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 50:4-6
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah
In our previous post, we were introduced to the Mighty One, God, the LORD, who invited all the earth to courtroom proceedings, where He will pronounce judgement, where the wind and fire encircled Him as He approached for the proceedings, where His voice WILL be heard, and there shall be no silence. Other than from the defendents!
Today’s verses, when I first read them years ago shook me, for I was expecting the rankest of sinners to be judged, those foul, evil souls that spend thier day conjuring up ways to spit in God’s face, look for ways to hurt or defame the name and person of God. How surprised to find that He calls those who are in covenant with Him, those who are His people. He does not call for judgement on those I would consider the rank and file sinner, the prostitute or the pimp, the drug user or the cheating husband, the crook or the liar, but on those who claim His name, who have entered a covenant with Him. He calls them His faithful ones! This seemed so backwards! How can this be? What am I missing?
I had the same reaction when I first read a passage similar to this in the New Testament, where Peter teaches us that judgement must begin at the house of God.
1 Peter 4:17
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
This is a topic that stuimped me for years and I fear is not understood by many that I chat with. Yet after four decades of following Him, I confess I still sometimes struggle with it.
Those whom God loves He disciplines.
In my horizontal life, that is between other souls and myself, I have learned that when someone comes to me to challenge me, or to expose my weakness (call it sin Carl), I automatically set up my defences. Of course many may come to me with evil intent, seeking at the very minimum to simply discourage me, yet there are some in my life who seek my good by challenging me in certain behaviors and actions that are simply wrong.
For the LORD to call on His faithful ones for judgement, may initially communicate to me that they are doomed, that judgement will fall and crush those on whom it falls. And I have to remind myself that the term “judgement” is not synonymous with condemnation, but in it’s simplest form speak of an accurate and correct revealing of facts for the sake of the one being judged.
Yet as I read Psalm 50:6, something pulls me to Romans 1. Something about the heavens declaring / revealing righteousness ties these two passages together for me, I fear this challenge presented before the faithful ones in Psalm 50 may not have been fully recieved or held onto by His faithful ones. The nation this Psalm was written to became the nation that actually crucified the Author of the Psalm. Truly tragic.
Even as I consider this connection, we should not confuse outcome with intent. The Lord’s intent in delivering this Psalm may be best understood as coming from the heart of a Father. He longs for their change of heart, a change of life that would reflect His nature and character. For as I age in the Lord, I would like to consider a possible alternate perspective on what is going on when God comes to judge. Psalm 50 is a time of judgement on the faithful ones, and yet hope is still offered to the faithful ones, as noted in later verses.
As we go through this Psalm, many of the rebukes given to His people milleniums ago, are just as applicable today. We need to recieve those rebukes as we hear Him speak to us through His Word. Remember He is the Mighty One, God, the LORD who has delivered up His Son for us. His judgement is true and faithful, seeking for His faithful Ones to repent and grow, to be open to His message. The Psalm may have a message that hurts at times, but we can be assured that the intent is good, and holy, and from a Fathers heart.
Will you turn away when a truth touches a soft spot in your life? Join me as we hear His testimony against his faithful in our next post.
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 50:1-3
1 A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.
The psalmist begins this psalm, immediately drawing the readers attention to who it is that is speaking.
It is the Mighty One, God, the LORD.
Mighty One – English translation of the hebrew אַיִל, transliteration ēl, primarily denoting strength, might and power.
God – English translation of the hebrew אֱלוֹהַּ, transliteration ‘ĕlōhîm, the plural of our first word, and denotes multiple gods, in this case speaking of the multiple persons in the Godhead, of which as believers we understand to be three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
LORD – English translation of the hebrew הָיָה, transliteration Yᵊhōvâ, the proper name of the eternal, self existant God.
Asaph comes out identifying our God with three of the most majestic, power filled names available to describe Him. Whatever message Asaph records God as declaring, it is with the authority associated with these names.
In this psalm, God is calling all inhabitants to a court room, to a judgement hall in order for witnesses to be present during the proceedings. He is calling all of the earth, all inhabitants of the earth to witness the judgement that will be laid out.
God shall come, and God will not perform his judgement in a vacuum, but in the witness of many, in the witness of all. He will speak, and not keep silence. The envelope of judgement is typified as fire rolling out before Him, devouring all, consuming all before Him. A tempest encircles Him, a storm of horror, swirling violence whipping around Him, sweeping away all that is near. This is a terrifying picture that Asaph is rolling out for our sight. God is approaching in judgement, and it is everyones worst nightmare!
Asaph is delivering a psalm of judgement, a psalm that will not be likened to the comfortable, peaceful tone of Psalm 23, or of the many psalms that bring our hearts together in praise and wonder, but for much of this psalm we will, if we have breath in us, will not be comforted, but challenged to consider how our lives line up with our confession.
At first glance, as I consider the message of these court proceedings, there is a great temptation to turn away, to go on to another psalm, or look for an alternate topic, but the 50th psalm was given for our edification, encouragement and exhortation, in order for a cleansing to occur in our hearts. May God work in our hearts, bringing our confession and profession closer to each other.
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 49
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Our Psalmist returns to the initial concern of the saint – Fear of the wealthy. The psalmist gives us the conclusion of his thoughts, and the solution to the fear of the saint. Consider the inevitable end of those you fear.
This solution is a recurring theme in the Word, and I usually think of Psalm 73:17 when this topic comes up. I look forward to studying that psalm when we get there, but let us remain in Psalm 49 for our time together.
Notice that the psalmist refers to the possessions the rich trust in, the accumulation of goods that seem to reinforce the wisdom of his choice to trust in them. Not only does the appearance of his accumulated wealth reinforce his philosophy of idolatry, but he also counts himself blessed.
In the midst of this final portion of Psalm 49, the psalmist makes a sideways comment of receiving praise when you do well for yourself. Might this be a comparison of the rich man’s accumulated earthly wealth, with the saints accumulation of good works? Also kindly notice that the rich man convinces himself of his blessedness, where the saint receives praise, presumably from outside of himself, from others.
Yet the end is certain. We all know it, for when we attend a funeral of a friend or relative, their possessions are left behind; it is only the person who has departed, alone and separated from that which they may have trusted in.
How different for the saint, for though the saint cannot see his God, and that he is not physically with his Savior, (though we have the blessed Spirit of God to comfort us), when we pass away, we will enter into the presence of the One whom we trust.
How upside down is our experience on this earth, in that appearance and truth so often seem to conflict. It looks like the wealthy have all the cards, all the influence, all the abilities and rights, all the strength and power. Yes it certainly appears to be so, yet as we listen to the Psalmist, we can step back, get a bigger picture and realize we live in an upside down world.
The rich man who trusts in his possessions, who had the power over others in this life, his very soul has a set destination that will be lightless. Lightless.
As mentioned in a previous post, we all are deserving of a darkness, for we tend to be attracted to darkness. Consider John’s testimony in his gospel
John 3
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
We tend to hide in the darkness because of our own works. John speaks of our admitting to the wickedness of our own works in the very response we have to light. We seek to hide from exposure, because we know of the evil of our deeds. We seek darkness, and if we pile up possessions to hide the light from us, we may get what we “want”, a darkness as a settled state for our lives.
Note that John speaks of those who come to the light. It is those who do what is true. This is an amazing passage, for when considered with Psalm 49:19, the correlation is spot on. Those who trust in idols, their possessions and things, their wealth and riches, commit iniquity over others in order to feed their idol. Those who worship an idol do not do what is true. They do what they can. The idolater may have somewhat of a moral code he follows, may appear to be upright in his community, yet if push comes to shove, what does he do? If he were to consider our Psalm, at the very least he may gain some understanding and begin to do what is true, right and good. He may start to see light.
The Psalmist ends our passage with a final concluding statement
Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish
Understanding. Understanding from the Psalmist. We need this understanding the Psalmist provides. A clear view of our end, of a correct view of the universality of death to provide us relief from fear, guidance to truth and light for our lives.
Don’t be like the beast that simply exists, only to perish, only to end in darkness. Trust in the God who sent His Son to ransom your soul. He has provided the currency to redeem your soul and supply you light for this dark world.
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 49
13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah
In our earlier post, we spoke of the universality of death, the futile hope of the rich fool, of “those who trust in their wealth, and boast of the abundance of their riches” (Ps 49:6)
Our psalmist begins this portion of the psalm describing their path, the path of those who exercised their faith in a foolish confidence, an idol that could not deliver. The second half of verse 13 is somewhat disturbing, for I fear that many in the modern church fall under this influence. Lets read it once more
Psalm 49:13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
The wealthy make boasts of influence, of their power and authority and how they trust in their possessions. And people left behind approve of their boasts.
By the way, did you hear how Beyonce is worth gazillions of bucks? How about Elon and his thoughts? He is so wealthy, so he must have good ideas. How about Lebron? He certainly has some wisdom we may tap into.
I know I am being facetious above, yet for those who do not follow after God only have these folk to find guidance from. With the family unit crumbing about us, the celebrity is fast becoming a primary influence on those who need guidance. (Help us O God, for we are desperately in trouble!).
What is most discomforting, is the reliance on the wealthy of those who claim to follow after God. Does this make any sense? We have One who has provided objective truth and the Spirit of God to help us in our discerning and application of this truth to our daily lives and relationships, yet we look to the wealthy and those who abuse the poor for guidance.
Take this test. Next time you attend a service, note the amount of time believers spend in discussing popular figures on TV or the internet. How these lost souls sphere of influence has increased, even within the body of Christ. As many of you know, I have been a believer for a bit over forty years, and have attended a number of very good churches. Some churches have actually found a way to introduce the pop culture directly into their worship service, using movies as a basis for their message.
