Psalm 17 - In the shadow of Your wings

A prayer of David. Faithful Me 1 Hear, Lord, a cause that is just; pay heed to my cry. Turn your ear to my prayer— no deceit is on my lips. 2 Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. 3 You probe my heart, you examine me at night you test me, and find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. 4 Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded. 5 My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. Frightened Me 6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. 7 Show me the wonders of your great love, you whose right hand saves those who take refuge in you from their foes. 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings 9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. 10 They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. 11 They have tracked me down, they now envelop me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. Faithful You 13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, strike them down; with your sword rescue me from the wicked. 14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones. 15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your glory.

David is in trouble.  We don't know the exact incident that has David running to God for help, but this is not a general prayer, he is asking about  a particular traumatic event. This is a 3-part Psalm. In part 1, Faithful Me, David testifies to his own faithfulness, his innocence. In part 2, Frightened Me, he tells God about the enemy's attack. In part 3, Faithful You, he prays for justice, for vindication and delivery from the faithful friend he relies on. This Psalm starts with a nice parallel linkage. 1 Hear, Lord, a cause that is just;     a                      b specific pay heed to my cry.      a              b general Turn your ear to my prayer—      a                      b general no deceit is on my lips.     b specific Instead of the usual - a b a b - parallelism or - a b b a - reverse parallelism/ chiasmus structure, we have a more complicated structure. The 3 a's Hear, Pay Heed and Turn your ear show a progression: Hear - hear what I am saying; Pay Heed - Pay attention to me; Turn your ear - Move closer so you can really pay attention and don't miss anything. The 4 b's describe what needs paying attention to.  The 2 middle b's my cry and my prayer are general, surrounding them is the specific topic of the prayer a cause that is just and no deceit. In Isaiah 29:13 God complains "These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Here David is setting out to show that he is not just paying lip-service, his heart is pure, he is following God's commands. David is seeking vindication from God. He has invited God to investigate and interrogate and check he is doing everything right. This is very brave and confident thing to say - would you want  God to probe around and check out all the dark corners of your heart? 3 You probe my heart, you examine me at night you test me, Job in ch 7:18-19 complains about God's probing but David is welcoming it. For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow! David doesn't stop there, he encourages God not to just examine him in the morning when his defences are up and he is wide awake and ready with the excuses, but examine me at night, when my defences are down.  Don't just examine me, test me like you do when refining metal like we saw in Psalm 11. 6 I call on you, my God, for you will hear me; turn your ear to me and you hear my prayer. 7 Show me the wonders of your great love, you whose right hand saves those who take refuge in you from their foes. 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings There are 2 progressions in the frightened me stanza that build the sense of danger in the poem.   David's requests for help build; Hear me - Turn your ear - Show me your love - Keep me - Hide me.  The metaphor shadow of your wings shows God as a large bird of prey, protecting his little chicks. 9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. 10 They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. 11 They have tracked me down, they now envelop me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. The 2nd progression shows the enemies advancement and builds a feeling of threat.  My enemies surround me, they track me down, they envelop me, they throw me to the ground.  The magnitude of the threat is enhanced with a simile about a lion crouching ready to strike.

Psalm 16 - Hints of the Messiah

A miktam of David. 1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord,  “You are my Lord; apart from you  I have no good thing.” 3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones  in whom is all my delight.” 4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods I will not take up their names on my lips. 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;  even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and soul rejoices;  my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not leave my soul in the realm of the dead,  nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life;  you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

