Friday, February 28, 2014

Psalm 144:1-15


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 144:1-15[1]

[A Psalm] of David.

Blessed [is] the Lord my strength, Who teaches my hands to war, my fingers to fight.  My Goodness, my Fortress, my High Tower, my Deliverer, my Shield, in Whom I trust, Who subdues my people under me.

Lord, what [is] man, that You take knowledge of him?  The son of man, that You make account of him?  Man is like vanity.  His days [are] as a shadow that passes away.

Bow Your heavens, Lord.  Come down.  Touch the mountains.  They shall smoke.  Cast forth lightning.  Scatter them.  Shoot out Your arrows.  Destroy them.  Send Your hand from above.  Rid me.  Deliver me from great waters, from the hands of alien children, whose mouths speak vanity, and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood.

I will sing a new song to You, O God.  I will sing praises to You on a psaltery, an instrument of ten strings.  You give salvation to kings.  You deliver David His servant from the hurtful sword.

Rid me.  Deliver me from the hand of alien children, whose mouth speaks vanity, and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood.  That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their youth.  Our daughters [may be] as corner stones, polished [in] the likeness of a palace.  Our garners [may be] full, affording all manner of store.  Our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets.  Our oxen [may be] strong in labor.  [That there be] no breaking in, nor going out.  That [there be] no complaining in our streets.

Blessed people, who are in such a case.  Blessed people, who’s God [is] the Lord.

________

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[1] David dedicates this Psalm to war: yet, this cannot be the kind of war, as man ordinarily thinks of war.  Our battle is a wrestling “not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).”  This war is about calling the whole world to repentance and conversion, to salvation in Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost.  In this war some become so hardened, through their own fault, that they are cast into the lake of fire; but, one way or another, all are subdued (Isaiah 45:23-25; Romans 14:11-12; Philippians 2:10-11).
The unanswered question naturally arises:  What is so important about human beings?  Why should God be bothered?  After all, man is really nothing: nothing of importance, and nothing with which God should be bothered.  David gives no answer.  We know the answer: for reasons which we cannot understand, God loves us.
David contrasts his own deliverance to the giving of the Law at Sinai (Exodus 19), to salvation from Noah’s flood, and Moses’ crossing at the Red Sea.  David is able to make this connection, because he can see the Eternal Covenant as one covenant promise, of which he has been made part.
David breaks out in a new song.
Finally, David sees the kingdom as the result of this war: a kingdom devoid of empty, lying aliens; a kingdom of sons standing straight and tall; a kingdom where daughters are the foundations of society; a kingdom of incredible prosperity; a kingdom without robbery; without war; without complaining.  As with Hebrew poetic constructs elsewhere, the emphasis is always on the last item in the list: these six (Proverbs 6:16-19), three and four (Proverbs 30; Amos 1).  This is incomprehensible, a kingdom without complaining, our churches are filled with bickering and complaining.  Indeed, David’s complaint is that complaining needs to end.  Truly, this is an extraordinary kingdom, for David or for us.
“Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Psalm 101:1-8


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 101:1-8[1]

A Psalm of David.

I will sing of mercy and judgment.  I will sing to You, Lord.  I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.  When will You come to me?  I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.  I will set no wicked thing before my eyes.  I hate the work of those who turn aside: [it] shall not cling to me.  A forward heart shall depart from me.  I will not know a wicked [person].  I will him cut off, who secretly slanders his neighbor.  I will not suffer him who has a high look and a proud heart.

My eyes [are] on the faithful of the land, so that they may dwell with Me.  He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve Me.  He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house.  He who counts lies shall not tarry in my sight.

I will early destroy all the wicked of the land: so that I may cut off all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

