Thursday
Evening Bible Study
September
17, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem
sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well.
It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV)
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s “soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
Some may say, “I’m not an emotional
kind of person. I just worship God with
my mind”
Yet worship is the very heart of
our relationship with God. It’s the
place where our soul, our emotions, connect with our spirit. It’s the place of intimacy with God.
Can you imagine your spouse saying
to you as you are getting married, “I just want you to know I’m not a very
emotional person. I just want to love
you with my mind.”
What kind of intimacy is that?
God desires that we know Him and
that we know Him intimately. He is our
groom. We are His bride. Jesus said,
(John 4:23–24 NKJV) —23 But the
hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth.”
God is looking for
worshippers. People who connect their “spirit” with God’s Spirit.
It is my prayer that as we continue on this journey through the Psalms, we
won’t just look at these songs academically, with our mind, but that we may
also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 4 – Dealing with bullies
To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. A Psalm of David.
It is thought that this was written at the same time as Psalm 3, while
David was fleeing for his life.
:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my
distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
:1 You have relieved me in my distress
David was going through a time with
difficult people giving him much grief.
Is anybody going through something like this?
relieved – rachab
– to be or grow wide, be or grow large;
(Hiphil) to make large; to
enlarge
Old King James –
thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress
God enlarges us when we are in
“distress”.
Exercise and muscle building.
Muscles get larger through breaking them down.
We grow stronger when we are in
“distress”
Lesson
Growth in
distress
We saw in the book of Job that at
the end of Job’s difficulties, he exclaimed,
(Job 42:5 NKJV) “I have heard of You
by the hearing of the ear, But now my
eye sees You.
Illustration
Annie S. Hawks wrote a poem in 1872
and wrote about what had led to the poem:
One day as a young
wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks.
Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began
to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then
the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of
me.
Her poem touched a lot of hearts.
Sixteen years later, Mrs. Hawks
experienced the death of her husband. Years after, she wrote:
I did not
understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of
humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the
shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in
the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet
serenity and peace.
It is important that we develop
strong spiritual lives in the peaceful hours so that we can do better when the
difficulties comes, because they will come.
Here are her words, with the chorus
that was added later by Robert Lowry:
I need Thee every
hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee every
hour; stay Thou near by. Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.
I need Thee every
hour, in joy or pain. Come quickly, and abide, or life is vain.
I need Thee every
hour; teach me Thy will, and Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
I need Thee every
hour, Most Holy One; O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
Chorus: I need
Thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Savior—I come
to Thee!
Mrs. Hawks had stumbled onto
something before really coming to grasp its full implications. God is here for
us.
:2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How
long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah
:2 How long … shame
The people that were causing David trouble were out to bring him shame.
They were people who loved
worthless stuff.
They were people who didn’t have a
problem lying about him.
:2 worthlessness – riyq
– emptiness, vanity, empty, idle, vain
:2 falsehood – kazab
– a lie, untruth, falsehood, deceptive thing
:2 Selah
Pause and think about it.
:3 But know that the Lord has
set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord
will hear when I call to Him.
David knew that he belonged to God.
He knew that God would hear his prayer.
:4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be
still. Selah
:4 Be angry, and do not sin.
Lesson
Dangerous anger
Paul will quote this passage to the Ephesians:
(Ephesians 4:26
NKJV) “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your
wrath,
Some people like to justify their anger and say that they are just angry
like God is angry (the “wrath of God”).
The problem is that we rarely get angry without sinning.
James wrote,
(James
1:19–20 NKJV) —19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Billy Martin was famous for his angry tirades.
Illustration
In his autobiography, Number 1, Billy Martin told
about hunting in Texas
with Mickey Mantle. Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his ranch.
When they reached the ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he
checked in with his friend. Mantle’s friend quickly gave them permission to
hunt, but he asked Mickey a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going
blind, and he didn’t have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked
Mickey to shoot the mule for him.
When Mickey came back to the car, he pretended to be
angry. He scowled and slammed the door. Billy asked him what was wrong, and
Mickey said his friend wouldn’t let them hunt. “I’m so mad at that guy,” Mantle
said, “I’m going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!” Mantle drove like
a maniac to the barn. Martin protested, “We can’t do that!” But Mickey was firm.
“Just watch me,” he shouted.
When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car
with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. As he was leaving, though, he
heard two shots, and he ran back to the car. He saw that Martin had taken out
his rifle, too. “What are you doing, Martin?” he yelled. Martin yelled back,
face red with anger, “We’ll show that son of a gun! I just killed two of his
cows!”
