PSALM
36 - “Love That Reaches to Heaven”
(Lament / Thanksgiving Psalm of David)
(Lament / Thanksgiving Psalm of David)
The
theme of this psalm is God's eternal, faithful love as opposed
to the wickedness of man.
Vs. 1 –
The same Hebrew word ne'um, translated as "oracle", is used by the prophets to signify declarations
from God. This could be interpreted as an oracle of transgression
whereby David was divinely taught about the sin of the wicked: they
do not fear God.
Vs. 5-9
– KEY VERSES: There is no limit to God's faithful (hesed /
chesed) love for His people.
💛VIDEO: THIRD DAY - "Your Love Oh Lord"
Vs.
10-11 – A prayer for God to extend His love and protection while
protecting the psalmist from the arrogant and wicked.
Vs. 12 – Like David, we can be assured that the love of God will ultimately triumph over evil. Love Wins!
“Abiding
in God’s love does not make us pious dopes who think (or pretend)
that everything is always wonderful. It enables us to see evil
clearly, call it what it is, and understand that in the end it is
powerless before the power of Love.” (James Ernest)
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PSALM
37 - “Inherit the Land”
(Wisdom
Psalm of David)
This
psalm was written late in David's life (vs. 25) and is shared as an
extended meditation on Psalm 1. A recurring theme is “Who will
inherit the land?” (mentioned five times). This was written as an
acrostic in the original Hebrew.
Vs. 1-2
– “Do not fret because of evildoers;” The phrase “do
not fret’ literally means “do not get heated”. In other words,
stay cool, dude.
Vs. 4 –
See: Luke 12:31
Vs. 5 –
To “COMMIT your way to the Lord” is literally “roll your way
upon the Lord”, which means to rely on Him. He's got really big
shoulders, go ahead and roll the whole weight of your problem onto
Him.
Vs. 7 – To “be silent before the Lord” means to REST in Him. If you've given God your burden, don't pick it back up, again.
Vs. 8 -
“WAIT expectantly for Him”; This is sometimes the toughest step
for me.
COMMIT 💛 REST 💛 WAIT
Vs. 11 – Here we are given the answer to “Who will inherit the land?” The answer is the meek (humble, brokenhearted). Jesus used this verse in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:5).
Vs. 20 - “Into smoke they shall vanish away.” Some ancient manuscripts interpret this line differently. “If we follow the Hebrew, it intimates that they shall consume as the fat of lambs. That is, as the fat is wholly consumed in sacrifices by the fire on the altar, so shall they consume away in the fire of God’s wrath.” (Adam Clarke)
Vs. 31 – “Instruction” in Hebrew is torah. It is the revelation of God's will for His people.
Vs. 34 – There it is again: Wait for the Lord. TRUST and OBEY.
💛VIDEO: TIMOTHY WRIGHT - "Trust & Obey"
Vs.
35-36 – In Psalm 1:3, the righteous were compared to a
flourishing tree whose leaf DOES NOT wither. Here, David has seen
the wicked flourishing like a tree in their prospertity. But the
wicked tree DOES wither and passes away. We should remember the truth
of Psalm 1: though the wicked may spread in power for awhile, they
will be destroyed. The wicked do not inherit the land.
Vs. 40 –
Why will the Lord save the righteous?
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PSALM 38 - “A Sinner's Prayer”
(Penitential Psalm of David)
(Penitential Psalm of David)
[“For remembrance” is included in the superscription. It is also included in the description of Psalm 70, possibly to remind God of His mercy.]
Some scholars suggest that Psalm 38 may have been written after Psalms 51 and 32, following the events surrounding David's sin with Bathsheba. Even though David repented and was forgiven for his sins, he still had to suffer consequences (2 Samuel 12:10-14). This is a Penitential Psalm, a prayer asking for deliverance from God's anger and discipline. David perceived the source of his physical sickness and threats from his enemies as punishment for his sins. David does not deny his sins, but begs God for undeserved mercy.
Vs. 3 – “Health” literally means shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace”.