________

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[1] Saul had surrounded himself with evil counselors: men like Doeg (Psalm 52), the tribe of the Ziphims or Ziphites (Psalm 54), and others.  We do not believe that the placement of Psalm 53, between Doeg and the Ziphites is accidental: for all of them were unbelievers.  Saul had done many wrong, but forgivable things.  However, when it came to the will of God concerning Amalek, he failed.  Amalek, as well as its king, Agag, is the epitome of all that evil: God cannot deliver from the evil, by tolerating evil.  This Psalm is not about the cruel and vicious slaughter of many people: it is about maintaining the holiness of God’s kingdom.  David understands this and sings his vow to hallow God’s name.
David’s vow requires all the elements of mercy, judgment, wisdom, a single hearted walk, pure eyes, without waffling or wandering, and emphatically, especially humility.  The phrase, “When will You come to me?” seems out of place, until we consider that David is incapable of achieving any of these qualities by himself.  Only as God is with him, can the name of God be truly hallowed.  David will be able to surround himself with faithful believers because God does the sorting.  Even so, David will have his Ahithophel, and Jesus will have His Judas.  The highest form of pride is secret slander.
David delights in faithful believers and vows to fill the land with them, separating them from deceivers and liars.  Is he remembering Doeg, as he sings?
David concludes his song by vowing to destroy wickedness, which is equivalent to eliminating idolatry, malice toward God, and cruelty, malice toward man.  His vow embraces an affirmation of the Decalogue.  The centerpiece of the Decalogue is the perfect Son, Who flawlessly honors both Father and mother.  David understands that he is the icon of that Son; as also are we.  In Christ, we become the perfect Son.  There is no place in Christ for any sin: sin must be blotted out.  We look for that glorious day, when we will never sin again.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Psalm 78:1-72, Revision 1


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 78:1-72[1]

Maschil of Asaph.

Give ear, O my people, to my law.  Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable.  I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  We will not hide [them] from their children, showing the generation to come the praises of the Lord, His strength, and His wonderful works, which He has done: for He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, so that they would make them known to their children: so that the generation to come might know, the children [who] should be born; [who] should arise and declare [them] to their children: so that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and might not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation [that] set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

The children of Ephraim,[2] armed, carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.  They kept not the covenant of God.  [They] refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works, His wonders, which He had showed them.

He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan.  He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through.  He made the waters stand as a heap.  In the daytime also, He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.  He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as [from] the great depths.  He brought streams also from the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

Yet they sinned more against Him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.  They tested God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.  Yes, they spoke against God.  They said, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”  Behold, He struck the rock.  The waters gushed out.  The streams overflowed.  “Can He give bread also?  Can He provide flesh for His people?”

Therefore, the Lord heard, and was offended.  Fire was kindled against Jacob.  Anger also came up against Israel: because, they believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation: though He had commanded the clouds from above, opened the doors of heaven, rained down manna on them to eat, and had given them of the bread of heaven.  Man ate angels’ food.  He sent them food to the full.  He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven.  By His power He brought in the south wind.  He rained flesh also on them as dust, feathered fowls as the sand of the sea.  He let [it] fall in the heart of their camp, round about their habitations.  So they ate, and were well filled: for He gave them their own desire.

They were not estranged from their lust.  But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the fury of God came on them, slew the fattest of them, and struck down the chosen [men] of Israel.  [In spite of] all this they sinned still, and believed not for His wondrous works: So He consumed their days in vanity, their years in trouble.

When He slew them, then they sought Him.  They returned and enquired early after God.  They remembered that God [was] their rock, the high God their redeemer.  Even so, they flattered Him with their mouth.  They lied to Him with their tongues: for their heart was not right with Him; nor were they steadfast in His covenant.  But He, [being] full of compassion, forgave [their] iniquity, and destroyed [them] not.  Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and stirred not up all His fury: for He remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind that passes away, and comes not again.

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, grieved Him in the desert!  Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.  They remembered not His hand, the day when He delivered them from the enemy; how He had wrought His signs in Egypt, His wonders in the field of Zoan, had turned their rivers to blood, and their lakes, so that they could not drink.  He sent different kinds of flies among them that devoured them; and frogs that destroyed them.  He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, their labor to the locust.  He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore trees with frost.  He gave up their cattle also to the hail, their flocks to hot thunderbolts.  He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, fury, indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels [among them].  He made a way for His anger.  He spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence.  [He] struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of [their] strength in the tabernacles of Ham: but made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.  He led them on safely, so that they feared not.  But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.  He brought them to the border of His sanctuary, this mountain [that] His right hand had purchased.  He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

Yet, they tempted and provoked the most-high God, and kept not His testimonies: but turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers.  They were turned aside like a deceitful bow: for they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.

When God heard, He was offended, and greatly abhorred Israel: so that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [which] He placed among men; and delivered His strength to captivity, His Glory to the enemy’s hand.  He gave His people over also to the sword; and was offended with His inheritance.  Fire consumed their young men.  Their maidens were not given in marriage.  Their priests fell by the sword.  Their widows made no lamentation.

