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 70 is essentially a repetition of a portion of Psalm 40. There are some differences that may prove to be instructive, and provide opportunity for comment. The following tables will provide my reader an opportunity to quickly compare each verse between the two psalms and consider the differences for themselves.
Variations between the two Psalms will be noted by italicized font. Earlier comments for this first portion may be found at Psalms for Psome – Ps 40.06.
Prior to getting into the Psalm, it may be good to consider that this Psalm begins with “To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.”
This Psalm is stated as related to an offering associated to a past occurrence, a memory, and may refer to Psalm 40, basing this psalms cry to God on the previous Psalm.
This may give the modern believer justification for the repetition of prayers and petitions that are not original from the saint. This thinking is somewhat foreign in my circles, but I have met good and honest believers, those who “merely repeat”, prayers. My judging of this practice is wholly unfair, for what man can judge another man’s motives in his prayers?
Let’s consider the first three verses.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
1 – Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
13 – Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
It seems this prayer is motivated by an immediate need, more so than the original request. Hurry up O God.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
2 – Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!
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!
The apparent difference between “confusion “and “disappointed” is translational, for the Hebrew word is the same, but the concept of the disappointment not being complete or “altogether” in psalm 70 may imply the Psalmist is looking for an individual, instead of a group of enemies.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
3 – Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!”
15 – Let thosebe appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
The difference in this verse may be seen in Psalm 70, and that the psalmist is praying for them to be “turned back” or to retreat from any advancement on his life. To be appalled is a much more forceful word in that it describes a desolation, or a ravaging.
Psalm 70, for the minor differences, seems to present to God a prayer of an immediate need, or at least a greater concern with a response from God without delay. The psalmist has modified the prayer to God in Psalm 40, presenting his need as more urgent, and somewhat less concerned with the treatment of his enemies. He is more focused on his salvation than the retribution of his enemies.
A question for my readers. How should a believer, one who has trusted in the Messiah and understood His message, consider the retribution of those who seek his harm?
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s read the last three verses of this revealing psalm.
Psalm 69:34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. Psalm 69:35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; Psalm 69:36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
It’s been over three months since we started this psalm of distress, weariness, fear and anger. It contained some of the harshest judgments wished upon the enemies of David in the Psalms. Not the harshest in my opinion, but we will wait until Psalm 137 to consider that passage.
Throughout the passage the psalmist begged for deliverance, referring to the steadfast love of God, of His faithfulness, and of his enemies pursuing him, poisoning him, and providing him sour wine to drink (vs 21). Does this not hint at not only an exterior enemy, but an enemy within the camp?
He had suffered every angle of treachery, was on the edge of destruction, spoke of the flood sweeping over him, of the pit closing up on him. He was a death’s door, and with no one in sight to assist, no one that he could trust.
All alone.
Of course he wasn’t all alone, for he had the God of Israel, and he sought His help.
There was One was was completely, utterly all alone, and whom was saved after death took Him.
For David, he was rescued from death, and due to his rescue, Israel would become a world power. As we think of Jesus, we know that through His death, all heaven and earth shall praise Him, literally all of creation. This praise will be the direct result of the Lord having erupted out of the grave, for all of creation has been groaning in agony.
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
He goes on the declare that God will save Zion, and build up the cities of Judah. Of course this has been accomplished in the reign of David, as he took control of Judah, at least the first 7 years of his reign.
For the completion of the saving of Zion, we need to look to the Son of David, as…
He is the One who comes to Zion for salvation
Matthew 21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
He is the One who is salvation.
1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
He is the One who builds the True Zion, the church
Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
And He is the One who delivers Zion
Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
Yes Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the salvation of Zion, the building of the cities of Judah (praise), and of the character of those resident in Zion. Note that those that inherit this salvation are the offspring of His servants, those who are of service.
Did not Jesus echo this truth in the beatitudes?
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Even as He echoed this truth, He expanded it to include the earth, and not just the single hill of Zion near Jerusalem. No – the entire earth will be the inheritance of the meek, lowly Man named Jesus, and with Him His servants.
His salvation was hinted at in the Old Testament, but the realization of what is now, and what is about to be, is far more than we can think or imagine!
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. Psalm 69:32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
Let’s return to the passage I started to discuss last week, but as you may remember, got a bit distracted from the text by realizing I am more like Michal than David. To say the least, my discovery of a certain aspect of praise certainly took me aside last week, but for this time together, let’s consider more than just one of the words David used for this portion of Psalm 69.
As I read this four verse portion of Psalm 69, I am struck with how New Testamental David sounds in expressing his faith. He speaks of how praise and thanksgiving is greater than the prescribed sacrifices of bulls and oxes. This attitude, in an age dominated and ordained with a sacrificial system that was required by the faithful in order to approach God formally – this is a massive spiritual understanding of the priority of God’s desires.
Note that David refers to the humble seeing “it”. What is it that the humble see?
Is he reaching back to verse 29, speaking of God’s salvation in setting the distraught saint on high? Or might he be thinking of the universal opportunity to approach God based on humility, brokenness, poverty and desire?
Of course, the end result is that the salvation of God set’s the undeserved on high, but I think the humble rejoice in “how” this occurs, from the standpoint of the saint.
First, note that verse 30 speaks of praise, songs, magnification and thanksgiving. These attitudes or characteristics are not restricted from the believer due to their financial class, at least no due to their lack of finances. There is something to be said about how abundance can dull the saints proper stance before God, but we speak of the humble here.
Vere 33 gives more justification to think the humble rejoice in the “how” of approaching God and not specifically the end result of being lifted up. The verse speaks of the needy, and of prisoners, those who have no resources other than their hearts and souls before God.
Yes, the humble rejoice in that they are provided no restrictions in approaching God, that they are not “buying” time with God, but simply expressing a deep need for the Lord, and this is what pleases God, even more than sacrifice!
This is such a freeing concept, a freeing understanding of the type of God we have, that he sets no restrictions to our approaching him in humility and brokenness, and yet I fear we sometimes approach Him in our pride and a wholeness that must nauseate the Master.
As you may know, I got me some grandkids and I love those little rugrats, but when they come to me thinking they are equal, or that they want to manipulate me, or that they can boss ol’ gramps around, that turns my nose up. Don’t get me wrong, I still love them, and I wanna hug em all the time, but a period of repositioning the child in the family has to occur for rightness to occur in the relationship.
But I do have a short story if you don’t mind me sharing, for we had a bunch of my favorite people together for a long weekend. My youngin’s and I were a drivin and singing together, playing old Macdonald, going 75 mph on the highway, when all of a sudden, the group got real quiet. That is a rare situation with four grandkids and grampa, but it happened – no joke! During that interlude, I looked back at one of those youngins, and he simply looked me in the eye, and completely out of the blue, said clear as a bell…
“I love you grandpa”
I can’t communicate the inflection in his voice or the softness of his eyes, the gentle smile on his face or the innocence of the moment, but trust me – at that moment in my life, all was well in my world!
Now, imagine God in a similar circumstance. Since He created us in His image, and though we be a broken and weak reflection of Him, if a simple expression like that melts an ol fella like me, might our simple, humble confession, especially out of the blue, capture God’s attention?
That is the type of God we serve. An active God that is alive and relatable. He is a loving God.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. Psalm 69:32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
As you know, I love to try to understand the words we read in our English Bible with the original meanings that men and women have researched. They have provided for us a treasure of knowledge in the work of lexicons and dictionaries of the New and Old Testament.
This morning, as I was just beginning to dig into this passage, I reviewed the word “praise” in the first verse, reading through the Strong’s definition.
Let me share with you what I found.
Did you notice what I noticed? See the reference to “foolish”? Strong’s dictionary defines this word to include the meaning of to be clamorously foolish, even to rave! “Clamorously” refers to that which attracts attention. Something is wrong here. To praise is not to make a fool of myself, is it?
I had to check another source. Let’s consider Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon. The fourth paragraph speaks the same.
The idea of praise in the Old Testament has an element of boasting (which I get) but, which surprised me, a boasting to the extent of appearing foolish.
Why is this such a concern Carl?
A short confession may help my reader understand.
I am an introvert. Give me 8 – 12 hours of study, and I will walk away content and happy. Occasional bursts of emotion, though they may erupt in my heart and soul are “handled” until I can explain myself logically, or at least methodically. Does not the Scripture teach me that the Spirit Himself guides us into a life of self control? Am I not justified in “controlling” my praise to God, in bringing honor to Him while retaining my own?
