Carefully Examining the Text

Psalm 78 is a historical psalm. It is similar to Psalms 105-106, It tells the story of Israel's history much like Nehemiah 9; Ezekiel 16, 20, 23; and Acts 7.It stresses the goodness of God to His people and His people's stubborn rebellion to Him. It emphasizes both God's love and God's holiness and wrath and these attributes are seen against the picture of Israel's sin and rebellion. 78:1-8 The purpose of historyHistory teaches us not to forget GodHistory teaches us to put our trust in HimHistory teaches us not to imitate bad examples78:9-11 Ephraim's rebellion 78:12-16 God's goodness to Israel in Egypt and in the wilderness78:17-20 The people continued to sin and rebel against God78:21-33 God in His love provides for and in His wrath judges His people78:34-39 God is gracious and compassionate and forgives the peopleJesus fulfills Psalm 7878:2 He is a wisdom teacher greater than Solomon who speaks in parables- Matt. 13:34-3578:19 He provides a table in the wilderness- Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-1478:23-25 Jesus is the true bread from heaven- John 6:26-59

This psalm moves from lament to praise. There are no mentions of enemies in Psalm 77 and only a brief mention of troubles in vs. 2. However, his trials must have been intense for they lead him to question if God is who He revealed Himself to be. In vs. 7-9 what has happened to God's lovingkindness,  grace, and compassion. These are terms by which God reveals HImself in Exodus 34:6-7. The words of Exodus 34:6-7 are basically repeated in the Psalms in 86:5, 15; 103:8; 145:8. Is God who He said He was??The exodus is the answer in vs. 11-20. The exodus is proof for all people of all time that God delivers those who trust HIm.

Who can stand before God in His anger?This is a question asked repeatedly in Scripture- Ezra 9:15; Psalm 130:3-4; Nahum 1:6; Malachi 3:2; Rev. 6:16-17. The Scriptures give us an answer- Rev. 7:13-1476:10 The wrath of man praises God. How? Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:27-28

Key words in the PsalmThe wicked- 75:4, 8, 10Lifted up, on high, exaltation, exalts- 75:4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10. These are from the same Hebrew wordHorn, horns- 75:4, 5, 10, 1075:8 the cup is an image of judgment. Isaiah 51:17-23; Jer. 25:15-28; 49:12; 51:7; Ezek. 23:32-34; Hab. 2:15-16; Zech. 12:2; Rev. 14:10; 16:19; 18:5-6Jesus fulfills this Psalm.I am sorry for any background knowledge.

Have you ever asked why or how long? Writers in the Bible did as well. In this podcast we say a few more words of explanation on 74:12-17.We make some vocabulary connections between Psalm 73 and Psalm 74"sanctuary" in 73:17; 74:3, 7"violence" in 73:6; 74:20"right hand" in 73:23; 74:11"ruins" in 73:18; 74:3How does Jesus answer Psalm 73 and Psalm 74?74:9 the words "signs" and "prophet"74:10, 18 Jesus reviled and spurned74:12 My King74:2 RedeemedThese are some ways.

Why? How long? These questions did not begin to be asked but they have been asked continually throughout history. These question are asked even in God's book.  Psalm 74 is one example of this.Psalm 74 is a national lament. Psalms 44, 79, 89, 137 show great similarities. The book of Lamentations contains many such laments. It is hard for us to imagine the grief of the people when the Babylonians invaded their land and killed some with the sword and starved others in a siege. The lost their land, their king, and their temple and many were asking why? 74:1-3 Will Your anger burn forever,  O God?74:4-8 The horrible scene at the destruction of God's house74:9-11 Why does God withhold His judgment when He could destroy His foe in a moment?74:12-17 God is praised in that He performs mighty acts of power74:18-23 Remember the wicked and do not forget Your people?

