Saturday, May 28, 2011

Reflecting on the Psalms: Chapters 60-62

Psalm 60

To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.

1O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
 
2Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
 
3Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
 
4Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
 
5That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
 
6God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
 
7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
 
8Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
 
9Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
 
10Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
 
11Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
 
12Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Psalm 61

To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.

1Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
 
2From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 
3For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
 
4I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
 
5For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
 
6Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations.
 
7He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

8So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Psalm 62

To the chief Musician to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.

1Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
 
2He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
 
 3How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
 
 4They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
 
5My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
 
6He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
 
7In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
 
8Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

9Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
 
10Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
 
11God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

12Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

Chapter 60

Matthew Henry comments on the first few verses by stating the following, "David owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the hardships he had undergone. And when God is turning his hand in our favour, it is good to remember our former troubles. In God's displeasure their troubles began, therefore in his favour their prosperity must begin." Yeah, I agree with the aspect of remembering my former troubles because doing so allows to see God's glory in deliverance, which was what I did during my darkest moment. I display the banner to show the truth that can be found in Christ (v. 4). Doing so, I set an example for others in case they're interested in following Christ or just appreciate when a Christian treats them in a way that isn't judgemental. I try and show God's love to people, such as when I'm with friends, which is another way in which I display the banner. I could feel the Holy Spirit's touch, for example, when someone is dealing with problems and then I tell 'em I'll pray for 'em for end up doing it. I'd say there's a variety of ways that I could display the banner to people and it impacts their life as a result. Matthew Henry comments on verses 6-10 by stating the following, "David rejoices in conquering the neighbouring nations, which had been enemies to Israel. The Israel of God are through Christ more than conquerors. Though sometimes they think that the Lord has cast them off, yet he will bring them into the strong city at last." Although I don't have to worry about conquering cities, I am reminded in verses 6-10 that God can help me out with challenging tasks. Nothing is too big for Him and depending on Him is what helps me to do what I can't do on my own. And even if I think God isn't there for me, He'll still help me out when I need it (v. 11). If I were to apply verses 6-11 to my darkest moment, I'd say that God helped me to overcome the enemy since I couldn't do it on my own and there was no man could help me out cuz help from man would have been vain or meaningless. I did have people pray for me during my trial, though, which God did work through. I like Matthew Henry's thought on verse 12: " All our victories are from him, and while those who willingly submit to our anointed King shall share his glories, all his foes shall be put under his feet." Yeah...that sums up the ending of my darkest moment.

Chapter 61

Matthew Henry comments on the first few verses by stating the following, "David begins with prayers and tears, but ends with praise. Thus the soul, being lifted up to God, returns to the enjoyment of itself. Wherever we are, we have liberty to draw near to God, and may find a way open to the throne of grace." And sometimes I just wanna draw near to God so I can enjoy His presence. I was overwhelmed during my darkest moment and ran to Him because He is my strong tower. He protected me from the enemy's influence, which I praise Him for. Abiding in His tabernacle or tent (v. 4) is something that I see as part of my daily walk with Him because it helps to not be under the enemy's grip and it helps to have a close connection with God. I suppose if I were to give into the enemy's lies, my walk would be hindered, which wouldn't be a good thing. Matthew Henry comments on verse 5 by stating the following, "There is a people in the world that fear God's name. There is a heritage peculiar to that people; present comforts in the soul, earnests of future bliss. Those that fear God have enough in him, and must not complain. We need desire no better heritage than that of those who fear God." So I feel that I can learn from those who fear God and (continue to) do it myself. I see my dad as a spirtual giant in my life and his fear of God, I'd say, has had an impact on my fear of God. I learn from his example and I don't think I could've asked for anything better. And by fearing God, I free myself from fearing man, which means I don't have to submit to man's power over me and treat man as God. I can't really relate to verse 6, but what verse 7 means to mean is that my covenant with God means I will eternally abide in Him and that nothing can change that since my relationship with Him is strong and I don't plan on quitting before finishing. My praise for Him is an eternal, ongoing thing (v. 7) and I am thankful to Him for His truth and grace. If I didn't have those things in my life, I'd be on the wrong road for sure. I praise Him daily (v. 8), which can be be seen as a vow or a promise, which I suppose is part of my covenant with Him that started when I accepted His Son into my life.

Chapter 62

Matthew Henry comments on the first few verses by stating the following, "We are in the way both of duty and comfort, when our souls wait upon God; when we cheerfully give up ourselves, and all our affairs, to his will and wisdom; when we leave ourselves to all the ways of his providence, and patiently expect the event, with full satisfaction in his goodness." I want to do His will, which is a desire of my heart. I want to please Him and I know that nothing can replace the wisdom He provides me with when I ask Him for it. Almost every day, I ask that His will be done in my life, which means that I want to do His will and not mine. He could take a while to do something in my life, but it will have ended up being worth the wait if it's a blessing. I am thankful that He is my soild foundation or my rock (v. 2) because He keeps me grounded. "I shall not be greatly moved" means that God's strength is with me when I face troubles. Henry's thoughts on verses 3-5, "David having put his confidence in God, foresees the overthrow of his enemies. We have found it good to wait upon the Lord, and should charge our souls to have such constant dependence upon him, as may make us always easy." To comment on that, it's as if something simple as putting confidence in God has quite an effect when dealing with enemies. And in order to overthrow Satan, I put my confidence in God during my darkest moment since I couldn't put my trust in man because doing so wouldn't have done much for me. Verses 3-4 basically describe how Satan worked during my darkest moment and waiting on God (v. 5) was what got me through it. Verse 6 is a repeat of verse 2, so just look at what I had to say about that. God is my rock, my firm foundation (v. 7), which helps my faith to be unshaken. Henry's thought on verse 8, "Those who have found the comfort of the ways of God themselves, will invite others into those ways; we shall never have the less for others sharing with us. the good counsel given is, to trust wholly in God. We must so trust in him at all times, as not at any time to put that trust in ourselves, or in any creature, which is to be put in him only." I think it's cool that God can use me in such a way so others will want to trust in Him as well. It's like He wants me to display that to others, which I feel encouraged use as an example to others. And I'll admit trusting Him isn't always easy to do because I feel like I can solve a problem without His help, but I'm a fool to trust myself (Proverbs 28:26) whether or not I agree with God about it. I can't say I've personally trusted in men of low or high degree, as verse 9 talks about, but what I get out of that verse is that God wouldn't like it if I put my trust in those kinds of men because they would eventually betray me or screw me over, which is something God wouldn't do. I'm not gonna around stealing things (v. 10) since doing so could take my mind off God and become an idol to me, which is get of the part where it says, "if riches increase, set not your heart upon them." Power or strength (v. 11) belongs to God and I know I can depend on Him for strength when I need it. I look forward to the day when He judges me according to my righteousness (v. 12), which I believed I talked about before. Verse 12 does talk about God's judgment, which I thought I'd make clear in case it wasn't clear.

                                                   Sources used:

Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 60". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=060>.

Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 61". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=061>.

Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 62". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=062>.

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