Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
December 3, 2003
Psalm 61 – Praying Despair to Praise
We’ll look at this on Sunday morning.
Psalm 62 Trust God not men
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.
Jeduthun – Y@duwthuwn – “praising”; a Levite of the family of
Merari and the chief of one of the 3 choirs of the
temple whose descendants also formed one of the perpetual temple choirs; he is
named at the beginning of 3 Psalms (Ps 39:1; 62:1; 77:1) either as the composer
or the recipient of those Psalms but most likely as the leader of the choir by
which those Psalms were to be sung
:1-7 Trusting in God
:1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh
my salvation.
waiteth – duwmiyah – silence, still, repose, still waiting
salvation – y@shuw‘ah – salvation, deliverance; welfare,
prosperity; victory
:2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my
defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
rock – tsuwr – rock, cliff
salvation – y@shuw‘ah – salvation, deliverance; welfare,
prosperity; victory
defence – misgab – high place, refuge, secure height,
retreat; stronghold; refuge (of God)
A warrior out in the open field had to keep his guard up. But a warrior who
was in an impregnable fortress could get some rest.
:3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a
man?
imagine mischief – hathath’ – (Poel) to shout at, be frantic at, assail, break in,
overwhelm, imagine mischief
David is talking about people who are out to get him.
:4 they bless with their mouth, but they curse
inwardly. Selah.
Some people say nice things to you to your face, but inside they’re cursing
you.
:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my
expectation is from him.
expectation – tiqvah – cord; hope, expectation; things hoped
for, outcome
:8-12 Don’t trust men
:8 God is a refuge for us
refuge – machaceh – refuge, shelter; from rain or storm,
from danger; of falsehood
:9 Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of
high degree are a lie
vanity – hebel – vapour, breath; breath, vapour; vanity (fig.)
a lie – kazab – a lie, untruth, falsehood, deceptive
thing
(NLT) Ps 62:9 From the greatest to the lowliest—all are nothing in
his sight. If you weigh them on the scales, they are lighter than a puff of
air.
:10 become not vain in robbery
Illustration
Gem of the day: A bank teller had been robbed for the third time by the
same man. A police officer asked whether she had noticed anything specific
about the criminal.
“Yes,” the teller replied. “He seems to be better-dressed every time he
comes in.”
-- Ann Landers, 10-29-92
:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy
Lesson
Expectations and Trust
Expectations – in marriage a great part of getting along is adjusting
expectations
Illustration
A married couple was celebrating their 60th
wedding anniversary. At the party everybody wanted to know how they managed to
stay married so long in this day and age. The husband responded “When we were
first married we came to an agreement. I would make all the major decisions and
my wife would make all of the minor decisions. And in 60 years of marriage we
have never needed to make a MAJOR decision.”
Illustration
Loving Parents
As Barb was getting to know David and his family, she was
very impressed by how much his parents loved each other. “They’re so
thoughtful,” Barb said. “Why, your dad even brings your mom a cup of hot coffee
in bed every morning.” After a time, Barb and David were engaged, and then
married. On the way from the wedding to the reception, Barb again remarked on
David’s loving parents, and even the coffee in bed. “Tell me,” she said, “does
it run in the family?” “It sure does,” replied David. “And I take after my
mom.”
What do you expect from God?
Do you expect Him to answer all your prayers the way you want?
One thing you can count on is His mercy.
What do you do when God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you hoped for?
Do you run to “plan B”?
Some people trust in bad things and bad men, others trust
in good men. Neither have the answer.
We need to keep trusting God.
Psalm 63 Wilderness Song
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
wilderness – midbar – wilderness; pasture; uninhabited
land, wilderness; large tracts of wilderness (around cities)
When was this?
He seems to have been king at the time (vs.11)
Perhaps when he was fleeing from Absalom.
Spurgeon: David did not
leave off singing because he was in the wilderness, neither did he in slovenly
idleness go on repeating Psalms intended for other occasions; but he carefully
made his worship suitable to his circumstances, and presented to his God a
wilderness hymn when he was in the wilderness. There was no desert in his
heart, though there was a desert around him.