Vs. 15 – Three Hebrew words most commonly used to refer to God are found in this one verse:
- LORD = Yahweh (the covenant God of Israel)
- My Lord = Adonai (God as Master)
- God = Elohim (singular or plural of the noun, God; denotes power & strength)
Vs. 18-20 – Even after David's confession, enemies continued to attack him for “pursuing good”. But with mercy granted, David could be confident that God would respond to his pleas for help.
Vs. 22 – David's plea for God to “Hurry” is our plea, today... “Lord, come quickly.” We rest in the hope of Jesus' final words of Revelation 22:20: “Yes, I am coming soon!”.
💛NUGGET: Be thankful for forgiveness. But it is God's grace that helps us overcome sin.
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PSALM
39 - “But A Vapor”
(Psalm
of David)
[Jeduthun
also appears in the superscription titles of Psalms 62 & 77.
According to 1 Chronicles 16:41, Jeduthun (or Ethan) was one of
David's chief musicians.]
This psalm is similar to the previous one. Like Psalm 38, David is suffering from his sin, however he is more introspective in this writing.
Vs. 1-2 – The psalmist was keeping silent to avoid sinning “with his tongue”, whether in his protests to God or in his angered response to the wicked.
Vs. 5-6 – David wanted God to tell him how much longer he would live. He knew that life is but a “vapor”. Vapor is sometimes translated “breath” or literally, “a small puff of air”. Figuratively, it is translated “meaningless”. David felt that life and it's accumulations were meaningless.
💛NUGGET: The lesson is to see everything from God's eternal perspective rather than our limited, worldly human perspective. “The shortness of life makes us see that the glitter of the wicked one is not true gold.” (Spurgeon)
Vs. 7 – “My hope is in you.” Faith in God gives meaning to life.
PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS
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PSALM
40 – “Rescued”
(Messianic
Psalm of David)
Whereas
Psalm 40 is another prayer for deliverance from the consequences of
sin like Psalms 37-39, David is loud with praise and silent no
longer.
This psalm can be divided into two sections:
- Past Mercies (from God)
- New Mercies (were needed)
SECTION ONE: PAST MERCIES (Vs. 1-10)
Vs. 1 – From waiting to hearing
Vs. 2 – From mud to solid rock
Vs. 3 – A New Song of praise to God, for others to know His work
Vs. 6 – “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;” What did God desire instead of sacrifice? Cheerful obedience (Isaiah 1:11). Israel had fallen away from God's plans for their worship. These words are applied to the Messiah in Hebrews 10:5, describing how Jesus obediently offered His body in sacrifice, once and for all.
Vs. 9-10 – Stories of righteousness involving God's deliverance were to be shared with the congregation in the spirit of community instruction and learning by example.
SECTION TWO: NEW MERCIES (Vs. 11-17)
To summarize: I NEED YOU AGAIN, LORD! Our need for deliverance is endless.
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PSALM 41 – “The Rumors of My Death”
(Lament of David)
David is in trouble. Again. Sin is mentioned, but the primary issue appears to be a physical illness. His enemies and frenemies are circling like vultures looking forward to his demise.
Vs. 1 – This psalm, like Psalm 1, begins with the word “blessed” that is more correctly translated as “happy”, as to be distinguished from the Hebrew word typically used for “blessing”.
Vs. 9 – This verse was quoted, in part, by Jesus in connection with Judas as fulfillment of scripture in John 13:18.
💛NUGGET: When Jesus quoted from Psalm 9, He excluded the words “My friend in whom I trusted”... for obvious reasons.
Vs. 12 – To be in God's presence forever is our ultimate goal and reward.
Vs. 13 – Doxology signifying the end of Book 1 of the Psalms (Chapters 1-41). These statements at the end of each book section were most likely added when the Psalms were joined in their final form. They are referred to as "Seam Psalms", joining the five different books. They consist of a call to praise followed by a congregational response: “Amen and amen.”
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READING FOR TOMORROW: Chapters 42-46
LINK TO READING PLAN:
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