No one is really sure what miktam means.  It is used here and in Psalms 56,57,58,59 and 60.  It may be a musical term, but as all 6 of these Psalms are laments it probably means a type of psalm or lament. This Psalm continues the thread started in Psalm 1 comparing the godless man with the blessed man. There are many links back to previous Psalms. Psalm 7 - O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge Psalm 16 - Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. Again a picture of the refuge or stronghold of God is for the blessed man. 3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” In Psalm 16 we saw how one of the conditions for access to God was to 'honour those who fear the Lord'.  Here David is declaring his love for the holy people.  He takes delight in them.  One of the main requirements for a good pastor or king is to love his people. 4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. It is in mankind's nature to seek after God - this desire was put their by God himself. In Acts 17:27 Paul explains it like this, "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him".  A common phrase is that people have a God-shaped hole, a deep seated need that people strive to satisfy. This picture by Tabitha Brett shows how people can 'run after other gods' to fill this emptiness, this need with relationships, money, drugs, alcohol, power or other religious experiences.  But, none of these things bring the satisfaction that a relationship with our Creator brings, in fact it brings the opposite, a dissatisfaction and a craving for more. There is an interesting article in the NY Times called For the love of money. Hence, David's phrase Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. David states his position:- I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods I will not take up their names on my lips. 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;  God is enough. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;  even at night my heart instructs me. The word heart here is translated as heart, kidneys, conscience, inmost being or reigns.  This links back to the phrase in Psalm 1 on His law he meditates day and night. The blessed man who delights in and meditates on God's law will have it stored up in his heart, his conscience, his inmost being, so at night when he is reviewing the events of the day, relevant portions of that law will come to mind, leading to a pricking of the conscience or a confirming that what you did was right. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. King David had Abishai son of Zeruiah as his right hand man when he went into battle. One of his best and most trusted warriors took the position on his right to defend him and keep him safe during his many battles.  In 2 Samuel 21:15-17 David becomes exhausted in battle and Abishai saves his life. In the chapter about David's mighty men, Abishai is held in greater honour than even his top 3 mighty men. 2 Samuel 23:18-19  Another or David's right-hand men was Ahitophel, the king's counselor, the advice Ahitophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God.  But Abishai had wanted to kill King Saul and needed to be stopped by David 1 Samuel 26:9 and Ahitophel had defected to his son Absalom's side 2 Samuel 15:31.  Although they were the best right hand men available, they could leave David shaken and troubled.   With God at his right hand, David will not be shaken.  10 because you will not leave my soul in the realm of the dead,  nor will you let your faithful one see decay. David knows he is going to be with God when he dies, he states it most clearly at the end of Psalm 23, 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever'.  Here he states you will not leave my soul in the realm of the dead.  He knew he was going to die, and be buried, but he also knew he was not going to stay dead.  The next line seems to contract this thought, by saying God's faithful one will not see decay.  But clearly, David would die and be buried and his body would decay.  Then you realise that my soul and your faithful one are not talking about the same person.  David is prophesying about Jesus Christ when he says 'Your faithful one' not referring to himself. Peter picked up on this in his sermon in Acts 2:22-32 when he states:- 29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Paul also referred to it in his sermon in Acts 13:32-39 :- 35 So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ 36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

Psalm 15 - Access Rights

A psalm of David. Question 1 Lord, who may sojourn in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Answer 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, and speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others; 4 who holds the wicked in disdain but honours those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath come what may, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

