Psalm 142 - Prayer for deliverance

According to the title, David wrote this psalm when he was in the cave of Adullum, on the run from Saul. This would fit with his description of his circumstances as a prison (v. 7) because he was not free to move around the country of which he had been anointed as its king. Circumstances did not seem to be in line with divine promises. So what did he do? He brought his circumstances to the Lord.

His prayer for divine help was intense – he cried and pleaded. Yet his prayer was informed – he knew which divine name to use and which divine attribute to focus on. Yahweh was the covenant God of Israel and he is merciful and gracious (v. 1). Further, his prayer was detailed and was delivered consciously in the presence of God (v. 2). David was aware of where he was and what he was doing when he prayed.

What did he say to the Lord? David mentioned God’s awareness of his dangerous circumstances, the traps of his enemies that he could not see, his isolation from others, the lack of interest in him (vv. 3-4). He knew that whatever his opponents did God was on his side. The Lord was his place of safety. Having the Lord was more valuable than any other set of possessions he could have. It was better for him to have God with him in the cave than to be in a palace without the Lord (v. 5).

Nevertheless, he prayed for recovery and deliverance. Although he had defeated Goliath, David knew that in himself he was weak in comparison to his opponents. He needed the Lord to help him in this difficult situation even as he had been helped before.

Psalm 134 - Speak well of God

Verse 1 indicates that citizens of Zion were addressing those who were working through the night in the temple. There were twenty-four Levites, three priests and the captain of the guard on duty in the temple. Verses 1 and 2 express the desires of the citizens for the priests and others who served overnight in the temple; verse 3 is probably the response of the priests to the citizens.

The citizens want the priests and others in the temple to speak well of the Lord. This is what is meant by the call to ‘bless the Lord’. Their God had done great things for them as a nation: he had revealed his mercy in delivering them from enemies, he had blessed them with a land of rest in which they could know his favour, and he had given to them many great and precious promises. This was their desire, to hear their divinely-chosen leaders speak well of their gracious Lord.

The priest and Levites on duty in the temple responded with the words of verse 3: ‘The Lord who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion!’ Immediately we have an example of speaking well of the Lord. In saying this benediction, the temple workers were giving assurance to the citizens that they were remembering their God-given calling. They reminded the citizens of God’s great abilities, of how he could bless them through his great power and covenant faithfulness.

The ‘you’ in verse 3 is singular. The usage of a singular pronoun indicates that each individual would hear the word addressed to themselves independently. Of course, we sense this kind of effect when we listen to the Bible being read. Its promises are addressed collectively and individually.

Psalm 133 - Life in the family of God

 The psalm was written by David during an occasion when he had enjoyed the harmony and peace of the family of God. The psalm points to the privilege of being allowed access into such fellowship, the pleasantness of enjoying such fellowship, and the purpose of God that such fellowship should mark his people.

The psalmist likens this relationship to the oil with which the high priest was anointed and to the dew that descended on the mountains of Israel. The people had read the accounts of the anointing of their priest and would have experienced the refreshing dew as they travelled round the country.

Brotherly love has many benefits. Like the oil, it is refreshing, and like the oil it spreads. Further, like the dew’s effect on vegetation, brotherly love through the Spirit’s blessing becomes a means of daily growth so that all the flowers that should be in the garden of our hearts will appear; these flowers are described in the list of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Unity of believers, as this psalm depicts, is a very desirable thing. There are many ways by which unity can be presented. It is the case that the Lord’s people should be one doctrinally, should be one practically, and should be one internally from the heart. They should be one in public worship and in their attendance upon the means of grace and other occasions of fellowship.

Old Testament believers lived in an age in which spiritual blessings were not as full as ours. Our potential for fellowship is enhanced because the Spirit has come in his fullness and can lead us into the riches of fellowship that are found in having communion with the risen Saviour and his brothers under the loving eye of the heavenly Father. May our fellowship together stimulate us to want more of it and also strengthen us to live in a society that does not even remotely understand the meaning of true fellowship.

Psalm 132 - Desiring a Great Temple and King

In Psalm 132, the author begins by describing the search that David had led for a suitable place to locate a dwelling place for God (vv. 1-9). David’s seriousness in this task is revealed in the fact that he vowed to make this search the priority of his life, more important that building a palace for himself. The people celebrated when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem and worship was taking place there. The location for building the temple was found, although David was not given the actual task of building it.

