The Psalms 12: The Faithful Have Vanished

Psalm 12 is a psalm of Lamentation, but it is also a psalm of hope in the end. It’s helpful to see that even when there’s reason to lament, there’s also reason to hope for the future. Too often we get caught up in just focusing on the lamentation, and we fail to see the other side of it. I know that I fall prey to that, just as much as anyone else. So I’m thankful for this opportunity to remember that there’s another side to lamentation.

Let’s get into the psalm!

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Save, O Yahweh, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

The word which starts this whole thing off is the Hebrew word ‘hoshiah’ (הוֹשִׁ֣יעָה) which comes from the root word ‘yasha’ (ישׁע), and that is where the word Yeshua/Jesus comes from. So here we see the psalmist (David) calling out for salvation. It’s not readily apparent when we read it in the English but if we were reading it in the Hebrew we would be able to read this verse and make a connection to Jesus. While this isn’t what David would’ve been specifically going for while writing this psalm (so let’s not make too much of it), it’s helpful for us to be able to look at the Hebrew expectation of salvation, and how Jesus came to bring salvation.

We read that the godly have ceased to exist. The word here translated as ‘godly’ is the word ‘chesid’ (חסיד) which is most often translated as ‘saints’, or ‘godly’ but it is also very often translated as ‘merciful’. In fact, it comes from the root word of ‘chesed’ (חסד), which has the primary meaning of ‘mercy’. So, in effect, David is calling out to Yahweh for mercy because there is no one left on the earth who is being merciful.

Very often we view Jesus only in the light of His death, burial and resurrection but when we do this and we don’t see the mercy He came to proclaim we’re missing out on the actual gospel which Jesus Himself proclaimed while He was walking in Israel in the first century. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t at all want to downplay the death, burial and resurrection; on the contrary, I want to build it up by pointing out another part of the gospel which is often overlooked. Out of reverence for the great work that Jesus did by dying on the cross and then being resurrected three days later, we tend to gloss over His teachings as a part of His gospel. In fact, because of this we very often view the gospel as a thing which wasn’t known until after Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. We read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and think that’s all that there is to the gospel. We don’t allow that when Paul was writing to the Corinthians, maybe this is something they needed to be reminded of because they had heard teachers which were denying this part of the gospel.

The truth is, if we limit the gospel to the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah then we’re discounting that the writer of Hebrews said that the same gospel was preached to Israelites after they had left Egypt and were at the base of Mount Sinai. And we’re also discounting that Jesus, Himself, was said to have preached the gospel throughout His earthly ministry (Matt 4:23, Matt 24:14, Mark 1:14, Luke 4:17-18, Luke 8:1, Luke 20:1, etc.). Are we to believe that Jesus taught of His death, burial and resurrection for the entirety of His ministry and yet everyone was surprised when it went down the way that it did? Or, is it possible that the gospel is something bigger, and that part of that is, in part, an answer to verse in question? Is it possible that Jesus was preaching that Yahweh had finally brought Salvation from all of the godless? I’ll leave it to you to ponder over that one.

2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

When we read this verse it’s important to remember what it is that we are supposed to doing. It’s easy to just read this and go, “well yeah, lying is bad.” But it’s always important to back that up. It’s really easy to rest in our knowledge when we feel like we have a decent understanding of something. At least, that’s how it happens to me…

In Ephesians 4:25 we read something important in reference to this verse, “Therefore, putting away lying, "LET EACH ONE OF YOU SPEAK TRUTH WITH HIS NEIGHBOR," for we are members of one another.”

3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?"

The first part of these verses is enough to make you wince. We’ve all been a part of trying to flatter someone. Thankfully, it appears that it’s more than just flattering someone that leads to David asking to have your lips cut off by Yahweh. I think, though, the more important part here is probably the end of verse four. There we see that those with flattering lips and a boasting tongue say that they will shake off their masters by deceit. “Who is master over us?” While I wouldn’t build a doctrine around this, there appears to be a similarity between this statement and what we read in Revelation 13:4 which reads, “who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with Him?” The Revelation 13:4 reference is, itself, sits in opposition to Exodus 15:11 where the questions that is asked is, “Who is like You, O Yahweh, among the gods?”. The fact is that, in ancient times, this was a common way of referring to deity. So I think that it’s possible that when we read in verse four that those with flattering lips and a tongue that boast are asking, “who is master over us?” we’re seeing them try to set themselves up above God, and this is why David is asking for their lips and tongues to be cut off.

