, the power of God, David writes, can treat these trees as if they were toothpicks in a jar!

As this storm moves off into the wilderness, and David watches the skies pour down rain, he is reminded that God was in control of the greatest flood of water to ever hit Planet Earth. He writes here in verse 10, “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.”

This Hebrew word here for flood is rare. In fact, the only other time in all the Old Testament the word appears is in the Genesis account of the flood that covered the earth.[52] David is saying that if the Lord was in control of that massive, global storm, He is powerful enough to manage whatever storm has entered your life today.

Maybe right now you are experiencing a downpour. It may be just a quick shower and the sun will be out fairly soon. But it could be that it’s been raining for days, the water is rising, and there is no sign of it letting up; it is one thunder crash after another.

Make sure, beloved, that none of this is wasted time in your life. Be teachable and trusting as God navigates your little ark through the flood of water.

David has weathered plenty of storms himself, and he writes here as a veteran storm survivor.

David tells us that courage and hope will grow when we remind ourselves of what we already know is true about God.

And then let’s learn all over again, if need be, that God is never in a hurry. He doesn’t run yellow lights. He doesn’t need to, and that’s because He is always on time. And He will be on time for you.

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Eating Humble Pie - Psalms 30–32

In the seventeenth century, elaborate hunting expeditions were held by the wealthy landowners. They camped out in the open during their hunt, but this wasn’t just a little tent and a campfire; they had large, elaborate tents that housed kitchens, dressing rooms, and even personal libraries. It was not unusual to bring along dozens of guests and paid musicians.

After a successful hunt, the expedition turned into a time of feasting. However, the servants were not included. While their landlords and their guests enjoyed venison, the servants were given the remaining organs of the deer, which they referred to as umbles. The umbles would be cleaned, mixed with fruit and vegetables, wrapped in dough, and then baked. It came out looking like a pie. The servants called it umble pie.[53] 

This term would change over the course of time and come to refer to someone who lived in humble circumstances. The phrase also came to refer to someone who had been caught or embarrassed because of some crime or failure. That person was said to be “eating his humble pie.”

The truth is, nobody likes to eat humble pie. For one thing, it doesn’t go down easily. I have been to a lot of restaurants over the years, and I have never seen “Humble Pie” on the menu.

It’s human nature to stay away from that stuff. To love yourself, promote yourself, advertise yourself, and defend yourself—that is a lot more appetizing than the humiliation of admitting your failure, or “eating humble pie.”

These next three psalms all deal with the subject of pride. David also describes what it means to be humbled. In fact, he reveals the joy that comes when we humble ourselves before God, confess our sin, and turn to Him.

In Psalm 30, we learn that David had sinned against the Lord. We are not exactly sure what it was, but it was related to some act or attitude of pride.[54]

The psalm opens with David celebrating the Lord’s grace in drawing him up like a bucket from a well. He says in verse 1, “I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up.” The Lord has lifted him back up. And in verse 6 he admits that it was his pride that put him down there in the first place; he writes, “I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’” Well, there is the pride. Did you hear the Lord’s name in that boasting? I didn’t either.

David writes in verse 7, “Lord . . . you hid your face; I was dismayed.” He should not have been surprised by God’s reaction, but David’s pride had blinded him.

One of the warning signs that the Lord is about to give you a slice of humble pie is when you hear yourself using the words, I, me, 和 my. When your focus is on you, God 和 other people take a backseat. So, let me ask you some hard questions:

·Do you crave attention?

·Can you rejoice when someone else gets the spotlight?

·Do you have a hard time forgiving others?

·Can you easily find fault in others but cannot see any fault in yourself?

·Do you blame God or other people for the failures in your life, or can you see your own hand in them?

But let me give you the good news. David opens this psalm by celebrating the Lord's grace in drawing him back up like a bucket from a deep well. He says here in verse 1, “I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up.” David says again, here of the Lord in verse 5, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor [his grace] is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with a morning.” Those are great promises.

As we move into Psalm 31, David is now humble before the Lord, but pride is still lingering on his mind. He writes in verse 23: Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.” ”—as if to say he’s gonna serve that person a slice of humble pie.

And what's the result? Well, he says back here in verse 10, “My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” Listen, beloved, we waste our lives when we focus on I, me, and my. But what does it mean to demonstrate humility? What does that look like?

Well, it’s really thrilling to think that Jesus pulls verse 5 right out of this psalm, and our humble servant, the Lord Jesus, quotes it just before He dies, when He prays, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). Then He draws His final breath and dies for your sins and mine.

Well now, following these two psalms that address the subject of pride, David gives us a personal testimony of confession in Psalm 32.

David wrote Psalm 32 in response to his adultery. His sin with Bathsheba and the arranged death of her husband were nothing less than evil manifestations of pride. David sinned greatly, but in his pride, he refused to confess his sin.

Nearly a year went by before the prophet Nathan confronted David, back in 2 Samuel chapter 12. That confrontation brought the truth to light, and David broke down in genuine repentance. Immediately following David’s admission, he wrote his confession to the Lord in Psalm 51, and we will get there soon enough. But in Psalm 51:13 David promised to teach transgressors the way of God so that sinners would return to the Lord.

Psalm 32 is the fulfillment of that promise. David is teaching us all here how to respond to sin and the pride that lurks behind every sin.

David begins by revealing to us that pride blocks the blessing of God. In the first two verses of Psalm 32, David writes:

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit, there is no deceit.

Notice this word transgression. It means “crossing over the line,” going too far.” The word for “sin” here means “to miss the mark.” In other words, sin is missing the target of righteousness. It can also refer to realizing that you are missing something in life. Beloved, sin does not bring a sense of fulfillment; it brings a sense of emptiness. And then the Hebrew word for “iniquity” means “twisted.”[55]

These three synonyms here—transgression, sin, 和 iniquity—are all rooted in pride. Just like plaque can stop the flow of blood to your heart, pride can block the flow of God’s blessing in your life.

What is the solution? David teaches us here to go to the heart Doctor—it’s time for another checkup. David writes in verse 5:

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” 和 you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

There is nothing like the relief of confessing your sin and being forgiven by the Lord. No wonder David ends this psalm with joy in verse 11 as he celebrates a clean conscience and a clean heart: “Be glad in the Lord, 和 rejoice, O righteous [righteous refers to being right with God] 和 shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

With confession, your heart is made right. It is clean once again.

Let me encourage you with the reminder that whenever the Lord sits you down in life and serves you a piece of humble pie, it might not taste good, but it isn’t going to hurt you. It’s nonfattening. It’s actually good for you. It reminds you of your sin, but it leads you to your Savior and confession of your sin. And as you confess your sin—every day—you leave that table with a renewed sense of fellowship with the Lord and a renewed sense of joy and thanksgiving. You are ready for another day as you walk with your faithful, gracious, forgiving Redeemer and Lord.

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A Prayer for the Justice of God - Psalms 33–35

The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it is filled with emotion. One of my favorite Bible teachers, G. Campbell Morgan, wrote many years ago that whatever your changing mood might be, you will find a psalm to express it. Are you sad? You can find a psalm that will help you cry. Are you glad? You will find a psalm to help you sing. But in every one of these psalms, whether in a major or minor key, the singer is very conscious of the Lord.[56]

Now here in Psalm 33, we are not told who the author is, but one thing is for sure—this is written in the major key as the songwriter sweeps us up into joyful praise of God. The author calls for this psalm to be accompanied by the lyre—the forerunner of the guitar—and also a harp with ten strings. And with them playing the melody, the songwriter sings in verse 3, “Sing to him [the Lord] a new song.”

He praises the Lord as the great Creator in verse 6: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts.” And in verse 12, He makes a powerful statement that can be applied to every nation on earth: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

That is true to this day. The nation that follows God is blessed; and the nation that rejects God is going to pay the penalty in a thousand different ways: confusion, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, and despair.

Psalm 34 is more of the same, but it is anchored to an event in the life of King David. The heading of this psalm says, “When [David] changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.” You will find that event recorded in 1 Samuel 21, where David was running for his life from King Saul. David fled to the gate of his own personal enemy, King Abimelech, no doubt thinking, The enemy of my enemy (Saul) will be my friend. Well, that was not the case at all, and David pretended to be insane in order to get away.

David realized his life had been spared by God, and he writes here in verse 3, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together!” And in verse 8, he adds, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” David also sings here in verse 18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

How are you feeling today? Joyful? Then sing along with David, “Let us exalt his name together!” Are you sad or crushed in spirit today? Then sing along with David, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” He delivers those whose spirits are crushed by the weight of sorrow.

You might even be angry at those who have hurt you. Maybe somebody has done something to you that is so wicked, you are praying that God’s justice will show up and make things right.

This next psalm, Psalm 35, is one of those moments for David. Verse 1 sets the stage for us: “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!”

David is pleading with the Lord to take these enemies and toss them out of his way. David describes their evil actions in verse 7: “Without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.” And in verses 11-12 we readthat“malicious witnesses rise up” and seek to repay him “evil for good.”

I don’t know who these people were, but they were not very nice at all. In fact, they were downright wicked. David wants the Lord to fight against them on his behalf.

He writes back in verse 6, “Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!” In other words, David wants their path to be slippery so they will eventually get caught. 

Then in verse 8, he says:

Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction!

This type of psalm is called an “imprecatory psalm.” Such psalms call out for divine judgment on one’s enemies.

Does that rub you the wrong way? Didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies”?Yes, He did. But don’t forget that one day every enemy of God and righteousness will face the wrath and judgment of God.

Let’s make sure we pause long enough to understand the context of these imprecatory psalms so they are not so confusing to us. Remember, these psalms are in the Old Testament, and they are going to relate to the covenant God made with Abraham and the nation of Israel. In that covenant back in Genesis 12, God promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you [that is, Abraham and his offspring], and him who dishonors you I will curse.”So, judgment against wickedness, expressed here as a curse, originates with God.

The Lord also expanded that covenant with David and his offspring in 2 Samuel 7, giving them a special role in God’s plan. The Lord said to David there in verse 16, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.” Now that covenant ultimately will be fulfilled one day through Jesus, the legal descendant of David, when He reigns on David’s throne forever.

And by the way, don’t forget that David lived under the law of Moses, and, as king, he was responsible to rule his kingdom by the law. The law contained the eye-for-an-eye principle, given back in Exodus 21:23-24: “If there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”Justice is the purpose of this law, and justice includes punishment that matches the crime.

Now all these covenant promises provide a basis for the imprecatory psalms, where you find David or some other author calling for literal judgment against the enemies of Israel. Now you might read one of these imprecatory psalms and think the author just wants personal vengeance. No, he is actually defending Israel in relation to the covenant promise of God’s protection.

Now let me give you a principle in Bible interpretation: “the first mention of any given subject provides the key to [understanding] it.”[57] And the first imprecatory verse in Psalms is Psalm 5:10,[58] where David calls for God’s justice to fall on his enemies:

Because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you [God].

Here is the message I want you to remember, beloved—and it’s not a popular message today—God hates sin and will one day judge the unrepentant sinner with perfect justice.

Now God is not immediately acting in judgment on the enemies of the church today, as He did in the Old Testament with the enemies of Israel. The apostle Paul tells us in this dispensation of the church age, God’s wrath against sinners is being stored up all the way to the final day of judgment.

Well, back here in the Old Testament, in this imprecatory psalm, David wants God to be honored. David wants the law immediately upheld here and now. Imprecatory psalms ask for that judgment to fall on the enemies of the righteous.

Let me put it this way: Suppose as a child you face a bully on the school bus. Every time you get on that bus, he beats you up or takes your lunch money. What are you going to do about it? Well, if you have a big brother, you are going to ask him to get on the bus one day with you and take care of that bully.

That is what David is doing here. The justice of God is that big brother. And David wants him to get on the bus, so to speak, and take care of his enemies.

This psalm is also an invitation to make sure you have hidden your life in your big Brother, Jesus Christ, who suffered the just wrath of God on your behalf. And now that you are forgiven, you can actually love your enemies and also leave them to God. He just might take care of them now; but remember, if they do not repent and come to Christ, they will suffer more than you can imagine, on that coming day of judgment.

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Walking in the Light - Psalms 36–38

Word pictures often are helpful expressions, and we use them all the time. We talk about people having “steam coming out of their ears!” In other words, they are mad and about to explode! We talk about others who have “their ears to the ground.” That doesn’t mean they are listening for bugs; it means they are staying informed.

Sometimes we can turn a word picture into a question like, “Who’s got ahold of your ear?” which means, “to whom are you listening?” And that is exactly what David is about to ask us all here in Psalm 36.

Now in the first part of this psalm, David describes people who have given their ear to the voice of sin. He writes in verse 1, “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart.”“Transgression” is a word that refers to moral rebellion.

Listen, when transgression has your ear, it is going to lead you to revolt against what God says is morally right. You are even going to be able to convince yourself that you know better than God. David goes on in verse 1, saying, “There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out.”The wicked person is convinced that what he is doing is not wrong and that God will not hold him accountable either.

People who give their ear to transgression end up traveling down a road of darkness and disillusionment. They end up drinking from the mud puddles of sin. It doesn’t satisfy their thirst; it only makes them wander around empty and unfulfilled.

David describes someone who listens to the Lord as walking, not in darkness, but in the light. He writes, “For with you [Lord] is the fountain of life” (verse 9).It is not a mud puddle; it is a fountain that satisfies your thirst.

David writes further inverse 9,“In your light do we see [the] light.”In Him is not a life of darkness but a life filled with clarity and light.

A thousand years later, Jesus takes this text and applies it to Himself as he declares in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So, who are you listening to today? Let me tell you, whoever has your ears eventually controls your eyes and ultimately directs your feet—either toward the darkness or toward the light.

Now David knows that the believer is going to be surrounded by people who reject the light. In fact, the majority of the human race to this day walk in darkness. The next psalm reminds us, first of all, to not get angry with those who choose the darkness.

Two times in Psalm 37, David tells the believer not to fret. He writes in verse 1: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers” and in verse 8: “Fret not yourself...”

The Hebrew word for “fret” means “to blaze” or “to get hot.” In other words, he is saying not to get all hot and bothered by wickedness in our world. Expect sinners to sin. Getting mad about evildoers will not turn on the light. It’s not going to solve anything. It will only make sinners your enemy instead of your mission field.

And that is why David reminds us in verse 3 to continue to “trust in the Lord, 和 do good” 和 in verse 5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord.” Leave the final judgment to Him 和 focus on shining the light of God’s truth into your dark w或者ld.

The word for “commit” here literally means “to roll over.” He is not talking about hitting the snooze button and rolling over in bed. He’s talking about taking your burdens, your cares, those things that make you want to fret and get hot and angry, and rolling them all over onto the Lord. The apostle Peter picked up this same idea when he wrote of “casting all your anxieties on [the Lord], because he cares for you”(1 Peter 5:7).

David also reminds us here in Psalm 37 that a day is coming when God will set everything in order. He writes in verse 10, “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.” 

Let that sink in: In just a little while, the wicked will no longer be in “his place.” The word for “his place” refers to his station, his position of authority, or his office. There is coming a day when the wicked will no longer be in office. They will not have positions of influence here on earth.

So, what is going to change? David tells us that in just a little while “the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace”(verse 11).

It’s been three thousand years since David wrote that in just a little while the wicked are going to lose their office and the meek shall rule. He is referring to the coming kingdom of Jesus the Messiah. But “in just a little while”? All I can tell you is that “just a little while” is a whole lot closer now than it was three thousand years ago.

Jesus quoted this text in Matthew 5:5, when He promised, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Both the Hebrew word for “meek” used by David here in Psalm 37 and the Greek word used by Jesus in Matthew 5 mean the same thing: “humble.” The humble, the “meek,” shall inherit the earth one day.

We need to understand that meekness does not mean weakness. We tend to think of it that way today. We say, “That man is a meek man.” That usually means he is a doormat—he’s afraid of his own shadow.

But a meek person in Scripture is not a weak person but one who is humble and submissive to the Lord. And one day, Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom, and those who belong to Him will be assigned the place—the office, the position of authority—as followers of Christ.

So, how do you become a follower of Christ? It begins with repentance and confession. And it is no coincidence that the next psalm, Psalm 38, offers us a model of confession.

We have already studied two other psalms that deal with confession, Psalm 6 and Psalm 32. And here it is again. Now I have mentioned the principle of repetition in the Bible—God repeats Himself. And it’s a good thing He does because we might have ignored Him the first time.

So, in case we missed it, God gives us, through the testimony of David, a picture of true confession. He says to the Lord in verse 18, “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

True confession is honest admission. There are no excuses. There is no, “The devil made me do it,” “I was having a bad day,” or, “It wasn’t really me.” There is only, “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

Let me tell you, beloved, these are ten words we ought to become good at repeating in our own lives: “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

These ten words can open the floodgates of grace, not only before God, but also before other people in our lives. These are ten words that can rebuild a bridge that’s been torn down, ten words that can restore a relationship, ten words that can change the course of your life. And when you come to Jesus Christ for salvation and confess your sin to Him, these ten words can take you out of the kingdom of darkness and bring you into the kingdom of light.

Now if you’ve said those ten words to the Lord, then you now belong to Him; well, maybe you need to say those words to someone today.

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Choosing Words of Praise - Psalms 39–41

I have read that the average person speaks around 12,000 sentences every day, made up of some 50,000 words. If that were put into print, you would produce a paperback edition of around 150 pages every day.

Frankly, at the end of the day, I doubt any of us would want to sit down and read much of what we said. And we probably said far too much. Someone once said, it takes a baby two years to learn how to talk and then fifty years to learn how to keep quiet.

However, let me just say this: speech is one of the greatest gifts God has given to humanity. We just need to surrender what we say to His control.

Now we arrive today at Psalm 39, and it seems like David has taken a page right out of the book of James.[59]

The heading of this psalm simply says, “to Jeduthun.”He was one of the men David appointed in 1 Chronicles 16:41 to always “give thanks to the Lord.”

Imagine that—his job was to remind the king and the people that God was to be praised. I don’t know how that worked, but perhaps in the morning, when Jeduthun arrived at the palace, he would say, “Praise God for another day.” Perhaps in meetings throughout the day, he would remind everyone that even though they were facing challenges and needs, they needed to thank the Lord. Just imagine that your job—your career—was to thank the Lord.

The truth is, we don’t always use our speech in a positive manner. David says here in verse 1, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue.” But then he admits in verse 3, “My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.”

One translation reads, “The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words” (NLT). You and I know exactly what David means!

Despite his best efforts, he could not hold his tongue any longer. Bible scholars believe his anger was related to disloyal enemies within his kingdom.[60]

So, David now prays for a fresh perspective, and, again, it sounds a lot like the book of James. David writes in verse 4:

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is.” (NLT)

The letter of James calls life a vapor that so quickly vanishes away.[61] I am reminded of a little poem I heard years ago:

When I was a child I laughed and wept,

Time crept.

When I became a full-grown man,

Time ran.

When older still I daily grew,

Time flew.[62]

David is essentially saying here, “In light of how brief life is, and in light of how good God is, I’m not going to waste my time or energy yelling in hot anger at my enemies, hoping they will change.” No, he writes here in verse 7, “O Lord; for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”

In the next psalm—Psalm 40—David turns to praising God for strength. The heading here tells us that this psalm of David was given to “the choirmaster.” Now this was another interesting job. Jeduthun’s job was to continually thank the Lord, and the choirmaster’s job was to put these psalms to music.

I can picture David writing out these lyrics and walking over to the tabernacle area where the choir director might have had an office. I imagine David and the choirmaster talking through these lyrics, determining the major or minor key. David would have explained what he was thinking and how he was feeling. I can imagine that these conversations were special, sacred moments, and that is because they both understood they were collaborating on this growing collection of songs to lead the people to trust in, praise, and pour out their hearts to the true and living God.

David hands this transcript to the choirmaster, and says, “Put this to music; let’s sing it sometime soon.”

Well, this particular song begins with a personal testimony. David writes:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me 和 heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. (verses 1-3)

He writes in verse 5:

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wonderous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with You! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

In other words, there are not enough stanzas in this psalm to cover all the goodness and faithfulness of God, but let’s sing a few of them. In verse 9 David is saying, “Let’s get the entire congregation of Israel involved in singing,” and verse 10, “Let’s make sure this song reminds the congregation that God is faithful.”

By the way, what are you doing today when you gather in church and sing with the congregation? You are reminding yourself in that great assembly of the goodness and faithfulness of God. There is nothing quite like it, as far as I’m concerned.

Now with that we move on into Psalm 41. This is the last psalm in the first section of the book of Psalms. The psalms found in the book of Psalms actually were written over a long period of time. David wrote half of them; Asaph wrote some of them, and we know that Moses wrote one of them some five hundred years before David—that rather well-known Ninetieth Psalm, where we are told in verse 12 to number our days and present to God a heart of wisdom.

That verse, by the way, is the key verse we have taken for our ministry, Wisdom International, and this program called 智慧之旅. We want to develop a heart of wisdom that can come only through God’s Word.

All these psalms eventually were collected into five books—combined for us in our Bibles today in one book. Each of the five books, or sections, of Psalms ends with a doxology. We now come to the end of Book One here in Psalm 41, where David continues the theme of praise and trust. And here in the final verse, we have this great doxology: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen” (verse 13).

There’s a double amen here! The Hebrew word amen means truth.[63] David is saying, “This is the truth, and it’s not only true, but it’s doubly true.” The Lord is worthy of praise forever and ever—it’s true, amen and amen!

If you’re going to speak 50,000 words today, make sure you dedicate some of them to the glory of God. Find a reason to praise the Lord, whether it is something great, like your salvation, or even something like how beautiful those clouds in the sky are today.

Now it might not be our job, so to speak, to give thanks; it might not be our job to write music. But it is our joy to give thanks and sing praise to God today. So, let’s guard our lips. Let’s choose our words with care.

There is an old prayer from the deep south that is a good one to repeat every so often. It goes like this: “Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I’ve said enough.”

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Dry Seasons and Discouraging Times - Psalms 42–44

One of the wonderful invitations you receive when you study the book of Psalms is to honestly and openly pour out your heart to the Lord. No matter your mood or emotion, fearfulness or confidence, the Lord is ready and waiting to hear.

These next psalms certainly do just that as the author writes here in Psalm 42:3, “My tears have been my food day and night.”Further down in verse 5 the psalmist admits, “My soul is cast down within me.”

Now before we get any farther, let me point out that this psalm begins Book Two of the five books of Psalms, which have been combined in our Bibles into one book. Now it is widely believed that this opening psalm, Psalm 42, was originally part of Psalm 43. In fact, Psalm 43 will repeat two verses from Psalm 42, word for word.

The heading of Psalm 42 calls this a “maskil.”The Hebrew word maskil tells us that this psalm is a teaching psalm. It has been arranged, we are told, by the “sons of Korah.”

The sons of Korah were Levites with a rather tragic past. Korah led a rebellion against Moses. God moved in and judged him, along with the other conspirators, and they were all put to death (Numbers 16).

The sons of Korah themselves were not a part of their father’s rebellion and remained faithful assistants to the priests in the tabernacle. Their descendants are described in 1 Chronicles 6:31 as among “the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark rested there.”

I want to remind you that godly parents might have ungodly children and that ungodly parents can have children who grow up to walk with God. And the sons of Korah did just that—they grew up to walk with God.

Now some of the best-known verses in this second book of Psalms appear here in the opening verses of Psalm 42.

As a deer pants for [literally, the water] flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (verses 1-2)

The Hebrew word for “flowing streams” describes “the deepest water channel in a valley, gorge or ravine. In the drier parts of [Israel] these brooks were not easy to find, nor did they always contain water. [A deer might have an] agonizing search for these brooks.”[64] The psalmist uses this search as a picture for the thirsty soul longing for God.

Throughout Psalms 42 and 43, God does not seem to answer the psalmist’s cry. The thirsty soul remains parched, and he even endures verbal attacks from unbelievers. Psalm 42:10 reads:

As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

Have you noticed that when trouble comes and our prayers do not seem to be answered and we’re in a dry season of life, we tend to agree with our accusers? We even ask the question, “Where is my God?”

Well, God has not gone anywhere. Just because God is silent does not mean He is absent. But it sure feels like it at times, doesn’t it? Again, this is an honest admission of emotion as the psalmist pours out his heart.

In spite of this raw emotion, Psalms 42 and 43 end with the exact same reminder, and it is a great statement of faith for someone with a troubled soul. Listen to this declaration: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”

The Hebrew word translated “cast down” means “to sink or depress.” Have you ever had that sinking feeling, that depressed feeling that comes from problems in your life? Have you experienced that dry season when your soul seems parched with spiritual thirst? Have you felt it all the way down to your soul? Well, join the crowd—your feelings just got included in inspired Scripture.

The psalmist then adds that there is “turmoil within me.” The word for “turmoil” refers to a loud uproar. In other words, everything in your life has just turned upside down—as if an earthquake just upset your world.

So, what do you do about it? Well, first be honest with how you are feeling. Admit that sinking and depressing feeling, the sense that you are spiritually dry. Pasting on a smile is not going to do you or anybody else any good.

What the psalmist says next is the core principle in these teaching psalms. Here in verse 11 of Psalm 42 and again in Psalm 43:5, he makes a powerful statement of faith that his hope will remain in God.

To hope in God in the Hebrew Bible means to trust Him and then wait for Him. That isn’t easy, but it is a big part of the solution. Trusting and waiting—that is what it means to hope in God.

And what is the psalmist hoping for here? Well, he tells us as these two psalms end the exact same way: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

So, the earthquake that just tumbled my world is nothing to shout hallelujah about, but I can praise God for “my salvation” and the fact that He is “my God.” That personal conviction that He is our God and our salvation is how hope in God is found. These psalms are teaching that God is praiseworthy even if the perfect timing of His responses doesn’t match our desires.

When we put our hope in God, our circumstances might not change, but our hearts will. As we acknowledge His saving grace in our lives, our trust translates into spiritual growth, especially in the dry seasons and discouraging times.

In Psalm 44, this hope in the Lord takes on national significance. It’s a reminder that the nation of Israel has endured dry seasons and trying times and it doesn’t seem like God is coming to the rescue. In fact, this psalm makes it clear that the nation has been disobedient to the Lord, and His discipline has been well deserved.

Verses 9 through 18 basically review the history of Israel, as foretold in Deuteronomy 28. In fact, the psalmist alludes to Deuteronomy 28:37 in verse 14, saying: “You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.”

Now Israel’s repentance is not recorded here in Psalm 44 because that has already happened. The Lord has forgiven them, but they are still suffering the lingering consequences of their sin and are waiting for relief.

By the way, the apostle Paul quotes verse 22 in Romans 8:36 to support the idea that suffering is common to believers in this life; it isn’t proof that God has forgotten you or forsaken you. In fact, just the opposite is true according to Paul. The apostle assures us that though we suffer tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword, none of that is proof the Lord has forgotten or forsaken His people (Romans 8:35).

Suffering does not mean you have been abandoned by God—indeed, it might mean you are standing up for God. But I can tell you, if you are faithfully following the Lord and your hope is in Him, suffering means that you are growing up as a child of God.

So, these teaching psalms encourage us to make our own personal declaration of faith—that we will trust Him and wait for Him. And we will sing, perhaps through tears, the lyrics of these psalms in dry seasons and in discouraging times: “I will hope inGod; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.”

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Pause Instead of Panic - Psalms 45–47

Years ago, newspapers were sold by vendors on street corners. And it wasn’t unusual to see some child with a stack of papers, calling out to people to “read all about it.” These children were nicknamed “newsies” because of the news they delivered.

Back in those days, after a newspaper was printed, sometimes an extraordinary event would take place and newspapers would quickly print what they called, “an extra”—a smaller edition. They would hire children for a few pennies a day to get out there and call out, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”[65] Something is happening, and you need to know about it.

Well, that kind of urgency and excitement is the same feeling I get when I read these next few psalms. These psalms are big news.

Psalm 45 is the publication of a wedding song for the king and his bride. It could have been, originally, for the wedding of Solomon and the daughter of Pharaoh; or it could have been written for the wedding of King Hezekiah and his bride, or another of Israel’s kings. But it also serves as a prophetic wedding picture of the bride of Christ being taken into the palace of the Lord.

In fact, the writer of the book of Hebrews quotes Psalm 45:6 and applies it to Jesus Christ. God the Father is speaking to God the Son and quotes this verse in Hebrews 1:8:

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

This is one of the most powerful verses in the New Testament declaring the deity of Jesus. God the Father Himself calls Jesus God and refers to His throne as eternal.

One day the redeemed will be presented to the Lord as a bride proceeding down the aisle toward her groom. You can just see the wedding procession here in verses 13-15:

All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her – [those are the bridesmaids]. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.

Now in Psalm 46, the heading tells us that this song should be sung “according to alamoth.” Alamoth is a Hebrew word meaning “young women.” We are not sure, but this psalm might have been sung by the soprano section of the choir.

Psalm 46 is intended to be soothing and calming and reassuring to the believer, and it certainly is.

The psalm is divided into three stanzas, and each stanza ends with the word selah. Selah is a musical notation to pause and reflect. The composer is essentially saying here, “Stop a moment and think about what you have just heard or sung.” Selah means, “Slow down, and think it through.”

The average Christian needs more pausing and less panicking. I don’t know about you, but I need more selah in my heart and life.

The first stanza opens in verse 1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The word for “trouble” is from a Hebrew verb that means to be restricted, to be cramped or in a narrow place, to be stuck in a tight spot in life.

This means that God does not promise you the absence of trouble; trouble is part of life. Sometimes there is no way out of it and no way around it—you just have to go through it. And the psalmist says, God is your confidence and your strength as you go through it with Him.

How bad can the trouble be? Well, look at verses 2-3: “Though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam.” That sounds like a lot of trouble.

Notice the repetition of the word though. Though this is happening, God is your refuge and strength. “Though” could be rendered, “Although.”

What is the “although” you could say about the trouble you are facing today?

·AlAlthough I have just gone bankrupt

·Although my job just ended

·Although a close friend betrayed me

·Although our retirement savings were lost

·Although my marriage ended

·Although the doctors have no answer

·Although a loved one died

·Although that accident just occurred

Although . . . although. Selah, think about that. The psalmist is teaching us to trust God in spite of everything. God is always available and aware.

Stanza number two begins in verse 4:“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” This has prophetic implications. Not only is God our present refuge, but the city of God will one day be our permanent refuge.

John describes this city in detail in Revelation 21:3-4:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Beloved, one day there will be peace on the earth. In the meantime, there can be peace in your heart that God is in control.[66] So, Selah, just think about that today.

Stanza number 3 begins, and it presents a promise of coming peace on earth. Verse 9 tells us that the Lord “makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.” This is a prophetic promise of the coming kingdom of God through Christ, when He brings all war to an end.

By the way, God gets blamed all the time for war on earth. God does not start the wars on earth between nations—people take care of that all by themselves. But one day God will end all war.

That is not going to happen because the nations make some kind of resolution. Those things don’t last long enough for the ink to dry. And it’s not going to happen because the right person is sitting in the White House or in one of the parliaments of our world. This will happen only when Jesus is seated on His throne in the coming kingdom.

