365 Days of Pursuit.org

OVERVIEW:

The psalmist’s cry for deliverance for Israel; the blessedness of living in the midst of God’s presence; David’s desire to walk in truth; cry for deliverance from death; praise for God’s covenant and promises.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Psalm 83 is another psalm that points us prophetically to the time of the second coming of Christ. Asaph describes this incredible event, as do the other inspired writers of scripture, as a time when all of the nations of the world (83:6–8) will have converged “together with one consent” (83:5a), “confederate against” the nation of Israel (83:5b), to “cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” (83:4) As we have seen repeatedly, just at the time when Israel’s back will be against the wall at the end of the Tribulation Period, when, from a human standpoint, she is utterly helpless and hopeless, with nowhere to turn, it is at that very moment our Lord Jesus Christ will step out of heaven and answer their prayers! (83:1) The Apostle John reveals that Christ will return with such fury against Israel’s enemies in that day that their blood will literally rise up to the horse’s bridles in the Valley of Megiddo! (Revelation 14:20) Asaph’s prayer in 83:13–18 will, in fact, be answered! “O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.” Hallelujah!

May this incredible prayer and prophetic promise serve as a great reminder to us of God’s power and ability, in those times when our backs are against the wall, and from a human standpoint, we find ourselves utterly helpless and hopeless, with nowhere to turn! May this psalm remind us that there is nothing too hard for the Lord! (Jeremiah 32:17) May it remind us that our God hears and answers prayer! (Psalm 65:2) May it flood us with confidence that, in the day of our trouble, He can and will step in to do what could never be done in our own strength or power. (Psalm 86:7) May we also not miss that He has already proven that He can and will answer our prayers in this way, because that is exactly how Ephesians 2:11–17 describes what our Lord did on our behalf when in our lost condition, we cried out to the Lord for our salvation! At that time, not only were our spiritual backs against the wall, but we were totally without help and hope, with nowhere else to turn, and Christ stepped in to do what we could have never done in our own strength or power. Again, hallelujah!

Note that the basis for the psalmist’s requests in the last verse of this Psalm, should be the overarching desire, passion, and prayer of our hearts in and through every aspect and dimension of our entire lives, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH (the “self-existing One”), art the most high over all the earth.” (83:18)

Notice that the context for the outpouring of praise that the psalmist offers to the Lord in Psalm 84 is, once again, rooted in the millennium, or “the day of the Lord.” (84:4, 8 “Selah.”) Notice in 84:1, that during the millennium, our Lord Jesus Christ will once again “tabernacle” among us. (Psalm 84:1; John 1:14 — “dwelt” = “tabernacle”) We would do well to ask ourselves today whether the passion of the psalmist’s heart for God and His glory in verse 2 expresses what is in our hearts today! Can we genuinely and honestly say with the psalmist, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God?” (84:2)

The last part of 84:11 is also a great promise and reminder that “the Lord will give grace and glory: NO GOOD THING WILL HE WITHHOLD FROM THEM THAT WALK UPRIGHTLY.” God most certainly “withholds” certain things, but contrary to Satan’s lies (see Genesis 3:5), it is never because He is “withholding” some “GOOD” thing from us. His restrictions are always to keep us from something He knows will be BAD for us, and ultimately, be harmful to us and/ or destroy us. It is sometimes difficult to get our flesh to really believe that, and the “father of lies” is at every turn more than willing to convince us otherwise. (John 8:44) In light of that, the last verse of Psalm 84 is very fitting, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” (84:12)

The millennial context is also seen in Psalm 85. The description of that time is laid out beautifully in verse 10. It will be that time on this planet when “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (85:10) It is also a beautiful thing when the word pictures in this verse are found in the life of a New Testament believer! “Mercy” with no regard for “truth” makes us wishy-washy, spineless, and way too accommodating of unholy doctrine and unholy living in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, “truth” with no regard for “mercy” makes us harsh, judgmental, and unloving. God’s intention, is that like His Son (John 1:14c), we have a perfect balance of both! (See Ephesians 4:25, then Ephesians 4:15.)

