Psalms – Page 11 – LOVE | ACCEPT

Psalm 58 May They Not See the Sun

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; tear out, O Lord, the fangs of the lions!

let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

Like a slug melting away as it moves along, like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun. (vv 6-8)

The Bible is no stranger to violence whether it be retribution against sin-stained men by God or the broken interactions between men. Many are critical of Christianity and use the violence as proof that their is either no God, or that God cannot be as holy as He is made out to be since He is associated with various violent acts. The psalms do not escape this history and in certain passages, the imprecation of the prayer against his enemies places us in an odd position. The Christian is challenged to justify words such as these in the light of the Beatitudes or the admonition to put away thoughts of an eye for an eye (Mt 5:38-42).

We must be cautious in our approach to these psalms and not confuse the violent fantasies of the author with the righteous actions of God. In order to show the depravation against which he rails, David attempts to portray a similar level of violence in judgment to that which is being measured out by the unrighteous rulers. Though they may have personally injured David, he is not seeking to justify a personal vendetta. Rather, he is seeking only to restore righteousness to the land and the hyper-violence he portrays is to serve as a warning to the wicked of their coming judgment which he entrusts to God alone.

The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, whey they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Then men will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth. (vv 10-11)

This psalm is about trust, trust that God will see to it that righteousness prevails. The imagery that David utilizes affects our sensitivities differently than it may have to original listeners. He seeks in all of the warning and cries for justice not to destroy the unrighteous but instead, to render them impotent. To break out the teeth of the ravenous beast is to release its prey from certain destruction. To watch watch water evaporate harmlessly is to prove the ultimate fate of evil while their blunted attacks bounce harmlessly to the ground. Perhaps, as David voices, it would be better for the wicked had they never been born.

Psalm 57 My Heart is Steadfast, O God

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God send his love and his faithfulness. (vv 2-3)

We are flighty creatures, given to shifting alliances and dalliances with suspicious centers of strength, sometimes at the merest hint of a shift in the wind. Trouble pursues us, danger surrounds us on all sides and our demise seems imminent. Someone or something appears whispering the siren song of security. Follow me it says. Trust me.

Often the temptation takes the form of contrast; why trust in something you cannot see when I am here before you.

King David knew danger and yet, his trust in God never waivered. His heart was steadfastly committed to the One who would save him even though there might be danger involved.

I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. (v4)

Danger abounds but the steadfast heart trusts in God and is confirmed by observation of history and circumstances.

They spread a net for my feet—I was bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it. (vv 6)

Have you looked back on your years and considered how danger and trouble have passed? Perhaps for some of us, the trouble has lasted a lifetime without relief while others have been untouched and we wonder why this is. As David does, we turn our eyes back to the first verses of the psalm. We may not know the purpose that He has for us but we know from searching the scriptures that it is ultimately good in the context of His eternal plan. Can we trust in this, knowing that our troubles serve a higher purpose? It is difficult in our finiteness but, as David does, we can praise also and continue to work our hearts into trusting shape. We too can say,

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. (v1b)

No matter how long that time may extend…

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Psalm 56 I May Walk In the Light of Life

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise – in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (vv 10-11)

Each passing day seems to chip away at our trust as we succumb to the temptation to rely upon ourselves rather than God. We trust him for the eternal protection of our soul but our personal safety seems to be regarded as our domain, not His. Think about David’s words at the end of verse 11; ‘What can man do to me?’ If you were to take just a few moments you could probably come up with quite a list of offenses that could be visited upon you.

Now, take that list and ask the same question of each offense. What difference will it make in eternity? Is my current safety and security going to affect my eternal life? Eternal life depends completely on the grace of God and your acceptance of His mercy. When our trust begins to shift back toward God we worry less about what man can do to us and we become bolder as Saints. There is much to learn from King David in this grouping of prayers. Meditate on them and be strengthened.

