Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich. I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
In our last post, we considered the living waters that may be found only in the Lord Jesus, the privilege we have in knowing Him and the opportunity to experience rivers of living water flowing from our hearts.
In our psalm, the Psalmist speaks of tears and sorrow. He speaks of his enemies taunting him, of those who ridiculed him regarding his God. He sought opportunity to appear before his God, but was unable. He was anxious to appear before Him and yet he was far from God, unable to enter the temple, and to be before the creator of heaven and earth.
My friend, the tension between our standing in God and our experience with God may become unbearable at times, where faith is not simply a comfort for our hearts but a lifeline of hope.
Memories
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Psalm 42:4
Our author speaks of better days as he pours out his soul. He had precious memories of being with other worshippers, even leading them to the house of God. Memories of better days, of freely heading off to the temple to worship with others. But memories were all he had. And these memories set off reactions in his thinking, of how to deal with his current condition of being away from both God and His people.
He speaks of pouring out his soul. Often in the Old Testament, when an author used this specific term of “pouring out” it was associated with a blood offering. Consider Leviticus 4:18, 25, 30 & 34. The psalmist is pouring out his soul before God, not unlike an offering, as he remembers his previous times of praise and joy. Now he is alone, without the joy and praise of others, without the energy of the multitudes buoying his spirts. No temple, no God, no multitude, no encouragement, no direction, no joy or praise. He only had his tears to comfort him. His soul was as a sacrifice within him before God.
Internal Ruminations
Psalm 42:5
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation – Psalm 42:5
In the midst of this sacrifice before His God, of his pouring out his soul, he suddenly questions his state of thinking. His soul is in the midst of being poured out, the turmoil and loneliness of his life as a constant reminder of his previous joy and praise. In the midst of this felt experience, he enters a realization, a time of questioning his own perceptions, of his inner life, and he realizes this is a temporary situation. In the midst of a dry, lonely, bitter time, he considers that praise for the God of all creation is an inevitable experience.
Looking back over the years with the Lord, I have experienced the relative emotional valleys somewhat similar to this psalmist’s description. Early in my walk with Jesus, and while in a valley, I often feared that I would only and continually experience loneliness, sadness, and disappointment.
After all, believers are called to suffer and some of the sufferings described for believers may be of the internal type, as this psalmist describes. This is an experience a believer will enter into, and this psalmist provides a reason for hope. He shall yet praise Him. Praise is inevitable in this psalmist’s mind. Based on this inevitability of honest heartfelt praise to the Lord of all creation, he speaks of hoping in God. A hope that he grasps for in the midst of a serious valley in his life.
Yet as we consider our walk with the Lord, it is good to remind ourselves of the promise of all things working out together for good. This valley the psalmist was experiencing became an opportunity for a cleansing of his thinking, for a mental readjustment, a realignment of his perspective. I understand these valleys in our experience is necessary for faith to be exercised, for endurance to be increased and for a growing experience of God in our lives.
Although as saints as we are to go through bitter times, it is critical to remember that God is with us. He is at work within us and around us, and we shall have opportunity to praise Him in the near future.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this post may bless, send them a link so they may join us.
My favorite and I celebrated our 41st anniversary, heading off to a quiet little cabin, secretly hoping it would rain and force us to stay in, read a good book, and have a tea together.
This type of get away has become increasingly popular for us, and for this particular getaway, we chose a cabin in a tiny town, 15 minutes northeast of Fredericksburg Texas. The cabin appealed to us in that the owner claimed the deer were plentiful in the area. A little (natural) wildlife for my wifey and I is very appealing.
Nevertheless, we stayed for a couple nights, and each morning, I would get up before sunrise and head out to the porch with a coffee and my Bible, and simply experience the quietness of nature. In the quietness of the morning, I could hear the crickets chirping in the distance and a faint “ticking” noise that I didn’t recognize. Obviously it must be the deer, but I would be patient and not turn on the porch light, for fear of scaring them off. I later found out that the noise I heard is the dropping of leaves onto the ground. Yes it was that quiet!
Sitting on the porch in the quiet, allowed my thoughts to slow down, my vision to open up and the skies to speak.
And my mind thought of Psalm 19.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, – Psalm 19:1-4
In the dark, surrounded by stillness, the voice of the heavens shout. Sitting in the quietness, the Lord allowed me to view my first falling star, and with the moon behind some clouds, each star pierced the sky. To try to imagine the distances to the stars always comes far short of reality, and the immenseness of the sky enthralls me. The sky alone speaks of the vastness of our creator, and to sit quietly under His creation brought about a sense of awe and worship I rarely experience. I recently visited Montana, and experienced a similar time with the Lord. See Let Me Tell You a Story – Montana
As the early morning allowed the sun to rise, I found myself able to view a doe in the yard, picking up some of the dry corn the owner spreads for them. To see these graceful animals so close was a blessing and reminded me of Psalm 42, where the psalmist speaks of a deer panting for water. (See Psalms for Psome – Ps 42 – A)
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. – Psalm 42:1
Granted, the deer we viewed were searching for food instead of water, but my thoughts were drawn to the goodness of God in supplying both food and water to His creation. Whether it be through an owner of a cabin or the natural growth the deer depends on, God supplies.
Later that weekend, as my wifey and I were around a firepit, we watched as a dozen or so deer wandered within our view, with four of them antlered bucks. As we sat quietly, we enjoyed a bit of nature up close, for the deer were confident enough to be within 20 – 30 feet of the porch.
It was a wonderful time, and although it didn’t rain, forcing us inside to read a book, we found the Lord’s choice for our weekend to be the better option.
And a bonus add on to the weekend, internet was spotty at best – such a blessing!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 42:1-3
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
How often I have heard the beginning verse of this psalm, thinking of the privilege of coming before God and spending time with Him, of the joys of being in His presence. The lyrics of the song “As The Deer Pants For The Waters” by Martin Nystrom addresses the first phrase of this psalm, where a desire to be before God is spoken of, where he confesses his complete reliance on the Lord.
It is a wonderful song, yet the psalmist veers into a sadder, somewhat darker & less hopeful expression of his inner being. The psalmist is hurting, and frustrated, far from God and not able to approach Him in His temple.
A Saint’s Need.
Such a popular well known introductory verse to begin a psalm that introduces a true saints desire to be with God, quickly moves into some troubling issues a saint may likely experience in this life. This introductory portion of psalm 42 provides a description of a saint’s felt need for God. I say “felt need”, since in actuality, our need of God is very real each and every day of our pilgrimage on earth. The psalmist’s statement describing this felt need is also his prayer, and is so required in the saint’s life.
The psalmist is blessed to be so thirsty, even though it hurts!
As believers, we truly are desperate for the living God. And yet, would you not agree that our experience is not reflective of this reality? Through diversions, distractions and deceptions, our realization to this actual need is not met. We spin our wheels with worry and short term goals, “keeping busy”. All the while we are missing out on aligning our experience with reality.
A Saint’s Salvation
The saint is not one who can be satisfied with still water, water that is available yet not alive, not moving, not active! Oh to have that desperation for the Source of Living Waters. The mention of living water reminds me of a two different of verses in the Gospel of John.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:10
In this passage, we find the Lord giving the offer of living water to the Samaritan woman, and describing Himself as the originator and provider of this living water. Might I suggest this is the same living water that is being panted after by the deer in our Psalm.
A wee bit later, in a different setting, Jesus described the living water as a river, and not simply a personal possession. The believer becomes a conduit for this living water to gush out from. The believer!
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” – John 7:38
Jesus was speaking to His disciples regarding their ability to provide living water out of their own lives to those around, contingent on their belief in Him. Rivers of living water, my friends. Some may experience rivers as mighty as the Amazon river, and some may have rivers not unlike Turkey Creek (a tiny creek I know of), but nevertheless, those who trust in Him shall have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.
What a tremendous promise for the believer, and yet those satiated by this river of living water exuding from a believer may never know from whence it came. The influence of the river is up to the One who guides the flow, and we are not to force who or when the effect of the living water may impact. Our promise given is to be simply be a conduit, for the ultimate source is God Himself. We are simply conduits, a channel for God to use in order to bless others and provide a glimpse of His nature.
Availability
The fact that moving waters requires an unending source of water is part of the beauty of this word picture. A water well, or a pond may have a gazillion gallons of water, but the pond has a measurable volume. Living waters never end. By definition they continue to flow. Continue to be available. Continue to be active. Continue to be cleansing.
Cleansing
A well or pond may have no visible activity, and can easily become stagnant, “stinky” and a source of death and sickness. Without movement, water can become a source of contamination and death. In contrast, living waters, moving and active, actually has the ability to cleanse itself, to be improved by it’s very activity.
This truth came home to me while I was in engineering school. A sanitation course I took required the class to analyze the effects a “babbling” river has on the waste produced from cattle grazing near a river, upstream from a population’s only water source. Could the movement of the water naturally “treat” the waste material seeping into the river upstream form the town?
We were required to calculate the distance needed to ensure water quality was safe for the population. I pulled my calculator out, found the appropriate formulas, calculated a distance, and provided an answer. (If my memory serves me right, it was much closer to the town than I expected, but I digress!)
But as I walked out of the class, it occurred to me that living, moving, active waters are self-healing, and may be part of the image spoken of in the Word.
Self healing waters, are also cleansing waters for others. The Psalmist may be considering the cleansing power of living (fresh) waters spoken of in the law, such as in Leviticus 15:13
“… And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean. – Lev 15:13 ESV
In summary, in God we find our only source of living waters waters that cleanse and provide life. Because of God, we have the opportunity to provide living water, waters that are continuous, cleansing and healing to others.
Let me ask you a question before moving on. Are you seeing evidence of a continuous cleansing and healing spirit about you as you interact with family friends, coworkers and strangers? If I am honest with myself, I simply stop short and join with the Psalmist in admitting my need for Him.
How about you?
The Psalmist admits his need and desire for God, and as we venture through this psalm, we find he is in desperate straights, a great distance having accumulated between himself and his God. He looks for a chance to come and appear before his God, to find a closeness he had at one time. He desires to enter into the presence of God, at His temple and before His throne.