Psalm 86:5 and 15 are a personal favorite. “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee…thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” How many times do we need those reminders, especially those of us who are prone toward feeling the need of doing some sort of “penance”, as it were, before we can let go of our spiritual failures and sins? I love the fact that the psalmist reveals to us that before we even come to Him, He is “READY TO FORGIVE”! He made that abundantly clear by the willful offering of His only and beloved Son! (1^st John 4:9)

For those who find themselves in the depths of despair today, find comfort and solace by using the words of the psalmist in Psalm 88 as he lifts his complaint up to the Lord. Then, allow the Lord to bring you up and out of your despair in Psalm 89, as the psalmist expresses his confidence and praise to the Lord!

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

By the SEED OF DAVID — Psalm 89:3–4 (Christ was made of the seed of David according to the flesh – Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:31–32)

OVERVIEW:

The judgment of the Lord against disobedience; Asaph’s prayer against enemies; Asaph’s prayer for mercy and restoration.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Psalm 78 is just absolutely an incredible psalm. What it provides is an abbreviated overview of Israel’s history from Exodus 7 to 2^nd Samuel 10.

As we learned in Numbers 14:18 and Exodus 34:6–7, God warns that the iniquities of the fathers are visited all the way down to the third and fourth generations! In other words, the effects of sin are incredibly far reaching! Again, be reminded, the principle concerning the “iniquities of the fathers” is not teaching that JUDGMENT for a father’s iniquities are visited to the third and fourth generation, but that the PROPENSITIES toward those particular iniquities are “visited” that deep into a family line. At any time, however, anyone in a family can choose to trust Christ as their Savior, and thereby, also choose to refuse to provide the “visitor” entrance into their lives, and not only break the generational cycle of sin but by God’s grace, choose to create a cycle of righteousness! That is really what Psalm 78 is all about! It lets us know, that the “righteousnesses of the fathers”, as it were, are likewise “visited” to the third and fourth generation! Notice the four generations in 78:5–6:

• Generation # 1 — “OUR FATHERS…”
• Generation # 2 — “that they should make them known to THEIR CHILDREN,”
• Generation # 3 — “that THE GENERATION TO COME might know them”
• Generation # 4 — “who should arise and declare them to THEIR CHILDREN.”

Notice that the psalmist also provides in this psalm, the four reasons it is so important to pass this kind of righteous heritage to our generational offspring. (78:7–8) Notice that two are positive and two are negative:

• Positive — “That they might set their hope in God…”
• Negative — “And not forget the works of God…”
• Positive — “But keep his commandments…”
• Negative — “And might not be as their fathers.”

Notice in verse 29 of Psalm 78, one of the most horrific things that God could ever do to a person is to give them what they want! (i.e. “He gave them their own desire.”) As this psalm goes on to say, it is a collision course for disaster without exception, because what man naturally “desires” is always completely contrary to what God desires for him! Paul writes to his young son in the faith, Timothy, warning him about four things we “naturally desire” (i.e. “love”):

• “Self” — (2^nd Timothy 3:2)
• “Pleasure” — (2^nd Timothy 3:4)
• “Money” — (1^st Timothy 6:10)
• “This present world” — (2^nd Timothy 4:10)

Psalm 78:29 should cause all of us to pray, “O God, please don’t give me what I want!”

In 78:40–41, notice five things Israel did against God after their deliverance out of Egypt, keeping in mind that 1^st Corinthians 10:6 and 11 specifically warn us to be sure that we don’t allow to happen to us, in our “exodus” (God delivering us from our bondage to sin, Satan and self!), what happened to Israel in their exodus! Notice…

• They “provoked” God – (Psalm 78:40a c.f. 1^st Thessalonians 5:19)
• They “grieved” God — (Psalm 78:40b c.f. Ephesians 4:30)
• They “turned back” from God — (Psalm 78:41a c.f. 2^nd Timothy 4:10)
• They “tempted” God — (Psalm 78:41b c.f. 1^st Corinthians 10:9)
• They “limited” God — (Psalm 78:41c c.f. Hebrews 4:2)

Notice also that these five things were the result of the two root sins listed in verse 42: “They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.”

Practically speaking, we get ourselves into a whole bunch of sin problems when we forget (“remember not”) the awesome thing God did on our behalf the day He saved us (“delivered us from the enemy”); all of the things God did by “His hand” to bring us to that point (John 6:44); and all of the things He has done by “His hand” since He has delivered us (Revelation 2:4–5; Romans 1:21). Deuteronomy 6:12 says it plainly: “Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” God help us today to “remember”!