How is a believer to reconcile this apparent tension. A self controlled believer or a boasting, clamorous fool. Is this a necessary conflict in my thinking? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
My friends – I think I have described a man above who seeks to protect his reputation to the detriment of the glory of God. I am the embodiment of a crusty old believer (I think of it as “mature”) that appears to have little or no joy. If God shows forth His greatness to a ol’ fool such as I, should I control that? Should I damp down that joy?
I can’t help thinking of a passage that has always somewhat bothered me.
2 Samuel 6:16 ESV – As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. 2 Samuel 6:20 …Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 2 Samuel 6:21 …David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD–and I will celebrate before the LORD.
Am I to act as Michal, or as David? Now that is disheartening! I know which of these characters I reflect. I am the controlled, contained, concerned Michal.
2 Samuel 6:22 will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”
David expressed his concern over Michal’s complaint by throwing his own honor (in her sight) under the bus for the sake of the Lord’s honor. Remember David was King of Israel, and he had risked it all for this position. Yet his concern over any honor he may loose was nonexistent.
David was led of the Spirit to worship God and openly show his love for God.
Regarding the self control I resort to when this topic of praise comes up, I am seeing that I have controlled the One who is to control me. Yes, He will, as I depend on Him, provide the strength to resist sinful behavior, providing a self control that honors Him. But any of this self control I exercise, that is any controlling of my heart expression when it comes to God’s glory and His goodness is simply a dampening, an extinguishing of Spirit led praise to God.
Paul saw me coming when he repeatedly wrote of this possibility in the believer
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
For a brief moment this morning, join me is a prayer that as believers, we (I) would allow the goodness, the greatness, and the glory of the Lord to be expressed in our lives, even in a foolish way, a clamorous way, but only in a way that honors Him. That we (I) would show our love and amazement of the One on the throne, who hung on a cruel cross for us, clearly boasting as the Spirit leads, of His goodness and love for us, willing to sacrifice our own ego, self esteem, pride and reputation to the gutter for the sake of His honor being seen, even for a moment.
How this works out in our lives is up to the One who is over us. May we trust Him enough to follow even in this!
May His name be honored, and mine forgotten.
I fear I have departed from the text this morning, but this has been an unexpected illumination on my part. I will come back to Psalm 69:30-33 in our next posting.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s read a single solitary verse of this revealing psalm.
Psalm 69:29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
In our previous passage, we attempted to understand some very difficult portions of this psalm. Condemnation of the enemy, blotting out those men from the book of life, adding punishment upon punishment upon his enemies.
Tough stuff to read, and even tougher to understand. In the midst of those prayers, I still am not convinced of the motivation of the saint writing such difficult verses. Was it that the psalmist wished such harsh judgement to fall on the enemy, or that he expected such harsh judgement to fall on the enemy.
There is a difference! But I will leave that to my reader friend.
Let us consider the psalmist as he turns a corner in his mind, as he speaks clearly of his condition, and of his response to God in the midst of his own condition.
Afflicted
For us modern believers, to be afflicted usually has the meaning of a persecution, of a trial to be endured, or of a persistent suffering. For the Hebrew saint, to be afflicted focuses on poverty, a depression of mind or circumstances, humility and weakness. A state of being that exemplified a lowly state, a state of being needy.
David was at his lowest in this psalm, and yet the surrounding of his enemies may not be the reason he is lamenting this affliction he speaks of. At this point in the psalm, he may have caught sight of his own spiritual poverty. More on this in our next definition.
Personally, I will admit that whenever I venture off into judgy-judge land, where my opinion is the law, and I freely condemn anyone who thinks or does otherwise, I eventually wake up from my stupor to realize how impotent and weak I am, how I have only reflected my own weakness onto others and then judged them to feel better about myself.
It was years ago, I was reading a small book on judgement, and a phrase out of that book has worked itself into my mind. The saint can do two things. Judge others (by that I mean condemn others) or Love others. What the Psalmist went through in the previous verses may have exposed his poverty, weakness and need to himself, and because of this, brought about this realization of his own heart.
As I said above, the previous passage is tough, and my understanding of the psalmist surely needs guidance.
In Pain
Previously, I mentioned that after all the judging the psalmist may have entered into – that is, if the Psalm reflects his wishes as opposed to his expectations – he may have “woke up” and realized he is, at his core, one and the same as those he judged. In this very verse, he may be in the middle of catching sight of his own spiritual poverty (affliction) and pain.
For the Hebrew reader, this word “pain” brought to mind physical and/or mental pain, and is associated with sorrow and grieving. Again, this may be a stretch for some, but I think he may be speaking of his own condition before God, a confession of his own heart.
How deep is the darkness, that when we lash out, we find that after, if we are honest, we must recognize that which we condemned, is that which we take part in, that which we might even love. It is these times when the honest saint will break, when tears are welcomed, when the pain is experienced, and we freely admit to a Holy and Righteous God that we are not worthy to be His subjects, nor could be. It is those times when the darkness of our own desires and experience is revealed, it is at those times that the light of the gospel is utterly, painfully blinding!
He is the Lord who provides light in darkness.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
For that, we should be ever so thankful. When light shines out of darkness, it is inevitable that hidden things will be revealed. When hidden things are revealed, this will cause, for the honest saint, a self realization of utter poverty, combined with a deep sorrow towards the Lord.
If you are experiencing some self reflection that is difficult to handle, look to the source of light, not your own heart. He is the light. He is our salvation. He will lift us up, though we are lowly, poor and destitute. And when light shines in darkness, affliction and pain can be experienced. It is this repentance we need to agree to in order to maintain and grow in our life in Christ.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Psalm 69:23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Psalm 69:24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. Psalm 69:25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. Psalm 69:26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. Psalm 69:27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. Psalm 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
Difficult. This passage is simply very difficult to understand. How can we understand this passage that appears to be praying for vengeance, pain, judgement and suffering on those who are the psalmist’s foes. This passage just seems to be so human, so judgmental, so full of seeking God to punish others.
Let’s consider verse 26 first, try to understand the reason for this prayer, and then return to this general understanding of the passage as a whole
Psalm 69:26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
A long time ago, a Bible teacher I listened to would always remind me to ask the question, “What is the “therefore” there for in a passage? A similar question can be applied for verse 26. What is the “for” there for?
When a sentence starts with “for”, it indicates purpose or reason for the statement to follow. We could replace “for” with “because’, or “since” or “seeing”. The psalmist is giving us the reason for his complaint, for the seeming vicious judgement he wishes would pour down on his adversaries.
Ok, grammar lesson over, and let’s consider why the psalmist is praying for judgement to be unleashed on others.
Two reasons
1. They persecute him whom you have struck down
The first reason for this judgement to be sought after was that the enemies persecuted the author who was already at a low point, one who was under difficult times.
Per Strong’s concordance, this term of persecution may principally communicate a chasing after the victim, hunting the victim down, pursuing him and causing him no rest. The enemy is chasing the psalmist, even while he is at his weakest point, with God having struck him down.
Let’s be clear here. Two actions are being described here.
God has “struck” this saint down. The term speaks of being smitten, beaten, scourged, destroyed punished, even killed. This is no slight inconvenience on the psalmist!
On top of this, the enemy, seeing advantage in the psalmist’s weakened condition, continues chasing him, persecuting, harassing him.
No relief! Constant pressure!
2. They recount the pain of those you have wounded
Beyond this physical suffering of the saint, the second reason for our psalmist to seek judgement on his foes is that they speak of his pain, of the action of God on his life, on those who are under the hand of God.
After understanding our first reason, the persecution of man and smiting of God, this recounting of suffering seems to be somewhat insignificant. It is simply the telling of a condition the saint is under.
But consider. Being under the hand of God, and having everyone know about it due to someone speaking of it, only doubles the pain. There have been times where I have been the topic of gossip, the recounting of a “truth” that was not very positive about my life. The sting, the embarrassment, the hanging of my head, only helps me to identify with this reason for vengeance. In my heart and head, I have to admit I sought damage on those spreading “truth” about me, about God’s displeasure of me.
Consider this condition in a shame based culture like the Old Testament saint lived in. Multiply the sense of dread and embarrassment many fold, and then the effect may approach the truth of this saint’s condition.
Ok, so we have considered why the psalmist is praying this prayer regarding his enemies, and throughout this short study, I have implied that the psalmist wishes (or prays for) judgement to fall on those who persecute him and speak of his troubles. This may very well be true.
Yet a possible approach to this difficult portion of Scripture may be that the psalmist is recounting what he expects to happen as the just recompence of the outworking of the law on his enemies.