Yet his current experience is far from his deep desire. He is in the midst of those who mock him, taunting him of his allegiance to “some god out there”, experiencing weakness and ridicule, and apparently without support from God.
What a seeming contradiction, where our inner desires are not realized, and our outer conditions are beating us down, causing us pain and distress. Why put up with this emptiness and abuse? Why live a life that actually becomes a target for others, and in the midst of ridicule and mockery, find a loneliness and seeming abandonment at our time of greatest need?
Yet this is the very environment in which faith is required, exercised and tempered. But take note, it is not some faith in a religious teaching or a general truth all may agree to, but faith in the Son of Man, who is
…the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2
The reality we experience is full of contradictions, for we are, as believers in the crucified One, raised to heights of privilege no others have ever been granted. Yet also, at times we experience to varying degrees, depths of inner turmoil that is inexplicable and full of pain, doubt and self absorption.
At these times we must consider our Founder and Perfecter of our faith. He is good, and at times of loneliness or inner turmoil, remember His cross and the love He has proven to us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this post may bless, send them a link so they may join us.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 41:11-13 By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
Let’s summarize what we have discussed in the last few posts regarding Psalm 41.
David started out this psalm with a statement of blessing upon the one who considers the poor, and the reciprocal reaction of the Lord toward the saint when he is in trouble, keeping him alive and giving the saint a good name, being called blessed in the land.
He continues with his confession of sin, and experiencing an attack from his enemies. The attack appeared to be the spreading of malice, empty words and whispering against the king.
Our last posting described the continued attack upon David and his throne through the betrayal of David’s familiar friend, Ahithophel, joining his son Absalom in the rebellion. He ended the passage from our last post with his request to the Lord to raise him up, that he may repay his enemies.
In our passage above, David states his dependence on the Lord to respond favorably to his request for deliverance. He is looking for the Lord to provide deliverance, giving a proof of His delight in him. The deliverance will provide David an opportunity to find justice over his enemies and be restored to the throne.
And then he speaks of the Lord upholding him due to his integrity.
What? Now I am confused!
In our last post I suggested the betrayal of Ahithophel may have sprung from David’s sin with Bathsheba, his greatest fall from grace. David now claims the Lord upheld him in his integrity? How does a fall from grace relate to this claimed integrity of David? David claimed an integrity during this trial, and the Lord Himself described David as one with integrity of heart when Solomon came to the throne.
And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, – 1 Kings 9:4
Am I confusing innocence with integrity? Can the saint walk in integrity, though having fallen in sin?
Let me go out on a limb and suggest that the integrity David walked in included an active response to his own sin. He did not seek to deceive his God in denying his sin before the Lord, as we will continue to see as we travel the psalms. This teaching is somewhat similar to the teaching of the New Testament believer being blameless. Let me explain.
The believer is admonished to be blameless in a number of New Testament passages, one of which is Philippians 1:10
so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, – Philippians 1:10
As you read the verses leading up to verse 10, you will find that Paul is encouraging the believer to grow in their knowledge and discernment. This has always fascinated me, in that the believer is encouraged to find the Lord’s will, which may include possible mistakes or errors. Through these efforts, the believer gains knowledge of the Lord’s will and thus discernment. Paul speaks of the saint “approving” what is excellent, implying that some actions are to be disapproved, and possibly an error for that particular saint. How can the saint then be blameless, if he is not in the Lord’s will completely and fully at all times?
As I walk my faith out, I may hurt of offend a brother. Let’s say I exercise my thieving side, and steal something from a brother. I then repent and go to my brother the next day, confess my fault, offer restitution and ask for forgiveness. At this point, I understand I have regained my blamelessness before my brother and God. My brother can forgive me, or reject my appeal, but he can no longer blame me in good conscience.
So, in simple terms, blamelessness is the condition of a good conscience toward our brothers and God.
It turns out that David is a stellar example of this, in that the Word describes David as a man after God’s own heart, and yet he experienced a great fall. In the midst of this fall, when challenged of his sin, he repented and found mercy.
As may be apparent by now, I do not understand blamelessness to be sinless perfection, but a brutal honesty before those we relate to. David was brutally honest with his God, and the Lord looks for this in His people.
Psalm 41 ends with David stating that the Lord set him in his presence forever. David was in the Lord’s presence at the very time of the psalm being written, and that David experienced the presence of the Lord during his time on earth. He didn’t state that he would be in the presence of the Lord in the future only, but that the Lord “set him” in His presence, even at that current time!
This is the God we serve. Out of the greatest fall in David’s life came a threat that potentially would remove David from his Throne, and extinguish his life from the earth. And yet, God “set’s” him in His presence forever.
As we walk this sod, let us remember to imitate the Lord’s grace, not allowing evil to triumph but to overcome evil with good. As you go about your day, watch for opportunities to be gracious to those who may seek your harm. Disarm your enemies with love!
But let us not forget how this relates to the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Word speaks ultimately of Him. Per verse 11, we know that God delights in His Son, and that the enemy did not shout in triumph over Him, but that His resurrection proved to be the enemies downfall.
Join me in confessing with David – Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel! Jesus is “set” as the King over all, forever and to everlasting.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 41:8-10 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!
In our last post we spoke of a rejection that we as believers may experience in our walk with the Crucified One.
This portion of the Psalm continues the enemies efforts to destroy King David (and the greater King David).
Verse 8 speaks of the slander and evil desire of the enemy. When the passage speaks of “a deadly thing poured out on him”, I would like to consider, in my humble opinion, a more literal, descriptive rendering of the phrase. I refer you to a translation by John N. Darby, a Bible translation first published in 1890, which was intended by the author for private study, in that he maintained the Hebrew and Greek structure at the cost of readability.
A thing of Belial cleaveth fast unto him; and now that he is laid down, he will rise up no more. – Psalm 41:8 DBY
The Hebrew term translated Belial, for many of my readers may be recognizable. It speaks of worthlessness or of no profit, and refers to that which is evil, wicked and ungodly. Some Bible scholars consider the “thing” of Belial as that of a disease, and David’s description of this evil disease “clinging” to him exhibits the word picture of metal being poured out and clinging to its mold. This evil, worthless sickness clung to David.
My question to the reader is this. Is David physically sick, or is he continuing with his theme of reputation destruction that we spoke of in our earlier blog? You see, the term “thing of Belial” may also be translated as “a word of Belial” and may refer to destructive slander and reproach. Is David describing an effort by his enemies to destroy his reputation and therefore take the power of the throne from him?
I admit this is a difficult verse to understand, but when we consider verse nine, and the connection of the friend lifting his heel against him, it makes sense that this is not a physical sickness being referred to here.
Verse nine speaks of David’s familiar friend. A friend that typified wisdom, peace and soundness, one that David depended on for counsel. This friend is commonly understood to be Ahithophel, the wisest of David’s counsellors. Ahithophel turned traitor to David, joining David’s son’s revolt, counselling Absalom on how to destroy David.
Why this traitorous action on the part of Ahithophel? Years ago, as I was reading through the Old Testament, I found that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba. This interrelated relationship within the court of David was surprising to me, and it offered a reason for Ahithophel’ s traitorous turn.
You see, during the mid point of David’s 40 year reign over Israel, he fell into sin. As his army was out gaining new territory, David stayed back. David stayed back and fell down! A bit of background may help here.
Some scholars place David’s age at approx. 50. Bathsheba’s father, Eliam, served with David as a mighty man must surely have been with the armies. Bathsheba thus must have been at least a generation younger than David. A suggested age of Bathsheba when David first “eyed” her is very early twenties. If so, David’s adultery with Bathsheba was of an older man, the King of Israel, forcing himself on a young woman.
Seeing this scenario, I could well imagine Ahithophel’ s bitterness of this sexual sin, bringing reproach on his granddaughter, and of the death of a godly husband for Bathsheba, all at the hands of his King. This act of treachery on the part of David on Ahithophel’ s family line may have been the seeds of revolt David refers to in this Psalm.
With this possibility, we can see Ahithophel’s justification for the actions he took in his turning from his King. Was it a righteous act? I can’t see that, but in Ahithophel’s mind, he may have had ample emotional impetus to cause him to turn.
Yet, when we think of the Greater King David, how can we consider Judas’ rebellion. Jesus sought to rein him in on a number of occasions, and even at the end, in the garden, spoke to Judas as friend.
Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. – Matthew 26:50
What did Jesus do to deserve this traitorous action on the part of Judas? Simply put, Jesus received adoration.
The setting is Jesus and his disciples at Simon the lepers house, during which a woman anointed His body for burial. Of course no-one else understood what was going on during this act of adoration, but Jesus informed them of His acceptance. This simple act of adoration, from a woman using her own “very expensive ointment”, caused a surprising reaction from some in the room.
Lets read the passage.
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”- Matthew 26:6-9
Notice that all the disciples were indignant. Wasteful! What about the poor?
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:14-15
But Judas was a man of action. He acted on this indignation. His reaction to the adoration of the woman was to allow a traitorous act. Through his walk with the disciples, he had been known to pilfer a coin or two. Now the idol of greed was demanding action from his servant, and Judas obeyed.
Remember, in all this, Jesus did nothing of fault, unlike, it may be argued his ancestor David had deserved by committing adultery with Bathsheba and shaming Ahithophel’s family name. Jesus simply received what is due to Him, in the anointing of His body for burial.
How twisted this story is, in that an unknown woman is honored, and a chosen disciple brought to utter shame. Jesus’ familiar friend, one He had counselled and taught for three years, became a traitor. Judas betrayed his Master without cause, without any justification, without any deserved action on the part of the Greater King David. Jesus acted out of love, even for the disciple who turned on Him, calling him friend as He was being betrayed.
This psalm speaks of the pain David experienced as his counsellor betrayed him, yet he may have been simply reaping what he sowed years earlier. Jesus reaped what we sowed, in that Judas’ act of betrayal was completely based out of his own sinful desires, and might I say, our own sinful desires.
I used to think this passage corresponded with Jesus betrayal. I see now, it is more than a simple reoccurrence of David’s suffering, but a contrast of the betrayal a sinful man (David) reluctantly received against the betrayal the Sinless Man willingly accepted.
He is utterly good, and deserving of our allegiance. May we honor His name in all we do.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 41:4-7 As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!” My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?” And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
In our previous post, I considered what it means to consider the poor. During the discussion, I found that the term poor, may be understood to be equal to weak, or frail, without strength.
