Wake Me Up When The Danger Ends (Psalm 17)

If you were arrested, who would you dial for your one phone call? Actually, it’s a myth that you only get one call. But try to imagine being in that situation. You’re locked up and the only way out is for you to make a call and for the other person to answer and spring into action. But what if the person you called didn’t pick up? Or what if they did pick up, but had no money to bail you out? The call is wasted if the person on the other end isn’t ready to answer, if they don’t care about you, and if they don’t have the resources necessary to help you.

Can God be counted on when we call out to Him? Every time we pray we do so out of a belief that God can be counted on to hear us, to care about our prayer, to answer, to respond in power and grace. But does He care? Can we count on Him?

Psalm 17 is a prayer of David where he calls out to the Lord for deliverance. In fact, it’s the very first psalm to be labeled a “prayer.”^[1] It seems that David prayed this psalm one night before bed.

His prayer is a series of three pleas. David was in life-threatening danger. Each plea escalates in intensity.^[2] But even though his situation was urgent, throughout this song David assumes God will keep up His end of the covenant. By the end of his prayer, David has reminded himself and us that God can be counted on to hear, to answer, to respond out of the depths of His tender love for us.

Psalm 17:1 –  A prayer of David. ¹ Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry; listen to my prayer—from lips free of deceit.

We’re pretty well trained to acknowledge our sinfulness before God, so hearing David say, “My lips are free of deceit,” it’s hard for us to accept, right? But David never claims to be sinless. Far from it. He’s using legal terms here.^[3] This is a just cause. Sometimes David spoke as a man presenting a case to God the Judge. David is saying, “I’m the victim here, and I need judicial intervention.”

He is very bold in his opening statement. He calls for an answer three times. “Hear, pay attention, listen to my prayer.” How could he be so bold before such a powerful Judge? How could he – a mere mortal – have the audacity to speak to the King of kings with this kind of insistence?

The secret is found in the very first word of his prayer: Yahweh. The God Who has revealed Himself. The God Who we know by name. The God Who shows us His heart, His character, His nature. The God Who has made and kept a covenant with us by His faithfulness, not ours. He is the God Who willfully, purposefully, unfailingly attaches Himself to His people. David’s call was to Yahweh.

Psalm 17:2 – ² Let my vindication come from you, for you see what is right.

Our God is a God Who sees. It can be frustrating to us that we don’t see Him. But, if we’re willing to look, we can see His power, His goodness, His truth, His activity. But we don’t yet get to see Him yet. And, when we’re suffering or confused in life, it’s easy for us to feel like He doesn’t see us – that He is off on some other case, forgetting about our struggles. But it isn’t true.

There’s a beautiful set of verses at the end of Exodus 2. Moses sets the scene at the start of the book – how God’s chosen people were brutally enslaved for hundreds of years. How their sons were being murdered, wholesale. How things kept getting worse. And then, after painting this dark picture of suffering and hardship, we read these verses:

Exodus 2:24-25 – ²⁴ God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ and God saw the Israelites, and God knew.

And what follows is one of the greatest historic epics of all time. A record of God’s faithfulness, God’s intervention, His vindication of His people.

David knew that God was a God Who sees. But in verse 3, he acknowledges that God doesn’t only look at our enemies, He looks at us, too.

Psalm 17:3 – ³ You have tested my heart; you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil; I have determined that my mouth will not sin.

These terms for testing and trying refer to the melting of metals like gold or silver so that the waste, the dross separates from the ore.^[4] It’s called proving. David didn’t resist this examination process.

In his moment of deadly distress, David says, “Lord, I recognize that the first important thing is that I be in right standing before You.” Before the rescue, before the defeat of his enemies, he says, “God, I want to be right in your eyes.” In verse 1 he asked God to hear him three times. Here, David speaks of God proving him three times. Tested, examined, tried me.

No matter what situation we’re facing, our heart’s relationship to the Lord is the most important element. Our spiritual health is not dependent on outward circumstances.

There’s an amazing moment in the Gospels where the disciples are rowing in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. They row all night but are stuck in the middle of the lake, battered by the waves. Then here comes Jesus walking on the water. But before the storm is calmed, before the guys are saved from the danger, the Lord and Peter have a personal interaction. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach Peter about weakness in his faith. The storm is still raging. The waves are still beating. But it was more important to the Lord that He teach the disciples about faith than it was to stop the storm.

So here’s David, at the end of his day, evaluating whether he was in good spiritual health. It’s not a bad idea for us to apply to our own lives. As we come to the end of another day, to invite God to examine us. To say, “Lord, did I honor You today? Did I serve You faithfully today? Did I surrender to the Spirit today or did I give in to my sin nature?” Remember: God’s purpose in our lives is to refine us like gold. And we should invite His refining, sanctifying work in our hearts just as David did.

Psalm 17:4-5 – ⁴ Concerning what people do: by the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. ⁵ My steps are on your paths; my feet have not slipped.

As this stanza comes to a close, David finishes making the case that he is innocent. He says that despite what other people do, he has dedicated his life not only to belief in God, but to obedience to the word of God. He says, “I’m walking on Your paths. By Your words my feet have not slipped.”

We live in a crumbling world – a world full of pitfalls, perils, and traps. The only way to stay stable is by the word of God. David says, “Because I obey the words from God’s lips, my feet have not slipped.” This is a common theme in the Psalms.^[5] Jude agrees: The Lord keeps us from stumbling.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gave an extended teaching to His disciples. During that teaching, in John 16, He said, “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.”

The Bible is not a collection of mythologies. It’s not just another religious book. It is the very Word of God, Himself. And when a Christian or a church or a nation moves away from the authority of Scripture, they invariably put themselves on a slippery slope of destruction.

Sometimes people mock Christians when we talk about a slippery slope, but you know what? Life ungoverned by the authoritative Word of God is a slippery slope. Like David, we can’t help what other people do. He says, “Here’s what I’ve determined to do.” Christians are called to be in the world, not of the world. And meanwhile, we’re to live lives planted firmly on the Rock, walking on the high road of heaven, with our steps illuminated by God’s Word, standing on solid truth.

Psalm 17:6 – ⁶ I call on you, God, because you will answer me; listen closely to me; hear what I say.

David is fully confident that the Lord will hear and He will answer. This isn’t naïveté – he speaks from a place of real faith and real understanding. He knows Who God is. He knows God will answer. Why? Because God promises to answer us!

Jeremiah 33:2-3 –  ² “The Lord who made the earth, the Lord who forms it to establish it, the Lord is his name, says this: ³ Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.

David needed an answer. But in his distress, he knew that what was true before the danger is still true during the danger. If you want to know what is promised to you as a person who is loved by God, read Psalm 91. There we learn what it means to belong to God. What it means that He will be our Refuge. One of the things God says in that Psalm is: “When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.”^[6]

David is no longer speaking to God as if He’s a Judge. In this stanza he speaks to the Lord as a Friend – a Friend Who has pledged to protect him.^[7]

Psalm 17:7 – ⁷ Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand.

David’s relationship with Yahweh was not based on what David earned, not based on David’s performance or importance. It was based on love. Hesed love. This is an active, loyal, tender love. A love that flows from compassion. It is a love that is freely given by a stronger person to a weaker person who is in need.^[8] Hesed is the truest love, the truest kindness. Nothing can eclipse it.

David invites God to use his life circumstances to demonstrate to the world what is true about the God of the Bible.

This word wonders can mean something distinct or marked out.^[9] “A mighty act of God that is inexplicable according to human standards.”^[10] He’s not necessarily asking God to work a miracle, but he’s asking God to visibly accomplish what He has promised to do.^[11]

What has God promised to do? Well, in the context of this psalm, David says, “Lord, You’ve promised to be my Protector and Provider and Refuge and Shield.” If God is to demonstrate to the watching world that He is a Protector and He wants to use your life to show it, doesn’t it follow that – at some point – you will need to be in a situation where you need protection?

What else has God promised to you? That He will sustain you. That He will call you to some unique purpose in His will. That He will build testimonies of His power and grace in your life. These promises require certain circumstances. God wants to use our lives to display that He is a Savior. That He is a Provider. That He is faithful and able.

Psalm 17:8-9 – ⁸ Protect me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings ⁹ from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me.

These are two wonderful images. First, the pupil or apple of the eye. It speaks of nearness and attention, but also sensitivity. Once, in high school, I went to put on my sunglasses and as I pulled the arms open, the frame cracked in half and swung into my eye. I ended up with a little scratch on the cornea for a couple weeks. If you’ve ever had an eye injury or even just a little grain of sand in your eye, you know just how sensitive that body part is.

God has great sensitivity toward you. He’s not unfeeling. He’s not callous. He’s not checked out.

The second image is of the mother bird covering over her young with her wing. There’s the little chick, nestled in close – warm against his mother’s side. Jesus, of course, said this is how He loves. David wants us to look on the profound depth and personal nature of God’s love for us. For you.

After looking on God’s love, he pivots to looking at what he’s up against.

Psalm 17:10-12 – ¹⁰ They are uncaring; their mouths speak arrogantly. ¹¹ They advance against me; now they surround me. They are determined to throw me to the ground. ¹² They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

David description of his enemies’ is masked in my translation. He said something like, “Their fat has covered their hearts, and with their dewlaps they speak haughty words.”^[12] The dewlap, refers to the folds of fat some people develop underneath their chins. Quite colorful imagery from David, here!

This isn’t just a description, it’s a diagnosis. Their problem was not physical fat but spiritual. You see, David uses a term that refers to the fat of animal sacrifices^[13] – fat that belonged to the Lord. Instead, they kept their fat. They kept what belonged to God. And it led to heart dysfunction. The same thing happens to the physical heart when there’s too much fat around or in it – you get a stiffening of the heart and pump dysfunction.^[14] And we see that their spiritual hearts had grown hard.

We see an escalation in their behavior toward David. First they’re generally uncaring. Then they start to speak words against him. Then they advance against him. Then finally they’ve surrounded him like a pack of lions, licking their fat chops and moving in for the kill.

And so David calls out for rescue once more.

Psalm 17:13-14 – ¹³ Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked. ¹⁴ With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.

David wanted help now. That’s the point of his prayer. Did he get it? We don’t know the specific setting of this psalm, but we do know this: David was a fugitive from Saul for somewhere between 7 and 15 years. He was anointed to be God’s chosen king when he was a teenager but he didn’t start reigning until he was 30 years old. And then there were six and a half years of brutal civil war.

God is a Rescuer, but sometimes His timing is much less urgent than our feelings. Think of the Christians in Damascus in the book of Acts. They had been driven out of Jerusalem by violent persecution. No one was safe from this guy, Saul of Tarsus. And then they hear that Saul was coming to their town. Coming to imprison. Coming to kill. Coming to destroy. How long did God wait before intervening? He waited till Saul was just outside the city.

Or consider Lazarus. Or the woman with the flow of blood. Or the man born lame and waited for more than 40 years to be healed. Rescue is coming. But it might not come today.

Despite the pressure, David still believed that God could be counted on. And in his description of the men of this world, he highlighted the fact that their time was coming to an end. What an amazing difference there is between the people of God and those who reject God. Time is counting down. For them, it’s a countdown to an end. For us, it’s a countdown to a beginning.

Psalm 17:15 – ¹⁵ But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.

What would you do if you found a cougar in your house? Recently a family in Boulder, Colorado came home to that reality. There’s video of them outside their house and, upstairs, there’s a live cougar looking out the window!

You know what you wouldn’t do? Go to sleep! But apparently that’s what David did. “When I awake, I’ll be satisfied with Your presence.” What an amazing testimony to the power of faith.

Peter demonstrated this kind of faith in the book of Acts. He’s taken in by Herod. The order goes out to chop Peter’s head off in the morning. But there’s Peter, asleep in his cell. He didn’t know that God was going to save him that night, but he knew God was going to save him in the end.

“Satisfied with Your presence” can also be translated, “when I awake in Your likeness.” God is not only saving us, He’s also transforming us. He’s changing us into His image – refining us like gold. He does so for our good and His glory, but also because it has to be done. We cannot be in the presence of righteousness unless we are righteous. But as we walk with God, we are made like Him and one day we will see Him face to face, dwelling with Him forever.

How is this possible? It’s only possible because God comes to the rescue. To understand how that happens, we have to go back to verses 11 and 12. There the lions are surrounding David. He had killed lions and bears before, but this was too much. How would he be rescued from that scene?

The real rescue happens in Psalm 22. Where we see again the enemy dogs and bulls and lions surrounding David. And in that terrible scene, Jesus Christ comes and says, “I’ll stay and be devoured so you can escape.” I will die so you can live. The scene ends at Calvary.^[15] And there we see not only the depth of God’s love for us, but even for these enemies. These stiff-hearted killers. What did Jesus say as He hung on the cross? “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”^[16] The hesed love of God holding nothing back in His quest to save and redeem and show compassion.

This is the God we pray to. This is the God of the Bible. This is the King Who rules forever and ever. Can He be counted on? You better believe it!

Judaean Rhapsody (Psalm 7)

Bohemian Rhapsody was a joke. Freddie Mercury called it a “mock opera.”^[1] Queen couldn’t stop laughing while recording. But, the joke went diamond and is now considered their signature song.

Psalm 7 is a Shiggaion. It’s a rhapsody – a song of stirred emotions.^[2] But what’s interesting is that the emotions at the beginning of the song are very different than those at the end of the song. In fact, by the end, it’s as if David has completely changed his tune. Scholars have a hard time even categorizing the genre of this particular Psalm because at first it’s a lament, then it becomes an oath Psalm, then hits other themes before culminating in a hymn of thanks.^[3]

Musicians still do this today. Bohemian Rhapsody was three songs put into one. Paul McCartney’s Band On The Run also famously has three distinct parts that flow one after the other.

As Psalm 7 opens, we find David as a man on the run. Like so many of his psalms, this one was born during a time of great danger, suffering, and oppression against the man after God’s own heart.

Psalm 7:Superscript – A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

We don’t know exactly who this Cush is or what he said. He was an enemy of David who accused him of some sort of wrongdoing but was also threatening David’s life.

Facing that kind of crisis, what does David do? He sings a song! He’s like a character in a musical. To David, now was always a good time to sing to the Lord. Martin Luther once wrote, “David made psalms: we also will make psalms, and sing as well as we can, to the honor of our Lord God.”^[4] It might seem unrealistic to us, but it really is a needful part of the Christian life.

Psalm 7:1-2 – ¹ Lord my God, I seek refuge in you; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, ² or they will tear me like a lion, ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.

David had many enemies. Whether it was Goliath or the hordes of Philistines, rivals within the tribes of Israel or even traitors in his own family, David was always in someone’s crosshairs.

You also have a lion-like enemy who is looking to destroy you: your adversary, the Devil, who prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone he can devour.^[5] And you have that back-stabbing turncoat, the flesh, living in your heart trying to undermine your walk with the Lord.

In this crisis, David knew that his only hope was the Lord. The Lord was His shelter.

We hear about the ultra-wealthy using different shelters: Tax shelters. Bomb shelters. Billionaires have been building bunkers in Hawaii recently. And why shouldn’t they? Everywhere we turn we’re being told to be afraid. That disaster in unavoidable. That you are surrounded by enemies.

Psalm 46:1-3 – ¹ God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. ² Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, ³ though its water roars and foams and the mountains quake with its turmoil.

The Lord is our refuge. The term here literally refers to being sheltered from a rainstorm or when soldiers on the run would hide in the hills.^[6] To be protected in a shadow. I was at a graveside this week and a number of us kept gravitating to the shade of this tall tree so we could get out of the sun. We got into the shade by moving closer to the tree. The sun was still out, those UV rays still coming down, but as I moved close to the tree I was sheltered by its shade.