This Psalm starts with a question: How can I gain access to God, How can I get to Heaven? The verbs in the first verse show a progression. Lord, who may sojourn in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Who may sojourn; visit, dwell for a time, seek hospitality with; becomes the more permanent live; to settle down, dwell, reside. Likewise the first line talks of God's temporary dwelling on earth, his tabernacle or sacred tent which progresses to be His holy mountain or permanent dwelling place. There follows a list of 10 conditions that affect our access to God. Keeping these conditions does not earn us the right to come into God's presence. Keeping the law does not earn us a reward, only breaking it earns us something, and then it is punishment not reward. Our faith in Jesus's work of taking our punishment enables us to come into God's presence. However, breaking these conditions will affect our daily access to God. In the same way, my dog has access to my house, but if he rolls in the mud, he's not going to be sitting on my knee until he's been hosed down a bit. Christianity tends to focus on our faith, our belief as our means of access to God. Jewish culture focuses on the fruit of that belief - "you believe? prove it - show me your good works!" Good works should come naturally out of our belief in God - like in Psalm 1 when the good man is likened to a tree planted in a good place that bears its fruit in season - the fruit is a natural consequence of being in good well-watered soil. The fruit of good works doesn't give you access to God, having access to God enables you to bear fruit. One common complaint Atheists have is 'How can a just God punish lack of belief? Simple - He doesn't. No one has been sent to hell because they don't believe in Jesus. Hell is a place of punishment and people are punished because they've done wrong. In other words, the only reason people go to hell is because they've broken God's law. Think about it this way. If God is holy, righteous, and just then He cannot let wrongdoing go unpunished. It would not be just to let sin pass without punishment. Any judge who allows a crime to go unpunished is not a just judge - he would in fact be considered unjust and unfit for the job. God, as a totally righteous being, cannot let even one sin pass unpunished. He must be just, that is his nature. Every man will be held accountable for any act of disobedience against God's law. Now, it is true that by such a standard no one can survive God's wrath. We are all guilty of doing and thinking wrong things. However, God is not only a just God, He is a gracious and merciful God, too. So He provides a way that we can escape this judgment by allowing that Jesus takes our punishment for us. Jesus is like the close relative who sees you have a debt you cannot pay, so He pays the debt instead of you. Once your debt is paid, you are considered clean before God and can now have fellowship with Him. God maintains his righteousness and justice while still showing His grace and mercy. See John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. God's wrath remains on them unless it is removed through Jesus. Condition 1 The one whose walk is blameless The word blameless can be translated as without blemish, complete, perfect or whole. We often compound 1 sin with another by lying about it or hiding it. We feel guilty so hide from God like Adam and Eve did. Instead of seeking God's forgiveness they blamed someone else; Eve blamed the serpent; and Adam blamed Eve and God. God doesn't just want the bits we are willing to share with Him, He wants all of us, the complete package. In fact, the only way we can stay complete and blameless, is to bring it all to Him. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. 22 But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. Colossians 1:21-22 The Message Condition 2 who does what is righteous, and speaks the truth from their heart; The chief priests asked Jesus who gave Him the authority to do the things He was doing. Jesus asked them whose authority John the baptist had. They chose to say they didn't know, rather than replying honestly. So Jesus refused to answer their question. If you are not prepared to be honest with God - don't expect him to talk to you either. Luke 20:1-8 Condition 3 whose tongue utters no slander Condition 4 who does no wrong to a neighbour As Jesus said in Mark 12:31, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' Condition 5 and casts no slur on others Watch that tongue - it's evil! Condition 6 who holds the wicked in disdain In Psalm 1 we saw a progression from walking alongside sinners, to following their way and then to leading others astray.  We should hold the wicked in disdain, look down on their actions not be envious or even interested in what they are doing. Condition 7 but honours those who fear the Lord And conversely, we should honour and look up to and follow the example of the people who fear the Lord, the Blessed man who choses God's law. Condition 8 who keeps an oath come what may, and does not change their mind; In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites had heard how Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai so they planned to trick Israel. They showed up with worn out shoes and mouldy bread and said they were from a distant country and wanted to make a treaty of peace with the Israelites. 3 days later, Joshua found out they were close neighbours, living in the land that God had given them, commanding them to wipe out all its inhabitants. BUT, they had to keep their side of the bargain even if they had been deceived, even if a lawyer could find in favour of the Israelites. They had given their word, and come what may, they had to show integrity and not change their minds. “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” Keeping a promise is important to God as we see later, in 2 Samuel 21:1, when the Israelites are punished by God because King Saul had broken this oath. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death. Condition 9 who lends money to the poor without interest This condition relates back to the command in Exodus 22:25. "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest."  Look after your family and tribe freely, don't make money from their problems. Maybe Wonga needs to read this and start thinking of it's customers as family, which indeed we all are, we are all descendants of Adam and Eve and Noah.  Maybe then, they wouldn't charge 5853% interest, which is quite frankly obsence. Condition 10 who does not accept a bribe against the innocent As God is a just god, he expects his people to act in a just manner also. Conclusion Whoever does these things will never be shaken. Like the tree, solid and able to withstand the storms.