Be careful of that anger of yours.
You may need to learn to ditch it.
I think sometimes we need to listen
to the voice of reason. Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 15:1 NKJV) A soft
answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Paul’s word to the Ephesians also
has something to consider
(Ephesians 4:26b NKJV) …do not let the sun go down on your wrath
In other words,
learn to deal with your anger and don’t let it fester.
One fellow said
that the secret to his 50 year marriage with his wife was that they never went
to bed without settling any differences between them. But he concedes there have been times when he
went ten days without sleep.
:4 Meditate within your heart on
your bed, and be still
meditate – ‘amar
– to say in one’s heart, to think, to promise, to intend
It sounds a little to me like
prayer.
:5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord.
:6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift up the light of Your
countenance upon us.
:6 the light of Your countenance
countenance – paniym –
face; presence, person
There is light when we are in God’s presence, before His “face”.
The Israelite priests were supposed to bless the people with this blessing:
(Numbers 6:24–26
NKJV) —24 “The Lord bless you
and keep you; 25
The
Lord make His face shine upon
you, And be
gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance
upon you, And give you
peace.”
David is asking God to do what the priests ask for. He’s asking for God’s “face”, for God’s
“presence”.
:7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their
grain and wine increased.
Sometimes we can find ourselves
getting so happy over material things, as ancient people would be thrilled over
a great crop.
Yet the joy that God wants to put
in our heart is far greater.
:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
:8 lie down in peace, and sleep
So how do you handle the bullies in life?
Illustration
Big John Doesn't Pay!
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and
drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops-a few people got
on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a
big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging
down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!”
and sat down at the back. Did I mention that the driver was five feet three,
thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big
John, but he wasn’t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened-Big
John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next
day, and the one after that, and so forth. This grated on the bus driver, who
started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally
he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate,
judo, and all that good stuff. Even ate a little spinach. By the end of the summer, he had become quite
strong; what’s more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday,
when Big John once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!,” the
driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, “And why not?”
With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has bus pass.”
When you can’t sleep, you probably don’t need to bulk up to stand toe to
toe with Big John.
When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep, Talk to the shepherd.
Psalm 5 – Morning Song
To the Chief Musician. With Flutes. A Psalm of David.
:1 Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
:1 meditation – hagiyg
– whisper, musing, murmuring
NASB – “groaning”, NIV – “lament”
:2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will
pray.
:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I
will look up.
:3 in the morning
Lesson
First things
Whenever I talk about spending time with God in the morning, I get people
who come up to me and tell me that they just can’t do that because they aren’t
“morning people”.
My goal isn’t to get you up at 5:00 a.m. every morning. My hope is to get you up fifteen minutes
earlier than you might normally get up.
If you don’t normally get up until noon, then try getting up at 11:45am.
Give God the first part of your day.
Let God set the tone of your day.
But I think it’s really a great
thing to start your day with the Lord.
My morning routing typically revolves around me going on a walk.
I have my prayer list on my phone on an app called “One Note”. As I walk, I work my way through my prayer
list. I get exercise as I pray. And I don’t fall asleep as I’m praying.
Then as I continue walking I listen to the Bible using the YouVersion Bible
app.
:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall
evil dwell with You.
:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of
iniquity.
:5 The boastful shall not stand
in Your sight
Forgive me for sounding
“political”, but I truly hope that if Mr. Trump thinks that the Bible is the
best book of all time, that he might be able to learn from this.
:6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
:7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your
mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
:7 come …in the multitude of Your mercy
Some people have the impression that Christians think they are better than
other people.
We can point our fingers all we want at other people, but the truth is, we
are all sinners, only able to be in God’s presence because of His mercy.
Though David knew about turning
from sin and living a life that pleases God, he came into God’s house counting
on God’s mercy.
:8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your
righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.
:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is
destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their
tongue.
Here’s what’s behind the song – these people flatter David, then turn on
him.
:10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast
them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled
against You.
:10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!
The danger of praying this for someone else is that God might decide that
this prayer works just as well aimed at you as well.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 7:5 NKJV) Hypocrite!
First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Check yourself before praying this prayer
:11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever
shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be
joyful in You.
:12 For You, O Lord, will
bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
:11 let all those rejoice
Lesson
Trust and praise
If you trust in God, then you should be praising Him.
When King Jehoshaphat (2Chr. 20) was faced with three enemy armies
converging on him, he cried out to God for help.
