OVERVIEW:
David’s prayer of praise and thanksgiving; David’s prayer for Solomon (the “Son of David”); the mystery of the prosperity of the wicked; the rebuke of the wicked and proud; praise for God’s majesty.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In Psalm 71, note the eight powerful names by which the psalmist refers to God, and note how personal he has made each one by the insertion of the personal pronoun, “my”:
- My Strong Habitation. (71:3)
- My Rock. (71:3)
- My Fortress. (71:3)
- My God. (71:4, 22)
- My Hope. (71:5)
- My Trust. (71:5)
- My Strong Refuge. (71:7)
- My Help. (71:12)
There’s plenty of biblical substance in just those eight names to have your own “personal” worship service! What a God we serve! May our pursuit of the Lord, like the psalmist, cause us to personally know our God by each of these titles!
As we continue our journey through life, we must always keep in mind that the enemy is constantly seeking to shut us down, and shut us up! That is, he wants to take our passion for God out of our souls, and he wants to take our praise for God out of our mouths. Understanding this desire of the enemy prompted the psalmist to say, “But I will hope continually, and yet praise thee more and more.” (71:14) Let’s all make that our resolve today!
Psalm 72 is in my estimation, a “psalm of psalms”. What an absolutely incredible Old Testament declaration of praise for the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Coming! This psalm lets us know that as the queen of Sheba presents herself before Solomon, Israel’s king, the “Son of David” as he was sitting enthroned in all of his wisdom, splendor, majesty, and glory over the entire world in 1st King’s 10, that he was really just a picture of the splendor and glory that will be our Lord Jesus Christ’s when He finally takes up His throne in His Millennial kingdom. (72:10) This psalm lets us know that in that day, the Lord Jesus Christ will unleash His power in judgment upon the earth (72:1–6), and will establish His authority and rule over the entire earth. (72:7–9) Read and rejoice! May this reality cause all of us to LOVE His appearing with Paul (2nd Timothy 4:8), LONG for His appearing with John (1st John 3:1–3), and PRAY for His appearing, per our Lord’s instruction in Matthew 6:10.
In Psalm 73, Asaph voices what all of us have felt at one time or another: Why does it seem that the wicked prosper, and the righteous get stepped on? (73:11–14) As Asaph said, sometimes it can just about get the best of you (73:2), and make you want to throw in the towel! (73:16) Why does it seem that that’s the way it shakes out in life? Well, for the most part, because that’s the way it is, in THIS life! What we sometimes forget, however, is that “THIS life” is not all there is! Asaph said that he was reminded of that when he went “into the sanctuary of God, and understood their end.” (73:17) May God, likewise, grant us that eternal perspective today! (2nd Corinthians 4:18)
Psalm 74 is Asaph’s attempt at “praying for the Kingdom to come”, and quite a good one at that! May it, likewise, be the prayer of our hearts!
Psalm 75 deals with Israel and the Second Coming of Christ. Notice in verses 2–6, that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is speaking in the first person. How awesome is that? I bet you won’t find that written in your Red-Letter Edition of the Bible, but it should be! Notice also in verse 6 where “promotion cometh”. Here’s the clue the psalmist gives us: It’s not from the EAST, nor the WEST, nor from the SOUTH. So, do you have any guesses for the direction from which it will come? That’s right! The NORTH! How did you guess? 😉 Why do you suppose it will come from the NORTH? Check out Psalm 48:2; Hebrews 12:22; Isaiah 14:13; and Ezekiel 1:4. The Bible is indeed an amazing book!
Psalm 76 is another great description of our Lord’s awesomeness as he “arises in judgment” and descends upon this earth at His Second Coming to establish His rule and reign. (76:9) Can you answer the question of 76:7: “Who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?” Why don’t we allow the words of the old hymn to answer it for us? “No, not one! No, not one!”
Psalm 77 is, likewise, a description of the Second Coming and Millennium. Just when the nation of Israel is “in the day of [her] trouble” at Armageddon, when all of the nations of the earth have converged upon Israel and she is crying out, “Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?” (77:7-9) Then notice the very next word: “Selah!” It is just then, when the only direction Israel can possibly even look is up, that the Lord Jesus Christ will step out of heaven riding on a white horse, with the armies of heaven behind Him (Revelation 16:15–21; 19:11–19) and go absolutely ballistic upon all His enemies to establish “peace on earth and good will toward men.” Verses 16–19 of Psalm 77 are a description of the Second Coming of Christ, as our Lord steps out of the third heaven, descends through “the deep” that is above our heads (Genesis 1:6–7; Job 38:30; 41:31–32), and comes thundering into the earth’s atmosphere, all the way down to the Mount of Olives. (Zechariah 14:4) What a day that will be! Let’s pray it’ll be seven years from today! Amen!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- As the ROCK — Psalm 71:3 (1st Corinthians 10:4)
- As the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE — Psalm 72:2, 4 (2nd Thessalonians 1:5–9)
- As the SPEAKER — Psalm 75:2–6