June 3 BIBLE BLOG
Psalms 13-18
Psalm 13 is a short, poignant cry to God, “How long?” I’ve made marvelous progress with my knees, but nevertheless, there are times I feel like David in this psalm. How long till I can drive, O Lord? How long till I can resume something like my old schedule? Psalm 13 concludes with the best advice: I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 14 is famously dubbed “the atheists’ psalm,” for it begins with the words: The fool says in his heart: “There is no God!” But lest we think that David is pointing fingers, his next thought indicts us all. He says that God is looking for anyone who seeks him, but, instead, “All have turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none that does good, not even one!” (v. 3) There is a sense in which all of us live as though there is no God. This is why Psalm 14 ends with a cry for salvation!
Psalm 15 describes the sort of person God is looking for, who might “dwell on His holy hill,” that is, in His presence. Read this psalm as a tool for measuring your own heart. How well do I walk with God, speak his truth, show kindness to others and handle money for His glory?
Psalm 16 gives us a second glimpse of the Messiah in the psalms. David writes, overwhelmed by God’s grace, of the blessing of His relationship with God, the satisfaction of his inheritance in God, and the assurance of God’s counsel. Then, for a moment, his experience of God’s power and presence moves him to speak in the place of his greatest descendant, Jesus: For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption. (v. 10) As Peter preached the very first sermon on Pentecost, he quoted these words (Acts 2:25-28), saying that David is dead and spoke ahead of time concerning Jesus’ resurrection!
Psalm 17 is a prayer of David’s worthy of our imitation. It contains some of the most beautiful metaphors for our relationship with God, two of them in one verse (v. 8): Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings!
Psalm 18 is the longest psalm we’ve encountered so far. As the inscription describes, it is David’s Song of Victory when God delivered him from his enemies, chiefly, the sinful Saul. Every line of this great hymn is worthy of our attention, but I want to highlight one verse, a verse that contains a theme that is repeated again and again in the pages of Scripture, a principle for life with God: David prays: For You save a humble people, but the haughty eyes, you bring down! (v. 27) This dovetails with my life verse: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
If we come to the psalms (or any portion of God’s Word) humbly, ready to be fed, with a sense of our need, we can count on His grace and mercy. If we come with pride to the Word, we’ve put ourselves in a place of opposition to God! Let’s walk through the Psalms with humility;
Your brother in the Word,
Pastor Gary
No comments:
Post a Comment