Day: December 2, 2011

Psalm 9:1-20, Psalm 10:1-18


Teach me Thy Way, O Lord

Image by listentothemountains via Flickr

" O Lord, praise to You! You are the ligh...
Image by Khans’ via Flickr

Psalm 9

1I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

3When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.

5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

6O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.

7But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

8And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

9The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

11Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

13Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

14That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.

15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

19Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

20Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

Psalm 10

1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.

4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

8He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.

9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

Jesus said, ‘I did not come to judge the world. I came to save the world’. (John 12:47) (Judge here means say who is wrong.)

The stories of Psalms 9 and 10

David probably wrote Psalms 9 and 10 as one psalm. The Jews thought that he wrote it after he killed Goliath. The first part says that God beat the foreign enemy (Psalm 9). The second part says that wicked men in Israel are making the helpless into oppressed people. (Psalm 10)

The reasons for thinking that it was one psalm are:

·    Psalm 10 has no words at the top about David or music. This is not usual in a psalm by David.

·    Hebrew words that David did not often use are in Psalms 9 and 10.

·    Psalms 9 and 10 make one acrostic.

Acrostic psalms use the Hebrew alphabet. The first bit starts with the first letter. The second bit starts with the second letter. This happens until the alphabet finishes. Look at Psalm 9 below. Then you will understand. We have used English letters. These are not the same as Hebrew ones. After a time some of the letters became lost or mixed up! Also, the Jews decided to make them into 2 psalms. Some Christians have put them back together as one psalm, for example, some Roman Catholics.

It is difficult to write an acrostic psalm. The words sometimes go in a strange order. This makes them hard to understand. It may give you help if you change the order of the words. In verse 3 you could say “My enemies went back” instead of “Back my enemies went”. It means the same.

Psalm 9

       The leader (must use the music) ‘Death to the son’.
(This is) a song of David

v1     All my heart sings ‘thank you’ to the LORD.
I will tell (people) of all your wonderful work.

v2     I will be very happy with you, (LORD). I will rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to your name, Most High God.

v3     Back my enemies went,
they fell down. They died in front of you,

v4       because you judged that what I did was right .
You sat on your throne. You made a righteous judgment.

v5     Clearly you judged the nations and destroyed the wicked.
People will never remember their names.

v6      You caught the enemy. You killed them.
You knocked down their cities. People will just forget them.

v7     Evermore the LORD will rule.
He has built his throne. On it he will make his judgments.

v8      He will make righteous judgments for the world.
His government will give justice to the people.

v9      For the LORD is a place where the oppressed can hide.
He will be a fortress in times of trouble.

v10    Everyone that knows your name (LORD) will put their trust in you.
LORD, you will never turn away from anyone that looks for you.

v11    Go to the LORD with praises. His throne is in Zion.
Tell all the nations all that he has done.

v12    (God) will remember the people that somebody murdered.
He will not forget the oppressed people that cry to him.

v13    Have mercy on me, LORD.
See how my enemies make my life very difficult.
Make me safe from the gates of death.

v14    Then I will tell your praises in the gates of Jerusalem.
I will rejoice that I am safe with you.

v15    Into the hole that they dug the nations fell.
They caught their own feet in the net that they hid.

v16    You will recognise the LORD by his justice.
The enemies of God will catch themselves in their own nets.
HIGGAION   SELAH

v17    Just as the enemies of God go to Sheol,
so will all the nations that forget him.

v18    Know this: God will not always forget the poor.
The oppressed will not have to hope for evermore.

v19    LORD, stand up! Do not let men become too powerful.
Let the nations find justice before you.

v20    LORD, make them afraid.
Make the nations know that they are only human.
SELAH

Word list

evermore ~ another word for always

oppressed ~ helpless people that wicked people hurt

HIGGAION ~ a place for happy music

fatherless ~ someone that has no father, usually a child

Other Acrostic Psalms

The psalms are Hebrew poetry. Poetry is when people write the words in a special way. They sound very beautiful. The Jews had a lot of rules for writing poetry. One was to make the ends of the words sound like each other. We call this “rhyming”. Another rule was to make the ideas sound like each other. Look at Psalm 9: 8. The 2 parts of the verse mean the same. This often gives us help to understand and to translate a psalm.

