Psalm 26 - Dedication

David is having communion with his covenant God and speaking to him about his way of life. Although he mentions various aspects of what he does, he is not suggesting that he is without fault. Instead, he speaks the truth about his life because he is providing reasons for why the Lord should hear his prayer. He is willing for the Lord to examine him inwardly concerning his outlook and his thoughts.

David says that his trust in the Lord is not interrupted by bouts of wavering. Given that he often found himself in difficult circumstances, his claim is remarkable, or at least would be if we did not know that his loyalty to God occurred because he was working out what God had already worked within his servant’s inner life.

What did David think about? He tells others that his focus was on the covenant faithfulness of God (v. 3), and he knew that this relationship with God made demands on him. Therefore he had to watch his company and keep away from those who opposed the Lord (vv. 4-5). He knew that it was important for him to express his gratitude to the Lord for the wonderful activities done for him in providence (vv. 6-7). 

The place to do this was at tabernacle, the place where God was worshipped, and it was David’s desire that others would be informed about the blessings God had given to him (vv. 8-9). Indeed, David loved the place of divine worship because the Lord dwelt there in a special way, where he revealed his glory, and his glory was expressed in providing a way of pardon and forgiveness for David, and also an opportunity for once again dedicating himself to his God.

David knew that the Lord could step in at any time and deal with those who showed cruelty and self-interest in their way of life. But he had no desire for such company (vv. 9-10). In contrast to people like that, David resolved to live for God. For this to happen, the Lord would have to rescue him from dangers in a gracious way. This divine action would give him security and a sense of ease as he praised God in a public way when his people were gathered in his presence (vv. 11-12).

In this psalm, David reveals his delight in the life of faith and what his two crucial features are. Inwardly, he trusts constantly in the Lord and, outwardly, his life is one of integrity.

Psalm 25 - The Heavenly Teacher

David was experiencing trouble from persistent enemies who were creating a situation in which he could have been overthrown and God's people disheartened. Therefore he prayed to his covenant God for guidance that he would know what to do. He knew that he could expect the God of his salvation to help him. Nevertheless, he looked for help persistently (vv. 1-5).

The psalmist asked the Lord to remember something and not to remember something. He wanted the Lord to remember his mercy and his love for his people and he prayed that the Lord would not hold his sins against him. David realised that divine help is always an expression of his grace (vv. 6-7).

What kind of person does the righteous God teach? Those who are teachable, humble, who keep his law because they are in covenant with him, who desire pardon for their sins, and who reverence his name (vv. 8-12). They reveal that he has changed their heart and are now new creatures whom he is sanctifying.

What happens in those whom the Lord teaches? They have inner health, they anticipate longterm blessings, they enjoy the Lord's friendship, and they discover what he has in store for them (vv. 13-14).

Yet, at the time of writing the psalm, the author was trapped, isolated, distressed, and longing for assurance of forgiveness. But he knew that the Lord would rescue him and look on him with favour. In the meantime, he asked the Lord to consider his spiritual troubles and the opposition of his foes, to deliver him from his current distresses, and to maintain his upright way of life. He also asked God to rescue all his people (vv. 15-22).

Had David learned what God had taught him? Yes, because what he discovered led him to continue in prayer. After all, what benefit will come if a person does not learn this lesson?

Psalm 24 – Ascension for One and for others

This psalm celebrates the entrance of an important person into the presence of the sovereign God. God’s sovereignty is indicated by his ownership of the earth and its inhabitants as well as by the fact that he controls its shape, including land, sea and rivers (vv. 1-2). That is what he sees as he looks down on the earth. We know that there are powerful and wealthy people on earth, but none of them own it. In fact, they are as much under the authority of God as everyone else.

David asks an important question: ‘Who shall ascend to the heights where the sovereign Lord dwells?’ The location of his presence is very different from the earth – he dwells in the high and holy place. Who from the earth could possibly make the ascent? The answer given is that only a perfect person could, and aspects of that perfection are detailed (vv. 3-4). 

 

That creates a dilemma because who is perfect in this way? Yet verse 6 says that there is a whole generation, or race, who come into this category, but they only do so because they have experienced God’s salvation (v. 5). They have to experience this salvation before they can enter into the holy presence of the sovereign God.