This opens book 3 of the Psalms. The writer acknowledges that he almost lost his faith at the prosperity of the wicked. 73:1-14 The writer struggles to believe that God is good73:2 But as for me- This phrase is actually a word in Hebrew that begins vs. 2, 22, 23, 28.73:3 The Bible warns against being envious of the wicked- Ps. 37:1-2; Prov. 23:1973:4-5 Their life seems care free and trouble free73:8-9, 11 But they are defiant of God 73:6, 8 They mistreat others73:13-14 What does it pay to serve God?73:15-20 The Light breaks through as he turns to worship God73:17 This is the turning point of Psalm 73 and some have described it as the turning point of the entire book.  73:18-20 The wicked are not as secure as it might seem73:21-28 He sees that he has a blessing that the wicked do not have. God Himself is the greatest blessing of all.73:25-26 What blessing compares with God Himself??73:28 Notice how the psalm ends much as it began- vs. 1.

This psalm speaks of an ideal king72:1-4, 12-14 The king does justice and righteousness.He cares for the weakest and most defenseless.72:8-11 His reign is universal72:5-7, 15-17 Prosperity and blessing will be in his time and the people bless him that his reign will be forever72:18=20. A doxology closes this second book of the Psalms.Book 1- Psalms 1-41Book 2- Psalms 42-72Book 3- Psalms 73-89Book 4- Psalms 90-106Book 5- Psalms 107-150David (II Sam. 8:15-18); Solomon (I Kings 10:9); and Josiah (Jer. 22:15-16) were said to do justice and righteousness. But none of them lived up to all that was in the psalm. The last king of Judah was captured, his sons were killed before him, and then his eyes were put out. What about the universal reign of 72:8-11?The Jewish people continued to keep this psalm and to read it and it inspired hope of a king who would come. It gave them hope of a Messiah.Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this king above all kings.

In this psalm the writer calls out for deliverance from his distress and praises God for deliverance. The petition and complaint section of Psalm 71 are vss. 1-4, 9-13, 18, and the statements of trust and praise are in vss. 5-8, 14-17, 19, 24.God's righteousness is emphasized in the Psalm- 71:2, 15, 16, 19, 24. The words "continually" in vs. 3, 6, 14 and "all day long" in vs. 8, 15, 22 are a couple of the key words and phrases throughout the Psalm.

God is begged to help and deliver in vs. 1, 5The enemies are described in vs. 2-3The faithful are pictured in vs. 4Notice some contrasts between the wicked and the righteous vs. 2 The wicked seek his life, while in vs. 4 the righteous seek Godvs. 2 The wicked delight in David's hurt, while in vs. 4 the faithful love His salvationvs. 3 The evil men say, "Aha, Aha", while in vs. 4 the godly say,  "The Lord be magnified."

A new podcast. The first on Psalm 69 just emphasized the text itself. This podcast focuses on Jesus and the New Testament and what they say about the fulfillment of the Psalm. Psalm 69 is one of the most frequently quoted Psalms in the NT.69:4 hated me without a cause- John 15:2569:9 For zeal for Your house consumed me- John 2:1769:9 The reproaches of those who reproached You feel on Me- Romans 15:369:21 John 19:-28-30 does not quote but seems to allude to this passage.69:22-23 is quoted in Romans 11:8-1069:25 is quoted in Acts 1:20 and applied to Judas.This psalm however is not simply a prophecy of Jesus because there are words here that Jesus could not have uttered- 69:5 for example.What does that mean for our understanding of Scripture??

This is a psalm of individual lament.69:1-5 David describes his destress. It is as if he is drowning in deep waters and he cannot find his footing.69:6-12 His suffering has come upon him specifically because of his love for God and God's house.69:13-19 He appeals to God to rescue him because of God's lovingkindness, truth or faithfulness, and His compassion.69:20-21 There is no one to comfort him in his distress.69:22-28 He asks God to judge his adversaries in ways they sought to judge others69:29-36 Praise to GodAs is so often the case, pouring out his problems in distress have led to God's deliverance.