David was the greatest warrior of his generation but he knew that real strength is found in nearness to the Lord. Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 7:3-5 – ³ Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice on my hands, ⁴ if I have done harm to one at peace with me or have plundered my adversary without cause, ⁵ may an enemy pursue and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah

David welcomed spiritual audits. Psalm 139 is one of his most famous where we read, “Search me and know me. Test my thoughts and concerns. See what You find.”

Here he stands before the Lord to say, “Cush has made these accusations, so here I am, ready to be put on trial for it.” He’s not claiming to be perfect – obviously he wasn’t and he knew it. But, in this case, he knew the accusations were not true. He really was innocent of the charges.

But there’s a significant theological lesson for us here: Even though David was the man after God’s heart, even though he was the great psalmist, even though he was anointed by God, he knew the rules still applied to him. He expected that sin in his life would bring consequences.

He says, “Lord, if I’m guilty, then I deserve what’s coming.” He didn’t assume he had some sort of spiritual diplomatic immunity.

A while back a famous prosperity teacher was accused of being a part of a bunch of debauched immorality. Speaking to his church, he denied it, but he also said it wouldn’t matter – that even if it was all true, he wouldn’t be in trouble because all he would have to do is “repent.” He said don’t worry about him because he’s “the man for the job.”

That’s not the way David looked at things. He recognized that sin brings consequences, even in the life of a believer. He knew it by experience.

Psalm 7:6-8 – ⁶ Rise up, Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries; awake for me; you have ordained a judgment. ⁷ Let the assembly of peoples gather around you; take your seat on high over it. ⁸ The Lord judges the peoples; vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity.

David brings us into the courtroom of heaven where God sits as Judge over all. David asks the Lord to judge between him and his enemies.

Our world is full of injustice, full of human authorities making wrong decisions. But this song reminds us that God is the highest Judge and He will settle the score one day.

In December 1944, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld FDR’s executive order to arrest and intern US citizens simply because they were Japanese. That decision wasn’t officially overturned until 2018. 74 years! Our courts get it wrong sometimes. But the Lord never does. The whole of the universe can gather around Him to bring every case and He will judge them all fairly and rightly. He has a 0% reversal rate.

If you’re a Christian, you will be unfairly accused at some point. You may be defrauded, mistreated, attacked, or cheated in some way, but justice will ultimately be done in the court of heaven. The Advocate will take up your case and defend you.

Why? David knew he would be vindicated because of his righteousness. But what made David righteous? We know he made a lot of serious mistakes. Righteousness is not something we create. It comes through faith in Christ.^[7] Abraham believed God and righteousness was credited to him.

As we believe God, as we trust Him and walk in relationship with Him, we are made righteous. It’s easy for people to think of righteousness as doing or not doing certain things to prove to God we’re worth saving or helping. But Biblical righteousness is not about doing something or knowing everything. It comes through faith.

That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have righteous standards for us. If we love Him and trust Him, then we’re going to follow Him in the paths and boundaries He gives. We walk in the ways of righteousness. But the Lord is our righteousness and as we live by faith, righteousness has its effect in our hearts and the way we live our lives.^[8]

Psalm 7:9 – ⁹ Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous. The one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.

Now that David has come into the presence of God, we notice that his focus starts to change. The frantic emotion in the first five verses has dissipated. And now that he’s started thinking about righteousness we’ll find he becomes preoccupied with God’s righteousness.

David realizes that he’s not a good or virtuous person in and of himself. His integrity exists because God is righteous and God makes His people like Himself. He establishes them. He plants them. He bears the fruit of righteousness in their lives. He shapes and prepares us.

As He does so, the Lord examines our thoughts and emotions. Again, being in proper relationship with God is not only about certain behaviors. Righteousness is about more than just regulations.  God wants more than that. He wants deeper than that. He wants to have our hearts and minds.

God is concerned with our thoughts and emotions as much as our tongues or our fists. Jesus spoke a lot about what’s going on in the heart. He exposed the failure of the Pharisees. On the outside they did everything right. Their behavior was spot on. But inside they were hard-hearted, dead, full of jealousy, resentment, pride, greed. Jesus told them, “That’s the problem.” He knew their hearts.

Psalm 7:10-11 – ¹⁰ My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. ¹¹ God is a righteous judge and a God who shows his wrath every day.

The song started in a minor key, now we’re in a much brighter melody. Before it was, “God will You rescue me? If you don’t I’m dead meat!” Now it’s very different. God is my shield. God does save. Instead of panic and confusion, David makes statements of fact. He is calm and sure and confident.

Now, there at the end we read something a little shocking: “God shows His wrath every day.” Your version may say, “God is angry with the wicked every day,” or, He ”feels indignation every day.”

That’s not how we usually picture God. We think of His mercies new every morning – of His daily love and grace. But wrath every day? That’s not the warm fuzzy we’re used to.

But remember: God’s righteous judgment is David’s only hope in this situation. If God doesn’t judge, then who will defend David? Who will deliver the oppressed? Who will right the wrongs?

Verse 11 is a good promise to us. Another way of reading that phrase is: God “passes sentence” every day.^[9] There’s a legal context here. God isn’t one of these courts that only hears certain cases if they decide they want to or only cases they decide are really important.

Another way of understanding verse 11 is to say that God’s holy anger does not cool down.^[10] We’ve all been offended by something but then weeks or years later it really doesn’t bother us anymore. That doesn’t happen with God – and that’s a very good thing! He upholds His standards. He keeps His promises. He is not slack. He doesn’t lower the bar.

Psalm 7:12-13 – ¹² If anyone does not repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has strung his bow and made it ready. ¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons; he tips his arrows with fire.

We go from the courtroom to the armory. This is like one of those scenes where the hero is gearing up with all his weapons for the big fight at the end of the movie. The hero here is God Himself.

He’s got His short-range weapons and His long-range weapons. He whets the blade for optimal lethality. He tips His arrows with fire. It’s really a frightening image if you linger on it.

Once again we have a song change here. We went from desperate fear to confident hope, now David has changed focus once again to tell his enemies, “Actually, you guys are the ones in trouble, not me. God has a fire-tipped arrow with your name on it!” Or they could just repent!

Did you notice that caveat? “If anyone does not repent, here’s what’s coming.” But if they do repent, the can be saved from their guilt and the coming judgment. If they will turn to God from their sin, then God will no longer be their Adversary, He will be their Advocate and Savior and Friend.

If you’re not a Christian this morning, the good news of the Gospel is that the melody of your life can change. You are currently at war with God, on the run from judgment, but you can be saved.

Psalm 7:14-16 – ¹⁴ See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil, conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit. ¹⁵ He dug a pit and hollowed it out but fell into the hole he had made. ¹⁶ His trouble comes back on his own head; his own violence comes down on top of his head.

At this point, in a sense, David is more worried about his enemies than himself. They’re trying to get David, but they forgot to factor in God’s providence. And these murderous enemies don’t realize that sin is self-destructive. It’s telling them, “Lie about David, go after David, hurt David and you’ll be better off,” but in the end, they’ll be the ones caught in the trap. That’s what sin does. It delivers us to the devourer. It promises to benefit us while robbing us blind. It brings us down.

Now, for Christians, this reminder of the providential working of God helps us understand why we don’t have to be afraid in life. Scary things happen. Suffering happens. But here is the reminder: God loves us. And because of that love we can be confident, even in the day of judgment because His perfect love will drive out fear. Because He is our Refuge and ever-present help.

Psalm 7:17 – ¹⁷ I will thank the Lord for his righteousness; I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.

Suddenly we’re in a hymn of thanks and praise. David has totally changed his tune from where he started. Of course, Cush was still out there. He was still working his plan. The danger was still real. But David was reminded of God’s love and power and righteousness and His personal care.

And here, David praises the Lord not for a mighty deed, but simply for His righteousness.

It is a very good thing that God is righteous. That He is always right. That He is always just. That He is not only the absolute pinnacle of ethics and morality, but that He is the ultimate, unchanging standard of what is good and true.

“Forty feet underground in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in a bright white laboratory that requires three separate keys to enter, the United States stores a precious collection of small, shiny metal cylinders that literally define the mass of everything in [our] country.” This lab is at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. And there they held a hunk of platinum-iridium alloy whose mass defines what a kilogram is. Or, at least it did until 2019 when they changed the definition. You see, after 129 years, that hunk of platinum has lost about 50 micrograms of mass. And so scientists from all over the world had to get together to figure out how to have a constant standard for what a kilogram is. Without a constant standard, the world’s system of measurements would be thrown into chaos.^[11]

A scientist involved in changing the definition said something interesting: “Objects always change…[with the new definition] we go from an object [on Earth] to the stuff that’s in the heavens.”

God never loses any micrograms of righteousness or power or love for you. He is altogether perfect and right and glorious. And so why wouldn’t we conform to His standards? Why wouldn’t we allow Him to shape us into His image? Why would we try to save ourselves when He stands ready to help us?

Because God is righteous He can be trusted. Trusted to do what is right. Trusted to do what is best. Trusted to save. Trusted with our lives. Trusted to go before us and prepare the way for our steps.

The song ends with this name, “the Lord Most High.” This name was first used all the way back when Abraham met with Melchizedek in Genesis.^[12] And then there He was in David’s time. And He is still God Most High with us today. Thank God He doesn’t change – that His righteousness endures and is exalted forever and ever. That our tune changes, but His never does. He is still our shelter, our refuge, our ever-present help in time of trouble.

For that let’s praise the Lord and thank the Lord and trust the Lord as we walk with Him, allowing Him to play a melody of faith and righteousness in and through our lives.

Are You Sleeping, Are You Sleeping, Father God? (Psalm 44)

Let It Be is one of The Beatles’ most enduring hits. But did you know that John Lennon loathed the song? He thought Paul was too traditionalist – that the song was too religious. He said, “What can you say? [It has] nothing to do with The Beatles.”^[1]

In the second-century B.C., the high priest of Israel had a similar response to Psalm 44. He was so disturbed by what he read in this song that he forbade the Levites from reciting some of its verses.^[2]

This is a song about suffering. It is not only a personal and national lament,^[3] it is also a bold plea to God, accusing Him of abandonment and demanding a response.

It can sound almost disrespectful to the Lord. And yet, this song has applied to just about every generation of God’s people. Some scholars tie it to the time of David.^[4] Others to Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah.^[5] Others say it was a song for the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.^[6] Others the time of the Maccabees. Others say it’s for the Great Tribulation.^[7] The Apostle Paul applied this song to his time.

Every generation faces suffering we can’t understand. I’m sure many here can identify some area of defeat or difficulty that doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t God act? Why doesn’t He speak or direct? If you’ve felt those discouragements, take courage: God has given you a song to sing.

How do you get God’s attention when seems like He’s not watching? If you were a psalmist, you’d write a song.  And this song, in particular, is meant to teach us how to speak to God when we feel unfairly defeated or when the suffering we face makes no sense. It’s called a Maskil. That is a category of songs that give special insight. They’re also noted for their musical difficulty.^[8]

As we move through these verses, we’ll see this isn’t just a musician lashing out impulsively. Despite his frustration and desperation, we’ll see that he remains full of faith in God’s love and power. But he doesn’t hold back. He carefully and deliberately constructs a song that culminates in this prayer: “God, why are You sleeping? Please wake up and intervene for us.”

I use the word “constructs” purposefully. In our english translations, we miss something truly remarkable about this song: It’s a ziggurat!^[9] The psalmist builds from start to finish in 4 stanzas.

In the Hebrew, the first stanza is 10 lines of poetry, and it is a stanza of praise. The second stanza is 8 lines of poetry. It is the stanza of pain. The third stanza is 6 lines and it is the stanza of protest. The final stanza is 4 lines, and it is the stanza of petition. Ten, eight, six, four. The pinnacle is a bold and honest prayer – a call for God to act. Let’s begin at the slab foundation of praise.

Psalm 44:Superscript – For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

The sons of Korah were originally custodians and doorkeepers in the Tabernacle. But during the time of David, they became elite singers and songwriters. Eleven of their psalms are preserved for us, and we still sing their lyrics. As The Deer, Better Is One Day. They were faithful, faith-filled men.

The first stanza is the bedrock they build on. In it they praise God’s work, grace, and faithfulness.

Psalm 44:1 – ¹ God, we have heard with our ears—our ancestors have told us—the work you accomplished in their days, in days long ago:

One reason John Lennon didn’t like Let It Be was because he thought it was “granny music.” Paul McCartney grew up singing songs around the piano with his family. John wasn’t a fan of the style.

The sons of Korah are excited to sing their grannies’ song. They begin with this wonderful declaration: God, we’ve heard and we believe! Generations of God’s people had walked with Him and seen Him work and passed those truths on to their children and grandchildren. The sons of Korah kept singing the story – even when part of that story was when their own direct ancestors were judged by God for rebellion.^[10] But this group heard and believed and proclaimed.

We are responsible to proclaim the true story of God’s faithfulness first to our families, then to our communities and then wider world as the Lord sends us out.

Psalm 44:2-3 – ² In order to plant them, you displaced the nations by your hand; in order to settle them, you brought disaster on the peoples. ³ For they did not take the land by their sword—their arm did not bring them victory—but by your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable toward them.

It wasn’t Joshua’s sword that conquered Canaan. It was all God’s strength. The Israelites couldn’t do it in their own strength. Just look at the battle of Ai. But when God was working among them, nothing could stop it. No nation could stop God from His plans to plant and settle His people in the place He wanted to give them.

For Old Testament Israel, this was a physical gift – a kingdom on earth. But God still wants to plant and settle His people. Look at Psalm 1. Look at Ephesians. God’s desire for you is growth and peace. Why? Because God delights in His people. That’s what “favorable” means there in verse 3. God takes pleasure in us.

Psalm 44:4-7 – ⁴ You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob. ⁵ Through you we drive back our foes; through your name we trample our enemies. ⁶ For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory. ⁷ But you give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced.

The sons of Korah were extremely loyal to David. They were some of David’s first supporters when he was banished by Saul.^[11] But they did not tie their identity to his political power. They recognized that God was really their King. He was their strength. He was their hope. He was their song.

They were willing not only to sing, but also to battle. That’s not an easy thing to do. It’s easy to talk a big game about God’s power and deliverance, but when it’s time to actually put on a sword and march to the front, that’s something else. Especially when you know your strength is not enough. But they believed that God still had victories for His people.

He still does for you and I today. Not the kind of physical and political victories we see in the Old Testament. We no longer struggle against flesh and blood. Now we conquer with love and grace.

Psalm 44:8 – ⁸ We boast in God all day long; we will praise your name forever. Selah

They put their belief into practice. They were going to praise God all day long. In the Temple. Marching out to war. Swinging a sword. They made a plan to praise. Boasting here means to exclaim, to rejoice, to lift up, to praise with sincere and deep thanks.^[12]

From this foundation, they now begin their complaint. The bedrock of faith and hope and praise. In fact, before moving on they give a Selah, which we believe was some sort of a directive to pause and consider. From this place we now move to stanza two – the stanza of pain. They turn from what has happened to what is happening.

Psalm 44:9-11 – ⁹ But you have rejected and humiliated us; you do not march out with our armies. ¹⁰ You make us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves. ¹¹ You hand us over to be eaten like sheep and scatter us among the nations.

When you compare what God had done and what was now happening, there was a total reversal. Instead of victory, there was defeat. Instead of settling, there was scattering. Instead of provision, they had become plunder. Instead of being shepherded, they were being sacrificed.