Another way the Jews wrote poetry was to use an acrostic. This often made the words come in the wrong order, like Psalm 9: 3. Not many of the psalms are acrostics. The most famous one is Psalm 119. The others are 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145. We do not usually translate them into English as acrostics, because there are 26 letters in the English alphabet. There are only 22 in the Hebrew alphabet. We have done it with psalms 9 and 10 because some of the letters are missing. This makes it easier for us!

Psalm 10

v1      LORD, why are you standing so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?

v2      In his pride the wicked man tries to catch helpless people.
I hope that wicked people catch themselves with their bad plans!

v3      The wicked boasts about what he wants.
He says good things about those that want more than is fair.
He says very bad things about the LORD.

v4      In his pride, the wicked does not look for God.
He will not even think of God.

v5      Everything that the wicked does always works well.
He puts the rules of God far from him.
He laughs at the people that do not like him.

v6      He says to himself, “There will be no trouble for me.
Nothing bad will ever happen to me or to my children”.

v7      His mouth makes bad promises.
It is full of words that are not true.
He says that he will do very bad things to people.
There is evil on his tongue.

v8      He hides behind the bushes near the villages.
He watches in secret for people to hurt.
He jumps out and murders people that have done nothing wrong.

v9      He lies like a lion under the cover of a bush.
He waits to catch someone that is helpless.
He does catch him and takes him away in his net.

v10    He beats the helpless man.
The helpless man fails and falls under the stronger man.

v11    He says to himself, “God forgot.
He hid his face. He never saw what happened”.

v12    Rise up, O God! Lift up your hand.
Do not forget the helpless people.

v13    Why does the wicked man say such bad things about God?
Why does he think, ‘God will not do anything about it’?

v14    See it all, God, all the trouble,
all the oppressed people.
Decide what to do about it.
The helpless puts his trust in you.
You give help to the fatherless.

v15    The arm of the wicked and evil man . . . break it (LORD)!
Tell him to explain what he has done.
He thought that you would not discover it!

v16    The LORD will always be king.
The nations will not remain in his land for evermore.

v17    You hear, LORD, what oppressed people want.
You listen when they pray. You give them something to hope for.

v18    You care for the fatherless and the oppressed.
People from the earth will not frighten the poor again.

What Psalm 9 Means

Not all the letters of the acrostic are here! D is not here. Perhaps somebody changed some words into other words that meant the same.

If you find the acrostic difficult, here is some help.

·    Psalm 9:3 – my enemies went back

·    Psalm 9:5 – you judged the nations clearly

·    Psalm 9:7 – the LORD will rule evermore (or always)

·    Psalm 9:15 – the nations fell into the hole that they dug

Psalm 9: 1 – 6: David is very happy. He says, “thank you” to the LORD. Why? Because David beat his enemies. David knew that God gave him help. It was God that really beat the enemies, not David on his own! God judged that David was right and the enemies wrong. The enemies were probably the Philistines. Goliath was a Philistine.

Psalm 9: 7 – 10: God is always ruling the world. Sometimes it is hard to believe this, but it is true. Sometimes we must wait a long time for his righteous judgments. Righteous here means this: the judgments of God are the best judgments. While we wait for his judgments, what can we do? Psalm 9:9-10 tells us! We can:

·    look for the LORD: if we do this, the LORD will find us!

·    trust in the LORD: if we do this the LORD will give us help

·    hide in the LORD: if we do this, the LORD will make us safe

Psalm 9: 11 – 14: When God finds us, gives us help and makes us safe, that is not the end. We must:

·    always give praises to the LORD: on our own, and in Church

·    tell people about God: our family, our friends, those we work with

Many people will not like this! As they made life difficult for David, so they will for us. So we must pray, ‘Have mercy on me, LORD’. These are the words that some Churches still pray in Greek: KYRIE ELEISON. God’s mercy is when he is loving and kind to us, and not angry.