Let me explain.
Yes it appears the psalmist has evil intent, that his heart is full of hatred on his enemies, and this may be the correct interpretation. There are many times in the Word where we see the sinful side of man being exposed, recorded for our learning (and warning).
But I do pause on this way of approaching this passage, only due to the way the apostles considered verse 25.
Psalm 69:25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.
Luke writes of Peter reaching back into this psalm in referring to Judas end condition.
Acts 1:20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
Therefore, let’s recount the end of Judas.
Judas, by all accounts, took his own life, shortened his life, and caused his “camp” to be desolate. He left this world with no descendants, and the prayer of the psalmist found fulfillment in a disciple of Jesus.
This action of Judas was self inflicted, for the last thing Jesus did towards Judas was call him “friend”.
Matthew 26:50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Might the psalmist be speaking of the decisions and lifestyle of the enemy causing the judgement of God to be passively worked out in their lives?
Maybe. Maybe not. Simply a thought experiment for my reader to consider.
Yet this passage does speak of the judgement rightly deserved on those who persecute the Righteous One, the One who was smitten and struck down, wounded for our sakes. Verse 26 speaks of One who suffered, of One who was weakened and gossiped about, Who was taken advantage of, persecuted, smitten and scourged. He suffered, accepting this suffering, taking the pain, the shame and the judgement. He was placed in a tomb, by Himself, under the social stain of the “truth” of his legal conviction by the state.
Judgement should rightly fall on those whose heart and mind would have joined those who condemned Him. Judgement should rightly fall on me.
But He is a Savior like no other, and His substitution on my behalf is a fact I cannot get over, nor wish to. May His name and not mine, be honored today.
His name is Jesus, and He is beyond all explanation and understanding.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Psalm 69:20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. Psalm 69:21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
It has been said that this passage is amongst the deepest pleas for mercy in the Old Testament. David is hitting rock bottom, and expressing a complete helplessness and hopelessness, a condition that repeats the first few verses but has the sense of a deeper exposing of the grief and despair of the subject.
Reproach
Reproach is a common refrain in this psalm.
Psalm 69:7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Psalm 69:20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.
The Hebrew term is חֶרְפָּה cherpâh and includes the concepts of disgrace, rebuke and shame.
Shame
This is the only occurrence of shame in this psalm, and the Hebrew term is בֹּשֶׁת bôsheth. This term includes the concepts of confusion and shame, and is associated sometimes with idols, the object of shame for an Israelite. Shame, for the modern world is such that it is ignored, an emotion that is considered to be rejected as opposed to accepted and trained from. How often has our modern society taken a topic that is shameful, even just decades ago, and turned the topic into a discussion of those brave to enter into a shameful life decision. This rejection of the painful emotion of shame is not to anyone’s benefit. We, as a modern society have lost much honor by rejecting shame in our society.
The Hebrew culture was a shame based culture, and to be inflicted with shame was to enter into a condition that may effectively remove you from the social order, from business associations, from family and loved ones, who sought to uphold the social fabric of their community.
Shame, when accepted due to sinful activities performed by the subject, should produce repentance and possibly allow for reentrance in to the social order. At the very least, right living after repentance would be the fruit of accepting and responding to shame in a godly way.
On the other hand, shame laid on a person due to libel, gossip, slander defamation and lies is not something that can be responded to by the victim. Repentance is not necessary, or even available as a tool to repair the damage. The lies and vilification of the enemy stick to the victims character, and even in the best situations, some of the slander will never be removed from the social conscience.
Dishonor
Our third term is the Hebrew word כְּלִמָּה kᵉlimmâh, and it is mentioned twice within our Psalm.
Psalm 69:7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
This term includes the concepts of insult, reproach, shame, confusion and ignominy.
As you have read through this short study, I am sure you have recognized the three terms we have looked at all describe the basic concept of shame.
David was experiencing a depth of shame in his condition that bared repeating in three different shades of meaning. For a king of Israel, the man after God’s own heart, to experience shame within the culture should speak volumes to the modern believer. It is not always the way of the Christ to walk in apparent honor within the social order, though we are not to bring the shame upon ourselves or family, or the church by willful sin and rebellion. Yet our enemy may fling accusations and slander to create the illusion of dishonor on our lives. Let us remember the counsel of Peter in regards to suffering, even of undeserved shame.
1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
Of course, we are to look to the Master in all areas of our life, and as David poured out his heart, helpless in his circumstance, we too may also cry out to the One who hears, and can restore in His time. For of all those who have walked this earth, He alone has suffered the greatest undeserved shame.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. Psalm 69:17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Psalm 69:18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!
David has bared his soul, revealed his troubles, the threat on his life and kingdom and admitted to his inability to find strength in himself. He has spoken of his humbling in front of his enemies, and the apparent success they bore over him. How it looked for all watching that he had trusted in error. His faith had been directed towards a God who was not able to answer.
How terrible for a saint to go through the appearance of One you have boasted of, and yet experience the appearance of His failing to save. The sting of disappointment cuts to the core, along with the raising of questions in the mind, the self doubt in the heart and the “lostness” the saint may experience.
David has but one thing to say to His Master.
Answer me. The boldness of this saint to demand an answer is beyond my experience. Yes, I have been through difficult times, but I fall into the “Why”, category of prayers. In reflection, this response to difficulty be asking “Why, why why” is the sign of a self indulgent prayer, concerned with my life as opposed to the honor of God!
David needs answers, and he is speaking to God from the most inner core of his being, demanding a response, knowing even in this apparent failure, that God is steadfast in His love, and that He is good. This is foundational for David, an unshakeable truth that he depends on and reminds God of, as he struggles through this prayer.
He hinted in his appeal to God’s nature in a previous verse.
Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
By the time we are three verses later, David has dropped the acceptable time option and is simply appealing to the Lord’s steadfast love and mercy.
He repeats similar demands throughout this small portion of the Psalm
Answer me
We have spent a moment on this demand, yet a moment more. To speak “answer me” is to demand an accounting from One of their inactivity, to direct One to pay attention to the state of the situation, and is to imply that the One spoken to has lost focus, is distracted, and possibly has lost interest.
David is so bold before God, yet his appeal is to the Lord of all creation, and not some vengeful, arrogant, sensitive, insecure cultural deity. He knows to whom he is speaking!
Hide not your face
For God to hide His face is a study that needs to be addressed at a later time, in a separate post or series of posts, for my readings have provided amazing implications.
For the purposes of this posting, and as a generality, God would hide His face due to His people forgetting Him. It was a way of expressing the discipline of God on His people, especially in times of prosperity for the people of God.
But let us consider the modern day believer. For the saint in the New Testament, God has provided the promise of never hiding His face.
Ezekiel 39:29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
Yet we know that the believer is sometimes disciplined by God.
Hebrews 12:5-6 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
He has promised to not hide His face, and yet we turn from Him.
We turn from Him. His face is towards us in the Savior Jesus, and yet we turn from Him.
Draw near to my soul (Redeem me)
David, after all his confessions, his admission of weakness, his declaration of the trials he is going through, the injustice that he recognizes, in all of this whirlwind of distractions and tribulations, he calls on God to draw near to him.
What?
Are we not to draw near to God? Are we not the ones who are to initiate the process of closeness to God, of repentance and confession? Yes James makes that abundantly clear.
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
David has spent the previous verses drawing near to God through confession of his sin and inability to solve his trials. He has admitted he is not in control, and that he has no other hope than in God.
Now, he is only expecting that which a millennium later James so succinctly put together for us.
But get this – David speaks in the imperative. For those like myself that aren’t grammar nerds, that speaks of a command, even an order. David may be telling God …
I am broken before you. I am helpless. But You are of a constant and steadfast love. It is who You are O Lord! Now your faithful response O God, is to draw near to me, to my very soul.
David knew his Master. He knew his God and His nature in that He is abundant in mercy, steadfast in love, that his God is a saving God, and that His love is good.
Yes – He is good!
May those who know the Lord confess always and only that He is good!
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. Psalm 69:14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Psalm 69:15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
The psalmist turns to prayer for deliverance. After describing the pit of trials he is experiencing, he draws his attention to the only One who can provide deliverance.
After describing men in the earlier passage as those who disapprove of him, as those who throw reproach and shame upon him, David now looks to the One who rightly may show disapproval. Yet David knows the God he serves. He emphasizes the impossible when he writes of God and His
..abundance of His steadfast love
Recall that for God to have steadfast love is to describe His faithfulness in the midst of rebellion. Steadfast love was often translated in older versions as mercy or even pity. The term used is חֶסֶד cheçed and is closely equivalent to our term grace in the New Testament. Also embedded in this term is the concept of commitment, of covenant keeping. I am sure when I mention that God is the ultimate keeper of covenant, my reader will heartily agree!
