Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
October 22, 2003
Psalm 31
:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
It is not certain when David wrote this psalm, but it speaks of a time of
being betrayed.
Two possibilities – When David had rescued the people of the city of Keilah,
they turned on him and betrayed him to Saul.
It might also speak about the time when David was running from his own
son Absalom’s rebellion.
:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of
truth.
spirit – ruwach – wind,
breath, mind, spirit
Jesus quotes this on the cross.
(Luke 23:46-47 KJV) And when
Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. {47} Now when the centurion
saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous
man.
I think there is a sense in which we can see this whole Psalm as the heart
of Jesus on the cross (like Psalm 22).
:8 thou hast set my feet in a large room.
(Psa 31:8 NLT) You have not handed me over to my enemy but have set
me in a safe place.
:11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my
neighbours
(Psa 31:11 NLT) I am scorned by all my enemies and despised by my
neighbors-- even my friends are afraid to come near me. When they see me on the
street, they turn the other way.
Lesson
Being “above reproach”
The Bible says that leaders in the church ought to be “above reproach”.
(1 Tim 3:2 NIV) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach,
For the most part this means that people can’t accuse you
of wrong doing, or of being a hypocrite.
Yet there is a sense in which even when you are doing what you’re supposed
to do, you can’t control how people are going to react to you.
There’s going to be times when even people close to you (your “neighbors”)
aren’t going to be happy with you.
This happened even to Jesus.
:16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.
This was part of the blessing that Aaron and his descendants were to learn
to speak over God’s people:
(Num 6:23-27 KJV) Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On
this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, {24} The
LORD bless thee, and keep thee: {25} The
LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: {26} The
LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. {27} And they
shall put my name upon the children of Israel;
and I will bless them.
The idea is of God being pleased with a person.
:20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of
man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Two of the troubles God can protect us from are:
the pride of man
the strife of tongues
:21 Blessed be the LORD: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a
strong city.
What “city” is David talking about?
Some have suggested this might be Mahanaim, where David was living when his
troops won the battle over Absalom.
Others suggest it might be the city of Rabbah,
where David’s troops won a great victory over the Ammonites.
Others suggest it might be Jerusalem.
:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes
(Psa 31:22 NLT) In sudden fear I had cried out, "I have been
cut off from the LORD!" But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my
call for help.
in my haste – chaphaz –
(Qal) to be in a hurry, be alarmed
Lesson
Slow down.
Sometimes we are a little “hasty” in our conclusions that God is finished
with us.
God may not be finished with you.
:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that
hope in the LORD.
be of good courage – chazaq –
to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be
firm
he shall strengthen – ‘amats –
(Hiphil) to exhibit strength, be strong, feel strong
Lesson
Prescription for hope
David gives two commands in verses 23-24, things that we are to do if we
are trying to hope in the Lord.
Love Him.
Be of good courage
Psalm 32
:1 A Psalm of David, Maschil.
Maschil – maskiyl –
(Hiphil) poem, song or poem of contemplation; a song that teaches.
It is thought that this Psalm was written after Psalm 51, but concerning
the same circumstances, when David had sinned with Bathsheba.
In Psalm 51, David wrote,
(Psa 51:12-13 KJV) Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. {13} Then
will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
The suggestion is that this Psalm is the teaching that resulted from that
incident.
:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no guile.
imputeth – chashab – (Qal)
to think, account; to plan, devise, mean; to charge, impute, reckon
guile – r@miyah – laxness,
slackness, slackening, deceit, treachery
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Greek
word used here is dolos, the same
word Jesus used to describe Nathanael in John 1:47.
Nathaniel –
(John 1:47-51 KJV) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of
him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile! {48} Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus
answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast
under the fig tree, I saw thee. {49} Nathanael answered and saith unto him,
Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. {50} Jesus
answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig
tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. {51} And he
saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven
open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Paul quotes these first two lines as an example of how our sins can be
forgiven not by works, but through faith:
(Rom 4:6-8 NLT) King David spoke of this, describing the happiness
of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous: {7} "Oh, what
joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
{8} Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the
Lord."
:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day
long.
kept silence – charash –
(Hiphil) to be silent, keep quiet; to make silent; to be deaf, show deafness
Pretending to be deaf when God’s Spirit is bringing conviction over my sin.
waxed old – balah – to
wear out, become old
roaring – sh@agah –
roaring; of lion, the wicked, distress cry
:4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into
the drought of summer. Selah.
my moisture – l@shad –
juice, juicy bit, dainty bit
(Psa 32:4 NLT) Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on
me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude
Selah – take time to think about this.