And understand this: the psalmist is not just speaking about our troubled world; he is also speaking about our troubled heart.

Verse 10 says,“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Be still—in the Hebrew, that is a term for relax, don’t panic. In other words, stop trying to manipulate people around you; stop trying to orchestrate all the events of your life; stop trying to be in control of everything. Be still!

Stop trying to play God and just know that He is God. If God can take care of the nations, can He not take care of you?

This resolve to “be still” replaces panic and brings peace to our hearts. And it leads us into joyful anticipation.

Now in Psalm 47, we are given a prophetic picture of the end of days and the kingdom of Jesus on earth. The psalm begins by issuing an invitation to all the citizens of this coming kingdom who have acknowledged by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as King. Here is the invitation:

Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.(verses 1-2)

What a day that will be, as Jesus reigns over His millennial kingdom on earth.

This is the headline of all headlines. Here is all the extra, extra you need to read for today, and verse 8 shouts the news: “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.”

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The Beautiful City of Zion - Psalms 48–50

I did a little search on the internet for the “five most famous cities in the world.” The city of Zion was not one of them. I searched for the “most popular cities in the world.” Zion was not among those either. It wasn’t listed among the “most beautiful” cities either. I even searched for the “most important city in the world,” and Zion was not it.

I’m sure the “sons of Korah” would be appalled. They knew Zion was the most important, the most beautiful, and the most significant city in human history—so important that they wrote a song about it!

Here in Psalm 48, the city of Zion is celebrated fourteen different ways. And the city also provides the context for the next two psalms.

Zion is the ancient name for what we call today Jerusalem. Originally, it referred to the section known as the City of David and the land upon which David’s son Solomon would build the magnificent temple to the glory of God. Eventually the name also embraced the whole expanding city, including the nearby ridge of hills where Jesus would die on a cross for your sins and mine.

I believe every follower of Jesus ought to know a little bit more about the history of this land and certainly the future kingdom that will one day make Zion its capital city.

Now as Psalm 48 opens, we read, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! . . . Mount Zion . . . the city of the great King” (verses 1-2). From the psalm’s perspective, so majestic is the city of Zion, with its massive, thick walls surrounding it, that verse 5 tells us that Israel’s enemies see it and are so intimidated they panic and run away.

This song is communicating that although Zion has many enemies, it will ultimately survive every enemy attack. Verse 8 declares that Zion is “the city of our God, which God will establish forever.”

Now back here in verse 2 is an interesting expression used to describe the beauty of Zion. Jerusalem is pictured as the hub—the central source of joy and beauty. Then we read that “on the sides of the north [is] the city of the great King” (KJV), or as other translations read, “in the far north.”

What do the sides of the north mean? What is this about Jerusalem and the far north?

Well, if you travel back to the ancient world, you discover the mythology that believed the far north was the home of the gods—the Olympus of the later Greek civilization. The far north had become this mystical seat of divine power.[67]

Isaiah uses this expression when he records that Satan wanted to ascend the sides of the north (Isaiah 14:13) and take the throne of the creator God.

This does not mean Isaiah believes there are other gods. And it doesn’t mean the psalmist believes that either as he describes Jerusalem. What they are saying, in effect, is that anybody who attacks Jerusalem might as well be attacking the very seat of divine power—the powerful throne of the one and only, true and living God.

Again, just look at Mount Zion—Jerusalem. Verse 2 says it is “the joy of the whole earth . . . on the sides of the north, the city of the great King”(KJV).Then compare this to the powerful in this world, of whom the psalmist writes in the next psalm,“Though they called lands by their own names . . . Man in his pomp will not remain” (Psalm 49:11-12).

Look at the things people build and proudly name after themselves, and some of those things are indeed magnificent. They name their companies after themselves, and the towns and cities they build usually are given their names.

But it’s all temporary! Zion is forever.

Now Old Testament scholars think Psalm 48 was part of a worship event or festival,[68] and it certainly sounds like it here in verses 12-13, where the Jewish people are commanded: “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels.”

And why the walk about the city? The psalmist says so “that you may tell the next generation that this is God . . . He will guide us forever”(verses 13-14).

The city of Zion is so intertwined with the plan of God that the city and the Lord are considered

connected in a special way. Let me say it this way: In the eyes of God, Zion is the most important city in the world. 

Why is this? Because Zion represents the promises of God and the will of God and the power of God’s throne, and nothing or no one will unseat Him from His divine throne.

So, given this truth, you had better listen to His instructions. In fact, that is the instruction Psalm 49 begins with: “Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world.”

This is a global command to listen, but with it also comes a global promise. Verse 15 says, “God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.”What a great promise that is! Even death cannot conquer the citizens of Zion. This is the city of the redeemed, who have entrusted their souls to the hands of the Lord.

And you are among them if you have trusted God’s plan of salvation—not your plan. I meet a lot of people who think they have got their own plan to get into heaven. They are trying to be good, stay out of trouble, help old ladies across the street, and pay their taxes on time.

No, God’s plan is admitting you are a sinner in need of a Savior and trusting the one and only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for your sins through His death. It is by faith in Him that you receive forgiveness and eternal life.

The author gives a rather terrifying warning here, by the way, to the person who persists in defying God. He writes, “For when he dies, he will carry nothing away . . . [he] will never again see light”(verses 17, 19).

Now this isn’t just a scary warning; it’s the truth. Zion is the future city of light and life; hell is described as a place darkness and weeping that will never end.

Now in Psalm 50, the Lord tells us to worship Him the right way. That does not mean we need to bring cattle for sacrifices today. Now that Jesus has become the Lamb of God, dying for our sins, we don’t need any more sacrifices. In fact, God says here in verse 10, “Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”

He doesn’t need any more animals. But here is a sacrifice you can offer. This psalm ends in verse 23 with God encouraging us with these words: “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.”

All we have to do today is thank our great God for our salvation through His Son, for our forgiveness through Christ. And if that isn’t enough, just thank Him for the magnificent city where you will one day live.

The apostle John writes of Zion in Revelation 21:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (verses 1-2)

Imagine, because of God’s power and God’s plan, He will keep His promise and bring you one day into His coming kingdom, headquartered in the beautiful city of Zion.

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A Song of Confession - Psalm 51

Several decades ago, Katherine Power was a university student in Boston when she got involved in a revolutionary political group with other young people. This group made plans to rob a bank and use the money to buy weapons. Katherine was going to be the driver of the getaway car. But the robbery didn’t go as planned after a silent alarm notified the police. In the aftermath, shots were fired, and a policeman was killed. 

Kathy escaped and moved to a distant state. For the next twenty-three years, she was known as Alice Metzinger. She married and became a mother and a citizen in good standing. “But at age forty-four Kathy Power was desperately tired, t或者mented by guilt, 和 chronically depressed. Finally, she did the only thing she felt could end her agony.” To the utter shock of her family, friends, and neighbors, she turned herself in to the authorities and revealed that she wasn’t Alice Metzinger after all.

When she was later interviewed and asked what her motive was for finally telling the truth, she said, “I was tired of living with shame and guilt.”[69]

Her story reminds me of one of the most famous confessions in all the Bible. Psalm 51 is nothing less than David coming out of hiding and finally telling the truth to God and admitting his sin to the world. 

The heading of this psalm reads, “When Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” That tragic event is recorded for us back in 2 Samuel 12, where Nathan pointed his finger in the face of this guilty king and uttered those famous words, “Thou art the man.” In other words, it was time to come out of hiding. 

Now, as we work through David’s psalm of confession, I want to highlight four key words that come to mind; and the first word is petition. David makes this plea in verse 1: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy.” 

That is a great way to start because he definitely needs the mercy of God. David has been hiding sins that included lust, adultery, conspiracy to murder, hypocrisy, cover-up, and abuse of power. Without God’s mercy he doesn’t stand a chance.

But on the basis of God’s mercy, David asks God to do three things. First, he says here, “Blot out my transgressions.” That expression refers to erasing the content in an accounting ledger. David is praying, “Lord, erase the record of my sin.” And I think David knows it is going to take a very big eraser. 

Second, he says in verse 2, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.” “Wash me” is a Hebrew phrase that normally refers to laundering dirty clothing. He is saying, “Lord, I need the stains of sin washed from the garments of my life.” 

Then, third, David petitions God, saying, “Cleanse me from my sin!” He’s not talking about his clothing now but about his character. Only God can purify him and cleanse him from sin. This is quite a petition. 

The second key word is admission. In these opening verses, David refers repeatedly to his sins. He isn’t blaming anybody else; he isn’t pointing his finger at Bathsheba or that palace roof that should never have been built so conveniently to her backyard patio. 

I don’t know how many times I have heard someone who was guilty of sin, or even a criminal act, say something like, “Well, that really wasn’t me.” David is saying here, “It really was me!” 

He goes on in verse 5 to say, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Now David is not saying that his mother conceived him in sin; rather, he’s saying that from the very beginning of his life, he was a fallen sinner.

This is what theologians call original sin—the fallen human nature we inherited from Adam—and we are all born with it. If you think your little newborn angel isn’t a sinner, just wait. You will never have to teach her to want her own way or how to tell a lie. She will be able to do all of that without any lessons from you. 

You will never have to teach your little boy how to be selfish with his toys. You are going to have to teach him how to share.

David is admitting here that his sin came from his own sinful nature. He didn’t fall into sin with Bathsheba; instead, he walked into it willingly with his eyes wide open. Beloved, this is a genuine admission of guilt. 

Now I want to add a third key word here that is so important; it is the word restoration. 

David says in verse 7, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Hyssop is a small plant that can be found growing in the crevices of rock and even in the stone walls there in Jerusalem. It was used to make what we would call today a paintbrush.

When God announced the final plague on Egypt, He commanded the Israelites to take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood of the lamb and paint it on the doorposts (Exodus 12:22). This pictured the future death of Christ and the cleansing power of His shed blood being painted, as it were, over our sinful hearts. 

David does not just want a quick pardon from the Lord; he wants lasting purity, and he knows that only God can paint a guilty sinner clean. 

David writes in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” David uses the word for creation here that we found back in Genesis chapter 1 with God creating the heavens and the earth out of nothing. That was an astounding miracle to create something out of nothing. 

When David says to God, “Create in me a clean heart,” he is basically saying, “Lord, you have nothing to work with as it relates to me. You are going to have to perform a miracle of creation in order to make in me a clean heart.” 

This is genuine, true, confession. And this is exactly why David experienced genuine restoration in his life. 

Now here is the fourth and final key word I want to point out: resolution. Part of genuine confession is having the resolve to make things right and start living an honest life before God and others.

David says in verse 13, “Then, I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” In other words, “I want my testimony to encourage others to come out of hiding and confess their sin too and live for God.”

Consider how amazing it is that this resolution came true again—today! This very day, we are reading and studying David’s testimony here, and we have been warned, encouraged, and instructed by it. 

Think about it—some 3,000 years after David wrote his song of confession, we are still using it as a model for what it looks like to genuinely confess our sin, to come out of hiding, and to get right with God. This is how to avoid living a secret life, like the life of Alice Metzinger with all its devastating consequences. 

Let’s refuse to live like that. Instead, let’s teach our world what it looks like to be a Christian—someone who isn’t perfect, but someone who knows how to make the right petition, how to approach God with honest admission, how to experience the joy of restoration, and then how to make the right resolutions in moving forward as we walk with God.

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Betrayal and the Urge to Bite Back - Psalms 52–55

The themes of these next few psalms in our Wisdom Journey relate to the painful experience of being betrayed. David knew exactly what that felt like.

The heading of Psalm 52 says, “When Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”You will find the account of this incident back in 1 Samuel 21 and 22.

David had been on the run from King Saul, whom God had rejected in favor of David. Saul was determined to kill David and eliminate his rival to the throne.

As David was running for his life, he arrived at the town of Nob, where the tabernacle was set up. Nob also was the place where the high priest Ahimelech, a descendant of Eli, resided.

Ahimelech helped David and his men by giving them the old bread from the showbread table in the tabernacle, as well as a prized relic that had been carefully wrapped and stored inside the tabernacle as a reminder of God’s protection. This was the sword that had once belonged to the giant Goliath.

So, with these provisions, along with this magnificent sword, David took off running again.

The trouble was that everything that had just happened was seen by King Saul’s chief herdsman, a wicked man named Doeg. Doeg saw enough to know that this was an opportunity to be rewarded for information about David. And that is exactly what he gave to King Saul. Doeg’s betrayal of David ended in bloodshed, as King Saul ordered the execution of Ahimelech, along with eighty-four priests in all.

This tragic betrayal deeply troubled David. In fact, David takes the time now to put his feelings and his frustrations and ultimately his prayer to God in the form of this psalm.

Psalm 52 opens in verse 1 with a comparison between the betrayer and God. David writes, “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.” Betrayal is really a power grab. David waits for a power surge from God.

Nowhere in this psalm do you find David taking matters into his own hands. He is going to let Doeg fall into God’s hand of judgment. Verse 7 says of Doeg, “[He] sought refuge in his own destruction!” “This verse 7 reads like an epitaph on the grave of an evil man.”[70]

One thing is for certain here – Doeg’s character and actions revealed in Psalm 52 do nothing more than demonstrate the truth of the next psalm.

Psalm 53 opens in verse 1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” In this context, the fool is someone who effectively says, “God isn’t real; God doesn’t see and God doesn’t know what I have just done.” 

Oh, but God does see, and God does know. Only a fool would think he could get away with betrayal without God knowing it.

Psalm 54 continues this theme of betrayal, but here it is more painful to David because of who it involves. The heading tells us that this psalm was written “when the Ziphites went and told Saul, ‘Is not David hiding among us?’”

The Ziphites were members of David’s own tribe, the tribe of Judah. They were David’s extended relatives. His own extended family—all those cousins and aunts and uncles—betrayed him.

These are like the people you see at that annual family reunion out at the lake. You all get T-shirts ordered with your family name printed on them, and you get a photograph of everybody, young and old, there at the picnic.

It was David’s family members who gave Saul his exact location. By God’s intervention, David was able to get away. 

And then it happened again! Those same relatives, 1 Samuel 26 tells us, once again gave Saul David’s location. Frankly, that would be the last time I would ever want to see my relatives again, no matter how good the fried chicken was at the reunion.

Now Psalm 54 is a short song, but it’s long on wisdom. It offers three principles you can use as you process your own personal response through the pain of betrayal.

The first word is remember. David says in verse 3, “They do not set God before themselves.” In other words, remember that those who betray you have betrayed God first. They are traitors to God first and foremost.

Beloved, if you have been betrayed, take the time to remember that God Himself was betrayed by Satan, who then influenced God’s special creation, Adam and Eve, to betray Him as well.

And what about God the Son, the Lord Jesus? He was betrayed by Judas and His own people, His own extended family, the nation of Israel. The Lord certainly knows how it feels to be betrayed. So, remember.

The second word is trust. Listen to David’s prayer in verses 4-5: “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies.”

Let’s put that into our own words: “I can trust my life to the plan of God, and I can entrust those who betray me to the justice of God, though I don’t know when His justice will be accomplished. My life might not get any easier any time soon, but while others are saying there is no God to see or hear or care, I know God is alive and well.”

The third word is worship. Worship must take the place of revenge. Revenge keeps you stuck in life, and worship moves you forward in life.

This is David’s focus in verse 6, when he says, “I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.”

Now Psalm 55 continues this theme of betrayal. Only this time, David agonizes over the betrayal, not of an enemy or some extended family member, but of a close friend. He writes, “It is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together”(verses 13-14).

Bible scholars have suggested that David is alluding to the betrayal of Ahithophel, his former counselor. Ahithophel betrayed David and joined David’s son Absalom as he attempted to take his father’s place. Ahithophel even counseled Absalom on how to kill David and be done with him (2 Samuel 15–17).[71]

What do you do when betrayal hits so close to home? This would certainly excuse the desire for revenge, right? It would only be natural to strike back.

You may have heard the funny story of the man who was bitten by a rabid dog. He went to get tested, and his doctor finally came in with the grim news that he indeed had rabies. The man did not say a word. He just got out a piece of paper and began to write feverishly. His doctor thought the man was writing out his last will and testament, and he said, “Listen, there is a cure for rabies—you’re not going to die.” The man said, “I know that, but first, I’m making a list of people I want to bite.”

This is the way the world works. You bite back; you get even. But God says to do what David instructs you to do here in verse 22: “Cast your burden on the Lord, 和 he will sustain you.”

Cast your burden on the Lord. By the way, the “burden” includes your emotions that are so hurt, your thoughts that want to plan revenge, and your memory that wants to play the offense over and over again in your mind.

David says, “No, throw all of that onto the broad shoulders of your faithful Lord.” And remember, when you feel the pain of betrayal, He understands exactly how you feel.

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The Tear Collector - Psalm 56

Many years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the thirty-fifth president of the United States, made the headlines. And it wasn’t good news at all. The night before he had piloted his single-engine plane from New Jersey to Martha’s Vineyard, an island just off the coast of Massachusetts. Flying with him were his wife and sister-in-law. Kennedy had logged over 300 hours of flight time but had completed only half of an instrument training course. On this particular night, there was no moon, and a fog limited his visibility. He was effectively flying in the dark.

I remember a pilot telling me that his instructor told him to close his eyes and try to fly straight. After a few moments, convinced he had the airplane on a straight path, he was told to open his eyes; he discovered that he was flying toward the ground.

In the darkness, a pilot has to trust his instrument panel more than his own sense of direction; otherwise, he just might be taking his plane into what is known as a “graveyard spiral.” And that is exactly what happened to Kennedy as his plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

According to investigators, he had lost his sense of direction. In fact, his plane was equipped with an autopilot, which would have returned the plane to a level flight, but he never turned it on.[72]

The psalmist David has composed a song here that we call Psalm 56. It’s a song about being surrounded by difficult circumstances. The lights have effectively gone out, and at the moment David is flying in the dark.

This song is a classic simply because every believer has experienced this same thing—flying through the dark trials of life. David points us to the inspired instrument panel that we need to learn to trust more than our own personal sense of direction.

Now the heading of this psalm, what is called the superscription, gives us the setting. By the way, Jewish scholars added these superscriptions several hundred years before the birth of Christ. They are not part of the original text of the psalms, but they help the Bible student understand the contexts of the psalms.

This superscription reads, “When the Philistines seized him [David] in Gath.” That takes us back to the events recorded in 1 Samuel 21, where David was running for his life from King Saul.

David was no doubt thinking that the last place on the planet King Saul would come looking for him would be the hometown of Goliath, the giant David had killed some years earlier.

First Samuel records that a few days before fleeing to Gath, David stopped by the village of Nob and received from the high priest some food. David asked the priest if he had any weapons, and the priest gave him the sword of Goliath, which had been stored there in the tabernacle.

So, David fled to the Philistine city of Gath, Goliath’s hometown, and what was he carrying? The sword of their former hero, Goliath! One Old Testament scholar said that David’s flight to the city of Gath was proof of his despair.[73]

The Philistines, of course, immediately planned to kill David. So, David pretended to be insane, and the Lord moved the heart of the Philistine king to let David go. David then writes Psalm 56 in response to the Lord’s rescue of him from certain death.

He writes in verse 3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” I love the realism of David’s admission here: “When I am afraid,” not “If I become afraid.” He is saying, “When I am outnumbered, when I am in a dark place and thinking I’m not going to get out of here alive, I will trust the instrument panel of your promise and that you will guide me through.”

Beloved, faith does not automatically eliminate fear. Trust does not eliminate trials. In fact, who is trusting God more—the one who trusts Him when the sun is out and the birds are singing or the one who trusts God when it is dark and dismal and what is coming next is hidden from sight? Charles Spurgeon writes, “David … doesn’t claim to never be afraid … evidently, it is possible for fear and faith to occupy the mind at the same time.”[74]

Here in verses 5 and 6, David describes the danger he faced in the city of Gath. He writes:

All the day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps.

The word here for “lurk” can be translated, “to pant after,” like a dog on the hunt.[75] David’s enemies are on his trail. They are dogging his heels, and he can’t escape them.

This is the perfect time to check the instrument panel for direction and guidance. David essentially gives us three principles from the instrument panel of God’s Word.

First, God’s Word is consistently appropriate for your troubles. David finds confidence and reassurance in the Word of God. He writes, “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust,” and, “In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust” (verses 4, 10-11).

Let me tell you, when the lights are out, when you are alone, when the pressure is on or the pain seems unbearable, there is nothing more helpful and reassuring and encouraging than God’s Word. In the darkness, beloved, you learn best that His Word is “sweeter … than honey” (Psalm 19:10).

Not only is God’s Word consistently appropriate for your troubles, but second, God Himself is consciously aware of your trials. In verse 8 David writes, “You have kept count of my tossings,” or wanderings. Imagine, every time David ran from one place to another, every time David tossed in his sleep, God knew all about it. Saul might have been on the lookout for David, but so was God.

There is a third principle here, and it’s this: God is compassionately attentive to your suffering. David writes in verse 8, “You … put my tears in your bottle.”

It wasn’t until I traveled to Israel that I discovered the ancient practice of tear bottles. In ancient days people kept delicate little containers to catch and store their tears. They were often made of glass, like a miniature vase with a little opening at the top that people would place at their cheeks to catch their tears.

It was normal at a funeral procession in Roman times for people to catch their tears in one of these little bottles and leave them at the graveside as a token of their sorrow.

What is interesting in this psalm is that God is the one holding the bottle to your cheek; God is the one collecting your tears. In fact, it’s God’s bottle. David writes, “You … put my tears in your bottle.”

In other words, God has not missed one tear you have ever shed, whether tears of sorrow, repentance, fear, hurt, rejection, or loss. God is personally involved; He is compassionately attentive to your suffering.

Beloved, you have never cried alone. God has been there all along. He knows every tear you have ever shed. And one day He will wipe every tear away. There is coming a day when God will, so to speak, empty your bottle of tears, and it will never be filled up again.

A hymn writer from many years ago wrote with that same confidence in his own personalized song—a hymn that echoes Psalm 56. It goes like this:

Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake![76]

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The Hiding Place - Psalms 57–59

Corrie ten Boom was the first woman to be licensed in the Netherlands as a watchmaker. She worked with her father, Casper, in the family watchmaking business, and it was quite successful. Corrie and her family were committed followers of Christ, and when Adolph Hitler’s troops invaded the Netherlands, this family began hiding Jewish neighbors to keep them from being sent to the concentration camps.

They built a secret room—a closet really—in which Jews who were staying in their home could hide whenever the home was searched by the Gestapo. I have visited this home and have seen this little secret room that became known as “The Hiding Place.” Around 800 Jewish people of all ages were saved by the efforts of Corrie and her family.

Eventually, an informant told on them, and Corrie, her sister Betsie, and their father Casper were sent to prison. Casper died two weeks later. Corrie and her sister eventually were sent to a concentration camp where Betsie would later die. Before she died, she whispered to Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”

Eventually, Corrie was released. But because of her personal experiences in that pit—those dark days of suffering and deprivation—she had the opportunity to travel the world, some sixty countries in all, giving her testimony of God’s faithfulness and forgiveness and telling people about the Hiding Place.[77]

In Psalm 57, you have the testimony of David, who could say, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.” Only David’s pit was a dark, dismal cave, where he would write Psalm 57:1: “In you [God] my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge.”To put it another way, David is saying, “You, Lord, are my hiding place.”

Now the heading, or superscription, of Psalm 57, reads, “A Miktam [that is, is a teaching testimonial] of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.” I believe this relates to events recorded in detail in 1 Samuel 24.

David is hiding out in a cave, located in the wilderness region of Engedi, seeking to escape from King Saul, who is trying to find him and kill him. This is a hilly region dotted with limestone caves. Shepherds would use these caves to corral their sheep at night.

King Saul arrives with 3,000 of his soldiers and literally ends up at the same cave where David and his men are hiding deep inside. Saul is unaware of this.

First Samuel 24 and verse 3 reads, “And [Saul] came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself.” The Bible records here, in almost a humorous manner, that Saul has to go to the bathroom and he chooses this very cave. Now you might wonder why God would record such a detail as this, but I believe it is to show us how absolutely vulnerable Saul is at this moment.

All these soldiers are standing around, waiting outside the cave; Saul is inside the cave, taking his time, maybe reading the newspaper. This is David’s chance. What an opportunity to end Saul’s life.

But David refuses to lift his hand against God’s anointed. He is willing to wait for God to deliver him in due time.

Here in Psalm 57:2, he pours out his heart and writes, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” Remember David is trusting the Lord to fulfill His divine purpose for his life, and that is not easy to do when you’re in a cave.

Now here in Psalm 58, David admits to his frustration over the injustice of the world around him. Now that is easy to do when you are living in a cave, experiencing unfair treatment, and suffering from the unkindness of people in your world.

Maybe you’re there right now; you’re suffering an unkindness; maybe you have a chance to end it, but you will not do it because it’s not right.

And David calls on God here to bring judgment on those who defy God. This is what we call an imprecatory psalm. David is praying an imprecatory prayer. You don’t need to know how to spell that for the final exam, but this is a prayer calling down the judgment of God on sinners.

And somebody reading this psalm might think this is not a nice thing to pray. But beloved, this is the other side of God that the world wants nothing of. They want a God who is loving and merciful but without justice and holiness. They want the God they have created, who is anything but a judge.

Why? Because a judge renders a verdict. He enforces a standard of right and wrong. The world wants to get rid of that kind of God. If they can rid themselves of a God who is a judge, there is no enforcer of sin. And if there is no enforcer of sin, there is no standard of truth. And if there is no standard of truth, you cannot be judged for doing wrong. So, you can do whatever you think is right for you, no matter what it is.

The problem is, when you eliminate a God who is supreme judge, you also eliminate a God who can offer a pardon for your sin. You see, God’s Son experienced the holy judgment of God for sin. He died to pay the penalty for your sin. When you believe in Him, He can forgive you on the basis of His judgment having been satisfied in the death of Christ.

So, you are safe, eternally safe, from the terror and judgment of God when you run to the Savior in faith—when He becomes your hiding place.

Now we move on to Psalm 59. It seems David just cannot get a break from King Saul. The heading here says, “When Saul sent men to watch [David’s] house in order to kill him.”This is recorded back in 1 Samuel 19, where Saul became so jealous of David’s growing popularity that he sent men to capture him in his own house.

With the help of his wife, Michal, David escaped out a window and ran for his life.

It might have been around a campfire that night that David began writing this song about the pit, the valley, he had just entered.

David describes his enemies as “howling like dogs … prowling about the city. They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill” (verses 14-15).To call somebody a dog isn’t all that offensive today. And that’s because dogs in our world live pretty decent lives. They get a bath, eat regular meals, and sometimes have a backyard to play in.

However, in the Old Testament, a dog was a scavenger, a dangerous animal that traveled in packs and would be run out of town rather than invited to stay.David says that his enemies are like a pack of dogs hungry to have him for a meal.

But that is not the only thing David focuses on here in this pit of difficulty. In verse 16 David says:

But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

David could have tossed and turned all night over that pack of dogs chasing after him. But instead, he turns his attention—not to the dark pit, the cave, or life on the run—but to the refuge he has in the Lord.

He ends this psalm by writing, “O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”

That is another way of saying, “There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still.”

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No Other Option but God - Psalms 60–62

On our Wisdom Journey today, we are beginning in Psalm 60. The heading, or superscription, for Psalm 60 tells us David is the author. It also tells us the name of the tune is “Shushan,” which is Hebrew for “Lily of the Testimony.”[78]

We don’t know what that melody line was, but evidently it related to the context of battle because this was a war-time song. This might have sounded more like a marching band than the sound of a flute.

Now we are also given here a rather long description:

When he [David] strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

These events are recorded in 2 Samuel 8 and 10 and in 1 Chronicles 18.

While David’s army was far from Jerusalem and engaged with the enemy kings mentioned here, the Edomites, Israel’s enemy to the south of the Dead Sea, attacked Jerusalem and apparently had some early victory.

David immediately sent his army commander, Joab, to respond and then sat down and wrote this psalm. Here in verse 1 David writes, “O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.”

This indicates that David knew the defeat in battle was because of some unconfessed sin or rebellion among the people. In both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, Moses warned Israel that unconfessed sin would hinder their success and invite the discipline of God. And God kept His word.

Now David, representing the people, takes these circumstances to the Lord and seeks restoration. In this great psalm, David models for us three responses that can turn defeat into victory, and they apply to every believer today who suffers some kind of spiritual defeat.

First, recognize your defeat andfind reassurance in the Lord.In verse 3 David writes, “You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.”Wine in Scripture can be a symbol either of God’s blessing or of God’s judgment. Here, it speaks of His judgment.

When you feel your defeat and you take it to the Lord humbly in confession, you discover the reassurance here in verse 4: “You have set upa banner for those who fear you, that they may fleeto it from the bow.” This banner refers to a flag raised on a pole during battle. It served as a signal to the soldiers, rallying them, conveying instructions, or pointing them to a place of safety.

David is saying, “When I’m bruised and bloody and failing in my battle with sin, the world, and my own flesh, and I confess to You my defeat, that is when I see the banner raised, signaling to me where I can run for refuge.”

Second,recognize your defeat, but keep an eye on the promises of God.In verse 5, David asks God to deliver his people. He believes God will do this because he trusts God’s promise to deliver His “beloved ones” when they call on Him (see Psalm 50:15: 91:15).

Numbers 23:19 tells us God cannot tell a lie. His promises can be trusted, including His promise of forgiveness when we confess our sins.

The battle for the believer is a battle over doubts in the mind—about what we think about sin, what we think about forgiveness, what we think about ourselves, and even what we think about God. If we do not learn and repeat God’s promises in our heart daily, we are going to lose hope and begin to despair.

Beloved, claiming forgiveness for your sin is never a matter of how you feel but what God has promised. His Word tells us that “if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).” So, claim this promise, then move on to your next battle as you fight the good fight.

And that leads me to the third response David models here: recognize that defeat is just anotherreminder that you need to walk with God.

Remember, David is writing this psalm as General Joab is going to confront the Edomites. The heading of this psalm gives us the ultimate result: “Joab . . . struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.”

So, keep this in mind: victory followed David’s humble confession on behalf of the nation and declaration of trust in the Lord.

In Psalm 61, David takes us on a journey in prayer. He begins by describing again that battle in our mind and with our feelings. Beloved, let me just say here that when we talk about being fallen creatures—that everything about us is fallen and in need of restoration—that means our feelings are fallen as well.

Don’t trust your feelings to guide your life. David here feels spiritually distant and weak, but he doesn’t tell us why. He just says here at the end of verse 2, “My heart is faint.”

Jonah used the same word to describe how he felt in the belly of that great fish (Jonah 2:7). I’m not sure what it feels like to be inside a fish, but I think I would want to faint as well.

Rather than wallow in his weakness, though, David cries out to God in verse 2, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”In other words, “I need to build my life on Someone far stronger than I am. I’m about as solid as the modeling clay my children play with. I need a rock; I need my life connected to the granite strength of God.”

This journey of prayer is not exclusive to David. You can take this journey any time you need to, as often as you need to, as you submit your unsteady feelings to the immovable Rock and live in dependence on the Lord.