Psalm 79 and 80 are simple to understand for anyone who understands that there are three layers of application of Scripture. Both psalms point doctrinally (prophetically) to Israel during the latter part of the Great Tribulation just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. Notice that the “wild beast” in Psalm 80:13 is defined in Hosea 13:8 and is none other than “the Beast” of Revelation 13. He is like a “leopard” (Hosea 13:7), a “bear” and a “lion” (Hosea 13:8), just as in Revelation 13:2 and Daniel 7:3–6. It’s amazing what God will reveal (1^st Corinthians 2:10) when we approach God’s Book the way He told us to approach it! (1^st Corinthians 2:13 — “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” — i.e. comparing Scripture with Scripture!)

In Psalm 81, the “solemn feast day” in verse 3 points to the second coming of Christ, which will line up, just as did the first coming of Christ, with the feast of tabernacles. It’s way too detailed to get into here, but for a little “recreation” and “enjoyment”, check out 2^nd Chronicles 7:9; Nehemiah 8:18; Hosea 9:5; 12:9; Leviticus 23:34; Deuteronomy 16:13; 31:10; 2^nd Chronicles 8:13 and Ezra 3:4.

Be sure to note the context in Psalm 82, as once again, God sets it for us by the insertion of the word “Selah” (82:2) and then nails it for us in the last verse, saying, “Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations!” What an awesome God and an awesome Book!

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• As the SHEPHERD — Psalm 80:1 (John 10:11)

• As the ONE WHO WILL ARISE TO DELIVER ISRAEL OUT OF HER TROUBLE — Psalm 80:7, 14, 19; 82:8 (Revelation 16:15–21; 19:19)

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”:

1. My Strong Habitation. (71:3)
2. My Rock. (71:3)
3. My Fortress. (71:3)
4. My God. (71:4, 22)
5. My Hope. (71:5)
6. My Trust. (71:5)
7. My Strong Refuge. (71:7)
8. 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 1^st 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 (2^nd Timothy 4:8), LONG for His appearing with John (1^st 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! (2^nd 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 (1^st Corinthians 10:4)

• As the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE — Psalm 72:2, 4 (2^nd Thessalonians 1:5–9)

• As the SPEAKER — Psalm 75:2–6

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 did in Psalm 64, like the whole world is against you? Take comfort today in the fact that even the “man after God’s own heart” had many people who continually spoke evil of him! Don’t forget, 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.” (Matthew 2:11) The reality is, the closer we grow toward Christlikeness, and the more we are used by Him to accomplish His work, the more we can expect evil to be spoken against us! Biblically, that’s just the way it works; it comes with the territory! Jesus went on to say, however, that rather than allowing the persecution to consume us and/or discourage us, we should “Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:12) In other words, we should rejoice in the fact that we’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! Again, the reality is, they 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, in effect, “What goes around, comes around.” His actual wording is perhaps a little more articulate, “So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves.” (Psalm 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.” (Galatians 5:15) The principle is, when people use their tongue as a weapon, it will inevitably come back to rip them to shreds!

Don’t you just love how the psalmist addresses God in Psalm 65:2? “O thou that hearest prayer.” If we are ever looking for a ‘reason’ we should pray, how about this one: The God who created the entire universe and is holy beyond our wildest possible imagination and comprehension, said He would listen! Wow! With a reason like, we certainly do not need to look for too many others! You may even want to take a minute right now to humbly tell God, “Thanks for listening!” Notice that the psalmist is back on this same glorious reality of the God of the universe actually “hearing us” in Psalm 66:18–20!

Note that the word “terrible” found in today’s reading in Psalms, verses 65:5; 66:3; and 68:35, is the old English equivalent of the modern-day usage of the word “awesome”.

Note, also, how the psalmist/God sets the context of Psalm 66:4 by his/His usage of the word “Selah” at the end of the verse: “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. SELAH!”  The “whole earth” hasn’t worshipped or sung to the Lord since Adam sinned in the garden, and what’s more, it won’t until the Lord Jesus Christ has set in motion “the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) at the beginning of the Millennium, again, noted by the word at the end of 66:4, “Selah.”

Psalms 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. Don’t miss it in these psalms! It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the “New World Order” to which politicians from every nation are referring in these last days!