And yet David goes beyond simply speaking of the cheçed of God, but adds the superlative of abundance. He appeals to the abundance of mercy, faithfulness, love and commitment of God in this prayer. He is looking to the One who is NOT like the men he has just described, throwing reproach and shame on his life. No – God is different, and to that difference, David appeals!
David prays for deliverance. He has described those who are against him previously, and now uses pictures of mire, of the deep, of a flood and of the pit (grave) to emphasize his hopelessness.
Each of the pictures he uses are overwhelming situations that provide no hope of self rescue. Only an outsider could provide the deliverance required, and thankfully David knew His God as One who was fully committed to His cause, including his own life and kingdom.
How much more for the greater Son of David, and how this prayer may have contained the same spirit of desperation for Him as He prayed in the garden. God exercised an abundance of steadfast love to the Savior in delivering Him up from the grave, and shedding the salvation to the world.
Are you in a place where there is no self preservation, no way to find strength or rescue within yourself. Be it known that in this condition, you need to reach out to the One who is abundant in steadfast love.
His name is Jesus, and to follow Him is to know the love of God.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
In the last post, I apologized for getting a bit long winded with my time in verse 9. Dang it, I tripped and fell into verse 10 last post, but I refuse to apologize. I am enjoying this time in Psalm 69 more than expected.
Let’s try to look at verse 11 & 12 in this post.
Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
To be considered a byword is a strange concept. What is David speaking of? The Hebrew word is מָשָׁל mâshâ, and is typically translated as parable or proverb. A definition byword likens it to be similar to a pithy maxim, an adage, a saying describing some wisdom.
This makes no sense to me. In the midst of this trial, when he was in sackcloth, denoting repentance and sorrow, his enemies considered him to be but a parable or proverb. A byword.
Might this proverb, spoken by the enemy, be describing the failure of the life of faith, the disappointment that seemed so obvious at the time of David’s suffering? His life of faith led to his loss of the kingdom, his own son seeking his head. Surely in the eyes of the enemy, this occurrence in David’s life proved God couldn’t be trusted, or that God didn’t care, or that there was no God. This could be huge news for those who hated God.
Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
For this period of apparent failure, David’s enemies surely spread the story of his downfall, of how his God had failed him, and of his deep reproach and shame he went through. All from the city leadership, those who sit in the gate, repeat the story, spreading the news.
This byword (or saying) would surely find ample audience to receive it, repeating the mockery of David’s life, the shame he experienced, the failure of his God. The rumor mill was on high alert, gossipers waiting for then next juicy nugget of misinformation, chugging out the news they wanted to hear!
For David, the spreading of this byword of failure surely damaged his reputation.
Mark 15:31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Jesus also experienced the appetite of the gossip monger, the rumor mill, even at His lowest time, hanging on the instrument of death, with the killers at his feet, spreading the slur that He could not save Himself. You do understand why that is a slur, that what the priest’s said for the rumor mill was incorrect? It is not that he could not save Himself but that He would not save Himself.
And the rumor continues throughout the ages, that Jesus is not powerful enough to save.
Both David and Jesus were the subject of a rumor mill, both men claiming to experience the failure of their faith, of their God, of their lives. At each of those times in these men’s lives, all appearance supported the rumor. Men could surmise their understanding of the situation and make statements that would seem to be true.
But we know better don’t we? Trust in God when all the world is spreading untrue rumors about you. God is the God who saves us, even from rumor mills!
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
My apologies – I got carried away with the last post, and will pick up where we left off previously. Verse 9 was just too much for me!
As mentioned in the previous post, it seems every verse in this portion of Psalm 69 speaks of the human experience of Jesus. Verse 9 was directly linked to the Lord’s life by way of the apostles, and we can rest assured their interpretation is worth trusting. For the next three verses, I will provide suggested links, understanding that I offer these thoughts to the reader for their consideration.
Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
David, in the midst of this trial that he is recounting for us, surely wept and fasted, looking for relief from his God. Even in his sorrow and weakness, his enemies attacked him, bringing further shame and disgrace on the king. Might he be recounting the time Shimei cursed him and his men as he was leaving the City of Jerusalem?
2 Samuel 16:5 When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 2 Samuel 16:6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 2 Samuel 16:7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!
Shimei cursed continually, throwing stones at David, along with all his cohorts, cursing the king, calling him a worthless man! David had to take this in front of his men, those whom he had known for decades and that respected him. Men that he led into battle, and that brought victory to the nation for over three decades. In a shame based society like ancient Israel, this was the deepest of cuts!
David is recounting a time when he truly went through a very deep and painful experience. Can you imagine David being called a worthless man, in front of his closest allies and friends, even at his lowest point in life? Yet David accepted the reproach.
2 Samuel 16:10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’”
Was it an undesired shame he accepted? I think. Yet for Jesus, though a reproach was planned for Him, He considered the reproach to be of greater riches than all the treasures available to Him. David may have accepted it as a disciple of God. Jesus turned to it, He chose the reproach and chased after it, turning to the cross and the shame, knowing of the glory to come.
Hebrews 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
During the ministry of Jesus, He is pictured in the gospels as a friendly, approachable, accepting, challenging and kind man. Though at times he gets perty dang ticked off at religious people, His person seems to be very social, welcoming, willing to interact with people, not out in the middle of the desert avoiding interaction. His time of rubbing shoulders with those he knew did not consist of evident reproaches.
Yet the time would come when it would become obvious that He would willingly accept reproach. Note that David also accepted the reproach of Shimei as he states a few verses after Shimei shows up.
Truly, the picture of the Savior in His accepting the reproach and shame, when compared to David, shines out as Savior that again is beyond any human expectation. He is more than we could imagine, so much more than we deserve, and such a great Savior!
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
Ok who wrote this? I say that sarcastically, for I know King David wrote it, but gosh golly, all I can see in this passage is the New Testament witness of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me
For David, this phrase described his desire to be close to the tabernacle, to be passionate to see God’s tabernacle become the Temple. It was a distraction of the highest magnitude, a desire that left all other goals in life to be secondary.
Remember my friend, this is the king of Israel, a world power at the time, and David was not consumed with status, power, wealth or image. He was focused on the source of all goodness and righteousness.
Mark 11:15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. Mark 11:17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
John 2:16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
For Jesus, this zeal was intensified in His life, but not for some physical representation of God’s temple. (I mean no disrespect to King David in this instance.) Jesus was looking to the Temple of God being the people of God that God would reside in, for that has been the plan all along. A group of people who seek God, who allow God to reside in them (as a group) and exhibit the nature of God to those outside the group.
Jesus passion led Him to the cross. His zeal was all consuming, and for a time in the temple, Jesus passion exploded on the scene, for those in the temple were users of people, profiting off those who seek God, instead of living a life of self sacrifice for others. The very antipathy of God’s desire was being witnessed by the very Son of Man in the Temple of God. How utterly inviting for passion to erupt!
Psalm 69:9B
Psalm 69:9 …and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
For the king of Israel to suffer personal reproaches strikes me as odd, for many, if not all kings in the ancient days would not suffer insult or shame from any in their kingdom. Those who verbally attacked a kings person were usually punished, jailed, beaten or worse.
Yet for David, as he followed after God, realizing who God is and what God is like, willingly accepted the shame aimed at God as his own.
His passion, they may say, is extreme, just too much, he has his head in the clouds and is of no earthly good. Hatred – undeserved as mentioned in verse 4 – experienced by David from his enemies, provided for David additional instances where he would bear the burden of being a believer in the midst of unbelief.
Romans 15:3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
For Jesus, for Paul to say that He did not please Himself may be one of the greatest understatements written. Going without sleep to be alone with the Father, watching his followers disappoint Him and yet continue to invest time and effort into them, healing and preaching to the masses, knowing they will turn on Him, going for weeks without food, not having anyone but Satan know, performing a baptism ritual in identifying with sinful people, reserving judgement in order to save, turning the cheek for the sake of love.
My friend – He took the hatred and shame the world spewed onto a holy God, He took it Himself, and in the midst of all the injustice. the pain, the loneliness and ingratitude, He continued to love God with all His heart mind and soul, and every neighbor who has ever lived.
How can we truly grasp the width, depth and length of His grace and mercy towards us. It is almost as if the expanse of His grace to us is beyond belief, that is simply can’t be true, it is too good to be true.
