Psalm 67
67:1 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. . . For you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.”
I used to get excited during presidential campaigns. When I was younger I believed that with a new leader, the right leader, the United States could be a righteous nation. The right person, I thought, would lead our nation back to God. I sense the same enthusiasm in many of the supporters of the presidential candidates today. The prospect of an African American or a woman in the White House represents needed, radical change for tens of thousands of people. I actually heard one woman say she was voting for Hillary Clinton because she “wanted to see a woman in the Whitehouse before she died;” not because she was the most qualified candidate, but because she was female.
I still have a sense of hope when there is a possibility of change. But the writer of the 67th Psalm understands who is the only ruler absolutely trustworthy and capable of leading people in a righteous way. Only the Lord rules people justly and can guide the nations of the earth. Israel had learned that lesson the hard way. When they were a nation of tribes, joined together by a common faith in Almighty God, they prospered as a people. But they were jealous of the nations around them who had human kings. So they told Samuel, God’s prophet who led the nation as God directed him, to appoint a king for them. They wanted to be like the nations. Samuel reported their request to God and the Lord tried to discourage the appointment of a king. God told them a king would the things kings do, such as send their sons and fathers off to war and tax them, but they insisted. Samuel was frustrated, but God told him not to take their dissatisfaction personally. God said, “They’re not rejecting you, Samuel. They’re rejecting me.” So God gave them what they asked for.
King Saul began well, but overall he was a terrible king. His hunger for power and paranoia led Israel astray and he died a horrible death.
I’m not certain who wrote the 67th Psalm, but maybe it was David. He knew firsthand how flawed human kings are. He witnessed Saul as he lost his mind; and he was also aware of his own weaknesses and shortcomings. So, no matter who our earthly leaders are, God is our king. He’s the only one who always is motivated by His own glory.
Psalm 66
66:10 “You have tried us, O God; you have refined us as silver is refined.”
The refining process fascinates me. A raw substance is put though some sort of filtering process, and after the substance goes through the process, it’s more pure than when it began. Impurities and dirt are removed. Ideally, the more and longer the material goes through the process and the more intense the process is, the more pure the final product will be. During biblical times silver is refined by a process of heating and cooling. The silversmith heated the silver in a large vat. As the liquid metal cooled, the dirt and impurities rose to the surface so the silversmith could rake off the film. Then the silver was heated and cooled again. The same process occurred until the refiner could look into the cooled, purified silver and see his own reflection.
I wish there were ways for God to purify me other than sending me through fires, but He knows how effective heat is in getting the imperfections out of my life. Trial by fire has a way of bringing what’s underneath to the surface. Fiery trials don’t put impurities into my life; but they expose what’s in my heart already. Maybe one day, after I’ve been through enough fires, the Lord will look into my life and see His own reflection.
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
–2 Cor. 3:18
Psalm 65
Just about every time I think of it, I’m overwhelmed. It’s something that’s easy to overlook, but right before my face every day. If it weren’t present, I’d notice it immediately, but for most of the day I ignore it. The goodness of God is constantly before me. Somehow I’m naturally drawn not to what I have, but what I don’t have; not to what’s good with the world, but to what’s bad. If 50 people were in a room and 49 were positive people, eventually attention would go to the negative person.
I’m puzzled at how God gets blamed for so much negative in the world and receives very little credit for all that’s good. Yes, some people in the world are starving, but most have enough to eat. Yes, some have terminal diseases; but most are well or are recovering. Sometimes disaster strikes, but most people on most days live disaster free. And when I think about the bad stuff in the world, especially poverty and starvation, how much of that can be blamed on God? After all, He’s provided for us a planet capable of producing enough food to feed the entire world. The reasons some people are neglected are things such as greed, politics, evil dictatorships, etc.
One of the most amazing things about God’s attention to us is that He actually listens to our prayers and shows us compassion. David writes, “O you who hear prayer, to all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions” (65:2-3). It’s pretty wild that at any time of the day or night I can call upon God and He hears me. Usually even when I call someone on the phone I get their voicemail. It may take a couple of weeks to see a medical specialist. I’d probably never be able to have a sit-down with the president of the United States or a king of any nation. But the King of Kings says I can speak to Him and He’ll listen, and if I listen I can hear Him speak back to me. “You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” (65:5).
I can’t explain all the bad stuff in the world, no more than I can explain all the good. But I know there’s more good.
Psalm 64
David makes a keen observation about enemies and critics. They travel in numbers. Rarely does a critic begin shooting arrows without some backup. David doesn’t describe the actions of a single, but a plurality of enemies. “A crowd of evildoers;” “They sharpen their tongues;” “They shoot from ambush;” “They encourage each other;” “They talk;” “They plot injustice,” etc. Critics gain courage by recruiting more members into their ranks. “They shoot at him without fear” (verse 4).
