PSALM 19:1-6 - REVELATION THROUGH CREATION

PSALM 19

INTRODUCTION: David wrote of two ways God reveals Himself to people. Verse 1-6 discuss the revelation of God in His Creation. The second half Psalm 19, verses 7-14, describes how God makes Himself known through His word. In the Complete Jewish Bible, this is translated “Torah”. Torah means instruction, which today can apply to all of the word, both old and new testaments.

Psalm 19:1-6

REVELATION THROUGH CREATION

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Susan: Without a voice, without words, the heavens and the firmament herald the existence of the Creator.

Susie: I use to love to float in a swimming pool in the evening, observing the moon and the stars. I was reminded how big my God is and amazed that He could care for me, a mere speck in His universe!

Susan: Many people make excuses for not believing in God, but none of them are valid.

Susie: He has revealed Himself in nature. The skies demand that a person believe in “intelligent design” which implies there must be a Master Designer!

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Psalm 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

Susan: Every day, people are given multiple pictures, ample evidence of the fact that there is a God.

Susie: Every night, God confirms His existence by lighting the sky with the moon and the stars. The stars are arranged in constellations and can be used to navigate ships or direct travelers through the night. There is knowledge and design, a definite plan to how the night sky is laid out. The night shouts out that God is there and cares for His creation. 

Psalm 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Susan: The revelation of God in the skies is not dependent on language: it is universally understood and has no need of interpretation.

Psalm 19:4-5 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Susie: Everyone in the world can view the skies, and the evidence of God in nature. Since this revelation does not require human language, it can be understood by all people everywhere.

Susan: The sun is the chief light of the sky, the most prominent feature. The sun exemplifies God’s strength.

Susie: David compares the sun to a groom on his wedding day and a runner confident of winning the race, two pictures of vim and vigor. It definitely puts God’s power on display. Again, this speaks to God’s design of the universe that the powerful sun is close enough to give us the light needed to live, yet not so close as to burn us up!

Psalm 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Susan: The sun is observed and experienced around the entire world.

Susie: Even the arctic areas of the north and south poles receive sunlight a portion of the day, varying with the time of year.

Susan: Therefore, the glory of God is undeniably on display throughout the earth.

Susie: According to Romans 1:20, quoted above, people are without excuse. God has made it abundantly clear that He exists and is all-powerful. Just as He made the Gospel known in multiple languages on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, He has made His existence known to every people group on the earth through nature. 

QUESTIONS

1.       As a cross-reference, read Psalm 8. Psalm 19 says the heavens declare God’s glory. How does Psalm 8 apply this to our relationship with the Lord?

2.       Do you speak multiple languages? Do sunlight and stars need to speak other languages to communicate?

3.       Does God reveal Himself to only one nation or race of people?

4.       To what two types of people does David compare the sun?

5.       Who is described as a Bridegroom in the New Testament? Do you think the use in Psalm 19 of that imagery is intentional or accidental? Why?

PSALM 95 - WORSHIP AND WARNING

PSALM 95

WORSHIP AND WARNING

INTRODUCTION: The author of this psalm is not named, but some commentators believe it could have been written by David to be used in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called the Feast of Booths. During this celebration, the worshippers constructed temporary dwellings (booths) and lived in them for a specified amount of time in order to remember how God provided for the people during the wilderness wanderings. Much later, Nehemiah remembered God’s care for them as well:

Nehemiah 9:21 Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.

Psalm 95 begins with a call to worship the Lord for all He has done and ends with a warning that they not be rebellious like their ancestors had been in the wilderness.

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Susie: John Michael Talbot recorded a great setting of portions of this psalm. I would love to open a worship service using his song. You can listen to it here:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=Come+Worship+the+Lord+by+John+Michael+Talbot#id=3&vid=66b040a80b2471960e497a6fe8f9062e&action=view

Susie: I enjoy singing praises to our Lord, but there is provision here for a joyful noise.

Susan: Thank You, Lord, from those of us who lift our exuberant, praise-filled noises to You!

Susie: There is a historical connation to referring to the Lord as “rock of our salvation” because Jesus was the rock from which the Lord caused water to flow in order to quench the Israelites physical thirst and save their lives in the wilderness.

Susan: For the New Testament believers, this has spiritual significance in having our identity in the Rock of our salvation.