David continues with his cry out to God, referring to himself as one who is in need of healing. Although this healing may be referring to physical healing, I am of the opinion that David is speaking of spiritual healing, for verse 4 speaks of healing of his soul. His soul. Not his body, but his soul.
Many translations actually use the term soul, when David speaks “heal me” and appears as “heal my soul” in the KJV, NKJV, NASB, LSB, ASV, YLT, DBY and the WEB.
So what exactly is David referring to when he mentions his soul. It is the Hebrew word נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), and is used to speak of breath, or of life. Strangely, I have found that the very same word used for our soul (נֶפֶשׁ) is also used in the Old Testament when referring to the life given to animals. Check out Genesis 1:20; 9:10; 24:30. Dang it, it also speaks of God Himself (Isaiah 1:14), when he refers to His “soul”.
With that very brief introduction to the Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ, can we understand that David refers to a separate entity beyond his physical body, or simply an energy that is required to animate the body, and that upon death, this “energy” simply runs out? There may be some who would consider this life to be all there is, but even in the Old Testament, there was indications that the person, the soul, (the breath) existed after death.
Let’s consider about Ps 49:14
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.
The psalmist definitely expressed his hope in a redemption from the grave. (Sheol is considered a synonym for the grave in the Old Testament.)
How about Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Or from a different perspective, David expressed hope of seeing his departed baby after death, when he expressed his hope in 2 Samuel 12:23.
But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
The life provided to each of us is a gift of God, that which is our real person. I have heard it said that the body is simply a tent for the person to live in while the tent is available. (Was it Paul that used that metaphor?)
If David is seeking to find healing for his soul, many of the remaining requests have to do with his reputation. His enemies want his name to perish (vs 5), they spread empty (false) words of him (vs 6), and gather together hoping the worst for him (vs 7).
David reaches out to God for healing, for resuscitation of his soul, for a renewal and rescue of his soul, and yet the remaining verses, along with our next post, deal primarily with his reputation and standing in the community. These two aspects of life, in our modern way of thinking, are somewhat separate from one another. We, in the modern church, tend to separate our physical existence from the life reputation we experience.
This does not appear to be the Old Testament mindset. To have a good reputation is to be preferred above great riches. Sadly this is not the common thinking of today’s society.
Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold
Proverbs 10:7 The reputation of the righteous leads to blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
Yet, to have a good reputation brings with it some complex problems in this modern age.
First off, a reputation is based on a set of standards that a society accepts. Decades back, the Decalogue was still a standard our society referred to, but that seems to be slipping away in our North American culture. With that slippage, comes in a variable, feel good, nothing is wrong type of social acceptance, that allows for a good reputation to be assumed, even while in the midst of living in sin.
Secondly, those who fear God and seek to honor His Word, living under His authority and standing up for the good and right found in the Word, are maligned and considered trouble makers. Reputations are often smeared. Of course, a minority may respect the one who stands up, but the general population rejects, demeans and destroys the reputation of godly folk.
As David speaks of his enemies hoping for his worst, for his death, and uttering empty words, imaging the worst for him, we should realize this is an expected condition in our walk with God. True, we are to seek a good reputation, and to maintain integrity (whether others regard it or not), and yet the Lord speaks of an underlying condition we need to recognize as we follow Him.
Rejection by the World
Following Him will bring suffering and rejection from the world. Loss of friends, close relationships with family, damage to careers, and so much more may be part of the journey with the Lord.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12
Thankfully, at this time in our personal lives, we are not experiencing any active persecution, but during the brief times we have, the Lord has always strengthened us, given grace and mercy and brought about good from the pain. He is good. (BTW – please think of those who are under constant persecution – Remember them in your prayers!)
Rejection by the Church
Depending on the church you attend, there may come a time when those who were your closest allies may turn on you, spread slander and boot you out of the fellowship . Jesus warned His disciples of this, to the ultimate end of fellow “believers(?)” killing a believer in service to God!
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. – John 16:2
Let me gently remind us that if our reputation in destroyed in the sight of others, due to their slander (not our foolishness) we are entering a level of knowledge of the Lord that the apostles and prophets enjoyed, and that the Lord took part in fully and finally.
In Conclusion
Remember the words of the Lord in Matthew 5
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, – Matthew 5:44
And of the apostle in Romans 12
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. – Romans 12:17
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Rom 12:19-21
In the midst of social rejection, we are called to love and not hate, to pray and not slander, to feed our enemy and not be overcome of evil. Challenging words for us. We need strength!
Do not “reject the rejection”, but look to the One who understands the inner turmoil and pain you may experience. And rejoice! For He is good. Follow after Him.
As mentioned in our first post (Outside the Camp – A), I had just finished a study in Matthew 8, of Jesus cleansing a leper (See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus) and was in discussion with my favorite wifey. We considered the following two verses and started comparing lepers with believers.
Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. – Hebrews 13:13
He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. – Leviticus 13:46
This post will continue with our thoughts and hopefully provide an opportunity for my readers to discuss additional parallels you may see between lepers and the New Testament believer.
Both communities consist of people who live under a death sentence.
The leper understood the disease would kill him and lived with this truth everyday, as their nerve endings quit working, organs began to shut down and their vision began to slip away.
The New Testament believer is also to understand his day to day experience of living under a death sentence, of carrying a cross and dying daily while in the Christian community. Our experiential feelings of love and belonging to this old world is to die as we grow closer to the One who delivered us.
Both communities have no one else they can trust in.
Both communities, as they experience separation from the greater society, naturally learn to trust in their own community and hopefully in the God who protects and guides them. For the typical modern church adherent, this need for trust within the community is fostered through relationships beyond the Sunday morning entertainment hour. Both communities, in reality have only One they can trust in for their lives.
Both communities experience suffering.
The leper would experience the suffering of exclusion and rejection, of the constant reminder of being out of the camp, away from family and friends. Much of the pain the leper would experience would not be associated with the physical realm, since they could not feel any pain as the nerves died. The suffering would be emotional and spiritual, since it appeared that their disease separated them from the God of the universe.
The New Testament believer also experiences suffering, but in our situation, the suffering may also include physical pain, along with the mental, emotional and spiritual suffering referred to above.
Both communities need to to be thankful for pain
The lack of pain for the leper sometimes caused greater damage to their body, as the leper would inadvertently allow further damage to their body by not recognizing the pain. A case in point is the common occurrence of a leper picking up a hot item, burning their skin and allowing this damage to continue.
The pain we normally experience is actually a gift, in that it guards us from unnecessary damage. The church is to be thankful for the pain of association with the Lord, as the early apostles gave witness. Sad to say, this avoidance of pain is actually encouraged in the modern church, under the teaching that we are to have our best lives now, that we as “children of the King” should only have blessing and good things in our lives. Pain and suffering is to be rejected by simply claiming healing or relief. Some of this teaching actually recommends we command God to remove pain.
Our thoughts on this connection between a leper and a believer are incomplete at best. As you read through this series on lepers and believers, and thoughts came to mind, please comment below. If you know someone this post may bless, send them a link so they may join us also.
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I recently finished a study in Matthew 8, of Jesus cleansing a leper (See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus), and was chatting with my favorite wife during our Saturday morning tea time, rocking in our rocking chairs, and enjoying each other’s company.
We chatted about what I had found during my study. Lepers were considered rejects and outcasts, and were required to live “outside the camp”. As soon as that term was mentioned, I thought of Hebrews, where the apostle (or his representative) wrote.
Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. – Hebrews 13:13
As I studied the previously mentioned miracle, I recalled one other time this phrase occurred. It was in Leviticus 13, where Moses defined the lepers banishment from the camp. The leper was to be quarantined from those in the camp, and were forced to be “outside of the camp”
He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. – Leviticus 13:46
Am I correct in thinking the author of Hebrews is actually equating Jesus with those who were outside of the camp, and exhorting believers to join Him outside the camp. He writes of the reproach the Lord Jesus endured, being outside the camp. To bear reproach is to experience disapproval, criticism and/or disappointment. The religious body of the nation of Israel surely poured reproach on the Lord Jesus in their dogged criticism of His teaching and His character. This reproach intensified until the ultimate rejection by the religious elite , resulting in the execution of God, the cruel crucifixion of Israel’s King.
As I have learned through my four decades of learning of the Word and the Author of life, “religion kills”. Only in the Lord Jesus do we find the source of life and His life is found through going to him, outside the camp.
This seed thought got us to thinking. Is not the church called out to be different (holy) and incur the reproach of the world? In what other ways does this description of a lepers’ colony help us understand the parallel existence of the New Testament church?
Let’s consider.
Both communities are rejected by the society they are associated with.
This parallel is somewhat obvious. Numbers 5:1-4 actually commands those in the camp to send lepers away, for they defile the camp.
In our New Testament experience, the tables flip somewhat, and “the camp”, defined in the Old Testament as being where God dwells (the nation of Israel), now is the very camp that has been rejected. To follow God, believers are to go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. This is the very argument Hebrews brings to those first century believers associated with Judaism.
Both communities seek to be accepted by the society they are associated with.
As a comparison to the previous point, the leper most assuredly desired to be a part of the camp, to be accepted by the society he had been rejected by.
Sadly, it appears that during the church age, (if my understanding of church history is accurate), the established church has also sought acceptance of the world. This desire to be accepted seems evident in a couple ways in my understanding. Firstly, the established church sought acceptance by forcing morals upon the society, as in the medieval times, mixing spiritual authority with political force. Another way the church has sough to be accepted by society is to beg, or at least to mimic the society, in order to be accepted.
I am thankful that the church has had a remnant of believers walk away from the camp in order to maintain their allegiance to the One waiting for us outside the camp.
Both communities are small when compared to the society they are associated with.
Although highly contagious, the leper colony was to be isolated from the general populace and therefore be relatively small in relation to the camp. The infection could not spread if isolated.
So it is with the church, as it is a counter culture that has few that find it, that follow after Him and that openly confess Jesus as Lord.
It is challenging if we follow this metaphor of an infection a bit further and consider Christianity as an infectious disease that spreads rapidly if allowed.
Both communities are considered useless to the society they are associated with.