Then the Lord awoke as one from sleep, like a mighty man Who shouts by reason of wine.  He struck His enemies in the hinder parts.  He put them to a perpetual reproach.  Moreover He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim.2  But [He] chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion that He loved.  He built His sanctuary like high [palaces], like the earth that He has established forever.  He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes great with young.  He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.  So He fed them according to the integrity of His heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of His hands.

________

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[1] We would commit a grave mistake if we saw in the wars of the Israelites some sort of physical jihad.  Unquestionably, many Israelites made this same mistake.  The flesh of man always wants to take credit for what God is doing, and thus misunderstands His true intention.  This is jihad, all right, but it is a completely spiritual jihad: it has physical implications, only because Adam, with the whole human race, became entangled with demonism.  It is Yahweh’s jihad against demonism, which, in no small part, is involved with extricating man from his sin that is at stake here.  Until this idea is firmly engraved on our minds, and planted in our hearts, we cannot understand this Psalm, or any other Psalm.  The wars of God are against spiritual evil, not against flesh and blood.  The salvation of flesh and blood from demonic evil is a painful process.  Many die in this surgery, due to their own fault: they grow to love evil, and hate God, beyond all possibility of change.  From beginning to end, this Psalm is about God’s spiritual war against evil.
Asaph tells us plainly that his story is a parable about, to him, ancient history; about things which happened as much as eight hundred sixty years previously.  He plainly declares that the purpose of his parable is to preserve Yahweh’s testimony by carefully teaching it to their children.  This, is a children’s story.  The testimony of Yahweh is preserved, not by the children’s rote memory, but by the fact that God’s Law becomes engraved on their minds, and planted in their hearts, so that they become living epistles of God’s goodness.  In other words, God’s war against sin in the children’s lives has succeeded to the point that they become sincere believers.  Most of their parents did not receive such victory.
See note 2, below where this meditation is corrected.  We cannot identify Ephraim’s specific failure.  Perhaps this is a reference to the unbelief of the ten spies, who opposed the entry into the promised land: these spies were afraid, and turned back, even though they had witnessed all of God’s power displayed in Egypt and at Sinai.  This is a parable written for children, so it is not at all out of place to find here a practical metonymy in Ephraim for the ten unfaithful spies and the multitudes that followed them.  In any case, this is not the point.  The point is, “They kept not the covenant of God.  [They] refused to walk in His law,” because they had a memory failure (God is being gracious here, one does not simply forget a living, talking pillar of fire and smoke, that is still present with them, listening to their unveiled disrespect, but this is a parable for children, after all).  The point is not their physical failure, their cowardice in the face of opposition, but their spiritual unbelief in God’s ability to keep His part of the Covenant (all of it).  God gives the Covenant, the Israelites do nothing more than receive the gift of Covenant by faith.
Now Asaph reviews details of the miracle of the Exodus from Israel’s perspective, concluding with a reference to the Rock that gives Water, Which is Jesus, the Rock Who gives the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father only; but Jesus gives Him, in that it is the occasion of Jesus’ prayer, that the Father send the Holy Ghost.
Yet, all these miracles did not suffice to separate Israel from unbelief, so strong was Satan’s grasp on their souls.  It is not that God was not strong enough to pry them away from Satan’s grasp, but the weakness of sinful flesh prevented it.  The outcome is more insults to God, so much so that even Moses is lead away, and now, on a second occasion, strikes Christ, his Rock in the face, foreshadowing the Roman beatings in 33 AD.
Make no mistake: God was offended by this.  There were dire consequences: but even in the midst of them “Man ate angels’ food” which foreshadows Christ the Living Bread, Who is our communion.
Instead of being blessed by the greatness of God’s miraculous bounty, many of the Israelites were carried away by the lust of their unbelief and died.  God “struck down the [elect] of Israel.”  Moreover, almost all of the rest died, wandering in the wilderness of their own unbelief, for no good reason at all.  “He consumed their days in vanity, their years in trouble”: forty years of them.