As a reader, I am interested in your thoughts on this method of worship. Is it depending / trusting in the pop culture for topics, possibly diverting from the core of the gospel? Let me know.
Enough of my rant – Lets get back to the Psalm.
The wealthy man exchanges the Good Shepherd for death, for in following after idolatry (otherwise known as trusting in wealth) they exchange the truth for a lie (Romans 1) , and forsake the steadfast love of God for a vain idol (Jonah 2:8). The sheepfold they are assigned to is Sheol, the grave, the pit that will consume them. What a horrible end!
But let us be clear for this is the deserved end of all. We all follow after vanities and worthlessness. How often have we chased after smoke and mirrors, shadows of promises that were never realized but kept leading us on, giving us hope for some peace. How often have our eyes looked to an idol instead of God Himself. So very often, my eyes have been diverted by shiny objects, promises that were not based on the person of Christ, and of some thinking that convinced me of alternate methods of living.
Yet I am not my Savior. I am not the One who died for me. I am not the One who can satisfy the price of redemption, with my paltry earthly financial resources.
God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.
He will receive me. The psalmist is speaking of his redemption from the power of the grave! Yet after considering this passage for a moment, I would like to clarify my thoughts somewhat. The psalmist, I believe, is not referring to himself, or by extension to you and I, but to the Christ, the One whose soul (life) was ransomed from the power of the grave. Death could not hold Him, for the resurrection defeated the power of the grave. God received Him.
Romans 1
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
He has the power of an indestructible life.
Hebrews 7
16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
Death no longer has any authority over the Son of Man. He is the One to whom we need to rely on, look to, receive guidance from, trust and follow after.
1 Corinthians 15
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have a claim on living forever, through the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be distracted by the psalmist’s reference to God and think you may choose the name of the God you may worship. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the only One who has been granted power over death is the One who entered into death and came out of the grave victoriously.
He is the One we are to be “in” if we are to be received by 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 49
10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.
The psalmist continues with a description of what the rich man observes, the consistency of death, even the necessity of death for both the wise and the fool.
It may be good to remember at this point of the psalm, that a reference to a fool does not describe the IQ of the man, or the educational training of the man, or even the personality of the man, but the man’s attitude or standing in relation to God. Brilliant men, according to this world, are often virulently against any concept of God’s existence and fully refuse to consider God as an authority to answer to. No wonder they seek to avoid the ultimate reality of death.
The psalmist brings to the reader the futility of wealth accumulation, in that money not only provides absolutely no bargaining power in death, but that all the rich man’s possessions remain on earth, distributed to others. All of his efforts in accumulating a resource for self sufficiency becomes a massive disappointment, a final defeat in his philosophy of life, and a failure in rescuing him at a time he needs help the most.
Which brings us back to idolatry, and its effect for both the rich and poor. We so often think of ourselves as modern, enlightened, progressive and intelligent. Yet our modern society has converted the practice of idolatry to an artform, dressed it in a different suit and paraded it about as an ideal. Very few of us physically bow to a statue in the home or a sanctuary in the neighborhood, but if we are trusting wealth instead of the Father, idolatry is still the result.
Let’s take a moment to consider a few verses regarding the the identification of idolatry, it’s powerlessness and the effect on the one who chooses idolatry.
Idolatry – Identified
Col 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Paul is straightforward in identifying idolatry in the book of Colossians and of course it seamlessly reinforces our psalmists theme of money and possessions being the focus of the idolater.
Idolatry – It’s Power
Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”
Although the psalm we are in spends time in describing the effects of idolatry on the worshipper, it is not alone in the Word in providing warnings of the disappointing deliverance of idolatry for the worshipper. The verse in Judges actually challenges those who have followed vain idols to continue to trust them, mocking their worship and abandoning the worshippers to a futile end. This brings us to the effect idols have on the worshipper.
Idolatry – It’s Effect
Jonah 2:8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
A man may only worship one philosophy, one ideal, one person. This is an unalterable truth. No multitasking in our worship. Joan is clear in that when we seek after a vain idol, we actually cut ourselves off from God’s love, His steadfast mercy and kindness that we all deeply seek after and need. When we move toward an idol, we move away from God!
Back to Psalm 49, where the author speaks of the wealthy mans efforts of extending his influence (instead of his physical life) into the future, by calling lands by their own name. They seek to be remembered, yet in all of the wealthy man’s efforts, it simply becomes a failed attempt to extend their self sufficiency and self imposed honor on those who are left behind.
The end result. The rich are cut down like the beast of the field, brought to silence and cut off from those they had influence over, those they abused. Earlier in the psalm, the author speaks of the poor man’s fear in the midst of the rich man’s iniquity, and of the cheating of the rich man, how he trusted in his riches (vs 5,6). It seems the fear, though so very real at the time, when considered as the psalmist does, is answered by faith, and is the solution for the believer.
As believers, we must rest on the fact that death is a universal condition for each of us, rich and poor, wise or fools. Many are continuing to rely on their wealth or influence to avoid the unavoidable, even to the abusing of the poor and weak, but this will be addressed within the next 100 years, for all reading this post will have entered that gate, the passage from physical life to spiritual existence.
A day of equalization is coming, when all will realize the futility of depending on any idol in place of God Almighty.
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 49
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
The psalmist starts out with the topic of fear, yet not his fear of death, but of those who trust in their riches. During his description of his fear he introduces the universality of death. All die. Rich and poor alike. Yet in the reflection of the psalmist, he centers in on the difference between the rich and poor in death. This comparison between the rich and poor is carried on throughout the psalm. Our standing in life, whether we are rich or poor, influences us in relation the death. Our standing in life creates an environment that fosters certain attitudes during our life regarding our eventual death.
Verse 5 begins with the poor asking himself why he is experiencing fear in relation to the sins of others. The rich cheat and steal, perform iniquity with abandon and the poor man experiences this abuse, for the rich man has the power! Surprisingly the abuse is not the focus though, for the poor speaks of fear in troubling times. Can you identify with the poor man?
On a personal note, it seems obvious that in our day, fear is not simply a by-product of the rich man abusing the poor, but is actually a vehicle to influence the poor to gain power over them. It seems troubling times are ever present with us, dangers continually nipping at our heals. A continual state of fear is bubbling up in our society. For the believer, how are we to relate to this?
We must understand that for the psalmist, his wisdom brings to us the truth that death is the great equalizer. We all die, and the rich have no advantage.
Verse 7 is central. The psalmist continues the theme of how money (or possessions) impact a mans relation to his death. The passage hearkens back to the law in Exodus 21:30
If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
This ransom speaks of paying a price that a crime requires in order to make restitution, or to balance the books due to some injustice. We often think of ransom in relation to a kidnapping, yet this is not the intended message.
The context of the Exodus passage above is that some rich man owns an ox that is known for hurting others, yet does not keep it secure, allowing the ox to gore again. If the ox kills the victim, the owner shall suffer a like sentence. He shall be put to death. Justice is harsh!
Yet the law of God allows an opportunity for the victim’s family to accept payment from the ox owner as a ransom, providing an alternate outcome for the owner. He gets to live! This ransom of the owners life is accomplished with money, whatever amount the victim’s family decides. The psalmist hearkens back to this passage with his reference to ransom, and flatly states in verse 7, there is no ransom that may be paid for the life of a man,. You may think that this is a contradiction, but consider.
The passage in Exodus did not rescue him from death, but simply delayed the eventual time of death. He will still die.
That is the very point of Psalm 49. Everyone will die, and the rich have no advantage over the poor. Money is useless when death comes knocking.
The psalmist continues with the theme of cost, and brings together the two types of men in this psalm. Money cannot ransom the rich man, nor redeem the poor man. The currency required to ransom or redeem a man’s life cannot be carnal possessions of an earthly value system. This is the stock of idolatry! To be trusting in earthly goods is not an equally good choice when compared with trusting in God, but but an affront, an insult to the Lord. Earthly goods cannot ransom a rich man, and the poor man cannot be redeemed with things under heaven.
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
This portion of Psalm 49 provides the conclusion that no one shall live forever, that all will see the grave. The author speaks of the desires of the rich man who would live on this earth forever, avoiding the death that is universal.
Some who obviously have no knowledge of this psalm speak of living on earth forever. This desire is becoming mainstream news in our very lives. (Don’t get me going on the trustworthiness of news headlines, but take it for what it is worth!)
The psalm stands. We all die! Face it and prepare. Run to the One who has provided the “currency” that pleases God for the redemption of each man’s soul. His blood is the precious “coin” that provides the ransom/redemption that rich and poor alike need.
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 49
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together! 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
The psalmist begins with calling all to listen. Not only the covenant people of Israel, but people of the nations, that is, all the folks of the world. No exceptions, for this topic is universal, without exception and applicable for all. He is calling his audience to come together, specifically those who naturally separate from one another. The rich seek to be away from the poor. The sons of men find ways to clique off from others.
This call is going out to all, equally to every person in the audience, whether he hears it or not. The call is an offer to understand, to comprehend a topic that both fool and wise experience, both rich and poor, both low and high.
The psalmist has spent time, effort, concentration and a willingness to hear the voice of God, to come to a conclusion on this topic that he is willing to provide for all. He shall speak wisdom and understanding, and supply a knowledge that is not commonly listened to, either in that age or even more so in our age.