The name of God in Psalm 68:4, “JAH”, is short for Jehovah (Yahweh), the “self-existing One”, or the God who is “ever/always in the present”. Psalm 68:18 prophesies the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul explained the meaning of this psalm as a prophecy concerning Christ in Ephesians 4:8. Christ conquered death and Satan, both of which held mankind in captivity until His resurrection. (Hebrews 2:15)

In Psalm 69, David is literally singing “the blues”. He voices what we’ve all felt at certain times of our lives, as his song is being sung out of a “sea of troubles”. (69:1–2) Psalm 69:9 was historically true of David: “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” Yet, prophetically, John lets us know in John 2:17 that it was, likewise, fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of the devotional or inspirational application of scripture, we would do well to ask ourselves whether this verse is, likewise, true of us. Are we so passionately in love with our Savior, and are we so completely zealous for Him to be glorified, that when His name is “reproached” (also translated “defied” and “blasphemed”), that the reproach of it falls upon us the same way it falls upon Him? In other words, when God’s name is blasphemed and defied, do we feel what God feels?

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• As the One who LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE — Psalm 68:18 (Ephesians 4:8)

• As the One who was BROKENHEARTED and FULL OF HEAVINESS — Psalm 69:20 (Matthew 26:37)

• As the One given VINEGAR TO DRINK IN HIS THIRST — Psalm 69:21 (Matthew 27:34; John 19:28–30)

OVERVIEW:

A prayer of protection: a cry against deceitful friends; the psalmist’s trust in God; David’s prayer for deliverance from his enemies; David’s confidence in God’s promises.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

In the previous day’s comments in this section, the goal was to acquaint you with how God uses His word in the Psalms through the three layers of application, more than simply highlighting the things He actually said. Because the psalms in today’s reading are easily understood, we will again use this space to seek to help you to “learn how to fish” in the psalms, rather than simply “handing you a fish”.

Please allow me to borrow from the insight and teaching of Bruce Wilkinson:

“Just as the nation of Israel was divided into many different tribes, so the Psalms can be divided into many different types. As you continue your journey through this book, you’ll find it helpful to be able to classify each psalm you read. A majority of the psalms fall into one of three categories:

1. Lament Psalms are petitions addressed directly to God by the individual or community in the context of distress. They usually include a description of the problems, a confession of trust, and a vow of praise to God, uttered with the confidence that God can and will deliver His people. (examples: Psalms 3–7, 22, 42)

2. Thank Psalms, offered publicly by one or more worshippers, acknowledge God’s faithful actions on behalf of His people in the past, or express confidence in His promise to act in the future. (examples:  Psalms 18, 27, 62)

3. Praise Psalms are hymns based on the word praise or hallelujah. They are joyful expressions of adoration for God’s greatness, acknowledging Him as Creator, Sustainer, and Lover of His people. (examples: Psalms 113, 117, 146–150)

In addition, you will encounter:

4. Royal Psalms which are hymns describing the King, both earthly and heavenly, reigning over His kingdom. (examples: Psalms 2, 95–96)

5. Woe Psalms are poems expressing the psalmist’s righteous indignation at God’s enemies, and calling for God’s swift retribution. (examples: Psalms 49, 109, 137)

6. Acrostic Psalms are highly stylized poems in which each new section, verse, or line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (examples: Psalms 9–10, 25, 35, 119)

7. Pilgrim Psalms are songs sung by worshippers on the way up to Jerusalem for the yearly feast. (examples: Psalms 120–134)

8. Messianic Psalms are prophetic songs describing the coming Messiah as King (Psalms 2, 24, 100), Servant (Psalms 22-23, 40, 60), and the Son of God. (Psalm 118)”

In today’s psalms, do note that a good portion of them record the expression of David’s heart and his confidence in God during some of his most difficult days: while being pursued (Psalms 54, 57, 59); having been betrayed (Psalm 55); and when he was brokenhearted (Psalm 56). Note also that Psalms 54, 60, 61, and 63 are psalms of lament: watch for the use of the phrase, “O, God”.

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• As the One Who was betrayed by his “friend” — Psalm 55:12. (Matthew 26:47–50)

• As the One Who saves those who will call upon Him — Psalm 55:16–17. (Romans 10:13)

• As the Rock — Psalm 61:2; 62:2, 6–7. (1^st Corinthians 10:4)

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.