Psalm 9: 15 – 20: In Psalm 9:6 we read, ‘You killed them’. In Psalm 9:15-16 we read how God does this. Often, people kill themselves, or each other! The plan that they made to kill their enemies kills them. They go to Sheol. The Jews thought that Sheol was a dark place. It was under the ground. The psalm finishes by telling us 2 things:

·    God will remember the oppressed, even if they have to wait a long time

·    God will teach men and women that they are only human. It is only God that is really powerful

Something to do

When there is trouble in your country, pray to God about it. Your country may fight another country. Pray to God about it. Pray for your government and your soldiers. Some of them may be Christians. Pray for justice. It may not matter which country wins. What matters is that God still rules the world. When you pray, talk to God in your own words.

What Psalm 10 means

You can see that the acrostic is incomplete. “Incomplete” means that it is not all there. The psalm is all there, though. A few words became changed. They still mean the same thing.

Psalm 10: 1 – 7: In Psalm 9 we read about the enemy of God. He was also the enemy of David. The enemy was probably a foreign country. In Psalm 10 we read about the wicked man, or the wicked. They were people that lived in David’s country. Perhaps some of them were women. They wanted more that it was fair for them to have. They made plans to take things from people that were helpless. Some of these helpless people were people of God. Sometimes they felt that God did not care any more.

Psalm 10: 8 – 11: The wicked man is like a wild animal called a lion. They kill for what they can get. In Psalm 10:11 we do not know if “he” is the bad man or the helpless man. The Hebrew Bible just says “he” . Both people felt that God was not looking.

Psalm 10: 12 – 18: David prays that God will do something. In verses 16-18 David tells his people that God will do something. God will frighten the wicked away. (Frighten means make afraid). David knew that after fighting foreign countries (look in Psalm 9) there was unrest in his own kingdom. (“Unrest” means people in the same country fighting each other). King David tried to stop it, but he knew that only God would really stop it. (A kingdom is a country that has a king or a queen.)

Something to do

When there is trouble pray to God about it. There may be unrest in your own country. Pray to God about it. You may feel frightened. You may not feel safe. Pray to God about it. Then read Psalm 10:16-18. Believe that one day it will be true. That is the promise of God to you.

Psalms 9

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, UPON MUTH-LABEN. A PSALM OF DAVID or TO HE WHO GRANTS VICTORY, IMMORTALITY FOR THE SON, A PSALM OF DAVID.


<>: in Hebrew “al -mut laben”. We have translated
this phrase according to S. R. Hirsch but the translation is technically
difficult and somewhat forced.
The Psalm speaks in the name of all Israel. In the Bible the chosen king
(e.g. Solomon) is referred to by the Almighty as His “son” (2-Samuel 7:14,
cf Psalm 80:17). The people of Israel as a collective entity are also
referred to as the “son” of God, e.g. <ISRAEL IS MY
SON, EVEN MY FIRSTBORN>> [Exodus 4:22].

[Psalms 9:1] I WILL PRAISE THEE, O LORD,  WITH MY WHOLE HEART;  I WILL SHEW
FORTH ALL THY  MARVELLOUS WORKS.

<>:  In Hebrew “Odeh” meaning acknowledge.

[Psalms 9:2] I WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE:  I WILL SING PRAISE TO THY
NAME, O THOU MOST HIGH.

[Psalms 9:3] WHEN MINE ENEMIES ARE TURNED BACK, THEY SHALL FALL  AND PERISH
AT THY  PRESENCE.

[Psalms 9:4] FOR THOU HAST MAINTAINED MY RIGHT AND MY CAUSE; THOU SATEST IN
THE THRONE  JUDGING RIGHT.

[Psalms 9:5] THOU HAST REBUKED THE HEATHEN, THOU HAST DESTROYED THE
WICKED,  THOU HAST  PUT OUT THEIR NAME FOR EVER AND EVER.

This Psalm was written by David. It has some pertienence to the time of
David though it also is describing  what will happen after the Messiah son
of  David appears.   Some Commentators say the Psalm is seaking on behalf
of ALL ISRAEL in a collective sense.