5 "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says Yahweh; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."

This is one of those verses that we could all take heart in. If you find yourself facing hard times, Yahweh is just about to stand up and place you in safety. Stay close to His heart.

6 The words of Yahweh are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Seven is the number of completion in the Hebrew mindset. Being purified seven times is being purified until the purification is complete. Silver was, at the time, rarely purified more than 2 or 3 time so saying this silver is purified 7 times is an extreme amount of purity. That’s how pure God and His words are!

7 You, O Yahweh, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. 8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

While at the end of this psalm we see David pointing out that ‘evil’ is everywhere, we have him starting out by proclaiming that God will keep His Word forever. And He will guard His people forever. So, when you look around and you see the wicked and the vile thriving in this world, remember that your King is about to arise and He’s got His hand overtop of you, holding back even more that you don’t see. Not only is our Creator watching over us but we are also being strengthened by the same refining fire that purifies silver.

So, even if you’re facing tribulation (and we will have tribulation in this world) this is working toward an end. And God’s Word is always true!

Be blessed as you go about your day, and rest in the purity of God’s perfect Word.

The Psalms 11: Faith in the LORD's Righteousness

Today we have a relatively short Psalm to go over. You probably noticed this because it only took me a couple days to get this one posted… But, while this particular Psalm may be short, it’s huge in the scope of what we’re dealing with. Righteousness if everything to God. I don’t even think that that’s hyperbole. Let’s get into it!

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain"? 2 For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.

There’s no point in running away from ourselves. Sometimes it seems like the easiest choice. Just give up your convictions and don’t stand up to the injustices going on around you. I know what it feels like. We all know how it feels that first time you stand firm in your convictions and you get kicked right in the teeth. It makes you question taking that stand again. Wouldn’t it be easier to just put my head down? But then, eventually, you’re one of the ones causing the injustice. At least I’ve seen that in my own life. The minute you let yourself worry about the hardships that may ensue, that’s the minute that you become someone different.

3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

All that stuff that I said just a minute ago, this is why. Your convictions are your foundation. When you let your foundation get swept away, it’s only a foregone conclusion that the rest of the house will also get swept away without a foundation. And the truth is, righteousness can only come from your foundation. And even then, only if your foundation is laid firmly in the Father.

4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

When we read this there’s the tendency to see the word temple and think about this big building that we’ve seen in paintings. We think about it like it’s cold and detached from our world, and all of that’s true, but it’s also not. The temple is God’s home. To think about it as cold and detached is like thinking about your own home as cold and detached. So when we think of the LORD being in His holy temple, we have to think about Him sitting in His house. I know this may seem like a small thing to mention but I think that it’s important to keep the temple in its proper context.

5 The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.

There’s something here that we may not see at first. It may even seem counterintuitive, but a straightforward reading of this verse makes it seem like the righteous are the ones who go through the refiner’s fire of tribulation. He hates the wicked, but He tests the righteous. When you read this and you see that the two are set in opposition to one another, you can’t help but think that this means that it’s one or the other. Now, I’m not saying this is how it always happens, but there seems to be a reason to believe that the wicked have it easy sometimes because God has given up trying to make them better. Conversely, much like we read about in 2 Cor 1:3-7 and 2 Pet 4:12-19, so long as we’re created anew in Messiah, we should expect trials to test our resolve, and to mold us more closely into the works of art which the Father has in mind for us.

And then, in the end, fire and brimstone will be the reward of the wicked. We shouldn’t confuse trial and tribulation with fire and brimstone, either. Sodom and Gomorrah got fire and brimstone, but not until God was going to wipe them off the face of the earth. The fire and brimstone came, not to mold the people of the cities but to end them. Trial and tribulation are a creative process which the Father uses to make us better, to make us more like Him. Fire and brimstone are the opposite. Fire and brimstone is all about destruction.