But He rose from the grave, with hundreds seeing Him, and His church has marched on, grasping ever so slightly (at least for myself) the tremendous grace He has provided 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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s read the next three verses of this revealing psalm.
Psalm 69:6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. Psalm 69:7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. Psalm 69:8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.
David was the king, an outspoken adherent of the God of Israel, many times expressing his faith, leading the nation as an example. From his early days of slaying Goliath, and the many battles he successfully waged for Saul, throughout his own reign, he constantly exhibited a living faith in the LORD God of hosts. During the good and the bad, David stood with God.
His faith in God was drawing others into a living faith within the kingdom. During the most difficult days of his reign, his actions, though confusing at times, resulted in exhibiting an understanding of God that was almost New Testamental.
Consider when he lost his first child with Bathsheba. He finished mourning after the child passed. He knew of the resurrection, of the hope for life after the grave. The clean himself up upon the notice of the child’s death was shocking for the people around him, and yet so very instructive!
That was then. This is now. This period of David’s life had all the potential to completely decimate the faith of others in the kingdom. He was accepting of the responsibility that the faith he lived, was consequential to others.
This attitude showed a deep love for others, in the midst of a fiery trial. Remember, David was being crushed at this time, his very existence as a king, and possibly as a breathing person, was on the line, and he is concerned about others, and how his life, with disappointments and defeats, may cause others to lose hope.
He is concerned for others, for their hope to not be impacted by his suffering, and yet he speaks of reproach that he bore, for the sake of the Lord.
He is concerned for the sake of his brethren. He is concerned for the sake of the Lord. Can you feel the tension he is in? He has taken on the life of a disciple, seeking to serve God at his own expense, and yet in this costly life, a life that experiences a crushing of pride, a life that may experience temporal disappointments, he is concerned that as his brethren may see his difficulties, they would not be set back.
David speaks of one specific trial that cut deep. His estrangement from his mother’s sons. He is estranged, away from his kin, living the life of a foreigner in relation to his closest family ties.
But wait. Why does he mention his mother’s sons? Is he simply being poetic, saying the same thing in the next stanza? There is a possibility that something else may be going on.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Is David speaking of not belonging within the “proper” family of Jesse? It is coincidental that when Samuel called for the sons of Jesse to come before him, only the first seven sons were presented to him. What was David? Chopped liver? Yes he was out tending sheep, but did not Jesse have servant s for this task if needed?
No matter whether David was the result of one of his parents being unfaithful, or that he had simply been rejected by his brothers due to his call by God, the situation was very discouraging. The Word speaks of David becoming a stranger, an alien to the family. It was a process he was undergoing, and that with every rejection, every separation from his brothers, it provided fuel for the enemy to cause shame and reproach.
If David underwent all this internal conflict and strife, turmoil of his spirit, what can we say about the greater David? After all the Scriptures were written about Him.
Consider the first verse we looked at this morning in relation to the Lord Jesus. We sometimes look to Him and see an invincible, no-holds-barred type of Savior, One that could not disappoint.
Yet in the garden, might He have had this type of conflict within His soul? What massive turmoil went on in His soul in the garden? The next 24 hours would be His greatest test, His greatest opportunity to “drop the ball”, yet in the garden He, the Giver of Life, faced death. The very thing that was completely opposite of His nature was to consume Him, to overpower Him, to cause Him to be absolutely and completely alone.
I don’t know about you, and this is conjecture on my part admittedly, but I think He must have ventured into the very same doubt and worry that David expressed above, the fear that
… those who hoped in God not be put to shame through Jesus.
He saw the death, the shame, the mocking and the cruel treatment, the temptations of failing His mission. (I am convinced Jesus could not have failed, yet the fears of potential failure must have been massive, ripping at His heart, soul and mind!) The spiritual warfare must have been gut wrenching!
On the other side of the grave, after potential failure became resounding success, we can be thankful that the Scriptures provide this promise for us.
Romans 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
My friends – Consider the One who suffered in the Garden. Take a moment and consider the warfare He experienced, though we truly cannot.
And during that warfare, His disciple slept. And He loved them to the end. For that is the type of Savior we have!
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s continue reading this beautiful psalm.
Psalm 69:4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? Psalm 69:5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
“Without cause” is the Hebrew term חִנָּם chinnâm, and it can be translated as “devoid of cost”, “without reason”, “without advantage”, “for nothing”, or “to cost nothing”.
The hatred David’s enemies provide to him freely given to him due to nothing that he has done. That seems to be the message.
Now I understand that the Scriptures are God Breathed, and have a message for each of us, with the burden on us to seek to understand the message in it’s original intent, and to find application for us in our daily lives and circumstances.
Since we are in the psalms, and the author is David, I would suggest David is describing his feelings here, not an absolute truth.
Consider that if this trial was during the rebellion of Absalom, with David having been the King for close to 4 decades. As a military strategist and warrior, along with being an political animal, he surely had left a trail of reasons for some to hate him.
For instance, consider David’s counsellor Ahithophel. He turned on David during this time, joining with Absalom. Did he turn on David for no reason?
Not so sure, for if we read the Word, Ahithophel may have been the grandfather of Bathsheba. That is, if Eliam, Bathsheba’s father is the same Eliam described as Ahithophel’s son in 2 Samuel 23:34, we have a connection.
2 Samuel 11:3 …”Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
2 Samuel 23:34… Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Now I realize I am not an Old Testament grandfather, but if someone murdered my grandbaby’s husband and committed adultery with my grandbaby, I tend to think I may have cause for some hatred! (Can you tell I got me some granddaughters? They will always be my grandbabys!)
So what is the reason for this rabbit trail Carl?
My point is that David may have felt guiltless in his circumstances, and the relative suffering he was undergoing may have been much exaggerated to what true justice may have deemed. For him to say “without cause” may have expressed his perception of his history, as opposed to living in reality. Now of course, there surely was much more going on that I do not understand, but David was suffering in this Psalm, suffering greater than I have experienced. It is with no judgement that I make this observation, but only for the sake of understanding David’s situation, his crushing heart ache, and the prayers he is crying out to God in.
David may have exaggerated his condition, for he may have given some cause for the hatred. Rightly or wrongly, David was suffering through a trial.
Yet he said “without cause”. Curious how that entered into the Word, for centuries later, the greater Son of David actually found his situation fit this statement.
John 15:25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Not only did Jesus’ situation fit this statement of David, He taught us that the Scripture was not merely coincidental in that it fit Jesus’ situation, but that was intended to be fulfilled in Him. David, the prophet spoke of his Greater Son in his prayer, and Jesus fulfilled this statement absolutely, having not sinned against His Father nor any man.
He truly was hated without cause.
Let’s consider how John wrote the same expression in the Greek. “Without cause” is an English translation of the Greek term δωρεάν dōreán, and may also be translated as “freely”, “in vain”, “as a gift” or “for naught”.
Where might I have read of this very same concept or thought in the New Testament? Hmmmm. Oh I remember!
Romans 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
So, we see that the Christ received hatred freely, without cause and from many. This was the consummate exercise of injustice.
His death and resurrection provided believers justification freely, without cause and for many. This is the consummate exercise of grace, freely granted to each of us.
May we remember Him, His trials for us and His grace towards us. May His name be praised.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s read the first three verses of this revealing psalm.
Psalm 69:1 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David. Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. Psalm 69:2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. Psalm 69:3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
Some place this psalm at the end of David’s life, possibly during the rebellion of Absalom his son. He certainly expresses deep sorrow, and a feeling of complete abandonment. If it was during this time of conflict with his flesh and blood, the inner turmoil must have been horrific.
Imagine the call of God on your life in combination with the betrayal of your own son. Consider the treachery and the emotional storm to navigate through. Place yourself in David’s position – God has placed you on the throne, and yet your own blood is your greatest enemy and the one seeking to destroy your life’s work.
Where is God in all of this? How could God allow this to happen? Why have you abandoned me?
Of course, much of this pain may be related to the sin of the King with Bathsheba, and his murderous actions towards her husband. Nathan spoke of the pain David brought upon himself, and the guilt David carried only multiplied the bitter betrayal.
Those who have children that are reading this post – be thankful for children who are faithful, who love you and support you. But for those true believers who have children that have walked away from God, that pain is very real. A parent’s regrets and doubts are constantly splashed up on the mind. Sleepless nights, going over and over the mistake made, the unchangeable history of wrong actions.