Lesson
Unconfessed sin / The weight of
guilt
I think we all understand what David is saying here.
It’s a horrible feeling to be under the weight of sin, yet trying to hide
it from others.
Sometimes it’s a relief just to get caught because you don’t have to hide
it anymore.
God has already caught you beloved.
He already knows what you’re hiding.
:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I
said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the
iniquity of my sin. Selah.
acknowledged – yada‘– to
know; (Hiphil) to make known, declare
have I not hid – kacah –
(Piel) to cover, clothe; conceal; spread over
I will confess – yadah –
(Hiphil) to give thanks, laud, praise; to confess, confess (the name of God)
Selah – take time to think about this.
Lesson
Admit your sin
Don’t make excuses. But if you have to, I have some you can try …
Illustration
Ever stay home from school because of a hurting fish?
Ralph did. Yep, some guy named Ralph missed school one day, and came in the
next morning with this note from his mom:
"Ralph was absent yesterday because he had a sore
trout."
No kidding. That's what the note said. There are more.
Check out these actual written excuses from parents:
"Please excuse John from being absent on Jan. 28, 29,
30, 31, 32, and also 33." (I hate those lo-o-o-ng winter months!)
"Chris will not be in school today because he has an
acre in his side." (Wow! Talk about growing pains!)
"John has been absent because he had two teeth taken
off his face." (I hope he wasn't wearing braces!)
"My son is under the doctor's care and should not
take fizical ed. Please execute him." (Ouch!)
"Please excuse Johnnie for being. It was his father's
fault." (Blame it on Dad!)
"Please excuse Ray from school. He has very loose
vowels." (But I hear his consonants are doing just fine!)
"George was absent yesterday because he had a
stomach." (I suppose he had some vowels too, but I guess they're OK!)
"Please excuse Sara for being absent. She was sick
and I had her shot." (Thanks a lot, Mom!)
-- "Strange
World," Campus Life, Vol. 55, no. 2.
Admit your sin.
Illustration
In Charles Colson’s book, Born Again, which is about his experiences during Watergate, Colson
shares one of President Nixon’s problems—he could never admit he was wrong in
anything. In fact, Colson said that even when Nixon obviously had a cold—nose
running, face red, sneezing, all the symptoms of a cold—he would never admit
it.
Admit your problem. Tell God about it.
(1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
When we admit our sin to God, He will forgive us.
He is correct or “just” in forgiving us because Jesus died
on a cross to pay for our sins.
Sometimes we also need to confess our sins to others.
When we’ve hurt another person, we ought to go to them and
ask them for forgiveness.
Sometimes the sins we’re caught in bring us under bondage
that can only be broken when we bring another brother or sister alongside to
help.
(James 5:16 KJV)
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye
may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when
thou mayest be found
“If you have a long standing problem, try kneeling”
:7 Thou art my hiding place … Selah
hiding place – cether –
covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy; covering, cover; hiding place,
shelter, secret place
Selah – take time to think about this.
Lesson
Run to a safe place
Illustration
Sam was my best dog, ever. A field trial dog who found birds and pointed
them with contagious enthusiasm, Sam taught me the joy of becoming part of
nature. If his point said a bird was hiding in a clump of bushes, it was there.
He was so much more than a bird dog, though. Often we’d share together lazy
lunches in an abandoned apple orchard, and the snooze that followed. Late one
afternoon, Sam and I became separated. Neither of us was familiar with the
area. I called and whistled. No sign of Sam. I had to get back to town for an
important appointment. But how could I leave Sam? If he finally came back and I
wasn’t there, would I lose him for good? Then I remembered a trick an old dog
trainer had passed on. I unbuttoned my jacket, removed my shirt and laid it on
the ground under the branches of a small bush. I worried all night.
But when I returned the next morning there was Sam curled up with his nose
under the sleeve of my shirt. He looked up and wagged his tail. “Where’ve you
been friend?” his eyes seemed to say. “I’ve been waiting for you all night. But
I knew you’d come back.” Later I wondered. When I get lost, do I have the trust
to look for some part of God’s word and curl up in it? To wait patiently,
knowing that my Friend will find me if I just have faith in him?
-- Daily Guideposts
1988 / By Scott Harrison
:8 I will guide thee with mine eye.