The reference to David’s role is part of a communal prayer written long after he lived, and we should note that there is a stress on the Lord as the Mighty One of Jacob. Those offering the prayer as they attended the annual feasts in Jerusalem after the exile knew that it would take divine power to restore the glory of the temple even as it took divine power to commence its existence.

The author of the psalm knows that more is needed than the existence of the temple building. Divine blessing was also connected to the presence of a faithful Davidic king (vv. 10-12). Those who would have attended the feasts in Israel after the return from the exile would have seen a much smaller temple and a weakened royal line. Still they knew that the Mighty One of Jacob could change the situation through his power.

It was important for them to consider the desire that the Lord had to dwell on Mount Zion among his people (vv. 13-16). They rehearsed what he thought of it. Not only had he chosen it, he had dwelt there, not only in the sense of his omnipresence, but particularly as a place of satisfaction. Even as God rested on the seventh day of creation with delight, so he rested in the sanctuary among his redeemed people. His pleasure was revealed by him meeting their needs. The white clothing of her priests would picture the salvation he had provided – his righteousness, and great joy would mark her worship.

Yet it would have caused those attending the temple to wonder how things could get better. The answer to that dilemma is found in verse 17 and 18. One would yet come from the line of David who would defeat all his enemies and wear a permanent crown of glory. Here we have a picture of Jesus, and we are told that when his time for reigning comes, it will be a very prosperous period for Zion. We are living in the period when his crown shines with permanent lustre in heaven, which means that the future is bright for the people of God.

Psalm 131 - Growing Up

Warren Wiersbe comments that the problem with too many people is that they have grown old without growing up. Sadly, this can also happen in the Christian life, as is clear from 2 Peter 1:8-9 and Hebrews 5:12-14. The apostle John refers to three stages of spiritual growth (1 John 2:12-14) found in believers.

Psalm 131 is concerned about progress or development in the religious life, and David uses the illustration of a weaned child to picture this increase in spiritual stature. His ‘weaning’ seems to have been connected to the Lord denying him a situation of great prominence which he describes in verse 1.

David describes the state of his heart and uses three pictures to illustrate it. The first picture of a lifted-up heart tells us that David did not think very much of himself.  The second picture of aspiring eyes tells us that he was not ambitious for a greater position than what God had already given him. The third picture illustrates the folly of trying to understand what we are not capable of understanding.

There are many things in the Christian life that can only be answered by deeper experience. Two such features are strong doctrine and providence. Sometimes, it takes personal experiences and spiritual maturity before we can appreciate what God is saying in some passages of his Word. Regarding providence, the fact of the matter is that we cannot know why God allows things to happen and not happen in our lives. We will never have a book in our library that will detail the significance of most things that happen to us. It is far better for us to commit all these events to God and rest content in his arms, like a weaned child.

It is important to note before whom the Psalmist is claiming this state of heart. He is speaking these words expressing his humility to the Lord. This is a reminder that we can be totally honest before him. We can speak truths about ourselves to the Lord that would be inappropriate to speak before humans, even Christians.

The Lord’s revealed will for his people is that they increase in humility. References to this are so many in the Bible that they need not be included here. The obvious benefit of such experiences is Christlikeness. The humility of Jesus is a prominent feature of his beautiful character. It becomes ours as we spend time with him and he weans us from our previous stage in the spiritual life. At times, these periods of learning come after we have been denied something by God.

When a person is developing in the spiritual life, one sign of it is that he thinks less of his own needs and more of the needs of Christ’s church. This is what David expresses in verse 3: ‘O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore’ (v. 3). He says to them, ‘I have discovered that the Lord guides my life, sometimes giving me this and at other times denying me that; yet he himself comes and comforts me when I trust in him.’ This understanding only comes by experience. David, having tasted the faithfulness and the consolations of God, exhorts others to also hope in the Lord. When we find such sentiments in our hearts, we can conclude that we are being weaned.

Psalm 130 - Forgiveness

This psalm was one of the favourite psalms of Martin Luther because of its emphasis on forgiveness. He sang it on many occasions no doubt, but one well-known incident took place during a period of severe trial when he was in the castle of Coburg and had fallen into a swoon. On recovering, he asked his companions to sing this psalm in spite of the devil.

