Day 164: Psalms 46-50

(The previous post covered the conclusion of the "Genesis" section and the beginning of the "Exodus" section. The "Exodus" section dealt with the Jews in captivity while the final psalm declared victory.)

Psalm 46

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah; set to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. Selah

(Because God is our strength and helper, physical tragedies do not cause us fear.)

(Selah meant "pause and think about what you just read." The author wanted the reader to pause and become conscious of what was read.)

4 There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God will help her, and that right early.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted.

(God’s Words are powerful, powerful enough to cause the earth to melt as mentioned in Revelation 21:1.)

7 Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of Jehovah, What desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

(Still meant "to cast down/humble yourself" and came from a root word which meant "to heal; thoroughly make whole": life - the ability to repair.)

11 Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

(In 1946, the world war had ceased and nations were taking notice of Jews gathering in the territory of Palestine.)




Psalm 47

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Oh clap your hands, all ye peoples; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2 For Jehovah Most High is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.

(We were encouraged to praise God by clapping and shouting to God because God was "terrible"…this meant God was worthy of fear, of our utmost respect and reverence.)

3 He subdueth peoples under us, And nations under our feet.
4 He chooseth our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah
5 God is gone up with a shout, Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.

(On November 29, 1947, the United Nations had voted 33 to 13 to partition Palestine into separated Jewish and Arab states. The nation of Israel was conceived.)

6 Sing praise to God, sing praises: Sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth: Sing ye praises with understanding.

(We ought to sing praises with understanding. We should know why we are singing praise.)

8 God reigneth over the nations: God sitteth upon his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples are gathered together To be the people of the God of Abraham: For the shields of the earth belong unto God; He is greatly exalted.

(The "princes of the peoples" today sound like the United Nations.)




Psalm 48

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.
3 God hath made himself known in her palaces for a refuge.

(God made Himself known and gave Himself as a refuge to His people. The phrase "Beautiful in elevation" meant "fairest of sites" and came from a Hebrew term for "branches of a tree.")

4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then were they amazed; They were dismayed, they hasted away.
6 Trembling took hold of them there, Pain, as of a woman in travail.

(The nation of Israel was birthed by the United Nations: May 14, 1948.)

7 With the east wind Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish.

(The British (Tarshish) had occupied Palestine after World War II. They were removed when Israel was born. Jerusalem remained divided. The Jews controlled West Jerusalem. The Temple site was in East Jerusalem and not under Jewish control.)

8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of Jehovah of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah
9 We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of thy temple.
10 As is thy name, O God, So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness.

(God’s right Hand was full of Righteousness because God was always and completely Right.)

11 Let mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of thy judgments.

(God’s people should be glad and rejoice because of God’s judgments. Judgment was "the equaling out of Justice." God was always and completely Just.)

12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Number the towers thereof;
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces: That ye may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.

(If this God, the Right and Just, was your God, He would be your guide.)




Psalm 49

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,

(This verse was similar to the beginning of Deuteronomy 32: "1 Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth." That was the chapter that contained Moses' final statement before he died in which he said God was Right and Just.)

2 Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

(Wisdom and understanding were the focus of this psalm. Wisdom was a profitable decision. Understanding was knowing the reason why.)

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

(A "dark saying" was revelation and the harp symbolized the psalms. The psalms contained revelation and prophecy, just like Jesus showed in Luke 24:44.)

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
6 They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him;
8 (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)

(Our lives are worth more than any amount of physical value. We cannot buy our Salvation with the physical.)

9 That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.
10 For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.

(We cannot take anything physical with us out of this life.)

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, And their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.
12 But man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah

(The thought of the physical lasting long term was foolish.)

14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. Selah
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased.
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,)
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
20 Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.

(A man that was honored and had no understanding was only honored in the short term. Animals (beasts) did not have understanding, just knowledge.)

(The next psalm was by Asaph. We saw Asaph was the leader of the choir and led the procession to bring up the Ark...)




Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken, And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined forth.
3 Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.

(God did not keep silent, He was always speaking.)

4 He calleth to the heavens above, And to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 Gather my saints together unto me, Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

(God’s "saints" were those who had covenanted with Him by sacrifice.)

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; For God is judge himself. Selah

(The heavens (and creation) declared God’s Nature: Right and Just.)

7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify unto thee: I am God, even thy God.
8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.
9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goats out of thy folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High:
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth,
17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, And castest my words behind thee?

(The wicked hated God’s instruction, His Words.)

18 When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him, And hast been partaker with adulterers.
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit.

(The wicked spoke destruction and deceit, a right what with a wrong/no how and why.)

20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
23 Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his way aright Will I show the salvation of God.

(This psalm focused on bringing order to the community. In 1950, many of the Jews that returned to Israel came from the East, which caused a lot of cultural stress with the European Jews who began the nation of Israel in 1948.)

(This post covered psalms that pointed to God's Nature and the creation of a new nation.)

Day 165

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