God sent an answer through the prophet Jahaziel saying,
(2
Chronicles 20:15b NKJV) …Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for
the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Jehoshaphat and the people considered what the prophet had just told them,
and they responded to the incoming invaders in a unique way. They did send the army out to meet the enemy,
but they sent the worship band in front of the army.
(2
Chronicles 20:21b NKJV) … as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures
forever.”
As they praised God for His promise, God took care of the
enemy.
Paul said we should handle anxiety and fears this same way:
(Philippians 4:6–7
NKJV) —6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.
It’s when we learn to add “thanksgiving” to our prayers
that we find God’s peace in the middle of difficult times.
How can we be “thankful”?
It comes when we put the matter squarely in God’s hands, and allow God
to do whatever He wants to do. Is God
going to answer your prayer? Is God
going to help you?
That doesn’t mean you don’t have anything else to do. God might lead you to take action. But peace comes from knowing that God is
going to hear and respond.
Song:
Psalm 5
Give ear to my words O Lord
Consider my meditation
Hearken unto the voice of my cry
My King and my God
For unto Thee will I pray
My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning
O Lord in the morning
Will I direct my prayer
Unto Thee and will look up
Psalm 5 / Words & Music by Bill Sprouse Jr. / ©
1975 Maranatha! Music / Psalm5.doc
Song:
Let All Those Who Trust In Thee
Let all those
Who trust in Thee rejoice
Let all those
Who trust in Thee rejoice
We will shout for joy
Because You are our Shield
Let all those
Who trust in Thee rejoice
We will shout for joy
Because You are our Shield
Let all those
Who trust in Thee rejoice
Let all those who love Thy name ...
Let All Those Who Trust In Thee / Words & Music
by John Wickham / © 1987 J & L Music / LetThose.doc
Psalm 6 – Afflicted Souls
To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. On An Eight-Stringed
Harp. A Psalm of David.
Eight-Stringed Harp - sh@miyniyth
– Sheminith; perhaps an eight-stringed musical instrument; perhaps a
musical notation, i.e. an octave
One suggestion is that in the
middle of the song, when the tone of the psalm changes, the key changes or
perhaps the octave changes to reflect the change in attitude.
This Psalm is commonly known as the first of the seven “penitential” psalms.
(The other six are Ps 32; 38; 51;
102; 130; 143).
“Penitential” means it expresses sorrow, humiliation, and the hatred of
sin, which are the marks of a person who is truly turning to God.
:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me
in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
David is going through a time of great difficulty.
He feels like maybe even God is against him or angry with him.
:2 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am weak; O Lord,
heal me, for my bones are troubled.
:3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord—how long?
:3 troubled – bahal
– to disturb, alarm, terrify, hurry, be disturbed, be anxious, be afraid,
be hurried, be nervous
Spurgeon writes, “Calvin’s
favourite exclamation was, “Domine
usquequo” —O Lord, how long? Nor
could his sharpest pains, during a life of anguish, force from him any other
word. Surely this is the cry of the
saints under the altar, “O Lord, how long?”
:4 Return, O Lord, deliver
me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
:5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who
will give You thanks?
:5 In the grave …
David feels he’s close to death and he’s negotiating with God over his
life.
It could be he’s physically ill.
Some have suggested that this Psalm
might have been written while David was living with the Philistines and
pretending to help the Philistines, all the while he was attacking the enemies
of Judah. Perhaps he’s afraid that his
very perilous situation could change at any time.
:6 I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my
couch with my tears.
He’s talking about the amount of tears he’s shed, not swimming on a water
bed.
:7 My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my
enemies.
:8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
:8 the voice of my weeping
Spurgeon:
“Let us learn to think of tears as liquid prayers,
and of weeping as a constant dropping of strong intercession which will wear
its way right surely into the very heart of mercy, despite the stony
difficulties which obstruct the way.”
:9 The Lord has heard my
supplication; The Lord will
receive my prayer.
:10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and
be ashamed suddenly.
:10 Let all my enemies be …. troubled
David is praying that his enemies experience the same thing he’s
experiencing, “trouble” (Ps. 6:2-3)
:9 The Lord has heard my
supplication
Lesson
Prevailing Prayer
Answers don’t always come with a simple ten second prayer.
Sometimes answers require an element of fervency.
James wrote,
(James
5:16 NKJV) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much.
An example of fervent prayer is often seen in the wrestling of Jacob and
the angel.
Jacob had finally decided to leave the messed up family situation where his
uncle/father-in-law constantly took advantage of him. And yet as he journeyed back to his home in
Canaan, he knew he was going to have to face his brother whom he had ripped
off. The night before meeting his
brother he “wrestled” with God. We think
he was literally wrestling with Jesus.