This agony is in reality, part of the healing process.  It is the punishment that refreshes their memories (Hebrews 12).  Yet even in this, their belief is double minded.  We note in this that God’s objective is not the destruction of their flesh, which He could have accomplished with a single stroke back in Egypt.  God’s objective is the healing of the flesh, the separation of the flesh from sin, the building of unwavering faith, the making of the godlike person.  Nevertheless, because the flesh is so easily torn, it is necessary to repeat the painful lesson again, and again, and again.
Asaph returns to the scene of the Exodus from Egypt’s perspective, which the Israelites had witnessed.  The point is that the Israelites are being tempted to return to the place of great death.  The entry into the promised land fits against this Egyptian backdrop, because Canaan was allied with Egypt, which we suspect because of the Amarna letters.  The Canaanites are not cast out because, God in His cruelty, desires to steal their property; but because, God in His great mercy, intends to redeem as many of them as possible: which is why the conquest of Canaan takes from 1446 until nearly 1000, and is not complete until David and Solomon are exalted by God: and even then stands on shaky ground.
Thus, Asaph continues with a brief mention of Israelite failures in the period of Judges, with echoes into the kingdom period.  These portions are brief, because this is a parable for children, and Asaph is directing their attention toward the Law of God.
Once again, the result is that God is offended.  He destroys the Tabernacle.  The Ark of the Covenant is captured by the Philistines: rather, God is fed up and removes Himself to the Philistines, to indicate His strong displeasure.  This is no immediate joy to the Philistines, since God immediately begins to trouble them.  Asaph emphasizes that God Himself caused this, not the might of the Philistines.  The Philistines do not yet realize this, but many of their number will enter into God’s redemption during the time of David: they will become David’s personal bodyguard, so deeply do they fall in love with Yahweh, the Living God.
It is not God who awakens.  For children, the dullness of the Israelite people is expressed with a reverse figure of speech.  The “hinder parts” refers to the “emerods” of 1 Samuel 5:6.  God certainly has a sense of humor: this intense physical discomfort is referred to as a spanking.  The parable ends with the spotlight on David, the Shepherd King; not on the Joseph tribes, especially Ephraim.  Here we see the reason for the earlier reference to Ephraim.  The king will come from Judah, from Zion.  Asaph does not reveal his own anguish to children, in that the physical kingdom of David lies in ruins, but he sees the eternality of the promise, which is only fulfilled in Jesus, the ultimate Shepherd King.  His Kingdom is not of this world.  The wars of the Psalms are about spiritual warfare, not physical warfare.
[2] Joshua (Numbers 13:8, 16; Joshua 16:1-4; 1 Chronicles 7:20-29).  There are many suggestions for the meaning of this phrase, some of them quite fanciful, even absurd.  As a whole, the Psalm explains how and why the leadership of Israel passed from Joshua’s dynasty to David’s dynasty (Joshua is not representative of a true dynasty, as far as we know.  We are pressing the word dynasty into service here, because we do not have a better word).  The reference most likely refers to 1 Samuel 4.  The Ark is taken (actually the Ark and the Glory abandon Israel).  Eli and his wicked son’s die.  Priestly authority passes from Eli to Samuel, the great king maker, who stops the Philistine attack dead in its tracks (1 Samuel 7).  Eli had long ago lost prophetic authority, but Samuel received prophetic authority and retained it even though he was not directly in the presence of the Ark or its Glory (1 Samuel 2 and 3).  Israel’s worship was severely corrupted.  Ephraim, although physically well prepared for battle, was routed by the Philistines because they had forfeited all moral fortitude.  The epitaph is written over Israel (1 Samuel 4), Ichabod, “The Glory has departed.”  The use of Ephraim rather than Eli or Joshua, avoids attaching blame to any one person, especially a famous Israelite hero.  This is a children’s story and it is best softened by this grammatical use.  Blaming Eli, especially, who failed to discipline his wicked children, serves no learning purpose: it is bad enough for adults to remember.  In the greater scheme of things, Ephraim may be more accurate: the whole nation lost its ability to fight against evil, because of its internal corrupting evil, its sins, particularly sins of omission.  No one bothered to clean up the mess: not even Samuel.  Children are not best taught by blaming others, but by owning personal responsibility for tragic acts.  Eli’s failure was a national failure with root causes stemming from unbelief as far back as the Exodus, and beyond.  Israel needed a king, because the heart was broken in sin, and needed healing; healing that would only come with the arrival of king Jesus.

