29-Psalms 60 – 100
Psalms 60 – 100
Jul. 11, 2009
This week will continue our study in the Book of Psalms. Last week we covered up to Psalm 59 and saw many examples of man making his desires known to God. This week we will start off with Psalm 60. Psalm 60 is a Psalm by David that is not like his other writings. This Psalm is a lament over a defeat David experienced in battle. David did not lose often and prayed to the Lord to not reject him and help him in his fight with his enemies. Psalm 61 is the opposite of Psalm 60. David here shows that he is confident that the Lord would protect him. David gives us good advice in verse 2 “From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” In Psalm 62 David again uses the illustration of a rock to describe his trust in the Lord. The Psalm contrasts his hope in the Lord with the evil and wickedness of man. Psalm 63 is another Psalm that uses the imagery of thirst to describe the desire of a godly man for the Living God. This is shown in verse 1 “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” David prays to the Lord in Psalm 64 for protection against enemies he did not know he had. He knew there were people that plotted against him in secret and that he knew the Lord would reveal them and deal with them. In Psalm 65 David praises the Lord for what He has done for man, and how blessed the man who He chooses will be. The Psalm also speaks of the beauty of the Earth the Lord created. David exhorts all people in Psalm 66 to recognize the mighty works of God. He says he will worship the Lord with burnt offerings as instructed in the law. In verse 16 he tells the people to come and listen to his testimony on what the Lord has done for him. Psalm 67 is another Psalm of exhortation. In this Psalm David tells all the nations of the Earth to praise and worship the Lord. David knows that only through the Lord will the people be blessed. In Psalm 68 David describes the Lord, and tells some of His attributes. In verse 18 he speaks of freeing the captives “You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.” Paul quotes this verse in the Book of Ephesians 4:8 when he wrote about what Jesus did while he was in the grave. “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” Some believe that during this time Jesus led the spirits of the Old Testament saints to heaven and freed them from captivity in the lower parts of the Earth. Another good verse for us to remember is verse 19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation.” We should all remember this when times get hard. Psalm 69 is an imprecatory Psalm by David. This means that in this Psalm David invokes a curse on his enemies. David is distraught in verse 28 where he asks the Lord to condemn his enemies to Hell. “May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be recorded with the righteous.” Psalm 70 is a prayer for deliverance. David asks the Lord to hurry and save those who seek Him and rejoice. The Psalmist, in Psalm 71 writes the prayer of an old man who asks the Lord to continue to be there for him when his strength fails. He reminds God that he was taught about Him from his youth and has never stopped praising His wonderful deeds. The Psalmist has a long lifetime of experience in the goodness of the Lord to tell others about. Psalm 72 is the first Psalm in the Book of Psalms written by King Solomon. This Psalm is autobiographical about Solomon’s reign over Israel. Solomon writes of the good works and legacy of his time as king. This Psalm ends the second of the five ancient books that make up the Book of Psalms. Psalm 73 is by Asaph who we spoke about last week. In this Psalm he contrasts the wicked with the righteous. This is a theme that is common in the Psalms. In Psalm 74 Asaph asks the Lord why He has rejected His people, and why did He allow His temple to be burned? God has said throughout His word in the books and the words of the prophets that He would scatter and abandon His people if they turned from Him and served other gods. Asaph already had an answer to his question. Asaph states in Psalm 75 that God is the Judge of all. He says that God will exalt those who trust in Him and will render judgment on the wicked. Psalm 76 is a Psalm of Asaph that speaks of the power of God. The beginning of the Psalm tells us the location God has chosen to be His home on the Earth. It is told in the first two verses. “God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion.”
Psalm 77 is a song of remembrance by Asaph. In times of trouble this Psalm was for the people of Israel to remember the works of God from their past. The people did not possess their own personal copies of God’s word as we do today and used song to remember and pass down the word to their children.