The singers are confused. This isn’t just bad luck. They’re convinced that, “God, You did this!” As we move through these verses, Derek Kidner points out that the distress deepens with every line.^[13]

Psalm 44:12-16 – ¹² You sell your people for nothing; you make no profit from selling them. ¹³ You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us. ¹⁴ You make us a joke among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. ¹⁵ My disgrace is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face, ¹⁶ because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy and avenger.

Where is the favor? Where is the delight? It seems like God was so disgusted with His people that He was willing to sell them at a loss!

As good theologians, this is the part where we say, “Well, it must be because of something they did. After all, lots of judgments in the Old Testament were punishment for sin.” It’s true, God would, at times, use other nations to discipline His people. But we need to be careful. Sometimes in the Bible, “good” theologians come upon a scene of suffering and conclude it must be the victim’s fault, but they turn out to be wrong. Think of Job’s friends. Think of the blind man in John 9. The disciples asked the Lord, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus said, “Neither!”

And that’s what the next stanza is all about. The protest. The sons of Korah present their case that while they aren’t perfect, they had done nothing to deserve this present suffering.

Psalm 44:17-21 – ¹⁷ All this has happened to us, but we have not forgotten you or betrayed your covenant. ¹⁸ Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from your path. ¹⁹ But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals and have covered us with deepest darkness. ²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God and spread out our hands to a foreign god, ²¹ wouldn’t God have found this out, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

The truth is: Sometimes you will suffer when you haven’t done anything wrong. Some pain, some defeat, some mistreatment. Look at the Apostle Paul. Look at the children of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt. God had sent them to Egypt. They didn’t disobey Him. Yet they were oppressed.

This world is diseased with sin. It touches every corner of the planet, every aspect of the human experience. God is going to fix the problem, but meanwhile you will suffer unfairly at some point.

Now, sometimes we suffer because of the choices we make, either individually or nationally. Joshua, at the end of his life, said, “Hey, you guys have got to get rid of your foreign idols and turn your hearts to the Lord.” The people wouldn’t do it, and what followed was the time of the Judges.

But the sons of Korah invite God to investigate them in verse 21. “God, come look! Audit our hearts and lives!” They still were loyal to Him even when it seemed like they had been abandoned.^[14] “Our hearts have not turned back!” Their circumstances were terrible, but remember the bedrock: The foundation of their song and their lives was their faith in a true and mighty God – their trust that He would not ultimately fail them.

Psalm 44:22 – ²² Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

For context – their suffering wasn’t just a hostile work environment or unfair treatment. People were actually being butchered. That doesn’t mean our less-extreme sufferings don’t matter – they do –  but the severity of their suffering makes the toughness of their faith all the more significant.

As they grapple with why all this is happening, the sons of Korah accidentally stumble on an answer that was new to Old Testament believers. Gerald Wilson writes, “In this context of feeling abandoned and rejected by God for no apparent reason…the community of faith makes an amazing step of understanding – not complete understanding…but understanding that shapes their will to commit themselves in a new and painful way: ‘For your sake we face death all day long.”^[15]

Paul famously quoted this verse in Romans saying this was the plight of Christians. His conclusion was not that God had failed us, but that despite suffering, God’s love conquers. And we conquer through the love of Christ. Some suffering is a result of the fact that God loves us and we love Him.

Derek Kidner writes, “[Psalm 44] implies the revolutionary thought that suffering may be a battle-scar rather than a punishment; the price of loyalty in a world which is at war with God.”^[16]

Now, I tend to think of life as all Jericho or all Ai. Jericho, the walls just come down, God’s people go in and win easily. At Ai there’s defeat, but oh, we know why! There was sin in the camp. Ok, we take care of that, now it’s all Jericho from here on out. But what about the fight at Gibeon? So much work. A protracted battle that took longer than they had daylight for. And that was them fighting someone else’s battle. And then there was the rest of the land to conquer and settle. The Christian life is lived on the battlefield. In this world we will have suffering. But be of good cheer. Be courageous. Our God and King, Christ Jesus has conquered the world.^[17] Victory is coming.

The sons of Korah are convinced that they are suffering unjustly, that God Himself is responsible, that He should be helping them and He’s not, but still they go to Him for relief. This is the musical version of Job’s famous line, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

So, after a foundation of praise, and then building upward the levels of pain and protest, they’re ready to stand at the top and bring their petition to the Lord, still believing God truly loves them.

Psalm 44:23-24 – ²³ Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping? Get up! Don’t reject us forever! ²⁴ Why do you hide and forget our affliction and oppression?

Verse 23 is what the high priest Yohanan couldn’t accept. He said, “God neither slumbers nor sleeps.” Of course, that is true. God does not sleep…except when He does.

In Mark 4, Jesus and His disciples get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. A great storm crashed upon them and the boat was being swamped while Jesus slept. What did those men do? They woke Him up and said, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”^[18] Very Psalm 44.

Had God abandoned them? They felt like He was asleep on the job. And we feel that way, too sometimes. God welcomes us to call out to Him in those moments.

The sons of Korah are bold. In some sense, they may even step over a line. Then we remember that God the Holy Spirit put His stamp of approval on this song. Psalm 44 is a gift from God to us to use.

Are you in a storm of some kind? Do you feel like Christ has abandoned you? It’s ok if you do. But now remember He is with you. He does care. He is working in your life. Fear is not the answer. Walking away from Him is not the answer. Lashing out is not the answer. Holding to your faith is.

Psalm 44:25-26 – ²⁵ For we have sunk down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. ²⁶ Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of your faithful love.

The psalm ends without resolution or relief. As the melody comes to a close, the singers are still crushed in the dirt. There is no response from heaven. But look at the last phrase.

As Paul McCartney sang the refrain of Let It Be for the first time, one article reports that John Lennon sat grimacing. He hated it. Wanted it over. Wanted it done.

The sons of Korah end their song not with a grimace but with confidence – the same hope they had at the start. Their hearts are full of faith in God’s hesed love. A love of loyal tenderness and action. They still trusted that God was a Redeemer – that it was His delight to help His people.

They say, “Lord, we know You love us! We know You’re not done! Come and work in us as You have before.” Love gets the last word.

This was also Paul’s conclusion when he applied this psalm to himself and all suffering Christians.

Romans 8:35-39 – ³⁵ Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you suffering today? Maybe it’s because of choices you’ve made. Maybe it’s because of persecution of some form. Maybe you really can’t make sense of why it’s happening. The words of wisdom this maskil has for you are this: God hears your prayer. He has great power and plans for your life. Your suffering will not ultimately end in defeat, thought it may end in physical death. But God’s hesed love is the last word. A faithful love. A loyal love. A love that cannot lose. A love you cannot be separated from if you belong to Jesus Christ. Cling to Christ, even if the world is crashing down.

Two questions now present themselves to us: First, do you belong to Jesus Christ? Are you one of His people? Are you safe in His love? You can be, even today. He has invited you into relationship.

Second, if you’re here and you’re suffering, the Lord knows. But we can all put our circumstances in perspective. That’s certainly what the sons of Korah were trying to do. “God, here’s what You’ve done, here are Your promises, here’s what You’ve called me to, but here’s what we’re experiencing.” They were struggling with understanding and perspective.

When it’s not our suffering, it’s easy to put it in perspective, right? The fiery furnace? What a great situation! …Unless you’re the one in the flames! David in the cave about to be killed? AMAZING! Look at how God works! Paul bobbing up and down in the sea! WOW! What a testimony of God’s faithful goodness.

But my circumstances? Send an overwatch! Get me a chopper out of this battlefield! God, this has to STOP! Maybe. Maybe God wants to deliver you. Maybe He wants us to endure. Maybe someday our suffering will be seen a moment of honor or refining or a chance for the Lord to do a new work in us the way He so loves to.

None of us want to suffer, especially when it’s not our fault. But in this world we have trouble of all sorts. God doesn’t ignore it. And He doesn’t demand we pretend like it isn’t happening or it doesn’t hurt. He gives us songs like this to pray and sing to Him to remind ourselves of the truth.

And, as we close, we can see one last image. There are the sons of Korah, singing loudly from the top of their ziggurat. Suffering. Taking painful shrapnel. They said, “We’re going to praise God all day long.” Three times we see that phrase, “all day long.” They said, “we’re being killed all day long. When we’re not dying, we’re being disgraced to everyone around us all day long. But we know God is still God and so we will praise You all day long.”

The King Who Rains (Psalm 72)

In 1955, the king of Thailand travelled through the largest region of his kingdom. It was dried by drought. Crops were failing. The people there suffered from chronic poverty and malnutrition, even though they faithfully gathered each year to shoot homemade rockets into the sky “to ask the

weather god to release the monsoon upon the earth.”

The situation was dire, so, the king started developing a plan. In 1969, after 14 years of research, the Royal Rainmaking Project was a go. A fleet of aircraft distributed dry-ice flakes over the tops of clouds. The government says that it started raining within 15 minutes. The Project continues today. In 2019, they conducted over 1,600 rainmaking operations throughout the kingdom.^[1] Sadly, as of 2020, Thailand was still experiencing drought – the worst in 40 years.^[2]

Psalm 72 is a song about a great kingdom and a great king. His reign is unlike any we’ve seen. There is a perfect harmony between God and sovereign and citizens and even nature. Who wouldn’t want to live in this kingdom under this king?

Above verse 1 we see the words, “Of Solomon.” We assume that means “by” Solomon, but it could also mean “for Solomon,” or “concerning Solomon.” There’s a little bit of confusion because this Psalm is the only one to also have a postscript. The last verse tells us, “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are concluded.” It’s possible he wrote this song for his son. It’s possible they worked on it together. And some scholars think it may have been used at Solomon’s coronation.^[3]

That makes sense because in this song we see an ideal king and an ideal kingdom. One commentator calls it “A vision for government.”^[4] And it’s quite a vision. We’ll see it’s so great that no human king could ever live up to it.

Psalm 72:1-4 – ¹ God, give your justice to the king and your righteousness to the king’s son. ² He will judge your people with righteousness and your afflicted ones with justice. ³ May the mountains bring well-being to the people and the hills, righteousness. ⁴ May he vindicate the afflicted among the people, help the poor, and crush the oppressor.

Rulers sometimes pick up a nickname. Ivan the Terrible. William the Conqueror. Cautious Cal. John Adams was referred to as “His Rotundity.”^[5] The king of Israel should always have “the righteous” after his name. Righteousness is the theme of this opening stanza. It should define the nation of Israel and the man on the throne.

Sometimes we use the word “righteousness” and we think, “Well, that means not being bad.” The word means implies a standard. We talk about meeting standards, a standard of living, standard time, the gold standard. The king of Israel must conform to the standard given to him by God.^[6]

Solomon prays at his coronation, “Lord, give me Your justice and Your righteousness so that I can rule the people and judge fairly so that the whole kingdom overflows with well-being.”

Today, government policies are often conformed to the result of polls – skewed polls. Or shaped around selective data – statistics that reinforce certain ideas or perspectives. But the ideal kingdom is one where God’s righteousness and kindness are the standard.

The song has just begun, but already Solomon cannot live up to the ideal. No human king could be so righteous the mountains work with him in blessing the people. No king has been able to help every suffering person in his kingdom and always judge fairly in every case. The ambition of this first stanza are higher than any human government has ever been able to achieve.

Psalm 72:5-7 – ⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. ⁶ May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth. ⁷ May the righteous flourish in his days and well-being abound until the moon is no more.

The king of Psalm 72 is a king who rains in nourishment and benefit and provision on his people. In reality, where does every government get the money it has? It has to take it from the people. That’s one of the reasons why God didn’t want Israel to have a king, originally. When they said, “We want a king,” God sent messengers to tell them, “No you don’t. He’ll tax you. He’ll take your land. He’ll take your sons and daughters. He’ll take your labor.”

But here we see what God wants for His people. His desire is that the king would nourish them and help them to grow. The poor, the afflicted. Those with less access than others. In this song, the blessing is for all of them, for all the people and it was meant for every generation.

It begs the question: If this was God’s intention, why isn’t there a son of David sitting on the throne in Israel right now? If the moon still shines at night, why isn’t there a Davidic king in Jerusalem?

Most of you know why things are the way they are. Israel not only rejected God’s way of doing things, they rejected God. After centuries of patience and mercy and trying to bring them back, God allowed judgment to fall on the nation of Israel. But,He hasn’t given up on them. His promises, His intentions, His affection for them persist. He still guarantees that, one day, a son of David will sit on the throne and Israel will experience the righteous blessings described in this song.

Solomon was a great man who started with a lot of promise. When God appeared to him in a dream and said, “What do you want Me to give you,” Solomon said, “Give me the wisdom so I can lead this great people!” He had care and affection for his subjects. But, we know that ultimately he failed to live up to this stanza, too. Just after he died, the people of Israel came to Solomon’s son and said, “Hey, your dad worked us to the bone. He put a harsh yoke of labor on us.”^[7] He wasn’t a refreshing rain to them, but a heavy weight.

Psalm 72:8-11 – ⁸ May he rule from sea to sea and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth. ⁹ May desert tribes kneel before him and his enemies lick the dust. ¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and the coasts and islands bring tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. ¹¹ Let all kings bow in homage to him, all nations serve him.

May he rule from sea to sea! We’ve been hearing a chant recently: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” Of course, the meaning is, “Let’s kill all the Jews who live in Israel.”

Notice the difference in the way our God does things. First of all, His intention is to establish a righteous and wonderful Kingdom that covers the whole earth and He has the power to do it. It is His right because the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. But in His grace, when He sets up His forever Kingdom, He will allow nations to still exist,^[8] and He will allow them the freedom to obey or disobey.^[9] Now, disobedience will bring consequences, but this is a God grace, not genocide. A God Who invites, Who welcomes, Who makes a place for those who want in.

In this kingdom, though Israel will always remain distinct, we see that Gentiles will be grafted in.

Solomon did expand the territory of Israel up to the Euphrates river.^[10] But he definitely didn’t live up to this stanza. The friendships he made with Gentiles didn’t make him more righteous. In fact, it was his practice of marrying foreign wives, some for alliances, that drew his heart away from God.

Psalm 72:12-14 – ¹² For he will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. ¹³ He will have pity on the poor and helpless and save the lives of the poor. ¹⁴ He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight.

Ronald Regan famously said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Sadly, the people God installs to protect others often become the ones who do the oppressing, who cause the affliction, who commit the violence.

The throne of Israel was supposed to protect the weak. All government is supposed to because God’s heart is to help the weak. It is His delight to use His infinite strength to rescue. To save. He is the Redeemer King, Who uses His own wealth, His own resources, to pay for your freedom. To pay for your future. He left His throne Personally to come down and save you. As far as I know, the King of Thailand didn’t fly any of those planes, let alone empty his vaults to save his starving people.

A few weeks ago I was at a Christian graduation ceremony and the main speaker talked about how important it is that you work to be a part of the Kingdom of God. He referenced the parable of the Pearl of Great Price and said, “Do whatever you have to to gain the kingdom of God.” And I was so disappointed because, no! No, YOU are the pearl! You are the treasure and God is the One Who gave everything to have you!^[11] You are precious in His sight. Your life matters. Your future matters. He has such plans for you and He spares no expense in accomplishing what He desires for you.

You may ask, “Well, if that’s true, why am I suffering? Why don’t I feel protected or provided for or sheltered?” Psalm 72 doesn’t promise that you’ll never suffer or struggle. What it tells us is that the Great King will save, will show pity, will redeem. You are His and He loves you and He will not forget to accomplish His plans for your life.