[Psalms 9:6] O THOU ENEMY,  DESTRUCTIONS ARE COME TO A PERPETUAL END: AND
THOU HAST DESTROYED CITIES;  THEIR MEMORIAL IS PERISHED WITH THEM.

[Psalms 9:7] BUT THE LORD SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER:  HE HATH PREPARED HIS
THRONE FOR  JUDGMENT.

[Psalms 9:8] AND HE SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS,  HE SHALL
MINISTER JUDGMENT TO THE PEOPLE IN UPRIGHTNESS.

[Psalms 9:9] THE LORD ALSO WILL BE A REFUGE FOR THE OPPRESSED,  A REFUGE IN
TIMES OF  TROUBLE.

When you are in trouble and you pray to the Almighty He will help you.
Sometimes it is difficulty to pray for psychological reasons. In such cases
even reading the Bible or efficacious works can help the point is to
somehow direct oneself towards the Almighty.

[Psalms 9:10] AND THEY THAT KNOW THY NAME WILL PUT THEIR TRUST IN THEE: FOR
THOU, LORD, HAST NOT FORSAKEN THEM THAT SEEK THEE.

If you search you will find and be helped and be of help to others.

[Psalms 9:11] SING PRAISES TO THE LORD,  WHICH DWELLETH IN ZION:  DECLARE
AMONG THE  PEOPLE HIS DOINGS.

      <DWELLETH IN ZION>>: God makes His presence apparent though
Jerusalem and Israel.    The God of Israel is the Almighty Himself. There
is no other. Only through the God of Israel can salvation be found. All the
nations MUST acknowledge the God of Israel. Israel MUST be made aware of
their own Israelite ancestral sources. We have an obligation beyond
ourselves and our own survival and that of our family.

[Psalms 9:12] WHEN HE MAKETH INQUISITION FOR BLOOD,  HE REMEMBERETH THEM:
HE FORGETTETH  NOT THE CRY OF THE HUMBLE.

[Psalms 9:13] HAVE MERCY UPON ME, O LORD; CONSIDER MY TROUBLE WHICH I
SUFFER OF  THEM THAT HATE ME,  THOU THAT LIFTEST ME UP FROM THE GATES OF
DEATH:

<>: in Hebrew “Chanani” which (S.R. Hirsch) can mean,
“give me the means”. Help me overcome if necessary by way of nature but
through your enabling me to realise my own potential.   The people of
Israel are capable of solving their own problems and also those of the
entire world but first they must turn their hearts back to the
Almighty.  They must be made aware of where they came from and the
corresponding duties laid upon them.
David was persecuted and in danger of his life several times.  So
too,  the future Messiah may initially suffer such tribulations. Also
Israel as  an historic entity has been indanger saeveral times and still
is. The Jews (Judah) have also survuived numerous and continuous attempts
to eliminate them by every means possible.  The enemy of Judah is the enemy
of  Israel and the enemy of Israel is the enemy of  Judah.  The enemy of
Judah and Israel is the enemy of the Almighty.

[Psalms 9:14] THAT I MAY SHEW FORTH ALL THY PRAISE IN THE GATES OF THE
DAUGHTER OF ZION:  I  WILL REJOICE IN THY SALVATION.

[Psalms 9:15] THE HEATHEN ARE SUNK DOWN IN THE PIT THAT THEY MADE: IN THE
NET WHICH THEY  HID IS THEIR OWN FOOT TAKEN.
Our enemies will fall in their own traps.

[Psalms 9:16] THE LORD IS KNOWN BY THE JUDGMENT WHICH HE EXECUTETH: THE
WICKED IS   SNARED IN THE WORK OF HIS OWN HANDS. HIGGAION.  SELAH.

<>: From the Hebrew “hegeh” meaning thought, contemplation.  The
English word “though” (Old English, “thoht”) is derived from the same
Hebrew root.
S.R. Hirsch explains “Higaion” to mean: “the truth that becomes
apparent”;  “the truth that reveals the hand of God in history”

[Psalms 9:17] THE WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, AND ALL THE NATIONS
THAT FORGET GOD.