The leper colony was considered of no importance to the greater society, much like our modern society regards the church. Much of the disregard for the leper colony was due to their physical disfigurement and the ever present fear of infection. This disease resulted in a life of poverty, isolation and rejection. The greater society would not consider the leper colony of any importance.
Is not the church also considered a relic, a cast off that is not to be listened to. How often have you recently heard of the world’s desire to leave the church to history, forging a new society full of promise. The church is a “leper” in the world’s eyes. I suggest we embrace this attitude of the world towards us, in that we truly are a rejected people, and forgo any desire to join with them. Let us speak out as a conscience to a society that has no conscience, as ones who know the truth.
We may be considered useless to the world, but that isn’t our calling.
In closing, does it offend you that to be a believer is likened to a leper? Is there a social stigma with Christianity that is unacceptable to you, or that causes you a discomfort? Our life in Christ includes our dying to this old world and rejecting its opinion of the Master.
Our thoughts on the leper/believer connection will continue in our next post. As you read through this post, and thoughts came to mind, please comment below. If you know someone this post may bless, send them a link so they may join us also.
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My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 41:1-3
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
Consider the poor.
Note that David did not simply state that the one blessed is the one who gives to the poor. No, it is not simply giving, but “considering the poor” that is “considered” here.
What is David trying to say here? To consider is to give attention to, to understand, to be prudent. I think of it as wisdom in supplying needs in order to help the one suffering, instead of simply sacrificing out of guilt or some external obligation. There is a way we help that hurts those we seek to help.
One of the first times I understood this concept was when a brother and I were out door knocking and evangelizing. We came across a young couple that was willing to listen, and we shared the gospel. Eventually, we were told they needed some diapers, which we were happy to retrieve for them. This gave us an opportunity to return and visit! Eventually they needed more formula, some food, a few more diapers, a bit of gas and a bus ticket. We continued to supply, yet there was something wrong. It just seemed wrong.
This family had funds for what some may consider luxury items (large tv, new stereo, a vehicle…), and our assistance was supplementing a lifestyle of desire, not need. Might I suggest that if I “considered the poor” in this instance today, I may have hesitation to express charity to the extent we did so long ago. Something to consider in each situation. Wisdom is needed!
You may wonder where this family is in relation to the gospel. I don’t remember either the husband or wife coming to church with us, making a decision for Christ or showing any real interest other than getting one more diaper.
To be honest, my brother and I got so caught up in supplying the “need”, in order to show Christian charity, we abandoned the original intent of our first visit. We eventually “considered the poor” in this instance, and moved on to others that might receive a message instead of milk us for money.
Charity can also become a crutch for those receiving, creating a dependence on the charity. This is a common concern amongst some charities that simply exist to maintain the status quo of supplying an immediate need, as opposed to solving a root problem. Don’t get me wrong, thinking I know of a solution, but in the personal interactions we have with the poor, David advises us to consider. To ponder the best solution for each particular case. To exercise wisdom in our efforts to assist the poor.
The one who wisely seeks to help the poor properly, without seeking self gratification, will be helped by the Lord in his day of trouble. Consider the day of trouble the saint falls into, and that the Lord will help, for our good and not to our detriment. The Lord Himself considers the poor.
The term poor refers to weakness, a lowliness, even a neediness. We are definitely poor, weak and needy. As we read these verses, it occurs to me that they could apply to the poor, or to the saint who considers the poor. Either way, to consider the poor, and to mimic the Lord’s mercy is enough for the saint.
As we learn of Him and His grace and mercy toward us, we are to follow His example, exercise a heart toward the poor, and consider ways to assist the poor for their good, and not simply ours.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!” 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
The Lord is great, but I am poor and needy.
Let’s recount the historical reason for David writing this psalm. Many believe this psalm was written after the revolution of Absalom, and that David was back on the throne of Israel, nearing the end of his life.
He had experienced the greatest of betrayal in his life, and had been brought to the very edge of defeat and death by his son and a trusted friend. The depth of despair David experienced also brought with it a humility and gratefulness that is expressed in the final verses of this great psalm.
Also, it is instructive to note that the last two verses have two subjects, that is those who seek God and the author himself. The author looks to those who seek God, and desires joy and gladness for them in their chasing after God. He desires the best for them as they seek God.
For himself, he admits to his poverty and need. Please remember that the author is King David, and is near the end of his rule, where he rules over the most prosperous and militarily mighty nation in the area. His expansion of his rule saw few limits and the Lord gave him victory many, many times. He was the king of Israel, and is considered the greatest king that ruled over the nation.
Yet he saw himself as poor and needy. The word poor may be translated as afflicted. To be afflicted is to be in need, subject to oppression or abuse, and admitting to the need for deliverance.
How is it that David could honestly say these things, while sitting on the throne of Israel, and reigning over God’s people?
David was in the enviable position of understanding where he stood in relation to the great God we serve. Although he is considered one of histories greatest kings, he considered himself as poor and needy, a man before God, stripped of his earthly strength, and bowing before Him. David was great because he did not consider himself.
If this was the only one we might consider in the final verses, it would be enough, but I ask you to consider the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ, for as we have seen though this psalm, the subject turns to the Messiah, and we can see glimpses of His life throughout the passage.
Consider Jesus, in relation to the claim of being poor and needy, One who voluntarily left all power and glory to be brought to a point of poverty and need, to being one who needed deliverance from God, who experienced affliction, poverty, humiliation and ultimately death.
David was rescued from the pit, but Jesus entered the grave, having prayed for deliverance. This exercise of trust in the Father is unexplainable, if He was not continually and always in the presence of the Father, communing with the Father, being One with Him.
His trust in the Father during His experience of poverty and affliction is amazing, and His willingness to enter death, while not deserving the condemnation is beyond any sense of logic or understanding.
The psalmist, at the end of this psalm, prayed for God not to delay. The Lord also prayed for deliverance. God delivered David. All appearance of deliverance for Jesus, in the eyes of the disciples was snuffed out at the point of death. It seemed the Father had delayed, had not delivered the greater David.
We must understand that the deliverance that was expected and the deliverance that was supplied was dependent on our understanding of the goal. Any one of us, being in the sandals of the disciples, would have seen this as the disciples did, as a great failure, a massive disappointment. If only God had not delayed in delivering Jesus from death.
But love is like that.
He truly is the leader of our salvation, the One who loved first, best and always.
If you have been following my ramblings for the past few months, you may remember that I spend some time in a parking lot, walking to the top and back down, praying for my family and friends, or memorizing a verse that I am trying to master. During my walks, as many of you may remember, I tend to wander in my thinking, ending up in a place in my mind I hadn’t intended. This post is the result of such wandering.
For some unknown reason, I began to consider the concept of courage, and the many commands in the Word of believers told to “fear not”. I have found that the Word actually speaks the words “do not fear” (or some similar phrase) over 100 times. Some of these verses are directed to individuals in specific historic circumstances, but the example provided can be very instructive. Other passages, especially in the gospels or epistles can be applied directly to us as believers. This is incredible, and reveals to me that fear is a huge issue that God often addresses with in His people.
As an aside, it is important to understand that if you are in a dangerous situation, fear is a healthy emotion, and is not to be rejected. Fear in an unsafe condition actually may save your life.
No, this post is about a non-defined, non justified fear that has no basis in truth, paralyzing (or controlling) us without any clear danger defined. Out of this condition of fear, God has a solution. Don’t be afraid. Be courageous.
It seems incredibly obvious to me now that fear is a decision to live in. Now don’t get me wrong, that when I am in the midst of fear, when the panic hits and the terror strikes, making a simple decision to be courageous, and reject fear is not my first consideration. I usually fall into the fear trap, get wrapped up in it’s tentacles and tremble. Usually, I actually feed the fear monster, by thinking of or listening to fear mongering. This is very easy to do in this society of social networking. Bad news sells!
But Good News heals. Only after I spend some quiet with the Lord, do I regain my sense of control over this emotion.
Let’s consider the emotion of anger. In the past I have grown in my rejection of unjustified anger. How is it that fear is any different in the way the Word addresses a solution for believers. The Word tells us to not be angry.
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. – Col 3:8 ESV
It seems to be a straight forward command. A decision that one can make to humbly admit our weakness and depend on Him. And yet, in the midst of the sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, there appears to be no escape, no other way. (Consider Gal 5:19-21 for this list of sins)
A walking with the Lord rescues us from these debilitating choices, these temptations that are overpowering for the one who is seemingly alone!
But let us return to the topic at hand.
When I finally recover from an “attack of the fearries”, I usually think of the time I went back to college in my mid 30’s, when I once again fell into fear. Paralyzed by fear if my memory serves me right.
I was a latecomer in the class, starting the semester a week late, one of the older students, with the peer clicks firmly established and the pecking order obvious. I don’t recall any reason fear crept up my spine and nestled in my mind, but it settled in for a long stay. For weeks, I was quiet, not looking at anyone, or entering into any conversations with other students. It seemed hopeless.
The fear that had controlled my actions for weeks was literally shattered while I was in the hallway next to my soils class, and I read the following Scripture.
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” – Isa 12:2
All I could hear was that my fear was revealing my lack of faith. There were two attitudes the prophet spoke of. Either trust or be afraid. Trust resulted in not being afraid. I will trust, and not be afraid. This was a seminal moment for me and I have often thought of this time in future periods or fear.
Is there a time in your life when you could state you exercised faith and experienced fear at the same time. The Bible tells us that fear is something we can reject through trust in the Living God.
Can it be that believers want it to be more complicated? Let me know of your experiences with fear and how the Lord has provided deliverance for His child.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! 14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
In our last post, the passage emphasized the trials David experienced, a hopeless that was expressed by outward and inward enemies. Multiple iniquities, more than the hairs of his head, and evils surrounding him.
His heart was failing.
As we consider our passage, verse 13 reflects David’s heartfelt desire to see God active and working, delivering his child from all his enemies. David is not asking for mercy in this request, but that the motivating factor to drive God in delivering his child is God’s own pleasure in saving those who call out to Him. Not only is David appealing to God to take pleasure in delivering the saint, but that the Lord would make haste.