Of course, Solomon didn’t live up to this stanza either. No king could care this much. It’s impossible. There isn’t enough time. There isn’t enough money. There isn’t enough power for a human king to help every suffering person in his kingdom.

Psalm 72:15-17 – ¹⁵ May he live long! May gold from Sheba be given to him. May prayer be offered for him continually, and may he be blessed all day long. ¹⁶ May there be plenty of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains. May its crops be like Lebanon. May people flourish in the cities like the grass of the field. ¹⁷ May his name endure forever; as long as the sun shines, may his fame increase. May all nations be blessed by him and call him blessed.

During the time when David and his sons were king, if the nation of Israel honored God and went His way, they would be materially blessed. The crops, the weather, the economy, all of those things would be miraculously good. That was God’s promise to them.

Sadly, the hearts of the kings turned away from God and the people followed. Solomon didn’t live up to this stanza. At the end of his life, he no longer loved the Lord. Solomon’s son didn’t care about the people at all. And the kingdom split into two nations and it was downhill from there.

Instead of flourishing, theirs was a history of fracturing. But, their failure is not God’s failure. In fact, the Lord faithfully preserved a remnant. He extended centuries of mercy and help and deliverance and forgiveness again and again and again, even when the nation was unfaithful.

Now, God has a great plan for your life. That plan is for growth and progress as you walk with Him. His plan is that the whole world would be blessed by His grace.

There in verse 17 we hear again the promise He made all the way back in the time of Abraham – that “all the nations would be blessed.” That’s His desire. More than desire, that is His work. A work He is still accomplishing and will complete and we get to participate in.

Psalm 72:18-19 – ¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wonders. ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever; the whole earth is filled with his glory. Amen and amen.

Solomon was a great man – the wisest to ever live. But as the song comes to a close he and David and everyone else acknowledge that it is God alone Who does wonders. It wasn’t the throne of Israel that gave wealth or power or greatness, it was the God Who established the throne.

And so, as the coronation ceremony ends, they recognize that they needed someone greater than Solomon. Someone Whose name would be above every other name. Someone Whose glory would fill the whole earth. Someone Who could live up to the ideal.

“Amen and amen” – Let it be true, yes, let it happen!

It was a long wait with a lot of let downs over the centuries. But then something amazing happened. In Matthew 12 a descendant of David shows up and He says this, “Look, something greater than Solomon is here.”^[12] And He told them, “The Kingdom is at hand! The Kingdom you’ve been waiting for. That perfect, wondrous, ideal Kingdom from Psalm 72.”

But what was the response? The leaders of Israel rejected the King. The Romans nailed Him to a cross. And so, the ideal Kingdom was put on hold. It’s not an allegorical Kingdom. We don’t build it ourselves. We’re waiting for that moment, announced in Revelation 11, when it happens – when the Kings comes again for the last time and: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”^[13] When the whole earth is filled with the righteous, gracious, perfect glory of God.

Psalm 72:20 – ²⁰ The prayers of David son of Jesse are concluded.

The prayers were concluded, but the plan continues. God’s plan for this world, God’s plan for your life is continuing. The Root and the Offspring of David is alive and He loves you and invites you to accept Him as King – to enthrone Him in heart heart while we wait for His earthly throne to be established.

We still have a vision for government. It’s the vision shown to us in Bible prophecy like the Revelation, the end of Ezekiel, the book of Isaiah. We know the King Who lives up to every stanza of Psalm 72. The One Who will accomplish this ideal. And so, each day we can crown Him in our hearts and pray, “Your Kingdom come.” Knowing one day it will and all will be right and good and wonderful because the King Who rains will bless us with His grace and power and righteousness forever and ever, amen.

Everybody’s Fool (Psalm 14)

Only 8% of job applicants ever make it to the interview phase. On average, 118 people will apply for a given job these days. The pressure is compounded when you learn that 77% of recruiters will disqualify you as a candidate if they find a typo on your resume.

God isn’t hiring, but He does like to add people to His company. The problem is: None of us measure up. There’s no one good enough to be recruited. But, in God’s mind we’re all loved enough to be rescued.

The State of the Union, quarterly earnings calls, unemployment and inflation reports all evaluate what’s going on in a group and identify weaknesses and make projections. Psalm 14 is a sort of State Of The Human report for us. And, apparently the Lord really wants us to get this message, because this Psalm is published a second time almost word for word as Psalm 53. And Paul repeats much of it in his letter to the Romans. So, message received. This is the situation. This is the condition and position of man. And, it’s not a pretty picture.

Psalm 14:1 – For the choir director. Of David. ¹ The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.

“Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.” That line in The Princess Bride is immediately and hilariously followed by a Rodent Of Unusual Size absolutely smashing Westley out of frame and chewing him up for a bit.

Just because a person says it doesn’t make it so. What novel or symphony or knock-knock joke ever wrote itself? What painting ever simply materialized on a blank canvas? But, this Psalm isn’t just talking about smug, YouTube atheists who take pleasure in mocking the idea that God exists. This includes people who live as if there is no God, whether they philosophically believe a God exists or not. And that is a much larger group of people.

The truth is, most people will tell you that they believe a God exists. 74% of Americans by one recent count. But how many live as if God exists?

To either reject the idea that God exists or to live as if it doesn’t matter, David says, is foolish. He uses a particular word here: The Nabal says in his heart “there’s no God.” Of course, many of you know there was a man named Nabal during David’s time who embodied foolishness. He was selfish and senseless and shortsighted. His foolishness went beyond being the local curmudgeon. He was a danger to himself and to others. His foolishness caused harm to his family, his community. It ultimately put him into an early grave and no one was sorry to see him go.

This is true of every fool, to one degree or another. Rejecting God results in corruption and vile deeds. I’m sure we can all identify some fools we know if we think for a moment. But David would have us sing this song with a mirror in our hands. “There is no one who does good.” We’re all fools.

Now, that is a bold claim. But if we pause to consider, we find that it is a very true claim. Any time I go my own way instead of God’s way, I am living as if there is no God or as if God does not care about my life. I’m a fool. Of course, I don’t consider myself a Nabal, but let’s see what God thinks.

Psalm 14:2-3 – ² The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God. ³ All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.

There are lots of stories where the good guys are trying to find that special person who will become the chosen one. Willy Wonka found Charlie. Mr. Benedict found the four, extraordinary children who would comprise his Mysterious Benedict Society. Men In Black found Will Smith.

God looks down on everyone – in that last phrase it’s as if He even checks the list twice – and His finding is: There is no one who does good, not even one. It’s a poor showing for team humanity.

One translation says, “All turn astray, altogether befouled.” It’s not just that we’re misunderstood or that we’re being misused on Team Humanity. Sin has ruined us. And we see it’s not just in a passive way, as if, “Well, sin has stained us and that looks pretty bad.” No, it’s much worse than that because we have turned away from God. We have departed. We have defected. We have withdrawn from God. We all have made the same choice that Adam and Eve made, only we make that choice again and again, day after day. We’ve become corrupt.

That’s the second time David has used that word. That’s bad news because, when the Lord looked down on the earth at Noah’s time, He said, “Mankind is totally corrupt, so I have to judge them.”

Every time the Lord assesses humanity, this is what happens. Tower of Babel. The days of Noah. During Ezekiel’s time. During Jesus’ first coming to earth. The story is always the same.

Well, then, if no one does good and if no one seeks God, then does that suggest that God only saves some and doesn’t save others? Or that, as some Christian traditions teach, “regeneration precedes faith?” That since we’re dead in sin we can’t exercise faith? That a person only seeks God because determines that they do?

No. The Bible reveals to us that without the intervention of grace, humanity will always stay in sin. But, God has graciously intervened. He reveals Himself in nature and in His Word. He calls to us. He puts eternity in our hearts and determines the time and place in which we live so that we might grope for Him and seek Him, and He frees our wills so that we have a genuine ability to do so.

But without His intervention, we have no hope. And without His transformation, we remain in our sinful foolishness. We need a new nature, a new mind, a new heart that acts in response to grace.

Psalm 14:4 – ⁴ Will evildoers never understand? They consume my people as they consume bread; they do not call on the Lord.

When a person rejects God, when they refuse to follow Him, the only alternative is to do evil. That’s the clear claim of the first 4 verses. That evil metastasizes and produces oppression. Harming others becomes commonplace – like eating bread before the entrée arrives.

But wait! Out of nowhere there are suddenly two groups being talked about. Up to this point, everyone has been lumped together. No one is good. Everyone is foolish. Now we see there is a group of evildoers and then there is a group that the Lord identifies as His people.

How do I get in the group of God’s people? Call on the Lord. Psalm 91 is all about the people who are protected and cared for by God. In that Psalm, the Lord says:

Psalm 91:15 – ¹⁵ When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor.

On the flip side, when a person or a nation does not call on the Lord, the result is wrath.

Psalm 76:9 – ⁶ Pour out your wrath [Lord] on the nations that don’t acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name.

So these are the groups. Those who call on the Lord are brought into His family, transformed from the inside out, given heavenly honor. And then there are those who won’t believe God or live as if God doesn’t matter. That keeps you in your sinful foolishness and makes you a slave of evil.

Sadly, evildoers can come from anywhere. Think of the time of David and Samuel. There were Philistines. Those were obvious evildoers from outside. Very clear enemies with an obvious agenda. But then there were the sons of Eli. They were priests and should’ve been spiritual guides, but instead they abused the people, and ripped them off, and defiled God’s house. Later there was Absalom, David’s own son. He betrayed his family and the Lord.

All of these enemies came from different places, but the fruit was always the same. They all tried to devour others for their own desires. They all oppressed the weak and thumbed their noses at God.

Paul would make a list of evildoers in 1 Corinthians 6 and then said, “And such were some of you.” The good news is: The corrupted can become consecrated. Fools can become faithful. We all start as Nabal, but we don’t have to stay that way. The Bible has a book totally dedicated to learning God’s wisdom. Proverbs 1 opens by saying, “Take these words and with them you will be instructed in righteousness.” And when we follow God’s revelation, when we respond to His call and call back to Him, we become His people and the Lord protects His people. He provides for them. He communes with them.

Psalm 14:5 – ⁵ Then they will be filled with dread, for God is with those who are righteous.

The fools of the world often seem to have one up on the people of God. But there is a reckoning coming. A judgment is coming on all who reject God. And, when that day comes, they will be filled with dread. Why? Because, without God, they go into eternity alone. Separate. Abandoned.

One of the Old Testament prophets wrote, “[The Lord] will chase His enemies into darkness.” The foolish unbelievers are headed toward a dreadful end because they will not accept God’s invitation to be with Him.

Now, we who believe in God and live like it are headed not to the end but toward a glorious new beginning. It’s only possible because God has gifted us His righteousness. Notice, it says “God is with those who are righteous,” not “Those who are perfect.” We’re not perfect. We’ll be perfected, but here and now we still fall short. We still make mistakes. We still fail to live up to the wisdom of God. But, we are clothed in His robe of righteousness, and that makes all the difference.

What a good reminder that God is with us. He’s here now, watching your life. Directing your life. Let’s act like it.

Psalm 14:6 – ⁶ You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the Lord is his refuge.

An attack on God’s people is an attack on the Lord Himself because He is our Refuge. We are in Him.

What did Jesus say to Saul on the road to Damascus? “Why are you persecuting Me?”

You Christians here tonight, remind yourself that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. He is our Rock and stronghold. He is trustworthy and secure. We are invited to hide ourselves in Him and be sustained and satisfied by His grace. His ways are true. His Words are wisdom.

Why try to find security somewhere else? In life we face problems or we get scared or we get into trouble and our tendency is to look to some other human or some human system or use human ingenuity to outwit our trouble. But, if we understand Psalm 14, that’s just letting the inmates run the asylum and thinking things will be ok.

A “better” fool, or a lesser fool than the other fool is still a fool. We want to source the wisdom and insight and motivation and perspective we need for life from the Lord, our Refuge. That’s the climax of this song. Look at verse 7.

Psalm 14:7 – ⁷ Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

This is what we want. Not for a single problem to be solved but for all the foolishness of this life to be dealt with. That every enemy would be overcome, including the Nabal within our own hearts.

Our prayer can be: Lord, deliver me from Goliath, deliver me from Absalom, but also deliver me from myself. There’s a Nabal within, trying to take over, trying to coax me out of my Refuge. Lord, keep me close and save me from all these fools.

That phrase, “When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people” may say “brings back the captivity” in your version. Linguists argue over specifics, but literally the phrase is, that God would “turn the turning” of His people. What a beautiful picture this is – God bringing captives home. God, restoring the fortune of those who had lost everything. God turning and guiding and assisting us as we go His way.

At the end, the Psalm speaks to both Jacob and Israel. They’re the same people, of course, but on a devotional level there’s a wide difference between Jacob and Israel. Jacob was a scoundrel. Interestingly, one translation has verse 1 of this Psalm as, “The scoundrel says in his heart…”

If you were here for our Genesis studies we saw the life of Jacob and how he developed in understanding and faith in God. As God walked with him, he transformed him from scoundrel to servant. And so, we can join with this final verse and say, “Lord, deliver us! Turn our turnings. Turn us from scoundrels to servants. From fools to faithful. Bring us into Your company and transform our hearts and minds. Fashion us into wise doers of good and make us glad along the way.”

24 Reasons Why (Psalm 147)

Entrepreneur shares one good reason to start a business. House Digest has a good reason for keeping only one kind of seed in your bird feeder. The Law Office Of Joel R. Spivak offers one good reason to file for bankruptcy during the holidays, and Simba tells Scar to give him one good reason he shouldn’t tear him apart.

Psalm 147 is all about reasons we should praise God. In each of its three stanzas, we are told to worship God, then given the reasons why. Not just one reason, but two dozen springing from God’s power and His goodness and His activity and His tender love for the people of earth.

We don’t know who wrote this Psalm or the historical setting, but it references the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Israel. It may be from Nehemiah’s time, when God’s people endured a great deal of hardship and uncertainty, but they were also able to see the Lord move on their behalf and draw them back into closeness and communion with Him.

Psalm 147:1 – ¹ Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely.

Praising God is not just about singing but it is about singing. In worship, we bring together our voices, our hearts, our spirits, our minds, our hope, and our faith to proclaim what is true about God. We mobilize melody for the glory of God – adorning the air with honor and awe. To praise means to be deeply thankful, to magnify and exalt Him, to express joy, to shout and brag and boast about Who God is. It can be done in the quiet of our hearts, but Psalms calls us to more – to actually make music together with our voices and with instruments and even our posture.

It’s a good thing to do – pleasant and lovely. One translation says: “It is good to hymn to our God…it is sweet to adorn with praise.” Not only is God worthy of praise, but worship is good for us, too. In worship, we fulfill our priestly duties. God is looking for worshippers. It is a good thing, a pleasant thing, a lovely thing. Matthew Henry called praising God, “work that is its own wages.”

Psalm 147:2 – ² The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers Israel’s exiled people.

Jerusalem was a special city to the Lord, Israel His special people. So we ask: Why was Jerusalem destroyed? Why was Israel exiled? It was because the people turned away from God. They refused to listen to Him for hundreds of years. After many warnings, after generations of long-suffering mercy, judgment came and the people were taken to Babylon. Their defiant unfaithfulness brought that disaster. And yet, God was still faithful. God still loved them and He would not abandon His promises to them. So, 70 years later, He provided for Israel to be regathered and the city of Zion to be rebuilt.

You may not know Adrian Smith, but you probably know his work. He’s the architect behind some of the most famous buildings in the world, like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is currently the world’s tallest building, featured prominently in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The Burj Khalifa won’t be the tallest building for much longer. That title will go to Adrian Smith’s newest megatall skyscraper, the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which will stand 3,281 feet tall, with 165 floors.