Psalm 14 - The Fool

For the director of music. Of David. 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is not a good man left. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if any are wise, if any seek God. 3 "All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is not a good man left, no, not one". 4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. 5 See how the just tremble with fear, but they need not be afraid, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 6 You evildoers mock the poor man's hope, but the Lord is their refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, then Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad!

Psalms not only make good poetry and good songs - they also make good ballet.  This Psalm is another lament, a sorrowful song. Psalm 14 by Sons of Korah & David's Heartbeat In Psalm 1 we contrasted the god-less and the righteous man. Here, the godless is called a fool and the righteous man is called wise. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” [God looks] to see if any are wise, if any who seek God. In Psalm 1 there was a progression from being godless - being without God, to being a sinner who no longer needed to keep God's commands, to being a scoffer - someone who mocks God's people. In v6 the evildoers are mockers. You evildoers mock the poor man's hope Everyone has been given sufficient evidence that God exists.  The 2 main ways God reveals Himself are His creation and His revelation through scripture. A fool is different from someone who is just stupid.  A stupid person, just doesn't know.  A fool knows and denies what he knows, he denies what his common sense is telling him. Romans 1:18 The wrath of God; is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. With the advent of darwinism, man had finally hit on some "evidence" that gave him a "genuine" reason to ditch the God he'd always wanted to ditch. He no longer needed to stick to those pesky commandments about lying and adultery. And as long as you don't look to closely or think too deeply, and keep telling yourself, well the evolutionist scientist believe it so it must be true. It is a bit like the Emperors new clothes where the dodgy tailor's told everyone that only wise people could see the new clothes so everyone, wanting to be wise, went along with it - even though no one could see a thing. What happens when an atheist Professor refers to the evolution worldview as an "“heroic triumph of ideological theory over common sense.”?  He is branded a heretic or called crazy! Link to National Post article. Link to NY Times article. The idea of darwinian evolution has to be clung to for dear life, it cannot be challenged - because if anyone points out that the king is in his altogether - there is only one alternative.  To seek the truth and find God. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. No one has seen an animal evolve into a different animal - Google says there are to 8.7 million species now. 99.9% of species are extinct. So there have been 8.7 billion species. If the earth is 4.54 billion years old, and the first life appeared 2.1 billion years ago - then that is 4 new species a year - who presumably all would need a mate.....  So it should be a fairly common occurance and easy to document.  Yet no one has seen it or documented it. Haley's comet happens once every 75 years - yet many people over 30 will have seen it for themselves, others will have seen videos or photographs. For evolution - we have artists impressions: When challenged for an example of observable evolution, P Z Meyers could only think of the cave dwelling stickleback fish who over time, lost their ability to see.  Still a stickleback.  And no new information was gained, just a loss of information. For more see the Evolution v God movie.

Psalm 13 - Bemoan, Be Praying, Believe.

For the director of music.  A psalm of David. Bemoan 1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Be Praying 3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. Believe 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

The Psalms are meant to be sung.  We don't know the original tunes but Brian Doerksen does a really good job with Psalm 13. Psalm 13 - How Long O Lord? David starts with a Lament, he is bemoaning the fact that the Lord is not responding to his situation, How Long will this go on? Is it going to be bad forever? The first 2 lines focus on the Lord, the next 2 on David's feelings and the 5th line the problem - David's enemies. 1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day [I] have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? David's relationship with God is good, he can be open and honest with God without worrying the relationship will suffer. He can say Look at me! Answer me! Look on me and answer, Lord my God. God does not get upset with us if we harangue and hassle him, in fact in Luke 18:7 in the story of the persistent widow, Jesus encourages it, 'And will not God defend and protect and avenge His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night?' David asks God to give light to his eyes, this phrase is used a few times in the bible. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, When people are at the point of death, or exhausted or starving the light goes out or dims in their eyes.  But a restoration of health, hope or food can make the eyes light up or brighten.  In 1 Samuel 14:29 Jonathan says See how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. In the transition from praying for help to belief that God will come through there is a move from the enemies rejoicing over David's fall to David rejoicing over his salvation. and my foes will rejoice when I fall. my heart rejoices in your salvation. At the end of the psalm belief and trust in God is restored.  We do have a tendency to leak sometimes, so top ups are a frequent neccesity. And all that is left to do is :- sing the Lord’s praise....

