Day #145

Sermon - Audio
Pslam 108-110 - Audio
Pslam 108-110 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

108

With God we shall do valiantly [ Psalm 108 ]. This combined praise and lament psalm begins with a conventional call to praise (vv. 1–3). Then the poet assembles the rationale for that call, in the following sequence: praise of God’s attributes (vv. 4–6); praise of God’s promise to exalt Israel and defeat its enemies (vv. 7–9). But in the very mention of that promise we can infer (with an anticipation in v. 6) that the nation is in distress and needs God’s promised rescue, because at the end of the poem the conventions of the lament take over, as follows: definition of a national crisis (vv. 10–11); petition for God to rescue (v. 12); statement of confidence in God in the face of the crisis (v. 13).

Many people believe that David composed this Psalm using two other Psalms (57:7-11, and 60:5-12). In the midst of danger the community/congregation will hope in God and be confident in Him.

1-4 = We see words of confidence in God (steadfast, sing & melody, awake the dawn, give thanks) God's own character is the base for their/his confidence.

Q. What about God's character gives you confidence in your job, relationships, and the church?

2-5 = It's not as if this love has already shown/manifested itself in the particular things they are praying for. They are praising God not only for what he has done, but will do.

Q. Do you look for expectation to what God will do in your life through His Spirit? Do you answer/engage opportunities that are presented to you?

7 - "holiness" can be interpreted as "sanctuary" as well.

10-13 - Grant Us Help, for Vain Is the Salvation of Man! These verses come from 60:9–12 (see note there). Part of the background of Psalm 60 is a campaign that led to Edom; here, Edom is more generally a foe of God’s people. ESVSB

Thought - I love the phrase "Vain is the Salvation of Man." Humanity is broken and polluted from sin. Salvation can only be found in one place, and that one place can not be found in man.

109

Let curses come upon him [ Psalm 109 ]. Although it is customary to speak of “the imprecatory psalms” (with Psalms 69 and 109 considered the major ones), strictly speaking no psalm is devoted entirely to calling down curses on one’s enemies. In Psalms 69 and 109, the element of imprecation is enclosed in the familiar contours of the lament psalm, and we need to keep that framework in view if we wish to avoid distorting the poems. Psalm 109 combines expected and unexpected features when we approach it under the rubric of the lament psalm: introductory cry to God (v. 1); definition of the crisis, implied to be slander directed against the speaker (vv. 2–5); petitionary section in the rare form of an imprecation (calling down a curse on one’s enemies), using the rhetorical format “let . . .” (vv. 6–15); restatement of the indictment against the oppressors (vv. 16–18a); return to the imprecation (vv. 18b–20); return to the complaint (definition of crisis), beginning with a cry to God to help (vv. 21–25); petition to God to help (vv. 26–29); vow to praise God (vv. 30–31). Three ingredients within the psalm serve to mitigate the starkness of the speaker’s imprecations: the speaker’s self-portrait as a person abused by his enemies (vv. 2–5, 22–25); the speaker’s reliance on God as the one who will administer justice (vv. 1, 21, 26–27, 31, along with the continuous rhetorical stance of asking God to perform the justice); a continuous interspersed rehearsal of the atrocities that the speaker’s enemies have perpetrated.

Opening - People seem to be attacking the Psalmist without any seen cause. This helps us understand the rest of the Psalm.

6-20 - Longest set of curses in the Psalms.

6 - The psalmist apparently hoped that human institutions of justice, however corrupted, would eventually result in condemnation of the wicked (see Pr 14:32); in the process the righteousness of God would vindicate the faithful.

16 - The Psalmist is concerned for the poor/needy/broken

16-31 - It is mentioned multiple times that God should do "x" so His name would be praised. In the end we ask God for things so that His name will be renowned among His creation. Some would say this as, "all the praise, honor, and glory."

110

Sit at my right hand: a royal psalm [ Psalm 110 ]. The focus is on the godly king, with the implied double meaning that the ultimate embodiment of this ideal is Christ. The poem begins with a quotation from God exalting the king (v. 1) and a snatch of narrative in which God gives the king a scepter (v. 2). This is followed by a list of triumphs of the king, with the poet addressing the king (viewed additionally as a priest in v. 4) directly in apostrophe (vv. 2–4). In the last movement, the triumphs of the king take the form of a list of things that God does in his role as warrior, with the implication that the triumphs of the king and of God are synonymous (vv. 5–7). This is the most frequently quoted psalm in the NT, showing its strong messianic undertones. ESVLB

Psalm 110 to NT:

1. It affirms the Deity of Jesus, thus answering those who deny the full divine meaning of His N.T. title of Lord (v. 1; Mt. 22:41–45; Mk. 12:35–37; Lk. 20:41–44; Ac. 2:34–35; Heb. 1:13; 10:12–13).

2. It announces the eternal priesthood of Messiah—one of the most important statements of Scripture (v. 4; Ge. 14:18, note; Jn. 14:6; 1Ti. 2:5–6; Heb. 5:6, note; 7:1–28).

3. Historically, Ps. 110 begins with the ascension of Christ (v. 1; Jn. 20:17; Ac. 7:56; Rev. 3:21). -scofield-

1= "right hand" was a position of authority

1= Everything will be subject to the Davidic king

1= Jesus draws attention to the fact that David (the psalm’s author) calls the king “my Lord,” which implies that the king (whom all agreed was the Messiah) was greater than David. The idea that the risen Lord Jesus is the reigning messianic king seated at “God’s right hand” appears in Acts 2:32–35; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22; cf. Matt. 26:64. In 1 Cor. 15:25 and Eph. 1:20 Paul combines this with Ps. 8:6. ESVSB

2-4 - The king (Jesus) will rule over all God's people even amidst enemies.

3 - The “womb of the morning” is probably a poetic expression for the east, or for the dawn (which is when the dew appears). The “dew of your youth” may be a poetic term for refreshment, implying that the king has continual sources of fresh energy; or it might suggest willing soldiers as numerous as the dewdrops.

4 - Melchizedek was “king of Salem” (i.e., of Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18–20) who met Abraham after a battle, blessed him, and received a tenth of his spoil. The Davidic king is to be “after his order,” i.e., like him, probably in the sense that he is both a king and a priest (these are two distinct offices in Israel), ruling in Jerusalem (cf. Zion, Ps. 110:2). The prophet Zechariah foresaw a merger of these two offices in the person of the Messiah, or “the Branch” (Zech. 6:9–14). ESVSB

5-7 - Most likely these verses speak of the overcoming of all the Gentile leaders, so that the peoples themselves can serve their new king, the Messiah (cf. Isa. 11:4). He will lift up his head in victory, ready to enjoy his rule (cf. Ps. 27:6).