OVERVIEW:
Instructions regarding the destiny of the wicked; David’s petition during a time of trouble; the brevity and vanity of life; prayer and praise for deliverance; sickness, betrayal, and responding to enemies; the soul’s longing for God’s presence; deliverance and hope in God; complaint about defeat and cry for help.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As we have clearly been able to observe through the first 36 psalms, the book of Psalms is, obviously, a divinely inspired HYMNAL, or BOOK of PRAISE. What is often overlooked, however, is that it is also a book chock full of PRACTICAL COUNSEL or, that it is actually a “HOW TO” MANUAL, if you will, for how to navigate spiritually through all types of difficulties, disappointments, and discouragements! In today’s reading alone, the Lord reveals to us…
- “HOW TO” deal with fretfulness, or anxiety. (Psalm 37)
- “HOW TO” cope when our strength is failing. (Psalms 38–39)
- “HOW TO” rest in God’s faithfulness. (Psalm 40)
- “HOW TO” respond to a friend’s unfaithfulness. (Psalm 41)
- “HOW TO” register a complaint when you can’t see God’s hand at work. (Psalm 44)
In Psalm 39 and verse 4, David prayed, “Lord, make me to know…the measure of my days…” David’s prayer is a powerful reminder that the brevity of life is an issue everyone should consider, not just senior citizens! He realized how easy it is to get so caught up with material and financial achievements, and other temporal values (40:6) that we forget the real purpose of life. Our Lord reiterated this same truth in Luke 12:15, when He warned us to “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” The psalmist also reminds us that compared to eternity, our life on earth is very short, and the opportunities we have to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives will soon be “no more.” (39:13) May the statement Jesus made in John 9:4 of the personal resolve that kept Him so completely focused on the Father’s purposes for His life be the personal resolve of each one of us: “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Oh, may these words of Jesus and the words of the psalmist in Psalm 39 flood our hearts, and souls and minds with a passion to stay focused on God’s purposes for our lives!
In Psalm 41, the psalmist also provides us a “HOW TO” MANUAL for praising and blessing the Lord even while bedridden. (41:3) Apparently, the psalmist was suffering from a debilitating physical ailment or injury of some kind. (41:5, 8) What begins as a third-person description of the man who takes pity on the poor and needy (41:1–3), soon becomes the plea of a discouraged, bedridden saint: “Lord, be merciful unto ME: heal MY soul…” (41:4) Notice that the longer the psalmist pours out his heart in this psalm, focusing his attention and energies on both pleading to the Lord and praising Him the more confident he becomes in God’s strength in his hour of need. Listen to the declaration of praise with which this song ends: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.” (41:13) Should you find yourself in the trial of sickness and/or suffering today, allow the psalmist in Psalm 41 to flood you with hope and confidence, that even in your present circumstances, you can experience God’s blessing, by focusing on blessing the Lord! Instead of complaining about your condition, do what the psalmist did! Use this time…
- to plead for God’s mercy. (41:4, 10)
- to praise Him for His deliverance. (41:1–2)
- to praise Him for His preservation. (41:2)
- to praise Him for His strength. (41:3)
- to praise Him for His favor. (41:11) And…
- to just bless the name of the Lord! (41:13)
In Psalm 42, the psalmist likens his thirst for God to that of a deer who has been running through the forest and has now become so parched, that he is literally panting over the water in the brook. (42:1–2) May this powerful and graphic illustration likewise be descriptive of the continuing thirst in our souls for God through the 365 Days of Pursuit!
As in many of the psalms, in Psalm 43, as the psalmist honestly pours out his thoughts and feelings to the Lord regarding the dreadful circumstances of his life that were causing him to feel “cast off” by the Lord (43:2), and “cast down” in his soul (43:5), we are able to steadily see the Lord lift him up out of his discouragement, flooding him with “strength” (43:2), “light” (43:3a), “truth” (43:3b), His presence (43:3c–4a), “joy” (43:4b), “hope” (43:5b), and “health of countenance” (43:5c).
In Psalm 44, it’s almost the exact opposite! In the first half of the psalm, the psalmist is flooded with praise for God’s faithfulness and blessing upon his people in the past. (44:1–8) Then, beginning in verse 9, he begins his honest complaint against the Lord, lamenting the fact that he’s unable to see God at work in his life or in the lives of God’s people. (44:9–14) He admits that it has caused him to be both “confused” and “ashamed”. (44:15–16) Regardless of these thoughts and emotions, the psalmist declares his determination that he, and the people of God, will not “forget” God (44:17a), will not “deal falsely” with His “covenant” (44:17b), will not allow their “hearts” to “turn back” (44:18a), and will not allow their “steps” to stop following His “way” (44:18b)! The psalm ends with the psalmist passionately pleading with God to “awake” from His “sleep” (44:23), to stop “hiding His face” from them (44:24a), to stop “forgetting their affliction and oppression” (44:24b), and “for His mercies’ sake” to “help” and “redeem” them (44:26). Something tells me that God answered the psalmist’s cry!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As the ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF GOD — Psalm 40:6–8 (John 4:34; Hebrews 10:7–9)