<>:  In Hebrew “Sheolah”, i.e. to the grave,  to down below, to
destruction. “Sheolah” is from “Sheol” (grave, underworld) and perhaps
connected to the root “She-al”  to borrow. This coukld indicate either a
state of limbo or of eternal perdition.  The natural destiny of man
is  eternal life but through sin this can be forfeited.

[Psalms 9:18] FOR THE NEEDY SHALL NOT ALWAY BE FORGOTTEN:  THE EXPECTATION
OF THE POOR  SHALL NOT PERISH FOR EVER.

Everything has a purpose and reason. God hears you and looks after you. He
wants you to be with Him in both this world and the next.

[Psalms 9:19] ARISE, O LORD; LET NOT MAN PREVAIL: LET THE HEATHEN BE JUDGED IN THY SIGHT.

[Psalms 9:20] PUT THEM IN FEAR, O LORD: THAT THE NATIONS MAY KNOW
THEMSELVES TO BE  BUT MEN.  SELAH.

Psalms Index
HOME

Psalms:

A collection of 150 psalms, whose Hebrew name is “The Book of Praise.” Authors of individual psalms include David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, and others who are anonymous. The variety and unity of Psalms have given this book a unique place in the devotional life of the individual and the Church. Almost every aspect of man’s relation to God is depicted in these poems, simple trust, the sense of sin, appeal to a higher power in time of trouble, and the conviction that the world is in the hands of a loving God.

Related articles

Psalm 26:1-12


Psalm 26 (King James Version)

1Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

2Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

3For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

4I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

5I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

6I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

7That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

8LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

9Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

10In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

11But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

12My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

A Psalm of David. (English Standard Version)

  1. Judge me, O jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity, and in jehovah have I trusted; I shall not slide.
  2. Prove me, O jehovah, and try me; explore my reins and my heart.
  3. For your mercy is before mine eyes, and I have walked in your truth.
  4. I have not sat with lying men, neither have I gone with dissemblers.
  5. For I have hated the assembly of evil doers, and will not sit with the wicked.
  6. I will wash my hands in innocence; and will compass your altar, O jehovah.
  7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and recount all your wondrous works.
  8. jehovah, I love the habitation of your house, and the place of the tabernacle of your glory.
  9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of blood;
  10. In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
  11. But I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful to me.
  12. My foot stands in an even place; in the congregations will I bless jehovah.

The Internal Sense

That the lord has integrity, purity, and innocence, verses 1 to 6, 11; that he has the divine love of saving, verses 7, 8; that he is in combat with the wicked, verses 9, 10; that redemption comes when he conquers, verses 11, 12.

Exposition

Verse 2. Prove me, O jehovah, and try me, explore my reins, and my heart. Inasmuch as truths are separated from falsities, and goods from evils, by temptations, therefore it is here said, try me. AE 167.

Verse 8. jehovah, I love the habitation of your house. Habitation signifies heaven, where the lord is; it also signifies the good of love and faith, for these constitute heaven; and whereas all good is from the lord, and heaven is called heaven from love and faith in the lord; hence, also, habitation, in the supreme sense, signifies the lord, as is evident from Isaiah 63:15, Psalm 26:8, and in other places; hence it is manifest, that the tabernacle was called the sanctuary and habitation of jehovah from this ground, that things above mentioned were representative. AC 9481.

Verses 6, 7. I will wash my hands in innocence, and will compass your altar, O jehovah, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, etc. To wash the hands in innocence, signifies to be purified from evils and falses; to compass your altar, O jehovah, signifies conjunction with the Lord by worship, grounded in the good of love, which worship, since it is performed by truths derived from good, therefore it is added, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, etc. AE 391.

Verse 2. Explore my reins (kidneys), and my heart. To search and to prove the kidneys, denotes to explore the truths of faith; and to search and prove the heart, denotes, to explore the goods of love, for the heart denotes the good of love, and the truths of faith are signified by the kidneys. AC 10032.

