Psalms 38, 39, 40

 

Psalm 38

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent. A Psalm of David, for a memorial.   1 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, And do not punish me in Your burning anger. 2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me. 3 There is no healthy part in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my guilty deeds have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. 5 My  wounds grow foul and fester Because of my foolishness. 6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go in mourning all day long. 7 For my  sides are filled with burning, And there is no healthy part in my flesh. 8 I feel faint and  badly crushed; I  groan because of the  agitation of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is  before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me; And the light of my eyes, even  that  has gone from me. 11 My  loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand far away. 12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me; And those who seek to injure me have  threatened destruction, And they plot deception all day long. 13 But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear; And I am like a person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth. 14 Yes, I am like a person who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments. 15 For I wait for You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God. 16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me, Who, when my foot slips, would exalt themselves over me.” 17 For I am ready to fall, And my  sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. 19 But my enemies are vigorous and  strong, And those who wrongfully hate me are many. 20 And those who repay evil for good, They become my enemies, because I follow what is good. 21 Do not abandon me, Lord; My God, do not be far from me! 22 Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation!

Scholars aren’t able to definitively tie this Psalm to a specific event or time in David’s life.   Verse 1 The word Rebuke isn’t one we often use. “I rebuke thee!”   Nah, you don’t hear that very much.   You might hear, “That is not acceptable behavior!”.   A rebuke is a reprimand or a scolding or severe tongue lashing.  This Psalm is an expression of the LORD’s anger. God is displeased with David for some sin.  And Oh we know, David had sin.   How is it that someone who had such a heart for the LORD could be involved in such scandalous sin?    I don’t have a good answer for that one, other than oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death. What characteristics of God's nature does this Psalm exhibit? Remember, we always start with what we know.  And we know that God is good and He is in control.   Since the LORD is perfect, He can be angry and in no way contradict His nature.   He can express anger perfectly in the form of a rebuke.   There is no injustice with God and He is completely fair and equitable.  Hebrews 12:6-10 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. In general, anger isn’t really a good thing, because it is so difficult to control.   I know for myself, I need to be very careful and cautious before I dole out a rebuke to a brother or sister.   More than once, I’ve been really miffed because of some perceived mis-treatment by someone in our fellowship to another brother or sister.   My first inclination is to stick up for the person I think has been wronged.   But I’ve learned to tell myself, “Keith, bite your tongue… don’t go pointing your finger”.   So far things have turned out that either I misunderstood the situation, the LORD changed the heart of the person I thought to be the offender, and all was well. Proverbs 27:5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. There is a time though to offer a corrective rebuke.  Make sure to be led by the Holy Spirit. Verses 2-18 We can literally make ourselves sick by our sinful involvements.   The obvious things that come to mind are things like sexual misconduct and STDs, or drunkeness and car accidents.   But the stress and anxiety from sin can contribute to things like depression, psychological breakdowns and even suicide.   Please don’t take what I said as a blanket statement that you must be in some sin if you’re experiencing illness or depression or other emotional/psychological problems.   It’s much more complex than that. One specific sin the scriptures describe that can directly lead to illness is not receiving the LORD’s supper with the proper reverence and understanding… 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Verses 19-22 This Psalm kinda switches tone here, and goes from David’s vexation over his sin, to what?    It’s kind of prophetic of our Lord and Savior Jesus.   Jesus is the only one who is completely good, and yet received evil.   He’s the one who is wrongfully hated.   He’s the one who suffered and died (for our sins) and yet wasn’t abandoned (He was resurrected).   We all cry out “Hurry up Lord, help me, save me, from whatever situation we’re in.   God has proven Himself to be faithful, He’ll never let us down and we’ll never be ashamed of having trusted in Him.

Psalm 39

The Futility of Life. For the music director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 1   I said, “I will keep watch over my ways So that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep watch over my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence.” 2 I was mute and silent, I refused to say even something good, And my pain was stirred up. 3 My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue: 4 “Lord, let me know my end, And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. 5 Behold, You have made my days like hand widths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Selah 6 Certainly every person walks around as a fleeting shadow; They certainly make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. 8 Save me from all my wrongdoings; Do not make me an object of reproach for the foolish. 9 I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it. 10 Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing. 11 With rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing; You consume like a moth what is precious to him; Certainly all mankind is mere breath! Selah 12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; Do not be silent to my tears; For I am a stranger with You, One who lives abroad, like all my fathers. 13 Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again Before I depart and am no more.”