Psalm 12 - Everybody Lies

For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David. Men Lie 1 Help, Lord, for good men have vanished; truth has gone from the children of men. 2 Everyone lies to their neighbour; they flatter with their lips but harbour deception in their hearts. 3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue— 4 those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” God tells the truth 5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” 6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. 7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, 8 who freely strut about when what is vile is honoured by the children of men.

Another basic 2 part Psalm. Part 1 is about the lies men tell, Part 2 is about the truth God tells. For more information about the Sheminith see Psalm 6. This Psalm start with a simple prayer, made famous by Jeff Lucas - 'HELP'! There is a bookend link in the 1st and last verse, (inclusio) . Help, Lord, for good men have vanished; truth has gone from the children of men. when what is vile is honoured by the children of men. There is a chiasmus structure in the first line where vanished matches has gone. Also Good men is a subset of Children of men. Help, Lord, for good men have vanished; truth has gone from the children of men. It goes on to say a phrase made famous but Dr Gregory House, 'Everybody Lies'.  That's right - King David said it first - plagiarism is alive and well. James has a few things to say about Taming the Tongue in James 3:3-12  "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." Your tongue can set the whole course of your life - with it you can praise God or reject Him and say. 'who is lord over us?” God replies to David's plea for help by echoing back the battle cry Moses used in Numbers 10:35.  Whenever the Ark of the covenant went out Moses would cry out, "Rise up, LORD! May your enemies be scattered; I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” Whilst it is true that every person lies, this is not true of God. In a link back to the refining fire picture of Psalm 11 , God's words are refined in the fire to remove any trace of dross and impurities, not just once, but 7 times. His words are flawless.  He is Truth. The Hebrew word for LORD used here is Yahweh. Reading from right to left you have the letters Yodh, He, Waw and He - which have the pictogram symbols of a hand or arm doing work or a deed, a man raising his arms saying Behold or look, a nail or tent peg, and a 2nd behold symbol.  In other words God's name in pictogram form is Behold the Hand, Behold the Nail. A stunning hint at the work Jesus Christ was to do many years later.

Psalm 11 - Refining

To the choirmaster. Of David. Concern 1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Confidence 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes look down on the world,  his gaze tests the children of man. 5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, but his soul hates the one who loves violence. 6 Let him rain fire and brimstone on the wicked; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. Conclusion 7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