And that also means your hope is in nothing else. God is your only option. David makes that clear here in Psalm 62 with a little two-letter Hebrew word that appears several times and is translated “alone” and “only.” He writes:

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. (verses 1-2)

David repeats this in verses 5 and 6:

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.

I have met many people who say they are trusting in the Lord, but in reality, they are also trusting in their bank account, their medical history, their relationships. I have had people tell me they believe in Jesus, but in reality, Jesus is just one of many things they have stuffed into the backpack of their lives as they try to cover all the spiritual bases. Jesus is just one of many options for them.

David understands that God is his only option. It isn’t God plus some other way. It’s God and God alone.

How about you? When it comes to salvation, are you trusting in Christ plus works, plus baptism, plus church membership? Good deeds? When it comes to living your life as a Christian, do you have one eye on the opinion of the world and one eye on God’s Word? When it comes to taking a step of faith, do you look to circumstances or to the Spirit of God alone?

Let me encourage you, beloved, to make God your only option, your only hope, your only source of strength. And when you do, you will find underneath your heart and life the granite of God. You can say with David, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you, O God, are my refuge, my strong tower.”

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Security and Satisfaction - Psalms 63–65

As we open our study of Psalm 63, the heading reads, “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”The wilderness of Judah is a desolate place—thousands of acres of rolling, sunbaked hills.

In verse 9 David indicates why he is out there. He writes, “Those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth.” David is a fugitive in the desert, running from Saul or, perhaps more likely at this point, from his rebellious son Absalom, who has masterminded an attempt to take the throne of Israel.

In this psalm David actually offers guidance to help us whenever we find ourselves in a spiritually desolate place. He writes in verse 1:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

David is describing the world as a place where you cannot find satisfaction. This is a dry place. In other words, if you are thirsty for something real and lasting, the world does not have that kind of water fountain. It cannot satisfy your thirst.

In this world, we are offered a lot of things to entertain us—to get our minds off our problems. We are offered a lot of amusement today. Interestingly, the word muse means to think and with the prefix a –– means not to think or to be distracted from thinking.

Amusement keeps you occupied so you don’t think. Now there is nothing wrong with an amusement park. When our children were growing up, we would take them to the annual state fair, held here in our hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The kids loved the rides, and I loved the food. I would make my way over and stand in line for one of those deep-fried chocolate candy bars. They would take a candy bar and poke a little stick through it to make it like a corndog. Then they would cover it with something that looked like pancake batter and stick it in a pot of oil to deep-fry it. After a few seconds, the candy bar would melt on the inside, and the outside would become a fluffy, crispy coating. Then the chef, who obviously went to the finest culinary school in the country, rolled it in powdered sugar. When he handed it to me, I could almost hear my aorta slamming shut.

Obviously, I wasn’t doing much thinking there at the amusement park.

Well, that’s how David describes the world. Oh, it is full of entertainment, but it leaves you longing for something meaningful, something better.

David is thirsty for the Lord; he writes here that he “earnestly” seeks after God. This word “earnestly” can be translated “early.” At the beginning of his day, David is drawn to the Lord by his spiritual thirst.

But David is also hungry for the things of God. He writes here in verse 5:

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

Have you ever considered that walking with God is like eating a rich, well-prepared meal? I’m not talking about a deep-fried candy bar but a soul-nourishing, heart-satisfying meal. It will turn into a Thanksgiving meal because it leads David to praise the Lord with joyful lips.

Now David changes the metaphor from the dinner table to the garden. He writes in verse 8, “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds 

The picture here of a clinging vine is a description of David holding on to God, keeping the Lord close. But you will notice that God’s right hand upholds him. The hand of power, the sovereign hand of God, keeps hold of him. So, David is clinging by faith, and the Lord’s powerful hand is upholding David. This relationship is a two-way street.

I wonder if 2 Samuel 17 was the inspiration for this psalm. David is on the run from his enemies, sitting in the wilderness, betrayed; he has his family with him, along with a small band of soldiers, and a few friends, and they’re not sure what to do next.

Then suddenly wagons appear, loaded with food and supplies provided by some loyal friends. And without being asked, his friends offer this explanation in verse 29: “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

This pictures the Lord arriving at just the right time. Through His Word, through a friend, or through a phone call or note, God meets you with just the right provision to help encourage you along the way. Maybe that is what you need today. Or maybe you know some people who need you to drive your wagon over to their place and encourage them because they are hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.

Now Psalm 64 is a short psalm with a familiar theme. David is writing about having to deal with hurtful and discouraging words. And he’s praying for strength to endure it all.

He writes here in these opening verses that his enemies have “tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear”(verses 3-4). They are shooting arrows that are tipped with poisonous words.

What do you do when you are under this kind of assault? Well, frankly, you don’t just stand there and see how many arrows you can take; you take it all to the Lord. That is what David does here. He seeks vindication in God alone, running to the Lord to “take refuge in him” (verse 10).

Psalm 65 is as far away from the battlefield as you can get. It seems like David takes us to some well-watered farmland where the soil is rich and moist—a farmer’s dream.

These verses are filled with praise for all the blessings received from God. In verse 2, the Lord hears the prayers of those who come to the Him with the right heart. In verse 3 it is praise for the grace of God: “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.”

Every farmer reading this psalm understands the depth of David’s praise as he writes here in verses 9-10:

You visit the earth and water it;you greatly enrich it;the river of God is full of water;you provide their grain,for so you have prepared it.You water its furrows abundantly,settling its ridges,softening it with showers,and blessing its growth.

Like I said, this is a farmer’s psalm, and it gives us another way of describing the satisfaction that God alone can bring.

David writes here about the bumper crop at harvesttime:

You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (verses 11-13)

Listen, what makes these psalms possible and inspiring—giving us security and satisfaction—is the connection between our obedience to God’s Word and the faithfulness and provision from the hand of God.

C. S. Lewis once wrote that true pleasure in life—true satisfaction—is the invention of God. Satan has never been able to manufacture a single genuine pleasure in life.[79]

The best Satan can do is amuse you for a little while—and probably get you to eat something that is not all that good for you—but true and lasting pleasure and satisfaction is something we receive from walking with God. And just think of the pleasures of heaven to come—seeing God, worshiping the Lord, fellowshipping with the redeemed, walking the streets of gold along that river that cascades from God’s throne, and enjoying fruit year-round from the Tree of Life. All that and so much more is going to satisfy us one day, and it’s going to last forever and ever.

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God Leads His Dear Children Along - Psalms 66–68

When my wife and I were dating in college, preparing for ministry, one of the hymns of the faith that came to mean a lot to us was entitled, “God Leads Us Along.” We met just a year after her brother had been killed in a car accident, and she understood much more than I did what it meant to sing this hymn. Some of the lyrics go like this:

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,

God leads His dear children along.

Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,

God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,

Some through the fire, but all through the blood.

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song

In the night season and all the day long.[80]

Well, this next psalm was the inspiration for the hymn writer. Right in the middle of Psalm 66 the psalmist writes this in verse 12: “We went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.”

The author of this particular psalm is anonymous. We do not know who penned these lyrics, but we do know as believers how true they are. When we have faced a crushing blow, some great sorrow or setback, we can look back later and see that even then, God was leading His dear children along.

The psalmist writes here in verses 10-12:

For You, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet you have brought us out.

This text inspired an evangelist by the name of George Young to write his hymn of faith more than a hundred years ago. George and his wife and family spent their years serving small churches in poor areas of the Midwest. They lived in borrowed places over the years and lived hand to mouth, although George would remind his family that the hand to their mouth was God’s hand.

When they finally had enough money to buy the lumber, George built a house with his own hands. At last, the day came, and they moved into their own family home. They stood on the porch and sang the Doxology to their faithful Lord, who had provided for them.

Sometime later, when they were away holding evangelistic meetings, someone who had been upset by George’s preaching slipped over in the night and set their home on fire. When the family returned, they found that everything they owned had been destroyed.

What a loss! What a crushing blow! But within a few days, George sat down and wrote this hymn, and it was published later in 1903:[81]

Some through the waters, some through the flood,

Some through the fire, but all through the blood.

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song

In the night season and all the day long.

Now the psalmist was not thinking just about being led through life but about being led all the way to the glory of God’s presence in the coming kingdom.

The next psalm, Psalm 67, is also anonymous. It picks up the theme of Psalm 66 and leads us to that moment when the glory of God will be known all around the world. The author writes in verse 4, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.”

The Bible tells us that after the church is raptured—that is, taken away by God the Son to His Father’s house—the Antichrist will be revealed on the earth. Seven years of tribulation then will transpire, during which God’s primary focus on earth is not the church but Israel.

Revelation 7 tells us that God will redeem and commission 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will circle the globe, delivering the gospel. The spiritual awakening that takes place on earth will be absolutely amazing. While the Antichrist is doing his worst, people representing every language and nation on earth will place their faith in Jesus Christ. Israel—the Jewish people, the descendants of Jacob—will repent and return to the land of Israel to await the Lord’s return to earth.

With that, we will return with the Lord, and following the defeat of the Antichrist and the judgment of the nations described in Matthew 25, the Lord will set up His thousand-year, or millennial, kingdom on earth. We will reign with Christ over all these people who have accepted Christ as their Messiah, and they will be ushered into the kingdom age of Christ on earth.

All the Old Testament and New Testament promises to Israel will be fulfilled literally. The nation literally will be established in their land; there will be a literal throne in Jerusalem and a literal kingdom on earth with Christ reigning supreme.

That is the prophetic promise here in Psalm 67:4. Read it again:

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.

Psalm 68 follows, and it is perfectly placed to illustrate the power of God, who guides us as we listen to Him. We can think of Psalm 68 as overwhelming evidence that God can be trusted to deliver every promise He has ever made.

In verse 1, the Lord’s power is seen as “his enemies [are] scattered” and “those who hate him . . . flee before him.” And verse 2 says, “As wax melts before fire,so the wicked shall perish before 

At the same time, He is described in verse 5 as “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” And verse 6 declares, “God settles the solitary in a home.” In every way, verse 10 reminds us, He has “provided for the needy.” Yes, it might be hand to mouth at times, but the hand to your mouth is the hand of God.

Now in verse 16, the language turns toward the Lord settling Himself on the “mount that God desired for his abode.” That is Mount Zion, or Jerusalem. This is a prophetic statement that Jerusalem will be the capital city in the Lord’s millennial kingdom. (See Psalms 48-50)

What is going to happen as God ushers in this new kingdom age? We are told here in the prophetic poetry of Psalm 68:

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, to him who rides in the heavens . . . Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! (verses 32-35)

And in the meantime, we sing the lyrics in verse 19: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up.”

This sounds like the testimony of George Young and his family as they stood there and looked at a pile of ashes that was once their family home. It sounds like his personal statement of faith as he sat down to write these lyrics:

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,

God leads His dear children along.

Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,

God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,

Some through the fire, but all through the blood.

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song

In the night season and all the day long.

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A Closer Look at the Sufferings of Christ - Psalm 69

We arrive today at Psalm 69, where we find David pouring out his heart to God. But this psalm is not just about David. This is what we call a messianic psalm. This is about Jesus Christ.

You need to keep in mind that David was not just an inspired poet; he was also an inspired prophet.[82] And under the inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit, David is now going to give us insight, not just into the facts of the Lord’s suffering, but also into the feelings the Lord experienced in His suffering. This is a deeply emotional psalm revealing the heart and emotions of the Messiah.

It begins with David crying out to God in verse 2 for deliverance from the “deep mire” into which he is sinking, a place “where there is no foothold.”

There was a gate in Jerusalem known as the Dung Gate, there at the southwest section of the city. All the sewage and garbage of the city was thrown out that gate and down into the valley of Tophet. The last thing you wanted to do was lose your footing and fall into that manure pile.

Well, the Lord didn’t accidentally slip into the manure pile of sin; He took on the sin of the world. He became saturated with sin, as He bore it all in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

Every perverted act, every selfish deed, every pornographic thought, every act of cruelty, every wrong thought, every malicious lie, every wicked deed, and every depraved word—every sin in human history, including every sin you and I will ever commit—our Lord willingly sank into that mire, that mud, that filth, and paid the penalty for it all.[83]He literally became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, Jesus not only died for us; He died as us—sinful and depraved.[84]

David again writes prophetically here in verse 8:“I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien [a foreigner] to my mother’s sons.” This prophecy came to pass when the Jewish nation rejected Jesus. But it also was fulfilled in His own family, for His own mother’s sons rejected Him.

When Jesus visited His hometown of Nazareth, the Jews responded with sarcasm and unbelief; they said:

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? . . . And they took offense at him.” (Matthew 13:55-57)

Mark’s Gospel adds that when Christ’s family—His own siblings—heard that He had launched a public ministry and was calling disciples to follow Him, “they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’”(Mark 3:21).John’s Gospel informs us, “Not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5).

Now we are told in the Bible that Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son. He was not her only son. She and Joseph would go on to have several more children. But Jesus was the firstborn; in fact, He was virgin-born. In other words, the Spirit of God miraculously brought an egg to life in Mary’s womb. This bypassed the sperm of Joseph, allowing Jesus to avoid the fallen nature of Adam, which is passed down through the male—through Adam’s seed (Romans 5:12).

But the Spirit of God used the egg of a human woman, allowing Jesus to have a sinless human nature as well as a divine nature from the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus, who is eternally God the Son, now enters the human race, born of a virgin, born without a sinful nature—fully human and fully God.

And we learn in Matthew 13 that later more children were born to Mary and Joseph. Matthew even gives us some names—James, Joseph, Simon, Judas (or Jude)—and indicates the presence of at least two unnamed sisters.

Given the understanding from the clues we have in the Gospels that Joseph died sometime before Christ’s public ministry began, we can only appreciate Mary all the more. For a number of years, she was a single mom raising at least seven children. Without falling into idolatry and false doctrine, we have every reason to appreciate Mary for her obedience and commitment to God.

But this was also a divided family. None of these siblings believed the claims of Jesus until after His resurrection. Jesus experienced the suffering that came from family division and strife.

David goes on to give another messianic insight here in verse 9: “Zeal for your house has consumed me.” Over in John 2, this is going to be directly applied to something Jesus does.

You might remember that early on in His ministry, Jesus came to Jerusalem at Passover and found the temple filled with money changers and people selling sacrificial animals to the worshipers. They were taking advantage of the people, charging inflated prices for the animals. The religious leaders had turned Passover into a money-making racket. 

Jesus drove them out of the temple and said, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (John 2:16). 

What was He doing? Well, during Passover, it was the duty of each family to clean their homes. Specifically, they were to get rid of any leaven, which most often represented corruption. So, the Jewish people cleaned house in the days prior to Passover. 

And what was Jesus doing here in the temple, a place He called His “Father’s house”? He’s cleaning His Father’s house—cleaning out the corruption.

And John’s Gospel reports, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’” (John 2:17). The disciples recalled this verse in Psalm 69 and applied it to the zeal Jesus had for His Father’s 

Now here in verse 21 of Psalm 69 we find another amazing messianic prophecy. David writes, “For my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” This finds fulfillment at the cross. John 19:28 tells us that shortly before He died on the cross, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

By the way, Jesus began His ministry hungry, as He was being tempted in the wilderness; and now He ends His ministry thirsty. And because of what He accomplished, you and I will one day never hunger or thirst again.

After Jesus cried out that He was thirsty, John 19:29 records, “A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.” Every detail prophesied in God’s plan of salvation came true.

Now here toward the end of Psalm 69, we are given the bigger picture:

For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; the offspring of his servants shall inherit it. (verses 35-36)

David’s psalm speaks prophetically of the life and death of Jesus, and every detail was fulfilled. Now here David’s psalm speaks prophetically of a coming kingdom over which the Messiah will reign. And we can be sure that too will be fulfilled one day.

Who is allowed to live in this coming kingdom? David answers that as he concludes this psalm in verse 36, saying, “Those who love his name shall dwell in it.”

So, do you love His name and all that it represents—His life, His suffering, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection? Do you look back to His death and claim Him as your Savior? Do you look forward to His coming again and claim Him as your King?

If you do, you have a future waiting for you that you cannot begin to imagine.

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Walking With God Through Life - Psalms 70–72

I’ve mentioned in the past that the book of Psalms was originally organized into five books; and today we come to the end of Book Two with Psalms 70 through 72.

Psalm 70 is a brief song—only five verses long. It’s nearly identical to a portion of Psalm 40, so you might wonder why King David, the composer, would repeat lyrics that have already been written down. Well, it seems David’s intent is “to stress the urgency of the [matter here] and highlight the need for God to hurry to his defense.”[85]

There are times when prayer is an urgent matter—like when Peter started to slip under the waves on the Sea of Galilee as he walked on the water toward Jesus. When he started going under, his prayer was pretty short: “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30). And that was good enough. He didn’t have to repeat the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles’ Creed to get the Lord’s attention.

God is not impressed with the length of our prayers; He’s concerned with the depth of our prayers—the sincerity of our heart before the Lord.

Now the superscription, the heading, for Psalm 70 says that this psalm is “for the memorial offering.” At the heart of this psalm is the importance of remembering God’s faithfulness.

David begins by urging the Lord to rescue him once again. He says in verse 1, “Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!” Have you ever prayed a prayer that basically asked the Lord to hurry? Well, David is doing that here. He says in verse 5, “O Lord, do not delay!”

He’s saying, “Hurry up, Lord. I’ve got an emergency situation here, and I need You to step in.” Maybe you are there right now, and you are singing this psalm today—“Lord, I need an answer and You had better hurry because I’m in deep trouble!”

David is urgent in his request, but don’t miss the fact that he is also confident. He knows the Lord will deliver him at just the right time.

Maybe you can identify with David’s sense of urgency here, and maybe you will be challenged as well with David’s motive for praying as he wraps up this song. He says here in verse 4, “May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’”

Essentially, here is what David is communicating: “It seems like God is running behind schedule—that something has delayed His hand. But I know in my heart that God is great; He is all-powerful, and He always arrives on time.”

Psalm 71 addresses a relationship with the Lord that isn’t put to the test just in some emergency situation but over the course of a lifetime. The anonymous composer of this psalm writes here in verse 9, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.”

And in verses 17-18 he writes:

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

If you put the truths of Psalms 70 and 71 together, you will have a solid trust in the Lord. He is going to be sufficient for you when you are in the emergency room, and He is going to walk with you all the way to the funeral home. He will shepherd you all along the way.

Two men gave their testimony at a church meeting some time ago. The first man stood and said that he had lived a long, wicked life and hated God. But then, he said, “Just a few years ago, the Lord saved me. He forgave my guilt and cleansed my life. Today my life is transformed. I wish to bear witness to the power of God to save even such a wretch as I was.”

The second man stood and gave a very different testimony. He said, “I was born into a Christian home. My earliest memory is of my mother rocking me to sleep singing: ‘Jesus loves me this I know.’ I was taught the truth of God at my mother’s knee and around my father’s table. I accepted the Lord when I was ten and I have never turned my back on Him. . . . Now as an old man of seventy I can say that for sixty years I have been kept in ‘the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.’ Our brother has told you of the grace of God that saves! I testify to the grace of God that saves 和 keeps!”[86]

That’s the testimony of the psalmist: from his earliest years to his senior years, God has been faithful to him.

So, what is the psalmist going to do in response? Well, he writes out a fresh commitment here in verse 18, declaring that he wants to proclaim God’s might, His power, to “all those to come.” He wants to impact the next generation for the glory of God.

Frankly, I must say, it’s hard to get older people in the church to volunteer to serve, whether it’s in the nursery or teaching children in Sunday school or mentoring young mothers. Seniors can be tempted to settle for solitude and letting younger, more energetic people carry the load.

Not this psalmist. He is saying, “Lord, I’m gray-headed, but let me influence young people; let me tell the next generation of your faithfulness.”

Now in Psalm 72 the superscription is “Of Solomon,” or, as some Bible versions translate it, “For Solomon.” “Of Solomon” suggests that Solomon wrote it. But I believe this was written by David for Solomon. All you have to do is read verse 20, where the psalmist says, “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”

So, this psalm was written by David—as a dad, a father—for his son, Solomon. David wants to influence the next generation as well, and in this case, it’s his own son.

Psalm 72 is really a prayer of David for his son, who will soon sit on the throne of Israel. He prays this blessing on Solomon, in verse 2: “May he [the king] judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!” Then he prays, “May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” (verse 6). In other words, “Lord, may my son be a blessing and an encouragement to others—like rain on a thirsty field of grass.”

As a loving father, David is giving Solomon a gift of enormous value—the gift of encouraging words. I know a few fathers who have given their adult children the gift of words in letters they have written to them before passing away.

One godly father wrote a letter like that to his family. Here is what he penned:

You children and your spouses have been the joy of my life, as have been my grandchildren. I urge you to remain true to your Savior. I have no doubt that you will. Love each other deeply in your marriages. Keep your family ties strong. Lay treasure in heaven because the stuff of earth is empty. Bank accounts, houses, and furniture mean nothing to me now. Beware of sin, and confess it as soon as you discover it in your life. Let the Holy Spirit’s gift of joy color all your life. Get sweeter as you get older. I love you all, and each one. I’ll see you sooner than you think! Dad.

That sounds very much like David’s encouragement to his son to remain faithful to the glory of God. He ends his psalm by writing, “Blessed be [God’s] glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen!”(verse 19).

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Asking Seven Forbidden Questions - Psalm 73:1-15

Today we arrive at Psalm 73. This Psalm begins the third of the five books of the Psalms. Scholars believe that while King David compiled books one and two, it was the Levite Ezra who compiled the last three and put the final arrangement on all five books.

Now let’s switch gears with a question: What if the man who was in charge of the music program for the nation of Israel said, “I’m going to quit my job and leave the ministry, and it’s all because of the wicked people around me who have it so much better than I do”?

Well, one Old Testament music leader almost did just that. His name is Asaph, and he confesses in Psalm 73 to nearly ending his ministry for that reason and more.

Asaph was a Levite, one of three chief musicians appointed by David to lead the choral services of the sanctuary. He was a composer, arranger, singer, and director. And I say all that to tell you that Asaph is the last person you would ever think would quit simply because unbelievers seemed to have it better than he did. But that is exactly what he admits to. In fact, he writes a song about it!

We arrive at that song today—Psalm 73. And Asaph starts out correctly here with this statement in verse 1: “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.”

That is true, but keep in mind that being pure in heart is not a reference to perfection but to connection. The pure in heart are the people connected to God by faith through His mercy and grace.

With that opening statement, Asaph now makes this rather startling confession in verse 2:“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.”The great composer and arranger of Israel admits that he almost slipped off the path. Now, everybody is awake!

Asaph then begins to pour out his inner battle with doubt and questions and confusion. Evidently, he has had a long, private battle with God, which he now makes public.

He proceeds to make a number of statements that clearly point to some underlying questions that are bothering him. These are what I call forbidden questions. They are questions believers don’t think they are supposed to ask—at least out loud. You might think of them, but you would never write a song about them!

The first question is this: Why do unbelievers have more money than I do? Asaph says here in verse 3,“I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Asaph looks around at people who have no time for God. In contrast, he is dedicated to the Lord. So, why is it that he has a hard time paying his bills and those unbelievers seem to have plenty of money left over?

Asaph moves on to ask another troubling question: Why do unbelievers seem to have less pressure in life? He complains to God in verse 4, “They have no pangs until death.”

The word for “pangs” here refers to fetters or chains or struggles that weigh them down. Unbelievers just seem to “glide into eternity without a struggle.”[87]The road they are traveling seems to be paved, while Asaph’s road seems to have one pothole after another.

Here is another confusing issue for Asaph: Why do unbelievers enjoy better health than I do?

He writes here in verse 4, “Their bodies are fat and sleek.” To us that may not sound all that healthy, especially that part about being fat. You get fat when you eat too much chocolate cake.

Well, the Hebrew expression here means “healthy and strong.”[88] In other words, Asaph is going to the doctor every other month, and his unbelieving neighbor hasn’t taken a sick day in ten years. Asaph is asking, “Why is that ungodly person healthier than I am?”

Asaph asks another forbidden question here that you are not going to put on the church prayer list, but you sure are wondering: Why do ungodly people seem to have trouble-free lives? In verse 5, Asaph writes,“They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.” They have trouble-free lives. Lord, why is that? he wonders. That just isn’t fair.

Asaph then quickly moves on to another question: Why are wicked people not exposed for who they really are? He writes here in verse 6,“Pride is their necklace.”

You might remember that when Pharaoh promoted Joseph, he gave Joseph a golden necklace (Genesis 41:42). Belshazzar did the same thing for Daniel (Daniel 5:29). Such necklaces in ancient days were tokens of dignity and status.[89]

Asaph is wondering here why wicked people get promoted to places of status when they ought to be exposed. It appears that they are getting away with their wicked lives.

Here’s another question that bothers Asaph: Why are unbelievers allowed to blaspheme God without being silenced?

In verse 9, Asaph describes their blasphemy as he writes, “They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.” They are strutting around like peacocks with their tongues in full plumage against heaven—against God. And instead of being silenced, they get standing ovations!Verse 10 says,“Therefore [unbelievers] turn back to them, and find no fault in them.”

Their defiance against God makes them popular. Their sin makes them famous. People find no fault in them; in fact, the world can’t get enough of them.

Asaph is struggling with this. Instead of being silenced by God, he writes in verse 12 that these blasphemers are “always at ease, they increase in riches.”

With that, Asaph moves to the heart of his frustration—and it isn’t just about the unbeliever who seems to get away with everything. Asaph writes here in verse 13, “All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.”His question is this: Why has my commitment to God not paid off?”

Again, you are not going to ask this question in Sunday school, but here it is in print. Living a godly life all these years does not seem to be worth it to Asaph. He writes in verse 14, “All the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.”

Every day when he got out of bed, it wasn’t long before God convicted him of something. “Look at all the wicked people around me,” Asaph says; “God doesn’t seem to rebuke 或者 convict them for anything.”

Now Asaph admits he has carried all this inside because he writes here in verse 15, “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed the generation of your children.”

In essence, he is saying, “I am Israel’s music director. If I bare my soul and share my doubts and frustrations, I could negatively influence the next generation.” There is truth to that. Those who are older in the faith need to be careful with what they say and how they influence younger believers in the faith.

But aren’t you glad that God had Asaph put these forbidden questions on paper? God knows we have all wondered similar things, whether we are young in the faith or older believers.

It is actually easy for our feet to slip, to get caught up in this valley of confusion and frustration. Perhaps right now, you can’t see very many advantages to living a committed life for the Lord. You are looking around at unbelievers, and just like Asaph, you are wondering why your life has to be so hard. You are having a difficult time counting your blessings.

Well, Asaph isn’t nearly finished writing his testimony in song. This first half of Psalm 73 has been fairly negative; it’s been brutally honest and emotionally raw. But something is going to happen that will change Asaph’s perspective, and it can change ours as well.

I will give you a clue. Asaph began this psalm by admitting that his steps had nearly slipped. But rather than slip away, he is going to slip inside the sanctuary of God and receive some answers from the Lord, as we will see when we continue our study in Psalm 73.

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Finding Answers in the Sanctuary - Psalm 73:16-28

In our last study here in Psalm 73, we found Asaph, one of the leading musicians in Israel, ready to throw in the towel. He composed a song to tell us about all the questions and frustrations he had wrestled with and how close his feet had come to slipping.

We detailed seven questions Asaph effectively asked the Lord here in this psalm. And every one of these questions has probably run through our minds more than once. These are questions like: Why do unbelievers seem to have less trouble in their lives? Why do unbelievers seem to have plenty of money? Why do the wicked often seem to have better health? And why do evil people not get exposed for who they are, instead of receiving the approval of everyone around them? While the believer struggles with opposition, the wicked get a standing ovation.

As Asaph labored with these inner frustrations and questions, he writes here in verse 16, that it was“a wearisome task.” He is basically saying, “The fact that those who hate God seem to get away with it and those who follow God do not seem to benefit from it—well, trying to figure that out literally wore me out. It was a wearisome task.”

Now Asaph mentioned at the beginning of this testimonial psalm that his feet had almost stumbled and his steps had nearly slipped. The good news is that instead of completely slipping and falling spiritually, Asaph slips instead into the sanctuary of God. And at this point in his song, everything begins to change. He writes in verse 17,“I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.”

In other words, he says, “I looked a little farther down the path. Yes, my life is hard, and the lives of unbelievers look easy—they seem carefree in life. But what is waiting at the end of the path is what matters.”

The issue is not about their carefree disposition; it’s about their final destination. It is here that Asaph begins to regain a biblical perspective on the unbeliever. He writes in verse 18,“Truly you [Lord] set them in slippery places.”It might look like they are carefree and secure, but their situation is only temporary.

Asaph goes on to describe their coming appointment with death. He says in verse 19,“How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!” He describes death as a terrifying reality.

Charles Spurgeon commented on this text more than a hundred years ago when he wrote, “Without warning, without escape, without hope . . . Despite their golden chains, their [expensive] apparel . . . death hurries them away!”[90] Their lives last but a moment before the terror of death sweeps them away.

Asaph says here in verse 20,“Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them.” It seems like they are living the dream, but dreams last only a few minutes. Likewise, their lives, which seem to last a long time, in the light of eternity last but a few minutes.

You see, Asaph has regained a biblical perspective on the lost. And that replaces his envy with pity.

Asaph also regains a biblical perspective on himself. He writes,“When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant” (verses 21-22). Let me paraphrase his words this way: “Lord, when you convicted my heart over my resentment and envy, reminding me of the unbeliever’s tragic destiny, I realized how foolish I was in my thinking.”

Listen beloved, if you are envying or resenting unbelievers because of their success—their health, their house, their money, their stuff—just consider their tragic end. And, like Asaph here, that will change your perspective.

We do not envy the lost; we pity them. We pray for them. We want to win them for Christ. We realize that if they finally reject the gospel, their dream life will be replaced one day soon with eternal judgment and suffering.

Now with that new perspective, Asaph gives us something positive to sing about here in Psalm 73. He effectively says, “Let’s sing about the fact that God is continually guarding us.” He writes in verse 23,“I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.” God never goes off duty; He never stops guarding His beloved.

He also says, “Let’s sing about God wisely guiding us.” In verse 24 Asaph composes these lyrics: “You guide me with your counsel.”God’s Word is a Wisdom Journal, which is why we are calling our study through God’s Word a Wisdom Journey.

Asaph now looks down the road to the end of his own life—and the lives of those who follow the Lord. He writes about our future, and it isn’t terrifying; it’s triumphant. Verse 24 says,“You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will receive me to glory.”

The solution for Asaph’s frustration was a matter of concentration. He had focused on what the wicked enjoyed, not where they were heading. He had focused on what he was suffering and forgot where he was heading.

Now all that has changed. With a renewed perspective, Asaph writes this great text worthy of singing to this very day: “Whom have I in heaven but you [Lord]? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (verse 25). He is saying, “I might not have much money, and I might have plenty of challenges, but I do have You.” Then he writes in verse 26,“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” 

With that, Asaph comes to the final measure in this great musical composition, where he writes,“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works” (verse 28).

