JUNE 16 PSALMS 78-83

June 16 BIBLE BLOG

Psalms 78-83; BOOK THREE of the Psalms continues.... 

Psalm 78 is a fabulous example of a teaching psalm. In this case, Asaph, the psalm-writer, is teaching God’s people their history. His purpose is “to tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord.” (v. 4) This is quite different from the world’s history books, which, in many cases, are designed to enhance the glorious deeds of people. Psalm 78 is brazenly forthright about the sins and stumblings of God’s people. So, read it, not just for historical information, but for lessons concerning why God’s people should “not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” (v. 7)

Psalm 79 sounds as if it were written after the destruction of Jerusalem (vv. 1,7) and during the exile (vv. 11-12). If it was written earlier, it could be considered a prophetic psalm, one God inspired Asaph to write so that it would be in place when God’s people needed it. Its cry is honest repentance: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! (v. 9). The ultimate answer to this cry is Jesus.

Psalm 80 is a prayer for revival and restoration, possibly after the crisis of Psalm 79. I love the repeated refrain in vv. 3, 7 and 19; it could be a prayer for God’s people, the Church, today: Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved!  

Psalm 81 is a clarion call to the people of God: Listen to Him! The heart of the psalm is contained in vv. 8-10. When Asaph says, Hear, o my people, he is not referring to some new and different word from the Lord, he is calling the people of God to remember both the commandments of God (v. 9) and the deliverance from Egypt that led them to the mountain of God’s commandments (v. 10). This psalm also contains a warning of what God will do with those who do not listen: He will give them over to their stubborn hearts (v. 12). Sounds like the apostle Paul in Romans 1, where God gives them up, again and again, to the enslavement of their own sin. This is so that they might turn back to the Lord, and receive the honey from the Rock He longs to give them.

Psalm 82 is a cry for justice for the weak and needy. If we are to love God, we must find God’s heart for “the last, the least, and the lost.” This psalm contains an amazing claim (v. 6), one that Jesus quotes in John 10:34: You are gods, sons of the Most High. Most feel that this is a creative way to describe the “image of God” in all people. Verse 7 goes on to say, Nevertheless, like men you will die. Though created in God’s image, we are stained, broken and on death row—due to our sins. We need a Savior.

Psalm 83 demonstrates the emotional range of the psalms. It is a cry to God for retribution against the nations and peoples who have sought Israel’s downfall. It’s a bit hard to read, when we remember that Jesus said, Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). The final verse redeems the whole psalm; Asaph prays this harsh prayer that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

Tomorrow, we finish BOOK THREE!


Your brother in the Word,
Pastor Gary