The psalms are not just in a random order, there is a pattern and rhythm to them, themes weave there way through them like threads in a tapestry. Psalm 11 starts with a bold statement. In the Lord I take refuge; But those few words hold a deeper meaning to us because we have just listened to Psalm 9 and 10. and in Psalm 9 we read 9 For the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. So we know, David is not looking to the Lord for a quiet hideaway somewhere to have a relax and recharge time.  He is looking for a stronghold, a fortress, because he is, once again, in a time of trouble, he is oppressed. He states he trusts the Lord to help him, but then immedietly doubt surfaces. how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, David is talking to himself, telling off his inner voice who has been busy panicking and screaming 'RUN AWAY'.  The inner voice who was telling David, 'Don't trust in God, run away, go to that mountain where you hid before when King Saul was after you'.  'Don't wait for God to do something, you need to act now!! Can't you see the wicked getting ready to fire'. 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; This line is a link back to Psalm 7, apart from then, it is God bending his bow and preparing to fire - but now his panicked inner voice is telling him it is the wicked bending their bow. 7 12b [God] has bent and readied his bow; 13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. His opening argument to his panicked inner voice is this: 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” If you start destroying the foundations of my faith, if you start to convince me that God can't be trusted or relied on and I am on my own here, then what can I do?  I'm doomed.  Don't go there! His confidence is back and he firmly states. 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; God is still in his temple, He is still on the throne, He is still in charge. his gaze tests the children of man. 5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, The testing the Lord is doing here is the testing and proving you do to gold or metal.  The gold is heated up so all the dross comes to the surface and is burned up or scrapped off. 6 Let him rain fire and brimstone on the wicked; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. Continuing the 'testing in the fire' theme, God will rain down fire, to turn up the heat, to get the dross out.  He will use brimstone (sulphur), which is used to disinfect, fumigate and bleach away impurities.  The scorching wind could be the bellows blowing on the fire to bring up the heat still further.  These actions will cleanse and clean and refine, sometimes there is nothing left. But the righteous - they shall see his face 7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 9 and 10 - Alphabet Acrostic

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David. Psalm 9 Aleph 1 All my heart praises you Lord; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 2 I will rejoice in you and be glad; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Bet 3 Back my enemies went, they stumble and perish before your presence. 4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgement. Gimel 5 Clearly you have judged the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. [Dalet] Missing Hey 7 Evermore the Lord sits enthroned; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. Vav 9 For the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Zayin 11 Go to the Lord with praises, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! 12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. Chet 13 Have mercy on me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. Tet 15 Into the pit that they dug the nations sunk; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. 16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgement; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah Yod 17 Just as the wicked shall go down to Sheol, so shall all the nations that forget God. Kaf 18 Know this: The needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! 20 Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Psalm 10 Lamed 1 Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; Mem May they be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. Nun 4 Not seeking God because of his pride; the wicked thinks , “There is no God.” 5 Their ways always seem prosperous; Samech Out of sight are your judgements; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.” Pe * 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. Ayin * His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. Fey [Missing] Tzade 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” Kof 12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. 13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”? Resh 14 See it all, God, note the mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. Shin 15 The arm of the wicked and evil man ..break it Lord!; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16 The Lord is king for ever and ever; the nations perish from his land. Tav 17 You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