I love doing things that please me. I love writing in this blog, and will get up early in the morning in order to be involved with the text and to ask God for direction. I take pleasure in it! I usually (always?) put off things that I take no pleasure in (weeding the garden for example), in order to do that which pleases me. Of course this is a comparison of earth with heaven, yet that which we are pleased to do, we seek to find time to do.
How about God? Do you see God as a God who takes pleasure in delivering His saints? Is the God you worship a God that is reluctant in delivering the saint? Is He One who is distant and would rather not be bothered?
What is it that God takes no pleasure in? What actions does God prefer not to be involved in (I speak as a man)? A quick search of the Word brings a number of verses for my reader to consider.
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” – Ezekiel 18:32 ESV
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. – Hebrews 10:6 ESV
but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” – Hebrew 10:38 ESV
After David appeals to God for deliverance, he speaks of the natural outcome of this deliverance as he understood it. Deliverance for David would mean the doom of his enemies.
He speaks of “those” enemies that he was facing, that they be put to shame, disappointed, turned back, brought to dishonor and appalled.
Let’s remember that David is a man of war, that his perspective was that of victory or defeat against his foes. The entire kingdom of Israel existed through military conquest, and for the nation to continue, it’s physical enemies would need to be held back.
Is it so for us as the body of Christ in the church age? Are we dealing with physical enemies, and should we seek their downfall, that they be put to shame?
Consider the contrast of David’s desire for his enemies with the New Testament teaching provided to the saints.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 ESV
Is it fair to deduce from this passage that since we do not wrestle against the physical, that we are also not to enter into adversarial attitudes with those who may appear to be “against” us?
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, – Matthew 5:44 ESV
In my opinion, (which is worth less than two pennies) this is the most challenging single verse in the Bible to live out. I am a naturally pessimistic, argumentative and judgmental fella, and find that an attitude of grace and mercy towards those I meet with during my day to day life is impossible without the continual help from God in thinking and behaving properly, under His direction.
Our outlook on life is to be per the Messiah’s teaching and though we often feel as David felt in this passage, we have a higher calling, a calling that will prioritize love over revenge, of forgiveness over bitterness, of prayer over argumentation.
We have a high calling brothers. Let us remember the challenge, and seek to follow the One who loved us when we were enemies!
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. – Romans 5:10
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
11 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! 12 For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.
In our earlier passage, David declared his “nots”. Just as a reminder, let’s review them
I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
David is confident that the Lord will not restrain His mercy from him. I find it somewhat interesting that the prophet used the same negative terminology for both the Lord and his own actions, that is, that restraint was not carried out.
Restraint implies a restriction, an unwillingness, a loss of freedom, inhibition. Both David and the Lord are free to exercise their respective actions. David has freedom to share the goodness of God. The Father is free to exercise mercy in David’s experience.
But that brings up a question for my readers.
Is David linking his freedom to share with the congregation, with God finally able to exercise mercy to him?
In other words, is the Lord free to exercise mercy in every and all circumstances? Or is He restricted upon our actions?
Comment below with your thoughts.
Let’s continue. David proceeds into verse 12 with a litany of overwhelming perils. Let’s look them one at a time.
Wickedness surrounding me
David confessed he had enemies all about. Friends, acquaintances or sworn enemies, he realized wickedness was prevalent outside of his own person. We know of this trial in our own lives, as we realize that many in our lives may would seek to take advantage of us, harm us or at the least sideline us to make us of no effect.
Iniquities within me
David was realizing that external forces were not his only problem.
If he lived in a utopian kingdom, where all was love and kindness, no wickedness or evil intent possible, He would still have an enemy. As Pogo, a cartoon character of 50 years ago quipped, “We have met the enemy and he is us”
David realized his own inner wickedness, selfishness, self deceit and weakness. This I find to be the hardest truth for the average Christian to accept (it is for me!) and the most difficult to discuss. We tend to exaggerate either extreme. Some may state that sin is not resident in their lives, thereby experiencing spiritual perfection. I don’t meet many believers of this doctrinal stance, that is sinless perfection, yet I fear there are many that believe they may have attained to it without verbally expressing it!
The other extreme is complete and utter evil only lurking in the heart of man. This seems to have much Scriptural backing, and my calvinist brothers would claim it is the reason for their gospel message. (Without this key lynch pin holding their theology together, the logical system they have built crashes to the ground).
Although I spent decades in this thinking, I have come to understand that wickedness resides in me alongside a desire to know God, a desire to seek him and know him. As an experiential knowledge of my own heart, I understand that my own witness is not to be trusted. Therefore, I would appreciate my readers to comment on this topic – the heart of man and it’s condition.
It is instructive though, that David states “my iniquities have overtaken me.” He does not say that his entire being is only sinful, iniquitous, evil, hateful and dastardly. Of course I am being extreme here, but I hope you get my point. (I have always wanted to use the word dastardly in my blog – now I have!)
No vision to guide me out
David claims blindness. He cannot see. Of course we are not to take this literally. He is speaking of his trials, his situation. He is looking for a way out, but with external and internal enemies, there is no escape, no where to run for safety. His back is up against a wall, and he is realizing the wall is also a foe.
Nope, As my momma used to say “He is up the crik without a paddle stick!”
Sins uncountable
How many hair reside on your head? Innumerable, uncountable. Why count them when there are so many. This is the sense I get as David describes his sins to God. It is hopeless!
As we have mentioned in our blog earlier, the Hebrew poets would repeat a thought in the next stansa, using this devise to explain or amplify the previous thought. David is dwelling on his internal iniquities when speaking of the innumerable sins he is recounting.
No strength
His heart fails. No hope, no escape, no relief, no release, nothing that would give encouragement for the future. That is, if we did not have the foundation of God’s promise in the verse above.
As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
The foundation of God’s mercy, steadfast love and faithfulness is what David finds hope in. He will venture into this great hope in our next blog, dealing with verses 13 – 15.
I hope you can join me as a hopeless situation finds light shone on it! And hopefully, we can see our own situations in like manner, where the Lord Jesus will bring light to our situation and provide deliverance and help in time of need.
Thanks for joining me in this venture through the Psalms. I rarely express my gratitude for your attention to my ruminations. Thanks again, and I look forward to your comments.
My favorite and I flew to Montana a few weeks back to spend some time with our eldest son and his lovely family. While we were there, we camped out at a KOA camp, sat by the fire at night, ate hotdogs and burgers off the grill and played a bunch of rummy.
I was able to teach my grandson the game and he took to it, to the point he wanted to play and play and play. He won a few times, which only fueled his confidence, but that is another story.
This story is about my son and I trying our hand at fly fishing.
We purchased the rods, flies, licenses and even some boots to wade into the river with. Our first day out was a Monday, and we had no cell service – which was glorious in it’s own way. Our trek took us upstream to a sand bar on the Boulder River, where we could get some practice in our casting skills, which admittedly were pre-beginner status.
A bit of testing and trying, and pretty soon I felt like I knew what I was doing. Note that it is a feeling – I didn’t know what I was doing, but as my momma used to say “Ignorance is bliss”. We fished for a few hours, pulled our flies out of the trees, untangled our line numerous time and generally appeared completely out of our realm.
By 2 pm, we were ready to head home, realizing the fish were not gonna cooperate. Dang fish!
The point of this story is not to describe the frustration with our efforts, or to whine about our lack of success, or to complain about the heat of the day.
No, there was absolutely no reason to be negative. I was in the middle of some of the pertiest nature I had ever experienced.
As I was trekking away from the Boulder River, looking back at the clear blue pristine river, the bright green hillside, with a rustic brown escarpment, up against a crystal clear sky, that just for a moment, a fleeting moment, I was flooded with praise to the One who created such beauty and grandeur. (I would describe my reaction with greater detail, but I fear I would be giving up my man-card.)
Of course, as a city dweller, I never experience this in the concrete jungle. Grey concrete structures and steel pan bridges do not ignite the inner wonder of God’s creation I experienced that afternoon. For many, if I were to paste a photo of this area, would simply bypass it, thinking it was a “dime a dozen” view, nothing to get excited about, and well it may be.
But that afternoon, under the sun and with God, I experienced something that will not escape my memory for many many years. It was indescribable, and I will quit trying to do the impossible.
My point is – Get out of the city and experience nature as soon as you have opportunity. Thankfully, God is with us always and everywhere, that is the gospel truth. Yet, it may be that out in a wide open field, with a cold bubbling river beside you, (and uncooperative fish teasing you) you may get a new perspective that will light you up!
God is good.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
In our previous post we found it spoke directly of David’s prophetic ability to delve into the text beyond the surface reading of Old Testament commands. But more importantly, Psalm 40:6-8 speaks of the life purpose of the Messiah, that is the Messiah’s desire, ‘to do thy will”.
The passage also speaks of the desire of God in both the arenas of sacrifice and of obedience, of how the sacrifices were never the end goal, but the complete obedience of the Lord Jesus to the Father’s will as being the great story, the end goal, the purpose of it all.
Our passage before us speaks of the telling, preaching, sharing, and declaring of the message to the great congregation, to those who need to hear of the Messiah and of His heart for God.
David spoke freely to the congregation, to those who assembled together. He did not hide the message within his heart, but freely spoke the good news of the God of creation. David has spoken of hiding the word in his heart in another Psalm, in order to not sin against God, but in this Psalm he is not restrained in voicing the glad news.
Although the Psalm speaks of David proclaiming the God of all creation to the congregation, the passage should be recognized as describing the Lord Jesus (and His followers) as the preachers of the salvation provided.
If we consider the congregation David shared with as His own nation, or possibly to the faithful within his own nation (the remnant of faithful), we should not understand that as applicable to the times of the Lord. His congregation was those He came across, the adulterous Samaritan woman, the legalistic Pharisee, the blind beggar at the well, and a dead man in a cave. He was not restricted as David may have been in preaching or sharing of the great salvation He was to provide, in the good news of the kingdom of God arriving. His congregation was all of creation, and as a believer, I need to be reminded that He is the Lord of all, that all of creation is His congregation, His assembly.
To the Ones who know Him currently, He is to be declared. To the ones who have yet to understand, He is to be declared. To the ones who have never heard of Him, He is to be declared. To those who despitefully hate Him, He is to be declared.