Then there is God, who stands alone as one Sovereign Lord. He is the majority all by Himself. He’s not intimidated by numbers and crowds. His word is always the final authority. “But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down” (verse 7). Must be some huge arrow.
64:9 “All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what He has done.” The weapons of God are His characteristics and His nature—His righteousness, His justice, His truth. He doesn’t need to devise schemes and deceive. He is right and never falters. David’s final words are, “Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart praise Him!” (verse 10).
Critics often operate in secret, especially if they don’t have numbers to back them up. Those who are righteous have nothing to hide. They don’t have to take refuge in the shadows, or hide behind other people or lies. They can take refuge in the Lord, who holds them in the palm of His hands.
Psalm 63
David wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness; evidently a part of the wilderness that was especially dry. He even mentions “a dry and weary land where there is no water.” But more is going on inside of David than a parched tongue and dry throat. The entire verse reads, “O God, you are my God; I shall seek you earnestly; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (63:1-2).
As a part of this psalm, David makes an amazing statement: “Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise you” (63:3). Either David is exaggerating (I don’t believe he is), or I don’t have an accurate assessment of the lovingkindness (compassion) of God. I love a lot of things: my wife and kids; thick, juicy steaks; chocolate milk shakes, Kentucky Wildcat basketball, to name only a few; but I don’t love any of them more than life. I love God with all my heart, but if I’m honest, I can’t say I actually love Him all the time more than life itself. As I think about that phrase, the thought that occurs to me is “If I don’t have life, how can I enjoy anything, even the lovingkindness of God?” My ability to enjoy any of the things mentioned above will be stopped if I’m not alive to enjoy them.
Actually, that last statement isn’t completely true. I will enjoy the lovingkindess of God after my life is over. I will enjoy His love and compassion even in the afterlife, when I’ve left virtually everything else behind. With the exception of my family, all the things I love will be left behind, and even my relationship with them will be different in heaven than it is on this earth.
So I guess David’s statement makes sense to me. I want to be at the place where I can truthfully say God’s lovingkindness is better than life to me, but I probably won’t fully know the meaning of that until my life on earth is no more, and I’m in the shadow His wings.
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Psalm 62
I’ve heard the reason people climb mountains is because they are there (the mountains, that is), but I think there’s more to it than that. I believe people climb mountains for what they represent–strength, majesty, immovability, steadfastness, stability. Maybe deep down we believe if we scale an object that possesses those qualities, some of them will be absorbed into our skin. When I gaze at a mountain, climbing into clouds, in think, “That rock’s been that way for a long, long time. It will be there for as long as time exists. No one can move it. Some may climb it, but they won’t overpower it. They won’t defeat it. A mountain may break a person, but not vice versa.
62:1-2 “My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. [God] is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.” When I hold on the the Lord as my stronghold, there will be times when I’m shaken, but I won’t be greatly shaken. There’s a big difference.
The church I serve is in the process of adding parking space. As construction crews graded the property they ran across a substantial area of bedrock that had to be blasted with dynamite. The dynamite was buried in the rock and detonated. The ground literally arose several feet when the blast occurred. Bystanders felt the ground shake, but surprisingly little, considering the magnitude of the blast. Had the dynamite exploded on top of the ground, several people would have been killed. Instead, they only felt a small rumble; because the rock absorbed most of the shock of the blast.
Some things that happen to people leave devastating results. They’re shaken. But God is our rock. Mountains don’t make a lot of noise. They don’t go to great effort to draw attention to themselves. They don’t have to. Their majesty speaks for itself. Even though I may be shaken, I don’t have to be greatly shaken, if I allow the Rock of my salvation to absorb most of the force.
“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (62:8).
Psalm 61
Psalm 61:2b–5 “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”
In the midst of battle, it’s practically impossible for a soldier to tell whether his or her side is winning. The individual fighter only sees the immediate surroundings. He’s aware of the individual battle he’s engaged in, but has no real idea of the bigger picture. He thinks to himself, “I wonder how the others are doing? Are we winning or getting routed?”But if that same soldier can find his way to a high place, he can gain an overall perspective of who’s actually winning the battle.
The writer of the 61st psalm cries out to God for help during a time of desperate need. He and his people were engaged in battle and life is uncertain. So God leads him to a rock—a place of refuge where he can see things from God’s perspective. God still provides a “rock that is higher than I.” He’s the rock of salvation and the chief cornerstone of God’s spiritual house. When I get caught up in the battle around me and lose perspective, I need to be taken to Him—that Rock, that higher place to dwell. At that Rock, I can see things from His perspective; I can draw strength from Him to return to battle; and I can grow from His wisdom. He’s been there before. He knows everything and can learn nothing. He is my tower of strength against any enemy: depression, discouragement, temptation, anger, jealousy, fear, etc.