The psalmist speaks on the inclination of his ear to a proverb. Of his focus to hear, to be open to the source of truth. He is not declaring his own inherent wisdom and understanding, but only that he is a container, a vessel in which truth and understanding may reside. Better yet, considering that he speaks of opening his mouth, the image is better represented not of a vessel but of a conduit, a pipe that is used to channel wisdom and understanding to others.
The topic that the psalmist breaches in this passage is the fact of death for all, and the repercussions of this truth for the living. How is the living to understand the truth of death? What benefits or warnings are can be found in the universality of death?
Does he describe an after death experience? That is not his focus, for he is not seeking to tickle our ears but to provide wisdom and understanding for those who would listen, for those who want to live in truth, and find the benefit and blessing that listening to truth provides.
One final thought for the day. Verse 4 speaks of solving the riddle with a lyre. The psalmist is seeking to make this truth, which is a difficult truth for some of his audience, that the communication of this truth would be presented with out any unnecessary harshness, that the truth would be garbed in a velvet glove. Truth is precious, yet if presented in it’s naked power, can become a wall as opposed to a bridge for those listening.
The nature of God’s loving character is such that He seeks to provide the truth, harsh as it is at times, in a manner that may have the greatest opportunity to be accepted. In this psalm, the author speaks of music providing that vehicle in which truth arrives.
For us today, a verse that comes to mind in this regard is Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Our speech, our communication to those in our audience, is to always be gracious. Paul speaks of the salt that may be required at times, that in the speech we provide to those around us, if a stinging truth is required, we are to continue to exercise gracious speech. A difficult topic is not justification to allow our speech to be harsh, judgmental or fierce.
Play the lyre in your speech today, and be thankful for truth.
In our next posting, we shall find that the truth the psalmist provides is regarding the very enemy the Lord has provided us rescue from. Although it is a universal truth, the lives we live often obscure, distract or completely hide the impact this truth should have in our lives. The psalmist seeks to rectify this.
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.
Psa. 48:12 ¶ Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, Psa. 48:13 consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation Psa. 48:14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.
Our final three verses in this marvelous psalm encourages the saint to consider the defense of Jerusalem. He begins the passage in speaking of Jerusalem’s towers, ramparts and citadels. He speaks of the citadels early on in our psalm, back in verse 3
Psa. 48:3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.
A citadel is a stronghold, sometimes referring to the castle or palace, but in this case, it appears to be referring to the city itself. The psalmist, at least from my understanding, is mixing pictures of the city’s defense, of speaking of the physical defenses, of the city itself, to impress upon the saint of the protection they experience through the city itself. But in verse 14, he makes his intent clear. The city represents the defense that God provides, and is a type or picture of the protection of God, who is the citadel, the ramparts and the towers that provide the actual protection.
Verse 14 is very interesting in that not only does it clear up who (or what) is the actual defense of Jerusalem, but that the protection the city experiences takes the psalmist to a “logical” conclusion.
The protection (or guidance) is from God and since He is forever, the protection is forever. What is interesting to me is an alternate reading for the verse. In the last phrase , the psalmist concludes with
Psalm 48:14 …He will guide us forever
The alternate reading is ..He will guide us beyond death
The psalmist speaks of the result of a great deliverance for the people of Jerusalem, and then speaks of death, that the God who protects, guides and delivers actually will continue His guidance and protection beyond the physical defense of the City and through death, even beyond death.
Does this not speak of the Lord Jesus, who entered into death to be our guide, our forerunner. As a matter of fact, as I read Hebrews 6, I find some uncanny parallels I had never noticed before with psalm 48. Consider.
Hebrews 6:18 – 20
so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The refuge of the Lord and His entering into the inner place as a forerunner both remind me of Psalm 48 and the emphasis of His being our protector and guide.
Consider the greatness of the Lord. He provides guidance and protection, much of the time without our knowledge or acknowledgement, and beyond that, continues to move forward in preparing and leading us, even through our most difficult enemy, that is death.
He has conquered death, and we may find a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul in Jesus our 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.
Psa. 48:9 ¶ We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. Psa. 48:10 As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Psa. 48:11 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments!
Steadfast love.
We often think of the Old Testament as depicting a God who is wrathful, full of vengeance and ready to judge. How can we reconcile that general impression with the specific verse we find in our passage this fine day?
For the Old Testament does not refer to the steadfast love of God only in this passage. The Old Testament God is the God of covenantal love, a love that is based on commitments, on promises and on His character. I have heard it said that the wrath of God is spoken of more in the New Testament than in the Old, and after considering it (although I have not studied it) I tend to see that as possible.
Yet I divert from the text, and our considering of the steadfast love of God.
The Old Testament often has prophets or writers speak of God as keeping the covenant, and of His lovingkindness. This was required for the people of God, for they often did not keep the covenant, but continually and instantly broke the marriage covenant they had with the God of all creation. Many times they may have considered God’s reaction to be similar to their faithfulness to the covenant, that all was lost, that He had abandoned them, that His patience wore thin. For the nation, this fear became a reality at the cross, as the old covenant was made obsolete by providing a better covenant.
Hebrews 8:13 ESV – In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
In the midst of our rebellion, it is the only message that will pull us back. Judgement and wrath, though spoken of throughout the Word, most often is provided to wake the listener, and without realizing the love of God, may only produce a self serving response, a short term commitment to Him in order to “get out of trouble”.
Fear of judgement is not a remedy for a broken relationship. Sacrificial love will heal a marriage, and make two one! Let us remember that it is not our sacrifice that is healing relationships with God, but His miraculous love toward His enemies that brings us back to Him.
Two verses from the prophets typify the Old Testament declaration of the love God for His people.
Jeremiah 31:3 the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Is. 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
In the final verses of this portion of Psalm 48, the psalmist speaks to the people of Israel and of their response. Joy, and rejoicing. The natural response of understanding the covenantal love of God is rejoicing. Do we get this?
As we venture through life, and we find the joy somewhat lacking in our life, consider who our God is. Think on the picture we see of the covenantal God who is faithful, expressing love to His people. He is the covenantal promise keeping God who has sacrificed all for your deliverance. Guilt is not a proper response, nor self loathing or fear.
He is a covenant keeping God, He is good, and He is good all the time! Rejoice!
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.
Psa. 48:4 ¶ For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together. Psa. 48:5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight. Psa. 48:6 Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. Psa. 48:7 By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish. Psa. 48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. Selah
In our last post on Psalm 48, we were reminded of the Lord’s presence as a fortress, a refuge for the saint to abide in, to enter into as the saint wants. In the midst of a difficult time, in a time of heavy work or leisurely relaxation, the fortress of our God is an eternal blessing that the saint may find solace in.
Not so for those outside of the Body. For those outside of the Body of Christ who oppose Him and those in His presence, the psalmist has a few words to say.
The psalmist speaks of the kings advancing on the city of Jerusalem, having a unified front, a show of force and intimidation. Yet as the enemies approached the city, they were astounded, stunned, and amazed. The reaction of the enemies speaks of the Lord’s revealing, for though the City had impressive physical defenses, they were not impenetrable. Consider the Babylonian and Roman victories. There was much more going on than simply a physical fortress that was presented to the enemies as they approached.
The psalmist speaks of the enemies actively running away, of not merely standing before the city in wonder, though that may have been an initial experience, but that the enemy actively reacted to the City, to the fortress they encountered.
The Psalm speaks of the enemy experiencing terror or panic. Seasoned soldiers are trained to not succumb to emotional tirades such as panic, and not to flee in terror. Yet this is what the kings of the surrounding nations experienced when they sought to attack the City.
The psalmist continues with describing the enemy as experiencing a trembling, as an anguish of a woman in labor. As many may know, I have five beautiful children and many more grandchildren and the experience of my wife and daughters in childbirth is all consuming. (At no time during childbirth did my favorite even suggest making me a tea!) This fear, this trembling the enemies experienced was all consuming, it latched onto the enemies hearts and minds, in unison amongst them all, and they as armies reacted accordingly by entering into full blown panic mode.
He has made Himself known to the saints in verse 3. Blessing
Psalm 48:3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.
He has also made Himself known to those who would attack the city of Jerusalem. Two completely different results.
Take wisdom from this contrast my friend, and flee to the fortress God has provided, for He has provided a refuge in His Son in order that we may be encouraged and not stricken by fear, panic and trembling.
Hebrews 6:18 …we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
You see, He really is good, all the time. Jesus is our refuge, our very present help in time of need.
Psa. 48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen…
As the passage ends for today, the psalmist speaks of experiencing the fortress of God, and not merely hearing of a past deliverance. Can you speak of experiencing His deliverance today? Not of your parents deliverance, or of your friends deliverance, or of your spouses deliverance. Your deliverance from the enemy. Whether it be the enemy of sin and death through your initial trust in His death and resurrection, or a daily experience of His care in your life.
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.
Psa. 48:0 ¶ A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Psa. 48:1 ¶ Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, Psa. 48:2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Psa. 48:3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.
Psalm 48, by many accounts, continues a response from the people of God concerning the deliverance that was described in Psalm 46. Personally, I lean to the deliverance that is referred to during the time of Sennacherib’s attempted invasion of Israel (under Hezekiah), but some consider the attack from the kings of Ammon and Moab (2 Chronicles 20:1, 10) to be the historical deliverance of Israel (under Jehoshaphat) referred to in this psalm.
I will not enter any argument for either, except to say that Israel experienced multiple time of deliverance, multiple times where the Great King protected Hs people.
He is the subject of this Psalm, though it’s focus appears to be the City of the Great King, that city would be nothing if it weren’t for the presence of the Great King. As mentioned above, the City had experienced deliverance multiple times, seen great provisions and protection, found a steady help and constant refuge in the city, all due to the presence of the King.
