Seder 84: Psalm 72---Long Live the King!

 Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a prayer for the King of Israel. It may be a prayer of  David that was preserved by Solomon.  (John Calvin, for example, held this view.) 

The prayer asks for the king to exemplify the justice and righteousness of God (v 1).  The king would have the task of making a copy of the Torah for himself (Deut 17), with the goal that he would rule with God's priorities---helping the needy, for example (v 4).  If the king ruled in this way, then the nation would prosper (v 3).  

The prayer then asks that the king's rule would be extended in both time and space (vv 5-11).  In the background is God's promise that David's dynasty would continue forever, culminating in the rule of the Messiah (2 Sam 7:12-16).  The prayer is for that promise to fully materialize.  

Verses 8-11 remind us of Israel's brief golden age under Solomon (1 Kings 4:21,34; 10), when Israel reached its greatest extent geographically and kings from around the region brought gifts.  There is wordplay in verse 10 with "Sheba and Seba", and also a picture of a large empire since Sheba represents Yemen, and Seba is in Africa (Gen 10:7).  The empire pictured here extends far in all directions.  

Verses 12-17 repeat the themes of verses 1-11.  Verse 17 ("may people be blessed in him") makes reference to the king's role in carrying out the Abrahamic blessing of Gen 12:1-3.  

Verse 20 ("The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended") concludes Book 2 of the Psalter.  The psalms that come next are attributed to Asaph and to the sons of Korah.  There is also a sense in which this prayer is a fitting "last word" on God's promise-plan to send the Messiah.

Seder 82: Psalm 4---David Prays Confidently and Counsels his Enemies

Psalm 4 seems to be an evening prayer (see verse 8).  The psalmist has apparently been facing the slander of enemies.  He is confident that God will answer his prayer for help, having experienced God's help in the past.  

Like almost all of the psalms in Book 1 of the psalter, Psalm 4 is classified as a psalm of David, and the content of the psalm is consistent with Davidic authorship.  The slander of the psalmist's enemies has "turned his honor into shame" (v 2), something that happened at various times in David's life.  

The psalmist has some good advice for those enemies.  Since God will come to his aid (v 3), their plots against him are futile.  Rather than attack God's anointed (and therefore God himself), they should repent sincerely and seek God's forgiveness (vv 4-5).  

Verse 4 begins, "Be angry, and do not sin" (ESV).  A footnote in the ESV says "be agitated" rather than "be angry".  Van Gemeren gives the alternate translation, "Tremble with fear and stop sinning."  David would like his accusers to work out their problems with God privately rather than attack him publicly. 

In Eph 4:26 Paul also advises,  "Be angry and do not sin.  Do not let the sun go down on your anger."  In verse 31 he adds, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."  He wants believers to promote peace and not let anger lead them to sin, much as David was recommending to his accusers.

David was concerned that many Israelites were frustrated about how things were going.  He prayed that God would make his blessings evident.  He thanked God for the blessing of joy, something no enemy could take from him, and went to sleep at peace with God and the world.  

Seder 43: Psalm 57---From Desperation to Jubilation

 Psalm 57 is traditionally associated with the time when David was fleeing from Saul and hid in a cave (1 Sam 22, 1 Sam 24).  Whatever the author or context, the psalmist is suffering a severe trial and implores God for help.  

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge," the psalm begins.  

The sages asked why the psalmist repeated his plea for mercy.  One answer proposed is that David was praying that he not fall into Saul's hands, and also that Saul not fall into his hands.  Another proposal is that the psalmist prayed that he not fall into sin; and that if he did, that he would be able to come back to God and find forgiveness.  A third idea is that Israel collectively prayed that the Temple not be destroyed, and that if it were, that they would find mercy while in exile.

In any case, the psalmist knows that he is turning to the only one who can help, the one who is exalted above all but still is carrying out a purpose through us lowly human beings (v 2).  He prays for rescue and for favor from God (v 3).  

His prayers are answered.  The enemy, likened to hungry lions (v 4), sets a trap for him, but the plan backfires.  The enemy falls into his own trap (v 6)!  