7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

This is the beginning and end, right here. The LORD is righteous. He loves righteousness. But, what is righteousness? When you look it up in the dictionary you’ll probably see something like, “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.” If you look up the Biblical definition of righteousness you’ll get this from Strong’s (H6666), “From H6663; rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity): - justice, moderately, right (-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).” This all comes from the Hebrew word Tsedeqah (צדקה). But these are all words on the page what does ‘righteousness’ actually mean?

Righteousness and justice are the very foundation of the Throne of God (Ps 89:14). If we look back to verse 3 of this psalm we are asked what will happen if the foundations are destroyed, and what the righteous will do. Well, without the foundation of righteousness, the righteous will be able to do nothing because there will be no righteousness. Righteousness, indeed, is our very calling! If we think back to the instructions which God gave the Israelites, there’s really nobody out there who would say that God didn’t want them to offer up sacrifices, but when you read Proverbs 21:3 we see that God views doing righteousness and justice as more acceptable than sacrifice.

The truth is that obedience to God is so much more important than most of us make it. Too often, we view our faith as a badge that we pin on top of our clothes but the truth is that our faith should be the clothes that we put on. And deeper than that, our faith should be how we walk while wearing those clothes and that badge. Do you have Biblical swagger? Would anyone know you’ve given your allegiance to the King of the Universe by the way you walk? Or do they need to look at the badge you’ve pinned to your chest? 

The Psalms 10: Why Do You Hide Yourself?

It’s probably good to mention that Psalm 10 is really a carryover of Psalm 9. Not only is the theme of very much related, but Psalms 9 and 10 are an acrostic of the alphabet in the Hebrew. This allows us to connect to the two psalms and take a greater understanding from the two, as we have more to go on.

1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

This psalm starts much like the 9^th Psalm ended. There is an expectation of judgement.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.

I highlighted the word ‘renounces’ here for a reason. When we see David talking about his enemies we often think of the Philistines, or some other army from another kingdom, but in order to renounce Yahweh you have to first know Him. The wicked that we’re talking about here are people who have been followers of the LORD but have turned away and renounced Him.

To try to relate this to our day and age, and to our salvation through our King Jesus, John 5:23 tells us the following, “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” When someone renounces the Son they are also renouncing the Father. In Matthew 21:33-46 Jesus tells us relates to us that the vinedressers who kill the son of the owner they will be judged in the same way as if they had done the act to the owner. To some who read this it may seem detached from their way of life (and that is wonderful and I pray that you continue your fervor in your walk with Jesus) but there are many out there right now who are rejecting Yeshua was Messiah. They have let their thirst for knowledge become an idol. And it’s an idol which has no breath inside of it. We need to understand that, according to this verse, they are now regarded as “the wicked” according to God. I don’t want to belabor this point but I also feel that it’s important that this should be pointed out.

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

Even though they may feel that they’re doing God’s will, the true God of this world is not actually in their thoughts.

5 His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. 6 He has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity."

When we stand firm in our ‘knowledge’ and not let the Spirit move and speak into a situation, we may be prospering according to the world but we are not advancing the Kingdom of God.

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

I mean, let’s be real, does anyone really want to be this guy? He’s starting to sound like a troll that hides under a bridge.

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength. 11 He has said in his heart, "God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see."

Never place yourself in the position, knowingly or unknowingly, that you’re trying to sneak a pitch passed God. At first it doesn’t seem like this is something we would ever do, but I can admit to this. I don’t mean to do it but anytime you do something you know is wrong because you don’t think that anyone is around to see it, you’re trying to sneak a pitch passed God. The only problem is that this isn’t baseball and the rules of that game don’t apply. Thankfully God gives us more than three strikes, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of them (Romans 6:1-2).

12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. 13 Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, "You will not require an account." 14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

We see in the apostolic writings of the first century that Jesus was found will the lowly. Read these last few verses and you may get a better understanding of why.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

There will come a time where all wickedness will be erased from the world. In the coming Kingdom, and whatever comes after it, we will eventually come to a place where wickedness is erased. But what can we do about it? There’s a fine line to walk here but our job as ambassadors of the King is to bring the Kingdom to the world. Now, I don’t believe that it’s our job to take dominion of positions of power and root out wickedness in the world. At least not as an official stance. We can do our best to walk out our lives as Jesus would. We can do our best to imitate the way our Messiah would act. If we do this, we can change the world!