I can’t get caught up in my own little battles and lose sight of God’s overall purpose: to glorify Himself, and to conform me into the image of His Son. So, Lord, when my heart is faint, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 60
60:5 “Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.” In Scripture, the right hand of God represents the power, authority, and might of God. The writer of this psalm asks the Lord to demonstrate those character traits toward his enemies. That wasn’t what the psalmist observed prior to his writing this poem. He felt defeated and abandoned, not loved and cared for. His enemies had triumphed and he felt as if God had abandoned him. The psalmist believes that if God truly controls human affairs, then He must have rejected His people. They suffered defeats at the hands of the enemies listed in the psalm (Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, etc.). He’s right. Ultimately, if God truly is sovereign, He has the final say in all matters. Whether we say He does such things in a proactive way or simply allows them to happen, the results are still the same.
Anyone who lives long enough will probably feel abandoned by God at some point. Usually it occurs when we have certain expectations from God, and we know He could intervene in our situation, and for whatever reason He chooses not to. He could take away the pain, but He doesn’t. He could quiet our critics, but He allows them to go right on. He could make it all better, but it just gets worse. Abandonment. Even Jesus was not immune to this traumatic frame of mind. While in innocence he hung on the cross and took the blame for all of humanities sin, he cried out to God in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And the heavens were silent.
The psalmist, even in a time of desperation, makes a very wise decision. He humbled himself before the Lord and cried out for help. He didn’t try to use his own power to leverage himself out of the situation. He didn’t build alliances with other armies to make up for Israel’s weaknesses. He admitted to God his helplessness and dependence upon the Lord and waited for divine intervention. He didn’t sit back and do nothing. He did all he knew to do. The rest was up to the Lord.
“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies” (60:11-12).
Psalm 58
Psalm 58
This psalm is one among many that looks into the heart of David and reveals how troubled he was at the triumph of his enemies. For a period in his life, before he became king, he had virtually no leverage. God was the only one who stood between David and capture, torture, and ultimately death. But as I read this psalm this morning, my attention fell on a verses 10-11: “The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then men will say, ‘Surely there is a God who judges the earth.” Once again, the context is David dealing with his enemies, but my mind went somewhere different when I read those verses. I thought about all the Christian martyrs whose profession of faith in Christ has cost them their lives. Millions have died, and hundreds, if not thousands perish every day. Most of them we never hear about.
In Rev. 20:4b, John wrote, “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.” The writer of Hebrews mentions those who were “tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two: they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them” (Heb. 11:35-38).
I can’t even fathom the courage and faith it must take to withstand abuse for professing Jesus as Lord and Savior, but people in places like China, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia face it every day. And most of them do not pray for protection. They pray for boldness, and they pray for their tormentors, that they too would be saved. I may not be able to alleviate their suffering, but I can do battle for them on my knees and I can demonstrate a bold faith where ever I am.
Lastly, the phrase “the righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked,” bothers some people. The reason there is rejoicing it not that the wicked are suffering. Martyrs don’t want revenge for themselves. But rejoicing is the proper response when God’s righteousness prevails. When God exercises righteousness His creation rejoices. He’s demonstrating His character. That’s why they rejoice, not at the pain of others, but at the results of God’s righteousness.
“Father, please give boldness to the those who are suffering and dying for the cause I take so much for granted. And help me to hold up the banner of Christ, and not to whine and complain when I don’t get my way, but to press on until the day when total righteousness prevails.”
Psalm 57
57:10-11 “For your lovingkindess is great to the heavens and your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory be above all the earth.” David seems to be having a hard time describing the compassion and the trustworthiness of God. So He compares God’s lovingkindess to the only thing he knows that doesn’t have limits—the heavens. As hard as astronomers may try, they haven’t been able to completely measure the heavens. The distance from Earth to the Sun is approximately 93,000,000 miles. That’s hard to fathom, but just to put it in perspective, the light that leaves the sun takes 8 days to hit the surface of my skin. Eight days at the speed of light. Wow. And the Sun is only one star among billions in our galaxy. When we look up into the sky, the stars seem as if they’re right next to one another, but actually they’re millions of miles apart. And our Sun is a relatively small star. It’s just the right size and it’s just the right distance from Earth to support life on our planet. If it were 100,000,000 miles from us we would freeze. If it were 90,000,000 miles away, we would cook like crawfish at a crawfish boil. But God in His lovingkindess placed the Sun in just the right place.
Our solar system is only one of many in our galaxy, the Milky Way. And or galaxy is only one of billions in in the heavens. We don’t know how many billions of galaxies are out there. We will continue to build bigger telescopes and faster spacecrafts that will help us see and go to greater distances, but we ‘ll never be able to measure fully the expanse of the heavens. And we’ll never fully be able to measure the expanse of God’s love either. We will never completely understand or appreciate the vastness of space or the love of God, but we can experience both. When the Hubble telescope sends photos back to earth we’re blown away by the awe and beauty of God’s creation. For centuries galaxies, solar systems, suns, and planets have sung praises to the glory of God, but no human being has ever been there to hear. Still they sing. They sing about the Lord’s glory and His lovingkindness.
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.”
