Day #127

Sermon - Audio
Pslam 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132 - Audio
Pslam 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Psalm 89

• Psalm 89 is a celebration of the promises God makes to David (we'll read about them tomorrow). The Psalm celebrates the greatness of God and so shows his ability to keep his promises to David. At the same time it seems to the Psalmist as if God has walked away from his promise.

• 89.32-34: The assurance that the covenant will never be rescinded. God will remain faithful even when the kings fail.

• 89.39.ff: In spite of God's promise it feels as if God has abandoned the king.

• 89.52: This verse is a doxology that ends Book 3 of the Psalms (Psalms are divided into 5 books. The ESV Study Bible gives this insight, "Each of the five books of the Psalter ends with a doxology (see also 72:18–19; 89:52; 106:48; 150:6); three do not seem to be part of their psalms (41:13; 72:18–19; 89:52). Psalm 150 as a whole concludes both Book 5 and the Psalter.") The observation that this verse does not seem to be part of Psalm 89 feels right. The Psalm that begins with such hope ends without resolution of the Psalmist's lament and fear.

Psalm 96 Note from the ESV Study Bible:

• As you read the note notice the focus on the people to be a blessing to the nations
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• Psalm 96. This is a hymn celebrating how God’s kingship over all creation (see note on Psalm 93) means that all kinds of people should love and worship him. The psalm has three sections, each beginning with a command (“sing,” 96:1; “ascribe,” v. 7; “say,” v. 10), and each mentioning the Gentiles (“all the earth,” “the nations,” and “the peoples” in vv. 1–6; “families of the peoples” and “all the earth” in vv. 7–9; and “the nations,” “the peoples,” and “the world” in vv. 10–13). God called Israel to be a vehicle of blessing for all mankind, bringing them knowledge of the true God for whom all human beings yearn, and this psalm keeps this mission prominent in the Israelites’ view of the world and their role in it. Verses 8–9 even call the Gentiles to join Israel in their worship in God’s courts. The psalm looks forward to a time when the Lord will come and judge all peoples with equity, without specifying how this will take place. The term “judge” is probably not limited to sifting between the righteous and the unrighteous; the wider sense of “execute justice, rule justly” fits the context better (cf. Isa. 2:4; 11:3–4). Thus the psalm is more focused on a time in which Gentiles acknowledge the true God, and the benefits that will bring to all the earth, than it is on the final judgment. Christians sing this, knowing that God has ushered in this long-awaited epoch with the resurrection of Jesus (see note on Isa. 11:3–4). This psalm appears in 1 Chron. 16:23–33, indicating that the people sang an adaptation (or perhaps an early edition) of it when David brought the ark to Jerusalem.

Psalm 100

• Psalm 100 closes the section of Psalms that celebrate the kingship of Yahweh.
• 100.1: All of the earth is to bring praise to God. The theme that Yahweh is Lord of all rings in this Psalm.
• 100.2: "Serve" means to serve the king as his subjects, to carry out his instructions.
• 100.3: God is God, we are not, we belong to him.
• 100.4-5: The response of those who know God's goodness and faithfulness is thanksgiving and praise.

Psalm 101

• Psalms 101 is a royal Psalm meaning it is about the king and what is expected of him as a ruler. While direct comparisons between the king of Israel and a modern day ruler are questionable, we can find general themes in this Psalm (as well as in Psalms like Psalm 72) of what makes for a ruler who pleases God.
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• 101.1: The king is singing a song about covenant faithfulness (love) and justice (the right judgments of God). In singing the song he not only praises God for these, but is reminded that as king he too is to be faithful and deliver right judgments for the people (i.e. no favoritism, no bribes, etc.)
• 101.2 The NIV’s “I will be careful to lead…” is better translated, “I will ponder the way that is blameless”. To ponder means that the king continually reflects on the wise way to lead the people. Such pondering for the kings of Israel has a particular focus. Moses says to the people, Deut.. 17:18 “And when [the king] sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”
• 101.2: “I will walk..blameless heart” No king of Israel ever lived up to this promise. Even David fell miserably. While rulers may have the best of intentions, they remain fallen human beings.
• 101.3: “vile thing” is something that is worthless or worn out. Part of becoming a ruler of wisdom is to learn what is worthwhile and what is worthless.
• 101.4: The promise to cut himself off from allowing evil to influence his throne.
• 101.5: As king he has a responsibility to guard those who would be slandered and so destroyed. The promise to “put to silence” is a very strong promise. The word in Hebrew can mean to completely silence or destroy.
• 101.4-5: David (and other kings) fail this part of their responsibilities. David allows Joab to remain the commander of his army and a close advisor in spite of the perversity of his heart and more than a few failings in the area of justice.
• 101.6: Again, David fails here. He allows not just the blameless, but the blameworthy to minister (serve) in his court. The struggle of being a godly and faithful ruler under God is seen in David’s failings.
• 101.8: Morning was the time that the “court” was open and justice was handed out.