16 The LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land. 17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

And this is one of the key factors that we miss in living out our Christian walk. Because we live in the now, and not in a monarchy, we have no real understanding of what it means to have a King. Our King is the one who grants us everything. A lot of Christians ‘believe’ that God is why we have everything, but I would argue that we very rarely understand what that actually means. Especially in the western world, because of our ‘freedom’, we see everything that’s ours as our possession. In a monarchy, the land you live on is the king’s and he’s granting you the ability to live there. My first reaction to that statement, as a good American, is to think that it’s my right to own my own land and anyone who tries to take that away from me is obviously my enemy. But God says that He wants to be our King, and we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

And this is our calling that follows through all the way up until today. In James 1:27 we read, “A religion that is pure and stainless according to God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” We are here to be God’s representatives to the world, and if we’re busy letting the Kingdom shine out into the world through us, these are the things that we’ll be a part of. 

Finally, I want to say that even when it feels like the Father is hiding himself from us, he’s still there. It may seem like He’s taken a backseat, but He still sees everything that’s going on and He still has your back. In Isaiah 42:16 we read, “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.” I think that it’s not only important that we take away that God will not forsake us. It’s also important that we see that God will take us down ways that we don’t know in order to get us where we need to be. That’s why we get uncomfortable. We’re always uncomfortable doing things we’re not familiar with, but that doesn’t mean that God’s not right there with us. Just move forward with allegiance to our King and He will make those crooked places straight.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed our walk through the past couple psalms. Post any questions in the comments.

I hope everyone is having a great day!

Shalom!

The Psalms 9: I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

One thing that can be missed when doing a verse by verse look at the Psalms is that the entire thing is a unit. I’m going to try to relay that here, but the psalm is twenty verses long, so it’s easy to slip into just looking at each individual verse, or a group of verses. Scholars and researchers are unsure as to what exactly the inscription means but one of the translations for “Muth-Labben” (מות לבן) is “death of a son”. I’m going to read this as if this is the case and try to draw out the heart of David. I’ll also try to do this in a way that, even if one of the other translations are correct (and there are a few, if you’d like to look them up) then this commentary will still promote a proper look at the characteristics of God. It should be noted that many believe that “death of a son” was actually a pre-existing song which David was instructing the reader to sing this psalm to the tune of.

For the choir director; on Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. 2 I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Sometimes this is one of the hardest things in the world to do. Sometimes everything is fine and you feel joyous and you want to thank God and praise Him. But sometimes your world is crashing in on you and it’s so difficult to thank God for all you have. Especially when you feel like you don’t really have anything left. The truth is that this is the time when we need to thank Him the most.

3 When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You. 4 For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously.

When we focus on our “enemies”, we have the tendency to dwell on them. We let them take up a place in our brain and we let ourselves see the good things that they have. Why do we give them that much of our headspace? Focus on God, and on what He has done for you. First, make sure that your cause is just. If your seeking righteousness, rest assured that you are an instrument God is using to send out His righteousness and justice into the world. If you’re not sure that your cause is just, seek God. In fact, this brings to mind a verse that we have all heard (probably) but few of us heed its advice. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Is our first response in every situation to view the predicament through the constitution of the Kingdom? I know that I can admit that I don’t always act this way.

5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, And You have uprooted the cities; The very memory of them has perished.

Just remember that while we are worrying about the things around us, God is working from His throne. God has your back, even when it seems like the enemies are closing in around you. Maybe it even seems like the attacks have begun. One thing we know is that, in the end, God is going to destroy the wicked. And even though God doesn’t want anyone to perish, many people choose to come against God and His people, and they are choosing their side. The convicting thing for me is that I don’t pray for my enemies nearly as often as I should. More often than not, I don’t see the abysmal future my enemies are in for and I think only of my own situations. This isn’t the way I should be doing things.

