Psalm 86
A Prayer of David
1 Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me; For I am poor and needy.
(David made his prayer to God during his time of need. He specifically asked God to hear and answer him.)
2 Preserve my soul; for I am godly: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord; For unto thee do I cry all the day long.
(David asked for mercy, for God’s judgment to be postponed.)
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant; For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.
(God was Good: Right and Just.)
6 Give ear, O Jehovah, unto my prayer; And hearken unto the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee; For thou wilt answer me.
(David believed God would answer him.)
8 There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord; Neither are there any works like unto thy works.
(No other gods or any other works for that matter were comparable to Jehovah's.)
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.
(Jehovah was God alone! He was THE Right and Just One.)
11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name.
(David asked God to teach David His Will. David would not have asked this if he could not have been taught God’s Will. Do you believe we can know God’s Will and how it comes about?)
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart; And I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
(The KJV translated "Sheol" as "hell." The Hebrew word was sheowl and it meant "underworld, grave, hell, pit.")
14 O God, the proud are risen up against me, And a company of violent men have sought after my soul, And have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
16 Oh turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; Give thy strength unto thy servant, And save the son of thy handmaid.
17 Show me a token for good, That they who hate me may see it, and be put to shame, Because thou, Jehovah, hast helped me, and comforted me.
(David asked for a token, or sign, from God for good. David wanted those who hated him to be put to shame. David's psalm was immediately followed by two psalms from the sons of Korah, so David was surrounded by the sons of Korah: two psalms before his and two psalms after his.)
Psalm 87
A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song.
1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
(Zion was another name for Jerusalem, especially in prophetic passages.)
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: This one was born there.
(The word Rahab in this verse meant "boaster." This was not the same word translated that referred to the harlot who helped Israel in the Book of Joshua. Scholars believe this referred to "Rahab the sea monster" and was also called "Rahab the Dragon," which represented the evil forces of chaos.)
5 Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her.
(This verse was prophetic. It spoke of Zion being exalted during the Millenium.)
6 Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. Selah
7 They that sing as well as they that dance shall say, All my fountains are in thee.
(Zion (Jerusalem) will be Christ’s headquarters on earth. All blessings will flow, as a fountain (grace), from Zion.)
Psalm 88
A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Jehovah, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee.
2 Let my prayer enter into thy presence; Incline thine ear unto my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto Sheol.
(The psalmist was troubled and his response was to go to God.)
4 I am reckoned with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no help,
(The psalmist "reckoned" with those in Sheol. Reckoned meant "think, count." He felt so helpless that he thought to be counted as those in "the pit.")
5 Cast off among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps.
7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, And thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah
(The psalmist felt as if he was afflicted by the anger of God.)
8 Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
9 Mine eye wasteth away by reason of affliction: I have called daily upon thee, O Jehovah; I have spread forth my hands unto thee.
(He was not able to be aware/conscious because of the affliction he experienced.)
10 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall they that are decreased arise and praise thee? Selah
11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But unto thee, O Jehovah, have I cried; And in the morning shall my prayer come before thee.
(The psalmist wanted to know if God could reach him in what he felt was an unreachable state. However, he still cried and prayed to God.)
14 Jehovah, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me?
15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
16 Thy fierce wrath is gone over me; Thy terrors have cut me off.
17 They came round about me like water all the day long; They compassed me about together.
18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, And mine acquaintance into darkness.
(The psalmist believed that God had put him in the situation he was experiencing. The next psalm concluded the "Leviticus" section. Would it be concluded by David like the first two sections were? Would it end with "Amen, and Amen."?)
Psalm 89
Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
(Ethan was listed along with Heman as a wise man. Only Solomon was considered wiser: 1 Kings 4:31. Ethan and Heman were chosen to sound the cymbals during the processional of the Ark of the Covenant.)
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant:
(The Covenant with King David was mentioned: 2 Samuel 7.)
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, And build up thy throne to all generations. Selah
(This was one of the scriptures referenced in John 12:34 by the crowd in response to Jesus' statement of His death. The crowd thought Jesus was the Messiah and would never die because of this verse and Psalm 110:4.)
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Jehovah; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
(The heavens praised God’s wonders. God’s creation spoke to His people about Him.)
6 For who in the skies can be compared unto Jehovah? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto Jehovah,
(None was like Jehovah, not even the "sons of the mighty" which meant "angels.")
7 A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones, And to be feared above all them that are round about him?
8 O Jehovah God of hosts, Who is a mighty one, like unto thee, O Jehovah? And thy faithfulness is round about thee.
9 Thou rulest the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
(God had complete control over the sea.)
10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength.