Psalm 105

Psalm 105 celebrates God’s great acts in history from the time of the patriarchs to Israel’s entry in the promised land. It is a “song of Israel’s salvation” which calls the nations to praise the LORD for what he has done.

• 105.1-7: Call to Praise
• 105.1: Israel was called to be God’s witnesses to the nations. God’s historical actions for Israel went beyond the nation of Israel and was for the salvation of all nations.
• 105.2: acts- The acts are those of grace and judgement which God performs in space and time. God is the God of history.

• 105.8-15: Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• 105.8: While vs. 5 calls the people to remember, vs. 8 proclaims that God has remembered and will remember his covenant forever.
• 105.12: Although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, they were strangers in the land that God had promised. They were also few in number. The promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be fulfilled through the rest of scripture but the fulfillment of God’s covenant was neither immediate nor easily seen in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• 105.13-15: God protected his covenantal people. This is extremely important because it shows that God’s plan of salvation (the covenant) could not be challenged by kings or other oppressors. It also shows God being faithful to the covenant he made even when the fulfillment of his promises were not always immediate.
• 105.14: God rebuked the King of Egypt on behalf of Abraham (Genesis 12:10-12) and the King of the Philistines on behalf of Isaac (Genesis 26).

• 105.16-22: The Story of Joseph
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• 105.23-38: Deliverance from Egypt
• 105.23: entered Egypt… the land of Ham. Ham is the son of Noah and the Father of Mizraim, which was also know as Egypt. (Genesis 10.6, 1 Chronicles 1.8)
• 105.27-36: These verses refer to the different plagues God sent against the Egyptians. Each plague targeted a different Egyptian god and showed that the God of the Israelites was stronger than the gods of Egypt. (Exodus 7-12).

• 105.39-42: Provision in the Wilderness

• 105.43-45: Settlement in the Promised Land
• 105.44: Through the course of the psalm, the many of the promises made to Abraham are fulfilled. Abraham’s decedents have grown into a nation, they have a relationship with God, and (vs. 44) they have entered into the promised land. The final promise of being a blessing to the nations was supposed to come out of the fulfillment of land, nationhood, and covenantal relations; however, this final promise is not fully fulfilled until Christ’s death and resurrection.

Psalm 132

Psalm 132 is a plea for God to rescue the present Davidic king based on David’s past faithfulness and commitment to God. In the Psalm we find God’s commitment both to David’s dynasty and the city of Jerusalem as his dwelling place.

• 132.1: The Psalm begins with a cry for God to remember David and his hardships. The call to remember is a call for God to act, for recalling is always a prompter to action. For this reason sometimes the Biblical writers ask God not to remember something--especially their sin, since such recalling would call on God to punish.
• 132.1: David’s road to the throne that God anointed him for was not an easy one. Saul sought to kill him so he had to live in the wilderness--a very hot and hard place to be. After Saul’s death there was a 7 year civil war between David and Saul’s supporters. The Psalmist reminds God of these hardships and calls on God to honor them by preserving David’s line.
• 132.3-5: In 2 Samuel 6-7, after the Ark is brought back to Jerusalem, David promises to build God a house that is fitting for Him. This commitment to building a house for God shows David’s commitment to God and his honor. Again, the Psalmist reminds God of this action to prompt God to action. As we will see, all of this is closely caught up with God’s covenant. Since David was faithful to the covenant, God needed to respond by upholding his part of the covenant.
• 132.8: Again, the Psalmist calls God to action. If God arises (a regular call in the Psalms which basically means, “wake up and act on behalf of your people”--we see this same call made to Jesus by his disciples. When they are on the sea of Galilee they wake him up from his slumber so he can rescue them from the storm) he will exercise his power and rescue the king.
• 132.9: There are three references to being clothed in this passage (vss. 9, 16, 18). Two times the promise is a clothing of hope, the last time it is a clothing of shame. To be clothed in shame was a severe thing in a shame based culture.
• 132.10: This verse indicates that the king is in trouble..
• 132.14-18: These are words of hope. The Psalmist quotes God’s commitment to Jerusalem and to David. Since God has promised the people can be assured all will be well. The Priests will be clothed with salvation (i.e. rescue) and the people will sing for joy at their deliverance.