Yet this is not the situation David was in. Absalom did not simply walk away from the faith of his father, but he became David’s enemy, his greatest threat, a betrayer of the most heinous type, holding the very heart of the king in his hands, squeezing the life out of it.
David confesses his helplessness by speaking of being in “mire”. Mire speaks of a substance that has no bearing capacity, that will not provide support. Not only does is not provide support, it engulfs the person, even as they sink. The situation becomes worse as time moves on, and with every struggle against the surroundings, the problem only increases. The mire increases it’s hold of the sufferer. There is no self help in this situation, for it is only a matter of time before the mire overwhelms the entire person. It may be considered that the faster the sinking the better, for death is inevitable unless outside help arrives.
But as David speaks of finding no support for his own safety, that he can find no foothold, nothing he can save himself by, he also has no response from God.
No response.
He is waiting on God, yet continues to sink ever deeper. Wailing out for the Lord, but silence. He speaks of his eyes growing dim, another way of him saying he sees no way out of him circumstances.
Let’s remember who wrote this psalm. The writer is he who was after God’s heart, the mighty king David, who vanquished many by the guidance and power of God. He had walked before God since he was a young man, even as a child, and had experienced continual deliverances. He was no neophyte, who at the least disappointment with God, began to whine. God had delivered him often but in the midst of this abandonment, the very faithfulness of God was being questioned.
If this psalm was written upon the occasion of Absalom’s rebellion, we know from other passages that God allowed David to suffer, leaving his throne, his city and his temple, realizing that he may never return. God allowed him to suffer, yet in the end, David returned to his city and his dynasty continued as promised by his God.
But we also know that this psalm describes the Messiah’s abandonment, and during His abandonment, the mercy of rescue was not provided, the pulling out of the mire was not supplied. He suffered a horrific whipping, a cruel mocking, public shame and the torture of crucifixion. No mercy. No rescue. No deliverance from death.
David reluctantly entered this ultimate trial. Jesus set his face as a flint to enter into this trial. David suffered but was rescued from death, a death at the hands of his child. Jesus suffered and was murdered by His own people.
David’s turmoil was beyond my comprehension, and yet Jesus’s was far greater, far deeper, far more painful and far more mysterious.
Even as His death was galloping toward Him, He cried out to God….
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Such an abandonment that David feared and yet escaped, his greater Son suffered through, dying all alone, forsaken by God.
How can we understand that? How can we comprehend this mystery?
My brothers and sisters – there is no comprehension for our feeble minds, neither here on this globe or in eternity. We cannot understand the depths of God’s work, His wisdom, His mercy or grace.
We can only worship such a God.
If my gentle reader is experiencing a sense of abandonment, a sense of hopelessness, look to the One who truly passed through the ultimate loneliness. Consider His mental and spiritual torture of abandonment, His struggle and turmoil to the point of death. He entered into His death through abandonment. Today He promises us keep us from abandonment.
Hebrews 13:5 …for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
No abandonment, no forsaking, but we must look to Him, who is the only One who has been totally abandoned!
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 68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah Psalm 68:33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Psalm 68:34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. Psalm 68:35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel–he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
Our final portion of this fantastic psalm speaks of the God who in David’s sight has risen, not only in the lifting up of the ark, glorious as that must have been, but even greater in the realization that all the kingdoms of the earth will acknowledge the greatness of God, even to sing of God, sing praises to Him.
For David, he may have saw this in a physical realm, thinking that the theocracy of Israel would be the eternal dominating nation over the kings of the world.
For those of us who have met the Savior and are learning of Him, we have such a greater hope, such a stronger salvation, such a more personal connection through a suffering Savior. As Israel triumphed over their neighbors through the power of God, much could be ascribed to the God of Israel. David spoke of His greatness of God in the wars that Israel entered into, and how the Lord delivered the nation of Israel in His faithfulness.
Yet, in the final act, when the Living God willingly laid down His life for the sake of His enemies, all the physical victories paled in estimation.
We have such a great salvation, a salvation that could not be understood, imagined or comprehended in the days of old, when David was seeing God rise up. He didn’t see the whole of it!
And dare I say, we also are very weak in comprehending God’s glories in the saving work of Jesus.
May His name be praised, though we grasp so little of His mercy and grace found in the Only One!
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 68:28 Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. Psalm 68:29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you. Psalm 68:30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war. Psalm 68:31 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
Lets continue in Psalm 68, where David is describing the God of Israel as rising up, bringing power to the nation, and delivering the tiny nation surrounded by enemies. His methods are unconventional to say the least, but David only concerned with God’s faithfulness, and Israel’s continued resting under His blessings.
David continues with his prayers in seeking God to continue His work in and for the nation of Israel. Think about it. It is one thing to begin strong, and by this time in the history of the nation, God had proved Himself over and over. David isn’t resting on his laurels, presuming that past victories secures future success. David is looking to God for His continuation of His power over Israel’s enemies.
Interestingly, David sees this power to be related to the temple, and rightly so, for he understood that the military success of Israel was not by human wisdom or strategy, but by the Spirit of God directing and empowering His people. This direction was hard linked to the temple, and David, of all the kings of Israel, knew of this connection well.
Centuries pass and the truth remains, that the source of strength and power of the people of God is God Himself. This never changes!
Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
As success follows success for the Israelites, and the enemies realize they are fighting much more than a small nation of slaves who came out of Egypt, the enemies come to their senses. David speaks of the humbling of the nations surrounding him. Mortal kings are generally known for their pride and arrogance, but for kings to bear gifts to Israel speaks of a humility and an admittance that they have come to the end of their rope, that they have no resources available to defeat Israel, their god is so weak, weaker than the God of Israel!
But to get to this humility, God is called upon by the warrior king David to
Rebuke the beasts
David describes beasts that dwell among the reeds, herds of bulls with the calves of the people. God is to speak correction to these bulls, these enemies of Israel.
Now we must remember when God speaks, it is not merely the compression of air from a voice box to produce sound. For God to speak is for God to expect and have results occur.
Consider Isaiah 17:13
The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away…
Notice that upon the rebuke of God, they (the enemies) will flee away. It is not that the enemies will consider God’s rebuke and then decide if they will accept it. Actually, for God’s rebuke to be directed to a nation will result in the nation fleeing.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute
This is a difficult portion to understand, as this psalm has presented many difficult portions. Nevertheless, God’s next action requested by King David is to trample, or to stamp down. In some passages, it is translated as hasten, or humble thyself
Proverbs 6:3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. ESV
Proverbs 6:3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself, for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power: Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor. CSB
Proverbs 6:3 Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For thou hast come into the hand of thy friend. Go, trample on thyself, and strengthen thy friend, YLT
How this works out in this verse is a mystery to me, other than the truth that those who seek the high life through money very often are humbled by the very thing they chase after. No matter how it works out, or how this passage is understood, the action of God trampling those who are against Israel is being requested by King David. No mincing of words for David is escalating the requests for God’s actions on the enemy!
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
To be scattered is a judgement that was left to the very end for the nation of Israel herself, as if that was the worst punishment that could be inflicted on a nation. Babylon came to scatter the people of Israel for 70 years, only to be restored under the mercy of God, and for the future provision of salvation through the Messiah. The second scattering of the nation, under the mighty Roman empire ended up without the same mercy, being permanent.
David was seeking this type of action by God on the enemies of Israel. This type of action seems irreversible for a nation, for only under the hand of God has any nation ever returned, and that only once after the Babylonian captivity!
There was no recovery for any nation if scattered. Absorption of the nation into other cultures would be inevitable, and the unified personality, dreams, and nature of any nation scattered would come to an end. This is David’s way of asking for the complete domination of any and all of Israel’s enemies.
Poetic? Yes!
Graphic? Yes!
Eventual? Yes!
In the end, all the enemies of God will be dominated by the Living God. Through pain, sorrow, humiliation, and death, the Living God, Jesus Christ, has become the King of Kings. The time will come when all mortal kings will acknowledge this truth. For Jesus has suffered pain, experienced sorrow, faced humiliation, and passed through death in order to draw all men to Him.
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 68:24 Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary– Psalm 68:25 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines: Psalm 68:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” Psalm 68:27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
Let’s remember the general topic of this psalm. David is writing to describe the entrance of the ark into the city of David. But more significantly, it is not simply the delivery of the ark that David has envisioned in this psalm, but the rising up of God in this action. His very first verse speaks of God arising, and His enemies scattering.
Throughout this psalm, David is describing God as One who helps the helpless (v5-6), produces results with the unlikely (vs (11-12) acts selflessly in His victory march (vs 18) and bears His people up (vs 19), instead of being supported by them.
