STUDY OF PSALMS - Chapters 31-35

PSALM 31 – “I Commit My Spirit”
(Lament of David)

This psalm is a plea to be in God's power rather than in the power of one's enemies. Many passages from Psalm 31 have been quoted by writers throughout the Bible:

David: Psalm 71:1-3
Jonah: Jonah 2:8
Jeremiah: Jeremiah 6:25; 20:3; 20:10; 46:5; 49:29
Jeremiah: Lamentations 2:22.
Paul: 1 Corinthians 16:13
Jesus: Luke 23:46
Philip: Acts 7:59

THEME OF VERSES 1-5:  CONFIDENCE

Vs. 1 – “Deliver me in Your Righteousness”... All of our sins come from unrighteousness.

💛NUGGET: Here, David – without possibly having an understanding of the concept – is acknowledging the power of atonement spoken of by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ-fMPG0ByE

Vs. 5 – Key Verse: “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” While David is expressing confidence that God will protect him in his dire situation, this quote later became the last words Jesus spoke before His death. In Luke 23:46, we are told that Jesus quoted these words “in a loud voice”, commanding His Spirit to leave His body in total surrender and submission to His Father. Death did not claim Jesus; He gave up His Spirit voluntarily and told us He would do so in John 10:17-18: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

THEME OF VERSES 6-8: DELIVERANCE

Vs. 8 - David was exactly where God wanted him to be. God did not hand David over to his enemy but “set his feet in a spacious place”. Satan tries to push us into confined spaces. God rescues us and sets us free to roam.

THEME OF VERSES 9-18: DISTRESS

Vs. 14 – Repeats the same message of vs. 5: “The course of my life is in your power.” It is important to note that David's trust and relationship with God was not formed overnight or in the middle of this one crisis. Because of those seeds of faith that were planted early and grew over a lifetime, David was able to proclaim God as sovereign over his life.

💛NUGGET: David learned to trust the Lord while tendng his father's sheep.

THEME OF VERSES 19-24: PRAISE
Vs. 20 – God is our hiding place.

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PSALM 32 – “Forgiven!”

(Penitential Psalm of David)

The Hebrew word for Maskil in the superscription means “insight” or “instruction.” It appears in 12 other psalms after this one.

Psalm 32 was written by David and is generally thought to have been composed after he received forgiveness in the matter of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-12:15). It is written in fulfillment of David's promise to God to “teach transgressors Your ways” in Psalm 51:13. It is also classified as a Thanksgiving Psalm.

Vs. 1-2 – Four different Hebrew terms are used to describe different aspects of sin:

• TRANSGRESSION (rebellion; defying authority)
• SIN (deliberate offense; “missing the mark”)
• INIQUITY (root word means “bent or twisted”; going astray)
• DECEIT (falsehood; hypocrisy)

Three different Hebrew terms are used to describe how God handles sin:

• FORGIVEN (“lifted up”; carried off)
• COVERED (out of sight; atonement through sacrificial offering)
• NOT CHARGE (erasing proof of guilt)

It is interesting to see that David uses the words “forgiven” and “covered” as synonyms. The blood of a sacrificial animal did not wipe out sin; it only covered it (“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4)

💛NUGGET: As Believers in Christ our sins are washed away forever in His blood. In Romans 4:7-8, Paul quotes verses 1-2 to show that we are justified by faith, not works.

Vs. 3-4 – David kept silent by not confessing his sin which caused a heaviness of guilt in his spirit. To feel the chastening of sin is to feel the work of the Holy Spirit.

“This work of the Holy Spirit, convicting the man or woman of God of his or her sin and hardness of heart, is an essential mark of those who truly belong to God.” 

(Maclaren)

Vs. 5 – Confession is hard. It's hard to admit that we are responsible for making stupid decisions. It's hard to admit to God and others that we are unreliable. It's hard to admit the deep pain our sins have caused others. The uncertainty of how those around us will respond to our confession makes us feel vulnerable. But there is no uncertainty how God will respond to our true repentance. He is always ready to forgive and “lift up” the burden of guilt. (1 John 1:9; Hebrews 9:28)

Vs. 6-7 – Just as David knew the devastation of sin, he also knew how the goodness of forgiveness. Forgiven people are blessed.  Deliverance is joyful.

Vs. 8- 9 – This is a Wisdom Section within the psalm, as noted by the words “instruct” and “counsel”. Some scholars believe that God is the speaker in these verses. Regardless of Who was holding the pen, these words of advice are clear: Don't be a stubborn mule!!

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PSALM 33 – “Sing a New Song”
(Praise / Creation Psalm)

This first verse of this psalm links to the last verse of Psalm 32, which ended by calling on the “righteous” and “upright” to sing praises to God. The author is unknown, as there is no title or superscription.

