Bible study with Fred, #603 Romans 13: 7-10

Psalm 45 comments

 

Psalm 45:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.» My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2  Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. 3  Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4  And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5  Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

 

While a direct reference to King David by this psalmist there is a deeper level we can explore as well.

 

To indite in this context, as in inditing, is not to accuse of a crime but to declare something, to even put it down in writing. Here the Psalmist compares his tongue to a scribe’s pen.

 

Ezra 7:6  This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses…

 

Commentators have pointed out that this is also a psalm to the Messiah to come. Fairer than men in the eyes of God, grace pouring from the words He says, blessed by God for ever. This is a declaration made in the way an Israelite would have understood and accepted. Notice in verse 3 the expectation that the Messiah would be a conqueror, avenging Israel. This may be a picture of Christ in His return to rule without a clear understanding of the need for the Cross first.

 

Revelation 19:11 ¶  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

 

Remember that the Son of Man will come to suffer first, which the Jews did not understand especially after the rabbi, Rashi, in the 11^th century claimed Isaiah 53 for the Jewish people as a whole rather than the Messiah to come as literally intended understood by the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. Read Isaiah 53 and context.

 

Even Christ’s disciples still expected Him to restore Israel’s lost greatness and wanted to know when that would be.

 

Isaiah 49:6  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

 

Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

 

Psalm 45:6 ¶  Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7  Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8  All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. 9  Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

 

Ps 93:2  Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

 

Ps 145:13  Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

 

Here is a prayer and a praise of God for His blessing upon His earthly king.

 

However, these two verses are alluded to by Paul in Hebrews as a reference to Christ as well. See how Paul says that God directs this statement to the Son of God, Christ.

 

Hebrews 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

 

And then in comparison see;

 

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

Daniel 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

 

In that case the queen mentioned is a reference to the church of Christ.

 

2Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

 

Revelation 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

 

So you can see the at least two applications of this passage; one applying to David and one to Christ.

 

Psalm 45:10 ¶  Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; 11  So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. 12  And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. 13  The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. 14  She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. 15  With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. 16  Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 17  I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

 

While speaking directly to the king’s daughter, this passage also continues a prophetic reference to the church of Christ. The bride would leave her family and unite herself with her husband’s family in ancient tradition. Satan is the spiritual father of all unsaved people who live in rebellion to God.

 

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

The church leaves the house of its worldly father to enter into the eternal union with Christ, having God the Father as its father now, entering also the family of God.

 

Ephesians 3:14 ¶  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

 

I believe it helps the Christian to read this Psalm in light of our understanding of the church, something the Israelites of that time would not have had a clue about. Having said that specific interpretations of what line by line means are very subjective and results in much speculation. I recommend reading and praying for understanding. Remember many times a conclusion is what you come to when you’ve stopped praying and thinking.

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Bible study with Fred, #598 Romans 10: 12-21

Bible study with Fred, #597 Romans 10:1-11

Bible study with Fred, #596 Romans 9: 30-33

1Samuel chapter 19 comments

 

1Samuel 19:1 ¶  And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 2  But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: 3  And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee. 4  And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 5  For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 6  And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. 7  And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

 

The narcissist, King Saul demands of his son and of his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan told David to hide and then he convinced his father to accept David back into his good graces rehearsing the recent history of David’s conquest of Goliath. Saul is an example of a double-minded man.

 

James 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

 

But Saul’s paranoia cannot be so easily dismissed.

 

1Samuel 19:8 ¶  And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. 9  And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10  And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

 

Again, this very mentally unstable Saul tries to kill David, perhaps his greatest commander in the field, out of jealousy, envy, or just paranoia, traits typical of dictators and tyrants.

 

1Samuel 19:11 ¶  Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. 12  So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 13  And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 14  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15  And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16  And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster. 17  And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

 

Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, saves David from Saul’s assassins by trickery and then lies to her father saying she did it because David threatened to kill her. This is a terrible situation for a leader to have put himself into by allowing his demons to rule over him.

 

1Samuel 19:18 ¶  So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 19  And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 20  And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21  And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 22  Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. 23  And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24  And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

 

This amazing little passage underscores God’s power over us even when we are intent on doing something wrong as Samuel protects David as Jonathan and Michal had before. Saul’s messengers and Saul himself have the Spirit of God come upon them as they prophesy for God. We will see next that this gives David time to escape yet again.

 

Bible study with Fred, #595 Romans 9:14-29

Bible study with Fred, #594 Romans 9:1-13

Bible study with Fred, #593 Romans 8:29-39

Bible study with Fred, #592 Romans 8:26-28

Matthew chapter 25 comments

Matthew 25:1 ¶  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

 

Just a few scattered, disorganized thoughts on this passage to keep from acting like there is only one meaning of it. This parable of the ten virgins and the oil for the lamps is literally said here to be about being prepared for Christ’s return. The Son of man is a reference to the Messiah, Christ.