Susie: It is upon the Rock, Jesus, that we build the foundation for our lives as the wise man builds his house on the physical rock, sturdy and immovable.

Matthew 7:24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Susan: Jesus is The Rock whom we worship and praise, and if we fail to do so, the physical, earthly rocks will cry out praises to Him in our place.

Luke 19:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Susan: We are to approach the Lord with a heart of humility and thankfulness, not with our hand out but with our hearts turned upward toward Him.

Susie: The Israelites would be thanking God for their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, their preservation in the wilderness wanderings, their ability to conquer the inhabitants of Canaan and occupy the Promised Land. The psalmist reminds them to come before God remembering all the things He had done for them.

Susan: Every believer has a story with God of deliverance and provision for which to be thankful. God tells us to thank him for everything, which includes the difficulties and trials of life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Ephesians 5:19-21 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Susan: We need to define “psalms.” Is that limited to the book of psalms or is it more?

Susie: Psalms were worship song with lyrics set to music and usually accompanied with instruments. In that sense, worship music, any music with lyrics that glorify God can be psalms.

Psalm 95:3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Susan: The Lord our God is large and in charge. He is sovereign over all the earth.

Susie: Since He is the only true God, the creator of everything, He is definitely greater than the false gods of all the nations, the idols they worshiped who could do nothing.

Jeremiah 10:5   Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”

Psalm 95:4-5 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

Susie: By listing the extremes, the low places and the high, the wet and the dry, the psalmist is poetically stating that God is the Creator of everything, earth and sky.

Psalm 95:6-7a O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Susan: Bowing and kneeling are positions of submission and humility. We are to submit to the Lord’s will and destiny for each of us.

Susie: We humbly acknowledge that we are sheep, not very bright and in need of a Shepherd. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, provides us pasture, food for our souls. We hear His voice and we follow Him wherever He leads.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Psalm 95:7b-9 Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

Susan: The psalmist begins a warning to the Israelites to not follow in the footsteps of their ancestors who rebelled against the Lord in unbelief. What had the Lord done or failed to do that they would not trust Him to provide for them?

Susie: Let’s list a few of the Lord’s wondrous works on their behalf:

·     God had brought them to Egypt as a small band of 70 people, one man, his children, their children and those who worked for them in order to rescue them from a severe famine (Exodus 1:5).

·     He multiplied them to become a nation of over 600,000 men, probably over 2,000,000 people all together (Exodus 12:37-38).

·     When a new Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, He preserved Moses from being slaughtered as a baby and later appeared to him in a burning but not consumed bush to lead them (Exodus 2-3).

·     God sent 10 miraculous plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go (Exodus 7-12)

·     When Pharaoh’s army pinned them against the Red Sea, He not only parted the sea for them to walk on dry land but then drowned Pharaoh’s entire army when the walls of water came crashing down (Exodus 14-15)

·     God had provided manna as their bread to sustain them, raining it down from heaven every day but the Sabbath. He provided quails for meat. (Exodus 16)

Susan: All this, and they have the audacity to doubt that God can provide the water necessary for them and their cattle. They were more stubborn than mules! The story of this rebellion, this lack of faith, can be found in Exodus 17:1-7.

Susie: This was the first instance of God bringing forth water from solid rock! Believe it or not, there was a second time they demanded water toward the end of their wandering in the wilderness for forty years. They were slooooooow learners.

Psalm 95:10-11 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Susan: No wonder God was incensed and irate. He had every right to completely consume them.

Susie: What God did was allow an entire generation to die off wandering around in the wilderness during which time they continued to have and raise children who would one day inherit the land their parents would never be allowed to see.

Susan: They chose not to enter the Promised Land due to their doubt and unbelief that God could safely get them there in the face of overwhelming evidence that God was trustworthy and capable.

Susie: The writer of Hebrews under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit compared the Israelites wanting to abdicate the trip to the Holy Land and return to Egypt to those Jewish Christians who wanted to leave their faith and return to the law, to Judaism. A portion of this psalm is quoted in Hebrews 3:7-11. Read the entire passage through Hebrews 4:10 to see the application to early Jewish believers.

QUESTIONS

1.               Singing or even reading hymns and songs assists in bringing us into worship. Have you ever begun your daily quiet time with a hymn? If not, try it. Write about your experience.

2.               Do you have time set aside in your daily calendar to thank God for his faithful provision? Take a moment right now to list some things for which you are thankful. Pray and thank the Lord.