Innocence is the very essential principle of love and charity, consequently of good, and consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing, not with the mouth, but with the heart, that nothing but evil is from self, and that all good is from the lord; when man is in this confession of faith from the heart, then the lord flows in with good and truth, and insinuates into him a celestial proprium, which is bright and shining; it is impossible for any one to be in true humiliation, unless he be in this acknowledgement and faith from the heart, for in this case he is in self-annihilation, yea, in self-aversion, and thereby in absence from himself, and thus in a state of receiving the divine principle of the lord; hence it is, that the lord with good flows in into an humble and contrite heart. AC 3994; see also AC 3183, 3519, 5608.

All the rites of the ancient Church were representative of the lord, as were also the rites of the Jewish Church; but the principal representative afterwards was the altar, also the burnt-offering, which, being made of clean beasts and clean birds, represented, as it signified the clean beasts, the goods of charity, and the clean birds, the truths of faith. AC 921. See also AC 1298, 2777, 2814, 2832.

PSALMS 26    Other translations  –  previous  –  next  –  meaning  –  Psalms  –  BM Home  –  Full Page

Psalm 26 (English Standard Version)

1(A) Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have(B) walked in my integrity,
and I have(C) trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2(D) Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and(E) my mind.[a]
3For your(F) steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I(G)walk in your faithfulness. 4I do not(H) sit with men of(I) falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5I(J) hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.

6I(K) wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O LORD,
7proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your(L) wondrous deeds.

8O LORD, I(M) love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
9(N) Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of(O) bribes.

11But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12My foot stands on(P) level ground;
in(Q) the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 26:2 Hebrew test my kidneys and my heart

Psalms:

A collection of 150 psalms, whose Hebrew name is “The Book of Praise.” Authors of individual psalms include David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, and others who are anonymous. The variety and unity of Psalms have given this book a unique place in the devotional life of the individual and the Church. Almost every aspect of man’s relation to God is depicted in these poems: simple trust, the sense of sin, appeal to a higher in time of trouble, and the conviction that the world is in the hands of a loving God.

Psalm 91:1-16


English: An image of Psalm 23 (King James' Ver...

Image via Wikipedia

Psalm 90

1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

3Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

5Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

9For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

10The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

God the Protector (Psalm 91)

Study By: Bob Deffinbaugh

See More Articles On: bible god protector

Printer-friendly versionSend to friendBackground: Death of an older believer, who died of cancer.

The words of Psalm 91 are some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. Look at them for just a moment:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; {But} it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes, And see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, {Even} the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. 14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him {securely} on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. 16 “With a long life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation.”

These are wonderful words of comfort. They speak of God as the Protector of those who trust in Him. They promise that while many will suffer destruction, the one who has trusted in God, who has fled to Him for safety, will be delivered. And yet these words which gave Ann such comfort might seem to have not come true. If God has promised protection from evil and the satisfaction of a long life, why did Ann suffer so long, and then die? Are these words really true? Can we find comfort in them this afternoon? We certain can! Let me show you why they are true, and why they can bring us great comfort as we grieve over the death of one whom we knew and loved.

We have a divinely inspired commentary on these verses in the New Testament, which shed much light on the meaning and application of this psalm to us. In the temptation of our Lord, Psalm 91:11-12 are quoted by Satan to our Lord, at the time of His temptation in wilderness (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11). Satan challenged Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple, and to be divinely delivered from death, to show that He was the Messiah. He tried to convince Jesus that since Psalm 91 promised deliverance from suffering and death, God would deliver Him.

Jesus responded by referring to the Scripture which forbade putting God to the test. There is much more that Jesus could have said, and did not. What Satan would only later learn is that the promise of Psalm 91 was to be fulfilled through the suffering and death of Jesus, on the cross of Calvary. God could promise deliverance to those who trusted in Him because Jesus would suffer in their behalf, and would rise from the dead, the Victor over sin, and death, and Satan. Psalm 91 was not Jesus’ excuse for avoiding the cross, but His reason for going to the cross.

Just as Psalm 91 was no guarantee that Jesus need not suffer. Indeed, the suffering of Jesus was the reason why the saints are protected and removed from suffering. The important question is this: “From what sufferings are the saints delivered? From what dangers and destruction are we delivered?” Psalm 91 does it promise us that the saints will be delivered from all suffering. Many Scriptures, the experience of many saints (biblical and otherwise) and our own experience, make it clear that Christians do suffer. Let us look more carefully at this psalm to determine what suffering we are promised to be delivered from.