When I was growing up, the church we attended near downtown Norfolk, Virginia, had wooden letters attached to the wall behind the pulpit. The letters spelled out, “To Know Him and to Make Him Known.”

That is Asaph here. We can hear him saying now, “I’ve been reminded of who I am, who God is, and what matters most in life. And the greatest thing I can do with my life is worship Him, get to know Him better, and then make Him known to everyone in my world.” This renewed perspective brought Asaph to a place of renewed joy.

Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic woman, wrote about a conversation she had with a woman who said to her, “Joni, you always look happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy! . . . How do you do it?” Joni wrote:

“I don’t do it,” I said. … “After my husb和, Ken, leaves for w或者k at 6:00 A.M., I’m alone until I hear the front do或者 open at 7:00 A.M. That’s when a friend arrives to get me up. While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, ‘Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don’t have the strength to face this routine one more time. … I don’t have a smile to take into this day. But you do. May I have yours?’”[91]

This is the testimony of Asaph here in Psalm 73. His circumstances had not changed. He is still going to face health problems, financial shortfalls, and the pressures and troubles of a new day.

His circumstances have not changed, but his heart has. His focus has shifted toward the Lord. His perspective is once again taking the long view all the way to the end of life and the glory of heaven.

And as a result, God has effectively given His smile to Asaph, a smile to face another day. Beloved, may God give you His smile today.

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God Always Has the Final Word - Psalms 74–76

The heading of Psalm 74 tells us that the author is Asaph. This man is a descendant of the Asaph who lived during the days of King David and no doubt named in honor of his forefather who had led the nation in worship.

It is clear this Asaph of Psalm 74 lived much later because verse 3 tells us, “The enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!” This describes the destruction of the temple, which took place some 400 years after David’s reign.

So, this psalmist has lived to see the destruction of the temple. He may have been in Jerusalem or in exile when he composed this psalm.

What we do know for certain is that he is writing on behalf of the entire nation when he says here in verse 1, “O God, why do you cast us off forever?” 

Israel had violated God’s covenant for hundreds of years, and the Lord now has fulfilled His own promise made back in Deuteronomy 28 to punish Israel for their rebellion against Him. The weight of God’s discipline has come upon the nation, which is now in exile in Babylon.

But notice that Asaph is not arguing with God about this. He is just wondering how long it is going to last. His plea here for God to remove His heavy hand indicates to us that repentance has occurred. And now the people are facing those difficult days of waiting on God to complete their discipline.

You know as well as Asaph does that waiting on God to clear the path for us after we have confessed our sin can be difficult. Frankly, part of God’s discipline is waiting on Him to lead us on to the next chapter. And waiting gives us the opportunity to realize that our sin not only hurt our reputation but the Lord’s as well.

Asaph writes in verse 10, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?” God’s name has taken a beating. Listen, beloved, it is possible for Christians to tarnish the reputation of God.

As you read the closing lyrics of this psalm, it is clear that while Asaph and the nation are suffering the consequences of their sin, they now have a new priority; and that priority is to exalt—to rebuild, if you please—the reputation of their faithful Lord.

That’s highlighted here in verse 12: “God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” He is the King, the sovereign King of all the earth.

One author writes:

The city of Jerusalem had been wrecked, and the temple had been destroyed and burned—but the essentials had not been touched by the enemy! The nation still had Jehovah God as their God … and [God] was [still] at work in the world.[92]

The next psalm, Psalm 75, seems to be directly related to seeing God’s name vindicated, which it will be, when God’s judgment comes to pass upon those who defy Him and scoff at Him.

That is the idea here in verse 2 as the Lord warns the scoffer, “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.” Then in verse 4 God says to the boastful, “‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn [that is, don’t be defiant].’” Judgment day is coming.

Beloved, the wickedness that runs through every nation and on every continent today God will judge. He has appointed a day on which He will judge the scoffer, the boastful, the defiant, and the unrepentant who have rejected Him.

The apostle Paul told the leaders and philosophers in the proud city of Athens, “God . . . commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness”(Acts 17:30-31).

Well, the psalmist here in Psalm 75 puts the coming judgment of God in rather terrifying poetry. Verse 8 describes it this way:

In the hand of the Lord there is a cupwith foaming wine, well mixed,and he pours out from it,and all the wicked of the earthshall drain it down to the dregs.

Throughout the Bible the symbolic significance of the cup is not its appearance but its contents. Here in Psalm 75, judgment is in the cup. God is going to hand this cup to the wicked, and they are going to drink to their own damnation.[93]

You might remember in Mark’s Gospel the Lord is praying in the garden of Gethsemane as He prepares to experience the wrath of God as He bears our sins on the cross. And Jesus prays, “Father . . . remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36).

Oh, what a glorious thought that we’re saved from God’s wrath for one reason only – we’re trusting in Christ’s death on our behalf – you see, on that cross Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, drank our damnation dry.

One author made the wonderful connection that because Jesus drank the cup of death [for us], He can offer us the cup of the new covenant.”[94] That is the covenant of forgiveness and new life in Him.

But those who reject the Lord are effectively reaching out to take the cup of God’s judgment and wrath. That is dramatically illustrated now as we sail into Psalm 76.

Many Old Testament scholars agree that the setting of this psalm is back in 2 Kings 19, where God judged the Assyrian army as they surrounded the helpless city of Jerusalem.

That was the time when King Hezekiah was doing “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Fourteen years into his reign, the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem. In a moment of weakness, Hezekiah agreed to pay them tribute—basically bribing them to leave Jerusalem alone. But this was not enough for the Assyrians, who decided to destroy Jerusalem anyway. Hezekiah responded by humbling himself and going before the Lord in prayer.

When the people of Jerusalem woke up the next morning, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were lying dead on the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, destroyed by the Angel of the Lord.

No wonder the Israelites would sing this psalm to God for generations. The lyrics here in verse 4 celebrate the Lord: “Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.” And then we read these words:

But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? From the heavens You uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. (verses 7-9).

And verse 9 concludes with“Selah”—think about that!

Against impossible odds, God rescued Jerusalem and His people. Verse 10 declares, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you [the Lord].”

That should encourage every Christian today! When the world’s rebellion increases, don’t lose hope—and don’t lose sight. God eventually will turn mankind’s defiance into a final demonstration of His majesty and His power.

I have mentioned before the tragic life of Friedrich Nietzsche, who laid the groundwork in the late nineteenth century for terrible apostasy and defiance against God and the gospel of Christ. He taught that God is dead and that Christianity is a curse on mankind rather than a cure for mankind. Upon Nietzsche’s death, someone penned these fitting words:

“God is dead.” (Signed) Nietzsche

“Nietzsche is dead.” (Signed) God[95]

What does this mean? What does Psalm 76 mean? It means that “God always has the last word.”[96]

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A Chain Reaction of Truth - Psalms 77–78

Now as we open Psalm 77 today, the superscription—that heading in small print—tells us that this is “a psalm of Asaph,” one of Israel’s leading composers. We’re also told the psalm was to be sung “according to Jeduthun.” Jeduthun was an assistant music leader in David’s time as well, according to 1 Chronicles 25:1, and he evidently wrote the musical score for this psalm.

We don’t know what the tune sounded like. But while God did not leave us the melody line, He did leave us the lyrics.

Psalm 77 reflects on the mystery of God as He walks through history. His footsteps in the waves of the sea are mysterious and most often hidden.

Asaph writes:

The waters saw You, O God . . . The deeps also trembled . . . The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world . . . Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, and Your footprints may not be known. (verses 16, 18-19 NASB)

You could paraphrase those final words, “Nobody saw you come or go” (The Message). Yet the Lord’s presence was evident.

This reminds me of the first English novel, entitled Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe 和 published in 1719. It is a novel about the adventures of a young man shipwrecked on an island near the coast of Venezuela. Before the ship completely breaks up, Robinson is able to salvage some tools, some supplies, and a Bible. He soon figures out how to hunt for food, grow barley and rice, and even make pottery. He reads the Bible and eventually gives his heart and life to the Lord. He keeps a journal of his adventures over the course of the next twenty-eight years on this island; he records all sorts of hardships and dangers.

Believing he is all alone on that island, he is shocked one day to see a footprint in the sand. He is terrified and mystified—he is evidently not alone after all. Eventually, he discovers a native who has escaped from cannibals. Robinson and this native become lifelong friends and eventually are rescued and sail back to England together.

From a mysterious footprint to becoming his best friend—that’s the idea here with Asaph as he writes of God’s mysterious footprints in the sands of time. Asaph writes in the final verse that the Lord becomes a faithful Shepherd, leading him, guiding him, all along the way.

Now in the very next psalm, Psalm 78, Asaph wants the truth of what he has learned to be passed down to the next generation. Like Robinson Crusoe’s journal that told of his adventures and of the faithfulness of the Lord, Asaph does not want us to keep our adventures—and the faithfulness of the Lord—secret.

He writes here in verses 1-4:

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;incline your ears to the words of my mouth!I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings from of old,things that we have heard and known,that our fathers have told us.We will not hide them from their children,but tell to the coming generationthe glorious deeds of the Lord, 和 his might,and the wonders that he has done.

This is a chain reaction. Our parents taught the glorious deeds of the Lord to us, and we are going to teach them to our children.

Asaph writes here in verse 6 of God’s purpose: “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children.” This chain reaction is to continue and not break apart at any link in any generation, and this psalm provides some clues on how to do that.

Now if you are not married or you do not have any children, don’t change the channel. The responsibility to influence the next generation belongs to us all, even if it is simply telling that neighbor or coworker or fellow student the truth about the Lord.

Let me give you three priorities for all of us found here in Psalm 78.

Priority #1: We need to help the next generation know who God is. Asaph makes this aim of instruction very clear here in verse 7: “So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God.” People cannot place their hope in God unless they have seen the hand of God, that is, the glorious works of the Lord in creation and throughout history.

Priority #2: We need to teach the next generation to think biblically. Note again verse 7:“So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” Not only do children need to know who God is, but they also need to know what God has said. What do they know about God’s Word—about God’s commandments and His instructions for living?

One author writing on this text offered a good reminder: “The best education is education in the best things.”[97] Children do not just need a good education; they need an education in good things. And that must include the truth of God’s Word.

Now you might be thinking that children don’t think all that deeply about God and life in general. Oh no; they have a lot of questions, and some of them might surprise you.

Through the years of my pastorate, our children’s minister would have the children in third through fifth grades write down questions each year that they wanted answered. Let me read you some of them:

·How are God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit the same God?

·How do I handle the emotions of having someone in my family die?

·If the person I marry one day abuses me, can I get a divorce?

·If people live far away and never hear about Jesus, can they go to heaven?

·If God knew Satan was going to sin, why did God create him?

·Do angels have a free will?

·Did God create girl angels? That one is easy. The answer is yes, there are girl angels. I know because I married one of them!

Let me tell you something, these young children are asking deep questions about God and His Word. Let’s make it a priority to teach them how to think biblically.

Priority #3: We need to teach the next generation how to live wisely. Asaph writes here that biblical instruction is designed so that the next generation “should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation” (verse 8). Asaph is referring to his disobedient Israelite forefathers who rebelled against God.Let’s remind those in our family and in our world how to live wisely and avoid wasting their lives through disobedience to God’s Word.

This is the chain reaction described by the apostle Paul when he told Pastor Timothy, “What you have heard from me . . . entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

We need to keep this chain reaction of truth going. Let’s teach the next generation to know God, think biblically, and live wisely.

I love the story about the kid who was fussing in church. He wouldn’t sit still, talked out loud, dropped his books and his crayons, and finally started crying. His father finally had enough and picked him up, put him on his shoulder, and marched out of the sanctuary—that boy knew he was in trouble now. And just before they got to the back doors, the kid hollered out, “Pray for me!” Well, at least he had learned the value of prayer.

So here are the ultimate priorities for us today: let’s show the next generation that God is worth knowing, that God’s Word is worth learning, and that God’s will is worth obeying.

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The Sting of Consequences and the Song of Confidence - Psalms 79–81

Now as we open Psalm 79, we are told this is a psalm written by Asaph. This particular Asaph would have been a descendant of the great composer, Asaph, who had served alongside David many years earlier.

This man has lived to see the devastation of Israel by the Babylonians. The Babylonians were the ones who deported leading citizens such as young Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And it was the Babylonian army that completely destroyed the glorious temple of Solomon.

And that is the clue here to the timing of this rather sad song of Israel. Verse 1 says:

O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

The unthinkable has happened. The enemy came into the sanctuary. They ripped down the veil, stole the remaining articles of worship and then put it all to the torch.[98]

This took place in 586 BC, when the long-prophesied judgment fell on the nation as a consequence of decades of sin and defiance. Maybe you are dealing right now with the consequences of your sin in some manner. Well, the good news is that Asaph’s song is not all sadness; it actually gives us an inspired guide back into fellowship with God.

First, I want to point out that Asaph owns these consequences. Already he has told God that Jerusalem is in ruins. He says in verse 1 that these enemy warriors “have defiled your holy temple.”

This was not God’s fault; this was the Israelites’ fault. Asaph is owning these consequences here.

One of my favorite commentators, born in Wales before the onset of World War II, was deeply troubled by the bombing of London. As parts of London were ablaze everyone feared, not only for their own lives, but also for the survival of their city and the historic buildings, like Westminster Abbey with its soaring columns, and stained-glass windows. As a young boy, John asked his father one day, “Do you think God would allow this beautiful abbey to be destroyed?” His father replied, “Why not? He allowed the temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed.” And so He had.[99]

By the time Asaph writes this psalm, the shekinah glory of God’s presence had long since departed. The temple was just a beautiful building with religious traditions and nothing more. This is like so much of religion today, which possesses beautiful buildings and ornate symbols and robed choirs and high-sounding traditions, but the glory of God is absent, because the gospel of Jesus Christ is missing.

Part of the consequences of Israel’s defiance is the collapse of its sacrificial system. In fact, to this very day, there are no sacrifices on the temple mount in Israel. The temple is gone.

Asaph names these consequences. And this is important because owning the consequences of your sin begins to set your heart and mind toward true repentance. It isn’t God’s fault, and it isn’t somebody else’s fault that you sinned—it’s yours alone.

Having owned the consequences, Asaph then moves on to present his concerns.The next few verses imply thatGod’s people have repented 和 now Asaph wants to know how long the consequence are going to last. He asks here in verse 5, “How long, O Lord?”

This is like asking your parents “How long am I on restriction?” “How long do I have to be in time-out?” “How long, O Lord?”

Here is Asaph’s plea in verse 8: “Let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.”To be “brought very low” means to be humbled. 

This kind of humility is where God begins leading you back into fellowship with Him. Consequences are designed to humble you and transport you back into fellowship with God.

So, Asaph is now singing, “We your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever” (verse 13). Notice,their circumstances have not changed, but their hearts have been changed; they are once again sheep, following their Shepherd.

Now Psalm 80 gives us a little different perspective on responding to the consequences of sin. This psalm also is attributed to Asaph, and the melody here is called, “According to Lilies. A testimony,” or simply “Lilies of testimony.”[100] We don’t know what this tune sounded like and probably won’t, until perhaps the millennial kingdom when many Old Testament traditions are reenacted in honor of Jesus, the Messiah who will be seated on the throne of David. So, we will just have to wait until that coming kingdom.

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, adds a time stamp here in the heading of this psalm that says, “concerning Assyria.” This dates Psalm 80 around the time when Samaria fell to the enemy forces of Assyria, as recorded in 2 Kings 17.[101]

When the kingdom of Israel split after the reign of Solomon, Jerusalem became the capital city of the southern kingdom, which included the tribe of Benjamin; Samaria became the capital city of the northern kingdom, where the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were the most influential.

You don’t have to remember any of this for the quiz, but I say it because Asaph says to the Lord here, “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!”(verse 2).

In effect, he is asking the Lord to reunite the northern tribes, represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, with the southern tribes, represented by Benjamin. Asaph wants the nation restored and the divided tribes reunited.

This division between the tribes was grievous to Asaph. And we find here some principles that are operative today for us to bring about unity. Let me tell you, if you are really going to pray for people who are on the other side of an argument—to pray for the division to end—you are going to have to care more about your brothers and sisters than yourself. You are not just praying about them; you are praying about us.

Asaph prays throughout this psalm: “Save us,” “rest或者e us,” “let your face shine, that we may be saved.” In other words, Asaph is praying for everybody. Listen, no matter what side you are on, we are all in need of the grace of God.

Did you know it is impossible to genuinely pray for people and hate them at the same time? It is impossible to pray for people and gossip about them at the same time. When you intercede for others, like Asaph here, you are reminded that you need God’s grace as much as they do.

Now Psalm 81 opens with a call to the people to “shout for joy to the God of Jacob!”Verse 2 says, “Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.” And verse 3 calls for the blowing of the trumpet—the shophar, 或者 ram’s h或者n—which was typically the role of the priest.

This psalm is a call to praise the Lord for His deliverance. Particularly in view here in verses 6 to 10 is the Lord’s rescue of Israel from Egypt. But this psalm is also an invitation to walk faithfully with God. He says in the middle of verse 9, “There shall be no strange god among you.”

This warning is true to this day.God is not just one of many religious options you can tuck away somewhere and then pull out when needed. No, He is your only option, He is your only guide, He is your only Savior and the only Lord of your life.

When He is the center of your life, you can join with the people of God, heeding Asaph’s call at the beginning of this psalm to “sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.”

This sounds very much like Isaac Watts, who wrote three centuries ago this hymn for the believer to sing:

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come;

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home![102]

Look back over your shoulder; He has been faithful. And today? He will be dependable. And into eternity? He will keep every promise He has ever made to you and me.

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Judging the Judges - Psalms 82–84

As we arrive at Psalm 82 in our Wisdom Journey, we are confronted by an issue often addressed in the Bible—injustice. Injustice is a matter of great concern to God because it violates His very nature. God is just; He always does what is right. He is not partial, and He cannot be bribed or influenced. He always stands against injustice wherever it is found, and He lays down some pretty severe warnings here in this psalm.

The author Asaph writes in verse 1, “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods, he holds judgment.”

Now what is this council of the “gods” in which God is standing, about to pass judgment? Most English Bibles translate the Hebrew noun here (elohim) as “gods.” It is, in fact, one of the names for the true 和 living God. So, does this suggest that false gods or wooden idols are real? I don’t believe that for a moment. Indeed, the Bible is clear that wooden idols are nothing more than blocks of wood and that God Himself is God alone (2 Kings 19:19).

So, what are we to make of this verse? Well, several times in the Old Testament, this noun elohim is used for rulers or judges, and this is the case here. And that is because judges are to act on behalf of God, applying His standard of justice—of what is right and what is wrong. They intersect people’s lives, holding a position of great authority. Think about it—a human judge renders judgment on another person. You cannot get any higher on the food chain, so to speak, than that position.

This psalm is picturing God as about to render judgment on the judges of earth. He says here in verse 2, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” They had been given the authority to represent a just standard, and instead they acted with partiality toward the wicked.

Note what God tells them in verse 6:

“You are gods [judges], sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, 和 fall like any prince.”

He is saying, “You might be sitting high up there on some judge’s bench, but one day when you die, you are going to stand before the Judge and give account for your actions.” God is reminding them here of their mortality,[103] and ultimately of their accountability before God, the Judge of all judges.

This is a serious warning to anyone listening today who might be a judge or a political or corporate official with incredible power over people. You might have legal authority in your city, state, or country, but Psalm 82 ought to be on the dashboard of your automobile as you drive to work. God is listening and watching. He knows every verdict you render and every decision you make and why you actually make it.

Asaph delivers your job description from God Himself in verses 3-4:

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

In other words, do not be influenced by the fact that people cannot pay you back; render your verdict based on the character of God Himself.

The next psalm here, Psalm 83, deals with this same subject of injustice. In this case, pagan nations are preparing to attack Israel. The threat is described in verses 2-4:

Your enemies make an uproar . . . they consult together against your treasured ones . . . They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

There is no sense here that Israel has sinned and the nations in these verses are being sent as God’s judgment on Israel. The injustice here is that these nations are conspiring against Israel for two reasons: they hate God, and they hate God’s people.

Are there people at your work or your school who clearly dislike or perhaps even hate you, and you can’t figure out why? You have done nothing but show them kindness and you have basically tried to stay out of their way. But they don’t like you, and every chance they get, they say or do something unkind. Why? Because in their heart of hearts they hate God, and you happen to belong to Him.

Then in verses 9 through 12, Asaph asks the Lord to judge these nations just as He did in the past during the period of the judges. But is praying for judgment on those who act unjustly the right kind of prayer request for God’s people?[104] Well, apparently it is—at least in some cases—because the Word of God records it here without any apology.

The crucial question is this: What is your motivation for asking God to judge those who are unjust toward you or others? Listen to the motivation of Asaph here in verses 16-18:

Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. . . . let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

This is the right motivation, and it’s evangelistic: “Judge them, Lord. Bring them to their knees in defeat and shame so that they might come to follow You!”

Remember, beloved, that those people who hate you are not really your enemies; they are your mission field.

Now Psalm 84 was written by the sons of Korah. These men had been assigned to be the gatekeepers of the temple, near the place where God manifested His glorious presence (1 Chronicles 26).

Today we would think of these men as hard-working, salt-of-the-earth men. Their hands were calloused, and they wore overalls, so to speak, to work every day.

But these were faithful men who served diligently. And this song they wrote is absolutely amazing. In fact, I would like to think that I love the Lord as much as they did.

This psalm follows up nicely on the psalms we have just studied. We now have a reminder that God is the place of refuge from the injustice of the world.

Verse 3 says:

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Throughout the Bible the sparrow symbolizes something of little worth. Up to the time of Jesus, boys were known to trap sparrows and sell them for a few pennies at the temple because they were commonly used in the sacrificial system.

Today you might think you are just a little sparrow, not worth all that much in the eyes of the world. But God loves the sparrow and finds a place for it to dwell in safety.

The sons of Korah mentioned not only a sparrow here in verse 3, but also a swallow. Swallows represent a rather restless sort of busy living. Always fluttering here and there, a swallow will wear you out trying to follow it. But this psalm says here that the swallow has made a nest in God’s presence. It has finally settled down in the care of God.

Today you might be feeling worthless or restless; the world around you might be treating you unjustly—perhaps you have recently stood before an unjust judge. Be assured, though, that God is aware of your situation. He cares about you. He loves you. He hasn’t abandoned you. And before Him, the righteous Judge, you can build a nest. You can find rest and security and hope in Him alone.

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How to Make a Fresh Start with God - Psalms 85–87

I have heard it said that “the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.”[105] And I agree wholeheartedly. Now, that doesn’t mean you can lose your salvation. Someone who has been born again by faith in Christ cannot become unborn. You cannot lose your salvation, but you certainly can lose your sense of direction, your joy, and your contentment in Christ; and that calls for a new beginning.

You might call such new beginnings fresh starts. They are moments of rededication to the Lord. You also might call them revivals in your heart.

We tend to use the word revival for unbelievers becoming Christians. Well, that is not an accurate use of the word. And that is because unbelievers are spiritually dead in sin. Their spirit is dead, and you cannot revive a dead corpse.

As a believer, you are alive spiritually. But if you are in a spiritual slump or a time of disobedience or disillusionment, a reviving of your heart toward the things of the Lord becomes a new beginning for you. It’s a fresh start in your walk with the Lord.

Now here in Psalm 85, the sons of Korah are going to teach Israel—and us—how to make a fresh start as we walk with the Lord. And that fresh start always begins with confession of sin and the joy of being forgiven, as verse 2 sings here: “[Lord,] you forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.”

Following confession and forgiveness, the psalm goes on in verse 4 to say, “Restore us again, O God of our salvation”; then in verse 6, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

Those words bring to mind that old hymn of the faith I learned as a young child, written by Dr. William Mackay:

Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love.

May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory,

Hallelujah! Amen!

Hallelujah! Thine the glory,

Revive us again.[106]

In other words, “Lord, today is a day of rededication to You, a day of new beginnings. Let’s make a fresh start as we walk with You today.”

Now the next psalm is a compilation of several psalms. In fact, nearly every verse in Psalm 86 is taken from another psalm. David is so saturated with the Word of God that it just comes out here in his prayer to the Lord. He demonstrates what it takes to make a fresh start in your walk with God.

You cannot have a close relationship with God if you have a casual relationship with God’s Word. Do you want to walk with God today? Then your traveling companion needs to be the Word of God.

When we come to Psalm 87, there is a promise—a prophetic promise—to those who have been born again. You are not only going to walk with God through life, but you are also going to walk with Him in a future kingdom life—and then on into eternal life.

This psalm is a song of joy for those who have believed in the Messiah. It actually connects back with Psalm 86, where verse 9 reads, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.”

The believing nations will be ushered into Jerusalem to worship the Messiah who sits on His throne in His glorious millennial kingdom. This still future reality is what is celebrated in Psalm 87.Revelation 20:6 tells us that every believer today will reign with Christ in that coming, thousand-year kingdom Christ establishes following the tribulation period, when the Lord returns to earth.

So, who has a right to live in this kingdom? Who gets the incredible privilege of having a new beginning in this glorious kingdom on earth?

Not just anybody can get in. Three times the psalmist tells us that only those born in this city, in Zion, are given the right to live in this kingdom. Being “born in Zion” is a figurative way of saying they are redeemed—they have been born into the family of God.

John the apostle wrote in John 1:12, “To all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” If you have been born again—born into the family of God by faith in Christ—you are royalty, beloved. There is a kingdom—and a crown—in your future!

So, who is getting into this kingdom? The psalmist says again here in Psalm 87:5, “This one and that one [who] were born in her”—that is, as citizens of the kingdom. Then again in verse 6, “The Lord records as he registers the peoples, ‘This one was born there.’”

By faith in Christ, you have actually been registered as a citizen in the coming kingdom. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers living in the city of Ephesus these words:

You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:19)

But even if you are a citizen of that coming kingdom—even if you have been born again, brought to life spiritually—you still might need reviving today. Perhaps you need a fresh start and a new beginning in your walk today.

The best thing you can do is remember your salvation and your gracious, merciful Savior and get the Bible back off the shelf and into your life as you walk with God today.

That’s exactly what happened to the author of that hymn I mentioned earlier entitled, “Revive Us Again.” William Mackay had made a profession of faith as he grew up in a godly home in Scotland during the 1800s. His mother had given him a Bible when he was a young man, writing in the flyleaf her desire that he consistently walk with the Lord.

At the age of seventeen, William headed off to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. His studies went well, but his spiritual life suffered. In fact, in need of some quick money, he pawned off that Bible his mother had given him.

Several years later, a brick layer was brought into the emergency room, where Mackay was working. He had fallen off a tall scaffold and was seriously injured. Dr. Mackay attended to him and determined he had no hope of survival. He asked the young man if there were any family members nearby to notify. He said, “No, Dr. Mackay, but would you notify my landlady and ask her to bring me my Bible.”

Over the next several days, this young man could be seen reading his Bible, sometimes falling asleep, hugging it to his chest. As expected, not long after, he passed away. Dr. Mackay went into the young man’s room to fill out the death certificate, and he happened to look over at the Bible.

It seemed vaguely familiar. He opened it, and he couldn’t believe what he saw. He rushed from the room with the Bible, sat down in his office and opened it to the flyleaf. There it was—his mother’s own handwriting! This was the Bible she had given him as a college student. He was immediately convicted of his prodigal heart; and right there in his office, Dr. William Mackay had a new beginning. He repented of his sin against his Lord, and he had a revival, a new beginning.[107]

Let me ask you, Do you need to be born again today by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Or if you are a Christian, do you need to have your fellowship with the Lord restored as you turn back toward, and tune back in, to the Word of God?

Do whatever you need to do right now. Make everything right between you and God.

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Lessons on Loneliness - Psalms 88–89

Even though surrounded by admirers and counselors, one European leader admitted some time ago that in the most important moments of his life, he found himself going through them all alone. Albert Einstein once wrote that he found it strange to be known all around the world and yet to be so lonely.

Just a few years ago, the prime minister of England created a brand-new office in the government and then appointed a new minister to lead this office. The title? The Minister for Loneliness. This government official’s primary role is to come up with ways to tackle this pervasive problem felt by so many people. When this office was created by the British government, the prime minister said that for too many people loneliness is the sad reality of life.[108]

Now if you think this sad reality is only for unbelievers, you haven’t been reading the Psalms very carefully. Feelings of loneliness can just as easily invade the heart of the believer.

The psalmist David wrote that his heart was broken and he could not find anybody willing to cry with him or comfort him (Psalm 69:20). In more recent times, William Carey, known as the “Father of Modern Missions” and a faithful man who greatly impacted the country of India with the gospel, once wrote that he longed for a friend to whom he could unburden his soul.[109]

This sounds a lot like the next psalm in our Wisdom Journey—a psalm written by a lonely man.

The heading of Psalm 88 says it is to be sung according to “mahalath leannoth,”whichrefers to being downcast 和 discouraged.This tune must be a sad melody written in the min或者 key.

The composer is “Heman the Ezrahite.” He shows up earlier in 1 Kings 4:31 as a wise man. Over in 1 Chronicles 6, we see him leading one of the Israelite choirs in the temple.

In spite of all that, Heman is struggling here with loneliness. We are not sure why or what exactly happened in his life to lead him to this point, but he cries out to the Lord that he no longer has any companions (verse 8), that the Lord seems to have forgotten all about him (verse 14), and that even his closest friend is now avoiding him (verse 18).

This man is lonely.

One author wrote that loneliness can become a friend, so to speak, when it forces us to seek the friendship of God as much as we need the friendship of others.[110] And that’s exactly what Heman models for us here. In fact, he gives us two action steps for dealing with loneliness.

The first step is this: Empty your heart, before the Lord. Heman writes here in verse 1, “O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day 和 night before you.” In verse 9 he says, “Every day, I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my h和s to you.” And then again in verse 13, “But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the m或者ning my prayer comes before 

I like the way President Abraham Lincoln put it as he served during the days of the American Civil War. He said there were many times when he was driven to his knees because he had nowhere else to go.

Well, Heman is effectively down on his knees. In fact, while he is down there praying, he reveals his frustration with God. He says in verse 8 that God is the one who caused his friends to leave him. In other words, “Lord, You’re behind all this.”

When you empty your heart before the Lord, you empty out everything. You pour out every last tear—even tears of frustration with God. I assure you, God is big enough to handle your frustrations. He knows them all already.

Empty it all out before the Lord. Cast all your anxieties—your cares, your frustrations, your pain—upon Him, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Empty your heart, before the Lord.

The second step is this: Embrace with your heart, the Lord. In other words, when you find yourself without friends, consider that an invitation from God to become His friend, like never before.

What Heman may not understand is that every time he goes to the Lord to complain about his lack of friends, he is going to the right place. We don’t know it from this psalm, but from other passages, we discover that Heman does not quit; he keeps leading Israel’s choir.

I love what Alexander McLaren wrote on this psalm, more than a hundred years ago: “God never [creates] solitude around a soul without desiring to fill it with Himself.”[111] David puts it this way in Psalm 62:5-7: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence . . . my hope is from him. . . . He only is my rock . . . my refuge is God.”