God is a builder. Psalm 147 pictures Him building Jerusalem. What does He build today? Well, He’s building a New Jerusalem, which His people will inhabit for all eternity. You can learn about its design and structure in Revelation 21. But God is also building His Church. If you’re a Christian, the New Testament explains that you are a living stone in His construction – carefully selected, shaped, and installed among other living stones for the best harmony and growth of the Body of Christ.

God still builds using exiles. The outcasts – those driven away by an unloving world, God receives with open arms and tender care. Look at verse 3.

Psalm 147:3 – ³ He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

A lot of shocking footage came out of the tragic fires on Maui this summer. The worst I saw was an injured or dying woman lying by the side of the road while cars drove past. In the video, a man in a car was filming while his fellow passengers said “Just go – we can’t do nothing for her.”

There’s no footage of another woman’s experience. Flames were closing in on Lani Williams and her mother. Their only hope was to climb a seawall and wade out into the waves. But the wall was too high. Time was running out. Then a stranger appeared out of the smoke and carried the ladies over the seawall to safety. He told them, “Trust me…put your weight on me…I promise I got you.”

God loves you. He sees your hurts. He knows your wounds. Others may pass by, but He leans down to bear your burdens with His own strength. He has come to save and to rescue the broken.

One day, Jesus entered a synagogue in His home town. He opened the scroll of Isaiah and read Isaiah 61:1. “The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.” Then He said, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

Jesus is the Great Physician. He is the Healer, sent from heaven to bind up our wounds and heal our broken hearts. He offers you salvation, liberty, spiritual healing.

Psalm 147:4 – ⁴ He counts the number of the stars; he gives names to all of them.

Scientists say there are 100 billion stars in a typical galaxy and that there are 2 trillion or so galaxies. One million earths could fit inside of our sun and five billion of our suns could fit inside the largest known star.

We are awestruck at the power of God. With a word He created these 200 billion trillion stars. He names each one and holds their atoms together. At the same time, this verse shows how great God’s care is for you. The stars were not made in His image – you were. The stars are not the special object of His attention – you are. In fact, the Bible uses the stars, all 200 billion trillion of them, as a reference for the work the Lord wants to do in your life and a marker of His love for you.

You were handcrafted by God in your mother’s womb. You are known and loved by Him. He has a special name for you. He’s numbered the hairs on your head and saves your tears in His bottle. He created the universe, vast as it is, so you might be His friend, a child in His family.

Psalm 147:5 – ⁵ Our Lord is great, vast in power; his understanding is infinite.

We marvel at the skill of great athletes. I’m sure some of you have strong opinions about who the greatest to ever play your sport of choice is. We can’t help but praise their excellence. The Lord holds the cosmos together. His strength, His wisdom, His goodness cannot be measured. It’s marvelous!

Psalm 147:6 – ⁶ The Lord helps the oppressed but brings the wicked to the ground.

“God helps those who help themselves” is a phrase made famous by Benjamin Franklin. The saying can be traced back as far as Sophocles in 409 B.C. But Poor Richard and the Greeks were wrong. The truth is, God helps those who cannot help themselves.

The term used for ‘help’ can mean “bind,” or “surround with ropes.” How does that help? In Hosea, the Lord tell us He binds us with ropes of love, easing our burdens, taking us by the hand. The Lord’s ropes are never meant to imprison, but to relieve and sustain – to hold us together.

But, not everyone receives this help. Psalms is very clear that there are two paths leading to two destinations: The Lord’s way, leading to life and the way of the wicked, leading to destruction.

As we look at the world, it’s easy to feel like evil people are always high above, ahead of the rest of us. But God will bring them down. He will sink their ship. The day is coming when the wrath of God will consume the wicked. Those who are not walking with God should look to the Lord for rescue from their inevitable destruction. He will save them if they will humble themselves.

Psalm 147:7 – ⁷ Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; play the lyre to our God,

The “lyre” was a kinnor, which was a small harp, usually 10 strings, played with a pick. You can get a “Levite-made, Temple quality” kinnor, handcrafted in Jerusalem, carved from Israeli olivewood, inlaid with the jewels of the 12 tribes of Israel. It’ll only set you back $9,700 (plus $320 shipping).

The Psalms last mentioned lyres in chapter 137 when the exiles “hung up their lyres in the poplar trees.” Instead of worship in the Temple there was weeping in Babylon. But the Lord brings beauty from ashes. He gave His people chance to sing to Him again, to worship with their lyres.

There are Christians who say that it is wrong to use instruments in church worship. The argument is that we have no specific examples or prescriptions in the New Testament to use instruments, therefore it’s unbiblical to use them. Ephesians 5:19 is cited as proof: “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord.”

Here’s a quote from a Church of Christ pastor: “It is clear that there is no authority from God for the church to worship with a mechanical instrument of music.”

This isn’t an essential issue to us, but I will say: The Psalms are quoted dozens of times in the New Testament and, in Ephesians and Colossians, we are commanded to use the Psalms in the exercise of our Christian faith and in our church life. The Psalms were set to music, using instruments from every section of the orchestra. Not everyone plays a mechanical instrument, but we all have an instrument – our voice – and those who do play an instrument can do so to the glory of God.

Psalm 147:8-9 – ⁸ who covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, and causes grass to grow on the hills. ⁹ He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens what they cry for.

The Lord is a tender God. His care is thorough and comprehensive. One commentator points out how humans wouldn’t cultivate up on the hills, so the Lord takes it on Himself to make food for animals there. Of course, ravens don’t eat grass, so the Lord has to address their needs in a different way. But the Lord has it covered. He cares even for young ravens.

But you sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, “you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Psalm 147:10 – ¹⁰ He is not impressed by the strength of a horse; he does not value the power of a warrior.

We are impressed with horses. We still measure a car’s engine by horsepower. Man is infatuated with strength and physique. But God is not interested in those things. What is He interested in?

Psalm 147:11 – ¹¹ The Lord values those who fear him, those who put their hope in his faithful love.

Fearing God is explained in the second line of this verse. It means to put our hope in His faithful love. Deuteronomy 10 says: “fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.”

We’re invited to put our hope in God’s hesed. That’s a special term for God’s love in the Old Testament. It speaks of His merciful, compassionate, covenant love that is freely given. God values the people who accept this covenant love.

People value strange things. I found a list of odd collections. Graham Baker takes the cake with the Guinness World Record for largest collection of belly button lint. After 30 years, he has 22 grams.

God values you. He values people who accept His hesed love and love Him in return.

Psalm 147:12 – ¹² Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion!

Verse 12 turns personal: Exalt your God, Zion. You’re here, listening to this song. Is this God, so great, so good, so loving – is He your God? Do you know Him? Have you pledged yourself to Him? Have you become a citizen in His Kingdom? To be a citizen of Zion meant you were part of God’s covenant. As Christians, we, too, are members of a covenant – the new covenant brought by the blood of Jesus. We are His and He is ours.

Psalm 147:13-14 – ¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your city gates and blesses your children within you. ¹⁴ He endows your territory with prosperity; he satisfies you with the finest wheat.

God’s activity causes us not just to survive, but to thrive. We see pictured here civic life, family life, personal need, communal protection. Agriculture and economy and generations.

The rescued exiles would still face difficulties and enemies. They would still have needs and hardships. The Lord promised to look after them and to endow them with shalom. That’s the word that comes to us as “prosperity” there in verse 14. Your version may say “makes peace.”

God does not promise New Testament Christians that they will always be healthy and wealthy in a life of ease. But He does promise shalom from the Prince of Peace. Scholars call shalom “one of the most important theological words in the Old Testament,” and define it as “completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment. That is what God wants to grow in your life. Strength and peace and satisfaction rooted in Christ Jesus, Who cares for you day by day.

Psalm 147:15 – ¹⁵ He sends his command throughout the earth; his word runs swiftly.

The Word of God is powerful. It can penetrate to the deepest part of a human heart or the furthest corner of space. It is a light for our feet and works healings among the broken. The swiftness gives us the impression of a God Who is eager to accomplish His gracious purposes on the earth. And now we Christians are enlisted to be a part of the spread of the Word of God throughout the earth.

Psalm 147:16-18 – ¹⁶ He spreads snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes; ¹⁷ he throws his hailstones like crumbs. Who can withstand his cold? ¹⁸ He sends his word and melts them; he unleashes his winds, and the water flows.

I read that some ancients referred to snow as “wooly water.” We see here a God Who is continually active in the affairs of the world. He didn’t “set it and forget it.”

Though His power is astounding, notice how He uses it at the end of verse 18: Water flows. His desire is to sustain. God wants to take your life and make it like a tree planted by rivers of water. He said to the woman at the well, “If you knew Who I was, you’d ask and I would give you living water.”

Psalm 147:19-20 – ¹⁹ He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgments to Israel. ²⁰ He has not done this for every nation; they do not know his judgments. Hallelujah!

This great and active God has a special relationship with certain people. It was Israel He set apart to be His special possession among the nations. And now, we Christians have been grafted into the work. God revealed His Word and His judgments to His people. In the Bible, God’s “judgments” include all the functions of government. It means His justice, His manners and customs, His ordinances. We are not only recipients of this revelation, we are also custodians of it. We are sent to spread the word, to herald what has been revealed.

The other nations of the world, the unbelievers around us, do not know these truths. Rather than resent them for it, we should reveal to them what has been revealed to us: The living Word of God – the truth of Who God is and what He does.

Why did God call out the family of Abraham as a special group? So they could be a blessing to all the nations of the world. And now we are included in that opportunity to be light in the dark, heralds of good news in a world full of suffering and hate.

There are a lot of good reasons to praise the Lord. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Our God is great and worthy of praise. This song which fills our mind with snow and seasons and satisfaction and stars and salvation only begins to count the reasons why we can praise our God.

But one good reason is reason enough, and we have dozens. Thousands! Day after day we can learn more of God’s graciousness, kindness, power, and love as we walk with Him and filled full with His everlasting life. And day after day we have more reason and more opportunity to praise the Lord.

These Are God’s Days Of Our Lives (Psalm 90)

If you live to be 80 years old, that’s 29,200 days. More than 9,500 of those days will be spent sleeping. Between red lights, the doctor’s office, checkout at the store, and getting YouTube to load, upwards of 1,800 of your days will be spent waiting. If you’re 20, 7,300 of your days are gone. If you’re 40, you’re past 14,000.

The internet provides many lists of how to make every day count. The suggestions are mostly self-centered. Make time for yourself, exercise, learn something new. One said what you really need to do is “make a vision board.”

Of all the articles I scanned, two were sensible enough to acknowledge that our lives are going to end one day. One put it bluntly: “Every second you’re alive, you’re a second closer to death.” So their advice is: Do what makes you happy! I found it ironic that the most recent article published on that same site was titled: “7 Tips For How To Negotiate Credit Card Debt.”

Psalm 90 has a blunt message for us: Life is short and we have immense debt in our account. But that’s not the whole message. Yes, we’re going to die – in fact, you’re dying now – but each and every one of us can have a life full of joy and purpose, a life that counts.

Most of those “How to make every day count” lists pretend we can just ignore the obstacles of life. One said, “Stop spending time with people who don’t make you happy.” Luckily, the author of this Psalm didn’t follow that advice. We read above verse one that Psalm 90 is:

Psalm 90:SuperScript – A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Moses was a songwriter, but this is the only one found in Psalms. This makes Psalm 90 the oldest in the book, as far as we know. The title calls him “the man of God.” Exodus 33 tells us that the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, like a man speaks with his friend. But, that doesn’t mean Moses was perfect – far from it. He was a “man of God” because he had faith and walked with the Lord.

Psalm 90:1 – ¹ Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation.

We don’t know the specific circumstances, but Moses was facing a time of hard realities – maybe the death of members of his family. But, as we embark on this trip through some difficult verses, Moses wants to remind us of this truth: God is a refuge. He is a place of shelter and protection and provision. It’s the term used for an animal’s den. God does not limit access to a person or two. The door is open wide to anyone who will trust Him and depend on Him. The Psalms are full of this idea: Anyone can take refuge in the Lord and He will not turn you out.

In Moses’ day, the Lord was literally their shelter. As they wandered the wilderness, the Lord’s glory went with them as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, giving light and protection.

That doesn’t mean God’s people had no problems. These Israelites faced the attacking Egyptians and Amalekites. They endured hard years in a harsh desert, sometimes short on water. They dealt with temptation and interpersonal conflict. But the Lord was still their refuge.

Whatever state you’re in, whatever generation you belong to, God is a refuge. He invites you to make your home in Him and open up your heart so He can dwell in you.

Psalm 90:2 – ² Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Moses is contrasting the vast greatness of God with our own finite weakness. We are a moment, God is eternal. We can barely keep our potted plants alive. Meanwhile God created the universe. He hung the stars in their place. He breathes life into every living creature. Just 4,000 people have climbed Mount Everest. With a word, the Lord formed it and Olympus Mons – a mountain on Mars that makes Everest look like a little foothill.

Why did God give birth to the world? So that there would be a place for you to live. So He could love you, have a personal relationship with you. That’s the reason creation exists. In Ephesians 1, Paul explains that, before time began, God called you by name, made plans for your life, decided to adopt you into His forever family if you’re willing to put your faith in Him.

Psalm 90:3 – ³ You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”

God had this plan, He constructed a universe so that He could commune with human beings. He created man and woman immortal. What happened? Adam happened.

Death and sorrow and suffering were not part of the plan. But Adam and Eve, knowing their options, chose to go their own way. They chose to reject what God had said and did the one thing He asked them not to do, even though they were told doing so would bring death into the cosmos.

They immediately discovered that God wasn’t lying. He wasn’t exaggerating. He wasn’t bluffing. Death flooded into creation. That’s why we are so fragile. That’s why every one of us is dying here today. That’s why we need a refuge: A predator is coming after us and we are helpless against it.

Psalm 90:4 – ⁴ For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.

We’re fond of saying that, with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. We do so because that’s what Peter says, quoting this verse. Moses goes further and says, with God, a thousand years are like 4 hours of the night. The Israelites divided sunset to sunrise into three four-hour blocks.

Isaiah gives us another comparison between God and humanity. He says in chapter 40 that all the nations of the earth are like a drop of water in a bucket or a speck of dust on a scale.

That’s not to say God doesn’t keep track of time. He does. In eternity we know at least months will be counted. And it doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about the nations – He does. He cares so much about you that He was willing to send His One and only Son to die in your place. He cares so much that He continually spends His time intervening in human history on our behalf. Moses’ point is that God is beyond comparison. There is none so great, none so powerful the God of the Bible.

Psalm 90:5-6 – ⁵ You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning—⁶ in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.

God is in charge of the beginning and end of a life. The Bible explains that He fashioned us in our mother’s womb and that He gives life to all things. Psalm 31 says, “[Our] times are in Your hands.”

That doesn’t mean that if someone is murdered God caused it. The Bible reveals that God’s providential dealings with men has some wiggle room. Sometimes lives are cut short of what the Lord intended. The Israelites in the wilderness are a great example. God wanted them to go into the promised land, they said no, so the Lord said, “Alright. All of you are going to die in the next 40 years.” In the church at Corinth there were Christians who were sinning in such a way that God decided to strike them with fatal illnesses, bringing them home to heaven earlier than would’ve happened if they hadn’t been sinning.

But, if you are alive this morning, it’s not an accident or an afterthought. God has some plan, some intention, some direction for you. Because you are His masterpiece, meant to display His glory not only to this world, but to the unseen cosmos filled with supernatural beings.

