In Today's Email:
Psalm 90 Notes
This psalm is the first of Book IV of the Psalms. It was written by Moses, who here contrasts the eternal God against frail man.
vs. 1-2 – God had no beginning. He simply always was. He always will be.
vs. 3-6 – The feeble existence of man is contrasted with God’s eternalness.
vs. 7-11 – The mighty God judges sinful man and destroys him.
vs. 12 – A prayer for wisdom that we may use the limited time we have wisely.
vs. 13-16 – A prayer for God to restore His blessing on His children.
vs. 17 – A prayer that the will of God be done.
Psalm 91 Notes
No author is given for this psalm. It describes the refuge that God is for the righteous.
vs. 1-2 – The situation of the righteousness in the protection of God.
vs. 3-8 – The protection of God described. In vs. 4 is a wonderful word picture of God gathering us as a mother bird shelters her young beneath her wings.
vs. 9-13 – The place of protection for the righteous.
vs. 14-16 – The grace of and love of God is the source of our protection.
Psalm 92 Notes
No author is given for this psalm that is set for use on the Sabbath. It is a song of praise.
vs. 1-3 – The flow of praise from a heart in awe of God.
vs. 4-5 – The prompt of the praise is the mighty works of God.
vs. 6-9 – The wicked will not prosper long until the mighty God judges them.
vs. 10-11 – The hand of God raising the righteous.
vs. 12-15 – The state of the righteous with God’s blessing. Note the callbacks to Psalm 1 with the use of trees as metaphors for the righteous.
Psalm 93 Notes
No author or superscription is provided for this psalm. It is a song of praise for the God who reigns over all.
vs. 1 – The majesty of God described.
vs. 2 – God’s reign is eternal. It always has been and always will be.
vs. 3-4 – One of the strongest forces on earth is the rushing of mighty waters. God is infinitely greater than the mighty forces of nature.
vs. 5 – Two of the greatest descriptions of God are that He is true and that He is holy.
Psalm 94 Notes
No author or superscription is given for this psalm. It deals with the question of the righteous being afflicted for their sins.
vs. 1-3 – We open with a declaration of God’s sovereignty over the affairs of man. All is in His hands. But if that is the case, who can the victories of the wicked over the righteous be accounted for?
vs. 4-7 – The brazen and depraved acts of the wicked are encouraged because they do not believe the Lord sees them or will execute justice.
vs. 8-11 – The foolishness is displayed of doubting God does not see the actions of the wicked.
vs. 12-15 – The Lord works even with the hands of the wicked. Through affliction He purges His children of the sins. The principle of Romans 8:28 is not that everything is good that we face, but that those things have a purpose for our good.
vs. 16-19 – The confidence of the believer in trusting in God’s providence.
vs. 20-23 – This final section opens with a question: are the wicked in league with the holy God? The answer is no. Just because God works through them does not redeem them from their guilt. In the end, the righteous will still be blessed and the wicked will be punished.
Psalm 95 Notes
No author or superscription is given for this psalm, but it is attributed to David in Hebrews 4:7. Charles Spurgeon describes it vividly, saying, “It has about it a ring like that or church bells, and like the bells it sounds both merrily and solemnly, at first ringing out a lively peal, and then dropping into a funeral knell as if tolling at the funeral of the generation which perished in the wilderness.”
vs. 1-5 – A call to worship the mighty God who created all things.
vs. 6-7 – A call to worship the God who shepherds HIs people. The final phrase of vs. 7 transitions to the final section of warning.
vs. 8-11 – A warning that the current generation should not follow the failures of the unfaithful generation that left Egypt but failed to enter the Promised Land.
Closing Thoughts
A few times today we have seen references to the boundless scope of God’s existence. Someone once said that God is so infinitely beyond our understanding that we cannot properly understand His vastness. We resort to comparing Him to concepts we understand, then saying He is not like those. We cannot comprehend something without beginning or ending. Everything we see has both. But God? He has no beginning or end. He always has been and always will be. That is His eternal nature.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today is “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” was written by Isaac Watts and first printed in 1719. It is a paraphrase of the opening verses of Psalm 90. It is considered by many to be among Watt’s finest texts.
Our GOD, our Help in Ages past,
Our Hope for Years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy Blast,
And our Eternal Home.
Under the Shadow of thy Throne
Thy Saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine Arm alone,
And our Defence is sure.
Before the Hills in Order stood,
Or Earth receiv'd her Frame,
From Everlasting thou art GOD,
To endless Years the same.
Thy Word commands our Flesh to Dust,
Return, ye Sons of Men:
All Nations rose from Earth at first,
And turn to Earth again.
A thousand Ages, in thy Sight
Are like an Ev'ning gone;
Short as the Watch that ends the Night
Before the rising Sun.
The busy Tribes of Flesh and Blood,
With all their Lives and Cares,
Are carried downwards by the Flood,
And lost in following Years.
Time, like an ever-rolling Stream,
Bears all its Sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a Dream
Dies at the op'ning Day.
Like flow'ry Fields the Nations stand
Pleas'd with the Morning-Light;
The Flow'rs beneath the Mower's Hand
Lie with'ring e'er 'tis Night.
Our GOD, our Help in Ages past,
Our Hope for Years to come,
Be thou our Guard while Troubles last,
And our Eternal Home.