June 4 BIBLE BLOG
Psalms 19-24
Psalm 19 is a paean of praise and gratitude for God’s revelation. It’s a two-parter! Part one (vv. 1-6) extols God’s self-revelation through nature. Haven’t you sensed the power and majesty of God gazing at the night sky or an incoming thunderstorm? Once, one night, on the south shore of Rainey Lake in Voyageurs National Park, we noticed strange, dancing, fingers of light in the northern sky. We called the whole crew out of their tents to watch God paint the sky with “northern lights.” God gifted us that night with wonder! Part two (vv. 7-13) of this psalm extols God’s revelation through the written words of God’s Law. The Scriptures are perfect, sweet, enlightening, enduring, convicting and desirable. Psalm 19 concludes with David’s holy desire that His words and thoughts always reflect God’s!
Psalm 20 is a prayer David wrote for the people to pray on behalf of their king. Try praying through this psalm on behalf of our president and other leaders!
In Psalm 21, David speaks of himself in the third person: O Lord, in Your strength the king rejoices… He does this, perhaps, in the hope that future kings of Israel will adopt this psalm for themselves.
Psalm 22 is one of the most remarkable Messianic psalms in Scripture. In it, David—who must have been experiencing a time of persecution and suffering himself—writes of his experience in such a way that he prefigures or prophesies the suffering of his descendant, Jesus! Count how many details of Jesus’ passion you can find in this psalm. Allow it to increase your faith in the supernatural prophetic power of God’s Word!
Psalm 23 needs no introduction. David’s shepherd psalm looks back to David’s days as a shepherd of sheep, before he became the shepherd of Israel. In it, he sees God as the ultimate Shepherd, guiding, caring, nourishing and disciplining His people, as a good shepherd cares for the sheep. NOTE David’s hope for eternal life in v. 6!
Psalm 24 is a coronation song! In it, David recognizes that that though he is a king, God is the King of all, and is coming in all His glory! It teaches us to be watchful for the King’s coming!
These last three psalms (22-24) could all be called “messianic,” for they give us three glimpses of God’s Anointed One, our Lord Jesus: The Suffering Servant (22), the Good Shepherd (23), and the Coming King (24). It’s fun and enriching to read the psalms with a watchful eye for the Lord Jesus!
Your brother in the Word,
Pastor Gary
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