In verses 1 and 2, the psalmist says that he is in the depths, a graphic picture of a man overwhelmed by powerful waters. The verb indicates that he has been there for a while. There are several reasons why a believer could be in the depths: difficult providences in his personal life, denial of hopes that he may have anticipated, a sense of desertion by God. The psalmist’s mention of sin in verse 3 tells us what the cause of his dejection was. Nevertheless, he knows where help could be found, and it is in the God against whom he and others have sinned. Therefore, he turns to the Lord and asks for mercy.

In verse 3, the psalmist confesses the holy character of God and says that if the Lord treated him as he deserved he would have no expectation of help. Of course, it would have been foolish for the psalmist to look to the justice of God by itself. Yet he knows something wonderful about God, an aspect of his character that brings comfort from all of God’s other attributes and abilities. This aspect is God’s desire to forgive. As another psalm says, ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy’ (Ps. 145:8).

It is the knowledge of this characteristic of God that makes a sinner bold and confident in the presence of the God whom he has sinned against. We only need think of David in Psalm 51. How bold he is, and yet how humble, as he confesses his sins and anticipates being restored to God’s service.

In verses 5 and 6, the psalmist likens the posture of his soul to the watchmen who stood on the walls of a city looking for the coming of daylight. There was expectancy of deliverance in the heart of the writer. The reason for his confidence was not in his earnest prayer but in the sure word of God. The reason why faith perseveres is that the believer knows that what God will give is worth waiting for. When deliverance comes, it will be marvellous.

Out of his own experience, then, the psalmist can comfort others (vv. 7-8). His words in these verses are a reminder that although each Christian has an individual path, it is a similar path to other believers. Because he has been forgiven much and rescued from great danger, he understands the needs of every other believer and he is sympathetic to them and confident about their deliverance and forgiveness as well. 

Psalm 129 - Prayer for deliverance

This psalm is a reflection on the history of Israel by those who gathered in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. As they looked back to the beginning of their history (‘youth,’ v. 20), they saw that even then those who began their nation had been afflicted – in Egypt. Since her youth in Egypt, there had been many other powerful enemies. Yet although the enemies were so many, they had not prevailed against Israel.

As the pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem, they were aware of the weakness of God’s people because the nation of Israel was no longer a world power. She had become under the control of other empires after the Babylonians – such as the Persian and the Roman empires.

What this psalm calls for is a sense of realism among God’s people. This psalm is a reminder that believers living in this world are travelling through enemy country. In verse 3, the psalmist uses the illustration of a ploughman digging a furrow repeatedly on a person’s back to describe the troubles of God’s people. Obviously it is painful, but the illustration also suggests that the troubles are malicious.

It is important to note the communal aspect stressed by the author. When his enemies attacked him, they were adding to a deep wound that he already possessed because of the spiritual link he had to previous generations of God’s people. The psalmist identified with their troubles. It should be the same with us, we should have this sense of identity with those before us who suffered for the faith. Of course, this sense of community embraces other believers who are alive today and who are suffering for their faith.

The psalmist’s comfort is that the Lord is righteous, that he will remember his covenant commitments as he did when he came to deliver Israel from Egypt, that eventually he will come to our help in a public way (although we must also remember that he has been helping each of his people to go through his or her particular difficulty).

In verses 5-8, there is a prayer for retribution. Many find fault with this kind of prayer, even although they are common in the Psalter (about 36 psalms come into this category, known as the imprecatory psalms because in them the authors call down divine judgement on their enemies). Critics suggest that they lack the spirit of love that was exemplified by Jesus when he instructed his disciples to love their enemies (Matt. 5:44-45). Of course, such sentiments are not confined to the Old Testament. Note Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-8.

The writer prays that the influence of evil people will be brief. He likens them to seeds of grass that are blown on to a flat rooftop and somehow take root in the small amount of ground that may also have been blown there. Fortunately for the householder, such grass soon withered away.

The people the psalmist is praying against hate Zion (v. 5) and are determined to destroy her. If God does not stop them, they will destroy Zion. It is preferable that Zion be preserved, and her enemies removed. The reason why they are going to be destroyed is not because they are sinners in general but because they sin in a specific way. If they left Zion alone, then this prayer would not have been offered. The psalmist does not want anyone to wish success to such persons (v. 8).

We see similar attempts made today by the enemies of the church (Zion). As we pray about the situation, we only have two choices: one is that God would convert them; the other is that, in one way or another, God would cause their enmity against his kingdom to cease. We should pray that their influence would be as minimal as grass growing on a housetop. When we pray earnestly for this, it is evidence that we love Zion.