Psalm 141 – My Eyes Are Toward You

English: Michal Watching David from a Window, ...

English: Michal Watching David from a Window, as in 2 Samuel 6:16: “And it was so, as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.”; watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This lament, according to the superscription, is a psalm of David. And it does have the “flavor” of one of David’s psalms. There is no clue given as to the occasion of the writing. It could be during his flight from Saul or from the Absalom rebellion. It is likely the former, as this period was a long one in David’s life, and would provide the most opportunities for writing such laments.

 

Unlike imprecatory psalms, David is not praying for God to strike down his enemies. Nor is he praying for God to give him might against them. Instead, he is asking for the strength to withstand what his enemies would do to him, and to restrain his lips against speaking evil of them (verses 3-5).

 

He tells the Lord that he will continue praying against their evil deeds, asks God to be his defense and his refuge, and prays that his enemies will be the cause of their own demise (verse 10), rather than having him fall victim to them. What a great model of prayer from one who is so persecuted!

 

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

 

/Bob’s boy

 

___________________

 

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

 

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  

 

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Psalms 91 – My Refuge and My Fortress

Moses_003Psalm 91 is generally considered to be another psalm of Moses; and even Spurgeon (who almost always ascribes authorship of all psalms to David) concedes the possibility.  Satan misapplied a quotation of verses 11-12 in one of his temptations of Jesus (see Luke 4:10-11) – “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”

This psalm speaks to the care and protection that children of God enjoy under his watch, an example of which is from verse 10 – “no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.”  This does not mean that Christians are exempt from any misfortune or harm in this life.  It simply means that under God’s watchful care, the faithful will be safely delivered through every situation, even that of death, safely into His loving arms. Consider verses 7-8:

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

This, along with the language of verses 3-6 (deliverance from “the snare of the fowler” and pestilence – and, in verse 10, plague), lend credence to Mosaic authorship, as well as explain the perspective. In the time of God’s judgment on man, those who “dwell in His shelter” have nothing to fear, for He is their refuge and fortress.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Psalms 37:21-40 – The Lord Loves Justice

Eastman Johnson - The Lord is my Shepard - Oil...

Eastman Johnson – The Lord is my Shepard – Oil on wood -16.625 x 13.125 in – c 1863 – Scanned from Eastman Johnson: Painting America – fig 76 pg 141 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This entire psalm is quite elegant.  To begin with, it is an acrostic.  Verse 1 begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, verse three with the second letter, and so on.   It is not intuitively apparent, but in addition to being alphabetic, it is an elaborate chiasmus, where verses repeat themes, ideas, etc. in an A-B-B-A structure.  in this case, the entire psalm appears to do so as in this example:

verses 1-11  The Lord is faithful to the righteous
verses 12-15 Righteousness will prevail
verses 16-20 The Lord upholds the righteous
verses 21-24 Righteousness delights the Lord
verses 25-31 The Lord upholds the righteous
verses 32-33 Righteousness will prevail
verses 34-40 The Lord is faithful to the righteous

Robert Alden suggests a much more elaborate Chiasmus within as follow (Alden, Robert l., “Everyman’s Bible Commentary, Vol I”, Moody Publishers, 1958):

“1-8    A    The righteous are exhorted to ignore
the wicked and trust God
9      B    Wait and inherit the land
10-15    C    The righteous inherit but the Lord
destroys the plotting wicked
16    D    The poor are blessed though poor
17    E    The Lord upholds the righteous
18a    F    The Lord guides the righteous
18b    G    The righteous inherit
19    H    The righteous    receive
20a    I    The wicked perish
20b    J    The wicked are like a sacrifice
20c    J    The wicked are like a sacrifice
21a    I    The wicked give not
21b    H    The righteous give
22    G    The blessed inherit
23    F    The Lord guides the righteous
24    E    The Lord upholds
25-26    D    The blessed may be poor but not forsaken
27-33    C    The Lord loves the righteous who
will live and inherit, but the plotting
wicked will die
34    B    Wait and inherit the land
35-40    A    God destroys the wicked but saves the righteous

The basic message of the psalm is the safety and blessing of those who trust in God and the insecurity of the ungodly.”

The second half of this psalm implores us to turn away from the evil ways of the world and strive to do good, give generously, wait for the Lord, and keep His way (verses 21, 27, 34).  Verse 28 says that the Lord loves justice and will not forsake his saints.  The psalmist says he was young and now is old but has never seen the righteous forsaken, or God’s children begging for bread.  There is future for the man of peace, he says.

He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
the Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Taking refuge in the Lord means more than just turning to Him in times of trouble.  It means trusting in God, not only when we are fearful, down-trodden or discouraged, but keeping that trust alive through all of the good times and the bad, the joy and the sorrow – all of the days of our lives.   A faith based solely on expectations of protection and comfort is worthless if it is not there also when we must weather the storms.  The key is to remember that He does not abandon us.  Repeated again and again the scriptures exclaim that we must often “wait for the Lord.”  It is the ability to do that with the assurance of hope that keeps us strong and carries us through difficulty.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.