Psalm 89 is placed next in line and it’s the last Psalm in book three. It’s more than likely to provide some encouragement to the reader, following this sad tune by Heman. Several words are repeated throughout this psalm. Faithfulness, forever, steadfast love, 和 covenant together appear a total of twenty-seven times in Psalm 89.

The author is a man named Ethan, one of the wise men associated with the reign of King Solomon. He was also one of the choir directors in the land of Israel. Ethan gives us here a poetic history of the nation. As he does so, it seems that he is agonizing over the ultimate breakup of the monarchy.

Yet from the opening lines of this psalm, Ethan acknowledges the steadfast love of God. Verse 1 opens, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known, thy faithfulness to all generations” (KJV). I used to sing that when I was a child—a chorus well known by the church.

Here in verses 10-18 Ethan recalls the Lord’s faithfulness in showing His power against Israel’s enemies. He then moves on in verses 19-37 to review the faithfulness of the Lord to His covenant with David.

David is going to have a son to sit upon the throne forever. His son Solomon rebelled, and the throne eventually disappeared from the land—and it hasn’t come back today, by the way. But one day it will when the greater Son—the descendant of David, the Lord Jesus Christ—sits upon that throne in His coming kingdom.

What is the Lord doing during all these intervening centuries when He doesn’t seem to be doing anything to reveal His presence? Oh, He is at work behind the scenes, setting the stage for what He will accomplish next.

Where is the Lord during our own times of loneliness and longing? What is He doing? Oh, He is at work behind the scenes, inviting us to look to Him as our only rock and refuge. Let me encourage you today not tojudge God’s faithfulness on the basis of what you feel or see. He is at work behind the scenes—on your behalf—setting the table, so to speak, for what He is going to serve up next in your life.

Anchor your feelings—and your heart—to His faithfulness and the certainty of His Word. God has never made you a promise He will fail to keep.

Those lonely times when the movement of God cannot be detected—those are the times in life that serve as an invitation to turn to the only one who will never leave us or forsake us.

Missionary widow and author Elizabeth Elliott once wrote, “When you are lonely . . . use that stillness to quiet your heart before God. Get to know Him.”[112]

That sounds very much like David, who wrote in Psalm 61:1-2: “O God . . . I call to you when my heart is faint [when my heart is lonely]. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

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Counting Down the Days - Psalms 90–92

We come now to the great psalm of Moses that begins Book Four of Psalms. And it is clear that the brevity of life was on the heart and mind of Moses when he wrote Psalm 90. This poem is all about how short life really is. And of course, the classic verse in this psalm is verse 12, where Moses writes, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Moses isn’t joking here. If you literally count the number of days you think you might have to live, that will have a profound impact on your developing a heart of wisdom.

Right now, the average life span in America is 77 years of age. So, let’s just assume you will live to be 77 years old. And if you do, how many days do you have left? Well, if you are 17 years old, you have 21,900 days left. That’s too many numbers to keep track of; so, let’s figure it out according to months. If you are 17, you have 720 months left—if you live to be 77. 

If you are 21 years old, you have 672 months left; if you are 35, you have 504 months left. If you are 45, you have 384 months to go. If you are 55, you have 264; and if you are 65, you have 144 months left.

If you’re 75, you have 24 months left before you reach the average life span. And if you are 85, well, you can just sit there and smile! You beat the average—but you definitely know time is short.

You can appreciate what Charles Ryrie, the author of the Ryrie Study Bible, once said. Dr. Ryrie taught several courses at Shepherds Seminary years ago when he was in his eighties. He preached for me a few times as well. One time in the pulpit he said that he was so old he wouldn’t even buy green bananas anymore—it was just too risky.

Well, according to Psalm 90, Moses wants us to start counting down the days. He even gives us an average number to use, saying:

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is

but toil and trouble.; they are soon gone, and we fly away. . . . So teach us to

number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (verses 10, 12)

When I was around 40 years of age, I decided to put this challenge from Moses into a tangible exercise I could literally see. So, I bought a glass vase, which I keep in my office at home, and I filled it with little green marbles, representing how many months I have left if I live to the age of 77. Each marble represents one month, and every month I take out one of the marbles and throw it out to mark the passing of one more month of my life.

When I first started doing this, it seemed like a long time to 77—there were a lot of marbles in my vase. I counted them recently to make sure I had the right number in there, and I came up 12 marbles short—which represented one entire year of my life.

So, I counted them again, and still came up 12 short. I either can’t count, or somebody is stealing my marbles. What it really means is that I am losing my marbles faster than expected!

I have been tempted to change the formula and make it 88 years—my mother’s age when she passed away—or adjusting it to 92 years and counting, to match my father’s age.

But I have decided to keep it at 77 years. And if I take out the last marble from this vase but keep on living, I think I will start putting in jelly beans each month to represent the extra time the Lord has given me to enjoy.

Listen, this is not some morbid exercise. Contemplating the brevity of life, according to God’s Word, actually creates a perspective on life that leads to a heart of wisdom. In other words, when you realize how short life is, you will want to make wise decisions. I recommend you get your own vase and do the same thing.

When you live with a heart of wisdom, you only want what Moses wanted out of life. He describes it here in verse 17 at the end of this psalm:“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands.”

All that matters is that God gives you something to do, something you can use to bring glory to Him.

Now the next psalm opens with this thought in mind, as the anonymous poet writes in Psalm 91:1-2:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge 和 my fortress.”

The author is not talking about hitting cruise control and sitting back in the shade of God’s protection. God does not offer us refuge so that we can crawl into some easy chair with the TV remote and our favorite potato chips.

Seeking the Lord as your refuge is not about coasting through life but about having exactly what you need to do ministry in the world—namely, the presence and power of God.

Now we come to Psalm 92, where the anonymous author leads us in singing here in verse 1, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” And verse 4 says, “F或者 you, O Lord, have made me glad by your w或者k; at the w或者ks of your h和s I sing for joy.”

Let’s sing with joy because of the work of God’s hands. And remember that the hands of God are now nail-pierced. They are an eternal reminder of His suffering for our redemption. In fact, we will find that the only person in heaven with scars will be the Son of God, who redeemed us and removed every scar from our bodies and our hearts.

As I get older, those marbles are getting lower and lower in that vase I have on my shelf. Is God still interested in my life, my service, my worship?

Absolutely! I personally think one of the greatest lies perpetuated and pushed on people is that they ought to live their lives so that when they get old, they will not have to do any work or provide any service. They can just sit on a porch somewhere looking at the ocean; or they can spend the rest of their days collecting seashells or playing golf.

What kind of final chapter is that? Is that really how you want to spend your last few marbles—isolated from people and ministry and the church, keeping to yourself in your own little world?

The psalmist writes:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree . . . They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. (verses 12-13)

They are still following the Lord—investing in, praying for, and serving other people. No, they cannot work as long as they used to or walk as fast as they used to—if they can still walk at all—but the Lord says of them:

They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green [still have energy], to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock. (verses 14-15)

That is the righteous, and that is how you want to spend your life.

How many marbles do you have left? Well, since you can’t really know for sure, make sure you are using each one to follow, honor, serve, and joyfully represent the one who is your rock and your salvation.

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Created and Guided by our Creator God - Psalms 93–95

Today we arrive at Psalm 93, a poem many Bible scholars believe was written by an anonymous Levite returning home from the Babylonian exile; he has come home to help rebuild the temple.[113] You might remember from our Wisdom Journey through Ezra and Nehemiah that this was nearly an impossible task, given the centuries of decay and rubble, the opposition from neighboring people, and the hatred of God by the idolaters who lived nearby.

This sounds a lot like the obstacles we face in the world we are living in today. Well, this Levite is not looking at all the problems; he is looking to the power of God.

Psalm 93 begins with these words:

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty . . . the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. (verses 1-2)

Human history is unfolding exactly according to the plans the Lord established from the beginning of time. It is not going to change because He cannot change. He is from everlasting. 

Think of that, beloved; whatever or whomever might be oppressing you today cannot change the promises and plans God has in mind for you. You might not understand it, but He does.

Yes, He might have to discipline you when you stray—as the psalmist will say in verse 12 of the next psalm—but even His discipline is established by His concern and love for you, as one of His own.

Now as we move into that next psalm, Psalm 94, the issue is expanded by the unknown poet, who addresses the question of whether God knows all the details about our wicked world. Is He aware of all the trouble you are facing today?

And to answer that, the psalmist dips his quill into the ink of creation. He says of the Lord here in verse 9, “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?” In other words, if God is able to create the marvel of the human eye, do you think He has any trouble with His own eyesight?

Just think for a moment about the marvel of God’s creation. Your eye is an amazingly complex creation. It is a self-cleaning, self-adjusting, fiber optic miracle of design. 

Even Charles Darwin wrote to a friend that his theory of evolution was at its weakest point when considering the evolution of the human eye. Darwin wrote to a friend late in life, “The eye to this day gives me a cold shudder, but . . . my reason tells me I ought to conquer the cold shudder.”[114]

Well, he shouldn’t have conquered it; he should have listened to it. The complexity of the eye points to a complex designer, just as much as a smartphone points to an engineer who happens to be very smart.

Today, when you look at an object, light passes through the lens of your eye and is brought into focus in the retina. You have more than 100 million receptor cells in your retina—some are designed for black-and-white images, and some are designed for color. Tiny muscles in your eye move about to bring those objects into focus. Those muscles move more than 100,000 times a day. So, if your eyes are tired, now you know why.[115]

In addition to all that, the communication system between your eyes and your brain is amazing. One recent research project revealed that it would take the world’s fastest computer 100 years to simulate what the nerve in your eye does many times every second.[116]Imagine, 100 years for a computer to process what you process in a second.

That is the point of the psalmist’s rebuke –in verses 8-9 again: “Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?”

The point is, He does!

And with that comes the writer’s well-founded confidence; he writes in verse 19, “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” The Lord sees. The Lord knows. The Lord cares.

Now in Psalm 95, the poet has composed a song that probably was written for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. This feast celebrated God’s grace to Israel as they wandered forty years in the wilderness.

The psalm begins:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (verses 1-2)

Why all the celebration? Because “the Lord is a great God,” we are told in verse 3. Verse 4 again pictures God as the Creator of everything. And verse 7 describes God’s people as “the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”

The psalmist also delivers a warning here in verses 7-8: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” He then refers to two events from Israel’s history when Israel “hardened their hearts.” The first is in Exodus 17, when they complained about not having enough water to drink. About a year later in Numbers 14, the people hardened their hearts and refused to enter the promised land—they thought the giants in the land were bigger than God.

So, what are we to do with this warning today? Does it apply to us?

Well, the timeless principle certainly applies. If you are an unbeliever, this is an invitation to believe the gospel and follow the Lord. When should you do that? Today! “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”Bow your head right now 和 say, “Lord Jesus, break my hardened heart; it’s done nothing but break my life into so many pieces.

Today, I am repenting of my sin. I am handing You the pieces of my broken life. Please forgive me and create meaning and purpose in me as I now live for You. Lord, Your Word says that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, I am calling now. Thank You for answering me, saving me, forgiving me. I am now one of the sheep of Your pasture.”

Is there an application of this warning for the believer today? Absolutely. In fact, over in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews quotes this same passage here in Psalm 95 as a warning to Christians. He tells Christians, “Exhort one another [toward faithfulness] . . . that none . . . may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

Don’t let your life shrivel up, beloved; don’t let your heart become cold and indifferent. When is the best time to ask the Lord to soften your heart in order to live for Him? Today!

You are the sheep of His pasture; He is your creator God, the one who created your ears and eyes. And that means you are not an accident.

You are not, as one evolutionist suggested, a coagulation of amino acids and proteins that sprang to life for no apparent reason. No apparent reason means you have no apparent meaning, and that means no apparent help in life. You are on your own.

Beloved, your Creator says something vastly different. Listen to Isaiah the prophet who writes,

“Thus says the Lord who made you,who formed you from the womb and will help you:Fear not” (Isaiah 44:2).

Don’t be afraid. Everything about you—everything about your life—has a sovereignly created purpose, even though you might not have all the explanations you want, this side of heaven.

If God is wise and powerful enough to create your eyes, He is wise enough and powerful enough to watch over you Himself. The poet wants you to sing today the truth stated here in Psalm 95:7: “You are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand.”

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The Lord Reigns - Psalms 96–99

In today’s Wisdom Journey, we are studying four psalms that are sometimes referred to as “Yahweh Malak” psalms. Yahweh malak means “the Lord reigns.” You might need to repeat that several times as you go through your day: “Yahweh malak”—the Lord is in control; the Lord reigns.

And as far as the psalmist is concerned, this is a lot to think about, and it will give us plenty to sing about as we go through our day. In fact, Psalm 96 opens with an invitation in verses 1-2: “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song . . . tell of his salvation from day to day.”

The Hebrew word for “tell” in “tell of his salvation” refers to delivering good news. This word was often used in a military context, when a runner was dispatched to bring news of a great victory.[117]

Today we have an Olympic race called the marathon. The origin of this race goes back some 500 years before the birth of Christ to a battle between Greece and Persia. Legend has it that a Greek messenger named Pheidippides ran some 26 miles, from Marathon to Athens, to deliver the news that Greece had won the battle. After making his announcement in Athens, the exhausted soldier collapsed and died. Today, the Olympic marathon race, of around 26 miles, honors the legend of that heroic messenger.

This is our great privilege today—to deliver good news, the news of the Lord’s salvation. In fact, the Greek translation of the Old Testament translates this Hebrew word for “tell” with the word euanggelizō, 或者 “evangelize.” And is that not what evangelism is today? We have our running shoes on, so to speak; we are messengers delivering to our world the gospel of salvation—the good news of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death.

There is more for the messenger to do, by the way. Here in verse 3, we are told, “Declare his glory among the nations.” To “declare” means to recount or number.[118] It is like keeping a scorecard; and beloved, if you are keeping score, it might not look at times like God’s side is winning. But take a closer look at that scorecard because the final number has already been printed at the bottom; the final score is already determined: Jesus Christ wins.

Now with that, Psalm 97 follows nicely here, because it leads us to celebrate our victorious King. The opening words here in verse 1 are, “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad.”

The “coastlands” here refers to faraway islands. Isaiah used this term seventeen times to describe the most remote places on earth. What the psalmist is trying to convey is that even the remotest places on the planet are under the reign of our King.

In verse 2 the King’s court is described: “Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.”The Hebrew text indicates that these dark clouds are actually descending. They picture the King descending to execute justice on a sinful world.

The imagery of dark clouds in verse 2, fire in verse 3, and lightning and earthquakes in verse 4 speaks to the terrible wrath of God, who is coming one day in judgment.

Nothing is going to stop the Lord from holding court and executing justice. Puny little arrogant man, who shakes his fist at God and thinks he can get away with it, will be no match for the Lord’s power. Verse 9 tells us that God is “most high over all the earth.” That means God will have the last word when He sits on His throne in judgment.

In the face of coming judgment, the only hope you and I have today is God’s promise here in verse 10, that He “preserve the lives of his saints.”

Maybe you think, “Well, that doesn’t help me at all, because I’m not a saint.” The word saint doesn’t mean you have to be perfect in order to avoid the judgment of God. Saint is used throughout Scripture, not for people who died and had some church council decide they had lived a good enough life to get them out of purgatory a little earlier.

There is not a verse in the Bible that supports that kind of man-made religion. The word saint simply refers to someone who has been saved. Over and over again in the Bible, you will find the word used for someone who is still alive, someone who belongs to God through faith in the Messiah King, Jesus Christ Himself.

Now as we sail into Psalm 98, we are again encouraged by the role of the King. Three times here in verses 1 to 3 the word salvation appears. The Lord Himself has worked out His plan of salvation. His right hand has worked out your salvation. You don’t need to add your good deeds to what He has already accomplished on your behalf.

That’s why the Bible refers to salvation as a free gift. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s a free gift. You don’t pay for it; in fact, you never could, which is why Jesus had to come and die for your sins. He alone could pay the price for your salvation. And since He paid for it, He can now offer it to you as a free gift.

When Christmastime rolls around, your children don’t pay you for their Christmas gifts, even though they probably should. But they don’t, do they? And that is because you paid for them. All they have to do is open them.

Salvation is like a Christmas gift. Your Savior, the Lord Jesus paid for it. All you have to do is open it. The question is this: Have you? Have you received His gift of forgiveness and salvation? Have you opened it for yourself?

You can do that right where you are, right now. “Lord Jesus, thank You for paying the price for my salvation in your suffering 和 death. I receive from You now the free gift of salvation. I claim You right now as my Savior. I will follow You today as my Lord and King.”

If you prayed that prayer just now, would you find a way to let us know? We will send you some material to help you take the next steps in your new walk with Christ.

In Psalm 99 we have the promise that our King is coming back to reign one day in His glorious kingdom on earth. This psalm gives us the prophetic picture. Verse 1 opens with “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble [or, be in awe of Him]”! Then verse 2 says, “The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.”

Zion, you remember, is Jerusalem in general, where the Lord Jesus is going to reign one day in His coming kingdom. We will talk more about this as we go along on our Wisdom Journey.

What kind of King is He? Well, we are told twice in this psalm that He is holy. That truth is built into the lyrics of this inspired psalm. More than likely, one part of the choir was singing the verses here while another section of the choir responded by repeating this phrase, “Holy is he” (verse 3); Holy is he” (verse 5); and “the Lord our God is holy” (verse 9).

He is our victorious King in battle; He is our Redeeming Savior; He is our holy God.

That is a lot to think about, and it’s certainly enough to sing about as you walk with Him today and remember Yahweh malak, the Lord reigns.

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The Original Thanksgiving Hymn - Psalm 100

Has it ever occurred to you that the believer has been commanded to be thankful? In fact, one of the leading distinctives of believers is that—no matter what—we give thanks to God.

No wonder the Lord modeled this for us in His own life. At the time of His greatest crisis—in the hours leading up to His crucifixion—He took that bread and wine, representing His body and His shed blood, and what did He do? He gave thanks to His Father.

That would be like a man or woman going back to the cancer center where they first heard the news and giving thanks. That would be like going over to the bank that foreclosed on your home and giving thanks or going to that intersection where someone you love was in a terrible car accident and giving thanks.

You’re probably saying, “Stephen, that would be unnatural.” And yes, I would agree it is unnatural; frankly, I would say it is supernatural. In fact, I believe that giving thanks about everything is more supernatural than we typically think. That is why the world is described as ungrateful in Romans 1 and the believer is marked by a spirit of thanksgiving. There is something supernatural going on inside the believer’s heart.

Now we come to Psalm 100, where the heading reads, “A Psalm for giving thanks.” This is the only psalm, by the way, designated as a public song to be sung for thanksgiving. You could call Psalm 100 the original thanksgiving hymn.

This psalm, even to this day, answers two questions for believers: How do we give thanks to God, and why?

How do we give thanks? Verse 1 begins to answer with the first of three key phrases: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord!”

That might describe what you sound like when you try to sing—it’s a joyful noise. Well, keep singing. This is a call to raise our voices with songs of thanksgiving. No matter how dark the world is around us, thanksgiving interrupts the darkness like fireworks that turn the dark sky into blazing color.

The second key phrase is in verse 2: “Serve the Lord with gladness!”Now again, this is not natural. It is one thing to serve the Lord, but here we are told to be glad about it. In fact, we are commanded to be glad!

Can you command something like gladness? Sure, you can. You tell your children, “You better change your attitude right now and put on a happy face. Stop pouting and start smiling!” I can still hear my mother saying, “Young man, you had better adjust your attitude.”

Evidently attitudes can be adjusted. The psalmist does not say here, “Serve the Lord whether you are glad about it or not.” Rather, he is calling for an attitude adjustment: “Serve the Lord, and be glad about it.”

The apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God.” Evidently, adjusting our attitude is the will of God. Let me put it this way: a thankful spirit is not a personality trait but an act of the will; it is choosing to obey the will of God.

The third key phrase regarding how we give thanks is also in verse 2: “Come into his presence with singing!” Can you imagine coming into the presence of God pouting? Of course not. Well, we live every day in His presence. We have access at any moment into His courts, so let’s come with grateful singing.

John Phillips, the British expositor, captured this joy when he told of a young boy who was standing in London in front of Buckingham Palace, tugging on the guard’s jacket, saying, “I want to see the king.” Of course, the guard didn’t flinch. A policeman was walking back and forth, moving people along. The boy said to the policeman, “I came to see the king.” “Can’t help that, sonny!” the policeman answered. “You’re not allowed in there.”

About that time a well-dressed gentleman arrived and overheard the conversation. He held out his hand and said, “Come with me.” The guard sprang to attention and presented arms as the policeman unlocked the gate. In they went, down the corridors and eventually into the presence of the king. The little boy had taken the hand of the king’s son.[119]

Beloved, we have access to God the Father because we are being held by the hand of God the Son. Let us come before His presence with singing.

Now the psalmist moves on from telling us how to thank God—with joyful singing and the right attitude—to reminding us of why we should thank God.

Notice verse 3: “Know that the Lord, he is God!”In other words, God is to be praised simply because of who He is—God.

And what kind of God is He? Verse 5 tells us,“The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever.” He will not change His mind about you, and He will not forget His promises to you.

Verse 5 goes on to say, “His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.” Generation after generation after generation after generation, He remains the same. He is not fickle; He is faithful.[120]

We thank God because of who He is. But that’s not all. We also offer thanks to Him because of what He has done.

Back in verse 3 we read, “It is he who made us, and we are his.” God is the one who crafted and created us.

He wove you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He designed you; He wired you and gifted you. He gave you every ability you have and every disability you have.

The truth is, you are not going to be able to joyfully praise God until you accept the fact that God designed you according to His divine plan. Every strength you have and every weakness you have is according to His design. Your abilities give you reasons to declare His praises; your disabilities give you reasons to depend on His power.

And here is something else. God not only made you; He also plans on keeping you. That is the next part of verse 3: “We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

I am so glad this doesn’t say, “We are the thoroughbreds in His stable,” or “We are the eagles soaring in His heavens.” No, we are His fearful, timid, ignorant, helpless, prone-to-wander sheep. But here is the good news: the psalmist says we are His sheep, the sheep who belong in His pasture.

No matter where you are today, beloved, remembering who God is and what God has done for you gives you reason enough to be grateful.

I read a modern-day parable of a man who came across a large barn where Satan kept seeds ready to be sown in human hearts. The man found that the seeds of discouragement were more numerous than any other seeds. There were bags of them stacked everywhere.

When the man asked about it, he learned that the seeds of discouragement were a favorite of Satan because they would grow almost anywhere. But one of the demons he questioned admitted there was one place in which these seeds were not able to take root and develop. “And where is that?” the man asked. The demon answered, “They won’t grow in the heart of a grateful person.”[121]

You know, it really is impossible to be, at the same time, anxious and grateful, selfish and grateful, proud and grateful, materialistic and grateful, bitter and grateful, or hateful and grateful. Maybe that is why gratitude really is one of the distinctive characteristics that sets us apart from the rest of the world, a world that is anxious, selfish, proud, materialistic, bitter, and hateful.

So, let’s make up our minds to make this supernatural adjustment today as we depend on the Spirit of God. Let’s make a joyful noise to Him. Let’s serve Him with gladness. Let’s sing to Him this original hymn of thanksgiving.

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Convictions and Daily Encouragement - Psalms 101–103

It is a privilege to teach pastoral theology to students who are preparing for ministry as they study at Shepherds Theological Seminary, where I serve as president. Training church leaders to hold firmly to sola scriptura—the Scriptures alone—is thrilling to me.

But let me tell you, even in a seminary setting, it is possible to believe biblically without behaving biblically. In other words, it is possible to love to learn the Bible but not live the Bible from day to day.

Another seminary president put it this way: “I fear that we may be turning out graduates with a great number of beliefs but not enough conviction.”[122] “Conviction” he wrote, “gives belief a backbone . . . theological truths [are not just] floating around in [your] head; they [become] concrete convictions” in life.[123]

As we arrive at Psalm 101, the setting here is a rather turbulent time for the newly crowned King David.[124] The nation is divided, and many people who were loyal to King Saul do not like David at all, and they are going to try to undermine his leadership.

But David knows the kind of king God has called him to be. This psalm becomes a psalm of convictions that David writes down, convictions that will put a backbone to his beliefs.

There are nine convictions stated in this psalm, and you can easily find and circle them because each one is marked by the words, “I will.” In verse 1 David says, “I will sing of [God’s] steadfast love and justice.” And in verse 2 he writes, “I will ponder the way that is blameless.”

Then David asks the question here in verse 2, “Oh when will you come to me?”He is referring to the ark of the covenant that needs to find its way to Jerusalem. It was captured back in King Saul’s day. It has since been recovered but still hasn’t been brought to Jerusalem.

As he worships God and ponders the way of the blameless, David knows he needs the Lord’s help. David’s conviction is that without the Lord’s intimate presence in the ark, his reign over Israel will fail.

At the end of verse 2, David states another conviction, or determination: “I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.” Oh, if only more believers today would behave in their homes like believers. Who you are in private is just as important as who you are in public.

Here is another conviction—verse 3: “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” I remember my parents typing out this verse and taping it on the upper left-hand corner of our television. Every time my three brothers and I watched TV, there was that verse staring back at us: “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” And of course, that described just about everything on TV.

What steps are you going to take today to keep from your eyes—your attention, your focus—something that is sinful and worthless as you walk with Christ?

I can’t help but think of what happens when David lets his convictions slide on that day when he sees Bathsheba bathing down below. He sets his convictions aside and pays a heavy price of consequences.

Now in Psalm 102, the anonymous author is struggling with some situation in life that is literally causing him to faint in depression and discouragement. In fact, the superscription at the top of the psalm reads, “A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.”

Just listen to how this psalmist describes his life. Maybe you can identify with him because of something you are going through right now. Here are verses 3-4:

For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace[in other words, I just ache all over].My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.

He continues, “I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake” (verses 6-7). He can’t sleep at night. He says, “I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.”

What do you say or do to battle this kind of depression—this kind of despair? Well, the psalmist gives us a clue here, as his tone changes from despair to hope, writing in verse 12, “But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever.” He recognizes the truth that while the st或者my waves might be high, God’s throne is higher.

But is God’s throne so high up there that He doesn’t bother with your troubles down here? Well, verse 17 answers that doubt: “He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.”

That Hebrew verb for “regards” means to turn toward. He isn’t turning His back on you; He is turning His full attention toward you when you cry out in desperation.

After expressing his confidence that God is listening to him, even if it doesn’t look like it, the psalmist then offers an important part of the solution for anyone who is overwhelmed with despair and difficulty—and this is really an amazing example for us all. He turns his attention to others in need.

Note verses 18-20:

Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created [that’s you and me!] may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height . . . to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die.

One of the best things you can do when you are discouraged is reach out to somebody else who is facing difficult times as well. Praying for them, serving them, calling them up and encouraging them in their walk with God will change your perspective on your own situation.

Now as we move into Psalm 103, we are given another action step that counteracts discouragement. David writes in verse 2, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, 和 forget not all his benefits.”

David is talking to himself here, saying, “Don’t forget the Lord; don’t forget what the Lord has done. The Lord hasn’t forgotten me. He remembers me, so I need to do the same and start keeping a record of His benefits.”

This is great advice. When you are discouraged, you tend to forget what God has done and what He might even be doing today.

Spiritual amnesia is one of the most dangerous illnesses facing the believer. Fight it! Make a list if you need to; don’t forget what He has done for you.

When David writes in verse 3 that one of the Lord’s benefits is that He heals all your diseases, don’t misunderstand. He is referring to diseases of the soul, not the body. Yes, God can heal your body if He wants to, but David—just like everyone else—got sick and would eventually die. I have never met anybody who died naturally of good health.

Depression and discouragement and anxiety are diseases of the soul; and God can heal them as we remember Him, as we exercise our memory bank, and as we trust Him for today—and tomorrow.

I am reminded of a song written by John Oatman Jr., who wrote several well-known hymns for the church. Back in 1897 he penned one of his most popular hymns, “Count Your Blessings.” You may know the tune:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Now we don’t know if Psalm 103 inspired Oatman’s song, but it sounds just like King David’s advice from the Lord.

Adding up your blessings has a unique way of subtracting your burdens. So, let’s start adding them up today.

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Created, Directed, and Remembered by God - Psalms 104–106

What do the telescope and the microscope have in common? Well, each, in its own way, is able to magnify and intensify the glory of God’s handiwork in creation.

The telescope has revealed we are merely one of a billion galaxies in the universe, and each galaxy contains billions of stars and planets. And we still have not come close to seeing the outer edges of the universe.

The microscope has revealed the teeming complexity of creation. We now know that in one tiny drop of water from the pond out back, there are millions of bacteria, oxygen-producing algae, tiny organisms—little living creatures. One drop of water is home to more than ten million identifiable living things we don’t know much about at all.

What does this say about our creator God? Well, the psalmist here in Psalm 104:1 draws this conclusion: “O Lord my God, you are very great!” What else can you say? God is incredibly great.

Here in the first nine verses, the psalmist poetically describes God’s relationship to creation. God is wearing light like a garment (verse 2). He is riding the clouds like a chariot (verse 3). He has angels circling the globe, doing His bidding (verse 4). In his tour of heaven in the book of Revelation, the apostle John saw too many angels to count. He just said there were more than 100 million angels he heard singing—ten thousand times ten thousand (Revelation 5:11).

As vast as God’s creation is, the psalmist tells us that God cares enough about one wild donkey that He gives it water to drink (verse 11).

One Old Testament scholar writes that wild donkeys are “timid, and jealous of their liberty . . . they [hide out] deep into the desert.”[125] In the desert, of course, there is little water, but the Lord provides for them.

You might feel a little like that wild donkey today—you want to be left alone in some uninhabited, lonely wilderness. Well, the Lord can meet you there; He can give you what you need.

The psalmist goes on in verses 16-23 to describe God’s wisdom in designing creation. Even the rhythm of time and seasons provided by the sun and moon is designed with amazing precision by God.

The New Testament tells us that creation is a tutor—a teacher (Romans 1)—to point us to the reality of our Creator.

The brilliant physicist and astronomer, Isaac Newton, built a perfectly scaled-down replica of the solar system. A large golden ball represented the sun at the center, with the known planets revolving around it through a series of cogs, belts, and rods. It was a marvelous, sophisticated, machine. One day while Newton was studying his model, an agnostic friend stopped by to visit. He asked, “Who made this exquisite machine?” Without looking up, Newton replied, “Nobody.” “Nobody?” his friend asked. “That’s right,” Newton said. “All these belts 和 gears 和 miniature planets just happened to come together, 和 by chance they began revolving in their 或者bits with perfect timing.” Nothing m或者e was said. The message was loud and clear.[126]

Creation is sending a message to our world that we have a Creator and a Savior. Are you listening?

Psalm 105 has much in common with the previous psalm. It is also a call to worship God for His works. Verse 2 says, “Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!”

The works referred to here are all tied to God’s relationship with His people, Israel. Many believe this psalm was written during the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon after seventy years in captivity. They are going to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem, and they are going to need encouragement. Well, let’s look at that encouragement.

