TODAY’S READING: PSALM 64-70
OVERVIEW:
David’s prayer of deliverance from his enemies; David’s confidence in God’s promises; David’s exhortation to praise God for His goodness; the blessings of God upon His people; God’s judgment upon His enemies; David’s prayer in time of trouble.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
Have you ever felt like the psalmist in Psalm 64? Like the whole world is against you? Even the “man after God’s own heart” had many people who continually spoke evil concerning him. Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when (notice, not “IF”, but “WHEN”!) men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matt.2:11). The closer you grow toward Christlikeness and the more you are used by Him to accomplish His work, the more you can expect it. It comes with the territory. Jesus went on to say, however, that rather than allowing it to consume us, and discourage us, “Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matt.5:12). In other words, rejoice in the fact that you’ve ascended into the ranks of a whole bunch of godly people that God has been using all through the centuries to bring glory to Him, and they’ve all experienced the same exact treatment. We will not be the exception to the rule.
Obviously, even Jesus Himself wasn’t! The good news is, the psalmist says, “What goes around, comes around.” His actual wording was perhaps a little more articulate, “So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves” (Ps. 64:8). Paul’s similar warning was, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal.5:15). Have you found yourself in conversations with “friends”, where you’ve been “biting and devouring” other believers? Be very careful, because it’ll just be a matter of time before you’re “biting and devouring one another”! When you use your tongue as a weapon, it’ll come back to rip you to shreds!
You’ve gotta love how the psalmist addresses God in Psalm 65:2- “O thou that hearest prayer.” If you’re ever looking for reasons you should pray, how about this one: The God who created the entire universe and is holy beyond your wildest possible comprehension, said He’d listen! With a reason like that you don’t need too many others! (You may even want to take a minute right now to tell God “Thanks for listening!”) Notice that the psalmist is back on this same thought in Psalm 66, verses 18-20.
Note that the word “terrible” (Ps. 65:5; 66:3; 68:35) is the old English equivalent of the modern day usage of the word “awesome”.
Note also the setting of the context by the word “Selah” in Psalm 66:4, for that time when “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.” The “whole earth” hasn’t worshipped or sung to the Lord since Adam sinned in the Garden, and won’t until the Lord Jesus Christ has set in motion “the times of restitution of all things” (Acts3:21) at the beginning of the Millennium.
Psalm 66, 67 and 68 provide great insight into just how glorious the Second Coming of Christ and His millennial reign on the earth will actually be. It gives a whole new meaning to “A New World Order”!
The name of God in Psalm 68:4, “JAH”, is short for Jehovah (Yahweh), the “self-existing One”, or the God who is “ever in the present.” Psalm 68:18 foretells of the resurrection of Christ. Paul explained the meaning of the psalm as a prophecy concerning Christ in Eph. 4:8. Christ conquered death and Satan, who until the resurrection held mankind in bondage (Heb.2:15).
In Psalm 69, David voices what we all feel at certain times of our lives, as his song is being sung out of a sea of troubles. Psalm 69:9 was historically true of David, yet prophetically, was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 2:13-17. Is it likewise true of you? Are you so passionately in love with your Savior, and so completely zealous for Him to be glorified, that when His name is “reproached” (also translated “defied”; “blasphemed”), that the reproach of it falls upon you the same way that it falls upon God? In other words, when God’s name is blasphemed and defied, do you feel what God feels?
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As the One who LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE – Ps. 68:18 (Eph. 4:8)
As the One who was BROKENHEARTED and FULL OF HEAVINESS – Ps. 69:20 (Matt. 26:37)
As the One given VINEGAR TO DRINK IN HIS THIRST – Ps. 69:21 (Matt. 27:34; John19:28-30)