God wants to lead us by simply pointing with His eye.
:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule
Lesson
Stubbornness
Illustration
Between two farms near Valleyview, Alberta, you can find two parallel
fences, only two feet apart, running for a half mile. Why are there two fences
when one would do? Two farmers, Paul and Oscar, had a disagreement that erupted
into a feud. Paul wanted to build a fence between their land and split the
cost, but Oscar was unwilling to contribute. Since he wanted to keep cattle on
his land, Paul went ahead and built the fence anyway.
After the fence was completed, Oscar said to Paul, “I see we have a fence.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” Paul replied. “I got the property line surveyed and
built the fence two feet into my land. That means some of my land is outside
the fence. And if any of your cows sets foot on my land, I’ll shoot it.” Oscar
knew Paul wasn’t joking, so when he eventually decided to use the land
adjoining Paul’s for pasture, he was forced to build another fence, two feet
away. Oscar and Paul are both gone now, but their double fence stands as a
monument to the high price we pay for stubbornness.
-- Daren Wride
Valleyview, Alberta. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 1.
Psalm 33
We don’t have a clue as to the circumstances behind this psalm. It’s about praising God.
:1-3 How to Praise Him
:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the
upright.
rejoice – ranan – (Piel)
to give a ringing cry (in joy, exultation, praise)
praise – t@hillah –
praise, song or hymn of praise
comely – na’veh – comely,
beautiful, seemly
:2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an
instrument of ten strings.
harp – kinnowr – lyre,
harp
psaltery – nebel – a
skin-bag, jar, pitcher; harp, lute, guitar, musical instrument
instrument of ten strings – ‘asowr
– ten, decade; ten-stringed, harp
David mentions three different instruments to praise the Lord with.
:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
new song – chadash – new,
new thing, fresh
skilfully – yatab –
(Hiphil) to make glad, rejoice; to do good to, deal well with; to do well, do
thoroughly; to make a thing good or right or beautiful
loud noise – t@ruw‘ah –
alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy
Lesson
How to praise God.
David would say that:
We ought to praise God with lots of instruments.
We ought to praise Him with new, fresh songs.
Musicians ought to keep working at playing skillfully.
Play it loud.
:4-11 Reasons for praising Him
:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
Reasons to praise the Lord.
God’s Word is right. Everything He does is in truth.
:5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness
of the LORD.
You can praise Him because He likes the right things. He likes justice to
be carried out.
:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made
God’s Word is powerful, He commanded and the world was formed.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day about the “Big Bang” theory. It said
something like, “God spoke and BANG, the world was created”. I like that.
You should praise God because of His creation.
:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the
depth in storehouses.
(Psa 33:7 NLT) He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans
in vast reservoirs.
:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
The power of God’s Word.
:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought
Reason to praise Him: God is bigger than the nations and their junk.
:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to
all generations.
Lesson
Reasons for praising God
David doesn’t once say that we ought to praise God because we’re having a
good day or because we feel happy.
Our reasons for praising God are based on who He is and what He’s done.
:12-22 Trust Him
:15 He fashioneth their hearts alike
fashioneth – yatsar – to
form, fashion, frame; pre-ordain, plan (fig. of divine) purpose of a situation)
:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by
his great strength.
Lesson
A healthy perspective on victory
Too often we keep looking at external things for our help.
A general might say, “If I only had more tanks or bombers.”
We might say, “If I only had a new job or more money”
God can indeed use external things. He can help armies win with their
tanks.
Yes, God can use a new job or more money in your life.
But when we look to external things rather than God, we make a mistake.
God isn’t limited to using external things.
:20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
waiteth – chakah – (Piel)
to wait, tarry; to wait for, long for
:22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
mercy – checed – goodness,
kindness, faithfulness
as we hope – yachal –
(Piel) to wait, await, tarry; to wait for, hope for
Lesson
Get mercy
David is saying that the measure of receiving mercy is equivalent to the
measure of hoping or trusting in the Lord.
The more you trust in Him, the more mercy you receive.
The whole goal is to get mercy.
Whatever you do, get mercy.
Illustration
A duck walks into the 7-11 store. He looks around, then
goes up to the clerk and asks, “You got any grapes?” The clerk says, “No, we’re
a convenience store, and we do not carry grapes.” The duck says “thank you,”
and leaves. About an hour later, the duck comes in again and asks, “You got any
grapes?” The store clerk says, “No, I already told you, we have no grapes.”