 

But the author tells us that someone is coming into God’s presence (vv. 7-10). Who is he? Surprisingly, he is a divine person who has been involved in a battle, but now he is returning having achieved victory over his enemies. Where did he engage in a battle? He had engaged in it on earth, the earth described in verses 1 and 2. Obviously, he must have the holy character described in the next set of verses. But they describe the character of a holy human.

 

Who can the King of glory be? We know who he is, and we know when he came to earth. He is Jesus, the eternal Son who became a man. And we know where the battle was fought. There were skirmishes with the enemy beforehand, but the battlefield was the cross where he dealt victoriously by paying the penalty due because of the sins of his people and in doing so deprived the powers of darkness of their insistence that his people should be condemned.

 

Having provided salvation, he ascended to heaven and its doors were opened to welcome him in. Because he had provided salvation for his people, the doors were not closed after his entrance because his people can also enter in on his merits. Only he deserves entrance in his own right, but they receive a great welcome because they are linked to him, have his righteousness reckoned to them, and have been changed into his likeness.

 

In fact, such is his salvation and its effects that it will be the case that when they come to the ancient doors they will have the qualifications to enter. What a welcome they will receive from the One who enabled the gates to be open for perfected sinners to enter in? And they will give all the praise to him.

Psalm 23 - The Good Shepherd

This psalm is often the first that we memorise. Yet it is not only a psalm for when we are young. It speaks to whatever age we are, including when we come towards the close of life. The psalm is a very personal one as we can see from the frequent use of personal pronouns by the author. We are not told at what stage in his life David wrote the psalm, except that it was composed after he had gone through many experiences with the Lord.

It has been observed that the overall theme of the psalm may not be that of the Lord as a shepherd. Some have suggested that in verses 3 and 4 the Lord is seen as a guide and in verses 5 and 6 as a host. Yet a shepherd was a guide and a host as far as his sheep were concerned, so it is likely that the shepherd theme covers the whole psalm.

The effect of the psalm is seen in the tenses that the author uses; most are in the present tense. The point of the psalm is expressed in the first verse when David says that the Lord is his shepherd who will provide for him and the credibility of the claim is proved throughout the psalm in a variety of situations.

In verses 2 and 3, David says that the Lord provides spiritual refreshment for him. In those places, he experienced restoration. The places of spiritual refreshment for a Christian are the means of grace, whether in public with other Christians or as an individual. In them, he discovers the encouragement of God as the Holy Spirit uses the promises of God to refresh his soul.

In verses 3 and 4, David describes what happens as he makes spiritual progress in his walk with God. The Lord enables him to live a righteous life in the various paths he walks along. This happens even in dark times when spiritual dangers are around. What gives him security is his sense of the presence of the Lord who is there as his protector, and even when the powers of evil are showing their animosity, the Lord reveals that he has the means, pictured by the rod and staff, to deal with those opponents of his servant, and this ongoing divine activity comforts the believer.

In verse 5, David describes the provision God provides. It was the custom for shepherds to have locations where they had food for their flocks, especially when pasture was not easily found. Those locations were also places where the shepherd poured oil on the head of a sheep to deal with problems caused by bruises or insect bites. In the spiritual life, those locations, here associated with places where hostile enemies were gathering, are where God provides a great amount of suitable food and treatment for spiritual wounds. It is not hard to see that again the means of grace are described, and the outcome is that once more the believer's joy abounds.

The outcome is that the believer knows that, whatever the situation, divine expressions of covenant faithfulness will continually be shown to him by his faithful God (v. 6). His faithfulness ensures that each of his people will reach their heavenly destination where they will dwell forever.

Psalm 22:22-31 - The Messiah's reign

Peter describes the work of Christ as his suffering and the glory that would follow. Psalm 22 focuses on both those areas and verse 22 begins the section that describes his reign.

Jesus speaks twice in this section (vv. 22, 25) and in each verse he speaks to the Father. Verse 22 is quoted in Hebrews 2:12 as the words of Jesus. In each of the verses, he says that he will be with his people: in verse 22 he is the prophet who teaches them about the Father; in verse 23, they observe him keeping his vows.

Those vows were his commitments he made in the eternal covenant within the Trinity that was concerned with the provision of salvation for sinners and their participation in the kingdom of God. 