3.               Meditate on verses 3-7a of Psalm 95. Write a few sentences about God as Creator and Sustainer.

4.               This psalm warns the people not to be like their ancestors in the wilderness with hardened hearts. Are there any erroneous attitudes you need to give up concerning the Lord? Reading the Bible and praying with thanksgiving DAILY enables us to know what God desires. Have you committed to spending time with God?

PSALM 84 - PRAISE ON THE PATH TO PEACE

PSALM 84

PRAISE ON THE PATH

TO PEACE

INTRODUCTION: This was a psalm of ascents, a song sung by those making a pilgrimage to the temple to worship. The subtitle calls it a psalm of the sons of Korah. They would sing God’s praises as they traveled up the road leading to the temple. They were anticipating entering not only the temple but the presence of the Lord they experienced when worshipping there. They had a spirit of reverence and humility along with joyful anticipation of worship. They had a joyful expectation of revitalization. From a New Testament perspective, much of this Psalm can relate to our longing for Heaven and the permanence of God’s presence in our forever home. We will try to reflect both the historical and the prophetic aspects of Psalm 84 in our study.

Psalm 84:1 How amiable³⁰³⁹ are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

Susie: I have always thought of amiable as “friendly,” but the word is often translated “lovely;” so we looked it up:

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

3039 – y^ediyd – loved—amiable, (well-) beloved, loves.

Susie: The connotation of amiable here seems to be that God’s house is well-loved.

Susan: Why is the plural used for tabernacles? It could be remembering all the places the tabernacle had been set up as a tent during the wanderings in the wilderness.

Susie: The psalmist could also be reflecting on the Lord’s tabernacle here on earth, a physical representation of His presence, and the Lord’s dwelling in Heaven, the ultimate tabernacle.

Susan: God is referred to as the “Lord of Hosts.” God is the commander of armies of angels.

Susie: Recognizing God’s power in commanding the hosts of heaven is proclaiming Him to be the supreme Leader over all.

  

Psalm 84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Susan: This reminds of the verse about the deer panting:

Psalm 42:1 (NASB) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.

Susie: Many of the people going up to worship at the tabernacle, and later the temple, only made that pilgrimage once or twice a year. They were longing for that opportunity to worship God and experience His presence in a way they did not at home.

Susan: There were three Holy Days on which people would try to travel to Jerusalem to worship: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Susie: This could compare to our weekly worship in our churches’ sanctuaries. It could also apply to that day when we will worship God in the place where Jesus IS the tabernacle because His presence fills His home . . .

Susan: . . .the place He has prepared for us that we may dwell with Him forever!

Susie: Those who thirst for God will have that thirst quenched when they surrender their lives to Jesus. He has described His Holy Spirit that comes into each believer as a river:

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Susan: Jesus promises to quench our thirst:

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Susie: Jesus even told the woman at the well that those who trust in Him will never thirst (spiritually) again:

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Psalm 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.

Susie: Sparrows and swallows would make nests around the tabernacle and later the temple, even inside the outer courts where the people would worship. The psalmist would love to live that close to the sanctuary of the Lord.

Susan: Even the birds knew to make their homes near the safety of the presence of the Lord.

Susie: They animals and birds know Who provides for them. The same God provides for the people who follow Jesus and serve Him.

Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Psalm 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

Susie: Certain Levites, the gatekeepers, and others who served daily in the temple lived on the temple property. Among these were the sons of Korah (1 Chronicles 9:19). Korah had rebelled in the wilderness and been one of those swallowed up by the earth, but his children were spared and continued in service to the Lord. They even had the privilege of dwelling in the Lord’s house.

Susan: Those who trust in Jesus experience the Kingdom of God here and now because His presence dwells within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus already considers us seated with Him in Heavenly places:

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Susie: We are blessed by knowing that we have a future home with the Lord when we pass away from this earth or He returns.

Susan: We will be immediately with the Lord when we are freed from our earth-suit.

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Psalm 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Susan: I like this verse in The Voice translation:

Psalm 84:5   Blessed are those who make You their strength, for they treasure every step of the journey [to Zion].

Susie: Those whose strength comes from the Lord value and rejoice in every step that brings them closer to the place of worship.