 

The phrase Son of man links Christ to Daniel 7:13.

 

Daniel 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

 

Jesus, in the previous chapter, went over the events of the end time and gave several indications of how you would know that it was time. He now warns His disciples to be prepared and not to be caught unawares. We should always be looking for the Church’s translation and for His return. It is something that should occupy the Christian’s mind.

 

Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 

This does not mean that you will lose your salvation if you are surprised by His coming any more than it is true when a preacher in the 1930s said if the Rapture happened and you were in a movie theater you weren’t going.

 

This is simply a very clear statement that there is no time like the present to be saved, to trust Christ, and keep looking up.

 

The five foolish virgins can represent those religious Jews who did not receive their Messiah and lost out on His redemption. They were warned and should have been prepared. Oil for the lamps can represent the Holy Spirit. They should have received their Messiah and been filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit.

 

Psalm 45:7  Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

 

Now, all that being said there are many great sermons you can find on special meanings for the virgins, the wise and the unwise, the oil, the lamps, the door etc. and I would hope that you would listen to them or read them. But my purpose here is to be concise and get at the most direct meaning of the passage. Christ gave a lot of information on the end times and then told His disciples to always be prepared for it, not to be caught sleeping, so to speak.

 

Romans 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

 

Note how verse 6 appears to be a hint of the Rapture as in the cry made to go out and meet the bridegroom.

 

1Thessalonians 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

 

And I would say that the five foolish virgins have a form of religion but lack the indwelling of the Holy Ghost while the five wise virgins were truly saved. It makes a good point that you can carry a caricature of faith in God while rejecting Christ.  I would consider all religions that expect eternal life without faith in Christ as the five foolish virgins had no oil.

 

Matthew 25:14 ¶  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19  After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou intothe joy of thy lord. 24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Then, after talking about the end times and then about inward preparation and expectancy of Christ’s return, Christ goes into a parable about the wise use of resources in yet another probable reference to people who claim to be religious, who have the outward appearance of such, and yet fall short because of their lack of commitment or faith.

 

The traveling man could represent God with His goods being the Gospel and the talents, a unit of money, referring to the gifts each follower is given. I think at this point a reading of Romans 12 is in order.

 

Romans 12:1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9  Let love be without

dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

There are things that Christ has called us to do in His absence physically, until His return, and we are given gifts unique to us but common to others as well. How we use those gifts is important. What are your gifts?

 

Notice that at the end of this passage there is a dire warning that does not seem to fit our salvation. Those religious-minded Jews who were given the oracles of God throughout history treated them in different ways and will be held accountable for, with all the knowledge they have been given, should they not act on their knowledge which burying the talent is a metaphor for. One of the things that Christ does repeatedly is confront the Jews with their inaction on what they should know, how that the truth has been revealed to them and most, particularly the religious elite, avoid the truth at all costs and reject the promised Messiah.

 

God left the Jews with tasks to perform and gifts to exercise and He will be furious with those who reject Him, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

So, Christ went from telling them what was going to happen, telling them to be prepared, and then telling them to get busy. Now He will speak of judgment.

 

Matthew 25:31 ¶  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

This is clearly starting out with a statement of Christ’s return to take over the kingdoms of the world.

 

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 

This is the judgment on the nations of the earth at the beginning of His millennial reign. Look how they are being judged by their treatment of God’s people, a treatment witnessed in our discussion on the Revelation. With the church removed and only the saved Jews being persecuted by the Beast and Satan here they are judged by their apathy and acquiescence in the persecution and murder of these saved Jews and, one might assume, of any Gentiles who believed on Christ during the horror to come. I don’t think it is necessary to reprint my comments on Revelation but I would suggest going back and reading or listening to them. Those who participated in the persecution by the Beast and Satan by their consent to the atrocities committed will be reserved for the Great White Throne judgment and their final and eternal destruction in a lake of unquenchable fire for the soul. Notice a description of Hell in Luke 16, the continuation which will be for eternity in the Lake of Fire.

 

There are those commentators, like John Gill, who believe that these are all professing Christians of every nation; the goats; the tares mentioned in the parable of the tares and the wheat and the sheep; the true Christians. Here is what separates them, how they treated other Christians, formerly both Jew and Gentile, or rather if they acquiesced to their torture. These are things to contemplate and pray about.

 

 

 

 

 

Bible study with Fred, #591 Romans 8:17-25

Bible study with Fred, #590; Romans 8: 10-16

Bible study with Fred, #589; Romans 8: 1-9

Psalms, chapter 44, comments

 

Psalm 44:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.» We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. 2  How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. 3  For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4  Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5  Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6  For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7  But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. 8  In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

 

The Psalmist here, possibly David, reminds the Israelites in song how they got where they were in his day.