He is altogether different than those who rule over us by the ways of men! For this we must be so thankful.
This particular passage is describing the procession of God into the sanctuary. Taken alone, we might look at verses 24 – 27 as a fairly sanitary, well rehearsed, orderly procession, and for the most part, from David’s standpoint, I am sure those bringing the ark are of such a reverent stance.
Yet the procession is spoken of immediately after the psalmist speaks of God’s foot “wading in blood” and dogs (scavengers, not pets as we commonly think of them as) lapping up their share of blood.
This is such a gruesome picture, a picture of violence sometimes described in the psalms. This particular occurrence of a warring King with bloody feet speaks of complete and utter domination over the enemy. This picture describes an imagery the Hebrew people would understand.
This image reminds me of a number of other times in the Word that speaks of the Lord being associated with blood and judgement.
Consider Isaiah 63:1
Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Isaiah continues in verse 3
“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained
and again in verse 6
I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
The typical Hebrew saw the God of all creation as their Savior in physical battles, providing them strength, wisdom and power over their national enemies. Of course, there were those of the remnant who understood the spiritual salvation that we as New Testament believers understand, even though dimly.
When my thoughts think of bloody feet, one verse comes to mind.
Revelation 19:13
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
The King of Kings is arriving from heaven, and the picture John provides is that of the victorious One, with His robe dipped (or sprinkled) with blood. Note also that He is on a white horse, (typical of a Victorious General leading a procession after defeating His enemies) being described in such a way, before He enters battle. You see, after the King is described as having blood on His robe, it is then that the King slays the enemies with the sword coming from His mouth.
Revelation 19:21
And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Okay – so whose blood is on his robe/feet? The enemies have not been slain. Is it not surely His blood, speaking of His victory over death, signaling to the enemies that He is no longer subject to their threats or attacks.
He is even now in procession, leading His church, those who have been captured, and willingly follow after Him. He is victorious and the blood is the witness! No better verse to close than the verse the psalmist provides us!
Psalm 68:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
Israel’s fountain is a fountain of blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins! Take a moment and enjoy this old old hymn. Be still and listen carefully, enter into the message.
What great truth’s were provided in the old hymns.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away
May you be blessed in the Lord today, as you consider how great He is!
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 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. Psalm 68:21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. Psalm 68:22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, Psalm 68:23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
Our God is a God who bears us up. He supports us, provides strength, motivation and energy, direction and guidance.
He bears us up daily.
In our text, the psalmist uses a term that describes a burden, a load to be carried, and for the Lord, the load is Israel, and by extension ourselves. Each day He carries us, bearing us as the burden that He has taken on as His task.
Each day, He carries us through our trials, through our victories and through our heartbreaks. The picture is of a mighty One with a load on His back, moving the burden, His people, from point A to point B.
He speaks of His people being His burden later in Isaiah, when He reminds them of the duration of His lifting His people, even from birth.
Isaiah 46:3-4 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
There is much that can be spoken of regarding the goodness and kindness of God toward His people in our verse in Psalm 68. The psalmist speaks of God being the Blessed One, Our Salvation, and the deliverer from death! He is the deliverer from death! So great is our God that He is the deliverer from death. May His Name be praised.
The link between Psalm 68 and Isaiah 46 begs me to consider the duration of His carrying us in both passages. Isaiah makes it clear that He will carry His people, even to gray hairs, or to the end of life. God is faithful to His people.
Take note of the psalm, where he again speaks of time passing.
striking the heads of His enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways
Let me explain my thoughts.
God bears us as a burden, yet He strikes the head of the guilty, those who are the enemy of His people. The author speaks of the hairy crown of the guilty being struck.
So which is it? Does He carry His people even to gray hair (old age) or does He strike those who walk in guilty ways? As His people, we must confess that we have not obeyed His will perfectly! At times we fall into sin and incur guilt in our lives before Him. And with guilt comes the striking!
Let us not fool ourselves to think “strike” may mean a glancing blow, or a simple nudge to correct the guilty. The word used is מָחַץ mâchats, and Strong’s dictionary provides synonyms such as “to crush, smash or violently plunge; figuratively, to subdue or destroy”
He carries His people, but the guilty He crushes. To refine the message better, it is the one “who walks in his guilty ways” that is struck.
Now as I continue in this post, I need to reiterate that I have no training in the ancient languages, and I rely only on the skimpiest understanding of verbs. With that said, the term “walk” in relation to the guilty in this verse refers to a continuous action. The NASB catches this thought somewhat clearer.
Psalm 68:21 Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds. NASB
The NET captures the thought without any chance of misunderstanding
Psalm 68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies, the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.
For the believer, we are to bless the Lord for His many mercies, for the constant carrying of His people. We are without hope without Him.
Yet the Word speaks of those who persist in rebellion as being the ones who will be struck!
How important is it for us as His people to trust and obey. To be in persistent rebellion against the One who carries us is to fall into great danger. Are not our lives are to be of a constant learning of the Holy One and a recurring, continual repentance of our known rebellion against Him. He carries us as a burden, and as He carries, we have the privilege of learning of Him.
I can’t help but think of the Lord as He spoke to His disciples (and us) when He voiced these words of His burden.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (or manageable). This is the God who carries His people, and He continues to invite those who are heavy laden (with burdens) to find rest in Him. And as we find rest in Him, we are provided a yoke and burden to join in with Him.
He carries us. We need to learn from Him. As we learn of how great of a God we have come to know, we are to follow after Him, changing our minds (repentance) and actions (obedience) to reflect what we know of Him. As we learn we find a different burden, a manageable burden that He shares with us.
And yet in all of our lives, He carries us! He is the God to be blessed by a thankful people, for all His mercies. Praise His name for His many mercies.
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 68:15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Psalm 68:16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever? Psalm 68:17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. Psalm 68:18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
As we are venturing through this difficult psalm, let’s remember the general topic of the psalm. David set the tone as he spoke of God rising up, of God leading in battle, and of God establishing His rule over others.
One other guiding principle I need to call to memory is that I am reading poetry. Poetry that employs word pictures, imagery and symbols to communicate a message for the people of Israel in ancient days. One word picture is that of mountains. This thinking came back to me as I researched for the location of the mount of Bashan. I can find the land of Bashan, which is to the north east of the Jordan River, where half the tribe of Manasseh settled, but I can’t find a physical mountain called Bashan.
Let’s get with the intent of the psalmist and consider mountains to represent governments, and proceed. The passage speaks of the mount of Bashan fuming with jealousy, for the Lord has chosen to dwell in Mount Zion, Sinai the holy place.
Two governments are discussed in this passage, being compared, and God’s choice is declared. The mighty mountain of Bashan does not have God dwelling in it, the government is that of men alone, without God. The government of God, His kingdom is that which is found in the Holy Place, in God Himself.
At this point, we come across a set of verses that should remind the believer of a passage in Ephesians.
Psalm 68:18
Ephesians 4:8
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
David is watching God ascend into Jerusalem, if my understanding is correct. He is ascending to His rightful place of honor, victorious with those He conquered following in submission into the city of David. Yet a thousand years later Paul sees a completely different, much, much more expanded application of this passage.
Ascending to the heavens having conquered death, and leading a host of captives, Paul can only see Jesus as the God who is victorious. Jesus, in His resurrection and ascension is the Lord who is in the Holy place, and has conquered His enemies by dying for them.
How incredible is the King, that His plan was to conquer us by winning us over to His love. In my mind, this is something that is completely from left field, a fully unimaginable turn of events as I have been reading through this passage. And yet Paul tweaks this passage to emphasize the character of our God.
Can you identify the difference?
Heck – I can’t wait for your response. In the Old Testament, the King received gifts from men, even those He conquered. Not so under King Jesus, for as He led His captives, He gave gifts to men. Completely without precedent, for what King gives gifts to those He conquers?
He is not of this world and the more I understand of Him and His ways, the more I am mystified by His ways, shocked by His grace and stumped by the completely sacrificial love He exhibited, He endured, He suffered through, to conquer us.
I often close with “God is good and He is good all the time”, and that is so true, yet this morning as I dwell on this one aspect of our God, and the plans He has designed and completed for an ol’ fool like me, and for other sinners that have bowed the knee, I stand simply amazed at His grace.
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 68:11-14
11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: 12 “The kings of the armies–they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil– 13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds– the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. 14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
This Psalm continues the theme of the Lord as the conquering One, leading His people through to victory. He gives the word to advance with plans of victory and upon the victory, we find women announcing the good news.