Verses 1-3 I can’t count the number of times I’ve said dumb things.   To be honest, I’m really tired of the taste of my tennis shoes.   For us as Christians, we ought to be mindful of what we say and how we say it.   Let’s talk about some principles of speech… some things ought to be off-limits for the Christian. I don’t know if this should be at the top of the list, but it’s certainly up there; that would be gossip.   Gossip is tantamount to character assassination.   I know these things probably go without saying, but I’m going to say them anyway. James 4:11-12 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? Maybe the next category of inappropriate speech would be what we call filthy or vulgar language. Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Why do you think that sort of stuff is wrong?   How ought we speak? Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. The biggest category of prohibited speech would be blasphemy.   I’ll be honest, call me a prude, or a square, or puritan or goody-two-shoes; whatever you want, but I can’t hang with blasphemy.    I’m to the point where if I'm watching something at home, and they use the LORD’s name in vain, I turn it off.   You only get one chance with that.   Sorry, that’s how I feel.   If I’m at the movie theater, it’s a little different, I don’t want to make a scene, but you can only push me so far. Verses 4-7 Life is short.   We ought to keep that in mind.   As beautiful and wonderful as this life can be, it isn’t permanent.   As difficult and painful as this life can be, we probably wouldn’t want it to be permanent.   It is almost instinctual though, to love life and want to keep it.  Whether we like it or not, this life is temporary. James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Because life is short, we ought to occupy ourselves with important things; knowing the LORD, and worshiping Him and serving Him. Verses 8-13 Then in this last section, David looks to the LORD for mercy.  David trusts in the LORD for forgiveness.   David closes his mouth (verse 9) and stops trying to justify himself. We should do the same. Let me ask you a couple of touchy feely questions and you tell me what you think:    Have you shed tears over your wrongdoings?    Have you grieved for others over their refusal of the LORD? We do have a hope that the LORD will turn His justice and judgment and deserved punishment away from us and our family members.   I can’t tell you how often I pray with tears in my eyes for my family members who aren’t walking with the LORD.   While we have life and breath in our lungs, our purpose is to pray for our loved ones that God would grant them repentance and give them the gift of faith.   That our loved ones would be the recipient of God’s mercy.

Psalm 40

God Sustains His Servant. For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord. 4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. 5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count. 6 Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” 9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O Lord, You know. 10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation. 11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. 12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; Make haste, O Lord, to help me. 14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together Who seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt. 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame Who say to me, “Aha, aha!” 16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!” 17 Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.

Verses 1-4 What are some things that we put our trust in? Ourselves. Other people. Our abilities. Our knowledge. Money Power/Position. Verse 5 If you’re not encouraged by this verse, I don’t know how to encourage you. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope.  Verse 6 What does the LORD require of us, if not sacrifices and offerings? Verse 7 You’ve heard me quote this verse many times.   It’s actually not too difficult to find Jesus everywhere throughout the Bible.   Some people have actually posited that the God of the Old Testament is a different God than the one in the New Testament.   Why do you think that some don’t see Jesus in the Old Testament? Verses 8-17 When it says, “great congregation”, what do you think it’s talking about? The difference between interpretation and application: The interpretation (or meaning) of these verses are that they are speaking of Jesus Himself. There is only one true “interpretation” of scripture… Track with me on this… God intended to convey a certain message in the scriptures.   He put that message within a certain context, and wrote the message to a certain people.   That is interpretation, in other words, “What does the text mean to the people or person it was written to?” But there is a broader context to which the LORD can make “application” of a text in our lives.   So a specific scripture might contain principles that apply to different situations in our lives. So, although Jesus is our model in the way he came and preached the good news (glad tidings) of righteousness, we can live that example out in many ways. Although Jesus was completely pure and innocent, He was spoken of as evil, and we know how he responded. How should we respond if we’re mistreated or spoken evil of? We know Jesus trusted God the Father to execute vengeance, we don’t seek our own vengeance. We know He willingly gave His back to be scourged, and so I want to ask you; are you willing to receive injustice, or even punishment you don’t deserve so that others could see Christ in you? This section is prophetic of Jesus' response and behavior at His own crucifixion. If you and I can catch this and yield our lives to the LORD Romans 12:1-3 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.