(Genesis
32:24–30 NKJV) —24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the
breaking of day. 25
Now
when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his
hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said,
“Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said
to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but
Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob
asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said,
“Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob
called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my
life is preserved.”
We often see this as a picture of “wrestling” with God in
prayer. Prayer can take all night.
The prophet Hosea gave a little more insight and adds the emotional
component:
(Hosea
12:4 NKJV) Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and
sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us—
David also is weeping as he’s calling on God.
He’s weeping over his sin.
Prevailing prayer starts with my own sin.
Why is it important that we learn to “wrestle” with God and “press through”
in prayer?
It’s not about arm wrestling with God, twisting God’s arm, and winning your
prayer request.
It’s about learning to let God win over you.
It’s about being crippled if that’s what’s necessary for
you to be in the right place to have your prayer answered.
Jacob didn’t come out of this as the exultant warrior over
God. He came out as a man conquered by
God. He won because he had lost.
Psalm 7 – The Slandered Saint
A Meditation Concerning the Words of Cush, a Benjamite.
Cush – We don’t really know who Cush is, except that he was a person
who slandered David.
One suggestion is that it might be
another name for Shimei, the man who came out to curse David while he fled
Jerusalem from his son Absalom.
(2 Samuel 16:7–8 NKJV) —7 Also
Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you
rogue! 8 The Lord has brought upon you all the blood
of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the
hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil,
because you are a bloodthirsty man!”
This is the first of the “imprecatory” psalms, songs that ask for God’s
judgment against enemies.
The song of the slandered saint
:1 O Lord my God, in You I
put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me,
:2 Lest they tear me like a lion, Rending me in pieces, while there
is none to deliver.
:2 tear me like a lion
Being slandered is not too unlike being attacked by a lion.
We also have an enemy that wants to do this to us.
(1 Peter 5:8 NKJV) Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
Satan is also called the “accuser” (Rev. 12:10) of the brethren. He attacks us through slander.
(Revelation 12:10 NKJV) —10 Then I
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of
our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast
down.
:3 O Lord my God, if I have
done this: If there is iniquity in my hands,
:4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, Or have plundered
my enemy without cause,
:5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my
life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
:3 if I have done this
The difficulty with slander is that sometimes there can actually be a
kernel of truth in what is being said.
So is there any truth to this?
Can you learn from this? Are you teachable?
When we are faced with a criticism or a slander, we ought to be open to say
something like, “Lord if I’ve done something wrong, I want to know about it!”
Lesson
Staying teachable
Illustration
Robert Cook, President of King’s
College once related a true story from the early years of his ministry. Evidently at that time he had been receiving
some rather pointed criticism. In fact,
it had become of such great concern to him that he sought the counsel of a
friend, the beloved Bible expositor and pastor, Harry A. Ironside. Pouring out his heart, Bob Cook asked what he
should do about the denunciations being made against him. He wanted to know how to handle them. Ironside gave the following wise counsel:
“Bob, if the criticism about you is true, mend your ways! If it isn’t, forget about it!”
:6 Arise, O Lord, in Your
anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to
the judgment You have commanded!
:7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; For their sakes,
therefore, return on high.
:8 The Lord shall judge the
peoples; Judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness, And according to my integrity within me.
David is saying this in light of the accusations being given against
him.
David isn’t being self-righteous and claiming to be perfect.
He’s saying he’s innocent of the things being said about him.
:9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the
just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
:10 My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.
:11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked
every day.
:12 If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow
and makes it ready.
:13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows
into fiery shafts.
:14 Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives
trouble and brings forth falsehood.
:15 He made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which
he made.
:16 His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing
shall come down on his own crown.
:17 I will praise the Lord
according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
:16 His trouble shall return upon his own head
Lesson
In God’s hands
Today I got something in the mail, a letter from somebody I don’t know who
wrote, “May I please request that you mention about repentance in one of your
sermons.”
When I read that, it just made me mad.
I guess I must not mention repentance enough for him.
The funny thing is he then asked to speak at our church in case I need
someone to speak on repentance.
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do about slander except to put it into
God’s hands.
Let God be your defender.
Give it time.
Illustration
“Have patience awhile; slanders are not long-lived. Truth
is the child of time; ere long she shall appear to vindicate thee.”
Immanuel Kant
(1724–1804)
If you are righteous in the matter, God sees it.