“Thank you,” says the duck, and he leaves again. Well, a little while later,
the duck walks in again, and again he asks grapes. The clerk then says, “No, we
don’t have any grapes, and if you come in here and ask me again, I’m gonna nail
both your little webbed feet to the floor!” The duck then leaves the store.
About an hour later, the duck walks in again! This time, the duck asks, “You
got any nails?” The clerk says, “No, we don’t carry nails, we’re a convenience
store, not a hardware store!” came the reply. Then the duck asks, “You got any
grapes?”
As much as the duck wanted grapes, we ought to want mercy. Except we know where to get mercy, we get it
from trusting in the Lord, going to His store.
Psalm 34
We’ll look at this on Sunday morning.
:1 A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who
drove him away, and he departed.
Abimelech – can be a proper name or the name of a dynasty (meaning
“my father is king”). Here it refers to
one of the kings of the Philistines, a man named Achish.
(1 Sam 21:10-15 KJV) And
David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of
Gath.
{11} And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of
the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath
slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? {12} And David laid up these
words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. {13} And he changed
his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and
scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his
beard. {14} Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad:
wherefore then have ye brought him to me? {15} Have I need of mad men, that ye
have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow
come into my house?
This Psalm is another acrostic, each verse starts with the next letter of
the alphabet.
:1-10
:1 I will bless the LORD at all
times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
:2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof,
and be glad.
:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Lesson
Praying through problems
God hears when we pray. He delivers
us from our fears.
Sometimes He delivers us from the thing that makes us afraid, sometimes He
delivers us from the fear itself.
:5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not
ashamed.
:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all
his troubles.
:7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them.
Who is the “angel of the LORD”?
This phrase “the angel of the LORD” is a phrase used in the Old Testament to
indicate a specific person. He made many appearances to many different people. The actual Hebrew phrase appears 58 times in
the Old Testament.
He was the angel that ministered to Abraham’s servant Hagar as she fled
from her mistress (Gen. 16).
He appeared to Abraham when he was going to sacrifice his only begotten son
on Mount Moriah
(Gen. 22).
He spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (Ex. 3:2).
He was the angel that challenged Balaam on his donkey (Num. 22).
He was the one who called Gideon to deliver the Israelites (Judg. 6).
He was the one who spoke to Samson’s mom and dad (Judg. 13).
He was the angel that David saw at the threshing floor of Ornan the
Jebusite on Mount Moriah, which led to the purchase of the property for the
Temple (1Chr. 21).
(1 Chr 21:15 KJV)
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it:
and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and
said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the
angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
He spoke to Elijah (2Ki. 1:3, 15).
We believe that this “angel of the LORD” is a “theophany”, or an appearance
of Jesus in human form before his birth, the pre-incarnate Christ. In some of the passages I just mentioned,
this “angel of the LORD” is actually called God (Gen. 16:13; Ex. 3:2-4).
Hezekiah and the Assyrians.
:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth
in him.
taste and see
:9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear
him.
:10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD
shall not want any good thing.
:11-22
:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the
LORD.
Fear the Lord.
Teach children to fear the Lord.
There is a practical application to the concept of “fearing the Lord”.
:12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may
see good?
:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
guile – mirmah – deceit,
treachery
Fearing the Lord translates into action.
:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry.
:16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the
remembrance of them from the earth.
:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all
their troubles.
:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such
as be of a contrite spirit.
contrite – dakka’ – dust;
contrite
Lesson
God’s closeness in pain
(Isa 57:15 KJV) For thus
saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I
dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and
humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of
the contrite ones.
:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him
out of them all.
Lesson
Righteousness and trouble
Doing the right thing and living a life that pleases God doesn’t keep you
from going through trouble.
(1 Pet 4:12 KJV)
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Prophetic – the gospel
(John 19:30-37 KJV) When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed
his head, and gave up the ghost. {31} The Jews therefore, because it was the
preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath
day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and that they might be taken away. {32} Then came the
soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified
with him. {33} But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already,
they brake not his legs: {34} But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his
side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. {35} And he that saw it
bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye
might believe. {36} For these things were done, that the scripture should be
fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. {37} And again another scripture
saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
:21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be
desolate.
:22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that
trust in him shall be desolate.
redeemeth – padah – to
ransom, redeem, rescue, deliver