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Psalm 55 As for Me, I Trust in You

Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. (vv 9-11)

David again pleads to the Lord for deliverance from an enemy that seeks to destroy him. So persistent is this foe that even the king would entertain desires to flee from the situation rather than facing it head on. This strikes the reader on the oblique; here is King David, a man deeply vested in the will of God and secure in His protection and yet he toys with the idea of running away.

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest –I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and the storm.” (vv 6-8)

What attacker could generate such a willingness to retreat in the mighty king? It is the intimacy of his attacker that sets this foe apart. David envisions a city in chaos, a place in which no peace can be found. A similar sentiment was voice by the prophets Jeremiah (Jer 9:2-9) and Micah (Mic 7:1-6) of being surrounded by sin (cf. Micah – the people are able to sin with both hands) without relief. Worse yet, the enemy in view is one who is close to David, a friend once perhaps. This closeness makes the attack personal and therefore the cuts are deeper.

If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (vv 12-14)

We know these struggles well. Our environment is threatening at every turn. Our friends turn against us when we least expect it. We ponder why; why has God placed us in these situations? Perhaps it is to strengthen our trust. We are allowed to momentarily fantasize about running away from the problems, to avoid them altogether but, only for a moment. Those who trust in Him, trust in Him all the time and in all things, good and bad. Ultimately, our travails play a role in our Father’s ultimate glory. For this, we are grateful participants.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (v 22)

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Psalm 54 He Has Delivered Me

Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life – men without regard for God. (v3)

To varying degrees, every Christian can identify with the sentiment behind that verse. We have been attacked, persecuted, teased, goaded, etc. in countless ways by people who do not know God and even by those who do. We wonder why He allows this. Have we done something to deserve it? Are we being punished in some way?

Perhaps we forget the words of the Lord in John 16:33: “In this world you will have have trouble.” It doesn’t console us much but we are better off when we memorize the entire verse which reads;

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

One thought we should always consider with regard to our current troubles is the way in which they fit into the larger plan of the kingdom. We may never see or know (in this life) this effect that our troubles have within God’s larger plan. It may be that our struggles and the way in which we face them will move another to seek the Lord or, even longer term, may set up bigger things that we will never see. Contrary to the worldly demand to know everything, we must simply trust in God and His Kingdom plan.

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Psalm 53 There is No God

The refrain that entitles this post rings out on a daily basis in print, song, and behavior. “There is no God!” “You are the god of your life…” Surrounded by the same cultural meme, the Psalmist wrote

God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (vv 2-3)

The Christian who is enmeshed in the modern Evangelical lifestyle can quickly lose sight of this truth. Going to church, youth group, and maybe small group meetings can lead us to the false impression that everyone is just like us. Well, maybe not the really bad people, but surely most everybody else. What seems so obvious to us must be equally plain to everyone else.

The reality is that most people do not admit to the truth of God.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. (v1)

How much responsibility do you and I bear for this condition? We are certainly not responsible for the events in the Garden but we are culpable for its continuation. Where salvation and grace were meant to empower us in our Christ emulating lives, we have treated them as fire insurance and a covering for our personal failings. Ask yourself with me, does my life mirror Christ’s in such a way that my neighbors can’t help but notice? Is the Holy Ghost such an influence in my life that only a fool would question His existence and work? Don’t raise your hands…hit your knees.

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Psalm 52 In Your Name I Will Hope

Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? (v1)

The worshipper looks aghast at the wicked man boasting of his deeds. He knows there is going to be vengeance and that the retribution is not always going to come from the hands of man. He remembers the stones heaped on Achan and the burning sulfur that had rained down on Sodom. Those who had previously shaken their fists at God and continued in their evil had paid the price and he was confident that the price would ultimately be paid by all evildoers as well.

The Psalmist recounts over many verses the evil that men do and the price that will be paid. He saves his fiercest condemnation for the end of his rant:

Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others! (v7)

Though our corrupted hearts never cease to imagine new ways of visiting evil on one another, there is no greater failure than to not recognize that one cannot be a god unto himself. Despite your health, wealth, and status, God will always be God and you will not. He demands our obedience and worship and craves our love and to not deliver these things to the king is our ultimate corrupt act.

