JUNE 21 & 22 PSALMS 107-110

June 21/22

Psalms 107-110; Today, or this weekend, we begin BOOK FIVE, the final section of the Psalms. It contains a staggering range of emotions, styles, and purposes. Among them are both the longest (119) and the shortest (117) of the psalms, as well as the 15 psalms entitled “Songs of Ascents” (120-134). It concludes with five of the most joyous and praise-filled songs in the psalter (146-150).

Psalm 107 tells four short stories; you can see the starting place of each one by looking for the word: some. Some wandered in desert wastes… (v. 4), Some sat in the darkness… (v. 10), Some were fools through their sinful ways… (v. 17), and Some went to the sea in ships…* (v. 23). The groups described in each story are different, but the stories have similar sequence: 1) People are in trouble. 2) They cry out to the Lord. 3) He delivers them. 4) And they should thank the Lord. What would your song of deliverance look like?

* Verse 23, I’ve heard, was routinely inscribed over the altars of churches in New England fishing villages, many of whose men routinely, and dangerously, went to the sea in ships!

Psalm 108 is one of David’s battle psalms. The King recognized his desperate need for God in defending Israel (v. 8) from her enemies (v. 9). It is in war, as it is in all things: With God, we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes (v. 13)!

Psalm 109 is a troublesome and vengeful song of David. One section alone (vv. 6-20) calls down twenty curses—depending on how you count them—on the wicked encircling him. The rest of the psalm redeems it somewhat from its anger and vengeance, for David humbles himself and brings these troubles before the Lord. Why would such vengeful talk be included in the Bible? Because God is teaching us that in every state of mind and emotion, we can come to Him!

Psalm 110 is one of David’s most famous “Messiah” songs. Jesus made it so by quoting it to the Pharisees: READ Matthew 22:41-46. Here Jesus points out a puzzle in Psalm 110: If the Messiah is the “Son of David,” how does David call the Messiah “Lord” in the psalm? Then Jesus quotes David in Psalm 110:1, The LORD said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Then Jesus asks: If David calls the Messiah, “Lord,” how can the Messiah be his son? The Pharisees had no response, because Psalm 110 was widely viewed as Messianic. We know the answer to Jesus question, because we know that Jesus is Messiah. Jesus was “Son of David,” through Mary, and “Son of God” through the virgin birth! 

Psalm 110 continues its Messiah bent, when David quotes the Lord as saying this to the Messiah: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (v. 4). This is a lonely reference to the mysterious priest/king of Genesis 14:17-20. READ Hebrews 5-7 for an important commentary on this!

Monday, we continue BOOK FIVE of the Psalms!


Your brother in the Word,

Pastor Gary