The Psalm begins with the strong statement that God is our refuge, our fortress, our place of safety (verses 1-4). There are two kind of people mentioned in this psalm, and they have two very different destinies. The one group is delivered from destruction, and the other group is destroyed. The all-important need here is to determine what it is that some are delivered from, which is also the means by which others are destroyed. Our text cannot mean that those who trust in God are all delivered from suffering and death, and that those who do not trust in God suffer and die prematurely. The psalm which comes immediately before our text speaks of that suffering and short life which the godly experience, as a result of living in a fallen, sin-tainted world:

1 Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born, Or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God. 3 Thou dost turn man back into dust, And dost say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Thy sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or {as} a watch in the night. 5 Thou hast swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. 6 In the morning it flourishes, and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades, and withers away. 7 For we have been consumed by Thine anger, And by Thy wrath we have been dismayed. 8 Thou hast placed our iniquities before Thee, Our secret {sins} in the light of Thy presence. 9 For all our days have declined in Thy fury; We have finished our years like a sigh. 10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is {but} labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. 11 Who understands the power of Thine anger, And Thy fury, according to the fear that is due Thee? 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom. 13 Do return, O Lord; how long {will it be}? And be sorry for Thy servants. 14 O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad according to the days Thou hast afflicted us, {And} the years we have seen evil. 16 Let Thy work appear to Thy servants, And Thy majesty to their children. 17 And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And do confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands (Psalm 90:1-17).

Psalm 90, written by Moses, speaks of the eternal nature of God and the very temporal nature of man. With God, a thousand years is nothing. For man, 70 years is a long life, and even these years are filled with sorrow and labor. This brevity and painfulness of life is explained by Moses as the result of God’s holiness and man’s sin. The solution to this problem of pain, and the hope of the believer is not in this life, but in the next. It will come with the return of the Lord. It will come “in the morning”. It will come in the future. The solution is not to be found in the deliverance from death, but in a deliverance after death. While it is not clearly stated in this psalm, it would be correct to say that death itself is a kind of deliverance for the Christian, for it removes us from the effects of sin, from pain and suffering and sorrow, and it takes us into the eternal joy of the presence of our Lord.

The destruction from which the believer is delivered is not the suffering and pain and even death of this life, but from the judgment of God, from the “second death” of eternal separation from His presence. This deliverance is so clearly described in yet another psalm, Psalm 73.

1 Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! 2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, {As} I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat. 5 They are not in trouble {as other} men; Nor are they plagued like mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. 7 Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of {their} heart run riot. 8 They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. 9 They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return to this place; And waters of abundance are drunk by them. 11 And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased {in} wealth. 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, And washed my hands in innocence; 14 For I have been stricken all day long, And chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children. 16 When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight 17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God; {Then} I perceived their end. 18 Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form. 21 When my heart was embittered, And I was pierced within, 22 Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was {like} a beast before Thee. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven {but Thee}? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For, behold, those who are far from Thee will perish; Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works (Psalm 73:1-28).

Here Asaph, the psalmist, expresses his faith, a faith in God as the Good God, to those who trust in Him. His problem was that while he trusted in God as the One who was “good” to Israel, his experience was that the righteous suffered, while it was the wicked who prospered. He had contemplated giving it up, he confessed, for his piety seemed to be of little profit.

This was until he came to see his life through a different perspective–a heavenly, eternal one (verses 16ff.). He then realized that the prosperity of the wicked was exceedingly short-lived. Their eternal fate was destruction. The righteous, on the other hand, have all of eternity to enjoy the blessings of God’s presence and power.

In the light of eternity, the sufferings of this life are but a small price to pay when compared to the blessings of eternity. But even the sufferings of this life are not “evil”. They are truly “good” for the saint, for in these times of suffering, God seems even nearer to us, especially as we are drawn nearer to Him. The ultimate “evil” in life is to be separated from God, and if affluence and a life of ease turns us from God, this absence from pain is really an “evil”. The ultimate “good” in life is fellowship with Him, enjoying His presence. If suffering in this life enables us to experience His presence in a deeper way, then it is truly “good” and He is “good” for bringing this adversity into our lives.

