OVERVIEW:
A description of our King and the King’s daughter; the psalmist’s confidence in and praise of God; the deception of worldly wealth; David’s prayer of confession after sinning with Bathsheba; the tendency of the tongue toward evil; the foolishness of atheism.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
Many have learned that there are three layers of application in Scripture. Because these three layers are so easily identifiable in the Psalms (and so necessary to really understand them!), perhaps the most profitable use of this space today will be to overview/review these three applications. In other words, today, rather than giving to you a fish let’s focus on learning how to fish!
Application #1 – The Historical Application Obviously, the events we read about in Scripture really happened to real people at a particular time in history. Understanding the historical context is vital to proper interpretation and allows us to properly make the second application of Scripture…
Application #2 – The Devotional or Inspirational Application From the “real events, situations, and experiences” of those “real people” in the Historical Application, we learn lessons from their successes and failures that we can apply to our own lives as we face similar situations and circumstances.
Almost every Bible-believing person is fully acquainted with these first two layers of application. Yet, there is a third layer that most people fail to see! Actually, it is the third application that is really the “spark-plug” that ignites the whole supernatural “engine” of the Bible, causing us to stand in complete awe of the word of God and the God of the word!
Application #3 – The Doctrinal or Practical Application This application identifies what the event or situation in history foreshadows or pictures “prophetically”. It is the real “teaching” of the passage. (Note: “doctrine” = “teaching”) Time will not permit an exhausting of the subject, and barely a decent explanation, but the key to this application of scripture is recognizing that God uses the record of history in the Old Testament to point to the key events that will take place in the future. Far from being even remotely connected or mildly associated with the “allegorical” approach to biblical interpretation (i.e. Randomly choosing what you think or want the “hidden” meaning of the passage to be with no rhyme or reason from a hermeneutical standpoint), the doctrinal application employs strict rules of Bible study to make consistent prophetic applications. Once you begin to identify this third layer of application in the Psalms, you’ll almost begin to wonder what you used to think the Psalms were about!
Let’s take a minute or two to talk about these three layers of application as they relate to the Psalms.
In identifying the Historical Application, recognize that some event and/or circumstance and situation in the life of the psalmist prompted the writing of his song. Many times, the Historical Application is even identified in the title, as in Psalm 51 in today’s reading: “A psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” As you can understand, knowing that “historical” context will make this Psalm take on much more significant meaning and application.
From a devotional or inspirational (practical) standpoint, the Psalms are filled with personal application and meaning because they so mirror and express how we think and feel, not only about ourselves, but how we think and feel about God, life, people, etc. as we face similar circumstances in our life. The psalms often provide a great “attitude adjustment” for us, as we see the psalmist work through similar experiences of life.
Though all of the Psalms in today’s reading are jam-packed with this third layer of application (the Doctrinal or Prophetic Application), Psalm 46 is perhaps the best example for us to use to “open the windows”, as it were, to help us to be able to see it. Obviously, the Psalms are songs that were actually sung. The word “Selah” that you so often see appearing in the Psalms (71 times in all) is there because it is a rest written into the musical score. The word made it into the canon of God’s holy word because God intended to use it as a key to help us identify the “prophetic” context of the passage. Understand this, at the Second Coming of Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ will arrive on this planet to establish His millennial reign. The “Millennium”, as we refer to it, is a 1000-year period of “rest” on this planet, specifically identified in Revelation 20:1–6, and generally identified throughout scripture as “the day of the Lord” and many times, simply as “that day”. That 1000-year “day”, as it were, is the “rest” for the people of God that is talked about in Hebrews 4, and what Peter referred to in his sermon in Acts 3, as “the times of RESTitution of all things” and “the times of refreshing” in Acts 3:19–21.
Anytime we see the word “Selah”, we must train our brain to put the brakes on, throw our eyes and our brain into reverse, recognizing that God just let us know what the passage is pointing to from a doctrinal or prophetic standpoint! (i.e. the Second Coming of Christ and/or the Millennium.)
Notice in Psalm 46, three perfect descriptions of the Millennium, each marked by the word “Selah”:
- Psalm 46:1–3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. SELAH.”
- Psalm 46:4–7 “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. SELAH.”
- Psalm 46:8–11 “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. SELAH.”
Notice also in Psalm 50:1–6, a perfect description of the Second Coming, and once again, notice what follows next…REST! (“Selah” – the Millennium!) You get the idea. You can see and enjoy the rest of them, for yourself, in today’s reading!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
Through the 10 times the word “Selah” is used in today’s reading, pointing to Christ’s Second Coming and Millennial Reign — Psalm 46:3, 7, 11; 47:4; 48:8; 49:13, 15; 50:6; 52:3, 5.