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)

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.” (2^nd Corinthians 7:1) Verse 7 reminds us of the tremendous biblical place of “singing” in the midst of spiritual warfare. (2^nd 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; 1^st Corinthians 15:58) We can use our two eyes to see the needs of the people around us. (1^st 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; 2^nd 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): 

1. Bless the Lord at all times. (34:1a) 
2. Allow His praise to continually be in our mouth. (34:1b)
3. Make our boast solely in the Lord. (34:2a)
4. Demonstrate a spirit of humility. (34:2b)
5. Magnify the Lord with other believers. (34:3a)
6. Exalt His name together with them. (34:3b)
7. Seek the Lord. (34:4a)

Psalm 35:1–9 is a reminder to us of the lessons we learned about spiritual warfare from 2^nd Chronicles 20. The psalmist reiterates the truth that…

• “The battle is not yours, but Gods.” (2^nd Chronicles 20:15 c.f. 35:1a)
• “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle.” (2^nd Chronicles 20:17a c.f. 35:1b)
• “Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” (2^nd 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)

OVERVIEW:

Psalms of victory (21), shame (25), innocence (26), devotion (27), hope (28), and glory (29); Psalms regarding the future sufferings (22), shepherding (23), and reign of Jesus Christ (24).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Sometimes Bible characters can almost seem “larger than life”. That may even be compounded if the Bible characters were also those God used to write the scriptures themselves. Most of us have no problem recognizing that we’re certainly no Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah, or Paul, Peter, and John! With all of our human frailties, weaknesses, and sins, we may, at times, find it somewhat difficult to even relate to these men!

Perhaps that’s the reason most of us are able to find so much comfort and strength through the Psalms! In the Psalms, it’s almost as if David, and the other writers, pull back the curtain of their humanness and allow us to see that, though these were certainly amazing men, they still possessed the same frailties, weaknesses, and sins as the rest of us! The Psalms is very simply a book of the Bible where these men were pouring their hearts out, as they were personally relating God to their real, every-day lives, and just very honestly, candidly, and even emotionally, expressing whatever they happened to be thinking and feeling, at the moment. Sometimes those thoughts and emotions could be all over the map!

For example, just in today’s reading alone, in one place David cries out to the Lord, basically saying, “Answer me, Lord, because if You don’t, I’m going to feel like I’ve gone to hell!” (Psalm 28:1) In another place, he says in effect, “Lord, I know I’ve greatly sinned against you, but, O God, for Your name’s sake, please pardon me!” (Psalm 25:11) You can, no doubt, sense his extreme desperation in these verses! Yet, by the time we get to Psalm 29 in today’s reading, David finds himself sitting on top of the world again, joyfully declaring the unrivaled power, majesty, and glory of the word of God; what David calls seven times in this psalm, “the VOICE of the Lord”! Sometimes it’s difficult to get our minds wrapped around the fact that this man, who many might refer to as “flighty”, or even as an “emotional basket case”, is the same man who killed a lion and a bear with his own hands; the same man who slew Goliath with a slingshot and a stone; and was the same valiant warrior in battle who the women of Israel boasted had killed tens of thousands of God’s enemies. (1^st Samuel 18:7) God did not want the man, that He had personally chosen to rule Israel in His stead, to be a man who could put on a fake smile and act like everything was okay when it wasn’t. God wanted a man with a heart brave enough to slay giants and tens of thousands of mighty warriors and yet, tender enough to lead Israel with a compassionate heart, like the heart of God Himself! (Acts 13:22)

Because the Psalms are so personal and candid, we can easily find one (or more!) for any and every circumstance or emotion we encounter. Again, just in today’s reading, if we need a reminder of God’s wonderful care and protection in our lives, Psalm 23 awaits to provide encouragement and strength! If we find ourselves weighed down by the guilt of our past sin, we can humbly turn Psalm 25 into a personal prayer to remind us of God’s amazing grace and forgiveness! Should we find ourselves being falsely accused, Psalm 26 can help us to lift, not only our voices to the Lord, but our very souls! To provide us this kind of biblical hope and encouragement is one of the key reasons God included this tremendous book into the canon of scripture! Praise the Lord!

