Day #113

Sermon - Audio
Pslam 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, & 21 - Audio
Pslam 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, & 21 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Psalm 6

• 6.1: “rebuke” means to punish due to an offense. Here it seems that God is punishing David with an illness (see 1 Corinthians 12:30 –That is why many among you are weak and sick and some of you have fallen asleep.)
• 6.2: God shows his mercy by bringing healing.
• 6.3: The Psalmist wonders how long God will allow this suffering to go on.
• 6.6-7: Groaning i.e. a feeling of anxiety and sadness in a distressing situation.
• 6.8ff: God hears his cry, forgives, and heals him. Those who were taking advantage of his situation are pushed away. One of the wonders here is that when forgiveness comes that with it comes rescue from enemies. Just as the sin no longer brings punishment so enemies can no longer seek to keep a person down because of their sin.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8 is a Psalm to say when you are looking at the night sky (notice the moon and stars are mentioned but not the sun) it speaks of God as being creator of all things and, therefore, ruler of all things. This is huge because in the time of the Psalmist gods were seen as only ruling over portions of the world, never all of it.

Psalm 8 is a Psalm of pure praise, there are no requests, only a deep wonder at the power of God and what he has done.

• 8.2 The first part of this verse is quoted by Jesus to the Sadducees in Matthew 21.16. It is a slam to the Sadducees because Jesus is saying that they are the enemies of God that are being silenced by the praises of the children.
• 8.3: “work of your fingers” the vast universe in the work of God’s finger, like a child who uses playdough.
• 8.3-5 The wonder that God as vast as he is, chooses to honor human beings.
• 8.6: The rightful power of all belongs to God, he rules over the world and he has the right to give to others the stewardship of his world. Compare this to Satan’s offer to Jesus to make him ruler of the nations. Satan was offering what was not his, God offers what is his.
• 8.6 “ruler” the Hebrew word for ruler Mashal is used again in Psalm 103.19 to describe the rule of God. The rule of the people of God over his creation is to reflect the rule of God over creation. Perhaps one of the best ways to understand this rule is by reflecting on Psalm 104. This verse also is a confirmation of the cultural mandate of Genesis 1.26. The cultural mandate calls on God’s people to use their efforts to unearth the treasures of the universe and use them in service to and to bring glory to God.

Psalm 9-10

Psalms 9 and 10 were originally one Psalm. Notice that Psalm 10 does not have an introduction as do the other Psalms in this section. The Greek version of the Old Testament treated them as one Psalm.

• 9.2,5: While the Psalmist will always praise God’s name, he celebrates that the wicked nations’ names will be blotted out.
• 9.9: The Psalms speak often of a concern for the oppressed and the poor. Indeed, a concern for this group of people was central to both Old and New Testament piety.
• 9.11: “enthroned” a reference to the Ark of the Covenant being in the tabernacle/temple. The people could be assured that God’s presence and rule was truly in the midst of them.
• 9.13-20: A sudden change of tone from praise to distress. The Psalmist asks God to rescue him so that he may praise God (9.14), so the reputation of God’s justice will be spread (9.16), and so that people will know that the LORD is God (9.20).
• 9.17: A nice way of saying, “May the wicked die”.
• 10.1,5: The cry of those suffering from injustice. It seems God is far away and the wicked have a most enviable and easy life.
• 10.2,7,8: Pictures of how the wicked operate and destroy. They hunt down the weak, make up schemes, curse, lie, and threaten, ambush the innocent. The Heidelberg Catechism in dealing with the commandment “you shall not steal” says, “God forbids not only outright theft and robbery…but also cheating and swindling our neighbor by schemes made to appear legitimate….
• 10.11,16: Again, these words ring true for many people, it seems that God forgets the poor, the needy. That evil wins far too often. But the final word always is that God rules and God wins.

Psalm 14

Psalm 14 reflects the fallenness of humankind. Paul uses the first three verses in Romans 3 as he laments the human condition.

• 14.4-7: in the light of the injustice and attacks of the unrighteous, God's people need to continue to rely on him and his justice.

Psalm 16

Psalm 16 expresses trust in God and in provision for life.

• 16.2: Good is "tov" in Hebrew. It refers to every possible kind of good.
• 16.6: "The lines have fallen in pleasant places" refer to the inheritance of the land that the people were given. In the New Testament we find that Christians are given an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1).
• 16.8-11: These verses are applied to Christ by Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.25-28)

Psalm 19

Psalm 19 is the second of the “Torah Psalms” i.e. Psalms that celebrate the Torah that God has given to his people. The other two are Psalm 1 and 119.

• Psalm 19 is fashioned as a hymn/prayer and is used as a hymn/prayer in the Synagogue Service. As a hymn/prayer it has three parts:

Praise to God as creator
Praise for God’s Torah
Asking for God to save from sin and that the prayer is heard.

• 19.1-6: God’s creation tells the wonders of who he is. The sun in particular gives us the best picture we have of God’s glory.
• 19.7-11: These verses let us in on God’s secret—the absolute wonder of the Torah (a word that means teaching or direction). We are told that the Torah/Law is perfect, that it revives, it is trustworthy, gives joy and light, that it is sweeter than honey, that it warns and in following it there is great reward.
• 19.7: Perfect: it has no know defect. An amazing thing to say about God’s instruction, that it has no defect. It begs the question, “if it has no defect, then why not follow it diligently?” Notice that in the book of Hebrews the same idea is put forth. It is not the law/Torah that is flawed, but that people are flawed so that they can’t keep the Torah. (Hebrews 8.1-8)
• 19.7: Reviving. It carries the idea of returning to a point you left behind, going back to where you started. Genesis 8.9 talks about the dove Noah sent out, “^{Ò9ÒBut the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.” When we listen to and follow the Torah of God we head back to God and he reaches out and brings us back to himself.}
• 19.7: Trustworthy: Certain and reliable. Again, the Psalmist insists on the Torah/teaching of God being a safe path to follow. The person who follows the Torah has no doubts that this is the way to do life.
• 19.8: “joy to the heart” The Torah/teaching of God brings joy to our hearts. The idea of joy here is not merely that we feel a jump in our hearts when we study and learn Torah, it is that there is outward celebration because of the Torah. This is seen in synagogue services when the people dance, clap, and kiss the Torah when it is brought out into the congregation.
• 19.11: reward: This word is wrapped up in the covenant idea. That God rewards those who are faithful to his covenant—see Dt. 28.
• 19.12: A reminder that we are often not transparent to ourselves.

Psalm 21 reminds us that as God has been in the past so he will be in the future.

• 21.1,13: God’s strength begins and ends this Psalm. There is rejoicing in God’s strength. The splendid thing about this word “strength” is that it means someone who can exert or withstand great force and being such this person has the ability to do what is desired or necessary. Little wonder that the king rejoices in God’s strength. Little wonder that we can rejoice in God’s strength.
• 21.4: The king asks and receives safety in battle.
• 21.5: In an unanticipated move God wins the victory and then gives the glory for the victory to the king i.e. the king’s reputation is expanded by what God has done.
• 21.6: God’s presence brings joy. The attention-grabbing thing is that we don’t know where or how he encounters the presence of God: is it at worship, in battle, somewhere else?
• 21.11: Because of God’s strength, the plans of God’s and the king’s enemies can not succeed. This is a great note of comfort to all who belong to God.