Did the inhabitants feel His presence every day, every minute? Did they sense this protection, this Great King personally overseeing and guarding His people. Obviously not, since both attacks from the enemies caused the population to enter into stress mode, finding relief only after their deliverance. After being delivered in such a way as to be obviously from Him.
The psalmist states it beautifully – He made Himself known.
He was present in the City, overseeing that which was required, and quietly expressing His care for those who were, at least sometimes unaware of His personal intervention, His personal oversight.
Not only is He watching, this psalm speaks of His presence being a refuge for the people, a fortress. The term for fortress in this psalm is also found in Psalm 46.
Psalm 46:7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Psalm 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The refrain in Psalm 46 speaks of the results of His being made known. In Psalm 48, He is made known by the response of the enemy, by the historical results of the defense provided to the City that was otherworldly. He manifested His presence in the deliverance of His people against an attack.
He was there at all times. The attack brought about the realization of His presence.
As we go through our day, we spend much of it “taking care of business”, occupied with activities we need to concentrate on, tasks that need our focus and concentration. Sometimes this continual stress of meeting deadlines, of satisfying expectations, of providing a service to others, of being a blessing to those in need (and we are all in need!) becomes all we experience. All of this activity, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, becomes the only thing we live in, and yet He is in the midst of it.
Surely He does not reveal Himself to our senses 24/7, for He is not our personal servant, waiting only to satisfy our wants and wishes, to remove our discomforts and concerns. At times He may seem distant, He may seem far off and not actively working in our lives, but He is our fortress. He is our refuge.
We need only to listen for His voice, wait on Him for guidance, ask for His direction and will. At the point when we reach out, whether there be enemies at the door, or we are just consumed in a daily grind, He will reveal Himself. He will reveal Himself in a quiet still voice, a quiet presence that calms the heart, assuring those who seek Him that He is there.
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. Let’s take a few seconds to read this psalm, before we enter into our considerations.
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
In our last post we spoke of how the Lord is over all the peoples and how the psalmist opens his eyes to the truth that God is not restricted to the national boundaries of Israel. This thinking is “out of the box” thinking for an Old Testament saint, for it was common to consider the nation of Israel as the favored nation, and that somehow, this restricted God to their cause.
This became a trap for the nation, as it does for our modern church, to the point we actually attribute God as being on our political side, as One who would defend our national interests no matter what, and that would protect our way of living, since He loves us (more than others?). You see, if we read the Word carefully, we find out that He is not on our side politically, nationally, or religiously. We are to be on His side! There is quite a difference!
Also, it is very easy to consider Him to be our servant for our interests! He has stooped down to our place! He has washed our feet! He has suffered for our sake! There is no denying the tremendous humbling the Savior has entered into to connect with His people, to provide life and love to us, to give us the Spirit for guidance, comfort and conviction.
Yet He is the King of Kings, and His position is described beautifully in our next portion of Psalm 47.
5. God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
Our first phrase catches my attention.
God has gone up with a shout
The psalmist informs us that upon the victory over the Israeli enemy, God ascended with a shout. The term “shout” may be understood as a battle cry, or a trumpet blast. This is a repetition of the next phrase in our psalm, and we must remember that Hebrew poetry consists of synonymous thoughts, unlike our modern way of writing poetry, in which we merely rhyme the last word. The Hebrews “rhymed” thoughts. In other words, they often provided a thought, and then said it in another way. In this instance, the Psalmist rephrased his thoughts by writing…
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
I am so tempted to link this with the New Testament, where the apostle speaks of the trumpet blast as Lord descends at the second coming.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
I say tempted, since my temptation is based on associating of the idea of a trumpet blowing in both passages. I have often ignored context and favored word links like this to create a connection in Bible passages, but now see that as unwise.
The reference to God ascending should make us consider this to be an event that is not associated with the second coming. The ascension spoken of here, directly by the psalmist, is of the Lord returning to His throne after He brought devastation on the Assyrians, rescuing His people, and displaying His authority for all the nations to see.
This reference of ascension speaks of His returning to His throne, and as the psalmist describes this action, the fallout is the retelling of the fact that He is the King over all the earth, that He reigns over all the nations. Again, the psalmist drives home the point that our God is not some local deity that is restricted to a lone culture, a geopolitical region or some people group.
As believers in the Messiah, we understand that the Old Testament provides shadows of greater truths revealed in the bright shining light of the Messiah. This passage explodes with a truth that is the capstone of the Messiah’s victory, for in the telling of this victory over the Assyrians, the psalmist foreshadowed the victory Christ attained in His resurrection, and His subsequent ascension to the throne. He ascended into heaven with a shout, a trumpet blast, indicating the war for the souls of all men had been initiated through His ascension, declaring of His ruling over all.
He is over all, and upon this truth Jesus speaks to us, as the risen King over all, the exalted One who is ruling over all nations.
Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
In summary, there is one fitting response to this truth.
Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
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 47
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
Our current psalm is extension of psalm 46, a wonderful psalm speaking of a victory over an enemy. Although the 46th psalm is often thought of in our modern times as a highly personal psalm, providing encouragement in times of difficulty, its purpose initially was to embolden and encourage Israel in facing an enemy nation. Israel was facing a dire threat during the writing of the 46th psalm and many Bible teachers link it with Hezekiah’s confrontation against Assyria.
Considering this possible background, verse 10 takes on a whole new meaning
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Israelites literally were still while the Lord took care of 185,000 Assyrians. He was exalted among the nations, not only Egypt in the past, but now over Assyria.
But let us focus on 47, for that is our current Psalm. Many Bible scholars consider Psalm 47 (and 48) to be a continuation of the settings Psalm 46 was penned under, even picking up previous thoughts and topics found earlier. Let us consider this to be accurate and enter into Psalm 47.
The psalmist is instructing all peoples to clap their hands. Peoples? I assumed initially that this term “peoples” must refer to the nation of Israel, since the context seems to speak of a victory over another nation. And yet, psalm 47:3 speaks of the subjugation of “peoples” under us. This is the very same term the psalmist used earlier and makes understanding “peoples” in verse 1 as the Israelites confusing.
So what is going on here? Let me try to explain.
This psalm directs all acts of praise, even acts of praise of those who are subdued to the Lord, the Most High, the Great King. He is not to be considered a god restricted to the land of Israel, as if only the Israelites were allowed to be worshippers, but He is the King of Kings, over all other deities, national leaders, religious systems and cultural arrangements. The psalmist writes of the Lord as being over all, directing all nations (peoples) to rejoice, even if experiencing a crushing defeat as the Assyrians did in Hezekiah’s day. All nations would hear of this act by the Great King, and recall once more that He is the Most High, higher than any of the national deities neighboring peoples bowed down to.
God was alive and active, and provided visible obvious proof of His greatness to not only the nation of Israel, but those who were foolish enough to seek other gods than Him.
It is amazing that many forms of praise are referred to in this psalm, whether it be the clapping of the hands, shouting to God, or singing praises to the Most High. All forms of praise are instructed, and we would do well to remember that restricting a brother to a specific form of praise that we are comfortable with is not wise. When the praise focuses on God (and does not bring undo attention to the one praising), we should join in and give thanks for the manifold ways God provides His people to vent their need to look to Him.
One additional thought regarding the concept of God not being restricted to a certain nation, but that He is over all, is the misdirection we believers sometimes accept in assigning the Lord of heaven as our national defender. He is over all, and as the New Testament witnesses, His “nation” is the organic living church, His body through which He reaches all peoples.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
With that thought, is it biblical to assume He defends one physical nation against another? That He actively promotes a favored nation over another nation? This condition may have been understood during the days of the theocracy of Israel, but the arrangement of a favored nation has come to an end. Israel, as a physical national theocracy is no more, and the church has the privilege of spreading the truth of His reign throughout all peoples.
Let’s pursue this thought a bit further. Upon what basis can any believer make the claim that his nation is favored over another nation? The Lord is over all the peoples, and for Him “to take sides” in one nation gaining power over another nation seems to be in conflict with the character of our Savior. Dang, He didn’t even get involved in civil matters when one in a crowd asked Him to judge over the inheritance he had received!
Luke 12:13-14 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
After all, He is at “war”, not to provide land to some physical nation in order to increase power over others, but in seeking the lost, whether they be American, Chinese, Ukrainian or Russian. His war is to provide healing of the nations, to bring about a peace amongst brothers and to provide unity of the Body.
His war is unlike any we naturally consider, for His war is not against us, but is for us, for our souls.
I imagine that the physical death of any soul due to a physical war, and that a battle’s victory being attributed to Him must break His heart. He has told us that He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, and to attribute the success of one soul killing another soul to His name must give Him sorrow beyond my comprehension
Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”
In the second half of the Psalm, we will read of an even greater truth regarding the Lord, that provides further support of Him being over all peoples. This Psalm provides greater reasons to praise His name when looking to Him as being over all peoples, and not simply our little world we want defended, whether national or cultural.
God is much bigger than we imagine, and realizing the greatness of God is of great benefit to the saint. I hope to see you next time, and as you venture through your day, remember He is over all peoples, whether they like it or not, and that our interaction with them needs to reflect that truth.
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 46
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
In this psalm, we have seen the protection, provision, availability and declaration of the Lord. The psalmist continues with a description of God providing the help, and that right early, even as the dawn breaks. The wars are raging, yet He causes them to cease. He breaks the weapons of warfare, and destroys the implements to enter into battle.
This psalm is speaking to the saint only. The heathen will not care for or even desire to read of this victory to be provided to the saint. For the saint, on the other hand, this passage speaks of a strength we cannot understand, that we cannot muster up in our own energies, or that is available in any other but God.