Notice in Psalm 22, that God inspired David to write a song about the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross a 1000-years before His actual crucifixion! This Psalm cannot be about David, because never did God actually forsake him (22:1) though, as has already been noted, there were many times David “felt” as though God had! Never were David’s bones ripped out of joint. (22:14) Never was David so overtaken with thirst that his tongue actually clave to his jaws. (22:15) Never were David’s hands and feet pierced with nails. (22:16) And never were David’s garments stripped from him, and lots cast for them so they could be given to the “lucky winner”. (22:18) In all the annals of history, only one man and one event fits this precise description—our Lord Jesus Christ at His crucifixion! (See Matthew 27:35–49; John 19:23–24, 28–30.)

In the writing of Psalm 22, it’s almost as if God invited David to write down the most horrific kind of suffering and death he could possibly imagine and then put it to music. The song includes everything that is the most hurtful and painful in the human experience: betrayal, false accusation, humiliation, physical torture, and abandonment. Then, a millennium later, it was as if God turned David’s nightmare into an abominable reality, subjecting His only begotten Son to the very scenario David described. In so doing, however, God forever settled any accusations that He is ignorant of, indifferent to, or absent in our human sufferings, for He endured all that the human imagination could possibly contrive. Because of the cross of Christ, never could any human being accuse God of not understanding what they are going through! (See Hebrew 4:14–16; 2:9–10, 14, 17–18.)

Note that David’s “mission statement”, of sorts, is found in Psalm 27:4 and 8. David set his entire life to one goal: the passionate pursuit of God! (Remember, that’s our goal through the 365 Days of Pursuit: to passionately pursue God through the pages of His word!) David ferociously sought God in and through every situation and circumstance of his life. In the depths of depression, David scratched and clawed his way to find the reason for God’s apparent silence. At the peak of joy, he rejoiced and delighted in the glory and strength of his sovereign God, both in prayer and in song! In whatever emotional state David found himself, it caused him to cry out for God, and to seek Him with all of His heart! That’s why David was able to find such graphic pictures and illustrations of God in every aspect of his life. Again, just in today’s reading alone, David could see God as a SHEPHERD (Psalm 23), a LIGHT (Psalm 27), a ROCK (Psalm 28), and as THUNDER (Psalm 29). Because David was “seeking God”, he could see God all around him. Like Jesus said in Luke 11:9, “SEEK, and ye shall FIND”! Like Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if from thence thou shalt SEEK the Lord thy God, thou shalt FIND him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Oh, may we seek Him like that!

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• Psalms 22, 23, and 24 provide a prophetic description of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
• Psalm 22 presents Christ as our suffering Savior (Matthew 27:46).
• Psalm 23 reveals Him as our risen Shepherd (John 10:11).
• Psalm 24 makes us witnesses of His future triumphant return as the King of glory. (Revelation 19)

OVERVIEW:

The preservation of God’s word; longing for deliverance; the foolishness of fools; the description of a godly man; the second coming of Christ; the power of God’s word.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Verse 1 of Psalm 12 establishes the theme and sets the context for the entire psalm: namely, that godly and faithful men are in short supply! It was true in David’s day and it is certainly descriptive of our day as well. However, the Lord promises He will arise and that justice toward the proud and blasphemous “talkers” in this world (12:2–4), along with the oppressors of the poor and needy, will be served! (12:5) The certainty of this truth is based on the certainty of God’s word. We can rest and be at peace, even in this evil world, because we trust the promises of God’s word. He has preserved it for us! It is true and we can rest assured that the Lord will keep His word. In fact, 12:6–7 promises that He will preserve and keep His word pure forever! Hallelujah!

If you’re in need of encouragement today, you may want to slow down through Psalm 13. It only has six verses, so it’s a quick read but boy, do they pack a wallop!

Notice how honest David gets with God in this psalm. Isn’t it awesome that our God can not only handle our honesty but that He actually welcomes it?! (Hebrews 4:14–16) As David is writing and singing this song (psalm) to the Lord, he is a discouraged, disappointed, and even a disillusioned man. In fact, in the first two verses, he asks God four rather inflammatory questions each begin with the same two words: “How long?”

• HOW LONG wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
• HOW LONG wilt thou hide thy face from me?
• HOW LONG shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
• HOW LONG shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Have you ever found yourself at a place spiritually where you’ve felt what the psalmist was feeling here? Have you ever opened your heart to the Lord in prayer and found your mouth crying out, “How long, O Lord?” Notice that as David continues to work through his questions (and questioning!) of God in this psalm, that by the time his song is over, he’s been brought into remembrance of God’s mercy, His salvation, and just how bountifully God had dealt with him through the years.