Strengthened in the wake of God's deliverance, the psalmist desires to praise God so that the whole world will hear.  He marvels at the vastness of God's love and faithfulness.  

Verses 7-11 of this psalm are essentially repeated in Ps 108:1-5.

Seder 32: Psalm 34---Try God's Way: It Works!

 Psalm 34 is an acrostic wisdom psalm traditionally associated with a specific incident in David's life:  At one point when he was fleeing for his life from Saul, David briefly took refuge in Goliath's home town of Gath (1 Sam 21:10-15).  His visit was short because he was quickly recognized.  With his cover blown, David feigned madness in order to escape.  (Commentators often point out an irony here:  David could control his madness, while Saul was controlled by his madness.) 

An imaginative story links Psalm 34 to this incident.  According to this story, David had at one point thanked God for all the wonderful things he had created, especially wisdom.  "But," David asked God, "Why did you create madness?  That seems like such an insane thing to do.  Madness serves no constructive purpose."  God replied, "A day will come when you will have use for madness."  David later remembered what God had said when he was in a tight spot in Gath.  He did indeed have use for madness.  Afterwards he prayed, as in Ps 34:1, "I will bless the Lord at all times"---both in times of sanity and in times of madness. 

In any case, David speaks as one who has put his trust in God and experienced divine deliverance.  "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" he declares in v. 8.  "Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"  He notes that "the young lions"---representing the wealthy (LXX) or those who do not follow God---are never satisfied, while "those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" (v 10).  

David acknowledges that the righteous endure their share of suffering:  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" (v 19).  But he goes on to affirm that God is watching over his people:  "But the Lord delivers him out of them all," verse 19 concludes.  God protects us "in detail": "He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken (v 20).  

Psalm 34 is referenced in two New Testament books.  Verse 20 is referred to in John 19:33-36 in connection with the fact that the Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' bones on the cross.  "The Lord redeems the life of his servants," Ps 34:22 states, and God indeed raised Jesus from the dead.  

The apostle Peter seems to have had Psalm 34 in mind, along with Isa 53 and other scriptures, when he wrote 1 Peter.  In that epistle, Peter encourages Christians who are suffering.  Some suffering is to be expected, he says, because we are called to follow in Jesus' footsteps (1 Peter 2:18-25).  But it is also the case that, for those who have taken David up on his offer to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 2:3), God watches over those who follow him.  Peter quotes Ps 34:12-16 in 1 Peter 3:10-12 as he urges Christians to turn away from evil and do what is good, heeding David's wise instruction.

Seder 30: Psalm 142--- Help for the Tired and Lonely

 Psalm 142 is an individual lament psalm.  The psalmist, exhausted and lonely, knows God is the one to whom he can turn.  He has been struggling to know what to do, and he knows that God can lead him in the right way (v 3).  At a time when there is no person on his side, he knows God is there (vv 4-6).

The psalmist looks forward to a time when his trial is over and he can praise God publicly, supported by other believers (v 7).  

Psalm 142 is traditionally associated with the situation when David and his ragtag army were hiding in a cave at En Gedi while King Saul was pursuing them (1 Sam 24).  Rabbinic interpretation of the psalm looked for connections with this specific setting.  

For example, verse 1 uses parallelism:  "With my voice I cry out to the Lord, with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord."  The sages asserted that the parallelism suggested David prayed for two things---to not fall into Saul's hands, and for Saul not to fall into his hands.  They also said that the "trap" in verse 3 might be the temptation to kill Saul.  

The sages were experts at connecting scriptures.  In verse 4, the psalmist says,

"Look to the right and see; there is none who takes notice of me."  

The rabbis noted that while there was no human who would help David, God was there.  They quoted  Psalm 109:31:  

"For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death."

This connection fits right in with the message of the psalm.  God is always there.  