Psalm 80:1-19


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 80:1-19[1]

To the chief Musician on Shoshannim–eduth, A Psalm of Asaph.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Who leads Joseph like a flock.  Who dwells [between] the Cherubims.  Shine forth.  Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your strength.  Come save us.  Turn us again, O God.  Cause Your face to shine.  We shall be saved.

Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people?  You feed them with the bread of tears; and give them tears to drink in great measure.  You make us a strife to our neighbors.  Our enemies laugh among themselves.  Turn us again, O God of hosts.  Cause Your face to shine.  We shall be saved.

You have brought a vine from Egypt.  You have cast out the heathen, and planted it.  You prepared [room] before it, caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land.  The hills were covered with its shadow, and its boughs [were like] the good cedars.  She sent out her boughs to the sea, and her branches to the river.

Why have You broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her?  The boar from the wood wastes it.  The wild beast of the field devours it.  Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts.  Look down from heaven.  Behold.  Visit this vine, the vineyard, which Your right hand has planted, the branch You made strong for Yourself.  [It is] burned with fire.  [It is] cut down.  They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

Let Your hand be on the Man of Your right hand, on the Son of Man You made strong for Yourself.  So, we will not go back from You.  Make us alive.  We will call on Your name.  Turn us again, Lord God of hosts.  Cause Your face to shine.  We shall be saved.

________

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[1] Because of Psalms like this, we believe that Asaph writes between 586 and 516 BC, from somewhere in Israel-Judea, as he surveys the destruction of Jerusalem, and everything else for miles around.  His Psalms do not show a glimpse of any return from Babylon.  His Psalms do not show that he was among those deported to Babylon.  The Psalm divides itself into three stanzas using the refrain, “Turn us again, ….  Cause Your face to shine.  We shall be saved.  The ellipsis grows in emotional intensity as the Psalm progresses: “O God,” “O God of hosts,” “Lord God of hosts.”  We have artificially divided the last stanza into three parts, hoping to select groups by common subject matter.
Asaph’s cry is to God the Shepherd, The Shining Glory, Who still dwells between the Cherubims, even He has left for heaven.  His cry is for all Israel.  There is no such thing as the lost tribes.  When the Assyrians crushed and dispersed the northern kingdom in 722 BC, a faithful remnant, all who wished and were able, fled to Judea, to remain part of the worshipping people of God: but now, corruption has overtaken them, even in Judea and in Jerusalem.  Asaph’s specific prayer is that the nation would receive the gift of repentance, by which they might be saved.  God has turned His back on Israel-Judea.
Asaph now turns to the fact that Yahweh is justifiably angry with His people, who are only starting to turn to Him because of their tearful pain.  Ironically, when they were prosperous, they had time for idols, but not for Yahweh.  Ironically, faith begins to grow and flourish under punishment and suffering; it is the road of the cross that builds true faith.  They were mocked, as He was mocked, as we are mocked; here is the narrow gate and difficult path we must follow (Matthew 7:13-14).  Our nation needs the gift of repentance.  Our world needs the gift of repentance.
Asaph elaborates on the historic planting, growth, and prosperity of Israel-Judah, for which there is no logical reason.  Israel-Judah was never a great nation; they fought among themselves, and divided in civil war.  They were surrounded by great nations, any one of which was strong enough to crush them physically.  Their existence and their strength was due only to the Presence of God’s Glory, dwelling among them.  This is what they forgot, when they took their eyes off of God, and became preoccupied with their own beauty.
Asaph continues with the obvious question in the hearts and minds of those who have lost their senses, of those who have become preoccupied with their own beauty, of those who rejoice in their own strength.  Such nations, such a world has no idea why it is being destroyed, why its original prosperity is being taken away.  Each little comeback is met with the proclamation of how strong they are.  In reality Israel-Judah was becoming weaker by the minute.
Asaph, on the other hand, is one who has regained his senses.  As with the prodigal son, he realizes that the promises made to David are eternal, they still stand; so he cries out for the Son.  Where is the King?  Let the King arise at the Father’s right hand.  In Him we will repent and never betray You again.  In Him we will live and learn to worship aright.  Even so, many are still turning away.  “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)?”  Or will the earth be like Jerusalem, in faithless ruins, with only a few like Asaph, mourning the dead?

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Psalm 56:1-13


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 56:1-13[1]

To the chief Musician on Jonath–elem–rechokim, Michtam, of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.[2]

Be merciful to me, O God: for man would swallow me up.  He fighting daily oppresses me.  My enemies would daily swallow [me] up: for [there are] many who fight against me, O most High.  What time I am afraid, I will trust in You.  In God I will praise His word, In God I have put my trust.  I will not fear what flesh can do to me.

Every day they wrest my words.  All their thoughts [are] against me for evil.  They gather themselves together.  They hide themselves.  They mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.  Shall they escape by iniquity?  In anger cast down the people, O God.

You count my wanderings.  Put my tears in Your bottle.  [Are they] not in Your book?  When I cry, then my enemies shall turn back.  This I know: for God [is] with me.

