OVERVIEW:
David’s adoration of God’s mighty power; David’s trust in God; the blessedness of God’s forgiveness; the Lord hears the righteous; David’s prayer for safety; the contrast of the godly and the wicked.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
The historic context of Psalm 30 is established by the title: “A Psalm and Song at the Dedication of the House of David.” This psalm has tremendous prophetic ramifications, however, as it foretells the coming history of Israel namely, Israel’s horrendous “night of weeping” (30:5b), followed by the “joy that cometh in the morning” (30:5c), when the Day of the Lord arises on this planet at the Second Coming of Christ, and He establishes His millennial kingdom. In a practical or devotional application, the psalmist provides an example for us to “extol” the Lord (30:1); to “sing” and “give thanks” to Him (30:4,12); and to “cry” out to Him, making “supplication” to Him (30:8).
Psalm 31 is significant for several reasons. First, it leads us to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His very last words before He died: “Father, ‘into thine hand I commit my spirit.’” (31:5 c.f. Luke 23:36) Secondly, it’s significant because of the descriptive words and phrases that point to the awesomeness of our God. He is our “Righteousness” (31:1); our “Strong Rock” (31:2); our “House of Defense” (31:2); our “Rock and Fortress” (31:3); our “Guide” (31:3); our “Strength” (31:4); and the “Preserver of the faithful” (31:23). Is there anything you could possibly face today that one or more of those characteristics do not address?
Depending upon what situations and circumstances of life we may be facing at a particular time, sometimes as we read the psalms, they can almost feel as if we wrote them! A good example of that for many of us may be found in 31:9–24. If you are facing what seems to be an insurmountable foe today, try using the words of the psalmist in these verses to voice your prayer to the Lord.
Psalm 32 is a psalm of confession. Verses 1–4 show us the result of not “cleansing ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” (2nd Corinthians 7:1) Verse 7 reminds us of the tremendous biblical place of “singing” in the midst of spiritual warfare. (2nd Chronicles 20:21–23; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19)
In Psalm 33 the psalmist praises the Lord on an instrument of 10 strings. (33:2) No, we may not be able to play a musical instrument with 10 strings to praise the Lord, but we can certainly BE one! We can use our two feet to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.” (Colossians 1:10) We can use our two hands to hold the powerful sword of God’s word to carry out the work of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:17b; 1st Corinthians 15:58) We can use our two eyes to see the needs of the people around us. (1st John 3:17) We can use our two ears to hear the word of the Lord. (James 1:19; Proverbs 2:2) We can use our neck to bow our will in submission to Christ’s Lordship. (Exodus 32:9) And, we can use our mouth to praise the Lord, to speak the word of the Lord to the lost, and to speak words of comfort, encouragement, and hope to believers. (Psalm 34:1; Ephesians 6:19; Hebrews 3:13) May we all “BE” an instrument of 10 strings to praise the Lord today and every day!
The psalmist prayed in Psalm 33:8, “Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.” This prayer will be answered at the Second Coming of Christ when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father”! (Philippians 2:10–11; 2nd Thessalonians 1:7–10) Psalm 33:12–22 is a great way of saying, “If God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31) and if God be against us, it doesn’t matter who is for us!”
Should we find ourselves living in fear today, Psalm 34:1–4 presents a sevenfold prescription for being “delivered from all our fears” (34:4):
- Bless the Lord at all times. (34:1a)
- Allow His praise to continually be in our mouth. (34:1b)
- Make our boast solely in the Lord. (34:2a)
- Demonstrate a spirit of humility. (34:2b)
- Magnify the Lord with other believers. (34:3a)
- Exalt His name together with them. (34:3b)
- Seek the Lord. (34:4a)
Psalm 35:1–9 is a reminder to us of the lessons we learned about spiritual warfare from 2nd Chronicles 20. The psalmist reiterates the truth that…
- “The battle is not yours, but Gods.” (2nd Chronicles 20:15 c.f. 35:1a)
- “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle.” (2nd Chronicles 20:17a c.f. 35:1b)
- “Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” (2nd Chronicles 20:17b c.f. 35:3–4)
Note in Psalm 35:12, that in a “rational” world “no good deed goes unrewarded.” In the “real” world, however, “no good deed goes unpunished!” Sad, but true.
Psalm 36 contrasts the “wicked” man (36:1-4) with the man who “knows” the Lord, verse 10. (36:5-12) As we read these verses, may we keep in mind that the “old man” (i.e. our “flesh”) described here in 36:1–4, is still a part of us, a part of us we have been commanded to “put off”! (Ephesians 4:22)
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- Through DAVID as he “COMMITS HIS SPIRIT” to the Father — Psalm 31:5. (Luke 23:46)
- As the “ANGEL OF THE LORD” — Psalm 34:7. (The Angel of the Lord is an Old Testament appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ.)
- As the One in whom NO BONE IS BROKEN — Psalm 34:20. (John 19:36)