7 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, 8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

Does this scare you as much as it should? He’s going to judge the world in righteousness. The righteousness of God is not something easy to get passed. If you want a quick overview of how God feels about unrighteousness then you may want to read the first couple chapters of the book of Romans. This is why we, followers of the Messiah, must cling to the teachings of Jesus and do our best to walk out the same faith that He walked in. We’re not saved by these actions. We’re saved by the grace of God because we place our faith in Him. Roman 3:21-26 spells this out pretty clearly but if you read on to verse 31 we see that our faith doesn’t remove our works. What it really does is emphasize the need for a righteous walk of faith.

9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

The deeper you look into the Kingdom of God the more you find that the Kingdom is all about relief from oppression and the eventual freedom from all bondage. When man was first created, he was created to live in the freedom of the Garden and to walk freely with God. But then we took on the yolk of sin and we started down our path into bondage. At every turn God has been taking away bondage from us. From Abraham’s separating from the gods of his fathers to Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, to Jesus’s releasing us from our bondage to sin, the chains have been breaking since the very beginning. And as we walk out our faith the way Jesus did, it’s our ministry to restore freedom to those who are oppressed.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds.

It may, at first, be easy to overlook this verse but, are you? Are you declaring the deeds of your King to the people around you? Do the people you interact with every day know how much you appreciate the blessings you’ve been given by our King? Or do you just accept it and walk out the same steps as those around you who aren’t in covenant with our God and King?

12 For He who requires blood remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

The cries of the afflicted echoed out for thousands of years. For generations upon generations you can imagine a seen like we see in the sixth chapter of Revelation where the souls under the altar cried out, “How long…”. And after those thousands of years there was finally an answer to the cries of the afflicted. Blood was required and our perfect Passover Lamb offered himself up so that we could come close to Him.

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD; See my affliction from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death, 14 That I may tell of all Your praises, That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.

There’s something that we should pay attention to here. Do you notice why we should be expected to be lifted up from the gates of death? It’s so that we can tell people about all that God has done for us. When He lifts you out of the muck and mire, do you sing His praises? I ask all of these questions because I know that I’ve been guilty of not following the prescribed pattern. I’ve bene the one who just let it go. Who said, “thank you,” and then moved back into the same formula which got me in the muck and mire to begin with.

15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

This verse is of special concern. So often today we let ourselves be caught up on politics (whether they be on the right or on the left) and we argue with others with the audacity of religious zealots, but always remember that our battles are not against flesh and blood. Our arguments are not with Democrats or the Republicans. Our King has a Kingdom, and our residence is in the Kingdom. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the squabbles of the nations or you may get dragged down with them also.

16 The LORD has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion Selah.

In today’s culture, this is something that is longed for. One might remember the verse in Revelation where the souls are under the alter, crying out, “how long, O Lord, holy and true.” We see God’s work all around us, and surely He’s preparing a snare for the wicked, but how long will it be before the trap is sprung? How long will those following after His Light have to endure? My life, though I sometimes face hardship, is easy compared to those truly facing tribulation. There are countless Christians facing persecution. So, yes, sometimes you wonder how long until the wicked are snared. In the end, the truth is that we know that they will be snared by the work of His hands. And , for now, that will have to be the solace we use. The other thing to remember is that we should also ask for the salvation of our enemies. What greater testimony could there be than our enemies coming to know the salvation of our God, and fighting for His Name.

17 The wicked will return to Sheol, Even all the nations who forget God. 18 For the needy will not always be forgotten, Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.

The end will come, in due time. Our greatest duty is to move forward every day, advancing the Kingdom of our Lord. What will you do with what you are given?

19 Arise, O LORD, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You. 20 Put them in fear, O LORD; Let the nations know that they are but men. Selah.

There is no world in which men are greater than God. Notice that throughout this plea for God’s vindication David is always asking God to move. He’s not moving himself, he’s letting God do His thing. Rest in the Word of the Lord and let Him be the one to take righteous action, because there is no righteous action outside of His will.

I hope that this has been of some insight to you. I hope that you find some degree of peace by reading it. But, the more important thing is the reading of the actual Scripture. Allow yourself to reflect on these psalms. Ask the Holy Spirit to provide the insight that the Father wants you to receive.

Shalom!