In God I will praise [His] word.  In the Lord I will praise [His] word.  In God I have put my trust.  I will not be afraid [of] what man can do to me.  Your vows [are] on me, O God.  I will render praises to You: for You have delivered my soul from death.  [Will You] not [deliver] my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

________

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[1] This is David’s second attempt at an alliance with Achish, king of Gath (1 Samuel 21; 27).  This time David was more or less successful.  However, David was not completely honest with Achish, because he did not want Achish to think that he retained secret alliances with Israel (1 Samuel 27).  Nor did the other Philistine princes trust David (1 Samuel 29).  In the meantime, Saul had lapsed completely into demonism (1 Samuel 28).  This strife with the Philistine chiefs provides the means that prevented David from meeting Saul in battle, and being forced into lifting his hand against the Lord’s anointed.
David seems to have jumped from the frying pan into the fire.  Previously, he had one adversary; now, he has several.  He is compelled to be in active war every day, and he survives by clever deception.  He is afraid, but he comforts himself in the resurrection from the dead, “I will not fear what flesh can do to me.”  This phrase is repeated in a few verses.
Now David complains about the behavior of the other Philistine chiefs, who slander, suspect, stalk, and in other ways express their malice toward David.  If the Ark has moved to Ekron, David is without its immediate comfort and protection.
In spite of this, David knows that God knows his troubles: God counts each problem, collects every tear, and records all of David’s tribulations in His diary.  God’s eye is on the sparrow, and David is worth many sparrows.  David realizes through his incessant flight and weeping that the day will come when his enemies turn and run from him in defeat.
David rests his hope in the promises of God; what God has said will come to pass, “I will not be afraid [of] what man can do to me.”  The vows of God keep David alive.  He remembers that he is anointed the true and rightful king of Israel.  He is Israel’s Christ, the icon and type of Christ to come.  Even though the shadow of death hands over him, he trusts in the resurrection, “so that I may walk before God in the light of the living!”  Alive or dead he knows that there is eternal victory, eternal life.
[2] See Psalm 34.

Monday, February 24, 2014

My Path, His Path


I came, at last, to the end of my path.  I had not experienced shame for a long time.  Tonight, I was ashamed of myself for what I had done.  In my misery, I cried out, “Dear God, if there is a God, in heaven, if there is a heaven, help me.”  God heard that prayer of desperation, and blessed it.  He brought me onto a new path, His path.

“Blessed [is the] man who follows not [the] wishes of [the] wicked.  In [the] path of sinners, he stands not.  On the seat of [the] pestilent, he sits not.  But, his will [is] in the law of [the] Lord.  On His law, he meditates day and night.  He is as the tree, having been planted beside the path of waters, who gives his fruit in his time.  His leaf [is] not cast away.  Whatever he shall do follows the good path.

“Not so, the wicked, not so: but [are] like the dust, which the wind casts out from the face of the earth.  Through this, [the] wicked arise not in [the] judgment, nor sinners in [the] wishes of [the] righteous.  Because [the] Lord knows, [the] path of [the] righteous.  [The] path of [the] wicked perishes.”[i]



[i] Psalm 1

Psalm 34:1-22


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 34:1-22[1]

[A Psalm] of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise [shall] continually [be] in my mouth.  My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.  The humble shall hear, and be glad.  Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.  They looked to Him, and were illumined.  Their faces were not ashamed.  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard, and saved him from all his troubles.  The Angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.  Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Blessed [is] the man [that] trusts in Him.  Fear the Lord, His saints: for [there is] no want to those who fear Him.  The young lions lack, and suffer hunger.  But those who seek the Lord shall not want any good.

Come, children, listen to me.  I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  What man desires life, [and] loves days, so that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile.  Depart from evil, and do good.  Seek peace, and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord [are] on the righteous, and His ears [are open] to their cry.  The face of the Lord [is] against those who do evil, to cut off their remembrance from the earth.  Cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord [is] near those who are of a broken heart; and saves such as are of a contrite spirit.

Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous.  The Lord delivers him from them all.  He keeps all His bones.  Not one of them is broken.  Evil shall slay the wicked.  Those who hate the righteous shall be desolate.  The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.  None of those who trust in Him shall be desolate.