This strength is gained in the saint, by beholding the works of the Lord, and of the desolations He has caused. Even in the desolations, God has created something beautiful, in that the cultures or societies that did fade and disappear were rescued by the gospel, where the city of God provided a refuge for those who desired to put down their arms, to leave war behind and to experience joy and peace.
He makes wars to cease unto the ends of the earth. As the declaration of the gospel moved unto the ends of the earth, the influence of a peaceful, joy filled body impacted the societies they were a part of, as it should be today. But I fear we look unto God as a warrior not unlike a great human leader, who controls by fear and domination.
Is that your God?
Be still, and know that He is God. Be still, my friend. Consider who your God is.
He is not One who overpowers you, shouts out His demands, dominating and forcing Himself in a overbearing fashion, subjugating and vanquishing you by authority or fear! His presence and character is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the full revelation and expression of God’s nature, of His sacrificial love to His enemies, in the self denying acceptance of death on a cross for those who hung Him there.
Is that how you see God?
When you think of God, do you see Him like James and John, who wanted to bring fire down on the Samaritans? Or is your God the One who rebukes that thinking, and instead reaches out, conquering enemies, making wars cease, through loving kindness and truth.
He is looking for those who will be still, who will remove the distractions and noise, who want to understand our loving, kind God.
Paul provides his thoughts on “being still” in a passage that shocked me when I first read it. 2 Corinthians speaks of the saint being transformed. Of course I entered into reading this passage thinking are to be transformed through ministry, service, sacrifice and self denial. The greater my service the more I am loved, and therefore the more I become like Him.
What poppycock! (That means garbage for those who are mystified by my words!)
Let’s consider the passage.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
You see, Paul, like the psalmist, speaks of us “beholding the glory of the Lord”, and in this looking, or staring at the Lord and His character, His works, His actions, and all that He has done, through looking (and not our efforts!) we are transformed!
As the psalmist began this wonderful psalm, we are to remember that He is a very present help, that He is “findable”, and in the finding, we shall be transformed into His likeness.
Only the Lord would take on this gargantuan task, allowing a sinner like myself to find Him, to be given the privilege to begin to behold Him and to enter into a growing realization that the God we serve is ever present and able to transform us into His likeness.
Take time to find Him today, to be still, to behold the glory of the Lord in His sacrificial life!
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 46
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
In our last post we considered the fears a saint may reject if we know our God as a refuge and strength, who is not only able to help the saint, but most assuredly, He is available to the saint. We found that the passage may describe a situation that is not unlike our own, where we find systems breaking down, moral corruption and social decay. The psalmist spoke of the earth moving and the mountains shaking. Turbulent catastrophes that have the natural result being the striking of fear in the population. A natural result of catastrophes is fear, but for the saint, as the psalmist describes our God as a provider of strength and ever available, would allow the saint to reject this fear! There is a refuge to be found and a strength to rely on!
The psalmist continues with describing a river. A river that has streams feeding into it. The picture in my mind is of a mighty river, with many tributaries (streams) feeding into it. It appears the psalmist is drawing a contrast with the water based upheaval in the previous verse, of the water roaring and the mountains crashing into the sea.
You see, this river isn’t turbulent, roaring or destructive as the fear inducing sea is above. It makes glad the city of God. It produces joy, or merriment. No fear in this scene, for the joy replaces the fear.
And yet the psalmist seems to be stating this is a current condition for the saint, that the fear discussed in verse 2, which the saint decides not to live in, is contrasted or replaced with this experience of joy and peace.
Don’t get me wrong when I mention we can choose to reject fear as if that was something any person can do. Fear is not to be replaced by dogged determinism, by simply saying no to fear, but by chasing after or deciding to have the joy of the Lord that He provides.
If He doesn’t provide this joy (but praise God He does), all the decision making of the most determined person out there to reject fear would still simply leave him full of pride. What a fearful place to be! But this river that provides joy is only at the City of God, the church of the Living Savior.
God is in the midst of her, and we cannot speak of this truth without understanding that the city of God is the church, a body of believers that have confessed Jesus as Lord and seek to follow after Him in their crippled, weak and imperfect ways. This church will not be moved, or as the Master said
Matthew 16:18 …I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it
The psalmist continues with describing the stability of the church, the city of God. God shall help her and that right early, or just at the break of dawn. Many of the popular translations refer to the dawn breaking in relation to when God will help the church. This implies in my thinking that the church may have to go through dark periods of trial prior to the help received from God. This requires the faith that is so critical at times when it seems the God who is available doesn’t seem to be paying attention.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
In support of the thinking that the first few verses as speaking of national catastrophe as opposed to geological ruination of the planet, the psalmist speaks of the heathen raging, resulting in the moving of a kingdom. We have political upheaval being described here, where those who do not live in the city of God (heathen) are raging, making noise, and causing kingdoms to move. As we see disruptions in our society, and voices demanding change to satisfy their wants, we see kingdoms change. Whether in the west or the east, the power of the combined voice of the people will change kingdoms. Mob raging makes change happen!
Multiplied voices of heathen can rage. And move a kingdom.
He simply utters His voice. A single voice pronouncing a statement. A declaration that changes everything. The earth, as a result of His declaration, is spoken of as melting away, dissolving, being consumed!
This declaration is not defined in this passage, but may I suggest a New Testament reference?
The declaration that “melts” the earth is
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:3-4
His resurrection is the “declaration” we need to run to, we need to take refuge in, the resurrection that produced the City of God, and has given a river of joy to all who follow.
The psalmist returns to reminding us that God is a refuge. Notice that God is the refuge, and not the city of God, blessing that it is.
He alone is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of need.
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 46
1 To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Psalm 46, such a well known psalm, consists of a number of passages within it that are very familiar. Our first verse is such a verse, speaking of God and our need of Him in troubling times
The psalmist begins with declaring God’s abilities first.
Abilities
Notice our opening phrase “God is our refuge and strength” does not speak of any specific time or occurrence in the saints life where God was needed. This phrase sets forth a truth of God, in that His nature is that of protecting and providing. Yes, the psalmist refers to God as “our” refuge, and we shall venture into the relationship we are privileged to enjoy with this All-Sufficient One. But let us consider the God the psalmist presents to us in this verse
Protection
God is a refuge.
When this term refuge appears in my reading, I usually ask which danger is present that requires the refuge, for a refuge is not required when all is at peace. A refuge is needed during dangerous times. Therefore as the psalmist speaks of God as a refuge, he is also indirectly expressing a danger that is present.
A common alternate translation for this Hebrew word is a shelter, and it is sometimes related to the physical arena.
Isaiah 4:6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
More often than not, this term speaks of the spiritual arena, where it caries with it the idea of hope, a shelter from lies and deception, even from ourselves. Consider Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
One of my favorite verses in the Psalms speaks of God’s people openly pouring out their hearts before God, and then declares God as our refuge. Is the Psalmist telling me that I can have freedom in expressing my heart before God without fear of danger?
I cannot resist one final verse on the topic of God being a refuge.
Hebrews 6:18 – so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
As believers, we have fled for refuge in the Lord Jesus. Jesus is a refuge!
Provision
Not only is God a refuge, He is a providing God.
The psalmist speaks of God as providing strength, or might. This term is used in multiple applications, ranging from strengths in the personal, social, political, and physical arenas. Implications of this term include boldness of the one receiving the strength, for if one has strength, fear and intimidation fade into the background. Note that confidence (or boldness) is also associated with the sense of safety provided by a refuge. Consider Hebrews 6:18 above.
Since it is God that is providing strength, one more implication is that we are weak. In all our strengths, God is stronger. In areas we deem we have sufficient strength, it may be necessary to reconsider our position. Our self estimation may become a dangerous position for us to reside in.
But I understand that God is One who protects us and provides shelters, even from ourselves. He is overall and superior to us in everyway, though the psalmist focuses on protection and provision in this first verse.
God can (is able) to provide and protect, but is He too far away, is He too busy, or is He not interested? Foolish questions as I write them, yet how often have you quietly thought the same? The psalmist addresses our thoughts, with the very pleasant outcome that God is not only able, but available!
Availabilities
He also is available.
One who can provide and protect, but that isn’t available is of no comfort or use to those who are in danger, to those who are weak and in need. But the psalmist does not describe God as One who is unwilling or unavailable.
The truth of His continual existence gives confidence, but this term does not directly speak only of a continual existence, for we know of God as being the eternal, everlasting One. This term speaks of a One who is not hiding from those who seek Him, but of One who is “findable” (Is that a word?)
When we read the term “present” in this verse, the root meaning in the Hebrew seems to be “to attain”, or “to find”. Could we, without damage to the message the Psalmist is providing us, consider this phrase to be understood as ” a very findable help in trouble”?
This very thought is continued into the New Testament in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The Hebrews author speaks of the believer finding grace to help. Not only is this passage speaking to the “findability” of help in the Lord, but also of the provision of mercy as we may receive.
Let’s consider verse 2 & 3
We have spent the majority of this post on one phrase within the first verse, and rightly so, for if we understand Who God is, or should I say, if we are learning of Who our God is, (for He is more than we can ever fully know), we can enter into the experience the psalmist describes in the two verses above.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
The Psalmist uses the logical term “Therefore” in verse 2, and as a young believer I was taught to always check why the “therefore” was there for! To remember that the message following the “therefore” is based on the previous information, this being the God Who is described in verse 1.
One last dip into verse 1 is important to bring up. He is our refuge and strength. The earlier descriptions focused on Who God is, and rightly so, but in all of that description, we need to come back to the relationship with God that is stated, and upon which the therefore is there for!