Psalm 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

Susie: Baca was an arid, dry valley on the way to Jerusalem. The singing pilgrims, raising their praises to God would turn the desert-like area into a place of joyful noise.

Susan: The worshippers watered this place with their joyful song.

Susie: This would be similar to how the rain left pools of water during the rainy season.

Psalm 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

Susan: The anticipation of their time of worship, of being in the presence of God, fueled them for their journey.

Susie: Our anticipation of Jesus’ return and living abundantly with the Lord forever fuels our sojourn on earth as well. As children of the Lord, we endure the trials of this life in joyous expectation of eternity:

Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Psalm 84:8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

Susan: The write acknowledges God’s sovereign authority and is humbly asking that God please hear him. Selah means to think about, pause to ponder, meditate on the previous portion of the psalm.

Psalm 84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

Susie: The psalmist now draws God’s attention to the protector of Israel, the anointed one, the king.

Susan: “Behold” can have the connotation of “watching over” someone to care for them.

Susie: So verse 9 is a prayer for the Lord to continue preserving their king. . .

Susan: . . . to continue His watch-care over the king He has chosen to shepherd His beloved people of Israel.

Psalm 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Susie: Historically, the psalmist is saying one day worshipping in the house of the Lord, the tabernacle or temple, was better than one thousand days anywhere else. He would rather work one day there in the most menial job than to live among wicked people . . .

Susan: . . . in affluence.

Susie: Does this relate to our future forever home with the Lord as well?

Susan: I would rather be with the Lord, in His presence, than to be with anyone else, anywhere else.

Susie: Do we have to wait for death or the Lord’s return to be in His presence?

Susan: No, absolutely not. Thank the Lord that through the presence of His Holy Spirit, God abides with His people all the time. Salvation, trusting our lives to Jesus, causes the Holy Spirit to move in and make our bodies His temple.

Susie: We can avail ourselves of the intense presence of the Lord through Bible study and prayer every day.

Susan: Just as our physical bodies need to have food, water, and exercise to thrive, our spirit needs to feast on God’s word, drink in His spirit, and exercise our faith to grow in Him.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Susie: God’s presence is not limited to our future home with Him or even to the worship time at our church. He is with us at all times and promises He will continue being with us in this way until His physical return to earth.

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Susie: Our focus needs to be on the Lord and His purposes rather than on earthly riches. Along with the psalmist we need to prefer the lowest position in God’s kingdom to the highest position in this world if that worldly position comes with compromising our beliefs.

Luke 9:25 (CJB)      What will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but destroys or forfeits his own life?

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Susan: God is the light and protection for His people.

John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Susan: God gives His people not only mercy, but grace. Grace is favor, blessings, that one cannot earn or deserve. It is unwarranted, completely a gift rather than payment for work accomplished.

Susie: We see this in Israel’s history as they continually rebelled against God and even worshipped idols. Although He would allow them to suffer consequences of their sins, He would forgive and restore them over and over and over. For example, read the books of Judges and Hosea.

Susie: If God does not withhold good things from the righteous and we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus, does this mean God is going to give us every little thing we ask for?

Susan: The operative word here is “good.” God is our Father, and because He is our parent (His favorite job), He knows what is best and is going to provide the best things for us. We may not perceive what things are best because we do not see things from God’s divine perspective. We do not know what is best because we are not God.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Psalm 84:12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Susie: This is as true today as it was when this psalm was written over 2000 years ago.

Susan: Trusting God is the prerequisite for being blessed—happy, content, fulfilled.

QUESTIONS

1.   Do we anticipate our weekly worship attendance with joy and expectation?

2.   Are we longing for our home with the Lord, anticipating the splendor of His glory and the peace of His presence? Are we THIRSTY for HIM?

3.   Do our praises water a dry, thirsty land, cause others to thirst for Jesus?

4.   Have you learned what it means to rely on the strength of the Lord rather than your own? How is that accomplished?

5.   How does the fact that God is all-powerful, all-wise, and all-knowing comfort you when you pray?

6.   We are tempted to make success and prosperity into gods. Riches are not inherently wrong if a person has the correct attitude, but what does the psalmist say in Psalm 84:10?