As we immerse ourselves into this psalm today, may we, likewise, find with David, that if we will simply and honestly pour out our hearts to God, and yes, even our frustrations, that God will begin to bring to our minds His mercies toward us, the salvation He’s provided us, and the bountiful goodness He’s shown us through the years. No, our circumstances may not immediately change (David’s didn’t!), but maybe what will change will be our attitude and outlook toward them! Let Psalm 13 be of great comfort to all of us today!

Psalm 14 is a description of lost man. May we keep ever-present in our hearts and minds that this psalm was descriptive of each of us before coming to Christ!

In Psalm 15, God contrasts the description of the lost man with His description of a “godly” or “saved” man, or, someone in whom God dwells. God uses five sentences to provide a composite of this person:

1. He possesses inward righteousness that works its way outward into daily living. (15:2) This is the exact opposite of the Pharisees who had an outward “righteousness” but inwardly were full of unrighteousness.
2. He loves others as he loves himself. (15:3) Note that interpersonal problems in our relationships are caused because someone is not loving his neighbor as himself! (Galatians 5:14–15)
3. He honors those whose lives give evidence that they fear God, not those who live vile lives. (15:4a) Who are the people you respect and admire? Are they people who walk with God?
4. He is someone who means what he says. (15:4b) Can others always trust the things that come out of your mouth? Do you keep your word even when it costs you something, or inconveniences you?
5. He is not driven by financial gain. (15:5) Is the priority and pursuit of your life all about making money, getting ahead, becoming “well off”; or, is it loving God, and advancing His kingdom and glory?

Note the prophecy concerning Christ’s death and resurrection in Psalm 16:10. Peter was well-aware of this prophecy, even referencing it in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:31!

Psalm 17 is a great place to find refuge during times of trial, particularly those times when people are callously heaping intense opposition upon you. Find solace and comfort through the outpouring of David’s heart and his absolute dependence upon God, not only to see him though it, but to conform him into His image in the process! (17:15 c.f. Romans 8:29) May we both learn from and follow David’s example in these verses. Understanding the “doctrinal” or “prophetic” context of Psalm 18 is vital. This psalm is an incredible prophecy concerning the second coming of Christ and His deliverance of His people, the nation of Israel. In 18:4–6, David describes the utter distress and hopelessness of the Jews during the coming time of Tribulation on this planet, while in 18:7–15, he describes the power and glory of “the Day of the Lord”, which, of course, is the second coming of Christ to this earth! Understanding the prophetic context of this psalm helps us to make biblical sense (i.e. “rightly divide”, 2^nd Timothy 2:15) out of David’s obvious emphasis upon human works in 18:20–24. Keep in mind that after the church is removed from the earth at the rapture, those who believe during tribulation are not “sealed” with the Holy Spirit like we have been. As Jesus taught in Matthew 24:13, during the Tribulation Period, “believers” must “endure to the end” in order to be saved. Specifically, they must not take the infamous “mark of the beast (antichrist)”. In that way, they must “endure to the end”: the end of their life, or the end of the Tribulation Period.

Note that Psalm 19:1–6 corresponds to Romans 1:19–20. The creation of God most definitely shows forth His glory in countless ways. David even tells us in 19:4–6, just as Malachi did in Malachi 4:1–2, that the rising of the sun is a daily reminder and picture of the second coming of Christ!

Notice in 19:7–11 that David refers to the word of God by six different names: The LAW of the Lord; the TESTIMONY of the Lord; the STATUTES of the Lord; the COMMANDMENT of the Lord; the FEAR of the Lord; and the JUDGMENTS of the Lord. Notice also in these same verses, the six things he teaches us that the word of God has the power to do: to convert the soul; to make wise the simple; to rejoice the heart; to enlighten the eyes; to endure forever; and to provide warning and reward. No wonder David admonishes us in 19:10 to desire it more than gold, and to find that its sweetness to us spiritually, is actually sweeter than a honeycomb is to us physically.

In Psalm 20, notice once again, the Tribulation/Day of the Lord (second coming of Christ) context throughout. Psalm 20:7 is classic and should characterize God’s people in every dispensation and generation: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”  Let it be true of us today and every day!    

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

Through the RISING of the SUN — Psalm 19:4–6 (Picturing the “Sun of righteousness, rising in the east at His second coming”—Malachi 4:2.)