:1-2 Thirst for God
:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty
land, where no water is;
early will I seek – shachar – to seek, seek early or earnestly,
look early or diligently for
longeth – kamahh – (Qal) to long for, faint, faint with
longing
dry – tsiyah – dryness, drought, desert
thirsty – ‘ayeph
– faint, exhausted, weary
:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have
seen thee in the sanctuary.
power – ‘oz – might,
strength
glory – kabowd – glory, honour, glorious, abundance
David is talking about what he’s seen at the Tabernacle. The Temple
has not been built yet.
:3-6 Praising God’s lovingkindness
:3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.
Illustration
Discouraged? Take this good counsel from Charles Spurgeon: “Plunge yourself
in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in His immensity; and you shall come
forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which
can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so
speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the
Godhead.”
-- C.H. Spurgeon
lovingkindness – checed – goodness,
kindness, faithfulness
The Hebrew word appears 241 times in the Old Testament; 127 of those times
in the Psalms alone.
Over 50 times in the Bible the word is found paired with the Hebrew word ‘owlam, which
is translated “forever”. His mercy endures forever.
1Ch 16:34
O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for
ever.
Ps 25:6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses;
for they [have been] ever of old.
Jer 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love: therefore
with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee.
Another paring is with the word “truth”, this paring is found over 30
times.
Ps 40:11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let
thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
Ps 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace
have kissed [each other].
Ps 100:5 For the LORD [is] good; his mercy
[is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
Pr 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of
the LORD [men] depart from evil.
This paring reminds me of Jesus:
(John 1:17 KJV) For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Some people don’t appreciate God’s lovingkindness. Jonah was kind of upset
with God over the issue:
Jon 4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD,
[was] not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before
unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou [art] a gracious God, and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Jonah wanted God to judge the people of Nineveh,
not have mercy on them.
life – chay – life (abstract emphatic); life;
sustenance, maintenance
How precious is God’s kindness to you? Is it “better than life”?
:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will
lift up my hands in thy name.
lift up my hands – surrender, physical
:7-11 God takes care of enemies
:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right
hand upholdeth me.
followeth hard – dabaq – to cling,
stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely,
join to, overtake, catch
:11 But the king shall rejoice in God
the king - David
Lesson
Praising in the wilderness
David could praise God in the wilderness based on God’s love, not his
circumstances.
Measure God’s lovingkindness in your life.
Is it worth more than life to you?
If not, perhaps you need to take some more time to look at God’s love for
you.
Paul prayed for the Ephesians:
(Eph
3:17-20 KJV) That Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, {18} May
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; {19} And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. {20} Now unto
him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us,
Paul wrote to the Romans:
(Rom
8:35-39 KJV) Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
{37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39}
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our love for the Lord can be tied to our understanding of our sins and our
need for His forgiveness.
(Luke 7:36-50 KJV) And one of the Pharisees desired him that he
would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to
meat. {37} And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that
Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of
ointment, {38} And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his
feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his
feet, and anointed them with the ointment. {39} Now when the Pharisee which had
bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a
prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. {40} And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master,
say on. {41} There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed
five hundred pence, and the other fifty. {42} And when they had nothing to pay,
he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him
most? {43} Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.
And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. {44} And he turned to the
woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I
entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath
washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. {45} Thou
gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to
kiss my feet. {46} My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath
anointed my feet with ointment. {47} Wherefore I say
unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to
whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. {48} And he said unto her, Thy
sins are forgiven. {49} And they that sat at meat with him began to say within
themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
{50} And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Do you find yourself identifying more with the sinner
woman or with Simon the Pharisee?
When His love is better than life, we can handle the
wilderness.
Lesson
Wet or dry?
When you are dry and thirsty, you are in a position for something
incredible to happen:
(John 7:37-39 KJV) In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. {38} He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
{39} (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified.)
We often talk about those “dry” times in our lives as
being so unbearable.
Yet what if we were only a step away from times of
refreshing?
Psalm 64 God and Snipers
:1-6 Snipers attack
:1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my
life from fear of the enemy.
prayer – siyach – meditation, complaint, musing
The real issue is fear.
David is going to talk about the things that wicked people are doing to
him. They are saying things and plotting things against him.
But the real problem is the fear we have of these things.
:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked;
from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
secret counsel – cowd – council,
counsel, assembly; secret counsel
insurrection – regesh – throng,
in company; (TWOT) scheming
:3 Who whet their tongue like a sword
whet – shanan – to sharpen, whet
The real weapons David experienced were the words coming from these people.