Verses 7-15 cover the history of the patriarchs, beginning with Abraham. The readers are given an important reminder here:

He remembers his covenant forever . . . the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob . . . to Israel as an everlasting covenant. (verses 8-10)

Now on this Wisdom Journey back in the book of Genesis, you might remember how God sent a lifesaver into Egypt—his name was Joseph. He was sold into slavery, but God raised him up to be prime minister so he could rescue his family—and ultimately all Israel—from starvation. All that is rehearsed here in verses 16-25.

What is unique is that we are told something about Joseph’s prison time that Genesis does not tell us. Verse 18 says, “His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron...”

Joseph’s captivity was designed by God to bring comfort to His people later on. That is a good reminder that our own difficult circumstances today are part of God’s purpose for our lives. That doesn’t mean the fetters on our feet and that collar around our neck will not hurt, but we can trust that God is setting the table for the next course—we just don’t know what it is at the moment.

Down in verses 44-45, we are given two important principles to keep in front of us. Verse 44 says God gave His people “the lands of the nations” in fulfillment of His promise. The first principle is that what God promises His people, they will receive.

The second principle is this: When we receive God’s promises, He expects our cooperation. We see this in verse 45, which adds, “that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws.”

The other night I gave my grandson some ice cream for finishing his supper. There aren’t many incentives to eat your vegetables more powerful than ice cream and chocolate syrup. Well, he received that ice-cream blessing. I think he’s going to appreciate that enough so that next time we eat together he will want to please his grandpa. But, you know, even if he doesn’t obey me next time, he will still be my grandson—he just won’t get any ice cream!

And that is the principle here. God gave Israel the land—just as He promised—but He expects them to cooperate and obey Him. If they don’t, they will remain His people—they just won’t fully possess and enjoy the land as a nation.

Now Psalm 106 takes us back to when Israel is in exile from their land because of disobedience. They had forgotten God’s blessings and followed in the footsteps of their rebellious forefathers in Egypt, who, verse 7 tells us, “did not consider [God’s] wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of [His] steadfast love.”

The psalmist is not trying to beat his readers over the head with a list of their sins. We know that because after describing their sinful actions, he points to the grace of God. He saved them for His name’s sake (verse 8), “redeemed them from the power of the enemy” (verse 10), “gave them what they asked” (verse 15), and delivered them many times (verse 43).

Here’s the wonderful thing about God, which we see in the psalmist’s words in verse 44:

Nevertheless, [God] looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

They forgot God, and frankly, we are going to forget about God at times as we go about our busy lives. But let me tell you this: God never forgets us.

Now we come to the close of Book Four of the Psalms. Each book, as cataloged in ancient times, ends with a closing doxology.

Here’s the doxology that concludes Book Four:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord! (verse 48)

Amen means, “I believe it; it’s true.” God will be faithful to His promises and His people throughout all eternity—forever and ever and ever, without end.

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Lord, High Priest, and Coming King - Psalms 107–110

We have arrived on our Wisdom Journey at the last of the five books in the Psalms. This final section of Psalms includes what we would call congregational hymns. Many of them would be recited and sung during Jewish festivals. In fact, some of them are sung to this day.

Now in this last section of Psalms, the covenant name of God—Jehovah, 或者 Yahweh—is used 236 times. Your English translation will most often translate it “Lord” in all capital letters. This is the name that emphasizes the personal commitment of the Lord to His covenant promises to Israel.

Now Psalm 107 opens Book Five, and it follows a pattern that repeats itself several times. We see this pattern in verses 4-8.

First, there is some sort of crisis. In verses 4-5 we read, “Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.” The crisis here is that they are homeless and hungry. Second, the psalm moves on to a cry for help. Verse 6 says, “They cried to the Lord in their trouble.”

Third, following their crisis and their cry, they experience the Lord’s comfort. Again, in verse 6: “He delivered them from their distress.” Following the Lord’s deliverance, there is a fourth element in this pattern, and we can call it confession. Note verse 8: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”

So, there is the pattern: a crisis, a cry for help, comfort from the Lord, and a confession of thanksgiving. This pattern is repeated in different contexts throughout this psalm—by those falsely imprisoned, by foolish sinners who come to their senses, and by those facing dangerous circumstances beyond their control.

Here is the timeless application for us: It doesn’t matter what your crisis might be today; cry out to the Lord about it. Don’t hold back. Bring all the details out into the open and let Him know all about your trouble. And then trust Him, knowing He has a plan to get you through it and out to the other side.

Now Psalm 108 has an interesting twist. David actually repeats the last five verses of Psalm 57 to begin Psalm 108; then he uses the last six verses of Psalm 60 to finish Psalm 108. So, David is repeating lyrics he has previously penned and sung.

We have already dealt with his earlier psalms in our Wisdom Journey. But I want to note here that by doing this, David is essentially saying, “The truth of the Bible doesn’t go out of date. What I sang about earlier is still true today.”

The power and relevancy of Scripture does not fade over time; it doesn’t get stale or have to be taken off the shelf. All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), so the principles it teaches are timeless. Here in Psalm 108 David is effectively saying, “Hey, let’s sing those truths again.”

Now in Psalm 109 the tone immediately changes. The composer is King David, and he is rather upset and frustrated. He writes here in verses 1-2:

Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.

Evidently someone is attacking David’s reputation. In verses 6 through 19 the singular pronoun—“he” or “him”—is used thirty-two different times.

So, there is someone somewhere who is causing David a trainload of trouble. And throughout these verses, David calls down judgment against this person. This is one of those imprecatory psalms we have covered in our past studies. David is taking the same stand against the wicked as the Lord Himself takes. David isn’t being vengeful; he is personally representing God’s law and attempting to honor God’s reputation.

Beloved, this psalm teaches the timeless principle that believers who are falsely accused must rest their case with God. So, if you are experiencing right now some false accusation, commit your reputation to the Lord. Vengeance and your vindication belong to the Lord. Leave it in His hands and just continue doing the right thing.

Now with that, we arrive at Psalm 110, which is quoted or alluded to twenty-five different times in the New Testament—more than any other psalm. The reformer Martin Luther described Psalm 110 as “the main psalm of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.”[127] Why? Because it celebrates Jesus as King, High Priest, and Conqueror.

First, in this psalm we see Jesus as our King. The psalm begins, “The Lord [Jehovah] says to my Lord [Adonai], ‘Sit at my right h和, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (verse 1).

Now understand that here the Lord is speaking to the Lord! In other words, God the Father is speaking to God the Son. How do we know that? Because a thousand years later, Jesus is going to quote this verse to declare to the religious leaders of His day that He is the “Lord” [Adonai], of Psalm 110 (Matthew 22:41-46). He is the one who will sit on the throne at the right hand of God the Father.

Well, you can understand why Jesus created a stir with this kind of application to Himself. Did the religious leaders get the fact that Jesus was claiming to be God’s Son? You better believe it.

In fact, over in John 10:33, Jesus asks the religious leaders why they want to stone Him to death, and they answer, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

They got it! In fact, the rest of this psalm applies to Jesus. Verse 2 says He is going to receive the royal scepter and rule from Zion—from Jerusalem—in His coming kingdom. Verse 3 says the people will “offer themselves freely on the day of [His] power.” That is, when Jesus comes to establish His throne, those who believe in Him will worship Him.

There is no question about it—David is declaring that our Savior is King!

Second, in verse 4 we see Jesus as High Priest:

The Lord [Jehovah] has sw或者n 和 will not change his mind, “You [Adonai—Jesus] are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

In Genesis 14 Melchizedek appears as the king and priest in Salem, the city that would become Jerusalem. “Salem” is from shalom, meaning “peace.” This is the city of peace. The coming Messiah will be according to “the order of Melchizedek”—that type of leader. Like Melchizedek, Jesus will be the King and Priest ruling one day in Jerusalem—only in a much greater and glorious manner.

In fact, according to Hebrews 5:10, God has designated the Lord as our “high priest.” In other words, He represents us to God the Father, and He represents God the Father to us. He is, 1 Timothy 2:5 says, the only mediator between God and mankind. And that is why we are not praying to other priests, and we are not praying to the saints or to Mary. We pray to and through our one Mediator, the Lord Jesus, God the Son. He is our eternal High Priest.

Third, this great King and High Priest is the final Conqueror.

In verses 5-6, David writes:

The Lord . . . will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations … . . he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.

So in this psalm, written a thousand years before the Lord Jesus arrived—before God the Son took on flesh—David predicted His ultimate victory and His coming glorious kingdom. So, let’s celebrate today that Jesus is Adonai—our divine Lord—and our eternal High Priest and soon-coming, conquering King.

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Studying God’s Works and Submitting to God’s Will - Psalms 111–114

Before we discovered electricity, the electric eel was generating 700 volts of electricity on its own. Before we learned to navigate the seven seas, birds were flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic, landing at the same nesting sites year after year. Before we designed suspension bridges, spiders were demonstrating engineering brilliance. And before we developed systems of paper production, wasps were manufacturing a type of paper.[128]

You can’t help but marvel—and agree with the psalmist here in Psalm 111: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them”(verse 2).

The Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, established in 1874, is renowned for the discoveries made there in various scientific fields. Nobel Prize-winning scientists have worked in this laboratory, where the electron and neutron were discovered. The laboratory was instrumental in the discovery of quantum mechanics, the cloud chamber, and the double-helix structure of DNA. Amazing discoveries. But I found it interesting to learn that over the doorway to that original Cavendish laboratory was carved this verse from Psalm 111: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”[129]

I can imagine the psalmist lying out under the stars, taking a walk in the woods, and watching animals in the field and birds flying overhead and then writing in verse 3: “Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.”

God’s handiwork goes way beyond the physical creation, however, to include His acts of grace and mercy and deliverance and blessing. And the psalmist seems to include that here in verse 4, where he writes, “He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.”Verse 9 highlights the fact that God“sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever.”

This psalm teaches us that in many ways our hearts are laboratories where we need to meditate on—catalog if you will—our observations of the world around us that point us to marvel at our creator God. In fact, the more we learn, the more reason we have to sing with this psalmist, “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”

Now Psalm 112 is the perfect companion to Psalm 111. While Psalm 111 highlights the work of God, Psalm 112 highlights the worshiper of God. 

What kind of person is that? Well, Psalm 112:1 begins to answer that question: “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his comm和ments!”

I’ve heard it said that the person who fears the Lord isn’t afraid of anything else. In a sense that’s true—it’s impossible to be worshiping and worrying at the same time.

Down in verse 7, the psalmist says of the righteous—that is, someone who is right with God—“He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” Now that doesn’t mean bad news is never going to be heard. And it doesn’t mean that we make bad news sound like good news.

No, the psalmist is effectively telling us that in spite of bad news, we have confidence that God is in control of the news. He is unfolding His will for our lives through good news and bad news alike.

I have heard it said that we are at our spiritual best when we are shipwrecked on the island of God’s sovereignty. Shipwrecked? Yes, that is the bad news—there is trouble all around us, broken pieces everywhere. Maybe right now you have a broken heart. But beloved, although you might be shipwrecked, so to speak, you are shipwrecked on the island of God’s faithful, sovereign will. You are not alone on that island. And that is good news.

Now we come to these next two psalms, 113 and 114. They are in a grouping of psalms that are sung at the Jewish festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles even to this day. When we are told that Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn together before leaving the upper room just hours before His arrest, one of these psalms was probably the very song they sang (see Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26).

According to Old Testament scholars, Psalm 113 was more than likely written after some of the Jewish people returned from exile. Verse 1 tells the people, “Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!” This phrase,“servants of the Lord,” refers to the entire nation of Israel. It’s possible a copy of this hymn, composed in exile, was carried back to Jerusalem for the people to sing to the Lord.

So, sing it, the psalmist writes here in verse 3, “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” That is, make this your priority for the day—worshiping, trusting, following the Lord—from the time you get out of bed at the rising of the sun, until you are drinking a cup of hot chamomile tea with a teaspoon of honey, like I do, before going to bed at night. From the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, praise the name of the Lord.

Now in the next couple verses the psalmist places God’s throne above the nations, even above the heavens. Then he says in verse 6 that our high and exalted God “looks far down on the heavens and the earth.”

That doesn’t mean God is curious and wants to find out what is going on down here; it means God cares about what is going on down here. It’s an expression of compassionate love. We know that because in verses 7-8 the psalmist immediately brings up the lyrics sung years earlier by Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in 1 Samuel 2. Then verse 9 says, “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

That’s a good reminder that God was looking down on Hannah during those years of barrenness and longing, just as much as He was looking down on her when she had children. God was not any less interested in Hannah without children than He was when Hannah gave birth to Samuel.

You might be suffering right now with wanting a child but not being able to conceive. God knows all about you. His plan for you might be children, and it might not be children, but He still loves you. He has not abandoned you. He is not ignoring you. You can be confident that He cares about you and He considers your life, right now, complete in Him, no matter what. You can trust Him and the wisdom of His plan for your life.

Now with that, we arrive at Psalm 114. The great hymn writer Sir Isaac Watts used this psalm as the basis for his own hymn that highlighted the freedom of Israel from Pharaoh’s hand.[130]

Psalm 114 begins with the exodus of Israel from Egypt (verses 1-2), followed by the crossing of the Red Sea and later the Jordan River (verse 3), and finally the giving of the law at Mount Sinai (verse 4). No wonder this short psalm is still sung at the most important Jewish feasts.

Then in verses 5 and 6, the psalmist reflects on the obedience of the sea, the mountains, and the river to the word of the Lord. “All creation recognizes 和 obeys the Creat或者’s will.”[131]

And here’s the point: we should do the same thing. Listen, if the wind and the water obey His word and His will, shouldn’t we do the same?

This should be our response to the greatness of God. His works should be studied, and His word should be obeyed. So, let’s do that today. Let’s study His creative work, and let’s obey His sovereign will.

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Portraits of our Redeemer - Psalms 115–118

Our Wisdom Journey today will cover the final four songs in what’s called the Egyptian Hallel grouping. The Hebrew word hallel means “praise.” When you say “hallelujah,” you’re combining hallel with ya, a sh或者tened form of Yahweh. Hallelujah means praise Yahweh—praise the Lord. We have just as much reason to sing hallelujah today as the Israelites did back then.

The opening verse of Psalm 115 sets the tone for the entire psalm: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give gl或者y.” The people here are giving God the gl或者y, but you might be wondering, for what exactly?

Verse 2 gives us a clue: “Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’” This question is recorded throughout Israel’s history as a Gentile taunt.[132] It was about the unkindest thing you could say to someone you didn’t like. I’ve noticed lately that professional athletes are now being penalized for taunting their opponents.

Well, the opponents of Israel are taunting them with this question: “Where is your God?” In essence, they are saying, “Your God doesn’t seem to be taking very good care of you.” The Israelites hated this taunt because it reminded them that the discipline they were experiencing was their fault, not God’s. But to these opposing nations, it looked like Israel’s God had abandoned them. And they taunted Israel because of it.

Have you ever found yourself on the wrong end of a taunt that God has failed you? Maybe Satan has whispered that accusation in your ear; maybe some unbeliever at work taunts you because of some difficulty you have experienced. Don’t ever agree with your accusers that God has abandoned you. Take that opportunity to defend God’s reputation, as the psalmist does here, when he writes in verse 3, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

The psalmist challenges those taunting him with the truth that they are the ones following false gods. He reminds them in verses 4 through 8 that their idols cannot speak, see, hear, smell, feel, or even walk. He is saying here, “Don’t make fun of my living God; your gold and silver gods might look good, but they cannot do a thing for you.”

“Their idols [were visible] but [had] no power; Yahweh was [invisible] but [He had] all power.”[133]

That is why, here in verse 11, the children of Israel are told to trust the Lord to be “their help and their shield.” God is alive and trustworthy and able to defend His people.

Beloved, no matter what prompts the world to taunt you for your faith in God, God is not intimidated, and you shouldn’t be either. You can say with the psalmist here in verse 18, “Bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”

Psalm 116 moves us from a congregational hymn to a very personal song; we might even call it a solo. The first-person pronoun is used thirty-seven times here in these nineteen verses, not in a prideful way but in a personal, testimonial way. 

It sounds like this anonymous psalmist received an answer to some prayer, and he is walking right over to the temple to give his testimony of praise to the Lord.[134] Some scholars believe the composer of this psalm was the terminally ill King Hezekiah, who cried out to the Lord.[135]

Verse 3 seems to fit that context really well as the author writes, “The snares of death encompassed me . . . I suffered distress and anguish.” This event is recorded back in 2 Kings 20, where King Hezekiah prayed for healing, and the Lord sent Isaiah the prophet to give him the good news that he had been healed by the Lord.

We do not know for sure that Hezekiah wrote this psalm, but we do know that whatever crisis we are facing today—physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual—verse 4 models for us the best response: “Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Beloved, let me encourage you to read this psalm whenever you are facing your own “Hezekiah crisis.” It can be a crisis of any kind, but boldly pray and then trust the timing of the Lord as you wait for His answer.

Sometimes He chooses to develop you and deepen you as you wait for the answer; sometimes He delivers you with little delay. No matter what happens, do what the composer of this psalm does. He publicly testifies to the faithfulness of God, writing here in verse 9, “I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” In other words, don’t allow your crisis to silence your testimony of faith in the Lord. Tell others about your faithful God.

Speaking of telling others, Psalm 117 now speaks to the world of God’s grace and goodness. This is the shortest of all the psalms—only two verses long. 

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Well, that just says it all! Let me make two observations about this powerful little psalm.

First, it’s an evangelistic invitation. God’s people are calling out here for others to join with them in praising God. It’s as if they are saying, “Look, you need to follow our faithful and loving God. Join us in praising Him.” Why do you do evangelism? Because you should? Is it to grow your church attendance? Well, those might be popular reasons, but they miss the best reason.

Someone wrote that missions and evangelism exist because worship does not.[136] Our ultimate objective is finding those who are worshiping all the wrong things—all the wrong gods—and inviting them to worship the true and living God. And by the way, when you are sharing the gospel, you are actually joining the Father, who is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

So, this little psalm is an evangelistic invitation. But second, it’s also an extensive invitation. No one is left out. This invitation is for all the “nations” and “peoples” of the world. Those who are not yet saved from the penalty of their sins are invited to praise God.

If you have not accepted the sacrificial payment for your sins through the death of God’s Son on the cross, I invite you today, right now, to believe in the Lord—to place your faith in Jesus Christ alone. If you do, you can join me and start singing this little psalm of God’s steadfast love and of His faithfulness, which endures forever!

Now we come to Psalm 118, the last of these Egyptian Hallel psalms. We are not sure who composed this final psalm, but we do know that for hundreds of years, the Jewish people have been singing it as they celebrate the Passover. And these psalms paint a wonderful portrait of our Redeemer.

This psalm is almost certainly the last song Jesus sang with His disciples before they left for the garden of Gethsemane, where He was betrayed. It includes a prophetic statement about the Messiah here in verse 22, which reads, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This verse is quoted at least fourteen times in the New Testament in relation to Jesus Christ. The stone the nation of Israel rejected was their true Messiah, Jesus Christ.

But can you imagine Jesus singing this psalm on the night He was betrayed? Frankly, I can’t imagine singing at all, if I knew the suffering that was just hours away. But Jesus did. And that is because His death was not an accident. It was all planned by the Lord for your redemption and mine.

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The Power and Protection of God’s Word - Psalm 119—Part 1

In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, there are no exclamation points to emphasize certain words or sentences. Instead, God will often repeat something in a variety of ways. Repetition seems to be His way of saying, “Now pay attention to this!”

That is what we see here in Psalm 119. The divinely inspired psalmist repeats himself over and over again throughout these 176 verses. He uses one synonym after another to refer to the Word of God a total of 187 times in this psalm. That is like the Holy Spirit saying 187 times, “Pay attention! God’s Word is critically important! I want you to read it and study it and memorize it and apply it to your life.”

Now before we dive into the longest chapter in all the Bible, we need to note that the psalmist is not just rambling on and on here. He has carefully organized this psalm into twenty-two stanzas, and each stanza is eight verses long.

This clever poet also has composed an acrostic, which follows the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza begins with a successive Hebrew letter. In fact, the eight verses in each stanza all begin with that same Hebrew letter.

In other words, if this poem were written in English, all eight verses in the first stanza would begin with the letter A. Then all eight verses of the second stanza would begin with the letter B, and so on. More than likely, these twenty-two stanzas were composed, using each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as a way to help people memorize this passage. 

Now as you read this psalm, you will notice early on that several different words are used to describe the Bible—words like precepts, statues, 和 testimonies. In fact, there are eight of these words. They are synonyms, but they each carry a little different flavor of meaning. The accompanying chart lists these eight synonyms with simple definitions for you to keep handy as you read Psalm 119.

For instance, verse 4 says, “You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.” The word translated “precept” refers to the details of God Word that need to be followed. It’s related to the authority of an overseer or supervisor.[137] So, when you read the word “precept,” it is highlighting the idea that God’s Word is your supervisor, directing you to follow the details of God’s instruction.

We do not know who wrote this psalm or exactly when it was composed. But there are clues here to tell us that this poet was someone who had faced the hard realities of sin and temptation as a younger man.

For instance, in verse 9 the psalmist writes, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” The Bible provides the guardrails, so to speak, as we travel through life.

As I was working on my notes for this program, I was sent a copy of an email – a note – that had arrived at our international headquarters. It came from a young woman, who wrote:

I was searching the radio and found Wisdom. I loved the way you explain the Bible, and you got my attention. God has changed my life from an empty, weed-smoking, alcohol-drinking, fornicating party animal, and the power of God has opened my heart and my eyes and showed me I needed a Savior. Now I’m a child of the King, and I’m living for Jesus Christ. I listen to you every day and never miss a “Wisdom Journey.”

There are times Psalm 119 sounds like it was written by someone who had wandered away in life but then began to follow the wisdom of God’s Word—someone like this woman, whose life has been put back together.

I have heard it said that a Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not. Listen beloved, other books have been written to inform your life, but this Book was given to transform your life. So, the question is not whether you should you study and learn God’s Word but whether you can afford not to!

Now down in verse 23, it sounds like the author might have been a political leader or perhaps even an Old Testament prophet. He writes, “Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.”

It appears the author is embroiled in some political intrigue or drama. But if he is indeed serving in some high-level role, God has not only called him to that occupation, but God’s Word has provided the wisdom he needs as he follows the Lord in that high-pressure role.

The author gives us another insight on how to walk with God through the trials and temptations of life. In verse 63, he writes, “I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.”In other words, his close friends are equally interested in God’s Word. Let me tell you, choosing the wrong friends has ruined many lives. So, choose your close friends carefully. In fact, do what this psalmist did—he chose his friends according to their view of God’s Word. That is the way to get the best friends in life.

I want to point out another clue here that seems to make it obvious that this psalmist suffered in life—although we are not given the details. Maybe you can relate to verse 67, where he writes, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” God used some sort of suffering to draw the author close to Him. I have seen that happen over and over again, beloved. Some affliction, some trial, was nothing more than the shepherd’s crook that pulled that sheep out of danger and into closer fellowship with the Shepherd.

The poet writes here in verse 71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” That is quite a perspective on life.

His affliction could have been the result of a disability, an injury, or a financial loss; it could have been persecution or trouble or hardship. We don’t know. And I’m glad we don’t, so that we can insert our experience into this text, and say, “It was good that I was afflicted—by that bankruptcy, that illness, that loss—so that I might learn deep truths about God and His Word.”

Now by the time you get to the last verse of Psalm 119, by the way, we’re not finished with this Psalm, we’re going to come back to it next time. You might be tempted to put the psalmist on a pedestal. It seems like this person had it all together and every aspect of his life was perfect.

Well, I assure you, this psalmist is not about to climb up on any pedestal. In fact, he ends this great psalm with these words:

[Lord,] let my soul live 和 praise you, 和 let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (verses 175-176)

He is praying here, “Lord, help me praise You; keep me on track, Lord. I so easily go astray, Lord, so keep after me like a good shepherd.”

If you are a believer, here is a model for living. Stay in the Word and be encouraged. Your Shepherd will always lead you along the right path.

If you are reading this today and you are not a follower of the Lord, I want you to know that Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, has come to seek people just like you. He is calling you right now to trust in Him and ask Him to forgive you and save you and make you a child of God. What are you waiting for? Ask Him today.

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Four Ways to Treat God’s Word - Psalm 119—Part 2

Many years ago I wrote in the flyleaf of my bible, “Either this book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. That idea comes right out of Psalm 119 as we’ve begun our Wisdom Journey through this great Psalm. How can a man keep his way pure. Well, being guarded by the word of God. That works for a man or a woman, old or young.

At 176 verses, this is the longest psalm in the inspired hymnal of Israel—the book of Psalms. Although this is a long psalm, the theme is clear and powerful. It’s all about the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit inspired the psalmist to use eight different synonyms to refer to God’s Word. Again, the chart “Words for the Word” gives brief definitions of these eight synonyms because each of them carries a little different nuance—a different flavor, so to speak—for God’s Word.

One more thing we should note here is that most of this psalm is a prayer. Some 255 times, the psalmist actually directs his thoughts concerning God’s Word back to the Lord in prayer. If you want to add freshness and vitality to your prayer life, just start praying your way through Psalm 119.

Now again, we don’t know who wrote this psalm or when he wrote it, but it was written as a very creative acrostic, as each of the twenty-two stanzas of this hymn begins with and features a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. If this psalm were written in English originally, the first stanza—and all eight verses in this first stanza—would begin with the letter A, and so on.

As we take a closer look at this psalm, I want to structure our thoughts around four questions. And frankly, these are convicting questions about how we treat God’s Word. We need to answer these four questions just like this anonymous poet answered them long ago.

Here’s the first question: Do you love the instruction of God? Or, put another way, do you love God’s Word?

In verse 167 the psalmist declares, “My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.” By the way, when you love God’s Word, it reveals your love for the Author of God’s Word—the Lord Himself.

When I was dating my wife, back in college days, we didn’t have cell phones and computers. We corresponded the old-fashioned way—we wrote each other letters. And let me tell you, we kept the post office in business. Now Marsha was much better at writing than I was—she would write a page, and I would write a paragraph. But did I ever love getting her letters! Why? Because I loved letters? No, because I loved her, and I wanted to hear from her.

In the Bible you are looking at God’s letters, written to you. And if you love Him, you are going to love His Word.

The next question is this: Do you memorize the Word of God? Verse 11 announces the psalmist’s decision here: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” As a child I memorized this verse from the King James Bible: “Thy word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

The idea of hiding is for the purpose of protecting. Let me tell you, beloved, if your heart is filled with Scripture, your life will not be filled with sin. As I have said before, this Book will keep you from sin; sin will keep you from this Book.

Now here is a third question provoked by this great psalm: Do you want to understand God’s Word? The psalmist illustrates the proper response to this question in verse 18: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

This phrase “open my eyes” comes from a Hebrew root word that means “to make naked.” It was the common practice to take captured enemies and strip them down and then march them into exile. I imagine that would be a humiliating experience, and the Israelites would know firsthand what this means. The same expression is used of Noah in Genesis 9:21 as he lay “uncovered,” or naked, in his tent.

So, in this verse, the psalmist is asking God to strip him down in humility and lay bare his sinful heart. “Open my eyes” he prays. In other words, he is saying, “Take off the blinders of sin so that I—through confession and cleansing—can behold wondrous things out of Your law.”

A godly believer doesn’t come to the Bible to find a verse to defend whatever he wants to do; he comes with humility to hear God tell him what to do.

Here, now, is the fourth and final question: Do you want to apply the truth of God’s Word?

Maybe you have been waiting for this well-known verse: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (verse 105). That means if you take God’s Word out of your life, all you have is pitch-black, empty darkness, without any direction in life.

But God’s Word gives light to your path. Keep in mind this is referring to that little handheld lamp that was common in ancient days. It cast light just far enough to take the next step. Likewise, God’s Word may not light up next week or next year, but it will give you the light you need for the next step.

I had someone tell me some time ago that he did not like my preaching because I took the Word of God too seriously. He didn’t realize it, but as far as I was concerned, that was a wonderful compliment.

When I was a teenager, my parents bought a few acres of land out in the country and built a small, one-story home. My father hired a friend who served as the general contractor, and together they worked to save every penny they could in the construction of that house.

When the flooring was in, a mason crew came in and laid the hearth and began to build the fireplace in the family room. That night we went over to see the progress. The fireplace was built up about halfway to the ceiling by then. As we stood there looking at it, we just sort of leaned over to one side because it looked crooked to us.

My dad called the contractor, who came over, looked at it, and said, “It’s crooked.” We thought it was! Well, the next day he had his crew tear it back down to the hearth and start over. We came back that evening and walked immediately into the family room to look at what they had done. It had been built up just a little higher than it was the day before. But as we stared at it, we just sort of leaned in the other direction.

The contractor came over and said, “Well, it’s crooked again!” He called his crew, and the next day he had them tear it all the way down to the flooring and start over.

A couple days later, my father and I went over and walked in to look at the fireplace. It was finished all the way to the ceiling, and this time it was perfectly straight.

My father said to the contractor that afternoon, “They got it crooked the first two times; what made the difference this time?” The contractor kind of laughed and said, “Well, Keith, you know we’re trying to save every penny we can, so I hired a young, inexperienced crew to set the brick.” Then the contractor said, “But this third time, I stayed behind and worked with them myself.”

That Bible you have been given is the Divine Contractor. God has left it behind, so to speak, to help you build a life that is straight and true and pure and right. We don’t need to be concerned about taking it too seriously but rather with not taking it seriously enough!

So, let’s treat it right. Let’s love this Word; let’s memorize it; let’s study to understand it; and let’s make sure we follow it as we build our lives to glorify the Lord.

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Songs for Those Who Are Traveling Home - Psalms 120–122

We’ve now arrived at Psalm 120, which begins a collection of fifteen psalms that are given the heading, “A Song of Ascents,” or “A Song of Going Up.”

This title comes from the fact that Jerusalem is at a high elevation there in the land of Israel. Back in Exodus 23 the Lord commanded all adult male Israelites to appear before Him during three significant festivals. That required making the trip to Jerusalem, which meant going up, or ascending, to the city. Many of them would bring their families along with them, just as Joseph and Mary brought Jesus in His early years.

Now, the practice of singing along the journey to Jerusalem began in ancient days—we’re not sure exactly when—and became a long-held tradition. The prophecy of Isaiah 30:29 reads:

You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.

These psalms of ascent, then, were traveling songs, written for the Israelites to sing on their way to three annual feasts: Passover (Unleavened Bread), Pentecost (Weeks), and Tabernacles (or Booths).

Keep in mind that these fifteen psalms kept God’s people focused on reaching God, so to speak. Jerusalem was not their destination. God was their destination and worshiping Him was their focus.

Now when you read Psalm 120, you discover here in the opening verses that the author is troubled by the fact he is living in a world of deception, and frankly, he’s had about all he can take. He writes in verse 2, “Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.”

He is also grieving that he lives, not only in a deceitful world, but also in a depraved world. He writes in verse 5, “Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!”