(Again, Rahab in this verse was the same as in the previous psalm.)
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: The world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12 The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name.
(Tabor, which meant "mound," was a mountain that was connected to the hills of Nazareth, where Jesus was from.
Hermon, which meant "a sanctuary," was a mountain which overlooked the border city of Dan. The tribe of Dan shared a border with Judah.)
13 Thou hast a mighty arm; Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne: Lovingkindness and truth go before thy face.
(God’s Nature: Right and Just.)
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name do they rejoice all the day; And in thy righteousness are they exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength; And in thy favor our horn shall be exalted.
18 For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah; And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
(Verses 19-52: David and the Davidic Covenant.)
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy saints, And saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; With my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established; Mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact from him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
(God promised to protect David.)
23 And I will beat down his adversaries before him, And smite them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my lovingkindness shall be with him; And in my name shall his horn be exalted.
(David would be exalted in God’s Name.)
25 I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.
(David would call God three things:
1) his Father,
2) his God, and
3) the Rock of his Salvation.
Hebrews 1:5 referenced this verse.)
27 I also will make him my first-born, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
(Christ came through the line of David.)
30 If his children forsake my law, And walk not in mine ordinances;
31 If they break my statutes, And keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.
33 But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
(Solomon, David’s son, did forsake God's Law and did not walk in His ordinances and God gave Solomon mercy his entire life. However, these passages also proved that God would judge Solomon for the wrong he did, just not when Solomon was alive.)
34 My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
36 His seed shall endure for ever, And his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, And as the faithful witness in the sky. Selah
(The Covenant God made with David was continued. Even when Solomon broke God’s commands, God kept His mercy with the tribe of Judah as a result of His Covenant with David.)
(Verse 38-46: started a complaint to God concerning God having broken His Covenant.)
38 But thou hast cast off and rejected, Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All that pass by the way rob him: He is become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Yea, thou turnest back the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast made his brightness to cease, And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? How long shall thy wrath burn like fire?
(Finally, questions to God about how long His wrath would be against them. The previous passages all listed what God was doing. Did the psalmist know why God did these things?)
47 Oh remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men!
(Whose fault would it be if man was vain/unprofitable?)
48 What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, Which thou swarest unto David in thy faithfulness?
(The people were facing judgment but they wanted mercy.)
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; How I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty peoples,
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Jehovah, Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
(Ethan ended his psalm with "Amen, and Amen." We have seen this "Leviticus" section focused on God's sanctuary and temple worship. We saw this section began with eleven psalms from Asaph, four psalms from the sons of Korah (with a psalm from David in the middle), and concluded with a psalm from Ethan. The imagery was of the Ark of the Covenant being brought into Jerusalem with Asaph leading the choir, the sons of Korah carrying the Ark, and Ethan playing the cymbals. Solomon compiled the "Leviticus" section. Next, we will look at the "Numbers" section which was compiled by David. The "Numbers" section focused on testing and contained the most painful psalms...)
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place In all generations.
(Moses wrote a psalm! He recognized that God was their dwelling-place. When David desired to build God a temple, he did not recognize, as Moses did, that God did not need a resting place nor did the people need a place to go to God. God was everywhere.)
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
(God was the First Cause. God had no beginning. He always was and always will be.)
3 Thou turnest man to destruction, And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4 For a thousand years in thy sight Are but as yesterday when it is past, And as a watch in the night.
(A thousand years were as one day to God (see also 2 Peter 3:8). This means that as much as a person would experience in 1000 years would be similar to what God would experience in one day. God has at least as much to account for in a 24 hour period and a man would in 1000 years!)
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; In the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7 For we are consumed in thine anger, And in thy wrath are we troubled.
(The people experienced trouble as an effect of God's anger towards them. But why was God angry?)
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow; For it is soon gone, and we fly away.
(This referred to the length of life in the wilderness in the time of Moses. The length of life was shortened so that the old/first generation would die within the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.)
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger, And thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto thee?
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may get us a heart of wisdom.
(We should treat every day as if it was important. If we do this, we may get a heart of wisdom, which would cause us to make profitable decisions.)
13 Return, O Jehovah; how long? And let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14 Oh satisfy us in the morning with thy lovingkindness, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, And the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, And thy glory upon their children.
(Moses asked that God's work and Glory be shown to His children. This would build their faith in God.)
17 And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And establish thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
(The first psalm of the "Numbers" section of the Book of Psalms was written by Moses and spoke of God being angry with the children of Israel because of their rebellion when God wanted to bring them into the Promised Land.)
(This post covered the end of the "Leviticus" section of the Book of Psalms and the beginning of the "Numbers" section. These psalms referenced mercy.)
Day 173
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