Each declaration of the Lord Jesus is to be from the heart, as the psalmist describes that he had not concealed or hidden His deliverance within his heart. It is to be a life message, based on the Living Word having passed through our lives and into our neighbor. Each person we meet, we must have wisdom to know the best manner of sharing His deliverance, the love to open ourselves up to unwanted responses, and the courage and boldness to share the truth and react in love.
Earlier I spoke of the Living Word passing though our lives and into others. Without experiencing an ongoing active relationship with the God of our salvation through the Word of God and prayer, the message of God’s love may simply become cold, lifeless, factual, exact, documental, even story like.
This is a great challenge to myself as I need to be awakened to the great news of His deliverance, of my heart being opened to the Living truth, of a refreshing, a revival of glimpsing His great love, not only for myself, but for the entire congregation.
No matter how passionate you feel you are in preaching the good news to His congregation, there is currently no restriction for the believer to grow in this privilege. There is always a greater depth to plunge in the knowledge of God, and out of that experiential relationship, a greater desire to share will be the natural outcome. The desire will naturally pour out of our lives, our speech and to the ones we meet. Each of the verses we have looked at above speak of David telling good news, not restraining his lips, not hiding God’s deliverance, speaking of God’s faithfulness, and finally not concealing His steadfast love.
Wherever you may judge yourself in exercising this privilege, dig into the Living Word, (please do not simply look for facts!) look to the Father for boldness, passion and wisdom, and witness a change as you share with those who are in His congregation.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
As believers, we have come to live in the sacrifice our Lord has provided, and understand the concept (at least intellectually) of self sacrificing love. Try to remember a time when, as a Christian, you did not consider love greater than law, self sacrifice stronger than sanctified image.
Our psalm above starts off with a statement of God not desiring sacrifice and offering. How can David say this, when entire books of the Old Testament, such as Leviticus, spend a majority of time detailing the requirements of sacrifices to and for God?
How is it David is speaking of God not wanting sacrifice?
David, in my opinion, is speaking on two levels.
Level One
The first level, as a prophet, “scratches the surface” of understanding the nature and character of our God, of the core element of the goodness and mercy of God. He is not speaking of a relationship based on animal sacrifices and burnt offering, but reflecting on the nature of God.
I was taught once that the nature of a person (and God is a person), that a persons nature will exude from their inner person to their actions and appearance. Given this, David reflected (I suppose), on the nature of sacrifice described by the God of all creation, and understood that the very nature of the God of the universe was of sacrifice, of giving to others, of supplying needs, of loving those who are unlovely, and of being “otherwise”, when compared with us mere mortals.
To say God has not required burnt offerings and sin offerings, – well that seems to fly in the face of many of the commands of Scripture. And yet, David continues with a seeming “alternative” message.
But let us consider a thought. It may be important to consider that David isn’t providing an “alternative” message, but a deeper message, a fuller message, a message that is as a blooming flower compared to the seedling it once was. Same plant, far different appearance. The standard Old Testament saint, the “ordinary, average” believer in the ancient days may have understood that the physical sacrifices of bulls and goats were what God wanted, and with that understanding, he would be in obedient and in good standing. But David dove deeper!
How about us? Do we understand the shoulders we are standing on? The insight of David, as a prophet of God is light-years ahead of my thoughts and musings. He saw the sacrifices and considered the nature of God. This is instructive to me, as when I read a command or declaration of God in the word, I automatically think of me, how I can do something, how a Scripture statement reflects on mememe.
David was beyond this. As I have been taught previously, David is sometimes described as a New Testament believer in this psalm, one who had grasped the difficult concept of moving from a life depending on the sacrifice of a bull or goat, to a life that understood God’s true nature, and finally to the life of self-sacrifice.
Level Two
The second level is as the Lord Jesus Himself, the Messiah, and of His full understanding of the nature of God, and of a true relationship with His Father.
This second level is clear when we consider the book of Hebrews, and the apostle’s interpretation of the Old Testament passage David provided us. Let’s notice the commentary the apostle has inserted into our text, fleshing out the psalm to provide a full understanding of it – that is the full revelation of David’s text, about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 40:6-8
In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Hebrews 10:5-10
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
Notice Hebrews 10, where the apostle adds “a body have you prepared for me”, speaking of the humanity of the God-man Jesus Christ, and check out the “minor edit” the apostle provides in the next verse. He not simply delights to do God’s will, as David expressed in the psalm, but that our Lord Jesus Christ did the will of God!
When we slow down enough to consider who our Great High Priest is, He truly is beyond our wildest imagination. When we speak of Him, although He is still mocked and spit on to this present day, let us remember that He is the Risen King.
Let us keep our eyes on Him for God is good, all the time.
My wife and I got up at 3:30 a.m. (in the morning!) to head to Billings Montana for a long awaited vacation. We were quite excited to see our son and his family during our camping trip. It was going to be great.
But alas, life interrupted our plans! Arriving at the airport at 5 am, we hit a giant, colossal, insurmountable hurdle. For some reason, the flight was booked and no seats were available for us. We used a third party provider to set up the flight, and the night before, received verification that the flight would be departing as scheduled.
The flight was fully booked! What a catastrophe! A complete meltdown of all that was important in life!
We were told the flight had no seats available, even though the documents said they had been reserved! I couldn’t help thinking of the Seinfeld bit about reservations!
Of course, I didn’t have the foresight to use some of those classic lines he used at the car rental desk, since I was more disappointed in not seeing my son, daughter in law and my widdle grandbabies that afternoon. But alas, my wife and I resolved the problem and flew out the following day
My point isn’t to compare my experience with Seinfeld, although I find some of it to be similar with the clip. No, the issue that came to mind was that this was more of a “first world” problem, and that it shouldn’t shake me, irritate me, or cause me to fall into a frustrated ball of nerves.
I suppose as we walk this life, it is easy to accept minor inconveniences as major disruptions in our lives. Kinda like calling a paper cut a life threating open wound. Call it what you want, but in all honesty, it is only a paper cut. And complaining about a paper cut (or even a life threatening open wound), seems to be at odds with Paul’s admonition to think on positive things. Let’s take a minute to consider that passage.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
Notice there is nothing in the verse speaking of thinking on disappointments such as cancelled airplanes, reservation losses or ticketing issues. Although it is true that these things occurred, they do not fall under the “lovely” or “commendable” descriptors. Considering that, I’m thinking Paul is defining an attitude that includes all the descriptors for us to settle our minds upon.
Maybe a much bigger challenge than what I first considered.
What think ye?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous 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.
Let’s continue with this incredible psalm, remembering that David earlier described the actions of the Lord in rescuing him from the miry pit and setting him on a firm foundation. The natural expected response to this show of grace to the sinner was that we would make the Lord our trust. Those who do make the Lord their trust, they are blessed.
But what does it look like to make the Lord their trust? David gives us some direction in this regard, by providing two descriptions of those who do not trust the Lord.
Trusting the Proud
David speaks of the one who makes the Lord his trust as one who does not turn to the proud.
First off, this implies a difference between the saint and the sinner, since a typical characteristic of those who do not know and trust the Lord in His mercies, these poor souls only have themselves to depend on (or at least another mere man) for their guidance and stability, which naturally breeds a pride and arrogance in their lives. This is an inevitable outcome of trusting our own thoughts and opinions. I cannot depend on my own thoughts and at the same time truly consider myself to be humble, for I have elevated my accumulated bank of wisdom over all others.
Consider a man that has attained a high level of education, excelled in his career, and is confident of his abilities. It is a rare that he will consider others opinions to be equal to his, although for the sake of social graces and professional appearance, this may seem to occur.
Trusting the Lord is a different matter, since many, if not all of the precepts of the Lord go against our natural inclination, and rub against our pride. A believer, trusting in the Lord, will exhibit a willingness to be subdued by the Word as he hears it, and will reject a dependence on those who are confident in their own status.
Trusting the Liar
Many times in the ancient writings, the Hebrews would use a type of poetry that is not familiar to us. Where we tend to look for words that rhyme, or for a certain cadence to the verse, for the Hebrew prophet, much poetry started with a statement, followed by a clarification of the statement.
A prophet using a synonymous poetry style, is seen in the following passages.
Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. – Psalm 120:2
Notice how lying lips are further defined as a deceitful tongue
My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, – Proverbs 3:11
Notice that discipline is further refined as reproof.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5
Multiple parallels in this short passage. Take a moment to identify at least two parallel descriptions in the verse above.
Lets return to our passage in Ps 40 where David speaks of the one who does not make the Lord his trust. Consider that to turn to the proud, is refined in this couplet as going after a lie! Pride and lies are common bedfellows in both the Old and New Testament.
The relation between humility and trust is again brought to my attention, and I ask those who may be reading, to consider the place of humility in trusting the Lord in their experience with the Lord.
Deeds and Thoughts Toward Us
David reverts to considering the One to whom he is praying, the One who has rescued him from the miry pit, and has set his feet on solid ground.
His thoughts and deeds are toward us, toward the hurting and helpless, toward those who suffer and are ignored, toward those who are weak and without guidance. The Lord’s deeds and thoughts are more than can be spoken. More than can be revealed. More than can be communicated.
His character of grace and mercy towards those who trust Him, (and those who don’t) cannot be fully expressed. Of course those who do not know Him, are still the recipients of multitudinous mercies on a daily basis, and yet they have no knowledge. We who claim to know Him, will naturally proclaim Him, even though it is impossible to fully communicate each and every one of His gracious thoughts and deeds toward us.
He is toward us, He is good and He is to be trusted.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 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. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
He inclined to me. He bent down to me.
The psalms speak of the Lords bending down to the saint in many passages. I will supply a few verses that use the very same Hebrew word David uses here, but as you read through the psalms, it will become evident the image of the King of Glory “bending down” is quite regular.
Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! – Psalm 31:2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! – Psalm 71:2
A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. – Psalm 86:1
Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! – Psalm 88:2
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! – Psalm 102:2
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:2
As I was gathering these verses, I was simply looking for the Hebrew word that is translated as “incline” in Psalm 40:1. I was hoping to simply display the fact that the Lord of Glory would incline towards the saint through this simple study, but something much more specific has been observed. Can you see it?