Psalm 8 – In Awe of God
To the Chief Musician. On the Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.
the Instrument of Gath
Gath was the Philistine city where Goliath was from.
Either an instrument invented in Gath or invented by David while he lived
for a time in Gath.
Maybe it’s okay to use secular instruments in church. God can use those electric guitars and drums.
:1 O Lord, our Lord, How
excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above
the heavens!
:2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained
strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the
avenger.
:2 You have ordained strength
The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) reads here:
(Psalm 8:3 LES) From the
mouth of infants and nursing babies you created praise…
:3 Out of the mouth of babes
When Jesus cleared the moneychangers out of the temple, something else was
happening at the same time – the children were crying “Hosanna” to Jesus.
Jesus responded to the critics by quoting our verse
(Matthew 21:16
NKJV) …And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the
mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”
Jesus was quoting the Septuagint
version of our verse.
His whole point is that children know how to praise Jesus correctly.
We see God’s creation in our babies.
And they know how to praise. Or
at least this baby does …
:3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the
stars, which You have ordained,
:3 the work of Your fingers
In our Southern California night sky, we don’t see many stars.
But when you travel to the mountains or the desert, aren’t you amazed at what
you see at night?
I’ve been trying to learn to take better photographs, and on my walks lately
I’ve been taking pictures of flowers.
It’s made me aware of the beauty of things around me that I see every day
and yet don’t stop to notice.
Our God is awesome.
If the distance between the sun and
the earth, 93 million miles, were represented by the thickness of one sheet of
paper …
The distance to the nearest star,
Alpha Centauri, would be a stack of paper 73 feet high.
The distance to the edge of the
Milky Way galaxy would be a stack of paper 310 miles high.
The distance to the edge of the
known universe would be a stack of paper 30 million miles high.
This is the size of God’s
fingerpainting – the “work of His fingers”
:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You
visit him?
:4 What is man that You are mindful
David is quoting Job here (Job 7:17-18)
(Job 7:17–18 NKJV) —17 “What is
man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, 18 That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?
:5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have
crowned him with glory and honor.
:6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You
have put all things under his feet,
:5 a little lower than the angels
In God’s order of things, angels are considered greater than men.
And yet God has given man glory and honor and promises to give him dominion
over all creation.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that ultimately this is a description of
Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:6-9)
(Hebrews 2:6–9 NKJV) —6 But one
testified in a certain place, saying: “What is
man that You are mindful of him, Or the son
of man that You take care of him? 7 You have
made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have
put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that
is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace
of God, might taste death for everyone.
Jesus took on human flesh in order to die for our sins, to take our place.
Jesus showed His dominion over creation when He did things like calming the
storm and walking on water.
:7 All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field,
:8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the
paths of the seas.
:8 the paths of the seas
Matthew Maury was a naval officer who took this Scripture literally and
decided to see if he could find these “paths” in the seas that David spoke of.
Because of his work in charting the world’s ocean currents, he became known
as the “Pathfinder of the Seas” and “Father of Modern Oceanography”.
:9 O Lord, our Lord, How
excellent is Your name in all the earth!
:4 What is man that You are mindful of him
Lesson
Science leads to worship
When you take time to ponder the incredible creation around us, doesn’t it
make you respond with awe and wonder?
We have an incredible, powerful, intelligent Creator.
And He would even stop to think of us.
It ought to make us stop and worship.
Song
Oh Our Lord
Oh oh oh our Lord
Oh oh oh our Lord
How majestic is Your name
In all the earth
We behold the breaking dawn
The light that shines over everyone
We look to You, we long for You oh Lord
We behold the rising sun
The earth awakes Your hope has come
We look to You, we long for You oh Lord
We behold the falling rain
Like waters rise come flood this place
We reach for You, we cling to You oh Lord
Oh Your name is a light in the darkness
Oh Your name is the word of truth
Oh Your name oh Your name
Words & Music by David Leonard, Leslie Jordan,
Paul Baloche / ©2012 Integrity's Praise! Music/Integrity's Alleluia!
Music/Integrity Worship Music
Song
839 (Psalm 8)
When I consider
Consider the heavens You've prepared
The work of Your fingers
The moon and the stars that You hung there
When I consider
Through Your creation You provide
Perfect provisions
Everything we should desire
What is man
That You are mindful of him
Who am I
That you would call me (2x)
Your friend
Call me Your friend
O Lord, our Lord
Excellent is Your name in all the earth
8:39/Words & Music by Paul Johnson, Dan Looney
and Dave Dunagan/©2007 by Inspired Behavior Music/839.doc