Psalms

Psalm 4 – My Glory Turned to Shame

There is nothing in the psalm header which indicates the context of the psalm, but the editors of the whole Psalter may have intended it to be read along side of Psalm 3, a response to the rebellion of Absalom.  While this is possible, there is nothing here which requires that reading.  In fact, the opponent in the Psalm may not be specific enemies of David, b ut people who subject David (and Israel) to scorn because of their faith in God.

Craig Broyles pointed out several observations which can be made about these scoffers (Psalms, 52).  First, they speak lies in order to shame David (vs. 2). Second, the opponent may be wealthy, since their new wine and grain abound (vs. 7).  Broyles also points out that these Hebrew phrase “sons of men” (vs. 2, “people” in the ESV) is used for the wealthy in other Psalms (49:2, 62:9).  Third, the opponents may have worshiped other gods (vs 6), the reference to new wine and grain is reminiscent of Baal worship in Hosea 2:8, 7:14.

While Broyles does not make any connection to a specific period in Israel’s history, from the time of David to the eighth century prophets there was a struggle between those who were completely devoted to the God of Israel and those who blended that worship with Baal.  By the time of Elijah, for example, the northern kingdom of Israel worshiped Baal openly.  It may very well be that Psalm 4 reflects the fact that Baal worshipers in the Northern kingdom were in many ways more successful and prosperous than those who worshiped God in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Verse 2 may be the key.  The ESV reads “how long will people turn my glory into shame.”  It is possible that this “glory” is not David’s reputation, but rather an allusion to God as David’s glory.  Perhaps citizens of the Northern kingdom of Israel pointed out that since they were prosperous and Judah was not, God must be honoring them for their syncretic form of worship rather than the worship done in the Temple. After all, God is a just God and would not reward the nation if it was not deserved!  From the perspective of history we know that the worship in the Temple the form God required, although even there the state of the heart of the worshiper was far more important than the outward method of sacrifice.  To possess material wealth is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing, to be in poverty is not necessarily a sign of God’s curse. In fact, it turns out that material, physical blessing cannot really be used to judge whether God is moving or not.

This point is a very applicable to the modern church.  Some people will point to a large, wealthy church as think that God is surely blessing them, while the small church which struggles to keep the lights on is doing something wrong.  In both cases, God may be honored, or God may be ignored. To use the material wealth of a church or ministry to gauge the health of a church is misguided.  One only needs to look at examples of wealthy “Christian” organization which are led my men who are ungodly and immoral, or theologically suspect.  For a ministry to “get rich” it is often expedient to ignore good doctrine and biblical morals in favor slogans and divisive issues.

Psalm 1 and 2 as an Introduction to the Psalter

[The audio for this week’s evening service is available at Sermon.net, as is a PDF file of the notes for the service. You should be able to download the audio directly with this link, if you prefer (right-click, save link as….)  I am speaking at Northern Grace Youth Camp the next week, back in two weeks with another Psalm.]

When I addressed Psalm 1, I suggested that Psalm 1 and 2 form an introduction to the book of Psalms.  Since Psalm 1 begins with a beatitude and Psalm 2 ends with another, there is a hint that the two Psalms were meant to be read together.  Psalm 3 is the first psalm with a heading identifying a circumstance in David’s life as the occasion for the Psalm.  Perhaps most important is the fact that these two psalms present two themes which re-occur frequently throughout the psalter, wisdom and eschatology.  Psalm 1 contrasted the blessed man, who is fruitful and successful in what he does, and the wicked man, who is fruitless and ultimately useless in all he does. Psalm 2 contrasts two kingdoms, God’s kingdom, ruled by his anointed one, and the kingdom of men, who chaff against God’s kingdom. The blessed one takes refuge in God’s kingdom (2:12).

What is the point of introducing the Psalter with Wisdom and Eschatology?  Most people have a sense that the Psalms are intended for worship.  This is certainly true, but worship in Israel (in contrast to modern America) is not simply setting a “mood” or generating a “spiritual feeling.” Worship in the Psalms always looks back to what God has done and looks forward to what God will do in the future.  The Worshiper therefore stands between these two events and must live on the foundation of the past and the hope of the future.

Since the Psalms were collected some time after the fall of the Israel and Judah, a worshiper using the Psalms looked back to the promises of God to establish his anointed one in Zion, but forward to an ultimate Anointed One who will rule from Zion.  Living between the fall of Jerusalem and the future re-establishment of a kingdom to Israel, the worshiper ought to live a life of wisdom, in harmony with God’s created order.  This is why so many psalms look back to the Exodus.  Just as God has (in the past) rescued his people from Egypt and brought then to the land of their inheritance, he will (in the future) rescue True Israel out of the nations are return them to the Land once again.