Seder 29: Psalm 18---God Gives David the Victory

 David achieved great success as a military commander during his time as king of Israel, whether he was fleeing from Saul or expanding the borders of Israel.  He understood clearly that God was the source of his success.   He gave thanks and praise to God in Psalm 18, which is largely paralleled in 2 Sam 22.

David described being at the point of death and calling out to God for help (vv 4-6), whereupon God came quickly and powerfully to rescue him (vv 7-19).   David praised God's faithful treatment of his servants (vv 20-27) and acknowledged that God was the source of all his military success (vv 28-42).

The psalm ends by describing how God gives his anointed king victory over the nations (vv 43-50).  This part of the psalm points ahead to the work of the Messiah.  

The apostle Paul later quoted Ps 18:49 in Romans 15.  In Romans 15:7, he urged Jewish and Gentile believiers in Rome to accept each other, as Christ had accepted them.  He explained that it was God's plan to build a people from both Israel and the nations.  Jesus had worked with Israelites (v. 8) , coming to carry out God's promise to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham.   Paul showed that the nations were now praisiing God along with Israel, as predicted in scriptures like Ps 18:49, Deut 32:43, Ps 117, and Isa 11:10.          

The Psalms have quite a lot to say about the inclusion of the nations in the people of God.  Michael Heiser devoted a recent podcast episode to this topic, focusing on the "Zion psalms." 

Seder 22: Psalm 60---The Sovereign God Gives the Victory

Psalm 60 is associated with King David's military campaigns that expanded the borders of Israel---see 2 Sam 8:1-4; 1 Chron 18:1-13.  The summaries of these campaigns in Samuel and Chronicles only mention the overall results of victory for Israel, not any difficulties that arose along the way.  Psalm 60 implies that there were some difficulties, times when the final outcome was not at all clear.  At such times David and the Israelites cried out to God for help, appealing to his covenant promises (vv 1-5) 

God responds to Israel's prayers by making clear that he rules over all nations and will work through Israel (vv 6-8).  The enemies that are troubling Israel really amount to nothing.  

In verses 9-12, David prays before a battle.  He knows that he can only succeed with God's help.  

There is a contemporary worship song with lyrics from Ps 60:12.  

Seder 16: Psalm 110 and High Christology

Psalm 110 is a royal psalm.  Without any extra information, we might interpret it in much the way we do Psalm 45.  A prophet has received a revelation from God about his lord, the king of Israel.  And since the king of Israel is a type of the Messiah, the psalm points ultimately to the Messiah.

However, we do have extra information.  The psalm's superscription connects the psalm to David.  Moreover, Jesus (Matt 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) identified the psalmist as David and David's lord as the Messiah.  For his argument to have been convincing, his listeners must have accepted these identifications as well.  (Later rabbinic interpreters saw the psalmist as Abraham's servant Eliezer and Abraham as Eliezer's lord.  Were they, in part, reacting against Christian application of Psalm 110?)

The first verse of Psalm 110 is especially important in Christian theology:  "The LORD says to my Lord:  'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' "  This verse places the Messiah in a very high position.  To be at God's right hand is to be very close to God, with God's full support.

And in the ancient world it was the ruler who sat.  Everyone else stood.  This verse pictures the Messiah sharing God's throne.  God rules everything because he created everything.  So the Messiah who shares his throne is a Creator, not part of the creation.

The apostles used Psalm 110 to describe Jesus' current position on God's throne:

Eph 1:20-23:  "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

The New Testament use of Ps 110:1 supports the "early high christology" position that the first Christians believed in the deity of Jesus.

The deity of the Messiah is also supported by Ps 110:5:  "The LORD is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath."  Depending on which Lord is which in this verse, it either says that the Messiah at God's right hand is himself the LORD, or that the LORD is at the Messiah's right hand.  Either reading would place the Messiah at a level equal with God.

Seder 12: The Mysterious Melchizedek

At Abram's triumphant return from his victory over the eastern invaders, he was met by Melchizedek, who was both king of Salem and "priest of God Most High."  Melchizedek blessed both Abram and God Most High and provided food and drink for Abram's men.  Abram expressed his thanks to God by giving to Melchizedek a tenth of the wealth that he had brought back (Gen 14:18-20).