This section of the psalm also highlights that the suffering Saviour will become the king. In verses 27 and 28, his global reign fulfils the promise contained in the covenant with Abraham that the nations would be blessed through one of his descendants. Those who submit to his rule will be provided for (v. 29), and his kingdom will last from generation to generation (v. 30).

Believers are encouraged to praise the Father in verses 23 and 24 because he did not despise the sufferings of his Son but answered his prayer for deliverance. They are further encouraged to praise him for the spiritual food that they are given (v. 26). 

Among other descriptions, those believers are said to be the brothers of Jesus, fearers of God, the offspring of Jacob, the meek, worshippers of God, and seekers after God. They are also described as people with a message (vv. 30-31): they pass on the gospel from generation to generation, and some of them do so by preaching his salvation to sinners. They are the ambassadors of the King who suffered in their place on the cross and who will be their instructor and worship leader for ever.

Psalm 22:1-21 - The Suffering Saviour

Psalm 22 is a unique psalm because of the insights it gives to the experience of the Saviour. In verses 1-21, the psalm is about the cross and verses 22 to the end are about the crown. Or in the words of Peter, we have in the psalm an account of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. Obviously, the psalm is a prophecy and it is on the level of prophecies such as Isaiah 53 concerning the details that it provides of the work of the Saviour.  

There is, however, a unique aspect to the psalm in that we see the work of Jesus from his perspective. Isaiah 53 is written from the point of view of an external observer describing what took place whereas Psalm 22 takes us inside, into the thinking and feelings of Jesus when on the cross and shows us his intentions when the subsequent glory appears.  

Moreover, the psalm is a conversation between Jesus and the Father. This is a common feature of the Messianic psalms as we can see from Psalms 2, 16, 40 and 45. Yet this is the longest conversation in this type of psalm, and it reveals details not even recorded in the New Testament. Here we have an example of the incredible nature of the Word of God, that such a detailed description could be given of events that would occur far in the future. 

In the first section of the psalm, the suffering Speaker uses animals to describe his opponents. There seem to be three enemies in mind. First, there are those likened to wild oxen. From the New Testament accounts of what the Jewish leaders said at the cross we can see that the same words are linked to the wild oxen in the psalm. Therefore, it is straightforward to identify who is depicted by the bulls of Bashan. Second, there are the dogs and the New Testament links their actions mentioned in the psalm to the activities of the Gentile soldiers supervising the crucifixion. Third, there is a third enemy called both a lion and a dog, and it is not difficult to see in the references in the psalm the activities of the devil. 

Psalm 21 - The exaltation of Jesus

The psalm is in two parts. Verses 1-6 celebrate a victory by the King and verses 7-13 express confidence that further success will come. It is likely that the psalm was composed in response to a victory enjoyed by David, although there are statements, such as the King’s prayer for endless life in verse 4, which cannot be said to have been experienced by David as a king. The psalm is a prophecy of the enthronement and the reign of the Messiah.

The psalm opens by describing the Messiah’s joy at experiencing the Lord’s power and salvation. Verse 2 shows that he received this deliverance in response to his prayers, and we can read such requests in his prayer recorded in John 17 when he asked the Father to give to him the glory he had known before he came into the world. Verse 4 indicates that this deliverance was in fact his resurrection from the dead, which was the commencement of a chain of triumphant events that included the reception of the ‘blessings of goodness’ (v. 3). This phrase covers all the expressions of divine favour that had been promised to Jesus once he completed the work of atonement.

Verse 5 says that Jesus has been highly exalted (see Philippians 2:9-11). In verse 6, there is a wonderful description of the ongoing fellowship between the Father and the Son in heaven – it is marked by great joy as they contemplate one another.

Verses 7-13 describe the progress that the kingdom of Jesus will make in overcoming those who rebel against him. His throne is unshakable (v. 7), continually protected by divine power. Verses 8 to 12 are a description of one aspect of Christ’s reign, which is to identify and punish those who persist in evil. The reality is this: each one of us is either going to be rescued by the hand of Jesus or punished by the hand of Jesus.

Verse 13 is an expression of praise to God for his great display of power expressed in Christ’s resurrection. We can take part in that song if we trust in him.