This Psalm is according to Muth-labben.  Although the precise meaning is uncertain, it probably indicates what motivated the Psalm.  Common translations are "the death of Labben",  "the death of a son" or "the death of a fool". In which case, judging by where it sits in the sequence it probably refers to the death of King David's son Absalom, who was a bit of a fool. Despite knowing that David was God's chosen leader he set about a plan to steal the throne from him. Bad mouthing his father and tricking the people into thinking he would be a better leader for them.  2 Samuel 15:1-6. Eventually, he went to Hebron and announced himself King and then rode into Jerusalem against his father David. But 'You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.' Proverbs 19:21 And Absalom is killed when his hair gets caught in the branches of a terebinth (a type of Oak) tree and his mule carries on going. Commander Joab finds him hanging and thrusts 3 spears through his heart.  2 Samuel 18:9-14 In an interesting twist, it was in the Valley of Elah (Terebinth) that David defeated Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:19 What is an Acrostic? a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words. THINK before you speak Acrostic T - is it True H - is it Helpful I - is it Inspiring N - is it Necessary K - is it Kind Psalm 9 and 10 together form an Acrostic where each new stanza starts with the next letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.  The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, though 5 letters have 2 forms a hard and a soft. There are other acrostic poems in the Bible Psalms 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145 and also Proverbs 31 The wife of Noble Character. Psalm 119 is perhaps the most elaborate of them all, but more of that in 109 days! These 2 Psalms are not perfect acrostics - a couple of verses are missing and 2 Pe and Ayin are in reversed order.  Each stanza is roughly 2 verses long.  I have attempted to restore the idea of the acrostic in the english translation by re-ordering some of the words to get an english alphabet acrostic. The Aleph stanza starts with a verb progression. My heart praises - inside I think how cool you are Lord. I recount your deeds - I start tell all the good things you have done.  This leads me to rejoice. Then I sing praises. All my heart praises you Lord; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will rejoice in you and be glad; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High The stanza begins and ends with a me and you theme. All my heart represents who I am, all I am. Your name  represents all God is. God has many different names and titles that explain who he is and what he is like, the very essence of who he is. All my heart praises you Lord; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High When Moses met God at the burning bush he asked, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"  Exodus 3:13.   Names often have special importance in the Bible, they tell us the essence of someones character. In Exodus 31, 2 men were set apart by God and filled with the Spirit of God and given knowledge, skill and ability in all kinds of crafts and the ability to teach those skills to others; Bezalel, son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.   Oholiab means Father’s Tent, so one of the people who built our Heavenly Father’s tent was named after his calling to build Our Father’s tent. Bezalel means “in the shadow of God”. In rabbinical literature there is a story of how the candlestick of the sanctuary was so complicated in design that Moses could not understand it, although God showed him a heavenly model twice; but when Moses described it to Bezalel, he understood it’s design immediately, and made it at once; Moses expressed his admiration for Bezalel’s wisdom, saying that he must have been "in the shadow of God" when the heavenly models were shown him. The name theme continues as a thread throughout. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. And those who know your name put their trust in you, One of the biggest disgraces in the bible is to be insignificant, to be forgotten, to have your name blotted out for ever and ever. And conversely, one of the biggest blessings is to have your name remembered for ever and ever.  One of God's promises to David is to 'make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth.' 1 Chronicles 17:8.  So it stands to reason that forgetting God is not going to make Him very happy. Just as the wicked shall go down to Sheol, so shall all the nations that forget God. Not seeking God because of his pride; the wicked thinks , “There is no God.” The helpless are crushed because they think God has forgotten them.  David calls on God to forget them not. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, 12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. God's justice for the wicked on earth is a bit of 'what goes around comes around' or as Jesus put it in Matthew 26:52, live by the sword, die by the sword. As the blessed man is 'like a tree planted by streams of water who bears his fruit in season', the fate of the wicked is a natural consequence of how they live. They will sink into the pit they dug. They will be caught in the net they hid. They will be snared in their own work. Into the pit that they dug the nations sunk; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. In conclusion, David calls on God to bring the wickedness to account and God does indeed hear and bring justice to the afflicted: 5 The arm of the wicked and evil man ..break it Lord!; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 17 You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart;  you will incline your ear 18 [you will] do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 8 - Big God, Little Me

To the choirmaster: on The Gittith. A Psalm of David. 1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  Big God You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have found praise to foil your enemies, to still the enemy and the avenger.  Little Me 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  God's Purpose 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.  9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! The Gittith, from an exhibition of ancient instruments by Moshe Frumin.  There are at least 11 hyperlinks in this post, directing you to further information - see if you can find them all....