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[1] David tried to find an alliance with Abimelech on two different occasions (1 Samuel 21; 27).  Abimelech means father-king: his name was Achish, who was king of Gath.  Why Gath?  Possibly because the Ark of the Covenant was there.  David’s prayers are consumed with the Presence of God’s Glory, Which is most frequently associated with the Ark of the Covenant.  In spite of the fact that God is ubiquitous, in teaching the Israelites about Himself, God proclaims Himself in local Glory, as a Person, a King above all Kings; Who like other kings, displays His dignity by riding around on His portable throne, His sedan chair, the Ark.  So we suspect that the Ark had not yet been sent to Ekron.  In any case David was afraid of Achish; but Achish was also afraid of David and David’s God.
The following prayer seems strange in this location.  David’s invitation extends far beyond the circumference of his little band of fierce soldiers.  This is the prayer of The Church that in lifting up praise to Yahweh, invites the whole world to join in worship together.  This invitation is especially extended to the humble of the world, who are able to listen: but not to the proud, who are made deaf by their pride.  Is David calling Achish and the Philistines to faith?  Eventually, many Philistines will follow David in faith.
David attributes his deliverance, not to his feigning madness, but to Yahweh.  The Angel of the Lord” is an alternative name for the Person, Who rides on the Ark, the pre-incarnate Christ.  Hence, David sees The Angel of the Lord” as the “bread of heaven” Who satisfies every human hunger and need.  Man’s need is not food, but a good taste of God.  Is this a message for Achish?
Whoever David addresses, he now likens to children, the children of God.  He has three simple lessons for them.  Lesson one.  Love God’s Law, seek and do it.
Lesson two.  God hears the prayer of those who are broken and contrite: for He sees them as being clothed with righteousness, while evil doers are cut off.
Lesson three.  The humbled, righteous servants of God are always under affliction: this is the believer’s way of life.  Nevertheless, it is these afflicted servants of God, these believers, who will never be desolate; rather, their lives will be filled with a strange joy which seems out of touch with the reality of their afflictions.  David hides a prophecy in the middle of this lesson.  The New Testament informs us that the absence of broken bones applies specifically to the crucifixion of Christ (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; John 19:36).  This is the central message of the call to the humble everywhere in the world, to come and worship.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Psalm 18:1-50


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 18:1-50[1]

To the Chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day [that] the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.  He said,

I will love You, Lord, my strength.  The Lord [is] my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.  I will call on the Lord, [Who is worthy] to be praised.  So I shall be saved from my enemies.

The sorrows of death circled me, The floods of ungodly men made me afraid.  The sorrows of hell circled about me.  The snares of death confronted me.  In my distress, I called on the Lord, and cried to my God.  He heard my voice from His temple, My cry came before Him, to His ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled.  The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was offended.  There went up a smoke from His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured.  Coals were kindled by it.  He bowed the heavens also, and came down.  Darkness [was] under His feet.  And He rode on a cherub, and flew.  Yes, He flew on the wings of the wind.  He made darkness His secret place.  His pavilions round about Him [were] dark waters, thick clouds of the skies.  At the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed, hail and coals of fire.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens, The Highest gave His voice.  Yes, He sent out His arrows, and scattered them.  He shot out lightning, and discomfited them.  Then the channels of waters were seen, The foundations of the world were discovered at Your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.  He sent from above, He took me, He drew me from many waters.  He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me: for they were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but, the Lord was my stay.  He brought me forth also to a large place.  He delivered me, because He delighted in me.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness.  According to the cleanness of my hands has He repaid me: for I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God: for all His judgments [were] before me, I put not away His statutes from me.  I was also upright before Him, I kept myself from my iniquity.  Therefore, the Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight.

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful.  With an upright man You will show Yourself upright.  With the pure, You will show Yourself pure.  With the forward, You will show Yourself forward: for You will save the afflicted people: but will bring down high looks: for You will light my candle.  The Lord my God will light my darkness: for by You I have run through a troop.  By my God, I have leaped over a wall.

 [As for] God, His way [is] perfect.  The Word of the Lord is tried.  He [is] a buckler to all those who trust in Him: for Who [is] God save the Lord?  Who [is] a rock save our God?  God girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like deer’ [feet], and sets me on my high places.  He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms.  You have also given me the shield of Your salvation.  Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.  You have enlarged my steps under me, so that my feet slipped not.