The Lord inclined His ear! He listened to the saint. He took time (I speak as a fool again) to consider the saints concerns and troubles. This was a wonder to the Old Testament saint, a blessing from the hand of God, and a privilege the saint experienced.
How so for us in the church? Do we have this privilege, of the Lord inclining His ear to us?
Oh my friends, we have much more than that. He inclined His life to us, taking on the form of a servant, and was born in our likeness.
He “inclined” totally!
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8 ESV
This is a mystery that is beyond me when I seek to understand it, and rightly so. The very fact that He took time to listen in days of old speaks volumes, for the Old Testament saint did not have a God who was indifferent or standoffish.
How much more for us, in that He not simply listened to the ones he heard, but rubbed shoulders with us, ate with us, walked with us and died for us.
Verse 2 speaks of His deliverance of our lives and a phrase caught my attention as I was a ruminating! He drew me up, “out of the miry bog”
When I first believed, I was so excited about escaping the fires of hell, but not so with the Psalmist. David has a different emphasis in this verse. He does not say He drew me up out of the fiery flames. No no no
The miry bog. A pit of clay. A hole without escape. Not to get too technical, but clay, when wet, has no bearing capacity, in not confined. It is a condition that the more you struggle and fight, the more the clay grabs you, holds you, even consumes you. No hope of escape on your own. A condition of distress, confusion and helplessness.
How often have you been in this condition? All is dark, with no seeming hope and nothing positive on the horizon? This is the condition David recounts as he begins this psalm and speaks of the unilateral help of the only true God in giving us deliverance.
He is the only One active in this set of verses, with the saint being the benefactor, the recipient of the goodness of God.
He is good. Think on these things and praise Him for His many mercies to us!
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 39
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”
In our last post on this psalm, we saw that God had given David a stroke or blow that sent David reeling. He begged for this blow to be removed from his life. The reason for this blow upon his life? It appears to have something to do with his tongue, and had incurred the attention of the Lord.
Our passage today is short, but note how David’s prayers are full of gut wrenching emotion. He is pleading for an audience before the King, and is claiming no rights, as a guest, one who is invited and not necessarily earned his right to an audience.
He has confessed that the Lord has muted him, that he is not opening his mouth. This is necessary for discussion! I know this seems obvious but please let me explain my thinking.
I often spend time on conference calls at work and find that much of my time is spent asking to repeat what someone said. Why you ask? Because someone else (sometimes myself) was speaking over him. When two people speak at the same time, no-one gets a clear message out. Both speakers are showing a level of disrespect to the other, and revealing an attitude of superiority. Granted, time crunches and experience of the topic need to be considered in each conversation, but that doesn’t apply to our passage.
The two people interacting in this passage are the Lord of creation, the true King of Israel and His servant David. David has had his mouth closed by the King, and is currently willing to hear the “other side”. We do not hear of the Lord’s response in this Psalm, for this is not the intent of the Psalm.
David is in His proper place for healing at this time. He requests that the Lord look away from him, that is in relation to the blow that he is experiencing, that he may “smile again”. I love this translation, that he may “smile again”, to be cheerful!
It is good to be a believer, for the regular, common experience of the believer is to be cheerful. A thought that is primarily directed to myself, but as my momma used to say, “If the shoe fits, wear it!”
Psalm 39 is a psalm of confession, including an appeal to God’s eternality in considering our existence, our time on this earth as being nothing.
In our last post on Psalm 39, I sought to understand David’s poetical language describing his existence in relation to God’s existence.
When comparing any time unit, whether 10 seconds or 50,000,000 millennium, the result is the same. Time is insignificant since the comparison is somewhat ridiculous. Be that as it may, David compared and walked away beat up.
As I thought on it, trying to understand David’s thoughts, I also came away feeling a bit hopeless, somewhat out of sync. As you many remember, I brought a New Testament passage into the study to try to find some balance, and thankfully it was helpful.
But as I consider these portions of the Psalms, I need to read the psalm as a whole, for David’s reaction to his previous writing had produced in him the same hopelessness I expressed above, and yet he continues with the following.
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! 9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. 10 Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. 11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
For what do I wait? Waiting speaks of a time element, and David does not condemn this action of waiting. It is not wasted effort as we may assume from the previous passage, where he talks of the futility of our efforts and the fruit of our work passing to those we know not.
This waiting is for a specific action, and the waiting is required due to David’s hope being in God. His hope is not in his own efforts, that is in restraining his heart from expressing his thoughts, his tongue from wagging and flopping in front of his enemies!
Our first few verses in this psalm spoke of David’s effort to “shut up” in front of his enemies. God has accomplished this fruit in David’s life. It seems this “muteness” God accomplished in David’s life may be associated with a stroke from God, a hostility of God’s hand.
This stroke, or blow from God is sometimes associated in the Old Testament with leprosy, although in this instance, I believe David is using the term metaphorically. David is expressing God’s solution to his “yapping” problem as an affliction or a wound, what we may consider as a trial or testing.
This stroke is also described as a “hostility” of God’s hand. This term hostility is used only once in the Word and it also describes a “blow”, and includes a thought of contention or conflict.
David begs for this stroke to be removed, he is under a trial that is teaching, no accomplishing its intended effects, yet David is begging for it’s removal.
How often have we been under a trial and sought to be out of it? Of course as we request prayers for release from God’s stroke, we are often counselled to rejoice in the trial, and James does exhort us in this manner.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. – James 1:2-3
But note that the passage is training us to rejoice when we meet trials of various kinds, for the sake of the resulting patience that will be produced. To joy for the end result. Is this not similar to the outlook the One who took the ultimate stroke for us? He despised the shame, but since He considered the end result, He took joy.
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2
David summarizes the stroke of God on his life by speaking of how God disciplines a man with rebukes. It is good to know that we have a God who cares for us to the point of rebuking us, of disciplining us, of providing a “stroke” upon us to direct us, and to train us.
David again goes poetic, describing the sin that was so dear to him, as a moth consumed. A moth consumed? Some verses translate this phrase as the moth consuming, others as the moth being consumed. I have no idea which is the correct grammatical translation, but the picture of a moth consuming something is clear in my mind.
You see, growing up in our country home, my mother had a cedar closet. Dad built it so she could store her very best blankets and comforters. Remember, that as a Canadian, blankets and comforters were critical possessions in the depth of the January cold!
I remember only once that she opened it while I was with her, and the smell was awesome. All the walls of the closet had unstained, unvarnished cedar lining, and when it opened, the fragrance was almost overpowering.
I occasionally would return to the closet and take a secret woof of the cedar, but my mom wouldn’t have approved. You see, the cedar was installed to keep moths from attacking those precious blankets. If the cedar smell was exhausted, moths would inevitably eat the blankets, slowly destroying it, and given enough time, the blanket would be consumed.
In this passage, David equates God to the moth. God consumes (like a moth) that which is dear to the saint, that which is sin. Slowly, imperceptibly, God is at work, destroying the sin in your life, sometimes through a stroke or blow, as in this passage for David, and sometimes through other means.
Consider this poetic picture the next time you are under a disciplinary action from the Father, for He is seeking to direct our hearts to the only One we should hope in!
Occasionally I will be dwelling on a verse or passage, ruminating on the message, (or to be honest, wandering off into some undisciplined daydreaming), and the Lord will bless me with a truth that is so obvious, so fresh and such a blessing that I just want to share it with you.
Such is the following passage, for as I was on my way to work this morning, this passage below opened up a bit to me. The truth is a well known doctrine, one that is so well known that is seems to be, I don’t know how to express it without being a complete loser, but that seems so much as “ho hum”, that is so “whatever”.
Let’s read the passage and then I hope I can explain myself.
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:39-42 ESV
Many who have known of the Lord’s mercies mentally would give assent to this teaching, that is that Jesus is the Savior of the world, but with various exceptions that I have no intention of entering into. What I would like to consider is the context this statement was made in.
Jesus is in Samaria, where the religious elite, dag nab it, even the average Jew would not consider venturing into. No self respecting Jew would cross Samaria to get to the other side of the area, nor would they help a looser Samaritan, or even visit the depicable people for any reason. The Samaritan dirt was exceptionally dirty! The Samaritans were considered spiritual apostates of the worst kind, those who mixed idolatry with Moses. Horrible people in the eyes of the spiritually superior. Just horrible
But Jesus…
Jesus ventured into this dark territory risking the shame of it all, associating with those who were not worthy.
Jesus ventured into this area and had the audacity to speak to a Samaritan, and not only to speak to a Samaritan, but a Samaritan woman, and adulterous Samaritan woman. The passage tells the story of Jesus confronting the woman with His identity, and with her sin (which is a result of understanding who He is!) And although He is the only One who has authority to judge and condemn, He freely speaks with her, is inviting to her and challenges her in her decisions. Some of the statements He provides to this dirty rotten sinner are absolutely mind blowing.
He tells her He is the Christ (John 4:26). The disciples were not given this direct of truth yet. This is the first time Jesus reveals His deity in the Gospels so clearly.
Eventually, the woman succumbs to the truth, believes who she is talking to, and runs off to the villagers she has lived with. Or should I say she has existed with, since I understand she was not a pillar of the community, but likely considered a bit of an outcast, a used up woman of little worth.
And she told the men. A woman speaking the gospel to men. (Remind you of any other time women carried good news to men?)
Such is the story I was listening to prior to the passage above. The Samaritan men believe this woman (small miracle!), and venture out to the well to see this spectacle.
Upon hearing the Messiah for themselves, many believed, and begged Him to remain in dirty ol’ Samaria. He stayed. He actually stayed with these dirty folk. And these dirty Samaritans spoke to the woman, saying…
we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world
Note that these unlearned, unschooled, spiritually dumb, deaf and dead sinners broke forth with a statement that many of the apostles would not catch for years to come. Those dirty Samaritans didn’t claim He was the Savior of the Jews, or King of the Jews.
No no no.
He is the Savior of the World.
The WORLD, my friends. In the Greek, it is the term kosmos, and includes the following meanings in the New Testament.
an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government
ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, ‘the heavenly hosts’, as the ornament of the heavens. 1 Pet. 3:3
the world, the universe
the circle of the earth, the earth
the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family
the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ
world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly
the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ
any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort
the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews (Rom. 11:12 etc)
Now I don’t want to make this into a word study, other than for the sake of making my point. Notice that this term is spoken of in reference to the inhabitants of the earth (5), the ungodly multitude (6), even to the gentiles as contrasted with the Jews(8).