No matter the disasters that occur, fear is a decision that is not required to be entered into as a saint belonging to the Living God. But what is the fear caused by?
Earth Giving Way
The psalmist speaks of the earth giving way. That ain’t good, no matter how you slice it! The Hebrew term for earth in this verse is ‘ereṣ, and is translated as “earth” over 700 times in the Old Testament. But the Hebrew word is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament, with it translated as “land” more than 60% of the time.
Therefore, if the psalmist was speaking of the physical earth, the entire planet we exist on, he may be describing catastrophic geological upheaval that results in a near or complete loss of all life on earth (for if the earth is the subject, the geological changes would result in massive death and destruction.)
If the psalmist is thinking land, as opposed to earth, he may be describing massive changes within the “land” (of Israel), and speaking of a national localized upheaval. Something to consider.
Mountains Moving
Moving onto the shaking mountains, there are some places in the Old Testament that the terminology of mountains speak of kingdom, of political power structures.
One of these examples may be found in Jeremiah, where he addresses the Babylonian Kingdom, and addresses it as a “destroying mountain”
Jeremiah 51:24-25 “I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.
One other example may be found in the book of Daniel, where Daniel speaks of the God of heaven setting up a kingdom.
Daniel 2:35, 44-45
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. …
For this short study on “earth” and “mountains”, my intent is to offer my reader a possible interpretation of the circumstances the psalmist is describing. (If the entire earth is being referred to, fear may not be the issue at all for we all shall have perished!)
This understanding of the psalmists message in relationship to government stability is so applicable to us who are watching the current upheaval within our own systems, and a national breakdown that seems to have no good end in sight. Deterioration of our moral and social order that we took for granted just a decade ago has suddenly given way to a new thinking, and a new way of understanding our culture and way of life. Supply systems are broken and misinformation is rampant. It is impossible to determine what is correct, and therefore what to base decisions on. Things are out of control!
Yet, as we shall be refreshed to see in the next passage, there is a source we can find gladness in. Verse 1 speaks of our God as a refuge and a strength. A findable help in times of trouble.
Our current days are sufficient to require every believer to reach out to our God, to find Him and to take the shelter and provision He gladly provides.
In finding Him, we shall loose the fear we may be walking in, as we see things falling apart. Take courage my friend, in the Lord and Him only, for 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 45:13-17
All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.
With our final portion of Psalm 45 before us, we see the procession of the princess to the King, of her glory, typified by her wedding robes.
Her procession to the King is described as joyous and with gladness. She is not described as being of a sober nature but with anticipation for the ceremony of marriage to be performed. Note that she has those who minister to her, not unlike the church today, where we have ministering spirits.
Hebrews 1:14
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Verse 14 states, “She is led to the King”, and the following verse speaks of her being “led along as they enter the palace of the King”. The bride is led, and not allowed to determine her course of entry before the King. Her and her companions are dependent on some unknown servant of the King to bring her to Him. A servant that is not described, a silent servant that is not directly referred to.
When I consider the act of leading for the believer today, I invariably turn to John 16.
John 16:13-14
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit does not speak of Himself but of the Master. The Spirit will guide us, as the Bride was guided (or led) to the King. As the One leading the Bride in this passage, the Spirit is One who serves the King, directs all attention to the King, leads those who follow to the King and not to Himself. In our modern church, this truth may need to be considered for some who may place an emphasis not wholly on the Son of God.
Verse 16 speaks of sons and fathers. In the midst of the theme of the Bride being instructed to “forget he fathers house”, the passage speaks of a replacement of the fathers with sons. In a marriage, children would be expected, and typically become the focus of the bride. In the typology of this Psalm, I understand that the emphasis described in this passage of the marriage would be to produce sons. Multiplication of the Kings nature and character would be the emphasis, as opposed to looking backward to the fathers of the faith.
And don’t miss the intended outcome for these sons. They are to become princes in all the earth. Princes! How wonderful that the church will be elevated to a status of princes, no – not just princes but to a status of a joint heir.
Romans 8:17
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
And yet let us not forget that in all of the marriage and family discussion within this wonderful psalm, one purpose is to be remembered. One end result of each of the previous actions is to be realized. and what is that end goal, the purpose of each action and description above?
It is simply that His name is to be remembered, and the nations praise Him. God, in all His glory and attributes, in all His wisdom and strength, in all His mercy and grace is to be recalled, and based on His excellent glories, the nations will praise Him forever and ever.
The marriage of the King to His bride has one intended long-term effect, and that is to glorify the Godhead and bring praise from the nation to His throne.
Romans 11:36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Let us take part in this today, as we go about our daily lives. Remember Him, think of His many acts of grace toward you, and praise Him in the midst of your day. For He is good, all the time!
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 45:10-12
Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.
With the beginning of verse 10, our view transitions from the King/Bridegroom, to the Bride.
Instructions hearkening back to the original “leaving of your parents, cleaving to your husband” ring true in this passage, as the Bride is directed to hearken, incline her ear, and consider to forget her people and her father’s house. In our modern world (with our modern thinking), this seems so harsh, so destructive to a positive relationship with the brides family.
Consider some of the saintly women in the Old Testament that left their family behind, to be joined to a man for life.
Sarah left her family behind, following Abraham into a wilderness. left her family on the witness of a servant, without seeing Isaac, her future husband. Rachel also left her family behind, although Jacob did stay with her family for two decades. Eventually, she also left her parents and family.
Yet the bride is instructed, not only to leave her family behind, but also her people, or the tribe/nation she was associated with. Her entire identity was to be “lost” in order to find her new life with the Bridegroom.
My very own wife has experienced both these separations in a stepped process, as the very day of our wedding was the day we left her hometown and family and moved 4 hours away. Of course, we had the modern convenience of transportation to visit her family on a rare occasion, but eventually our lives pulled us farther and farther away, eventually leaving the nation we grew up in. My favorite has went through numerous cultural and national transitions in her commitment to her hubby. The passage goes on to say …
and the king will desire your beauty
Now don’t get me wrong, for I am no king, but as I have grown old with my favorite, I have caught myself staring at her, desiring her more every year we are together. My view of her beauty has evolved from seeing a gorgeous lady to a deeper realization of who this lady is. Of course I love to look at her, for she is “pertier” today than when I married her. But beyond my favorites physical appearance, and with each experience we have, my understanding of her character, personality and commitment shines through.
Is this not the very call of God on each of His people. Our identity in and with this world is to be lost in order to gain the name of Christ.
Galatians 6:14 ESV – But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
My wife and I have been together for over 40 years now, through thick and thin. Her commitment to his family is fierce and her heart breaks for every pain we go though. She goes without in order to provide, and is willing to be stretched to ease her families times of trouble. My estimation of this lady has consistently grown and my desire has only increased as she works out this principle.
This Psalm directs the Kings bride to forget her own people and family, in order to focus on her mate. Out of this commitment, the King will greatly desire her beauty. Note that transition. The Psalm speaks of the brides responsibilities of abandoning her family and friends in order for the King to greatly desire her. The King seeks full and total allegiance from His bride, and out of this loyalty or fidelity to the King, the King’s desire would increase.
As the bride of Christ, our fidelity to Him is to be absolute. Is it fair to say that as we fight the good fight to be faithful to the true King, our efforts, desires and willingness increase the Kings love toward us? Is that heresy? I think not, for even while walking with us on this ball of mud, the Savior had those He attended to more than others. His love for each of us is exorbitant, and it is hard to understand the grace He has exercised toward us. Yet, in some way that I fear I am failing at describing, our fidelity to Him does effect His desire toward each of us.
If that is so, let us seek to “forget our people and our father’s house”, in order to remember Him and His great love toward us. Let us consider His ways, and walk in them, in order for all to see that we have a Bridegroom that we love.
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 45:6-9
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Earlier, in our previous posts, we have stated their are implications that this King in not the common, run of the mill King that ascended the throne of Israel, and then descended into shame and eventually death. This King was gracious, and received blessing for ever! We have seen where the passage describes this King as meek, and the battle not as expected.
In our next passage, the Psalmist blurts it out. He can’t hold it back. It is boiling over, the identity of this King cannot be retrained any further. Any why should it be, for this King is the ultimate King, a King that is a King over all other Kings.
The author of Hebrews sees this passage as descriptive of the Lord Jesus, and His identification as God.
Hebrews 1:8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
The Son is God, and His throne is forever and ever. This is the cornerstone of Christianity, the foundation of our faith, the center and circumference of all we understand. The eternal God, in the person of Jesus Christ is the ruling King.
The psalmist continues his description of the King, describing His scepter as a scepter of righteousness. As monarchies are a fading method of government in our modern societies, it may serve us well to understand the accoutrements of the King.
For a King, three outward forms of recognition are commonly associated with his royal identity.
The Throne
The passage speaks of the Kings throne, and this is the only fixed item of the three. The King would go to the throne, ascend the throne, and the throne was for no other. Since the psalmist describes this throne as the throne of God, and remembering the eternal nature of God, this ascension could not be speaking of the Father God and His ascending, since that would imply a time of His not being King. This ascension, in my understanding, is of the God-man Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, after the period with His disciples, when He visibly rose to the heavens in bodily form, to reign over the Kingdom of God.
The Scepter
Our passage also describe the scepter of the King and this item is not as familiar to our modern way of thinking. What did a scepter represent? First off, the scepter is typically a staff held by the monarch during his time on the throne, and represents the Kings authority, or sovereignty. His authority to make decisions that will without any formal recourse will be implemented simply on the desire of the King.