This psalm will pick up the discussion of the psalm, Psalm 68, picking up around vs. 21. If you have not listened to Part 1 of the Psalm, let me encourage you to do so.Much of the podcast will focus on how Jesus fulfills the words of Psalm 68.

Psalm 68 has been described by quite a few writers as the most difficult of the Psalms to interpret. One reason it is so difficult is because around 15 words are used only here in the OT.It is a difficult psalm but when that is the case one thing we can focus on is what the Psalm teaches us about God. 1. This Psalm teaches God as a warrior who conquers HIs foes- 68:1-2, 6, 12, 14, 17-18, 21-23, 28-31.2. The Psalms shows God a compassionate and merciful God who cares for the weakest- 68:5-6, 10, 19-20.3. The Psalm shows God as an awesome and holy God whose presence shakes the earth- 68:8, 15-18.

This brief Psalm pictures all nations and peoples praising God.The Psalm is built on the promises of God to Abraham to bless all nations through him and his descendants (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:18) and the blessing the priests pronounced (Numbers 6:24-26).The nations are not viewed as hostile like Psalm 2:1 or asking God to judge them like Psalm 59:5, but instead it pictures the nations praising God because of the blessings that His people receive. God is praised because He judges the nations with uprightness (4), and guides them (4), and because He blesses HIs people (6). Jesus and Psalm 67Jesus is the ultimate display of the light of God's face shining upon us- II Corinthians 4:6; John 1:1-5.Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham- Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:7-8, 16, 26-29Through Jesus the nations praise God- Psalm 117:1 is quoted in Romans 15:11 as we see Jews and Gentiles praising God together. Revelation 5:9; 7;9-10.

This is the first Psalm in which David has not been mentioned in the heading since Psalm 50.66:1-12 is a national thanksgiving66:1-4 All the earth is to praise God66:5-7 God turned the sea into dry land66:8-12 God has afflicted HIs people but finally brought them to a place of abundance66:13-20 is an individual thanksgiving66:13-15 He pays his vows to God66:16-20 He gives thanks to GodHow does the Psalm speak of Jesus?

This Psalm is divided into three parts65:1-4 People come to the temple to praise, pray, and the LORD provides65:5-8 All the world looks to God65:9-13 God is blessing the landJesus fulfills the picture of Psalm 6565:3 God forgives sin  and Jesus forgives sin- Mark 2:1-12; Luke 7:48-4965:7 God stills the storm and Jesus does- Mark 4:35-41; Matt. 8:23-27; Lk. 8:22-2565:8 God does signs that leave the world in awe. The word for signs is the same word used for Jesus' miracles in the gospel of John- 2:11.Yet the God who is girded with might- 65:6- girds Himself with a towel to wash the disciples feet- John 13:4-5.

This psalm consists of a prayer for help- 64:1-2- A description of the enemy- 64:3-6- and a dramatic intervention by God- 64:7-10.Key words:hide- 64:2, 4 compare vs. 2 with  II Kings 11:2; II Chron. 22:11. tongue- 64:3, 8arrow- 64:3, 7shoot- 64:4, 7blameless- 64:4, 6suddenly- 64:4, 7see- 64:5, 8fear- 64:4, 9Also listen for how Jesus fulfills the Psalm.

Psalm 63  David in the wilderness of Judea discusses his thirst, his longing for God.He praises God- vs. 3, 5- He blesses God- vs. 4- He meditates on Him- vs. 6- sings for joy- vs. 7- clings to Him- vs. 8Jesus fulfills Psalm 63. Please listen to how.

This psalm uses the Hebrew word translated "only" or "alone" some six times. Four of these times in passages about God Himself-(62:1, 2, 5, 6). God alone is our rock and our salvation. What does the Psalm tells us about God? (62:1-2. 5-6, 7, 11-12)Why is man such an empty object of hope and trust? (62:9-10)What does the Psalm tells us about Christ?