:4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect
perfect – tam – perfect,
complete; an ordinary, quiet sort of person; complete, morally innocent, having
integrity; one who is morally and ethically pure
Sounds like a sniper. Waiting and picking out his target.
:6 They search out iniquities
Some people are always looking for something wrong.
Illustration
Pessimist and Hunting Dog
An optimist sees the best in the world, while a pessimist sees only the
worst. An optimist finds the positive in the negative, and a pessimist can only
find the negative in the positive. For example, as a duck hunter, I was in the
market for a new bird dog a few years ago. My search finally ended when I found
a dog that could not only retrieve, but could actually walk on water! Shocked
by my find, I was both skeptical that the dog would be able to keep this up
after I purchased it (you know, maybe the salesman was somehow playing a cruel
trick on me), and also that any of my friends would ever believe me. I decided
to try to break the news to one friend at a time starting with a long-time
buddy who was also a hunter. He was a pessimist by nature, but invited him to
hunt with me and my new dog. As we waited, carefully concealed by the shore, a
flock of ducks flew by. We fired, and ducks fell at a distance. The dog
responded and jumped into the water. The dog, however, did not sink but instead
walked across the water to retrieve the birds, never getting more than his paws
wet. This continued all day long—each time a duck fell, the dog walked across
the surface of the water to retrieve it. My pessimist buddy watched carefully,
saw everything, but did not say a single word about it the entire day. On the
drive home the silence was suddenly broken when my friend said, “Too bad about
your dog.” A little surprised at his statement, I asked,
“What do you mean?” “I mean,” drawled the pessimist slowly, “it’s too
bad ya got stuck with one that can’t swim.”
:7-10 God shoots back
:7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow
God shoots at them.
:8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall
upon themselves
(Prov 26:27 KJV) Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
(Prov 26:27 NLT) If you set a trap for
others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on
others, it will roll back and crush you.
:10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD
Lesson
Trust Him with snipers
There will be people who will want to “get” you for no good reason.
David was counting on God to take care of these folks.
Paul wrote to the Romans:
(Rom 12:18-21 KJV) If it be
possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. {19} Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is
written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. {20} Therefore if
thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing
thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. {21} Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good.
Psalm 65 God answers prayer
:1-5 God hears prayer
:1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and
unto thee shall the vow be performed.
praise – t@hillah – praise, song or hymn of praise;
adoration, thanksgiving (paid to God)
waiteth – duwmiyah – silence, still, repose, still waiting
Sion – Tsiyown – (also, “Zion”)
“parched place”; another name for Jerusalem
especially in the prophetic books
Back in Psalm 63, David talked about being in a “dry” and thirsty land.
(Psa 65:1 NLT) What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you,
Keeping your word to God.
:2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all
flesh come.
hearest – shama‘– to hear, listen to, obey
prayer – t@phillah – prayer
:3 thou shalt purge them away.
thou shalt purge – kaphar – (Piel) to
cover over, pacify, propitiate; to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement
for; to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites
:4 we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy
house, even of thy holy temple.
temple – heykal – palace, temple, nave, sanctuary
:5 By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou
answer us, O God of our salvation
terrible things – yare’ – (Niphal) to be fearful, be
dreadful, be feared; to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe; to inspire
reverence or godly fear or awe
righteousness – tsedeq – justice,
rightness, righteousness
(Psa 65:5 NLT) You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome
deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who
sail on distant seas.
:6-13 God’s work in nature
:8 the outgoings of the morning and evening
the dawn and sunset
:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks …
Lesson
Pray because God cares for you too
If God does such powerful and wonderful things for all of His creation, He
will do the same for you.
(Mat 6:25-34 KJV) Therefore
I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put
on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? {26} Behold the
fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye
not much better than they? {27} Which of you by taking thought can add one
cubit unto his stature? {28} And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: {29}
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. {30} Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to
day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith? {31} Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? {32} (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. {33} But seek ye
first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. {34} Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
You are more valuable than birds or flowers.
When Jesus says, “Take no thought …” He doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be
thinking about these things. He means
that we shouldn’t worry.
Paul told us to do when we worry. He
told us to pray.
(Phil 4:6-7 NLT) Don't worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and
thank him for all he has done. {7} If you do this, you will experience God's
peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His
peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Ask God for your needs.