This Psalm is to be played on the Gittith. Gittith is literally translated as being of the wine-press. Gath is a philistine city which means winepress in hebrew, so Gittith means something 'of the winepress' or 'of the city of Gath'. After David killed Goliath of Gath he went to serve in King Saul's palace at Gibeah in Benjamin.  He was there for 7 years during which time King Saul became more and more jealous of David's military prowess and slowly started to slip into insanity. Eventually David had to flee for his life. Nowhere in Israel was safe for him so he sought shelter in Gath with King Achish.  Obviously, turning up at a Philistine city, Israel's arch enemy at the time, was not a very safe option either. So when he arrived at the city he pretended to insane by drooling and peeing on the doors so he would not be seen as a threat. ;1 Samuel 21:10-14. David gained King Achish's trust and he and his men started working as mercenaries for the King. 1 Samuel 27:1-7 But David never betrayed Israel, all the time he was working as a 'double agent'. He would attack one of Israel's enemies and bring back spoils of war to the King, telling him he had attacked Israel. 1 Samuel 27:8-12. The Jewish Targum (the Jewish version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica) states that a Gittith, is a stringed instrument from the Philistine city of Gath. As well as learning to play the guitar whilst in Philistine territory, David honed his military skills. He also brought back with him the skill of fashioning Iron and through this was able to provide vast quantities of bronze and iron for the temple 1 Chronicles 22:7-14.  Part of the  philistines conquest strategy had been to kill all the blacksmith's, so everyone relied on them for all their farm implements and couldn't fashion weapons to use against them. 1 Samuel 13:19-20 . A lovely lesson here is that God does not waste a hurt, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him Romans 8:28. Even when things look bad, God is working behind the scenes to bring good out of the situation. So, onto the Psalm! This Psalm displays another literary technique, Inclusio. I like to call it Bookends, where the start and end of the Psalm are framed with an matching phrase. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! There are 3 parts, God's might and majesty - Big God, Man's Insignificance - Little Me, and God purpose for mankind. Several parts of this Psalm resonate with me. Out of the mouth of babies and infants Sometimes we can be to clever for our own good, professing to be wise we become fools.  God reminds us that actually it is so simple even child can understand that he exists and deserves our worship.  In academic studies at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind it was discovered that children and babies believe in God, despite what they are taught by their parents and teachers - it is obvious and instinctive to them. If we just look up, it should be obvious to us too:- When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20. In verse 8 there is an interesting phrase: whatever passes along the paths of the seas Matthew Maury (1806-1873) noticed the expression 'paths of the sea'.  He said to himself, 'If God says there are paths in the sea, I am going to find them.'  He went on to discover the warm and cold continental currents in 1850.  His book on oceanography remains a basic text in Universities today. He is considered to be the Father of Oceanography but the Bible declared the science of oceanography 2,800 years ago.

Psalm 7 - Refuge

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite. 1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. 6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgement. 7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high. 8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. 9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God! 10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.  11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; 13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. 14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with malice and gives birth to lies. 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. 16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. 17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Shiggaion is from the verb 'Shagah', 'to reel about' or to 'stagger' suggesting strong emotions.  The plural form also occurs Habakuk 3:1 'concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite' There is no mention of a Benjamite called Cush in the Bible. Cush was Noah's Grandson, through Ham.  He founded the Cushites which is equivalent to Modern Ethiopia. Cush mean's black, so maybe the name is more a reference to the state of the Benjaminite's heart. Some people say that Cush could be referring to Saul who was also a Benjaminite.  I'm not convinced of this one because of David's refusal to harm the Lord's anointed. It is more likely to refer to Shimei the Benjamite 2 Sam 16:5-14 who cursed David to his face before all his men when David was being pursued by his son Absalom.  At the time David, David's friend's wanted to kill Shimei, but David ws in despair and replied,"My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today." But now, after a little spell in depression district he ready to fight back, to be vindicated. This is a Psalm of judgement.  In Christian tradition judgment is often viewed as a negative thing, judgement leading to condemnation.  But in Jewish tradition, judgement a positive and welcomed.  God's judgement sets things right.  In the Psalms, when someone calls for judgement it is to vindicate them. In Part 1 - David sets out his case, asking God to save him. save me from all my pursuers and deliver me He declares his inoccence. O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, Despite the betrayal David was suffering he had not repaid like with like. David had betrayed a friend once before, when he had Uriah killed to cover up his sin with Bathsheba - but this had been dealt with and David knew God had forgiven him. 2 Samuel 12:13 "Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord. Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." David calls on God to hurry to his defence: Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; In Part 2 - David expresses confidence that God is a righteousness judge and he will be vindicated. God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 12 If a man does not repent,  God will whet his sword; He has bent and readied his bow; 13 He has prepared for him his deadly weapons, David states how wicked the man is: Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with malice and gives birth to lies. 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and what will be his punishment. and falls into the hole that he has made. 16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. What then? David will give thanks and praise where it belongs. 17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.