STUDY OF PSALMS - Chapters 47-51

PSALM 47 - “The Lord Reigns”
(Psalm of the sons of Korah)

This is a Praise and Thanksgiving Psalm, celebrating God as King over all the earth.

VERSES 1-4: LET ALL THE EARTH CELEBRATE!

Vs. 1 – “All peoples” encompasses Israel and the entire world – rich, poor, Jews and Gentile. It is ultimately the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to bless all the peoples of the earth through the Messiah (Genesis 12:2-3).

Vs. 2 – “The Most High” is God's sovereign title as Ruler over all the earth. This is the reason for the praise in verse 1.

VERSES 5-9: HERE'S WHY WE'RE CELEBRATING!

Vs. 5 – KEY VERSE: “Gone up with a shout!” Some churches apply this verse to the ascension of Jesus and use it on Ascension Day.

Vs. 5-7 – According to Derek Kidner, Paul had this phrase in mind when he wrote “I will also sing with the understanding” in 1 Corinthians 14:15.

Vs. 9 – “The leaders of the earth belong to God”... is referring to Gentiles. As in verse 1, this is the fulfillment of the promise in Genesis 12:2-3.

💛NUGGET: “Psalm 47 includes the memory of the past, experience of the present and hope for the future.” (Mays)

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PSALM 48 - “”The City of the Great King”
(Psalm of the sons of Korah)

Here's a video to get you in the mood for rejoicing! 

https://youtu.be/4EsmCcgjz5s

This Psalm is similar to Psalm 46 in that it celebrates Zion (Jerusalem) as God's City. We are not given the precise historical event, but it is clear that this song was written to commemorate a military victory in which God miraculously delivered Jerusalem from their enemies. Although the beauty of Zion is praised, the overt message of the psalm is that God is the Great Defender and King.

This is a Praise Psalm directed to:

1) Mount Zion (Jerusalem)

2) God

Vs. 2 – Not all scholars agree on the meaning of “Zaphon” in this verse. It is a place, but can also be translated “far north”, to describe Israel as the place where God has his throne (Isaiah 14:13). This verse was cited by Jesus in Matthew 5:35 as “The city of the great King”.

Vs. 3 – God is the refuge of Jerusalem.

Vs. 8 – “As we have heard, so we have seen...” This statement is a beautiful validation of the enduring faithfulness and reliability of God - He keeps His promises. Just as God promises to establish Zion forever (verse 8), so Jesus promised to establish His church forever (Matthew 16:18).

Vs. 9 – “We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness...” (hesed / chesed)

Vs. 11 - “Let the daughters of Judah be glad.” The daughters of Judah refers to the surrounding towns and villages.

Vs. 13 - “Tell the next generation”...

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PSALM 49 – “Why Should I Fear?”
(Psalm of the sons of Korah)

[This is the final psalm of the sons of Korah in Book II. It is a Wisdom Psalm about the futility of trusting in wealth instead of God.]

VERSES 1-4: THE CALL

Vs. 1 – The psalmist calls out “all” the people of the earth, in every tax bracket, to hear this message. It's not just for Israel's privileged ears.

VERSES 5-12: THE COUNSEL

Vs. 7 – You can't bribe God!

Vs. 8 – The redemption of souls IS costly... Jesus paid for ours with His precious blood. (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Vs. 10-12 – Death is the common denominator.  (Refer to Matthew 16:26)

VERSES 13-15: THE CONTRAST

Vs. 14 – The shepherd of those who worship their wealth is personified as Death. Picture a bunch of rich sheep blindly following their leader into Sheol... horrifying!

“The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;” This “morning” of reward for the righteous and judgment for the wicked will not happen in this life.

Vs. 15 - “But God...” God will effortlessly distinguish between the faithful and the unfaithful and save His redeemed from the grave.

VERSES 16-20: THE COUNSEL REPEATED

The psalmist reviews his earlier counsel of verses 5-12.

💛NUGGET:  For those who put their faith and trust in riches, this world is the best their life will ever be. But for those who trust in God... the riches of this world pale in comparison to our next home.

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PSALM 50 - “Here Comes The Judge!” 
(Psalm of Asaph)

[This is the first of 12 psalms that are attributed to Asaph (the other 11 are in Book III). He was one of David's chief musicians (1 Chronicles 6:39; 15:17-19; 16:5-7; 2 Chronicles 5:12). Asaph was also the ancestor of a group of temple musicians that returned from Babylonian exile with Ezra. The use of Asaph's name may be representative his descendants rather than Asaph himself.]