This is why Ann found comfort in Psalm 91. Not because it promised her a long, trouble-free life on this present earth, but because it assured her that in Christ she would escape the wrath of God. In this life, she did not need to fear danger or even death, for He will raise her from death to eternal life, in His presence, free from pain and sickness and sorrow. That was her hope, and thus we can rejoice in her sufferings and death.

This hope is not for everyone, but only for those who have turned to God for their security and safety. Jesus Christ suffered the wrath of God, and by faith in Him, we may be sheltered from it. If you would share the hope of Ann, you must trust in her Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. May you experience the joy and the hope which she did, even in her sickness and pain.

Related Topic: Funerals
  • 42690 reads

A collection of 150 psalms, whose Hebrew name is “The Book of Praise.” Authors of individual psalms include David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, and others who are anonymous. The variety and unity of Psalms have given this book a unique place in the devotional life of the individual and the Church. Almost every aspect of man’s relation to God is depicted in these poems: simple trust, the sense of sin, appeal to a higher power in time of trouble, and the conviction that the world is in the hands of a loving God.

Related articles

Ecclesiastes 5:1-20


Ecclesiastes 5

1Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

4When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

6Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

9Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

11When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

12The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

14But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

15As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

16And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

17All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

18Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

19Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

20For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes

From Wikipedia(View original Wikipedia article ») Last modified on 1 December 2011, at 20:27
For other uses, see Ecclesiastes (disambiguation).
Hebrew Bible
Aleppo Codex (Deut).jpg
[show]Tanakh
Judaism portal
[show]Old Testament
Christianity portal
 v · d ·

The Book of Ecclesiastes, called (play /ɨˌkliːziˈæstiːz/; Hebrew: קֹהֶלֶת‎‎, Qoheleth, literally, “Preacher,” in the Hebrew, or, in the most literal sense of the Greek, “Member of the Assembly,” sharing the root ekklesia with the word for “assembly,” or “church,” with Qoheleth being derived from a Heb. word of similar meaning, commonly referred to simply as Ecclesiastes (abbreviated “Ecc.”), is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.

The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth (usually translated as “teacher” or “preacher”), introduces himself as “son of David, king in Jerusalem.” The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aphorisms and maxims illuminated in terse paragraphs with reflections on the meaning of life and the best way of life. The work emphatically proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently “vain”, “futile”, “empty”, “meaningless”, “temporary”, “transitory”, “fleeting, or “mere breath”, depending on translation, as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death. While Qoheleth clearly endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that one should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one’s work, which are gifts from the hand of God.

According to the Talmud, however, the point of Qoheleth is to state that all is futile under the Sun. One should therefore put all one’s efforts towards that which is above the Sun. This is summed up in the second to last verse: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep His commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone” (12:13).

The book is particularly notable for its iconic phrases, “the sun also rises,” “[there’s] nothing new under the sun” (‘nihil novi sub sole’ in the Latin Vulgate) and “he who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.”

American 20th-century novelist Tom Wolfe wrote: “For of all I have ever seen or learned, this book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man’s life upon this earth – and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound.”[1]

Table of Contents
1 Etymology
1.1 Title
1.2 English translation
2 Authorship and historical context
2.1 Author
2.2 Language
2.3 Date of writing
2.4 Philosophy
3 Placement in canon
3.1 Name of God
3.2 Canonicity
3.3 Death and afterlife
4 Influences on other ancient writings
5 Traditional Judaism
6 Messianic interpretation in Christianity
7 Final Verses
8 Vanity
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

Ecclesiastes:

In English, the title means “Preacher.” Traditionally held to have been written by Solomon, this book is now almost universally recognized as about him rather than by him. The author’s purpose is to prove the vanity of everything “under the sun.” This truth is first announced as fact, then proved from the “Preacher’s” experience and observations. Finally the author shows that the fullness of life is found only in the recognition of things “above the sun,” things spiritual as well as material.