Moses says we’re like grass. Grass is a weak and fragile thing. It it helpless against a hot sun, a heavy boot, or a hungry cow. From heaven’s perspective, the strongest man is just a blade of grass.

This image isn’t just about our weakness. It uncovers the incredible kindness and generosity of God, Who does so much for creatures who are so weak.

We’ve all seen the stereotype of the neighbor who is so obsessed with his lawn that he cuts it by hand with scissors. Now consider that you are like a blade of grass. Yet the Lord loves you individually. He planted you specifically. He tends to your life. He pours out all He has on your behalf, sparing not even His own Son, but giving Him up for you – a blade of grass. A wisp of vapor.

Psalm 90:7-8 – ⁷ For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

This is the why of our weakness. It’s sin that has ruined things. It brings wrath. Moses knew about hidden sins coming to light. His secret murder had been exposed – his secret family failures, too.

If God is so powerful, if His plan is to rescue anyway, why not just let it slide? The same reason why you don’t let it slide if there’s a big stain on the front of your shirt. The same reason why we watch lawlessness play out on our television screens and we feel anger. The same reason why, if you had absolute power, you’d make some changes to this world, wouldn’t you? George Costanza once said if he were running for office, he would seek the death penalty for double parkers!

My first apartment had a little grass just outside the front door. Periodically, one of my neighbors would dump their used up fry oil right there on the grass in a stinking, putrid puddle. It killed the grass and greeted me with its stench whenever I came home. I would’ve liked that to not happen.

God is absolutely holy. Sin is absolutely rancid. It is the worst stain, the worst rot, the worst lawlessness, the worst rebellion against a perfect God. God cannot overlook sin or pretend it isn’t what it is or sweep it under a rug somewhere. If He did, He would not be just, He would not be righteous, He would not be good, He would not be holy.

The truth is, we want God to overlook some sin but not others. We want Him to let our guilt slide. But those other people? Hang them high! But all sin is sin. And God hates it.

One reason He hates it is because it separates us from Him. His great desire is to commune with you – for our hearts to be joined with His. Adam and Eve sinned and immediately they hid from God. Now, for thousands of years Emmanuel, God with us, has been working to repair that breach.

Psalm 90:9-10 – ⁹ For all our days ebb away under your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. ¹⁰ Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

Life expectancy in California is 79 years. For those of you seeking an escape to Tennessee, beware: You may have to trade a few years. Life expectancy there is just 73.

Moses is speaking generally here. He himself lived to be 120. So call it 100. Make it a thousand. Compared to eternity, it’s a few passing moments. Meanwhile, human life is hard, even when it’s easy! Moses knew what he was talking about. He knew life in the palace, life as a powerful leader. He knew the quiet life of pasturing flocks. We’ll find ways to struggle no matter where we live. No one escapes the difficulties of life when it comes to worry, regret, mistake, sorrow, pain, disappointment. It all points to the reality that we’re in trouble and need a rescue.

Psalm 90:11-12 – ¹¹ Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due you. ¹² Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

We deserve wrath, but suddenly Moses pivots and reveals there is a way out. God has a remedy. He is always ready to rescue. He gave Adam and Eve a substitute. He brought His people out of Egypt. He saw them through the wilderness. He defeated the giants that came against them. He brought down the nations that surround them. He always provides a way out.

If you want to escape wrath, the way is simple: The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Moses asks the Lord to teach us to number our days that we may develop wisdom. This isn’t about getting smarter. Wisdom means seeing things as God sees them. It means applying His truth to our life. In context, it means to recognize that God has numbered our days and so we should number them, too – to make them count not for what I think will make me happy, but to make them count toward those intentions God designed for my life before the world was even created.

How can we number our days? In part, it’s important for us to take the theme of this Psalm to heart. Life is short. Eternity is coming. Short timers make decisions purposefully, don’t they? If you are at Disneyland and you have 30 minutes till the park closes, it impacts your decision making.

So, how can we number our days? That’s something the Lord has to teach you to do. It’s not just, “Oh well then we all have to work ‘round the clock and never stop.” After all, God doesn’t just intend labor for your life, He also intends rest. I need God to teach me what He wants for my day today. This is the day God has made and I have a particular place in it that He wants me to discover.

God plans to develop this wisdom in our lives. It’s not an instant acquisition. It a process of growth as we walk with Him. But there’s another layer that we can apply in light of the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians we read that Jesus Christ “became wisdom from God for us.” So, developing wisdom means growing in our knowledge of Jesus, becoming more conformed into His image. God’s plan is for Christ to fill our hearts with His grace and power and truth and compassion.

God’s wisdom, in Christ, is the most valuable thing we could devote our lives to. It’s more valuable than gold or rubies or even cryptocurrency!

Psalm 90:13 – ¹³ Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on your servants.

It’s interesting for Moses to say “how long” here. After all, he just said a thousand years was like a few hours to God. But, from our perspective, it is long when we’re struggling. Moses shows us it’s ok to pray this way. We don’t have to pretend we aren’t downhearted. God is mindful of your suffering. And He is a God of active mercy – a God of tender compassion – Who can be counted on.

Your version may have Moses asking God to “return” to us, but the Lord hasn’t left. He will never leave us or forsake us. Moses is comparing again. As we are turning back to dust in verse 3, we see God turning to us in grace and compassion. While sin ruins, the Lord redeems.

Psalm 90:14-15 – ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. ¹⁵ Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.

Moses calls on God’s faithful love – His hesed. This is an active, loyal love, where a stronger party takes it upon himself to help a weaker party because he loves them and cares for them.

Moses asks the Lord to fill up the lives of His people. Filled with all the fullness of God, where our lives overflow with an abundance of joy and contentment and worship and purpose and strength. This is what God wants. Jesus said He came that we may have life and have it in abundance.

In the end, God will not give us a one-for-one trade for our days of adversity. He’s going to give His people a trillion-to-one reward. Though our present sufferings are real, by looking into eternity we can remind ourselves that, “our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” And we can rejoice along the way.

Psalm 90:16 – ¹⁶ Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.

Moses didn’t only ask for eternal relief, he’s asking for God’s intervention right here, right now. And his prayer is that God would work in such a way that a magnificent testimony would shine through our lives as a proof of God’s powerful splendor.

As we walk with God, even in adversity, He works in our lives so that our families and friends and the world around us can see our joy, see how we’re invigorated to praise the Lord, so they might come to the conclusion that God is real and He is good and His is with His people.

Psalm 90:17 – ¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands—establish the work of our hands!

What an ending compared to how the song started off! Your version may say let the beauty of the Lord be on us. The term can also mean goodness or kindness.

When Moses refers to the work of our hands, he doesn’t just mean the job we do. He’s talking about our response to what God has done. The term can also mean “workmanship.” It reminds us that we are God’s workmanship – His masterpiece – and we are able to participate with Him in that everlasting, cosmic work. And so the prayer is not, “Lord, give us an extra 100,000 days on this earth,” it’s, “Lord, who am I that You are mindful of me? Lord, involve yourself in the days I have left. Show me how to be in step with what you have planned for my life.”

Gene Simmons is quoted as saying, “Life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself.” That’s a real good way to waste your life.

Before time began the Lord determined to create you and to portion out your days. David said that if we could count how many thoughts God has for you, individually, it would outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. There’s no need for you to have delusional notions about yourself. The Lord wants you to have supernatural notions about your life.

Psalm 90 reminds us that the clock is ticking. We are running to the end of time on this earth. But these expiring days of our lives can overflow with joy and have everlasting impact when we realize that the Lord has made this day, He has counted this day, and He has called each us from eternity past to walk with Him in it as partners in His good work. Today counts as we make our home in Him.

Musician Of Guilt (Psalm 51)

There are more than 250,000 murder cold cases in the United States. That number grows by about 6,000 every year.

In ancient Israel, a notable killing had gone unpunished. It wasn’t exactly a cold case – rumors had spread here and there. After all, the victim was one of the greatest warriors in the nation: Uriah the Hittite. He was famous and celebrated – a hero of the kingdom.

There had been no arrests, no civil suit, seemingly no investigation. But then a scene worthy of the old Columbo series unfolded. The king himself was publicly accused. At this point two unexpected things happened. First, the king did not deny the charges. He confessed to adultery and murder.

In May, a New Mexico man walked out of a store, borrowed a phone, and dialed 911 to confess to killing his landlord in 2008. “He told [police] he was tired of being overwhelmed by guilt.”

It’s surprising to have someone confess to murder – especially a king. But then a second surprising thing happened: The killer was not led off to be executed under the Law of Moses. Instead, he went to worship. Some time later, he wrote the song we just listened to. For thousands of years it has endured as one of his most famous, alongside Psalm 23 and 139.

It remains important not only because of its beauty and history – not only because it speaks to us of the overwhelming grace of God – but because we know that this is a prayer that God accepts. This gives a roadmap for how we untangle ourselves from the ruin of sin and experience the tenderness, the washing, the strengthening of God’s forgiveness.

We begin above verse 1 in what is called the superscript.

Psalm 51:Superscript – For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.

When David’s men went to war, he stayed behind. One day he saw Bathsheba bathing, had her brought to the palace, and slept with her. Notice, our text says, “After he – David – has gone to her.” It was his doing. He reached out to take what wasn’t his and began this disastrous series of events. Bathsheba got pregnant and David’s efforts to cover up what he did ultimately led him to have her husband Uriah (who was David’s close friend by the way), killed.

David is guilty of not one but two capital offenses. There was no sacrifice that could cover him, no fine he could pay. There was no jail for him to do his time. Death was what he deserved. He had no hope other than God’s grace, and he knew it.

In verse 1, he begins to sing and pray.

Psalm 51:1-2 – ¹ Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. ² Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

No bartering, no bravado. David throws himself on the mercy of the court of heaven and asks for the legal expunging of the record of what he had done.  This is a big ask. But David he knew the character of God. He believed God was a God of grace, of compassion, of mercy, and forgiveness toward the guilty. He knew about God’s unfailing love – that God wants to cleanse and forgive.

Psalm 51:3 – ³ For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

Even though for a year it seemed like David got away with his sin, internally he was crumbling. He kept thinking about what he did over and over again.

What really woke him up, though, was when the prophet Nathan came – sent by God – to confront him. He told David directly, “You have sinned. You have treated the Lord with contempt.” That scene, so harsh and so unpleasant in the moment, was the best thing that could’ve happened to David. He needed to be confronted with his sin.

If you’re not a Christian here today or if you’re a Christian who is living in sin, or hiding some wicked thing you’ve done, the Holy Spirit wants to expose it. That sin is going to ruin your life and you need to turn from it and be embraced by the grace of God. We need to see sin the way David did, as a terrible, defiling thing, because it is! And the more we ignore it, the more it will destroy.

Psalm 51:4 – ⁴ Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.

This is a shocking thing to hear. “Against you alone?” How about Uriah and Bathsheba? How about their friends and extended family? How about the nation at large?

Now, this phrase can be translated “against you above all I have sinned” But remember: a king could do what he wanted. What did Nixon say? “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.”

When Israel demanded a king so they could be like the rest of the nations, Samuel told them, “You don’t want a king. He can take your sons and your daughters and your horses and your cattle. He can take your fields and vineyards, and your grain.” Kings in this era ruled with absolute authority.

But even an atheist would look at what David had done – killing a man and taking his wife – and say, “That’s not right.” Why? Because God does exist and He has a standard of morality. If there is no God, then what David did is fine because it’s exactly what all the other animals in nature do.

But there is a God and He has a standard for right and wrong. And it’s His standard, not ours. Our standards of good and evil, right and wrong, seem to fluctuate over time. They change with culture. But God’s standard does not. What is normal in the world’s sight may be evil in God’s sight.

Someone in Israel might hear about what David did and say, “Well, he is the king after all, and Uriah was just a Gentile.” But David recognized that, despite what anyone else thought or said, he had violated God’s morality. And he recognized that God the Judge was watching and evaluating.

So why then isn’t the Judge judging? It’s because while God is a Judge, He is also a Savior. He is full of mercy and His desire is that people be rescued from the penalty of their sin.

Psalm 51:5 – ⁵ Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

David’s problem wasn’t just that he had committed murder, the problem was that he was a sinner through and through. In his Psalms, David loves to look into the human heart and get down to the core issues. And, at our core, we have a sin problem.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “A man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.” David wants forgiveness not just for one mistake, but for everything. He knows that what he did with Bathsheba and Uriah was not some one-off, freak accident. It flowed from his nature. Now, not everyone will become a murderer, but all of us are killers at heart. Jesus explained that in Matthew 5.

From our human hearts flow evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. David understood this and came to the conclusion that what he needed was a new heart, a new nature.

Psalm 51:6 – ⁶ Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.

We learn here that not only is God a Judge, not only is He a Savior, He is also a Teacher. He is chair of the Wisdom Department, where we are instructed in truth and Godliness and heaven’s way so that we can know how to abandon sin and walk in fullness of life.

I appreciate the focus on depth in this verse. A lot of our time is spent on surface-level problems, but we have deeper things going on that need fixing but they are things only God can fix.

Recently our kitchen sink was draining really slow. We did all the things: Hot water, then Drano, then Liquid Plumber. The the auger came out. I got that thing going and you feel it going around the turns in your pipes. I didn’t hit any big clogs, so I kept going deeper. Before I knew it, all 25 feet of the snake was in the pipe. I thought, “How deep is this clog?” I snaked a couple more times and did more Liquid Plumber and now I’m just waiting for that deep problem to present itself again.

God wants to solve the deep problems of our hearts and lives. His grace is enough for it. His wisdom is effective for it.

Psalm 51:7 – ⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

David for legal cleansing and ceremonial cleansing. David wanted to be able to go into God’s presence to worship. For that to happen, he would need the purification of hyssop.

Hyssop was used to paint the doorposts during the first Passover. It was also used for the cleansing of lepers and to bring God’s people into covenant. David is saying, “I’m a leper who has broken covenant, I need a new Passover.”

While Jesus hung dying on the cross, some standing below dipped a branch of hyssop into sour wine and offered it to Him, mingling it with the blood pouring from His wounds.

We sinners need the cleansing supplied by the blood of an innocent substitute Who can wash us whiter than snow. Is there anything whiter than snow? There’s one thing: a human heart washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. It is made perfectly pure, free from any tarnish or defilement.

Psalm 51:8 – ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

It had been 9 months or a year since David’s scandalous behavior. He had involved multiple people bringing Bathsheba and in the plot to kill Uriah. Those palace walls were talking. Can you imagine the whispers in the corridors between the servants? No longer were the halls filled with praise and music – David wasn’t writing any new songs. Instead, there was shame and rumors.

David himself was aching within. Many scholars believe Psalm 32 is a companion to this one. In it, David describes the pain he was in, the weakness he felt, and how he was groaning all day long.

It’s interesting: David had “flexed” his kingly muscles – he saw a woman he wanted and took her. When his plan to cover up his adultery failed, he flexed again and had the husband killed. From the human perspective, it was a show of strength. “I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me.”

In actuality, this was the weakest David had ever been. With his relationship with God blockaded by sin, all his vitality drained away. He was crushed by his guilt.

Psalm 51:9-10 – ⁹ Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. ¹⁰ God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Not just a repair, not just a remodel. David wants a new heart. One crafted with heavenly materials. His prayer is that God would bring order into the chaos of David’s heart, meaning his mind, his will, even his intellect.

When God saves us He does not simply reroute us from hell to heaven. He begins a total transformation of who we are. His intention is to give us a new mind, a new heart, new desires, new perspectives, new attitudes, new words, new priorities, new reactions, all in line with His character.