A common misconception is that sovereignty is synonymous with control, and I have yet to find this association in the Word. Authority of a King is not lessened by his granting a measure of freedom to His subjects. As a matter of consideration, a wise and benevolent King would grant a measure of freedom to his subjects in order to express their allegiance or rebellion. Complete and absolute control of a “king” over his subject’s every decision would mimic a dictatorship, and not a healthy kingdom.
The scepter represented the Kings authority, and provided the King a symbol, or a tool, to exhibit His decision to an audience. His internal ruminations of all aspects required to be considered in the making of a wise and righteous decision could be communicated to his audience by the use of his scepter. The scepter did not posses the authority, but only represented it
The Crown
Of course a crown identifies the ruler as the head of the nation, in combination with the throne and scepter. The crown is often associated with a coronation ceremony, mixing the crown and the anointing of the King together, and represents a symbol of achievement, or attainment for the one crowned.
Our King wore a crown, and it brought blood to His brow. The crown of thorns the guards impaled on our Saviors head, was a wretched attempt by the Romans to mock His claim of authority. The mockery He endured
Yet it wasn’t just mockery that this one (of many) evil acts was intended to inflict on our Lord.
Many identify this crown of thorns as being woven from a plant called Euphorbia. If this is the correct plant, it has a toxic sap that irritates the skin and eyes, causing painful inflammation. Considering the massive suffering He would undergo in the next hours, with the whipping and the eventual crucifixion, this initial effort of humiliation brought with it an associated physical pain.
Each aspect of His suffering carried with it multiple areas of attack, including the physical, emotional, volitional and spiritual arenas of His life. In every arena of possible suffering, He experienced depths of pain, loneliness, shame and abandonment that I can not imagine, or comprehend.
Sometimes it is good to dwell on one aspect of His suffering for us, for the entire passion is unfathomable. Take a few minutes considering the Messiah’s crown of thorns.
He is the King, yet He suffered prior to His glory.
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.
In our last post we spoke of the theme of love, of the psalm as depicting a marriage between a King and His bride, and of a battle the King would enter into. Although the first verse did not describe the warfare motif, we do enter into it here.
Let’s read on to get a sense of the direction this psalm takes us
Psalm 45:2-5
You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you.
The subject of this passage is the superlative subject, the most handsome One, One who exercises gracious speech, One who is blessed forever. He is the stellar, highest example of the created being, and yet is blessed forever. Did you get that? He is described as created yet obtaining eternal blessing. Alone, without the next few verses, an argument for the hypostatic union (that is, the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ) could be made. He is a man. He has eternal blessing, implying His eternal existence. Truly we are entering into a very high truth about this King! And we are finding this King to be a gracious One, and that characteristic is worthy of resting on for a moment to consider.
Years back, a preacher challenged me to consider God as not good. A thought exercise that revealed to me some great truths I take for granted.
Gracious Lips
One truth is the gracious words of the Messiah. What if His words were judgmental, condemning and filled with contempt toward His rebelling creation! Could not an argument be made that He has a right for this attitude toward His sinning people? This is the importance of the revelation we are provided, since without it, it would be a logical conclusion, based on our experience, that His speech would be more like ours. How frightful!
Consider any passage in the New Testament, and replace Jesus with yourself. Consider your response to the disciples as they frustrate you. Consider your speech those who constantly wanted something. Consider your reactions to those seeking your destruction, even from the time of birth! Even in His rebukes, He showed restraint, grace, patience and a meekness that is impossible to comprehend. If He exercised the tongue I exercise, bitterness, anger and jealousies would be commonplace.
But He didn’t, since He is a good God, One whose lips have been filled with grace and truth.
Battle Ready
The topic of a battle is entered into in verse 3. The King, described as the most handsome, gracious and blessed, will now enter into battle.
Weapon of War
A sword. The King has girded a sword to His thigh, in preparation for the battle. In Old Testament picture form, this description brings to our imagination a King ready to shed blood, to vanquish his enemies though death and destruction, through subjection by force and brutality. This sword, in the theocracy of Israel, represented dominion over other countries and peoples for the sake of the Kings throne. Yet this picture, even within this Psalm, needs to be reconsidered, for the psalmist will surprise us in the next verse.
Cause of War
The King will ride out victoriously, for a specific cause or reason, and that reason is threefold.
Truth
As we are well aware in our modern society, truth is the first fatality of war, with propaganda used to support the reason for a war, to support the moral of the troops, to keep the nation unified (?) and to justify bloodshed and destruction. This King, in His march to war, is going out to war because of truth, even to spread truth, in response to truth. Truth is the banner this King is basing the war upon.
Meekness
This term is where a hint is dropped that the typical picture of a blood lusting King is not being described. A King that is seeking an expansion of His Kingdom for the purpose of worldly power and riches. This King described is going to battle for the sake of meekness.
Meekness speaks of gentleness, even condescension. How can any king wage war as we know it without a bravado, an elevated ego of self importance, of a “look at me” leadership quality. This description of meekness, or of gentleness, reminds me the true King, the King who is being described over and over again in this Psalm.
Matthew 11:29 is the only self description Jesus provides of His person.
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.
This battle is not the type of battle I expected as I began reading this Psalm.
Righteousness
Our last characteristic of the cause of this battle or war is righteousness. Righteousness, in my mind is the perfect balancing of all of the characteristics of our God. Even in the Old Testament, love was the dominant, overarching characteristic of our God, for the Old Testament often stated His love for the nation, or in His practice of His patient calling back of the nation.
One psalmist could not repeat the truth of the Lord’s “stedfast love” enough. Psalm 136 repeats this truth every verse, for 26 verses. God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Result of War
A battle field strewn with corpses, blood flowing into waterways, the stench of death permeating the area with columns of smoke rising from the fires. Is this the picture you are seeing in this psalm? Bodies with arrows sticking out of the enemies chest?
Let’s take a hint from the description of why the King is waging war, and consider the One who is leading the battle. It must be obvious by now that the battle is spiritual, that the Gentle King is waging war with His Sword, a sword that cuts into us, into our very being and not simply into our body.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
His arrows are sharp. The weapons Jesus uses to conquer His enemies pierce the heart. No blood is seen in this picture other than the blood of our sacrificial King in drawing us to Him, turning us from enemies to worshippers. Those Jesus is conquering, do fall under Him, but not in death, but as a result of the gift of life, in worshipping Him.
The result of this war is to conquer, but through love and not hatred, though compassion and meekness, not destruction and pride. How different is our Messiah. how utterly beyond our imagination His work toward us.
Let us be different, not for the sake of simply being different, but for the sake of following after our “battling” King!
For He is good, all the time, and His steadfast love endures forever!
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.
Todays passage is found in Psalm 45, one of a number of royalty / coronation psalms, with the passage speaking of two parties in a wedding.
Verse 2 – 9 speaks of the bridegroom, whilst verses 10 – 17 describes the royal bride. Given a number of verses within the body of the psalm, it becomes apparent this psalm is Messianic, and deliver to it’s readers a description of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom, and of the church as His bride.
Hopefully, this will become more evident as we dig into this truly amazing portion of Scripture.
Let’s being with verse 1.
Psalm 45:1
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
The psalmist begins this passage, giving us notice that this psalm is a song of love. And as a psalm of love, he is overflowing with anticipation, anxious to speak to (or of) the King, prepared to offer his body to be used of God to provide truths he can’t hold back.
How wonderful when the heart is bubbling with an excitement that overflows its banks. The psalmist speaks of his heart overflowing, and the term he uses occurs only once in the Word. This word refers to a bubbling of a fountain or the boiling of water, with the intent of the word communicating the noise associated with the action of the water. This “overflowing” of his heart is resulting in a noise or sound that is of a pleasant theme. And we have previously understood that the psalm’s theme is love, but we have not delved into the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of this love.
Theme
He speaks of the “bubbling of his heart ” as resulting in a pleasant theme. How understated the Word is at times. As we venture into this passage, we will begin to find that this no ordinary love, for that alone is wonderful. No – this is an eternal love springing from the King of Glory, and the psalm simply states it is a pleasant theme. At the risk of introducing my confusion, how could this theme of love simply be pleasant? Is it not a theme that is to be described as miraculous, phenomenal, transcendent, extraordinary?
Let us not depend on superlatives to describe a truth the Scripture describes as pleasant. Let us not go beyond the excitement the author is experienceing, and describ it incorrectly. The theme of love is pleasant, and as we enter further into the passage, we will see that the source of this love is worthy of greater superlatives. The love the psalmist speaks of will be elevated based on the source of the love. Currently, he is speaking of a topic, and not the Person we will be introduced to shortly that will expand the beuty of this topic!
Purpose
The psalmist goes on to declare His purpose. He will address, or utter his message to the King. Many Bibles translate this portion as the psalmist uttering his message of the King, or about the King. Entering this passage, we will become convinced of its Messianic message. Considering this, both translations may have a ring of truth to them. The psalmist speaks to the King, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, and of the King, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.
Preparation
The psalmist speaks of his readiness, of his willingness, of his desire to be of service, to listen only (as a scribe) and to record the message of the Author. He is one seeking to be a servant, and not an author, a willing scribe, not interjecting his own thoughts, but only the thoughts of the Author.
Scribes were known as scholars in the Old Testament, principally involved in the accurate transmission of documents of importance. A major characteristic of a scribe was an obsession with accuracy, the continuous rigor of exactness in the message, that the message not be interjected with his own thoughts or reasonings. Transmission of the message was the only intent of the scribes efforts.
