TODAY’S READING: PSALM 12-20
OVERVIEW:
The preservation of God’s Word; longing for deliverance; the foolishness of fools; the description of a godly man; the second coming of Christ; the power of God’s Word.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In Psalm 12 and verse one, the context for this psalm is set – godly men and faithful men are in short supply. It certainly is descriptive of our time as well. However, the Lord will arise and deal justly. The certainty of this truth is based on the certainty of God’s Word. We can rest and be at peace even in this evil world, because we can trust God’s Word. He has preserved it for us. It is true and we know the Lord will keep His Word. In fact, His promise is that He will preserve and keep His Word pure forever.
Notice how honest David gets with God in Psalm 13. In fact, the first two verses are questioning God! Do you ever feel like that? The problem is we usually take it to someone else instead of getting honest and questioning God. It sounds almost blasphemous to say you can question God, but that’s what David did right here. He poured out his heart not to others, but to God. The result of his honesty with the Lord is seen in how the psalm ends – David remembers God’s mercy, he remembers God’s salvation, and he remembers how “bountifully” God has dealt with him. When we get honest with God, He will bring to our remembrance His mercy, His salvation and His goodness. Our circumstances may not change, (David’s didn’t), but our attitude and our outlook will. This should be a psalm of great comfort to us.
The 14th Psalm is the description of lost man, and a description of all of us before our salvation.
God uses Psalm 15 to give us a description of a godly man – someone who dwells where God is. God uses five sentences (watch the punctuation) to outline this person:
- Inward righteousness that works its way out – (vs. 2). This is the opposite of the Pharisees who had an outward righteousness, but their hearts were not affected.
- Loves others as himself – (vs. 3). Interpersonal problems are caused because someone does not love his neighbor as himself.
- Esteems the righteous, not the evil – (vs. 4a). Who are the people you respect and esteem? Do they have a walk with God or not?
- Means what he says – (vs. 4b). Can others believe what I’m saying, and do I keep my word even when it cost me something, or do I look for a way out?
- Not driven by making gain – (vs. 5). Is making money, getting ahead in life, or “doing well” the priority and pursuit of my life, or is loving God?
A prophecy of the death and resurrection of Christ (Acts2:31) is found in Psalm16:10.
In Psalm 17, David’s dependence upon God in the midst of trial and opposition is revealed. We must understand the context and doctrinal teaching of the Psalm 18. This is a prophecy of the second coming of Christ and His deliverance of His peopleIsrael. Verses 4-6 describe the hopeless situation; verses 7-15 describe the Day of the Lord. This also helps us make sense of other passages within the psalm. Verses 20-24 seem to focus on the good works of the individual being delivered. We must remember this is not a picture of our salvation, but rather the second coming. Those people who did not take the mark of the beast did keep themselves clean, and that is whom Christ will deliver.
Psalm 19:1-6 corresponds to Romans 1:19-20. The creation of God does show forth His glory. Also, verses 4-6 tell us that the rising of the sun should daily be a reminder of the second coming of Christ.
The complete power of the Word of God is on display in verses 7-9 and verse 10 is a haunting statement to our generation – do we really desire God’s Word as much as money? Do we really believe verse 11 that there is great reward (eternal) in keeping His Word?
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” – Psalm 20:7. This verse is such a popular verse that sometimes we overlook its power. Where do we actually place our trust? We will always say – God. But is that the reality in our life? Do I really trust in the Lord, or in my job? Maybe my family? Maybe my goodness? It is a daily battle to remember the name of the Lord our God and trust in Him alone.
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
Psalm 19:4-6 – The rising of the sun pictures the second coming of Christ.