As I wander through the Word, I trip over areas that reveal the lifting up of the humble, and the tearing down of the proud. I think this is a prime example of this principal.
Those of the pure religion rubbed shoulders with the Holy One, listened to Him as a young man in the temple, watched His life blossom and exhibit wisdom they could not refute. Blinded by their religious superiority, they eventually condemned the Righteous One to death.
No so with those who had nothing to loose. Those who were outcasts, servants, the poor, sinners of the worst kind. These were drawn to Him, many sought Him out, and many were given revelations many of us in the modern church just accept without any wonder or amazement.
This is a sad commentary of where I am in my walk with Him.
Humble yourselves before the Lord. Do not let theology blind you to the God of all creation. Do not let religious faithfulness create a pride that plugs the ears.
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
I wanna be a bit more like these dirty Samaritans, for they understood Him to be the Savior of the World!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
“O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
David confessed to his failing effort to control his tongue in our last passage, and like David, I too am guilty of a “speaking” when I shouldn’t. Or better yet, of not trusting God for control of my heart, of my thoughts and therefore of my tongue, especially when in the presence of the wicked.
David immediately follows up his confession with a description of the futility of life, the sheer brevity of our existence.
David speaks of his days as a mere “handbreadth”. This is an uncommon word in my world, and I had to look it up, for my initial understanding was that of a measurement of physical distance, most commonly used in defining the height of a horse.
Low and behold, the modern definition justifies my thinking, in that a handbreadth is a linear measurement approximating the width of a hand, somewhere between 2.5 and 4 inches.
But that is so technical, so soulless. David is speaking of his existence, of my existence and your existence. Is he using handbreadth because he could think of nothing smaller, nothing less significant? His next definition of our lives is that of “nothing before Him, that is in relation to the everlasting nature of God, and our temporal existence actually as nothing, for it is measured in units of time, and time does not impact the Triune God, who inhabits eternity.
Although the Son did enter into His creation (of time!) at one point, in order to partake of flesh and blood. It is good to remember that the time units we swim in, the seconds, minutes, hours days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries and millennium are, in relation to God’s existence “as nothing”.
But as fallen men and women, we dwell in this creation called time, just as we exist in the created atmosphere or on the surface of the created earth. Time, as a created “thing”, is of God, and one of the conditions upon which we exist.
David has established time as being immaterial to God and then speaks of three “surely’s”.
Surely #1 – All mankind stands as a mere breath.
David speaks of all mankind, the entirety of mankind, from the creation to the completion of all, as being a mere breath, a vapor that is transitory, empty and a vanity.
Mankind is a contradiction of terms, in that as David provides his description of it’s nothingness, each man in the sight of God has been sought, loved, served, guided and died for. What contradiction is this. How can we resolve this tension?
I do not have an answer to this – it is above me, and the only suggestion I may have is that David speaks of the duration of mankind’s existence, whereas the death of the Son speaks of the inherent worth of the creation. David is speaking of all of mankind’s existence, whereas Jesus, although having sought all men, is personal, and relates to each of those within mankind.
of his lifetime, let’s say his 70 years during a specific culture and time, with all the limitations and conditions of the time he exists in, is as nothing before God. Nothing, in relation to the conditions the man
Surely #2 – A man goes about as a shadow
At this point, I think David is leaving the group description, that is of all mankind, and focusing, or describing a single man, and in the relation to the previous description, this single man is only a shadow, a negation of light as a result of some body in the path of light.
Previously, all of mankind is described as nothing, or in my engineers mind, a zero, a non value. A single man as described in this verse, is a negation of light due to some blockage of light, the result of some barrier restricting light. This single man doesn’t even warrant being described as that which causes the shadow! A negative effect. Again, for those who understand my thinking as defaulting to numbers much of the time, this single man may be considered less than nothing. A negative value, in relation to comparing time with eternity.
Now, please don’t get me wrong and think of David giving some arithmetical formulation of men and all mankind. It is my non-balanced literal, numerical thinking that produces this discussion.
David is a poet and is expressing poetically the utter emptiness of his duration of existence without God. His heart is beating correctly, for he realizes his strength can only come from the One who is eternal, outside of the realms of time.
Surely #3 – A man experiences turmoil for nothing
This single man, this one who’s timely existence is equated with a negation, a less than zero value, suffers for nothing. Can you sense the futility David is seeking to express?
This single individual, like all others before and after, keeps themselves busy, works to produce the desires of their heart, spends this duration of time, which has been described as less than nothing in relation to eternity, this single individual spends this time pursuing wealth, wealth that will be taken by some other.
Consider – an individual using an insignificant allotment of time, struggling to acquire wealth that will end up as someone else’s possession, someone who is unknown.
David is speaking hard things to my heart now. Effort expended for nothing, a life spent chasing vapors, years of sweat and toil all to end up in a strangers wallet. How to understand this truth from the Psalmist? What is to be my understanding in order to respond properly? For I hear myself say that I need to be a good steward, to care and seek to provide for the ones I love, and for those God directs me too. And many passages come to mind that speak to caring for our loved ones, of seeking the protection and provision of others.
How can I reconcile this seeming problem in my thinking? Am I to consider all my efforts to be futile? All the time I have spent on this earth as “wasted” and that will be provided to me as a vapor?
Can we take a moment to consider a passage that I think gives some additional light on this psalm? Jesus spoke a hard parable in Luke 12. Let’s visit it for a moment.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
At the risk of oversimplifying the passages we are considering, I understand the Lukan passage, the parable of the rich fool, to be a response to a question from a covetous man, one who wanted more of an inheritance. Old Testament law provided the first born double the amount of inheritance than any other sibling. As an example, if two sons in a family were to receive and inheritance, the first born would receive 66% of the inheritance while the younger son would receive 33%. I understand this one asking the question was looking to find a way around this law, and to get an equal share of the inheritance.
Jesus told a parable of a covetous rich fool to address this mans desire, and to expose him as the fool. Jesus was awesome at nailing a problem with a simple story!
Notice the reason I picked this parable when considering Psalm 39:6. In the 20th verse Jesus places these words in God’s mouth.
…the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
This is very similar to David’s message in the 6th verse of Psalm 39.
So, what of it Carl? Jesus is speaking of covetousness. David is speaking of the brevity of our time in relation to eternity. Both men are directing our attention to the importance of God’s perspective in everything we do and think.
Jesus’ parable seems to drive home the point for me. Covetousness. Accumulating things for the wrong purpose is the issue. A covetous man seeks to provide for himself (only?), to acquire and own things for the sake of his own comfort or ease, even his own pride.
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘
David speaks of the turmoil of our acquiring, and the futility of losing it to others, even strangers.
In a perfect world, ownership would not provide the option of covetousness, but as fallen creatures, it is the condition we find ourselves in. It is a battle we must fight in order to maintain a purity of heart towards God. A battle to find a life of stewarding God’s good gifts and realizing we own nothing.
My friends, we are to steward things and love people in the wisp of time we have, for soon enough our opportunities will be gone.
I was chatting with my daughter concerning her “helpful child”, and that she can never meet her efficiency expectations she likes to maintain in her life since the child wants to help, wants to be involved.
What a problem to have eh? I think I understand her desire for efficiency, since she acquired this “slave driving” attitude from one of her parents. (She got it from her mother I tell you, it was her mother!!!)
Suffice it to say, after chatting with her, I found myself wandering through some old thoughts, and considered my frustration when the little two year old asks to help bring in a small luggage from the car, or to help set the table, or try to clean the counter. The child loves to be involved!
But this brought to mind on how to solve this tension I am experiencing when with the child. My expectations need to be aligned with reality. Once I accept this, and understand the importance of his involvement not only in the present but also in the future, I have learned to slow down internally, encourage his willingness to help and drop the “get it done now” attitude. (I tell you, efficiency can be a monster!!)
And then the concept of expectations was twisted to a different subject, and that is how the Word addresses this concept. Granted this will NOT be an exhaustive review, so don’t expect it, but a couple verses did come to mind that I would like to share with you.
Luke 21:26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Men fainting from fear and expectations of things coming upon the world. These poor souls are whipped into a frenzy of fear, and are expecting bad things, really bad things. Expectations can produce physical responses in your body, for these men were fainting from it. As a youngster, I actually suffered from a bleeding ulcer due to expecting dire happenings in my young life! What an existence!
As a believer, during my time in an alternate end times theology, I spent years focusing on a possible evil that may happen, reacting to a sniff of potential danger here or a hint of some serious catastrophe about to surely fall upon me and my family. I was unstable, making decisions based on hearsay or a possible interpretation, without considering alternate possibilities.
To be honest, I am a naturally fearful fella, but this theology fed that fear to the point where I didn’t see the Lord on the throne, in control and reigning over all things. By golly, at times I feared He was struggling to maintain control, whereas if I’m reading the Word correctly, He isn’t even breaking a sweat!
Where are your expectations as a believer? Are you expecting a victory or a defeat?
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
When I do good to my enemy, (not if Carl, but when) it is a common refrain in my thinking that they will completely repent, turn around and give me a big ol’ hug, provide me with accolades of greatness – you get my point.
But the Lord said not to expect anything! Expect nothing in return. Get your head in the game Carl, for the purpose of loving my enemy is to be like Jesus, not to get applause, or a cake on the doorstep from that neighbor I helped a few days back! (Did I tell him I liked pineapple upside down cake?)
Anyways, this verse impacted me years ago in my relation to friends and their request for financial help. Of course the verse speaks of enemies, but very few enemies ask me for financial help.
If a friend asks for help, my wife and I discuss, and if agreed upon, will provide the funds. In our accounting, the funds are gone forever. No payment plan is initiated on our part, referred to or considered when chatting with our friend. He or she is a friend, not a commodity or investment! Often they will initiate the discussion, which we tend to shy away from.
On a completely different topic, we are currently without access to any funds.
A couple thoughts on expectations for your consideration.
By the way, I have an expectation that some may comment on this two year old and his dragging a suitcase in from a car. If so, use the comment box below.
It truly was a sight to behold!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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