 

Deuteronomy 7:1 ¶  When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

 

God planted the Israelites in the land taken from these nations.

 

Exodus 15:17  Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

 

Psalm 80:8 ¶  Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

 

Isaiah 5:1 ¶  Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:… 7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

 

Jeremiah 2:21  Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

 

They didn’t get the Promised Land by their own power, their own ability.

 

Deuteronomy 8:16  Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

17  And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

 

Deuteronomy 9:3  Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.

4  Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5  Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

6  Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

 

He pleads with God, his King, to deliver Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.

 

Genesis 32:28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

 

Psalm 89:18  For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

 

Isaiah 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

 

The Psalmist acknowledges that because of God they can push down their enemies and crush them.

 

Psalm 18:39  For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40  Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. 41  They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. 42  Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

 

The bow and sword did not save them.

 

Psalm 20:7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

 

Psalm 33:16  There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17  An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

 

Hosea 1:7  But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

 

But it was God Himself who put Israel’s enemies to shame.

 

Psalm 40:14  Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

 

They should constantly praise God and give glory to His name. God is their deliverer, their benefactor, and the reason they exist.

 

Psalm 44:9 ¶  But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. 10  Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves. 11  Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. 12  Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. 13  Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. 14  Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. 15  My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, 16  For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

 

This Psalm goes from hope and triumph in the Lord, expectation of blessings, to defeat and a feeling of having been abandoned by God or worse, appointed to destruction. This, too, we can find in some of our own troubles at times when things seem like they are coming to a bad end for us and we wonder where God’s deliverance is. Just think of what Israel would eventually face.

 

Psalm 43:2  For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

 

This was threatened in the Law given to Moses.

 

Leviticus 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

 

This passage also seems to prophesy the judgment on Israel that results in the fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as well as the subjugation of Israel by the Romans in Christ’s time and the dispersal of the Jews from Palestine that happened on several occasions from the carrying away by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Romans. The phrase and hast scattered us among the heathen suggests a time for the Israelites that is prophesied that is far beyond David’s day.

 

Deuteronomy 4:27  And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.

 

 

 

But, on an immediate level it can be a lamentation of struggles against Israel’s and God’s enemies that David would have to continue the fight against or as the traditional introduction to Psalm 60 says;

 

Psalm 60:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.» O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

 

David was engaged in war with many of the kingdoms around him during his reign with much bloodshed resulting.

 

For us, though, I still think of the simplest explanation of this passage that would compare to our own feelings in a time of adversity as we wait on something that we pray God will do.

 

Psalm 44:17 ¶  All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. 18  Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19  Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20  If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 22  Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23  Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. 24  Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? 25  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. 26  Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

 

The Psalmist has gone from glorifying God and His actions on Israel’s behalf to lamenting God’s anger at them, to here, in this passage, pleading that in spite of the pain God has allowed to come into their lives they have remained faithful to Him. He then pleads with God deliver them for the sake of His mercies.

 

For verse 17 think of this;

 

Daniel 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

 

18 reminds of Job’s declaration;

 

Job 23:11  My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. 12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

 

For verse 19 this stuck out to me;

 

Psalm 60:1 O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

 

For some reason the next two verses made me think of Job, chapter 31, declaring his own righteousness.

 

Job 31:1 ¶  I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 2  For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3  Is

not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4  Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? 5  If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 6  Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 7  If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; 8  Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

 

    9 ¶  If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; 10  Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 11  For this

is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. 12  For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase. 13  If I did despise the cause

of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; 14  What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 15  Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

 

    16 ¶  If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 17  Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 18  

(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;) 19  If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without

covering; 20  If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21  If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: 22  Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. 23  For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

 

    24 ¶  If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; 25  If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; 26  If I

beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; 27  And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: 28  This also were an iniquity to be

punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. 29  If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: 30  Neither have I

suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. 31  If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied. 32  The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.

 

    33 ¶  If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: 34  Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and

went not out of the door? 35  Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book. 36  Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. 37  I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him. 38  If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; 39  If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: 40  Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

 

Paul quotes verse 22 in Romans 8:36.

 

David used a turn of a phrase like in verse 23 earlier;

 

Psalm 7:6  Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

 

And then verse 24 suggests also an earlier thought;

 

Psalm 10:1 ¶  Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

 

Then;

 

Psalm 66:11  Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.

 

It is clear to me that there is no lamentation you or I could make, no feeling of being abandoned by God, no sorrow at His judgment or the terrible things He might allow happen to us whether we deserved it or not that isn’t reflected in the words of a Bible writer. It’s all right here in this book.