From a patriarchal society as Israel was, this may have been surprising to hear, yet there are numerous examples of this very thing occurring in the Old Testament.
Miriam
Exodus 15:20-21
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Deborah
Judges 5:1-2
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!
Multiple Women
1 Samuel 18:6-7
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
To make things worse, verse 13 intimates that the men of the nation were not in the midst of the battle, that they may have been asleep in the sheepfolds, lying down, not interacting in the battle.
For this passage, it seems typical roles are upended, or at least denied, and the one constant is that God is still leading in victory. The Lord, in the battle, scatters kings, and the psalmist refers to snow falling on Zalmon. There is one instance in the book of Judges that speaks of Zalmon that may provide some context for this passage
Judges 9:48-49
And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
It is known that the snow falls on Mount Zalmon, and it covers the mount for a period of time each year. The fact that the Lord scattering kings is associated with the snow of Zalmon may be referring to the mount being covered completely, as the Lord completely gains victory over the Kings.
One possible thought, and it is mine alone, so please take it with a grain of salt, but as Abimelech torched the tower, with over 1,000 perishing, the result of the fire would produce ash. The ash of his enemies. Gruesome thought, yet the ash would disperse and cover the vicinity, appearing as a snow fall.
This would definitely bring to the ancient reader a word picture of the utter judgement of God on His enemies.
Let me know your thoughts on this difficult passage. Or better yet, share a time when the Lord caused victory in your life, especially through non-conventional means.
By the way, regarding women announcing good news, was it not the penultimate good news of the resurrection that a few women, lost in their mourning for their Master, was granted the privilege to share with all the world?
He is risen, and even the first heralds, be they women were not expected!
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 68:7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah Psalm 68:8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Psalm 68:9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; Psalm 68:10 your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
In our earlier verses, David speaks of God riding through the desert. In this short passage, God is marching through the wilderness. The Old Testament uses a Hebrew word translated as march when referring to the ark coming from Obed-edom’s house toward the City of David. See verse 13, translated as steps below.
2 Samuel 6:12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:13 ESV – And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
Of course, David is speaking of the original marching through the desert as after the Red Sea crossing, but I found that the approach into Jerusalem may be connected with this passage through the marching reference. Interesting?
Back to the verses for this morning. These verses identify the blessing and goodness of God with rain. We saw earlier the reference of a parched land as the result of rebellion, and in this set of verses, we see the alternate response of God on a national level.
I do want to remember that this portion speaks of God going out before His people. David began this psalm, referring to God rising up as He did in the days of Moses. Each time the camp broke to begin their journey to the promised land Moses speak of God rising up, to lead His people. David is continuing this call for action, for the ark is on the move. David describes this movement with terms like quaking, marching and a resultant rain that drenched the inheritance of Israel, implying the previous times were times of languishing.
God is a God of restoration, for though the land languished, God restored. He provided a dwelling for the people and safety for the vulnerable.
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 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
As mentioned in my earlier post this psalm is likely a response to the ark coming into Jerusalem, a description of David when the Lord of glory come to reside in the City of David. The first three verses spoke of two reactions when God arises, when He makes moves. Either the wicked scatter of the righteous exult, even jump for joy.
David continues with the righteous, and how they are reacting to the ark of the covenant arriving from the deserts. Might David be referring to the 40 years, where God was leading the rebellious nation, that first generation that fell in the wilderness? Even as those who refused to listen to God fell, the nation continued, leading to the desired land God had planned for the nation. Even during apparent failure, God led the people, accomplishing His will. God will accomplish His will! When He arises, nations are established.
Yet, though He established the nation of Israel, leading her through the deserts, He does not forget those who are forgotten by everyone else.
David continues the thought of God’s arising in relation to orphans and widows. I have recently wrote on this verse in the Names of God series for your reference. See Names of God – FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS – 141.
God is the same God yesterday, today and forever, and these last two verses in our passage today refer to orphans and widows. Back in the time of David, God was associated with caring for widows and orphans. Nowadays, the apostle James command for believers to care for widows and orphans rings through the church.
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Is David being repeated here by James? It is very interesting that in David’s very same verse, God is spoken of as being in His holy habitation.
David is speaking of God arising in this psalm, of widows and orphans being taken care of, and of the holiness of God. James provides these same three characteristics of pure religion but as of the duty of believers.
David continues in this psalm speaking of God reversing the condition of those in the nation. First, He speaks of the solitary, possibly referring to the orphan or widow, being in a home, amongst others and protected. Those who had fallen into crime of some sort, possibly due to circumstances beyond their control, now find themselves led into prosperity. Those who were in the midst of trials, that were without support or experiencing some restrictions in their lives were provided for.
In a consistent manner, the rebellious were also provided for in relation to their condition, receiving a parched land. Let it be known, that the rebellious David speaks of here are amongst the widows, the fatherless, and the prisoner. While those who are helpless find relief, those who are of rebellion live in a parched land.
How may that be? Though there be blessing for those who are helpless, for the widow, orphan and prisoner, the rebellious experience dryness, a parched land, for they see not the grace of God, the mercy of the Holy One.
This is a difficult truth, for those who rebel against the God of Israel, against the God who rises up, see no joy, experience no hope and can not experience any blessing, having rejected it wholesale by rejecting God Himself. In a very real way, they create their own parched land!
How sad to give up the fount of living waters to resort to broken cisterns that hold no water! Jeremiah speaks of this same outcome for those who forsake God, rebelling against Him.
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 68:1-3
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! 2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! 3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
I must admit to my readers that, though I have read through the Word many times this psalm is not familiar to me. I am coming to this psalm, almost as one who has never read it, never considered what it’s message is. It is somewhat like a buried treasure for me to find. Let’s consider Psalm 68 together.
As I am researching the reason for the writing of this psalm by David, I find that most historians place this writing of the psalm with the entrance of the ark coming into Jerusalem. The specific passage where the ark is prepared and brought into the City of David is 2 Samuel 6
Right out of the block, David reaches back in history, when Moses and the fledgling nation were travelling through the Sinai. Moses spoke of the Lord rising when the ark was to be moved to the next resting place, as the nation journeys to the promised land.
Numbers 10:35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
David is taking this passage and continuing the advancement of the ark in history, and in the nation of Israel. The Ark will reside in the sanctuary and the procession of the ark will be addressed later in this psalm. At this time and in the first three verses, David opens with the passage out of Numbers, speaking of God’s advancement, and of God’s enemies scattering, and fleeing from Him.
David, ever the poet, brings the mind picture of smoke and wax before the reader
Smoke
Typically, smoke refers to the gaseous products of materials being burnt, including the presence of very tiny particles of carbon or such. It may include a fume or vapor that is lighter than air, hotter than the surrounding atmosphere, as is obvious by its rising in the air. But note that as smoke rises in the air, the air is still. Any motion in the atmosphere is immediately felt by the smoke, and is helpless against the motion. The smoke offers no resistance to any slight wind, has no strength to oppose any minor breath of a breeze. Smoke is without any strength.
David refers to smoke as a picture of the strength of God’s enemies, the strength of those who hate God. He likens the strength of smoke as to their ability to withstand in God’s presence.
It is interesting that David speaks only of God rising as an action, not of His advancement against the enemies. It is simply that He is lifted up. The enemies have no strength. They flee as smoke in the wind.
Wax
Wax before fire.
David continues with the picture of wax being too close to a fire. As wind speaks to the smoke, so heat (or fire) speaks to the wax. And yet during the time of David, wax was plentiful in one application. Candles. As a candle is used for the production of light, the wax is consumed by the fire. It not only cannot stand in the presence of fire, it is actually consumed by the fire. Whatever you may think consumption implies in this verse, I will leave to the reader. The wicked will perish as the candle is consumed.
Not so with the righteous. Where as the wicked flee as smoke in a breeze and are consumed as wax before a fire, the righteous exult before God.
Is there a greater difference that can be expressed? No running away, no escaping, no terror and fright. Gladness, exultation and joy. As David speaks of exultation, he uses a word that speaks of one jumping for joy, of entering into a triumph or victory.
How very different two types of souls are when God rises up. Avoidance or sheer joy. Running away or gladness.
David is bringing in the Ark into Jerusalem and is recounting to us what this represents, who is coming into town! He is the One who rises up. His description is beautiful, poetic, but somewhat less than the reality we know of.
For when we think of the One rising up, we see Jesus, the One who was lifted up (onto a cross), rose up from the grave, and rises up in our hearts and lives as we seek Him.
Considering the Bible 