For the Church, we live between the death of Jesus and his future return.  Jesus’ death on the cross finally dealt with the problem of sin, providing the basis of salvation in the present age.  While we can be right with God, we are not yet “in the heavens.”  We are adopted into God’s family, but we are not yet with him in glory.  Therefore we look forward to the return of Jesus in the future.  Like Israel, we live between two “salvation events,” the crucifixion and the consummation of the ages.

Psalm 1:2 – Delight and Meditate on the Word of the Lord

[The audio for this week’s evening service is available at Sermon.net, as is a PDF file of the notes for the service. You should be able to download the audio directly with this link, if you prefer (right-click, save link as….)  We are off next Sunday for Independence Day and I am speaking at West Coast Grace Youth Camp the next week. ]

The mind of the blessed person is on the Law of the Lord (Psalm 1:2).  The Torah is the focus of the righteous person’s attention.  The noun torah (תּוֹרָה) is repeated twice and it is plural in both cases.  This may indicate that the writer has in  mind more than just the five books of the Law, or simply the covenant found in Deuteronomy.  But the word basically means “instruction” and is used for the Law or the whole Hebrew Bible.  Psalm 19 and 119 both use torah to describe the God’s revelation of himself.  When God reveals himself, we must respond in some way (respect and obedience, or sinful scoffing).

First, the blessed person delights in the Law of the Lord.  The verb “delight”  (חֵפֶץ) refers to a strong desire. Sometimes it is used to describe “precious stones” because they are the type of thing people pursue, they are of extreme value. For example, the Lord does not delight in sacrifice, but in obedience (1 Sam 15:22), in Prov 2:15, 8:11 wisdom is described as more precious that jewels, nothing which can be desired is better than her.

For the righteous, the Law of the Lord is the object of his greatest desire. People tend to take delight in special objects, think about how people will take a precious item and display it on a shelf for everyone to see. Some people decorate their office with special items which they take delight in, photographs of family, special awards, souvenirs from special

I find this delight missing in contemporary culture.  People do not usually get excited about a sermon, even one based on Scripture.  It seems to be the price we pay to have a “worship experience.”  People do not really “delight in the Word of the Lord,” but seem to tolerate it, or read it as a duty.

Second, the blessed person meditates on the Law of the Lord.  The verb translated “meditate” (הגה) comes from a root which means to “growl” or “to mutter.”  In this context, it means to read the Law in a low voice while meditating.  I will admit that meditating is something I have never fully understood, primarily because of the way it comes across in the media – a swami meditating and chanting a mantra, etc.  It seems somewhat mindless to me, the goal is emptying the mind of rational thought.  I am not really interested in that, and I am not sure that is what this text indicates since this word describes an audible, verbal action.

The point of “muttering” the Law of the Lord is reading it out loud, perhaps in a low, respectful voice, but nevertheless out loud. We hear things when we read aloud that we do not hear when we read silently.  This is therefore not a mindless chanting of the Scripture, it is a pronouncement of what the Scripture says!  Psalm 35:28 and 37:30 both use this same word to describe a worshiper verbalizing the righteousness of the Lord as a part of worship.

I would suggest that this activity is rational, the purpose is to read and hear the scripture, to immerse oneself in Scripture, so that it becomes the way a person thinks.  Everyone knows that the Scripture says “Do no steal.” If you are in a store and do not have enough money to pay for something, you probably do not wonder whether it is God’s will to steal.  You know this because you have absorbed that concept from the Bible.  The more you absorb, the more your thinking changes so that you may not even notice that you are applying Scripture constantly.

These activities are constant: day and night.  This does not mean a ten minute devotion with breakfast and another ten minutes before bed (although that is a good start!) The blessed person is so immersed in Scripture that it is in his thoughts all of the time.

2 Samuel 23:1-7 – An Oracle of David, Son of Jesse

[The audio for this week’s evening service is available at Sermon.net, as is a PDF file of the notes for the service. You should be able to download the audio directly with this link, if you prefer (right-click, save link as….)]

2 Samuel 23:1   Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel…

This song is described as an oracle, usually associated with a prophet.  But it also a wisdom psalm.  The song is quite similar to Proverbs 30, the Sayings of King Lemuel.  In that case, the words are described as advice given to him by his mother prior to becoming king. The content of both songs is similar, being advice from an older, wiser person on how to be a successful king.