In this psalm, God calls together His saints and testifies against two groups in particular:

• Ritualists
• Rebels

Vs. 1 – The psalmist wanted to make sure right from the get-go that we know God is the Speaker by using three different names:

The Mighty One (El) – God

God (Elohim) – The Almighty Creator

The LORD (Yahweh) – The Covenant God

VERSES 7-15 – JUDGEMENT OF GOD ON THE RITUALISTS

God's judgment here was not about sacrifices. It was about hearts. What could His chosen people give Him that He truly desired? Charred sheep? Cooked goat? Poured out wine? Nah. What God desired from His people then... what He still desires today... is our contrite heart freely given in surrender.

While some of God's saints were patting themselves on the back for so perfectly keeping the covenant rituals, their hearts had become cold and their faith lukewarm. They trusted in their sacrifices to bring them salvation. We, as believers under the New Covenant, no longer offer animal sacrifices but can still be guilty of worshiping God in a spirit of ritualism.

Vs. 9 – Here it is written: God will literally take no bull !!

Vs. 14 – God prefers thanksgiving as His sacrifice.

Vs. 15 - “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”  Once our eyes are opened to His greatness, we then seek His salvation.

VERSES 16-21 – JUDGEMENT OF GOD ON RELIGIOUS REBELS

Vs. 16 – The “wicked” in this scripture refer to God's covenant people who were hypocritical and insincere in their worship of Him.

Vs. 17-20 – A summary accusation against Israel's “wicked”. The violations included:

• Theft – 8th Commandment
• Adultery – 7th Commandment
• False Accusation (Deceit / Slander) - 9th Commandment

Vs. 21 – “You thought that I was like you...” They mistook God's patient tolerance for weakness and lost sight of His Holiness.

VERSES 22-23 – GET RIGHT WITH GOD

Vs. 23 – “Orders his conduct”... by being obedient to God.

💛NUGGET: An American newspaper asked William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, what he regarded as the chief dangers ahead for the twentieth century. He replied tersely, “Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell.” (The War Cry, Jan. 5, 1901)

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PSALM 51 - “Create in Me a Clean Heart”
(Penitential Psalm of David)

[The superscription to this psalms gives the historical setting as “when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba”. This occasion is documented in 2 Samuel 12:1-14. This is a personal prayer of penitence written by David after being confronted by the prophet Nathan but it provides a wonderful model of confession and humility to anyone in need of forgiveness. Which would be all of us.]

This is probably the best known of the “Penitential Psalms” (7 total)

VERSES 1-12: DAVID'S PLEA

Vs. 1 – After being confronted and convicted of his sin by Nathan the Prophet, David went before God with a humble, contrite heart. David asked for forgiveness and prayed for mercy based on God's faithful love (hesed / chesed)... His covenant mercy. Thank God we don't get what we deserve!

Vs. 4 – “Against you alone I have sinned...” This statement does not mean that others are not affected by our sins, but all sin is ultimately against God. Paul cites part of this verse in Romans 3:4, arguing that God is just and worthy to judge..

Vs. 5 – This verse refers to Original Sin. David's point is that sin is pervasive, based on the sinful nature of man which we are born with. (Thank you very much, Adam & Eve.)

Vs. 7 - “Make me whiter than snow.” 

💛NUGGET:  “Such is the power of the cleansing work of God upon the heart that he can restore innocence to us, and make us as if we had never been stained with transgression at all.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Vs. 10 - “Create in me a clean heart, oh God."  

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/cGrLBI0OIuM

Vs. 11 – David prayed that God would not take His Holy Spirit away from him. Many commentators have connected this singular request from David with the occasion of the Spirit of the Lord departing from his predecessor King Saul due to his disobedience. (1 Samuel 16: 1)

VERSES 13-17: DAVID'S PROMISE

Vs. 13 – David promises to help restore other sinners and sing of His righteousness (vs.14). The “other sinners” are fellow Jews who were not being faithful to God's covenant.

Vs. 14 - “The guilt of bloodshed”... likely a reference to the slaying of Bathsheba's husband Uriah (2 Samuel 12:9).

💛NUGGET:  "Contrite” is literally “a broken and crushed heart”.  David understood that God desires a contrite heart rather than acts of sacrifice (verse 17).

READING FOR TOMORROW:  Chapters 52-56

LINK TO READING PLAN:

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