David leaves a final image of the upright man who is eternal in life and righteous in character. He know his place and his God.

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

I will praise you in the presence of your saints. (vv 8-9)

I too will praise you Lord, alone and in the presence of your saints…

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Psalm 51 Create In Me a Pure Heart

David and Bathsheba You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (vv 16 – 17)

This truth has very nearly become obsolete in the modern church. We have replaced contrition and brokenness with ministry busyness, our ‘offerings’ and church attendance. Sin has become rule-breaking rather than a personal affront; it has become external instead of internal. Repentance has become little more than ‘I’m sorry…’.

Psalm 51 is traditionally seen as being composed by David after his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11) and then being confronted by the prophet Nathan (2 Sam 12). We know how the single transgression of Bathsheba leads to further abhorrent behavior on the part of the King and we know all too well the horrible price that he pays for this string of evils. We don’t know how an exemplar like David can succumb to sin in this fashion but we do know that, if it can happen to someone so close to God it can happen to us as well.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (vv 1-3)

Is God moved to offer pardon through this string of praise? Exclaiming God’s unfailing love, His great compassion, and His mercy, is this proclamation of what must be entirely self evident to Him what will invite Him to offer grace? He must view these prefaces to our admission of guilt much as we do our teenager’s statements that they love and respect our household standards: we ask them why they performed such and such and act if they hold such great respect for our rules? No, we should believe that God is moved when our hearts finally arrive at the core truth of our relationship with Him voiced in verse 4.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. (v 4)

We must restore the proper understanding of sin in our lives and in His Church. Sin is properly viewed as being personally enacted against God. We have been lured to see sin as an external act, sort of a third party action of simply breaking a rule in which no one gets harmed like running a few miles over the speed limit. No harm, no foul. This is not how God views sin however. He views each act against His holiness personally, as though we look Him in the eye and while defiling His throne. It becomes even more serious when imagine how God must see our sin in the shadow of the Cross.

Statistically, few people read these posts on the Psalms. More people are interested in the Calvinism-Arminianism argument or my posts on the Hebrews warning passages but my prayer is that more will take the time to at least return to their Bibles and prayerfully consider this Psalm. Doctrine is important and it is valuable time spent considering the facts and searching the scriptures for the truths that underlie the doctrines but this cannot be at the expense of our relationship with God and our personal holiness. Far more important in our lives should be a plea similar to David’s:

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (vv 10-12)

Psalm 50 Call Upon Me in the Day of Trouble

Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. (vv 22-23)

We read this psalm as a bracing splash of cold water in the midst of our self-centered religious practice. The modern Church gives us countless opportunities to think that it exists for us and by us. As God speaks directly to the assembled worshippers, He not so gently reminds us that this is not the case. It is all about Him and in these verses He calls His people to account.

Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God your God.

I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. (vv 7-15)

God needs nothing from us. We need everything from Him. Give Him alone the glory.

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Psalm 49 He Will Take Nothing With Him When He Dies

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases;

for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.

Though while he lived he counted himself blessed – and men praise you when you prosper – he will join the generation of his father, who will never see the light of life.

A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (vv 16-20)

This psalm jumps to our attention as an abrupt shift in style and topic from those we have read up to now. This is a proverb taking the much longer and poetic form of the psalm and intended to be accompanied by the harp. There are two messages contained within the text and each is read differently depending upon which socioeconomic strata the reader approaches from. For the poor, there is assurance. Despite appearances, the wealthy shall not hold an advantage in God’s kingdom and that their wealth shall not substitute for pious lives.

For the wealthy reader who has mistakenly placed their faith and trust in their wealth, the message is more ominous. Since lucre and possessions shall not travel from one plane of existence to the next, it will be of no benefit when facing the God of the universe.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers who approve their sayings.

like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning: their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. (vv 13 – 14)

The next verse points to the only opportunity for salvation from this reality:

But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. (v 15)

That is the only promise worth our investment…

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