In Today's Email:
Psalm 36 Notes
This psalm is by David and intended for use in the Temple. David is described as “the servant of the Lord” and the theme of the psalm is the blessedness of serving God.
vs. 1-2 – Here is described the mindset of the wicked. It is delusional and destructive.
vs. 3-4 – Here is described the actions of the wicked.
vs. 5-6 – The mercy and goodness of God is contrasted against the ways of the wicked previously described. How infinitely better are these His ways than the depravity of man!
vs. 7-9 – The blessedness of serving God is described.
vs. 10-12 – A prayer for God’s grace to be shown to the righteous.
Psalm 37 Notes
This psalm is by David. It is the third acrostic psalm. Instead of every verse being used in the succession of letters, it is every second verse. There are some other variations from the form that are more technical which I will spare you. This psalm examines how the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer.
vs. 1-11 – The fates of the righteous and the wicked are contrasted. These may seem to be reversed in this life, but the final tally has not been made.
vs. 12-15 – The wicked plot violence against the righteous.
vs. 16-20 – It is the wicked that will ultimately fall to violence, not the righteous. The righteous will receive blessing and not destruction.
vs. 21-24 – The contrasting paths and fates of the righteous and the wicked. There is a difference in how they live on earth and in eternity.
vs. 25-31 – The bountiful blessings of God that are poured out on the righteous.
vs. 32-33 – The wicked plot violence against the righteous.
vs. 34-40 - One of my favorites sayings is, “Time will tell.” If you examine human experience in only a small segment, it may seem that the wicked prevail and the righteous fall. If you take a larger view, the trends begin to favor the righteous. If you look at it from an eternal viewpoint, there is not comparison that can be made: the righteous are blessed by God and the wicked are destroyed.
Psalm 38 Notes
This psalm is written by David for the purpose of remembering. What exactly he is remembering is not initially clear. The psalm itself is a mournful lament of personal sin and its effects. This seems to indicate a connection with his sin with Bathsheba.
vs. 1-2 – David is confessing his sin. He acknowledges his guilt and the judgment against him as both being right. He knows he deserves to be righteously judged but God. Here he prays for mercy in that judgment.
vs. 3-7 – A striking description of the effects of sin in a believer’s life. We read in Romans that the “wages of sin is death”. To me, sin is a deadly poison. Though it may not rob the saint of eternal life, it is still a deadly and destructive force to be reckoned with in our earthly life. It is self-destructive.
vs. 8-10 – The desperate cry of the righteous soul afflicted by sin.
vs. 11-12 – Here are some of the practical effects of sin. It causes isolation as friends withdraw from us. It encourages the wicked in their machinations against us.
vs. 13-14 – Sin makes us helpless. It blinds us to the snares in our path and silences our ability to defend ourselves.
vs. 15-16 – Our only hope for victory over sin is through Christ. This is for both salvation from the penalty of sin and victory over the power of sin in our daily lives.
vs. 17-20 – Sin saps the believer of their spiritual strength and incites the wicked to attack us.
vs. 21-22 – A final desperate cry for the Lord to have mercy and aid the stumbling saint.
Psalm 39 Notes
This psalm is written by David and for use in public worship, addressing it specifically for Jeduthan (I Chronicles 15:6). This psalm pairs thematically and possibly chronologically with the preceding Psalm 38.
vs. 1-3 – David has made it a priority to guard his speech. He has remained silent now when most would have spoken. His heart is burning within him so that he can no longer refrain from speaking. The cause of this appears to be the wicked’s attacks against him which were encouraged by his sin.
vs. 4-5 – David speaks in a prayer that God would reveal to him just how small he is. He desires to see his insignificance before the Eternal God. This is a surprising move but a deeply wise one, nonetheless.
vs. 6 – How vain are many of our actions and priorities in light of the brevity of human life? It also causes pause to consider how pointless the defenses and rebuttals are that we feel obligated to offer against the wicked.
vs. 7-11 – How is there hope to be found from sin and its deadly effects? Only in God and not in human strength and wisdom.
vs. 12-13 – A final plea for God to hear and forgive him for his sins. There is an urgency to this call because of the shortness of time available for man to receive forgiveness, thus repeating the theme of the frailty of man from earlier in the psalm.
Closing Thoughts
The final two psalms we examined today deal with sin in the life of a believer. The righteous on earth are not made perfect until the are transformed after death. David, described as a “man after God’s own heart”, has some of the highest highs and the lowest lows in his life. All the great victories and beautiful psalms are there, but so is the adultery and murder. Through David, we see first hand the agony of a saint distressed by their sin. This contrition is rare today. We have gotten far to complacent and comfortable with the deadly poison of sin. We shrug off its effects in our lives and relationships. If we could only see that sin as God does, it would change our outlook completely.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today is “O God, Forsake Me Not”. It was originally written in German by Salamo Franck and was translated into English by August Crull. It draws themes from many psalms, but the opening refrain directly references 38:21-22.
O God, forsake me not!
Your gracious presence lend me;
Lord, lead Your helpless child;
Your Holy Spirit send me
That I my course may run.
O be my light, my lot,
My staff, my rock, my shield--
O God, forsake me not!
O God, forsake me not!
Take not Your Spirit from me;
Do not permit the might
Of sin to overcome me.
Increase my feeble faith,
Which You alone have wrought.
O be my strength and pow'r--
O God, forsake me not!
O God, forsake me not!
Lord, hear my supplication!
In ev'ry evil hour
Help me resist temptation;
And when the prince of hell
My conscience seeks to blot,
Be then not far from me--
O God, forsake me not!
O God, forsake me not!
Lord, I am Yours forever.
O keep me strong in faith
That I may leave You never.
Grant me a blessed end
When my good fight is fought;
Help me in life and death--
O God, forsake me not!