I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them.  Nor turned I again until they were consumed.  I have wounded those so that they were not able to rise.  They are fallen under my feet: for You have girded me with strength for the battle.  You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.  You have also given me the necks of my enemies, so that I might destroy those who hate me.  They cried, but [there was] no one to save: to the Lord, He answered them not.  Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.  I cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

You have delivered me from the striving of the people.  You have made me the head of the heathen.  A people I have not known shall serve me.  As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me.  Aliens shall submit themselves to me.  The aliens shall fade away, and be afraid from their hiding places.

The Lord lives.  Blessed [be] my rock.  Let the God of my salvation be exalted.  God avenges me, and subdues the people under me.  He delivers me from my enemies.  Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me.  You have delivered me from the violent man.

Therefore, I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises to Your name.  He gives great deliverance to His king; [He] shows mercy to His Christ, to David, and to his seed forever.

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[1] The lengthy heading indicates that this is most likely a Todah, given formally and publicly by David, complete with the appropriate animal sacrifices.  It would have been given in front of the temporary tabernacle on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, after the Ark of the Covenant is restored to him, after the kingdom is united, and after he has received the Davidic Covenant that promises him an eternal kingdom.
David begins with a formal declaration of his love for God.  He does not love God, only because God has saved him.  God has loved him since he was a small child, since he was an insignificant shepherd.  Because of God’s great love. David has been saved, that is delivered from every threat imaginable; so now, David responds appropriately from the reality of God’s longstanding relationship with him.
David describes these threats in glowing words.  He is not mincing words, or speaking metaphorically.  He was on the brink of death, and that on many different occasions.  He notes that even in those days, when the Ark of the Covenant was still among the Philistines, that these things are mere icons of the Heavenly Temple, where God still hears every word of his prayer.
Again, David is not speaking metaphorically.  He earth really shook, even though we do not know the occasion.  Because such events are not ordinary today, we forget that they were ordinary for Moses and for David.  It was ordinary to meet with the Glory of God in a blazing public display of power.  This event must be taken as real as when the disciples were terrified by the storm on Galilee, when Jesus stilled the tempest with a word.  David understands this event to be like the giving of the Law at Sinai, so he describes it in similar terms.  This assures David that, in spite of all the threats to his life, the Universe still operates according to God’s Law.
David continues his description of God’s Glorious Presence coming to rescue him as also being very much like the Exodus, and the crossing of the Red Sea.  As Israel was plucked from the Red Sea and spared death by drowning; so David was plucked from the hands of Saul.  Once again, God was faithful in the deliverance of His people; because, He loves them.
David’s righteousness is not something merely earned by his own works.  God’s loving relationship with David has borne fruit, David loves God in return, and has learned to love God’s Law.  It is not that David has achieved perfection before the Law; but, out of love for God, and devotion to the Law, his life has been changed: his living faith is inseparable from the works it performs; so God sees this faith, and rewards it.
David recounts some of the things that God wants to see reflected in man, things which He rewards in kind.  God wants to see Himself reflected in His creature; He does not want to see Satan and his works reflected there.  Works of kindness, justice, and purity are blessed, while works of pride are condemned appropriately.  David sees that he is become “the light of the world” because God has given him light, along with the strength to run and jump with that light and show it to all.
Now David shows that all of these things are the outcome of God’s Word operating in life, changing people into the glory of God.  David breaks out in praise: God is perfect, a buckler (a small, frequently round shield with which to both defend and strike), self-existent, a rock, the source of strength and perfection.  All the lessons and victories of life come from God.  Any temptation to interpret the preceding paragraphs as human prowess are dispelled.  Extraordinary among God’s greatness is God’s gentleness, from which David learns his own need to learn gentleness.
David did not strike Saul: he refused to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed.  So who are these enemies that cannot be spared?  After Saul’s death a messenger arrives who claims to have taken Saul’s life.  This man dies without mercy.  However, David has learned gentleness; he knows that his struggle is not against mere men, but against powerful demonic forces, and he behaves accordingly.
David is king of a divided kingdom, with seven years of civil strife.  His chief general turns into a treacherous murder, fomenting the strife even more.  Nevertheless, the kingdom did unite; the strife was put away; peace was made with Saul’s family; Philistine battalions came to believe in Yahweh and serve as David’s bodyguard; many pagans were converted; others hid in shame.
God deserves and gets credit for all of these wonderful results.  Yes, David had a part and did it; but, God has moved in David’s life making the kingdom and peace a reality.  The violent man who has caused so much trouble may be Joab, rather than Saul.
David attributes all of these many blessings to the outworking of the Davidic Covenant.  God has promised David an eternal kingdom; now God is in the process of delivering His promise.