The heading for this song describes David with three titles:

The man whom the Lord raised on high.  The verb is passive, God is the subject.  As we have seen frequently in this series, David always attributes his rise from a young shepherd to the king of Israel to the power and guidance of God.  To be “raised on high” was a major theme of the previous Psalm in 2 Sam 22.   David was a the lowest point imaginable and the Lord lifted hum out of the pit and raised him to a high, level, and safe ground.

The anointed one of God.  This is a theologically packed title, one which will develop into the idea of messiah. By the time of the New Testament, Messiah is the title of the coming deliverer who will restore David’s kingdom to Israel.  At this point in history, however, to be the “anointed of God” is to be specially chosen by God for a particular task, in David’s case, to be the ruler of a united Israel. While a literal anointing with oil is part of the coronation of a king, it is possible that David also has in mind the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life.  When David was anointed as king in 1 Sam 16 he in fact received the Holy Spirit and was from that time on guided and led by God’s Spirit.

The “Sweet Psalmist of Israel.”  The ESV does a good job with the noun נָעִים (na’im)which has the connotation of pleasant or delightful. Frequently this is in the context of music which praises God (Ps 81:3, 135:3, 147:1) or wisdom (Prov 22:18, 23:8, 24:4).  The NIV (1984) has “singer of songs,” the TNIV has “the hero of Israel’s songs,” although I cannot understand why they chose “hero” for this noun.  The cognate verb can mean “be friendly with” or even “good to the taste” and the cognate adjective is usually translated “sweetness” or “charm” (נַעַם, but this form does not appear in the Hebrew Bible).

But this is not music alone, he is the sweet singer (זָמִיר) of Israel.  David is described as the one who created songs for the nation’s worship.  This may have been intentional since one factor in creating a national spirit is to use music.  There are certain songs, even styles of songs which are a part of a nation’s psyche.  John Philip Sousa strikes a patriotic chord for most Americans.  Think of the National Anthem scene in Casablanca.  Music can create nationalism.  David uses music strengthen Israel’s national story, although it is his version of that story!

Just as music has the power to unite a people, so too it instructs.  Human minds are wired to remember lyrics set to pleasant melodies.  (How many songs can you recall compared to scripture?  My guess is most people my age know more lyrics to Margaritaville than scripture.)  David created a body of music which not only supported a developing nationalism, but also a particular view of God.  He is different than the gods of the Canaanites.

2 Samuel 22:30 – By my God I can Leap over a Wall

2 Sam 22:30 is a particularly vivid image: “For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.” This verse might be the Hebrew Bible’s version of “I can do all things through Christ,” since David expresses the idea that the for the one who is rescued and vindicated by God and walking in the light which God provides (verse 29), he can do remarkable things indeed!

To “run against a troop” means that in the strength of the Lord David is able to stand up to an entire army himself. This is not far from his own experience with Goliath, and in 2 Sam 23:8-39 there are several stories of David’s soldiers who did in fact stand up to a large enemy force by themselves, super-human feats which can only be credited to the power of God. In 23:11, for example, Shammah defends a field against the Philistines single-handed.  In 23:18, Abishai slays 300 Philistines with his spear.

Likewise, to “leap over a wall” is a feat of incredible strength which goes beyond a human’s ability.

The Gates of Arad

This is not a fence or wall between two properties, this is a major city wall, perhaps 20 feet tall and heavily guarded. David entered Jerusalem through the water system, narrow and dark caves.  But in the Lord he is able to hurdle the defenses of the enemy as if they are nothing at all.  This photograph shows the reconstructed walls of Arad, a citadel in a hill in the southern part of Judah’s territory.  I show it as an example of the kind of wall David is referring to in this Psalm.  He is not leaping a short fence or jumping something which is humanly possible.  To leap over the wall of the enemy’s city is impossible physically — only by the power of God can David do “all things.”

There are other military metaphors in this section which describe David as an excellent warrior because the Lord rescued him.  For example, he runs like a deer (34), he breaks bows of bronze (35), he “consumed” his enemies (39), he grinds his enemies to dust (43).  All of these images ought to be take together to show that David is the ultimate victor.  He was a man drowning in the chaotic waters of the Sea, about to be dragged down to Sheol itself, yet the Lord rescued him, put him in a safe place, and made him to be his king forever (50-51).

David’s whole life is an example of this transformation from a young boy to warrior, from enemy of the state to King of Israel.  Looking back over the years, undoubtedly David saw his life as proof that the Lord was at work – David himself could not take credit for anything he did!