The pagan influence of these people living in the far north of Israel (Meshech), as well as in the southeast (Kedar), had reached into the psalmist’s personal world. It might be that his neighbors had adopted the pagan lifestyles of these people.

So, as he travels toward Jerusalem to worship the Lord, he is troubled that his world is deceitful and depraved, but also that his world is dangerous. He writes, “Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” (verses 6-7).

Maybe you feel like that today. You love the truth, but people around you keep on lying. You want to live a pure life, but you are surrounded by impurity. You just want a little peace and tranquility, but everybody else seems to want to stir up trouble.

Beloved, that is the perfect time to make sure you are heading toward Jerusalem—that is, you are ascending to God through faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. You might be troubled or exhausted, but in spite of what surrounds you, you are choosing to surrender in worship to your living Lord. 

Now Psalm 121 immediately gives us the sense that the journey to Jerusalem is underway. The author writes in verse 1, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” This verse is often misunderstood. Help is not coming from these hills.

As the pilgrims are traveling to Jerusalem, camping out at night, they are constantly looking out for robbers and wild animals. These hills represented physical danger.

But they also represented spiritual danger. Pagan places of worship were built on top of high hills. Idolatry and false worship that included sexual immorality and drunkenness were temptations for the Israelites. The travelers going to Jerusalem would want to steer clear of these high places of idolatry.

So, the psalmist asks the question, “Where am I going to find help as I look up ahead to these hills?” And he answers his own question here in verse 2: “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven 和 earth.”

Maybe today you are surrounded by unbelievers, liars, temptations, troublemakers. Your help is not up there in those hills; it’s in the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth.

The psalmist says here in verses 3 and 4 that the Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps. In other words, He never goes off duty. He is always on guard. As you head toward those dangerous high hills in life, God never dozes off. He doesn’t slumber or sleep—and that means you can. You can sleep at night. You can doze off and take a nap. Because God never sleeps, you can. He is always watching over you.

In verse 5, the author reinforces this idea as he writes, “The Lord is your shade on your right hand.” That is, the Lord is so close that His presence casts a shadow over you, like a shade tree on a hot afternoon. 

The psalmist adds in verse 6, “The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” In ancient Israel, the sun was thought to attack people with heat, and the moon supposedly made people lose their minds.[138]

The point here is that day or night, no matter what kind of attack you are experiencing, your source of strength comes from the Lord. He created the sun and moon. You are not subject to them; they are subject to Him.

Now with that, we turn to Psalm 122, which David composed as a song to remind the travelers of the glory and power of God. 

David has come to Jerusalem with thousands of others during one of the festivals. And he couldn’t be happier to have so many friends who encourage him to worship the Lord. He opens in verse 1, saying, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

What a wonderful thing it is to have friends who want to worship the Lord with you. Historians tell us that by the time of Christ, Jerusalem’s population would swell to more than a million people as travelers arrived during these festival seasons. Verse 4 tells us why they all come: “The tribes go up . . . to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

Then in verse 5, David begins to sing prophetically about the future role of Jerusalem in the coming kingdom: “There [in Jerusalem] thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.”

This future promise of the Lord was actually made to David back in 2 Samuel 7, and that promise included a “forever” King sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem. That King is the Messiah, King Jesus. Over in Revelation 20, the fulfillment of this prophecy unfolds as Jesus sets up His thousand-year kingdom on earth, following the tribulation period and His return to earth with His redeemed, who will reign with Him.

Let me tell you something, beloved, the prophecies of the first coming of Jesus all came to pass—from the town He was born in, to the cross He died on. And we can be sure the prophecies of the second coming of Christ will all come true as well.

The invitation here in Psalm 122:6 to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” is a prayer that looks all the way down to Revelation 20, when Jesus reigns upon that throne at His second coming.

Beloved, there will be no peace in Jerusalem—no lasting peace—until that day when Christ returns and sets up His headquarters in Jerusalem and rules and reigns from His throne in that city. When you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, you are praying prophecy. You are praying for and longing for that lasting peace when Jesus returns one day.

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Responding to Suffering and Sowing with Tears - Psalms 123–126

This time in our Wisdom Journey, we are covering four more songs the Israelites sang as they traveled up to Jerusalem for those three annual festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

Travel must have been quite difficult for these Israelites, as they carried all the baggage they needed for the journey. But here in Psalm 123, it is pretty clear the travelers also are carrying what we would call today emotional baggage. The psalmist writes in verses 3-4:

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had m或者e than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease.

Maybe you can relate to this kind of baggage. You have had more than enough of contempt. That word carries the idea of disrespect from proud or wicked people.[139] The psalmist also writes of the “scorn of those who are at ease.” The word here for “scorn” refers to mocking or derision.[140]

People who seem to have it made in this world have nothing but ridicule and sarcasm for the followers of God. And this psalm very honestly says to the Lord, “We’ve just about had all we can take.”

Well, how do you as a believer keep traveling with that kind of baggage? How do you keep your head and your heart above water, so to speak, when you encounter hateful people?

First, it is a matter of expectation. Verse 1 says, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” For God to be “enthroned” speaks of His total authority and being “in the heavens” means God has infinite power to execute His authority. Beloved, contempt and scorn against us are no match for our God. We just have to lift up the eyes of our heart and trust Him!

Jesus expected to be crucified. And He told His followers to expect hatred and reminded them that the world hated Him long before it hated them (John 15:18). Those who follow God will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

Much of the discouragement we feel as we live for the Lord comes from unmet expectations. Our expectations need to be anchored in the truth that God is in control and He will make everything right. Though our world wants to disturb us—and frankly our world is disturbed by us—the Lord’s throne in heaven is never disturbed. God is not wringing His hands, wondering what is going to happen next. As I like to say, there has never been an emergency meeting of the Trinity.

Second,a proper response to hatredis not only a matter of expectation; it is a matter of concentration. Verse 2 gives us an interesting picture. The psalmist says here, “Our eyes look to the Lord our God.”

I recommend that you spend less time watching the news and talk shows and following the latest crisis or the latest thing that has captured the public’s attention and spend more time serving the Lord, talking to the Lord, and talking to other people about the Lord.

Psalm 124 was written by David, and it comes from David’s own experiences of deliverance. It is still sung today during the festival of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of Israel during the days of Queen Esther.

Like the other songs of ascent, this was sung while families traveled to Jerusalem. In verse 1, you can imagine some father opening the song by singing, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say.” And then Mom nudges the children to join her in responding in verse 2, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.”Then all together they would sing in verse 8, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven 和 earth.”

Now Psalm 125 opens with a bold statement of faith: “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” The psalmist makes another statement of faith in verse 2: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.”

Just as the mountains form a natural hedge around Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds His people. He has hedged us in, so to speak; nothing can touch us, beloved, unless God lets it through.

What I find interesting about these two statements of faith is that they are sung here during a time of great oppression. Verse 3 says, “For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous.” The scepter is a reference to those on the throne of authority in the land. Here, the psalmist grieves that the royal authority in the land is wicked. It is unsympathetic to the people of God.

Today I speak to people in many countries where the people of God are oppressed and persecuted. I speak to people who live in countries where it is a crime to convert to Christianity. Let me tell you, the people of God are not welcome where the scepter—the royalty in the land—is wicked.

Yet the psalmist is not giving up and throwing in the towel. He is making these great statements of faith because he refuses to doubt God’s promises to His people. He says in verse 5 that the Lord will lead away into judgment those who turn aside in their crooked ways.

Beloved, the occupying forces of evil are going to sit on their throne of power only a little while longer. The ungodly rulers appear to be in control, but it is only temporary. Indeed, God is the one who is in control, and He is using even these wicked rulers to guide the ship of human history into the harbor of His ultimate plan and purpose.

By the way, Jerusalem and the mountains surrounding that city are still there. They have been there for thousands of years, testifying to the promises of God that one day will fully be realized. There is no Babylonian Empire over there, you cannot visit the palace of the Ninevites, and you have never met a Philistine; but you can go to Israel today and see what God has preserved and protected.

So, what do we do in the meantime, while we wait for the Lord to come back and rule the nations with perfect justice? Psalm 126 tells us. It uses this proverb to make its point:

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy. (verses 5-6)

We might weep over our lost world, but let’s keep casting the seeds of truth. Let’s keep planting the seeds of the gospel of Christ, knowing that one day, all those tears are going to turn into shouts of joy.

I think of Robert Murray McCheyne, who moved the nation of Scotland to revival in the mid-1800s. He pastored less than seven years and died at the age of twenty-nine. Several years after his death, a young pastor visited McCheyne’s church and asked the old caretaker there “if he could tell him the secret of the amazing influence of Robert McCheyne.” The man invited the pastor to McCheyne’s old office and told him to sit in the chair. Then he instructed the visitor to put his head in his hands and weep. That was the secret, he explained, of the fruitful ministry of Robert Murray McCheyne.[141]

Listen, we can cry about the wickedness of our culture; we can cry about those ordained by God to leadership positions around the world. But are we crying over lost souls who need the gospel of Christ?

Let’s focus on that great commission of our Lord—making disciples, sowing the seed with compassion and concern. The day is coming when the fruit of the harvest will be gathered, and we will celebrate before our Lord with singing and shouting with joy.

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Wisdom for Building House and Home - Psalms 127–130

As we set sail into Psalm 127, we could title this great hymn something like “Wisdom for Building House and Home.” In this psalm we find some rather well-known verses, including verse 1: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

The word for “vain” here means “empty,” or “meaningless.” There are a lot of people building lives that are meaningless because their lives have nothing to do with the Lord.

In the clearest language possible, we are reminded here that our heart needs to be dedicated to God’s glory. We might build something on this earth that’s quite impressive, but unless the Lord is leading us and we are giving Him the glory, our efforts will do nothing but leave us empty inside.

The other well-known verses in Psalm 127 are verses 3-5:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.

Now this is not a promise that God will fill everybody’s quiver. I know a lot of faithful believers who long to have children but can’t— and the reason is known only to God.

But if you have children or hope to one day, you might be worried that this isn’t a good time to bring children into the world. After all, we live in a messed-up, confused, even dangerous world today.

Terrorism is rising, and crime and violence are in the news every day. Sinful lifestyles and choices are not only permitted but applauded and promoted; and if you express your disagreement with them, you might even be punished. Do you really want to bring children into this kind of world?

I like what one writer said about the parents of Elijah. Suppose they reasoned that the world was too sinful to bring a child into it. The Bible tells us that the king at the time was one of the most wicked kings to reign in Israel. He was married to a wicked woman – Jezebel. I don’t know any parent who would name their child Jezebel. But look at what Elijah grew up to do for his nation, Israel. Or suppose the parents of Moses decided that it would be better to stop having children. Pharaoh was on the throne, and he had just made a national law that Hebrew baby boys were to be thrown to the crocodiles in the Nile River. I can’t think of a worse time to have a baby.[142]

I agree with one author who wrote on this text many years ago:

When God sees that in this poor old world a wrong needs righting or a truth needs preaching, or a benefit [to mankind] needs inventing—He sends a baby into the world to do it.[143]

Listen, you can’t imagine a worse time in human history for a baby boy to be born than when God sent His Son to be born of a virgin named Mary. Her husband Joseph was something of a first-century migrant worker, taking whatever masonry and carpentry jobs he could find.

The Roman Empire was decaying, and the emperors were immoral and wicked men. The Roman-appointed ruler in Palestine, Herod the Great, was so self-obsessed that he instructed his army to kill hundreds of Jewish people on the day he died so there would be weeping in Jerusalem. Soon after the wise men announced to him that a rival king had been born, he sent his soldiers to the region around Bethlehem with orders to slaughter every baby boy under the age of two.

What kind of world was this? It was as corrupt and immoral and wicked as our world might be today.

But aren’t you glad a baby boy was born? God’s Son came into this world because this world—back then and to this day—needs a Savior.

In Psalm 128, the author adds to this theme of trusting the Lord for what He decides to do in your life and your home as you walk with Him. He writes in verse 1, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!”

The word “blessed” here means “happy”—happy is everyone who fears the Lord. Fear does not mean to be afraid; it means to be in awe of the Lord. I like to think of it as “trembling awe.” Happy is everyone who lives in great respect of God.

Now the world will tell you that happiness depends on what happens to you. So, if bad things happen—if difficulties arise—you are not going to be happy. Well, that is true to some extent. The Bible does not tell you to put on a fake smile.

But the idea of happiness in the Bible has more to do with satisfaction than success. The person who is in awe of God will be satisfied with God.

That’s why I sign many of my personal letters with the words, “Satisfied in Christ.” It reminds me that I should be—I need to be—should be satisfied with Him and in Him. So, instead of focusing on happenings, I focus on Him; and at the end of the day, I am truly satisfied.

Psalm 129 focuses on the grace of God. It was written to be sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate one of their festival seasons and was designed to be sung responsively.

The first verse might have been sung by a priest: “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth.” No doubt this is a reference to Israel suffering from their days in Egypt as a young nation.

Then, in response, all the people would sing with great enthusiasm: “The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked” (verse 4).

Cutting the cords is a picture of oxen being released from the plow, ending their hard labor in the field. The Lord’s discipline over His people was tempered by His love. He didn’t let them suffer as slaves forever, working out in the fields of Egypt under wicked taskmasters. He finally cut their cords and set them free.

Finally in our Wisdom Journey, we sail into Psalm 130, where we find a beautiful expression of God’s forgiveness and love. The psalmist writes here of the people confessing their sins as they walk up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover or Tabernacles.

He says here in verse 3, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could st和?” In other words, who can st和 before the Lord with the record you 和 I have in sinning? Think how easy it is to commit just five sins a day—just five selfish thoughts, unkind words, covetous ideas, self-centered responses—just five. I can do that before lunch most days.

Well, if you committed only five sins a day, that’s nearly 2,000 a year; you would need your fingers and all your toes to keep count. The truth is, you and I have never once gotten on our knees and confessed every single sin we have committed in even one day. We can’t keep track.

The psalmist says here, “If the Lord should mark iniquities—that is, if the Lord kept track, so to speak—what chance would we have to stand in His presence?” The answer is that none of us would have a chance. We wouldn’t have a prayer—except one: “Lord, forgive me for all my sins against You today.”

Then the psalmist goes on to write these encouraging words in verse 4: “But with you [Lord] there is forgiveness.” If that makes you want to let out a sigh of relief, go ahead. I think the palmist expected that kind of response.

He writes in verse 7, “For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

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Singing the Songs of Hope and Joy - Psalms 131–134

As we have been sailing along on this Wisdom Journey, we have been covering the psalms of ascent. These psalms were sung by the Israelites as they walked up to Jerusalem to celebrate their festivals and feasts such as Passover and Tabernacles.

We have now arrived at Psalm 131, and this is a very short song—only three verses. But as Charles Spurgeon, the nineteenth-century preacher, once wrote, “[This psalm] is a short ladder yet [it] rises to a great height.”[144]

The psalmist David uses the imagery of a weaned child to teach us that trusting God leads to a better life. He writes in verse 2, “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.”

When children are weaned, they may not like it, but they are being taught that something more lasting is on the way. A mother is effectively teaching her son or daughter that she’s trustworthy, and she is going to provide for her child’s well-being in ways that child might not understand.

Here is the point: Trusting God to provide for us takes us beyond our limited perspective. God has plans for us that will develop us and deepen us.

God is trustworthy. He is going to provide for us; and along the way, He is going to grow us up in our walk of faith. So, let’s trust Him and sing with the psalmist here, “I have calmed and quieted my soul.”

Now Psalm 132 is rich in Israel’s history. It might have been composed by Solomon. In fact, verses 8 through 10 are part of Solomon’s prayer as he dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, back in 2 Chronicles 6.

This psalm takes us on a field trip through Israel’s history under King David. Verse 1 says, “Remember, O Lord, in David’s fav或者, all the hardships he endured.” Maybe you feel like praying that way today—“Lord, remember me fav或者ably because of all the hardships I have endured.”

Well, what kind of hardships are in the mind of the psalmist? You might be surprised that first on the list are hardships David suffered for the Lord’s sake.

The psalm reaches back to 2 Samuel 7, when David told Nathan the prophet that he felt guilty and sad because he lived in a palace trimmed in cedar wood while the ark of God was dwelling in a plain old tent. The psalmist quotes David, who describes how he felt about it:

I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find . . . a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. (verses 3-5)

He is saying, “I have to find a suitable house for the Lord.”

Second, in verse 6, the psalmist refers to David’s hardship in reestablishing true worship. He dips back into history again—back to 2 Samuel 6—when the ark of the Lord, which had been captured by the Philistines and then recovered, is finally brought to Jerusalem. And David went through a lot of trouble to bring that golden ark of the covenant into Jerusalem.

So, keep this in mind: these hardships David endured had to do with wanting God to be the priority in the life of the nation of Israel. He agonized over God being shoved out the door, so to speak, in his nation. He wanted God to be glorified and worshiped.

Now maybe that’s something you are agonizing over today, as I am. God is being shown the back door in our world when we want Him to be worshiped. We want God’s glory to be honored; we want God’s reputation to be enhanced in our world today.

In verses 8 through 10, the psalmist records something Solomon prayed at the dedication of that glorious temple:

“Arise, O Lord, 和 go to your resting place, you 和 the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy. For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

Then verse 11 cites God’s promise to form a dynasty of David’s family, so that his descendants occupy the throne in Jerusalem. But there is a conditional clause attached to that promise. God, speaking here in verse 12, says, “If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”

Well, we know that didn’t happen. In fact, David’s son Solomon set the table for idolatry and immorality. He and the kings that followed him for the most part failed to obey God’s Word.

But God still promised David a son who would sit on the throne forever! And there’s only one Son worthy of that. He’s the greater Son of David, the descendant of David through Mary—none other than the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

You can imagine why this psalm will become the musical crescendo—the climax—of these fifteen psalms of ascent as the people stream up and into Jerusalem to celebrate their coming Messiah.

And what is it going to be like when the Messiah reigns in His coming kingdom? Well, Psalm 133 tells us in verse 1, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” The nation will be unified again at last.

The psalmist David then gives us two descriptions of this unity that are true in any generation. We can enjoy unity today, in part, but one day we will share it in the kingdom of Christ with perfect unity and sinless joy.

What will that be like? He describes it here in verse 2 as the fragrance of God:

[This unity] is like the precious oil on the head, running down . . . on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

Exodus 30 describes a special, perfumed oil that was originally poured on the head of Aaron the high priest. Here it’s pictured as running down his shoulders and over the stones on each shoulder that bore the names of the tribes of Israel.

It created a fragrance everywhere Aaron walked. And that’s why it’s an appropriate symbol for unity, beloved. Unity among the brethren is a sweet perfume to the world around us.

David goes on to describe unity as “the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!” (verse 3).Mount Hermon is nearly 10,000 feet high in northern Israel and is famous for the heavy dew that falls on its slopes, providing the water that crops and people need. Well, the mountains of Zion—that is Jerusalem—will experience the refreshing “dew” of God’s blessing when His people are unified in the Lord.

This brings us to Psalm 134, the last of the fifteen psalms of ascent the people of Israel sang as they walked up to the city of Jerusalem.

This final song is only three verses long, and it is really a heart-warming benediction. Verse 1 says, “Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.”M或者e than likely they all sang together the words in verse 3: “May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!”

I can imagine these pilgrims singing as they journeyed toward Jerusalem. The grace of God was their theme; hope and joy in His promises were their encouragement. And let me tell you, to this day we sing these truths as we look forward to the return of Christ and His presence among us.

In the meantime, beloved, we march on toward our heavenly home. And as we journey on, we are singing, “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty; hold me with Thy powerful hand.”[145]

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The Steadfast Love of God Will Last Forever - Psalms 135–138

As we continue sailing along on this Wisdom Journey, we come now to Psalm 135. The theme from this point on in Psalms will be praising God for His steadfast love.

F. B. Meyer wrote more than 100 years ago that here in Psalm 135, the psalmist seems to pick some beautiful flowers from other psalms and gather them into one bouquet.[146] And you can almost smell the fragrance of praise in this bouquet. Verse 1 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord.”

Now you and I can sometimes forget what the Lord has done for us and just give a blank stare when somebody asks, “What can you praise God for today?” Well, the psalmist here is going to fill in the blank for us.

First, he reminds Israel of their escape from Egypt years earlier and the good hand of God upon them. And that is a good reminder today. The devil tries to choke off your praise to God by getting you to forget on what happened in the past or to only focus on what’s happening in the present when it doesn’t seem like God is doing anything good for you. Well, take a longer look back. Go back a year or ten years, and remember His work in your life.

Now here in verse 14, the psalmist praises God that He “will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.” So, if you are going to praise the Lord, you are going to have to take a longer look back into the past, and then you need to take a longer view of the future. God will vindicate His people. God might not make everything seem right today or tomorrow, but one day all will be made right.

Right now, you might be mistreated—treated unfairly, unjustly, unkindly. Somebody is out there ruining your reputation with gossip or lies. Well, you might want to act like Nehemiah, who wrote a letter saying, “None of this gossip is true,” and then left it at that. But get on your knees, like he did, and pray, “O God, strengthen my hands” (Nehemiah 6:9).

Don’t get on the roller coaster of trying to straighten out every piece of gossip. Let the Lord vindicate you. Let me ask you something: Are you willing to leave your reputation in the hands of God? Do you think He is capable of taking care of it? If you do, you can rest in this promise: “The Lord will vindicate his people.”

Now this next psalm, Psalm 136, repeats twenty-six times that God’s “steadfast love endures forever.” Nearly half this psalm is the repetition of this promise that God’s steadfast love will last forever.

This psalm is also a responsive song. Someone sings a truth about God, and other people respond. So, here in verse 1, the soloist sings, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,” 和 the congregation responds, “F或者 his steadfast love endures forever.”

Now when you read this psalm, you will notice that everything God does for His people is motivated by His steadfast love. The term refers more specifically to His covenant commitment to keep His promises to His people.

And by the way, if you are one of God’s children by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, you can be sure God is passionate about keeping His promises to you as well.

The psalmist starts bragging here, so to speak, about the power of the creator God. He isn’t like the false gods out there, who can’t see, or speak, or do anything at all. God alone is alive and powerful. Verse 4 tells us that He “alone does great wonders.”

Then he rattles off some of those wonders here: God alone made the universe (verse 5); God spread out the continents of the earth (verse 6); God created the sun and put the moon in its place (verse 7).

We sometimes talk about somebody being very special by using the expression, “He hung the moon.” Well, God actually hung the moon.

So far, scientists have spent more than twenty billion dollars trying to figure out how the moon evolved. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1 that the moon was created by God on Day 4. God spoke it into existence.[147]

And essentially, He had to do that in order to sustain the life He would create on Planet Earth. In fact, without the moon, the earth would wobble on its axis, seasons would disappear, and we would be locked into either a deep freeze or a deep fry. Without the moon’s gravitational pull, which creates the tidal systems and drives the oceans’ currents around the world, the earth’s seas would become a stagnating cesspool.[148] The moon is something we take for granted and don’t think all that much about, but it’s just one more piece of evidence of God’s powerful and loving design.

Psalm 137 reminds the Israelites of a time when praising God was the last thing on their minds. In fact, it seemed like the gods of other nations were more powerful.

The psalmist looks back to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity when the defeated people put away their harps and stopped singing. He begins here, “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept . . . On the willows there we hung up our lyres”(verses 1-2). A lyre was a little handheld harp. In verse 4 the author asks, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign 

With that, the psalmist asks the Lord to deliver justice to his people’s enemies, specifically, the Edomites and the Babylonians. These two wicked nations had plundered and persecuted the Jewish people. And now it is time for justice to be served for these nations.

The prayer here is based on Jeremiah 49–51, which declares the Lord’s judgment on these two nations. The psalmist writes here:

Blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (verses 8-9)

This was the practice of these enemy armies (see 2 Kings 8:12; Hosea 10:14; Nahum 3:10). No doubt this is what the Babylonians had done when they destroyed Jerusalem.

Now this psalmist is not urging the Israelites to do the same thing to their enemies. What he is praying for here is not revenge but the justice of God. I believe he is also asking God to keep the Babylonians from raising up another generation who will persecute the Jewish people.

Now this next psalm, Psalm 138, begins a series of eight psalms written by David. More than likely, they were placed here to encourage the Jewish exiles returning to Judah with the assurance that God will keep His promises to David and the nation of Israel.

David repeats God’s promise to him here in verse 8: “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.”Let those words just sink in, beloved. This isn’t just God’s promise to David; this is His promise to you. God will fulfill His purposes for you. Why? Verse 8 answers, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.”

God will not let any person or any power anywhere in the universe stop Him from accomplishing His purpose for your life.

The apostle Paul essentially restates this promise a thousand years after David wrote this psalm, writing, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”(Philippians 1:6). God is not going to stop working in your life, until you see Jesus one day.

So, let’s sing our praise to God today; and let’s sing loud enough for the lost world around us to hear this message: The steadfast love of God will last forever.

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Uniquely Crafted by and Cared for by Our Creator God - Psalms 139:1-14

I read some time ago about a man who wasn’t what he pretended to be. Several years ago, at the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball, a veteran appeared in dress uniform, wearing a chest full of medals. He was impressive looking, for sure.

But when another Marine noticed that one of the man’s medals was upside down, he became suspicious. He snapped a photograph and sent it to the FBI. It turned out this man was an imposter who had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy many years earlier.[149]

Isn’t it terrible to pretend to be something you are not? The truth is, at heart we are all potential imposters. We can be quite good at acting like someone we really aren’t. Indeed, we can represent a spiritual life we are not really interested in living after all.

David wrote Psalm 139 to inform us that we are not going to get away with pretending. God knows who we really are, no matter how many medals we pin to our chest. This attribute of God—that He knows everything—is called omniscience – all knowing.

David writes about that in verse 1:“O Lord, you have searched me 和 known me!” This word, “searched,” refers to a diligent investigation. David is not suggesting God had to dig around to figure out who David really was. Rather, he’s saying here that God’s knowledge of him is comprehensive—past, present, and future.

Verse 2 expands on this:“You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” In other words, God does not miss one movement—from the moment we get up in the morning to the moment we go back to bed.

David then adds in verse 2,“You discern my thoughts from afar.”So, God not only sees our movements; He knows our motives.[150]

Then the psalmist writes in verse 3:“You search out my path and my lying down.” All day long, the Lord knows every detail of your path—whether you walked or drove to work and when you arrived. God knows when you took your coffee break. In fact, from the first step you took as a toddler to the last step you will take in life, you don’t take one step without God knowing about it.

David writes in verse 5:“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”The word translated “hem” is a Hebrew term used to describe a city that is under siege. All the escape routes have been cut off; the inhabitants are hemmed in. David is saying that His powerful God has surrounded him with care and concern.

This truth brings him delight. He writes in verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it.”

Instead of creating dread that God is watching him, David is joyfully saying here, “God knows everything there is to know about me, and this is wonderful news!” He knows the best about us, and—listen beloved—He also knows the worst about us.

One author wrote this:

There is tremendous relief in knowing that [God’s] love for me is [totally and utterly] realistic, based on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me.[151]

David now shifts his attention from the omniscience of God to the omnipresence of God—that He is present everywhere at the same time. Note verses 7-8:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there!If I make my bed in Sheol [the grave], you are there!

David is saying that if he goes all the way to the end of the universe, God is there.

Then he adds this:

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (verses 9-10)

To “take the wings of the morning” refers to going infinitely east, toward the dawning of the sun. And to “dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea” probably means to go infinitely west, toward the Mediterranean Sea. David is declaring that whether he goes east or west, God is there waiting for him to arrive.

But what if the lights of the universe go out? Can God see in the dark?

I am reminded of one summer evening when New York City had a power blackout due to a severe thunderstorm. All the lights went out. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to break into stores and steal whatever they could. When it was over, more than 2,000 stores had been plundered, and the loss and damages were estimated to be more than a billion dollars.[152]

Does God lose control if the lights go out? Well, David answers that God can see in the dark. He is an eyewitness to every crime and every scene. David writes in verse 12, “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

Now David moves on to describe God’s omnipotence, 或者 infinite power. He begins in verse 13:“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”

God’s sovereign design reaches into every mother’s womb at the moment of conception when life begins and a human being begins to develop. David says that God weaves together every fiber of your being; He crafts an original—with unique fingerprints and voice print and retinal shape. You are one of a kind. Every advantage and every ability, every disadvantage and every disability, is sovereignly designed by your Creator.

Whatever your condition might be today, surrender it to the Lord, and ask for His grace and His strength to take one day at a time in dependence upon Him. Such surrender to Him can make the most disabled among us powerful testimonies that God’s grace is sufficient and cause us all to anticipate with even greater joy our future, perfected body and our home in heaven.

Some time ago I read about a young man named Nick. Due to a rare genetic disorder, he was born without arms or legs. Growing up, he struggled emotionally and physically with his condition. But after he became a follower of Christ, he wrote this:

When people read about my life or witness me living it, they are prone to congratulate me for being victorious over my disabilities. I tell them that my victory [is] in surrender . . . when I acknowledge that I can’t do this on my own . . . Once I yielded [to Christ as my Lord and Savior], the Lord . . . gave my life meaning when no one and nothing else could provide it. [And] if God can take someone like me, someone without arms 和 legs, 和 use me as his h和s 和 feet, He can use anybody. It’s not about ability. The only thing God wants from us is a willing [surrendered] life.[153]

That sounds like David, who writes here in verse 14:“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” That Hebrew word for “wonderfully” can be translated “uniquely.” David is declaring that he, like all of us, has been uniquely made by God. Let me tell you, this is an amazing statement of faith!

To accept God’s design for you is also a great statement of your faith and trust in Him. Surrender to your Creator and His design and His purposes for your life today, as you trust Him and point people to who He is—your omnipotent, omniscient Creator.

And here’s the good news for all of us who place our faith in Jesus Christ: God’s Word says one day we are going to get new, perfect brains and bodies—no more disability, only glorified ability to serve God and praise Him forever. What a glorious future God has planned for us.

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Designed for Life—Now and Forever - Psalm 139:15-24

A popular physicist and cosmologist has argued that the universe began from nothing. He writes, “You don’t need a deity [to] produce a universe.” He admits, however, “I can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, but I’d much rather live in a universe without one.”[154]

Let me tell you, this tragic viewpoint that denies the Creator ends up diminishing the value and purpose of life. This same scientist has described humans as “just a bit of pollution.” Without us, he argues, the universe would continue on as it is. The human race is completely irrelevant.[155]

The Bible has something very different to say about that. Here in Psalm 139, King David writes that God created us with special care and special meaning in life. He writes in verse 15, “My frame was not hidden from you [God], when I was being made in secret.”

The Hebrew term for “frame” here literally refers to our bones—our skeleton. We each have 206 bones in our body. David writes here that God engineered them and put them together “in the depths of the earth”—that’s a metaphor for the hidden recesses of the mother’s womb.

David also points out that each life has been planned from the very beginning:“In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me”(verse 16). Imagine that: every day has been designed by the same Creator who designed you.

David then says in verses 17-18:

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

Have you ever contemplated the fact that God is thinking about you? More thoughts than the sands of the whole earth! Did He slip up or get distracted by something when He created you? No, He was thinking through everything about you, from the moment of your conception.