Vs. 2 - David sang praises as he played upon a lyre.  Here is a video showing a reproduction of David's instrument, a 10-stringed harp, called a "kinnor" in ancient Hebrew...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27opcKxcg1c 

Vs. 3 – Might the New Song be a Song of Redemption in answer to the forgiveness the psalmist found in Psalm 32?

Vs. 4-5 – We should praise God because of His CHARACTER.

Vs. 5 - “The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” Again, the psalmist uses “hesed” to describe God's coventantal and faithful love.

Vs. 6 – We should praise God because of His WORDS. The heavens were made by the Word of the Lord. “For He spoke, and it came into being.” This verse qualifies the psalm as a Creation Hymn.

Vs. 11 – We should praise God because of His PLANS which last from “generation to generation”.

Vs. 12 – This verse is a blessing upon Israel. In choosing Israel, God's purpose for them was to become a kingdom of priests throughout the world.

Vs. 13-15 – God sees the world clearly. He created our hearts, He knows what is in them.

Vs. 16 - “A king is not saved by a large army;”

💛NUGGET: Because of God's “hesed” - His faithful love - our ultimate hope is not in the whims of the stock market or in the magic of the next vaccine. Even when our country is in chaos, God is in control.

Vs. 20-21 – To wait upon the Lord is the response of faith to fear.

Vs. 22 – Hope is a loaded word. The measure of our hope depends on our faith. And ultimately, as believers, our hope is fulfilled in Jesus.

To summarize, we learn to confidently rely on the Lord when we know His CHARACTER through the understanding of his WORDS as seen in His sovereign PLANS.

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PSALM 34 - “Taste and See”
(Thanksgiving Psalm of David)

This psalm has an interesting superscipt about the time David pretended to be insane while running away from Saul. Although an unusual story of deliverance, David still gives God the praise. This incident is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. (Abimelech was probably a title given to rulers among the Philistines; the ruler’s proper name was Achish.) This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Psalm 34 is a beautiful testimony of salvation by grace though faith in the Lord.

Vs. 2 – David correctly “boasts in the Lord”. He did the sinning while Christ did the saving. (1 Corinthians 1:31)

Vs. 3 – This verse has been used in weddings and on ring inscriptions. In context, David is inviting “the humble” to sing with him and “magnify” the Lord – to sing together of His greatness.

Vs. 4 - .”I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Yep. Even while David was faking insanity and drooling on his beard... he sought the Lord.

Vs. 5 - “Radiant with joy”... It is “the knowledge of the glory of God” that makes us radiant, and our radiance becomes a testimony to others. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the moment we accepted Christ we all just started radiating like a bunch of glow worms?! But God doesn't flip that switch. He leaves it to us to learn and meditate upon His word so that we can become like Him from within, so our radiance can be reflected to others.

Vs. 7 - Christian tradition often identifies "the angel of the Lord" as a theophany, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus, as in Judges 13.  I don't know if David is referring to a pre-incarnate Jesus or a Guardian Angel, but I know mine must be exhausted... 

Vs. 8 - “Taste and see”... is an appeal to our senses. It's not enough just to “know” God; we need to experience Him. When a person takes refuge in God's presence, they will taste and see that “the Lord is good”.

Vs. 9 – That those who fear Him “lack nothing” recalls the Lord's role as our shepherd in Psalm 23.

Vs. 11-14 – Here, a Wisdom Section is denoted by “teach”. “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10) To fear the Lord is to stand in awe or to have deep reverence for Him.

💛NUGGET:  Jesus is our ultimate proof that God is close to the broken-hearted (vs. 18).

Vs. 20 – John was speaking not only of his own story, but was prophetically speaking of Jesus at His crucifixion. This Messianic reference is recorded in John 19:36. 

💛NUGGET: Jesus is OUR unblemished, unbroken Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:46). We “taste and see” His goodness.

Vs. 22 – “All who take refuge in Him will not be punished”. David was many centuries ahead of himself, here... preaching God's grace over condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

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PSALM 35 - “Fight For Me”
(Imprecatory / Lament Psalm of David)

This is another Imprecatory Psalms, in which the psalmist asks God to defeat and destroy his enemies. Progressively througout the book, the Imprecatory Psalms become more intense, spewing more and more curses as we go along. (Over 30 curses in Psalm 109!)

Vs. 4-8 – David prays for the destruction of his enemies – he wants vindication, not out of revenge, but rather to avenge his innocence. Ultimately, David was praying for Jesus' Resurrection (Colossians 2:15). Our Avenger now sits at God's right hand and defends us from our enemies.

Vs. 10 – When he wrote about rescuing the weak from the strong, David knew nothing about the way in which God would deliver man. 

Vs. 28 - “Vow of Praise”

READING FOR TOMORROW:  Chapters 36-41

LINK TO READING PLAN:

https://bibleplan.org/plans/psalms-in-a-month/