7.   Who is the provider of every good thing we need? Who determines the definition of “good thing”?

PSALM 138 - DAVID'S EXALTATION OF THE LORD

PSALM 138

DAVID’S EXALTATION

OF THE LORD

David was most likely responding to what we know as the Davidic Covenant. The Lord used the prophet Nathan to reveal to David that his son, Solomon, would build a temple to replace the tabernacle tent for worshipping the Lord. The Lord promised at this time that David’s descendants would continue on the throne of Israel forever, a promise fulfilled in the person of the King of kings, Jesus Christ, the God-Man, the Son of God who was humanly descended from David. You may read the full account of Nathan’s prophecy and God’s promise at 2 Samuel 7:12–14, 16.

Psalm 138:1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

Susie: David expressed that he would sing praise to the one, true God. It mattered not what gods other kings worshiped. His devotion was to Adonai, the Great I Am, the Creator of everything.

Susan: David praised God with the totality of his soul, his being, his members, all that he was.

Susie: This was David’s deeply personal praise for all God had done and was doing in his life and for future generations of his family.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Susie: Since the temple had not yet been constructed, David would pray facing the tent, the tabernacle, that housed the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence among His people, Israel.

Susan: David praised the Lord for favoring His family above all other families by establishing them as kings over Israel, a dynasty that will finally endure eternally in the person of Jesus.

Psalm 138:3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

Susie: David did not specify a specific day when he cried out to the Lord, but there were many. When he was pursued by Saul, he cried out to the Lord (1 Samuel 23).

Susan: When David’s wives and the wives and children of his men were taken captive at Ziklag, He cried out to the Lord (1 Samuel 30)

Susie: When his sin with Bathsheba caused the Lord to take their firstborn son, he cried out to the Lord (2 Samuel 12:16). And surely there were many other times David called upon the Lord when in distress.

Susan: David did not specify a particular event of calling on God when distressed. Therefore, generations later, we can relate to God and His word today through David’s example.

Psalm 138:4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. 5 Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.

Susan: We know this is prophecy of the future when Jesus, descendent of David, takes His throne. We surely know this is not happening today.

Susie: Nor has it ever happened in history. However, David was prophesying about that day when EVERY person will be compelled to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and King:

Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Susie: God’s glory supersedes that of anything and everything. The Creator of all must be above and beyond that which He created.

Psalm 138:6 Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Susan: Even though God is exalted above everyone and everything, He has consideration for the humble.

Susie: In fact, the Lord elevates the meek, the humble, who seek Him.

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Susie: God often chooses those of low status to use mightily for His kingdom. Such as elevating a shepherd boy to be king.

Susan: Another great example of this is God’s choice to be the mother of Jesus, His Son. Mary was a peasant girl. She exclaimed:

Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Susie: Doesn’t this remind you of Psalm 23:4?

Susan: Yes. David trusted the Lord to invigorate him, revitalize him in the middle of battle. When the Lord strengthens you, you have been fortified with a strength that cannot be quenched by man or beast.

Susie: Or, for that matter, spirit. Even if the enemy is Satan and his demons, the Lord will deliver us out of their hands and protect us.

Susan: This reminds me of the verse about being delivered from the snare of the fowler:

Psalm 91:2-4 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Susie: Here is a New Testament example of the Lord’s protection from the Enemy of our souls:

Luke 22:31-32 (AMP) “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain; but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers [in the faith].”

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Susan: I like the translation of this verse in the Voice Bible:

Psalm 138:8 (VOICE) VOICE  The Eternal will finish what He started in me. Your faithful love, O Eternal One, lasts forever; do not give up on what Your hands have made.

Susie: This is David’s praise of the Lord’s future faithfulness, and his humble prayer that the Lord will do in him everything He has promised in the Davidic Covenant.

Susan: What is the scripture that begins, “He who began a good work…”

Philippians 1:6 (VOICE)     I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world.

QUESTIONS

1.               David praised the true God above all else. What is the magnitude of your praise? Are you unrestrained in your worship, or do you hold back?

2.               David sang. Is singing required in the worship of God or are other expressions of praise just as acceptable?

3.               Why did David leave verse three a little vague instead naming specific instances of crying out to the Lord?

4.               Share about a time when you cried out to God in desperation. What was the result or how did God answer?

5.               When will all the kings of the earth bow in praise to the true God?

6.               Does God “write off” those of low position? Explain.

7.               How does verse 7 of Psalm 138 compare with verse 4 of Psalm 23?

What does the word “perfect” in verse 8 mean? Does God perfect believers today in that sense?