Psalm 51:11 – ¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Christians feel weird about this verse. Is David suggesting that we can lose the Holy Spirit? The answer is no. Jesus was very clear on this point in John 6:37, where He said, “the one who comes to me I will never cast out.” Remember, we are members of a new covenant with the Lord.

David lived in a time where the Spirit’s anointing did seem to come and go, particularly when a believer fell into sin. David saw firsthand how this happened to King Saul before him.

While the Spirit will not be taken from Christians, we are told that we can grieve Him. We can stifle Him. And Paul indicated that we can become disqualified from God’s service when we fail to walk in self-control. So, like David, we should be concerned about our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:12 – ¹² Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.

The term “willing” can also mean a “free” spirit. This is one of the great surprises of God’s plan. His desire is to free you, to give you total liberty, ultimately bringing you to heaven with a perfectly freed will but one that has no desire to sin. A will like Jesus’ own. So David is, in a sense, praying “on earth as it is in heaven. Make my heart now the way you want to make it in the end. Reprogram my desires to be totally in line with what You desire.”

David also asks that the joy he once felt. Do we have joy? It doesn’t mean our circumstances always make us happy. But joy is a supernatural power that can flow in any situation and it’s exceedingly important. Nehemiah 8 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Psalm 16 says that in God’s presence is abundant joy. A lack of joy is an indication that something is laying siege to our relationship with the Lord.

Psalm 51:13 – ¹³ Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.

God’s heart is always others oriented. So, if we have a heart that is after God’s heart, like David did, we will also be others oriented. David’s desire was to rescue others out of their guilt and shame.

Psalm 51:14 – ¹⁴ Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God—God of my salvation—and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

God is righteous. He would never do the kinds of things we do – stealing and lying and killing and cheating and all the rest. Meanwhile, we are totally unrighteous. But the Lord is willing to take away our guilt and wrap us up in His perfect righteousness no matter what we’ve done.

Psalm 51:15 – ¹⁵ Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

There was a 36 year gap between William Shatner’s debut album The Transformed Man and his follow up Has Been. I’m not sure anyone was too upset about having to wait. But, then again, Shatner is no one’s favorite musical artist.

David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, one of the most important songwriters of all time, wasn’t writing songs. He didn’t have writer’s block, he had sinner’s block. But now, as part of this saving work, the Lord would give him songs again. And we are all the richer for it.

Psalm 51:16 – ¹⁶ You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.

This is another eyebrow-raising verse. Isn’t there like a bunch of books about the importance of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament? Yes, but remember, David is speaking on a deeper level. He has a wider view and he knows that God doesn’t just want a religious transaction. This isn’t just, “I broke a window, so here’s some money and we’ll call it good.” There was no sacrifice for murder.

So what did God want?

Psalm 51:17 – ¹⁷ The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

God wants you on the altar. He’s pleased when we surrender to Him in faith and obedience.

It’s interesting – the words for broken and humbled speak of smashing and crushing. David mentioned crushing before, up in verse 8. It seems we get to choose between crushed hearts or crushed bones. One dictionary says this about the humbled heart: “to be in a crushed state, or possibly actively to press on someone, implying destruction.” So we have the bones crushed under the destructive disease of sin or a heart pressed into the Lord, its stoniness destroyed and fused with the heart of God, in oneness with Him.

God will not despise a heart like that. To drive home that truth, you can read the incredible account of Ahab in 1 Kings 21. Ahab was the worst king of Israel. There was no one who devoted himself more to evil. But when the Lord brought a message of judgment, Ahab humbled himself. And the Lord said to Elijah: “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before Me.” That’s how much God will not despise a humbled heart.

Psalm 51:18 – ¹⁸ In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.

When David was walking with God he always thought bigger than himself. He thought of the rest of God’s people, the ongoing work of God, the coming generations.

When he was captive to sin, David didn’t go out with his soldiers to fight. He didn’t care about Uriah or anyone else, only his own impulses and pleasures. But now we see how the fruit of repentance makes a person more like God.

How would Zion prosper?

Psalm 51:19 – ¹⁹ Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

They would proser in worship. David specifically highlights bulls, which draws our attention to the Feast Of Shelters, during which dozens of bulls were offered day-by-day. Shelters, which revealed how God’s desire is to tabernacle, to dwell with His people and that our Messiah is coming to tabernacle with us in His forever Kingdom.

God’s people prosper in His presence and with His presence in them, when they acknowledge their sin, turn from it, and allow the Lord tenderly transform them with His righteousness and grace. We are strongest when our hearts are crushed into His and our spirits made new, when we’re washed by His Word and walking in the newness of that life headed toward our final glory, totally new, totally free, totally surrendered and in harmony with God our Savior.

The Guilty Party (Psalm 32)

When someone is declared bankrupt many (but not all) of their debts are wiped out. But first their assets are liquidated and sent to creditors. Their accounts are left empty and their record is left with a mark that makes future business difficult or impossible. The Biblical bankruptcy process is much less punishing for the debtor. Paul explains in Colossians 2 that, for those who are saved:

Colossians 2:14 – [God has] erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

All the wrong things you’ve done in word, thought, or action count toward your spiritual debt. If you had 1,000 lifetimes of good works you wouldn’t come close to paying it off. But God offers you a full pardon and is willing to go into His own pocket to pay your debt. If you let Him, He will not leave you empty-handed. He will immediately fill your eternal accounts with more than you could ask or imagine and will make you His Friend for all eternity.

In Psalm 32, David tells us how he personally discovered God’s forgiveness – how he went through this spiritual bankruptcy process. He went in being crushed by the weight of his guilt. But then he received God’s forgiveness and came out stronger, more secure, and more joyful than ever before.

Psalm 32:Superscript – Of David. A Maskil.

As an author, David is worth listening to. Of course, he’s writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that is reason enough. But as a writer, David speaks with the authority of experience and expertise. John Phillips points out that David is one of the greatest sages of Scripture, one of the greatest saints, and one of the greatest sovereigns. But he is also one of the greatest sinners.^[1] So when he speaks about forgiveness and closeness with God, we should pay attention.

Psalm 32:1-2 – How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!

From the start, David wants us to feel joy as we realize God has made His forgiveness available to any person who is willing to receive it. That is good news which should fill up our hearts with celebration. Right from the start of this book, in Psalm 1 we’re told about the eternal joy that God wants for people. The problem is, we’re unable to walk that road of righteousness on our own. We don’t qualify. We fall short of the standards of righteousness. But now David reveals that there is a way to attain that spiritual happiness thanks to the forgiveness of God. The message of the Psalms is that anyone can walk with the Lord, anyone can be forgiven no matter what they’ve done because He has made it possible.

In verses 1 and 2, David describes a spectrum of sin. Commentators note that he uses three terms for those wrong things we do. The first is transgression, which speaks to us of rebellion against God. The second is sin, which means falling short or missing the mark of perfection. The third is iniquity. This is a term that speaks of corruption and twistedness – acts of evil.^[2] So we see David isn’t just talking about the worst of wickedness that men do. He’s talking about all of the wrong things. From basic imperfection to abject evil. It all applies and he says that all of it can be forgiven.

David also gives three different terms to describe what the Lord wants to do with our sin and guilt. First, He forgives. The Lord promises to carry our sins away and remember them no more. Second, David says our sins can be covered. It doesn’t mean a cover-up in the negative sense. And it doesn’t mean just sweeping our guilt under a rug for it to fester.

Some of you have had a stain on a wall and when you tried to paint over it, the stain bled through the new coat. But, if you first treat that wall and paint on Kilz primer, that will put an end to the stain. God cleans while He covers. The Bible explains that the blood of Jesus cleanses us and makes us brand new. It purifies us and covers us in righteousness so we can walk with God.

Third, David tells us that God will not charge us with iniquity. Perhaps you saw the story of Irmgard Furchner. At age 18 she worked as a secretary in a Nazi concentration camp. Almost 80 years later, the law finally caught up with her and she was brought to court. At her job, all she did was paperwork. But that was enough for her to be charged and found guilty for aiding in the murder of more than 10,000 people.^[3] There was nothing she could do to free herself from her guilt. The charges were waiting for her after all those decades.

God knows exactly what we’ve done. The thousands upon thousands of counts of imperfection, of rebellion, of hate, of wickedness, of selfishness, of meanness, or vice. And we’re guilty of them all. But God makes us this offer to carry them away, to cover, and to never charge us for any of it.

The offer sounds amazing until we read. “In whose spirit is no deceit.” Do we have to be perfectly honest before we can be forgiven? Jeremiah says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable.”^[4] So is this an offer that we can’t actually enjoy? Is this like one of those mailers you get claiming someone is going to win a million dollars when, clearly, no one is going to win?

Jesus once said to Nathanael, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom is no deceit.” Was that literally true? We don’t know a lot about Nathanael, but we know that he made the same mistakes as the other disciples. He argued over who was the greatest. He failed to be there at the foot of the cross, choosing instead to run and hide. And one of the only times he does speak in the Bible is when he scoffs at the idea that anyone from Nazareth could be used by God. Or consider David himself. He had many moments of terrible dishonesty.

This ‘no deceit’ line shows that forgiveness is not only about settling a debt. It is the beginning of a transformative process which completely changes us from the inside out. God doesn’t just say, “I’ll square your debt,” He goes further and says, “I’m going to make you a new creation.”

On top of that, the term for deceit here can refer to slackness, or a sluggishness to do an activity.^[5] David shares that he had that sluggishness at first.

Psalm 32:3-4 – When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat. Selah (There, what do you think of that?) ^[6]

We don’t know when David wrote this song or what situation he was referring to. Some scholars tie it to his sin with Bathsheba, and that’s definitely a contender. Whenever it was, he had fallen into sin and then held his guilt in his heart. He closed the Lord out and tried to act like nothing was wrong. But it started eating him alive. We know something about summer heat, right? David said this guilt that he was holding in was like those dog-days of late July. 115° but with no A/C, no shade, no ice.

David was a strong man. He had killed giants and lions and bears with his own hands. But he was no match for guilt. Did you know being “weighed down by guilt” is more than a metaphor? In 2013, Princeton published a study showing that the feelings of guilt are, indeed, felt like weight in our minds and bodies.^[7] David felt it eating him from the inside, crushing him from the outside.

In verse 4, was David suggesting that God was inflicting this pain on him? On the one hand, we have to take this Psalm with the Psalms before and after. In Psalm 31 David wrote, “my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” He rightly understood the destructive nature of sin. Paul talks about this in Romans 1, where sinners are left to deal with the appropriate consequences of their choices.

At the same time, though God is ready to forgive sin, He will not ignore sin. He applies firm pressure on the sinner in order to draw us to repentance, so He can remove the weight of our guilt. He tells His children that He will discipline them when they sin, because He loves them.

I was a lifeguard for a few summers in college. I always enjoyed practicing removing a swimmer with a neck injury from the pool. You would go in, apply a hold with firm pressure, rotate that swimmer into position, and get them strapped tight onto a backboard so they could be lifted out of the water. If not, the person would die. God applies that kind of pressure when we dive into sin.

Psalm 32:5 – Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah (There, what do you think of that?)

All David had to do to receive God’s forgiveness was confess. Technically, we don’t even see his confession here. He says, “I will confess to the Lord,” and immediately forgiveness flowed, the guilt was gone, and David had the relief he needed. So, what is confession? Confession is more than just saying a few words. Confession means to realize God’s truth in your heart, agree with that truth, turn from your sin and face God, saying, “I am guilty, I am sorry, and I want to receive Your mercy.”

Does this mean that, as a Christian, I don’t have forgiveness for individual sins until I confess? There are some churches that hold a doctrine like that. If you’re a Christian, if you’ve been born again, you have eternal forgiveness right now. In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He has poured out on us.^[8] God never comes back with a sponge to sop up what He poured out. But we also read in 1 John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.” So which is it?

There are two aspects of forgiveness. The first is judicial. Has your debt been paid? If you are in Christ, then Christ’s death on the cross dealt with all your sin, past, present, and future. You are sealed into a promise. When the Judge of heaven and earth looks at you, He sees His Son and pronounces you clean. But there is also relational forgiveness. When we rebel against God or go our own way, we remove ourselves from His boundaries and His leading and His commands. Those sins bring breeches and barriers in our relationship with the Lord. Through confession we are able to once again live in the fullness of His grace.

This is depicted in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The son went out from the father’s house on his own way, into ruin. The father did not announce, “the Prodigal is no longer my son.” He was still his son. But once the son came to his senses and returned home, he was able to have not just the title of son, but the benefits of the father’s love and they embrace and reconcile and rejoice together.

Another question is: If God knows everything, then why do I need to confess? Isaiah 55 explains that when we seek God, when we confess and abandon our own way and instead embrace the Lord, He is able to cover us with His compassion and freely forgive. Through confession we step from the shadow of guilt into the light of God’s mercy. The Prodigal not only had to mentally admit he was wrong, he had to also leave the pigsty and return to his father. Proverbs 28 says, “whoever confesses and renounces [their sin] will find mercy.”

David said, “I did not conceal my iniquity.” We’re no good at covering over our sin. That’s the job the Lord wants to do. Don’t think for a minute you can clean yourself up for God.

Awhile ago, one of our little ones got sick to their stomach in the middle of the night. We went in to make sure they were ok and we said, “Where did you throw up?” They said, “In the bathroom. But I cleaned it up.” Let’s just say, “clean” isn’t the word I would use. It was the middle of the night. They were sick. It was dark. They grabbed whatever towel they could and did their best. But they needed a parent to actually take care of it. Don’t try to cover your sin. Let the professional take care of it.

Psalm 32:6-7 – Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately., When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah (There, what do you think of that?)

David is not suggesting all his problems were immediately solved. He was a man who knew many troubles for many years. But, in the final judgment, David knew he was safe. He would be delivered just as Noah was in the ark when the flood waters came.

There’s a judgment coming. If you’re not a Christian, you’re going to be judged for your sin. You will stand before God’s throne and your debts must be paid. Without Christ, there’s no deliverance.

There is also a global judgment coming one day. The whole world will be flooded with the wrath of God. Knowing that judgment is coming, let everyone who is faithful pray immediately. If you want salvation, there is no time to lose. Call out to God for forgiveness. Hide yourself in Him. Don’t wait. God is ready to receive each of us us as spiritual refugees, covering us and sustaining us and making us new. That’s not just David’s opinion – The Lord Himself would verify the message of this song. It’s the Lord speaking in our next verses,^[9] where we read:

Psalm 32:8-9 – I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel. Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle or else it will not come near you.

Why would anyone refuse God’s offer of salvation and forgiveness? It happens every day. In fact, we saw a few weeks ago in our study of Isaiah 1 how God’s people had become so stubborn, so hard-hearted that they were, indeed, dumber than donkeys, spiritually speaking.

The truth is, our hearts are inclined to evil. We’re prone to wander. And we’ll wander right into ruin if we don’t trust the Lord and go His way.

Harry Randall Truman, not the president but the Mt. Saint Helens resident, was warned to evacuate his home in 1980. Precursor earthquakes had knocked him out of bed as he slept, so he moved his mattress to the basement. He told interviewers, “[that] mountain is a mile away, [it] ain’t gonna hurt me…You couldn’t pull me out with a mule team.”^[10] No mules would be necessary. On May 18 he was vaporized along with everything he owned with the volcano erupted.

A person who doesn’t admit they’re a sinner and then receive the free gift of God’s salvation is like Harry Randall Truman. They’re like an ignorant mule, with no understanding.