It is generally agreed that Salem in Gen 14:18 is another name for Jerusalem.  We see this name used, for example, in Ps 76:2.  Also, there was later a ruler of Jerusalem with the name Adoni-zedek, a name very similar to Melchizedek (Joshua 10).

Despite the similarity of their names, Adoni-zedek did not have the connection with God Most High that Melchizedek had had.  In fact, Adoni-Zedek organized a coalition to oppose Israel's ally Gibeon and was later executed by Joshua. 

Adoni-zedek translates to something like "my lord is Zedek" or "my lord is righteous."  Since Adoni-zedek was a king, his lord may well have been a deity.  Scholars believe that there was a Canaanite deity named Zedek who was considered to be a champion of righteousness.  (For further discussion, check out episodes 166-167 of the Naked Bible Podcast).

Melchizedek translates to "my king is Zedek" or "my king is righteous."  In Melchizedek's case, his king was apparently God Most High, and he may have known God as "the righteous one."

Gen 14:18-20 tells us just enough to arouse our curiosity.  Here was an early Canaanite king of Jerusalem who was also acknowledged by Abram as a priest of the true God.  Josephus (at the end of War 6) would later write that Melchizedek was the founder of Jerusalem and served at a temple there.

Melchizedek is mentioned once more in the Old Testament, in Ps 110:4.  In Psalm 110 David records words spoken by God to someone he refers to as "my lord".  Jesus would later identify David's lord as the promised Messiah (Matt 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) and used Psalm 110 to explain to the sages of his day that the Messiah was much more than just a human descendant of David.  Hebrews 1:13 cites Ps 110:1 as one of a number of instances in the Psalms in which God is addressing Jesus the Messiah.

In Ps 110:4, the LORD, still addressing David's lord, says, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

It is interesting to consider how David might have thought about Ps 110:4.  It may be that after David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites, he thought of himself as following in the footsteps of Melchizedek.  For example, during the celebration that accompanied the bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, David king of Salem  took on a kind of priestly role and "blessed the people in the name of the Lord and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins (1 Chron 16:2-3).

The author of the book of Hebrews builds on Ps 110:4 in Heb 5,7 to bring out what it means for the Messiah to be a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek".  He argues that Melchizedek's priesthood didn't depend on Melchizedek's ancestry. Melchizedek was a priest of God because God said that he was.  The Bible says nothing about his ancestry, or about anyone succeeding him in his priesthood.  So Jesus, even though he was from the tribe of Judah rather than the priestly tribe of Levi, could be this type of priest---again, because God proclaimed him to be in Ps 110:4.

Furthermore, the author of Hebrews argues that Melchizedek comes before Levi, so his priesthood is in fact superior to the Levitical priesthood.  This kind of priesthood is therefore appropriate for the Messiah.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on June 6, 2020, David Waddle reflected further on this subject.

Seder 7: Psalm 17--the prayer of a righteous man

The psalms associated with the Genesis account of Noah have tended to focus on the way of the righteous, highlighting the fact that Noah was a righteous man who walked with God (Gen 6:6-9).

Psalm 17 follows this trend.  Here David brings an urgent need before God, asserting that his cause is just.  The sages in the midrash on the Psalms thought of Proverbs 15:8:  "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him."  David's prayer is a prayer of the upright.

We also think of James 5:16:  "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

David in his prayer asks for vindication and investigation (v 2).  He asserts his loyalty to God and sincerity in following Him, and he is open to correction and guidance (as in Ps 139:23-24).  He is not bragging or being self-righteous, just speaking honestly.

David prays with great confidence, showing the close relationship that he has with God.  He is confident in God's merciful character (as in 2 Sam 24:14).

David feels surrounded and besieged by enemies (reminding us of Ps 22, and showing David as a type of the suffering Messiah).  In his suffering, he places himself in God's hands.  He is not concerned about attaining worldly riches, but is content with God's presence, both the next morning and in a future resurrection (v 15).