From your unique fingerprint to the shape of your nose and the color of your hair, to your best abilities and even your most painful disabilities, He designed everything about you to cause you to trust Him and depend on Him and long for Him and long to live with Him in your final glorified, perfected, immortal body. In the meantime, He designed you to uniquely testify to your world that His grace is sufficient for you to make it through another day!

Now, beginning at verse 19, David shares his righteous anger toward the unbelieving world that defies his creator God:

Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. (verses 19-22)

This is what one author called holy hatred![156]

David’s prayer is, “Lord, why don’t You just slay them now? Why wait until the final judgment to deal with them in justice and righteousness? Do it now! Stop their defiant propaganda against Your creation.”

Now you need to understand, beloved, King David is taking God’s view of judgment in this Old Testament dispensation. God often judged sin immediately and commanded Israel to judge sin immediately. But today, in this New Testament dispensation of grace, we are told that God’s wrath is being stored up until the final judgment (Romans 2:5).

Sin is not always judged immediately, but judgment will arrive, ultimately. And that is why people who defy God and write articles against God’s handiwork can continue to get away with writing and defying God, just a little while longer.

In verse 21, David writes; “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?”The word translated “loathe” explains the word “hate.” It’s a Hebrew word that can be translated as “grieve.” In other words, our hatred is mixed with grief and compassion for the sinner. Charles Spurgeon, commenting on this text, writes, “This isn’t ill-will so much as it is sorrow over their unbelief.”[157]

Jesus demonstrated this same attitude in Mark 3:5, when He looked upon His unbelieving audience“with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.” This is righteous anger mixed with sorrow over the sinner’s defiance against God.

Now David is not just interested in exposing the sinners around him and hating their sin and grieving over their defiance; he is also interested in his own heart. So, he ends this psalm with one of the most personal prayers in all the Bible.

He writes in verse 23,“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts.” This final request makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? David has made it clear in this psalm that God is omniscient—all-knowing; He is omnipresent—always present; and He is omnipotent—all-powerful.

Go as high as you can (verse 8)—He’s there.

Go into the depths of the earth—He’s there.

Go east on the wings of the dawn (verse 9)—He’s there.

Go west beyond the sea—He’s there.

Travel into the darkness (verses 11-12)—God is there, and He can see as clearly in the dark as He can in the light.

All that to say, there is no use trying to hide anything from God.

But David is not saying here, “Okay, Lord, since you know everything, I will give in to your inspection.” No, he invites God’s inspection: “Search me, O God, and know my heart!”

Why would David want that kind of personal inspection? Because, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick [or wicked].” Only God can accurately knock down our defenses, expose our motives, and search our hearts.

The verb here for “search” means to probe, to dig deeply, to investigate. It’s as if David is saying, “Lord, place me under divine investigation.”

Have you ever noticed the news footage of somebody who is under investigation? Officials exit the person’s office carrying boxes upon boxes, computers, bankbooks, file cabinets. And that person’s probably hoping they don’t find that one box, that one receipt, that one clue.

Well, that is not the picture here. David is effectively opening every drawer and every box as if to say, “Lord, don’t overlook this! Look here too!”

He writes in verse 24, “See if there be any grievous way in me.” The word “grievous” means something personally hurtful, or dangerous, or self-destructive.

David then ends this psalm by writing, “Lead me in the way everlasting!” Old Testament scholars point out that you could translate this closing clause, “Lead me in the old way—lead me in the ancient way.” In other words, “Lead me in the way You revealed in the ancient days.”[158]

David is asking God to lead him according to His Word. That is really another way of admitting, “Look, I am prone to follow some new way, some popular way, some new path.” No, no, no … God’s Word still shows us the way. That ancient way is still the true way.

In fact, the fulfillment of this is found in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who announced,“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”(John 14:6). No one travels to heaven except on that path that goes through Jesus Christ. God doesn’t want you to miss the way—in life, and to the life to come.

Let me tell you, beloved, you are not irrelevant. You are not a mistake. God has made you. He has made heaven for you. He has designed a life for you now, and eternal life to come, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

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God Welcomes Both Tears and Trust - Psalms 140–143

As we sail together on this Wisdom Journey, we arrive now at Psalm 140. This psalm of David was written during the days when he was running for his life from King Saul.

That’s on David’s mind as he writes here in verse 1:

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart 和 stir up wars continually.

This is all they seem to want to do—stir up trouble for David and start another fight.

Verse 3 describes them: “They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of [vipers].” In other words, they sharpen their words to make them poisonous and deadly. David writes in verse 4 that they want to “trip up [his] feet.” They want to trap him and ruin him.

You might feel today like David did back then. You might not be running for your life, but you might be the target of words or actions from others that are dripping with venom—painful poison. You might have someone after you who wants to trip you up, bring you down, ruin your reputation, and take away your influence.

David shows us how to get through times like these. Here in verse 12 is David’s encouragement to you and me today—you could call this David’s statement of faith: “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted.” The Hebrew word David uses for “maintain” means “to make” or “to fashion.”[159]

Here is David’s statement of faith—and yours too by the way—you can be confident that the Lord is going to “fashion” the final outcome of your circumstances to declare His glory 和 develop your faith. 

David sounds a lot like the apostle Paul, who wrote in Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Now Paul did not say all things are good, because all things are not good. Rather, he said God is going to work all things together for good, according to His ultimate purpose.

You might get a little taste of that now; God might remove that enemy or restore your reputation. But we know for sure what David writes here in verse 13: “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.”

David is looking forward to the day when God makes everything right, and I’m looking forward to that day as well.

In Psalm 141 we find David going to the Lord again because of trouble. But this trouble is not coming at him but from within him. Many Bible scholars—I think correctly—associate this psalm with David’s flight from the city of Jerusalem as his son Absalom marched in to take the throne, no doubt intending to put David to death.

It was a chaotic scene, described for us back in 2 Samuel 15–16. And keep in mind that all this chaos was tied to David’s sin with Bathsheba and David’s failure as a father to Absalom.

So, what can we learn from David’s response to the chaos that, in a very real way, flowed out of his own sin? Well, David humbles himself before the Lord and invites accountability from godly people. He writes in verse 5, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” David wants correction and guidance from the Lord through wise counsel and spiritual accountability.

Psalm 142, is a psalm of David that comes out of another time of trouble. The superscription, or heading, of this psalm tells us this is a “Maskil of David.” Maskil refers to teaching us and making us—the readers—wise.

We are also told in the heading that David wrote this song while he was hiding out in a cave. Frankly, David is surrounded—he is out of options. One author titled this psalm, “A prayer of a hunted soul.”[160] 

David writes here:

With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. (verses 1-2)

There is nothing wrong with bringing your complaints to the Lord. There is no need to hide how you feel. If David can complain there in that damp, dark cave, you can too. But just notice that David is not telling his troubles to just anybody who will listen; he says “I tell my trouble before him [the Lord].”

David admits in verse 3 that his “spirit faints.” And in verse 4 he says, “No one cares for my soul.”

Have you ever felt like that? Maybe you feel like that today. You are weak, troubled, and filled with complaints, and it seems like nobody out there really cares about your soul.

This song is in the minor key, isn’t it? It is sad and lonely—and frankly that can be reality for the believer—and David’s minor-key song happens to be included in God’s inspired Word.

Now I don’t know how long David stayed in that cave, but even when he was in there, he changed into a major key. He sings now of his trust in the Lord alone in verse 5: “You [Lord] are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Here is the Rock on which a troubled David will stand.

Let me tell you something, beloved, don’t ever be afraid to take your worst days to the Lord. David certainly did. David knew how to cry and even how to complain, so go ahead and tell the Lord exactly how you feel. Just make sure you imitate David and anchor your confidence on who God is—your refuge in the land of the living. Then you will not live through your worst days or months or years without the presence of the Lord. And He promised to make it all work together for your good and His glory, one day.

Now we come to another psalm of David—Psalm 143. It is a lot like the previous three psalms in that it starts out in the minor key. This time, David’s enemy is not King Saul or Absalom but some anonymous enemy. I don’t know about you, but it’s encouraging to me to know that David had more than two enemies!

David is understandably preoccupied with this unnamed enemy. He writes in verses 3-4, “For the enemy has pursued my soul . . . Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is [dismayed].”

Now what is encouraging here is the way David works through his feelings of despair. He moves from regretting his circumstances to write this in verse 10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” In other words, “Lord, I don’t want this difficult experience to be wasted; I don’t want to waste my suffering. Use it to teach me to do your will.”

So, David stops looking in the mirror. He turns his attention from what he wants to what God wants. And that is a great reminder. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps you are not getting an answer to your prayer because it is all about what you want in life and what you want God to give you in life?

Be careful to follow David’s example. Listen to the way he ends this psalm:

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! . . . for I am your servant.” (verses 11-12)

Wow! What an example! This is how you give your tears and your trust to God.

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Our Invisible, Invincible God - Psalms 144–147

As we come to Psalm 144, David’s enemies are making his life miserable once again. He cries out to the Lord here in verses 7-8:

Rescue me and deliver me from the many [flood] waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

The “right hand” symbolizes power. In ancient days it was typically the hand that held the sword or knife, which represented the power to hurt or even kill someone.

Shaking someone’s right hand was a practice that began in Greece 500 years before the birth of Christ, and it became a symbol of peace. By extending your right hand, you were showing someone you were not holding a weapon in your hand. I have read that the shaking motion was practiced to shake out a knife somebody might be hiding up his sleeve. The handshake became a common greeting of friendship that communicated peace.

Well, centuries before the handshake custom began, David is pointing out here that the right hand of his enemies is not peaceful at all. He says in verse 8 that their “right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” In other words, they have a weapon hidden up their sleeve. In this case, it is a weapon of words—deceitful words about David.

The context of this psalm may be the return of David to the throne soon after his son Absalom attempted to kill him and take the throne away. David is back now, but he is surrounded by political intrigue and secret enemies within the palace. People might be shaking his hand, so to speak, but they are not to be trusted.

David does the only thing anybody can in this kind of situation—he prays, saying, “Stretch out your hand from on high . . . and deliver me” (verse 7). The implication is that this would be God’s right hand, the hand of power that can deliver David from his enemies.

Now with that we come to Psalm 145. This is the last of the nine acrostic psalms collected in the book of Psalms. You might remember that an acrostic psalm uses a consecutive letter from the Hebrew alphabet to begin each verse or stanza. In English, that would mean the first verse begins with the letter a, the next verse with the letter b, 和 so on. This poetic device was more than likely used to help people memorize these psalms.

Psalm 145 also begins the final psalms of praise. These last few psalms are like one “grand doxology” for the whole book—like singing the doxology at the end of a worship service: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

One author writes that the entire book of Psalms has been “driving [us] toward praise [and praise is] its final destination. We are now at the gate of that destination.”[161]

There are multiple words in Psalm 145 for praising God. The word “extol” means to talk about how great God is. When David says here in verse 1 “I will extol you, my God and King,” he is saying, “I am going to talk about how great You are!”

There is also the word “bless,” which means to speak well of God for His generosity. David writes in verse 2, “I will bless . . . your name forever and ever.”

Another word we find here is “praise,” or “praised,” which refers to glorifying God for His attributes. Verse 3 says, “Great is the Lord, 和 greatly to be praised, 和 his greatness is unsearchable.”

There are still more words of praise piled one on top of another in this doxology. David speaks of commending, meditating, speaking, pouring forth, singing aloud, giving thanks. A total of sixteen times in this psalm David finds a way to praise the Lord.

And he wants to make sure we all understand how long he is going to praise God and how long we are to praise God. Three times he speaks of praise being “forever and ever.”

Why? Note the reasons for praise:

The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. . . . You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing . . . The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; He also hears their cry and saves them. (verses 14, 16, 18-19)

Beloved, David’s words in this psalm are now 3000 years old. But they are just as true today as the day he wrote them. And that is because the God he is praising has not changed. He is still worthy of all our praise.

Now as we sail along in our wisdom journey into Psalm 146, praise is still the wind in the sails of the psalmist. He writes, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live” (verses 1-2).

Then he delivers a warning in the next two verses:

Put not your trust in princes . . . in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Despite this warning, it seems people are constantly looking for that one person who will lead them out of their collective misery. I have lived long enough to know that while God appoints His candidates to their political offices, I can’t put my hope in any officeholder.

The psalmist writes in verse 5, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.” Look what He can do, the writer says:

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (verses 7-9)

There is nobody in power today who can do any of that. No human being—regardless of credentials or lofty campaign speeches—is any match for the God of Jacob.

And let me tell you, the God of Jacob has never been elected to office, and He is not up for re-election. His office is eternal—He is the sovereign King of the universe.

And as you might expect, Psalm 147 is filled with praise to God. You will notice in this psalm the author mentions Jerusalem, as well as Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem, the city where the Lord’s temple was located.

Now just because Jerusalem might be a long way from where you live and the temple is no longer standing, that doesn’t mean this psalm is out of date. There is a new Jerusalem coming in the future, and it is described for us in Revelation 21. It is the place where Christ will reign one day. This city of God, the Father’s house of gold, will become the eternal home of every true believer, Jew and Gentile. The psalmist seems to be pointing us to that glorious day here in verse 2: “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.”

Note, though, that when reasons to worship God are given, the psalmist uses the present tense. “He heals the brokenhearted 和 binds up their wounds” (verse 3). “[He] lifts up the humble” (verse 6). “He prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills” (verse 8). And so it continues through the psalm.

This reminds us that we have many reasons to praise God today if we just look around. Praise Him for His saving grace and even for that rain shower you had the other day—which meant you had to mow the lawn.

Right now, today, in the midst of your crisis, under the weight of your burdens, as you experience some painful loss, God is present with you. He might be invisible, but He is invincible. His plans for you and His promises to you will all be realized one day.

BACK TO THE TOP

The Final Hallelujah - Psalms 148–150

I mentioned in our Wisdom Journey back in the book of Deuteronomy, the composition by George Handel we usually refer to as “Handel’s Messiah.” The official title is simply Messiah, as it sings of our Lord, the Messiah.

Perhaps the best-known portion of Messiah is what we call the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Handel simply named it “Hallelujah.” That’s because the word hallelujah would be sung 167 times during the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Hallelujah is a Hebrew word that comes from hallel, which means to praise, 和 yah, which refers to Yahweh. Hallelu-jah means “praise Yahweh,” or “praise the Lord.”

Now as this inspired hymnal—this great book of Psalms—comes to a close, the theme of praise reaches a grand finale. And I must tell you, I hear the “Hallelujah Chorus” being sung over and over again. In fact, in these last three psalms, the word praise is repeated some thirty times. We are called to sing hallelujah—“praise the Lord.”

And praise for God is not to come just from our lips, but from all of creation. Psalm 148 opens by singing, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him all his hosts.”

Even the angels are tuning up for this grand finale. One author wrote:

If we could borrow Jacob’s ladder and climb that shining staircase, we would see the angels with faces aglow . . . in perfect harmony singing, “Hallelujah.”[162]

And with the angels, the sun, moon, and stars are singing (verse 3). The highest heavens and the “waters above the heavens” (verse 4), the sea creatures hidden in deep ocean waters (verse 7), all the forces of nature (verse 8), and mountains, livestock, and fruit trees (verse 9) are somehow granted the privilege of singing in their own unique way praise to their Creator. All creation is joining in on this hallelujah chorus.

Now the composer moves from poetry to prophecy in verses 11-13:

Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted, his majesty is above earth 和 heaven.

This is a reference to the coming kingdom when Christ reigns upon the earth. John writes of his vision of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 19, descending from heaven to reign from Jerusalem, as promised. And he writes that on the Lord’s garments are embroidered the words, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

That reminds me of the “Hallelujah Chorus,” where Handel wrote, “He shall reign forever and ever; King of kings and Lord of lords.”

In verse 14, we read that the Lord “has raised up a horn for his people.” “In Scripture, a ‘horn’ is a symbol of power . . . a king or a kingdom.”[163] This looks ahead to that time when the horn of salvation, our King Jesus, reigns in His kingdom on earth.

Psalm 149 is the nation Israel’s response to their Messiah and His coming kingdom. They start singing as well, beginning in verses 1:

Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, [sing] his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion [Jerusalem] rejoice in their King!

The psalmist then includes something that might confuse you as a Christian living in the New Testament dispensation of grace:

Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples. (verses 6-7)

If you have been sailing with me on this Wisdom Journey for a while, you know Israel’s role, living in this theocracy as God’s representatives, was to execute judgment on those who defied God. Sinners were judged immediately in those days, and Israel was the tool of judgment in the hand of God.

In verse 9 we are clearly told that Israel was “to execute on them the judgment written!” In other words, Israel did not write the verdict of judgment; God did. But during that dispensation, Israel was to carry out the verdict.

Today, in this dispensation of grace, the role of the church is not to carry out God’s judgment on sinners. The apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans that sinners are presently storing up divine wrath for themselves for the judgment to come (Romans 2:5).

Just because sinners are not immediately judged for their wickedness and defiance—just because they seem to be getting away with it—does not mean God doesn’t care about sin any longer. No, we are living in a day of great patience and grace, but also a day of warning. Our gospel includes a warning of God’s coming judgment.

When the apostle Paul addressed the leaders in the city of Athens, he spoke these words:

“The times of ign或者ance God overlooked, but now he comm和s all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the w或者ld.” (Acts 17:30-31)

Judgment day is coming—that is the warning. But the gospel also gives us a way out—a way to escape God’s final judgment. If we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, we will be forgiven and cleansed from the guilt of every sin; we will be given the gift of salvation. If you have not done so already, ask the Lord to save you—to forgive you—right now.

With that, we come to the final psalm—Psalm 150. Thirteen times we are told in this psalm to praise the Lord—to start singing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” in essence.

And all these wonderful instruments are to accompany us as we sing. We have the trumpet and the harp here in verse 3, the tambourine and stringed instruments and pipe in verse 4, and finally, the cymbals in verse 5. In fact, the composer makes sure to call these “loud clashing cymbals.” We are not to be quiet in praising God!

This is like giving your third-grader a set of drums for Christmas—you are going to hear about it. Well, the psalmist is effectively telling us not to keep quiet but let the world hear the joyful noise of our praise to God.

Finally, the choir, the host of all the redeemed, are led to sing this final statement, this final hallelujah in verse 6: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord.”

Beloved, I don’t know what is happening in your life today. I don’t know what is happening in your world today where you live, but I do know that this is where the story of human history is heading, as Jesus Christ finally descends to establish His kingdom on earth.

And what are we singing when we arrive with Him? Revelation 19 tells us. The apostle John writes in verse 1, “I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.’” And in verse 6, they are singing, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.”

After three straight weeks of composing his great oratorio, George Handel was finally interrupted by a friend who found George in his apartment, sitting at his piano, with sheets of music lying about everywhere. Having just completed the “Hallelujah Chorus” and with tears streaming down his face, he looked up at his friend and said, “[It’s as if] I did see all heaven before me and the great God Himself seated on His throne.”

My friend, your story isn’t finished today. The story of human history isn’t finished yet either. Oh no, we are heading toward an eternal day when all the redeemed will sing “and He shall reign forever and ever, forever and ever . . . hallelujah.”

And with that we conclude our Wisdom Journey through this inspired hymnal of praise – the book of Psalms.

  • [1] Lloyd John Ogilvie, Falling Into Greatness (Thomas Nelson, 1984), 17.
  • [2] Ogilvie, 19.
  • [3] Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament: Psalms 1–72 (Word Publishing, 1986), 27.

  • [4]“The H或者ribly-Bungled C或者onation of Queen Vict或者ia,” Commonplace Fun Facts, January 10, 2020, https://commonplacefacts.wordpress.com

  • [5] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 68.
  • [6] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 81.
  • [7] Ibid., 84.
  • [8] Michael Youssef, When the Crosses Are Gone (Kobri, 2011), 1.
  • [9] W. L. Watkinson, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of Psalms: Volume 1 (Baker Reprint, 1978), 46.
  • [10] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 90.
  • [11] Arthur G. Clarke, Analytical Studies in the Psalms (Kregel Publications, 1979), 54.
  • [12] Phillips, 90.
  • [13] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 83-84.
  • [16] Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (Ballentine Books, 1997), 7.
  • [17] W. B. Riley, The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist: Volume 9 (Union Gospel Press, 1929), 143.
  • [18] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, 1991), 179.
  • [19] G. A. F. Knight, Psalms: Volume 1 (Westminster Press, 1982), 95.
  • [20] John MacArthur, The Battle for the Beginning (Thomas Nelson, 2005), 114.
  • [21] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms: Volume 1 (Baker, 1994), 170.
  • [22] Van Gemeren, 184.
  • [23] Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament: Psalms 1-72 (Word Publishing, 1986), 153.
  • [25] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Volume 1 (Zondervan, 1977), 273.
  • [26] Demian Bulwa and Henry K. Lee, “Mythbusters Cannonball Hits Dublin Home, Minivan,” SFGate, December 7, 2011, SFGate.com.
  • [27] Charles R. Swindoll, Living Beyond the Daily Grind: Book I (Word Publishing, 1988), 63.
  • [28] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 160.
  • [31] Henry M. Morris, Treasures in the Psalms (Master Books, 2000), 42.
  • [32] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 171.
  • [34]James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (Baker Books, 2005), 207.
  • [35] See Charles R. Swindoll, Living Beyond the Daily Grind, Book 1 (Word Publishing, 1988), 69.
  • [36] Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Zondervan, 1970); and Timothy S. Laniak, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (ShepherdLeader Publications, 2007).
  • [37] Lloyd John Ogilvie, Falling into Greatness (Thomas Nelson, 1984), 53.
  • [40] Charles R. Swindoll, Living Beyond the Daily Grind, Book 1 (Word Publishing, 1988), 76.
  • [41] Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Zondervan, 1970), 93.
  • [42] Timothy S. Laniak, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (ShepherdLeader Publications, 2007), 95.
  • [45] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 19 (Word Books, 1983), 208.
  • [46] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, 1991), 218.
  • [47] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 182.
  • [48] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms: Volume 1: Psalms 1–41 (Baker Books, 2005), 214–220.
  • [49] Quoted in Phillips, 197.
  • [50] Rick Lawrence, Skin in the Game (Kregel Publications, 2015), 106-7.
  • [51] “Cedar of Lebanon,” bibleplaces.com.
  • [52] B. L. Webster and D. R. Beach, The Essential Bible Companion to the Psalms: Key Insights for Reading God’s Word (Zondervan, 2010), 65.
  • [53] See David Wilton, “Humble/humble pie,” wordorigins.org, February 3, 2021.
  • [54] “The title of this psalm is subject to two interpretations. It may mean that the psalmist composed it for the occasion of the dedication of the Lord’s house. This would not be the dedication of Solomon’s temple since David had already died when Solomon dedicated it. It could mean the tent that David erected in Jerusalem to house the ark of the covenant when he brought it into the city (2 Sam. 6:17). Or perhaps this occasion was the dedication of the temple site (1 Chron. 21:26; 22:1). The Lord’s chastening of the king preceded both of these events. The writer referred to this discipline in the psalm” (Thomas Constable, Notes on Psalms, 2016 edition [Sonic Light, 2016], 88, planobiblechapel.org).
  • [55] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful (Cook Communications, 2004), 123.
  • [56] Cited in Charles R. Swindoll, David: A Man of Passion and Destiny (Word Publishing, 1997), 33. 
  • [57] J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book (Zondervan, 1987), Psalms, Lesson number 57, pp. 112-13.
  • [60] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 19 (Word Books, 1983), 309.
  • [62] Henry Twells, “Life’s Paces.” There was actually another, slightly different version of this poem. I am quoting the poem here as I learned it.
  • [63] J. E. Lunceford, “Amen,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, ed. D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, and A. B. Beck (W. B. Eerdmans, 2000), 52.
  • [64] L. Ryken, J. Wilhoit, T. Longman, C. Duriez, D. Penney, and D. G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (InterVarsity Press, 2000), 125.
  • [65] Kali Coleman, “The Origin Story Behind Newspaper Carriers Yelling “Extra! Extra!” BestLife, October 3, 2019, bestlifeonline.com.
  • [66] Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament: Psalms 1-72 (Word Publishing, 1986), 47.
  • [67] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 379.
  • [68] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 19 (Word Books, 1983), 352.
  • [69] Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations (Baker Books, 2007), 225.
  • [70] Robert L. Alden, Psalms: Songs of Dedication, vol. 2 (Moody Press, 1975), 11.
  • [71] A man named Ahithophel is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:34, and he is said to be the father of Eliam. Since 2 Samuel 11:3 notes that Eliam is the father of Bathsheba, some scholars suggest that the Ahithophel of 2 Samuel 15 may in fact be Bathsheba's grandfather.
  • [72] Michael Youseff, When the Crosses are Gone (Kobri, 2011), 19. 
  • [73] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72 (InterVarsity, 1973), 202.
  • [74]Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, volume 1 (Zondervan, 1966), 465.
  • [75]Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament: Psalms 1-72 (Word Publishing, 1986), 389.
  • [76] “How Firm a Foundation,” from John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns (1787).
  • [77] See Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom (Bantam Books, 1974).
  • [78] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful (Cook Communications, 2004), 206.
  • [79] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 501.
  • [80] G. A. Young, “God Leads Us Along.”
  • [81] Al Smith, Treasury of Hymn Stories (Better Music Publications, 1981), 67.
  • [82] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 553.
  • [85] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 42–106: An Expositional Commentary (Baker Books 2005), 585.
  • [86] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 590.
  • [87] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 20 (Word Books, 1991), 228, quoting Charles Spurgeon.
  • [88] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, 1991), 478.
  • [90] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Volume 2 (Zondervan, 1997), 251.
  • [91] Joni Eareckson Tada, “Joy Hard Won,” Decision (March 2000), 12.
  • [92]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful (Cook Communications, 2004), 241.
  • [93]L. Ryken, J. Wilhoit, T. Longman, C. Duriez, D. Penney, and D. G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (InterVarsity Press, 2000), 186.
  • [95] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 83-84.
  • [97] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Volume 2 (Zondervan, 1977), 331.
  • [98] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume One (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 651.
  • [100]J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book, Psalms (Zondervan, 1960), 97.
  • [101] Robert L. Alden, Psalms Volume 2: Songs of Dedication (Moody Press, 1975), 79.
  • [102] Isaac Watts, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.”
  • [103]Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 372.
  • [104] See Psalm 35 for an explanation of imprecatory prayers.
  • [105] George Morrison, quoted in Alexander Maclaren, “The Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible: Psalms to Isaiah, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (S.S. Scranton Co., 1903), 219.
  • [106] William Mackay, “Revive Us Again.”
  • [107] Jerry Vargo, “Hymn History: Revive Us Again,” Enjoying the Journey, enjoyingthejourney.com.
  • [108] Ceylon Yeginsu, “U.K. Appoints a Minister of Loneliness,” New York Times, January 17, 2018, nytimes.com.
  • [109] Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes (Thomas Nelson, 2000), 517.
  • [111] Alexander Maclaren, “The Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible: Psalms to Isaiah, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (S.S. Scranton Co., 1903), 227.
  • [112] Quoted in Morgan, 517.
  • [113] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant (Cook Communications, 2004), 30.
  • [114] Tommy Mitchell, “Didn’t Darwin Call the Evolution of the Eye Absurd?” Answers in Genesis, September 14, 2010, answersingenesis.org.
  • [115] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 56.
  • [116] David Menton, “Can Evolution Produce an Eye? Not a Chance! Answers in Genesis, August 19, 2017, answersingenesis.org.
  • [117] John N. Oswalt, “Basar” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Moody, 1980), 291-92.
  • [118] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Clarendon, 1978), 707-8.
  • [119] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 101.
  • [120] See John Stott, Favorite Psalms (Moody Press, 1988), 94.
  • [121] Robert Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories (Thomas Nelson, 2000), 735.
  • [122]Charles R. Swindoll, Living the Psalms: Encouragement for the Daily Grind (Worthy Books, 2012), 193.
  • [124] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant (Cook Communications, 2004), 41–42.
  • [125] Adam Clarke, The Adam Clarke Commentary, studylight.org.
  • [126] See R. Kent Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing (Crossway, 2004), 32.
  • [127] F. B. Meyer, Through the Bible Day by Day: A Devotional Commentary, vol. 3 (American Sunday School Union, 1914), 134.
  • [128] Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes (Thomas Nelson, 2000), 158.
  • [129] “Scientists Discover God’s H和iw或者k in a Lab,” Sermon Illustrations, preachingtoday.com.
  • [130] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary (Baker Books, 2005), 928. Watts’s hymn is titled, “When Israel Freed from Pharaoh’s Hand.”
  • [131] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Victor Books, 1986), 876.
  • [132] Psalms 42:3, 10; 79:10; Joel 2:17; Micah 7:10.
  • [133] F. B. Meyer, Through the Bible Day by Day: A Devotional Commentary, vol. 3 (American Sunday School Union, 1914), 137.
  • [134] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150 (InterVarsity, 1973), 407.
  • [135] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 116.
  • [136] https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/missions-exists-because-worship-doesnt-a-bethlehem-legacy-inherited-and-bequeathed
  • [137] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150 (InterVarsity, 1973), 418. 
  • [138] L. Ryken, J. Wilhoit, T. Longman, C. Duriez, D. Penney, and D. G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (InterVarsity Press, 2000), 566. 
  • [139] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Clarendon, 1978), 100.
  • [141] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 478-79.
  • [142] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 488.
  • [143] F. W. Boreham, quoted in Phillips, 488.
  • [144] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Volume 3 (Zondervan, 1966), 136.
  • [145] William Williams, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.”
  • [146] F. B. Meyer, Through the Bible Day by Day: A Devotional Commentary, vol. 3 (American Sunday School Union, 1914), 151.
  • [147] John MacArthur, Jr., The Battle for the Beginning: The Bible on Creation and the Fall of Man (Nelson Books, 2001), 112.
  • [148] Jerry Bergman, “The Moon; Required for Life on Earth,” Acts & Facts 47:10 (October 2018), 10.
  • [149] Gregg Zoroya, “Frauds Put Up a Decorated Front,” USA Today, June 21, 2006.
  • [150] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 593.
  • [151] J. I. Packer, Knowing God (InterVarsity, 1973), 37.
  • [153] “Man B或者n Without Limbs Declares God’s Goodness,” Sermon Illustrations, preachingtoday.com.
  • [154] “Scientist Proclaims Humanity’s Irrelevance,” Sermon Illustrations, preachingtoday.com.
  • [156] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 599.
  • [157] Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Volume 3 (Zondervan, 1977), 285.
  • [158]G. A. F. Knight, Psalms: Volume 2 (Westminster Press, 1983), 327.
  • [159] R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Moody Press, 1980), 2:701.
  • [160] J. R. Dummelow, ed., A Commentary on the Holy Bible (The Macmillan Company, 1936), 377.
  • [161] Mark D. Futato, “The Book of Psalms” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, volume 7 (Tyndale House Publishers, 2009), 427.
  • [162] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms: Volume Two (Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 678.
  • [163] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant (Cook Communications, 2004), 220.