“I will show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel.” God guides not with a whip, but with gentleness.^[11] The “way” He shows us is that “way” from Psalm 1 – the way where everything we do prospers. Where our lives are made strong and fruitful, weathering the seasons that come our way, always growing, always developing. This is where the Lord wants to guide us.

John Phillips gives us some important insight here. He writes, “If the Lord is to guide us with His eye, it means that we must stay close to Him. A person cannot give another person a warning look or a warm look or a welcoming look if he is in Chicago and the friend is in Atlanta. Let us see to it that we allow our Lord to guide us by keeping our Bibles open and our eye ever looking to Him. He will make it plain what we ought to do.” God’s counsel isn’t only for the sinner on the day of his salvation, it’s also for the saint every single day of their life.

Psalm 32:10 – Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him.

To trust God means to depend on His faithful love.^[12] It means to put our hope in Him, rather than our own strength or our own plans or the systems of this world. To trust the Lord means to enter into this covenant love He talks about – His hesed. That we acknowledge the truth about ourselves, and that we receive His love and love Him in return. That’s how we walk in the joy of this song.

Psalm 32:11 – Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

A Psalm like this makes us think a lot about our mistakes and how we fall short of God’s glory. But let’s remember what David’s perspective is: He started with joy, he’s ending with joy. He says, “Here’s what’s true about God’s forgiveness. Here’s how we can all have it day-by-day, no matter what we’ve done. Here’s how God plans to revolutionize our lives and surround us like a shield and a refuge and a Teacher and with the kindness of a Friend. So let’s praise the Lord for it!” If we pause to consider all that God had forgiven David, or all that God forgave Paul, or all He has forgiven you and me, the spiritual reaction should be like finding out you’ve won the lottery.

Despite his many mistakes, David felt no need to carry his guilt any more. He confessed it and turned from it. It was done, it was gone. And it was replaced by joy.

How joyful are you? That’s how our text opened, right? “How joyful is the one.” David says forgiven people are joyful people. Paul does too. He described himself as overflowing with joy in 2 Corinthians. The Christian life is supposed to be full of joy and peace, overflowing with hope. Because the Lord bears away our guilt and leads us into a way full of joy.

Has God borne away your guilt? Or are you still on the run? In September of 2021, Irmgard Furchner went on the run, hoping to avoid her trial. She was picked up a few hours later.^[13]

Maybe you’re on the run, spiritually speaking. You can’t avoid the Judge. Turn yourself in. When you turn yourself in to this Judge, He cleans your slate, cancels your debts, makes you new. You don’t have to work off your guilt. You are saved by grace through faith, not of works.

In fact, when Paul spoke in Romans about how we are justified by faith alone, how salvation is all a work of grace, he used this Psalm as the Old Testament basis. If you believe what God has revealed in the Scripture, if you come to him in repentance, acknowledging your spiritual bankruptcy, He will forgive you.

For Christians, forgiveness isn’t new, but it’s not finished either. In this Psalm, David reminds us that God’s forgiveness still applies and we who are faithful can stay in that closeness with the Lord, we can be quick to praise, quick to rejoice, quick to pray in confession as we discover more and more of what God has saved us from and what He has saved us for and we walk with Him on this way He’s leading us.

Taking A Sleep Of Faith (Psalm 3)

On April 28, 1789, honorary midshipman Ned Young slept while mutineers took control of the HMS Bounty. The violence and commotion roused every other sleeping sailor from their berth, but not Ned.^[1] He only woke up after the mutiny was over. Seeing that the captain and his loyalists were adrift in the South Pacific, Ned “soon announced that he fully supported the mutineers.”^[2] They decided they would settle on a small island, south of Tahiti. Conflict arose and, when a battle broke out between the mutineers and locals, Ned slept through that battle as well.^[3]

In Psalm 3, we find David asleep during a mutiny. Now, David was no narcoleptic midshipman. He was a seasoned warrior who knew tactics, knew battle, and knew the danger he was in. The mutiny was against him, after all. His night of sleep was not accidental or coincidental. David’s slept because, in the midst of the worst crisis of his life, he was able to draw upon the spiritual rest provided by God.

Psalm 3 is a good Psalm for the new year. Many scholars consider Psalms 1 and 2 to be an introduction to the Psalter.^[4] One commentator explains Psalms 1 and 2 as providing the theological undergirding for the the rest that follow.^[5] After showing us the way of the righteous and then the dominion of the Messiah, we get to Psalm 3 – the first Psalm that’s called a Psalm, and the first song that is from man’s perspective to God – a prayer being sung out loud as an act of faith.

In this short prayer, David gets right to the point and says, “Lord, I need help!” We know why – this is the first Psalm that has a historical marker. We’re told David wrote this song “when he fled from his son Absalom.” This mutiny in the later part of David’s reign was sudden and widespread. David had to quickly run for his life with no provisions, no plan, and no safe-haven in mind. Absalom’s intent was to take the throne and kill his father. In that context, David produced Psalm 3.

But what’s remarkable is that the song isn’t just about asking for help. After the ask, David then writes line after line with absolute confidence that God knows, hears, and will answer with all the help that he needed. He was so confident that he decided to make camp, bed down, and get a good night’s rest. That’s how much he trusted the Lord. In fact, one scholar noticed that David’s declaration of trust is twice as long as his cry for help.^[6]

This morning, there is a wide range of circumstances represented among us. Some of you are in a period of abundance and enjoyment. Some of you are, in a sense, running for your lives. Some disease is after you. Some uncertainty looms over your future. No matter our circumstances, Psalm 3 is for us because all of us need help from the Lord and want the strength and the rest and the hope demonstrated by David in these words. And remember: These words were inspired and delivered and recorded and preserved because God knows we need them. These are the songs the Lord has provided so that we can sing and pray them back to Him.

Our text begins above verse one, in what is called the title or superscript.

Psalm 3:Superscript – A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.

Some academics discount the superscripts, but these titles are in the canonical text of the Hebrew Bible.^[7] More importantly, Jesus references one of these superscripts in Matthew 22:45.

Right away we’re reminded of an important truth that is easy to forget: Every day, every season, every circumstance has a spiritual component. There is no experience we face that is separate from God’s commands and intentions for us or from His potential to use us. In the most hectic crisis of his life, David was used by God to write something that would help people for thousands of years.

Psalm 3:1 – Lord, how my foes increase! There are many who attack me.

It wasn’t just Absalom – David had lost the nation. The army was with his son. Some of his staff had switched sides. Other long-time haters came out of the woodwork against the king. Their attacks came in a variety of forms. Absalom’s was the most direct – “I’m going to kill you.” But then there was Ahithophel who had been a personal adviser who was now using his skill against David. There was Shimei, who had hated David ever since he took Saul’s place as king. He wasn’t a conspirator, but he made it his business to harass and insult David as he left Jerusalem. He screamed curses and threw stones at the king. And then there was Ziba. Ziba used David’s situation to better his own career by lying. He pretended to help but was selfishly profiteering.

Under this immense strain, the first word out of David’s lips is, “Yahweh!” He’ll call on that name 6 times in these verses – at least once in every section.

David’s desire was to be in the place God has called him – to be in his city, near the house of the Lord, in the position of service God had given him. All of that had been disrupted. And so David comes to the Lord and tells the Lord something He already knows.

It can feel silly to pray to the Lord about things He’s already aware of – but that’s everything! So why pray? Prayer is a tool God has given us so that we can develop closeness with Him and proper calibration for our hearts. In prayer we’re able to remind ourselves of Who God is and what He does. We’re reminded of what He has said in regard to our lives and His plans for us. In prayer we are able to relinquish ourselves to the Lord and invite Him to do what He wants to do in our lives. Prayer is one of the ways God gives us strength.^[8] And prayer is a relational act. God is a Person and desires close, communicative friendship with us.

Psalm 3:2 – Many say about me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah

Not only were there actual attacks, there was also the head-shaking gossips around David – people who said that he had it coming. They were saying that he had forfeited any right he had to divine help after all he’d done.^[9] And, maybe they had a point. David had lied and stolen, cheated and murdered. He allowed one of his best friends to be slaughtered to cover up an affair. He broke the Law in moving the Ark of the Covenant, and because of him 85 priests and their families were butchered by Saul because they gave David a few loaves of bread.

But God’s help isn’t reserved for those who deserve it. Thank goodness, because none of us are worthy of God’s help. No, God’s grace is not about merit or payback or being good enough. In 1 John we’re told that it’s because of God’s great love that He helps us and brings us into His family. We don’t earn it, we receive it as a free gift.

John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name

Many said of David, “God’s not going to take your calls.” But David didn’t believe that. Rolf Jacobson writes, “The quotation of the enemies’ speech…establishes the central theological issue of the Psalm – [will] God help the psalmist?”^[10] That’s an important question for us to settle.

The verse ends with that word, selah (the first use in the Psalms). Scholars can’t agree on what it means. Some believe it was a musical direction – something like “make a crescendo.”^[11] John Phillips suggests that the word may mean: “There, what do you think of that!” That may be a more helpful thought since we are readers of the Psalms, rather than singers like in David’s time.

Psalm 3:3 – But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

David wasn’t alone in his flight. He had his mighty men with him. There were some soldiers and even 600 Philistines who came in support. But he recognized that they weren’t the answer. They weren’t his shield, the Lord was! And not just a little wooden shield that David would have to hold up under his own strength, blocking an arrow or two that might come from one direction. David said, “You, Lord, are a shield all around me.” Covering on every side.

David’s words here are tender and moving. In the short term, David needed a shield, or we might say a parachute. But he recognized that God was so much more. This Hebrew word for shield has a bunch of derivatives, one of which is the term used for the Garden of Eden.^[12] That special, God-designed place, protected by a hedge all around and full of life and communion with the Lord.

Next, David says, “God isn’t just my shield, He’s my glory.” How was there glory in running for your life? How was their honor in this experience? David reveals that his self-worth wasn’t tied to a palace or a throne or his royal robes or the sword of Goliath. The Lord was his splendor. No one could take that splendor, that honor, that glory from him. And then he takes even another step into the tender kindness of God and says, “You’re the One who lifts up my head.”

We’re told in 2 Samuel that, as David fled the city, he went up the Mount of Olives barefoot and weeping. David recognized that the Lord was with him there, in his suffering, taking David’s head in His hands and lifting it up, as if to look him in the face and remind David of His love and presence. What a wonderful reminder of our Lord’s own visit to the Mount of Olives, where He went and suffered so that you and I could be rescued from our enemies of sin and death.

Psalm 3:4 – I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah

David’s prayer was delivered out loud for everyone to hear. Of course, God could’ve heard it from the silence of his heart, but God’s people are commanded to sing aloud. Colossians 3, Ephesians 5. Singing our praises and prayers out loud is one of the best ways for us to make the most of these evil days. We’re told that, as we sing with and to one another, we are spiritually enriched.^[13]

David cried aloud. He wasn’t ashamed for anyone around him to know about his dependance on the Lord. He wasn’t trying to hide his troubles. In fact, linguists tell us that the phrase could be translated, “Whenever I cry aloud, He answers me.”^[14] This is how God consistently operates. Since He was faithful to David, we can be sure He will be faithful to us. His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 3:5 – I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

David cried out for rescue, he said, “I know the Lord will answer me,” but then he doesn’t wait for the response! He goes to bed! If someone broke into your house, would you call 911 and say, “I need some help,” and then go back to sleep?

Now, David didn’t do that, he was running, but we see the incredible peace and confidence that has flooded his heart. It’s like when the angel finds Peter sleeping in his jail cell the night before he’s supposed to be executed. Those men understood that life is not about circumstances, it’s about communion with a loving God Who sustains His people. In this case, David had not received any patriot missiles or access to a secret fortress that Absalom couldn’t find. Instead of immediate, tangible assistance, the Lord simply sustained David with hope.

This summer when I had my stroke there were two passages of Scripture that the Lord sent us that gave us hope when we didn’t know what was going to happen. The first was John 11:4, where Jesus said of Lazarus, “This sickness will not end in death.” The second was this Psalm. Night came, I had been admitted, and they told Kelly she couldn’t stay. So, I was alone, wondering and worrying, and felt impressed to listen to this Psalm. Even though at the time we had no medical fixes or answers to some of our big questions, the Lord supported us with hope.

Absalom had every advantage: He had numbers and weapons and popular opinion and better tactical positioning. But the Lord doesn’t need earthly power to sustain us. David knew it, so he got some rest. As Christians, we are invited to enter into this rest. Jesus said, “Come to Me and I will give you rest.” Hebrews tells us to make every effort to enter into this rest as we walk with the Lord.

Psalm 3:6 – I will not be afraid of thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side.

He didn’t have to be afraid because he had an all-powerful shield on every side. He was still in danger, but he knew the Lord was on the way.

Imagine you were playing poker and your opponent showed his hand: Four aces. That’s the kind of hand that can clear the table. But, if they show four aces while you’re holding a royal flush, it doesn’t bother you at all. Their powerful hand has no chance against yours.

On the spiritual level, we’ve been dealt a royal flush. There is no better hand. God has dealt you His grace, His goodness, His attention, and affection. He’s dealt you gifts and a spiritual family and special opportunities. Our part is to do what David did: Believe! He believed and rested.

Psalm 3:7 – Rise up, Lord! Save me, my God! You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

These sort of lyrics don’t usually make their way into our modern worship songs. There are a variety of Psalms that have this kind of language that scholars call “imprecatory prayer.” We know that David was a prophet, but he wasn’t in a vengeful mood. He showed almost unreasonable mercy to Shimei during this saga. And when it was time to fight he told his soldiers to “treat Absalom gently.”

Verses like these remind us that God is going to avenge. He is going to bring a full and fierce judgment on His enemies that cannot be escaped. And it reminds us that wickedness really does need to be restrained. Job and Joel describe the wicked as monsters with fangs and that breaking those fangs meant the innocent would not be devoured but delivered. We’re so used to seeing injustice and so used to the world calling evil good that we can be shocked by true justice.

Now we are on the other side of the cross. And on this side of the cross, Shimei isn’t our enemy – Satan is. Christ has commanded us to pray for our human enemies and persecutors. We’re to bless them, not curse them. We’re to understand that God loves those individuals just like He loves us and He wants to save them from the wrath they deserve just like He saved us.

God is a Warrior and He is going to repay the wicked for all that they do. It won’t be a slap on the wrist – it will be everlasting death in the Lake of Fire. But God’s hope (and ours should be too) is that all those enemies would repent and be saved rather than perish in their sin.

Psalm 3:8 – Salvation belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people. Selah

David started in crisis. He ends in complete confidence not only for himself but for all God’s people. Which would include, by the way, many who were currently involved in the rebellion against him. That’s how powerful God’s intervention can be. He can bring rebels back into the fold. Some of the people who drew the sword for Absalom would later sing this song in the Temple, recognizing that God not only helped David, He helped them, too.

You see, the help God offers is not just a payday loan or a Saturday night special. God is offering salvation. And He alone can offer it. What is His salvation? It’s the same word that David used for “help” up in verse 2. This is one of those beautiful Bible moments. We discover that the word there is: yeshua. It’s a noun and a name. When you bring the Hebrew name into Greek it becomes Jesus!

The help we need isn’t a sword, it’s a Savior. When we call out for help, God gives Jesus. He is our refuge. He is our stronghold. Jesus, Who gives us His strength and His comfort and His love, His mind and His heart. Jesus, Who changes every perspective and makes sense of every circumstance. Jesus, Who is the Rock on which we can build our lives, Who loves us with an unfailing, loyal, kind love. Jesus, Who speaks and it is done. Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Who has invited us to rule and reign with Him. That’s the help God has for those who call out to Him. He’s listening for your call even now.