Of course with this attitude of accuracy, the scribe also became an expert in the message, absorbing the message, becoming a human container of the truth he toiled so diligently to maintain for the next generation.
Consider our own time with the Word of the King. How scribal are we, in the absorption of the Word? Is it becoming a part of you? Is it working its way through you in your life, in the way you think and act, and eventually in how you speak? Is the message of love interrupting your life, making you consider your ways, changing your perceptions of what is important and what is of no consequence?
This psalm will continue to describe One who, if you follow, will interrupt your life, remold your thoughts, cause you to change your purpose and provide you times of struggle, introducing His ways, which are not our ways. This will inevitably cause struggles in your thoughts, feelings, speech and lifestyle.
For you see, this King is interested in truth, meekness and righteousness. If we are honest with ourselves, we tend toward lies, pride and selfishness. There will be a battle. The battle waged will not be as we expect, but it will be productive, gaining the desire of the King.
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 44:23-26
Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
We return to the last four verses of our psalm, with one overriding impression.
This psalmist had passion! Oh for a passion to confront God, even to the point of confronting Him with a seeming injustice He is guilty of.
We do not know the heart of this psalmist, nor even the historical background for his complaints, but that is beside the point. This man was passionate to see the Lord keep His end of the bargain, and was bold enough to come before God with some startling claims. He had the boldness to claim the Lord was asleep on His watch, that He was not attentive to the people He claimed to love. He was fully convinced the fault lay at the feet of the Lord. He was telling the Lord to wake up. Commanding the Lord to wake up? Ordering the Master?
Is this a proper attitude for the believer today? Can we bring claims of unfaithfulness of the Lord to the Lord?
As we walk on this earth, with all the media influences, general lies, emotional upheavals, mental limitations, physical constraints and lifestyle pressures, how can we make any accurate judgement as to the Lord’s dealings with us?
As we walk on this earth, with all the historical proofs of the Lord Jesus, the written documentation that has survived for millennium of His life, the proofs of His mighty resurrection, the gift of the apostles teaching, the blessing of the Spirit of God, and the support of the Body of Christ, how can we not simply be thankful for the grace He has provided to us, and simply accept our current condition (good or bad), thinking of His dealings with us in a positive manner.
A great challenge, and if accepted, may spurn us onto better things for the Kingdom. (And this exhortation from a pessimist!)
May God help us in our struggles to relate to the Holy One. May He redeem us from ourselves,
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 44:17-22
All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
Our psalmist continues with the claim that the nation has not forgotten God, nor been false to the covenant. Since it is difficult, if not impossible to date this psalm, it seems either the psalmist was in the middle of a national revival, or that he was exaggerating the practice of the nation. I fear it may have been the latter, only based on my understanding of the nations history, (and my own personal experience of self deception).
If the former, that is their hearts were leaning to the Lord, it appears that God had not kept the promise of the covenant. Deuteronomy 28 laid out the promise that a faithful Israel would reap blessings, and an unfaithful Israel would suffer defeat, spoiling, shame, dispersion and exile. Compare the list of complaints the psalmist provided in our last post with Deuteronomy 28:15-28. It seems the psalmist is pulling the very curses from Deuteronomy and laying them out in front of God in our psalm.
It appears He is connecting the works of the nation with a reaction from God as described in Deuteronomy, and claiming God is not keeping His end of the bargain up. Someone is not keeping up with the covenant!
All of this bargaining with God is assuming the Israelites covenant keeping, and not allowing for the freedom of the Lord to exercise His wisdom in teaching His people through suffering. This is reminiscent of a time in the gospels when the disciples asked the Lord about a man born blind. Jesus disconnected sin from the sickness in this instance, and said the blindness was for the glory of God. (Read out it in John 9). Afairly radical idea for men who were under the thinking of Deuteronomy.
The psalmist was seeing the problem in the same manner, I believe, as the disciples. It is a very common association, and one that I struggle with personally. I so want to associate God’s gifts with my good behavior, and blame Him for difficult times, sometimes seeing my actions worthy of some discipline.
Note the familiar verse 22, where the psalmist claims that they are experiencing death because of God. This is the ultimate claim against God, and under the Deuteronomy 28 covenant, is the ultimate reaction of God to a rebellious nation.
For believers after the resurrection, this complaint by the psalmist becomes a standard lifestyle according to the apostle Paul. Death is not the conqueror that the psalmist claims, the enemy that seemed to be indicating God’s disfavor.
Through the Lord Jesus, death has been conquered and per Paul’s instructions, even in death, the believer is more than a conqueror. Death (and suffering) is not the indicator of dissatisfaction from the Lord, as the psalmist, (and our modern thinking may lead us to believe).
Though our enemies are many, Paul assures us that through the Lord Jesus
neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Where are you in your relationship with the Lord Jesus? If under duress, do you blame God? If experiencing success (in any arena of life) do you pat yourself on the back?
Of course, as the psalmist claimed to be in good relationship with the covenant keeping God, we more so, and we have the Helper to teach us of the secrets of our heart.
would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet in all of our pilgrimage, whether sweet or sour, we are to give thanks in all things, and to think on the things of God, as found in Philippians 4:8-9.
Honest complaint before the Lord is allowed by the example of the saints before us, yet for the standard instruction and peace of God in our lives, we are to seek after
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Let us look to the One who accepted shame, exile and death. He turned the ultimate defeat of an ignominious death into the greatest victory, and that not for Himself, but for us also who seek to follow Him. Let us mimic His character through the Spirit of God, seeing the work of God in our lives by thinking His thoughts and not ours.
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 44:10-16
But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil. You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
In our last posting, I left off stating the psalmist had a big problem. He had recounted of the mighty power of God in planting the Israelites in the land, providing them opportunity to spread thier branches, signifying growth as a tree, and of thier victories over enemies, as an ox gores and tramples his enemy.
All great stuff to glory in, and he ends the last portion we looked at with a claim that they continually boasted of God, and gave thanks forever. Definitely a high point in the psalm. But this high point brought with it a complaint.
Why are you silent, O God? No, it’s not even that God is silent, but for the psalmist, he describes God as actively working against the nation, (even though they continually boast of God and give thanks forever).
Let’s not dull the description of the psalmist. He continually ascribes blame to God for the condition the nation is in. Each of the following six verses, the psalmist lays the blame for the nations weakness and defeats squarely at the feet of the Lord.
God, in the psalmist’s mind, had actively
Rejected them
Spurned them, cast them off, rejected them
Disgraced them
Humiliation, even brought the nation to confusion
Not gone out with their armies
Israel appeared to be defenseless, and was without the help of the God who had delivered them previously
Made them turn back from thier foes
Definitely not the ox goring power house the psalmist described earlier!
Allowed them to be spoiled by those who hate them
Instead of being those who gain spoils of war, the Israelites were suffering from enemies taking their goods.
Made them as sheep for a slaughter
Sheep for the slaughter. The term speaks of the enemy killing the sheep (God’s people) for the purpose of food.
God’s previously loved nation was now to be sacrificed as food, sustenance for the enemy?
Scattered them among the nations
The nation was disintegrating. The previously established and growing branches of the tree were no longer expanding, but was being broken apart, fractured, even cast away or scattered. This term carries an echo of verse 10, where the psalmist speaks of rejection.
Sold them for a trifle, for a pittance, demanding no high price
It is not (humanly speaking) a profit motivation that drives the Lord to sell the nation. He is giving the nation away, as any worth has been abandoned.
Made them as a taunt of their neighbors
A taunt, a reproach. Shame had settled on the nation, for all to see.
Surrounded them with derision and scorn
Derision, ridicule
Scorn, mocking
Made them a byword
Deuteronomy 28:37. A byword may be understood as a proverb or a parable. A story, in this instance, of disaster and doom, a lesson to those listening of the nations plight.
Made them a laughingstock
Laughingstock is only used this once in the Old Testament. It speaks of a head wagging or a shaking of the one watching the disaster.
Brought disgrace and shame to them
Disgrace, dishonor, insult
Shame, humiliation
This is an amazing list of complaints by the psalmist, and for all we know, he was not struck down by fire from heaven, or suddenly died due to this assault on the name of the Lord. This brings to mind a number of applications, of which the first is the need to be bold and honest with the Lord in our relationship with Him.
In reality, we have nothing to complain about, at least I don’t, but our experience sometimes needs to be expressed, our perception of the life we live may need to be expressed before our God in order to get our head on straight.
Honesty with God
When I first saw the honesty of Jeremiah complaining to God, it gave me an increased freedom to be somewhat more honest with the Lord.
Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
And yet with this freedom, we must be open to the answer we receive. After all, complaining for the sake of complaining is of no purpose but to satisfy our own desire to appear righteous!
Well, it seems Jeremiah got an answer.
Jeremiah 12:5-6
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you.”
The Lord doesn’t answer Jeremiah’s question directly, but He also does not condemn Jeremiah. He reveals to Jeremiah his personal condition, his weakness, his false security in the land he lived in, and even of the family he belonged to. Yes the Lord is righteous, and He will answer our concerns, but we must be ready for hard news if we are to be honest before Him.
The True Israel
This passage is very difficult, in that it appears the people of God are capable of being abandoned by the Lord, of being offered up as mere food for the enemy. The psalmist writes passionately about his complaint, and describes a very dire condition the nation was experiencing.
And yet, when we read each of these complaints, they remind me of the the True Israel, the One who was slaughtered on a cross, who became a byword, was put to shame, and was sold for a pittance. He is the True Israel, who actually did provide thanks to the Father in all things, and boasted of God continually.
May His name be praised in our lives today and may we become ones who are reflective of His multi-faceted love.
Considering the Bible 