Psalm 78 is a long Psalm of Asaph that was written to teach and remind the people of Israel what the Lord had done in spite of their unfaithfulness to Him. Asaph recalls their sin in the wilderness and how God continued to provide for them even up to the present day when He gave them David as their shepherd. Psalm 79 also by Asaph was written about the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar during the time of Israel’s captivity in Babylon. The Asaph who was named the author could not have been the Asaph from David’s day. It is believed that some of the Psalms attributed to Asaph may have referred to the sons of Asaph. The Psalm does tell of Israel’s mourning over the loss of their beloved city and their wonder over why the Lord allowed its destruction. In Psalm 80 Asaph uses the illustration of a shepherd to describe God. It is a call for help for the trouble that has happened in Israel. In this Psalm the Psalmist uses part of Aaron’s benediction from the Book of Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” It is a plea for the Lord to remember His promises to His people. The Psalm also alludes to the coming Messiah in verses 15-17 “Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, and on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.”
In Psalm 81 Asaph conveys God’s desire that His people would have followed Him and not gone astray. He says what He would do if His people would only obey Him.
Asaph writes in Psalm 82 about unjust human judges. He says in the first verse “God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.” He then goes on and questions the judgment of others. In verse 8 the truth is told “Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.”
Psalm 83 is another Psalm where the Psalmist asks the Lord for help against an enemy. In the Psalm the writer recalls some of the past works of God.
Psalm 84 by the sons of Korah, is a song that expresses the choir’s desire to return to the worship of the Lord in His temple. An often quoted verse in this Psalm is verse 10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” We should all feel this way about God’s house and come in with a spirit of worship! In Psalm 85 the sons of Korah ask for mercy from the Lord on His people. The Psalm repeats the desire for salvation several times and for God to not turn His face from His people. Psalm 86 is a Psalm of David where he acknowledges his need for God. David had a strong relationship with the Lord and knew it was Him that gave him his strength. His relationship with God is evident in his writings more than any other Psalmist. Psalm 87 speaks of the special place of Jerusalem and its people to God. Zion is the central point and the Lord’s place on Earth. In Psalm 88 the Psalmist pleads with the Lord to spare him from death. The man is afraid of what is to come and the Lord does not seem to want to answer him. We who know the Lord today know that death is only the gateway to eternal life with our Lord. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus this was made possible and true. Psalm 89 is about God’s promises to Israel and the Lord’s response about His chosen king, David. This Psalm marks the end of the third of the five ancient books that make up the Book of Psalms. Psalm 90 is a Psalm that was written by Moses. In this Psalm Moses contrasts the fact that the Lord is eternal and man’s time on Earth is short. A glimpse of God’s viewpoint is shown in verse 4 “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.” Moses also reveals in this Psalm the life expectancy of man in verse 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.” A long life is still short by God’s standards. Moses gives us very good advice on what we should ask God about on the short time He has given each of us on Earth in verse 12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 91 is a wonderful Psalm for us to remember when we are faced with the trials of life. The first two verses say much about our God “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!” The Lord gives us a promise in verse 11 “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” This verse is proof that God has placed angels on Earth assigned to protect each of his people. He continues His comforting promise in verses 14-16 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”
The ancient title for Psalm 92 is “A Song for the Sabbath Day.” The Psalm reads like the description of a worship service in our churches. It includes praise, prayer, worship, instruction, and music. We can use this Psalm as a model to praise and worship the Lord on Sunday. Psalm 93 is a short declaration on the majesty of the Lord. Verse 2 gives us one of the most important attributes of God “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” The Lord has no beginning or end. He is eternal. In Psalm 94 the Psalmist seeks vengeance from the Lord on Israel’s enemies. The tone of the Psalm is one of a very confident man. He knows the Lord will stand up for His people. Psalm 95 is a Psalm of praise to the Lord that also contains a warning. God’s people are warned in this Psalm to not show the same unbelief as their fathers did at Meribah when they rebelled against Moses and Aaron about the lack of water to drink in the Book of Numbers 20. The result of this sin caused even Moses to be excluded from entering the Land the Lord promised to His people. Numbers 20:12-13 “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.” Verse 11 of Psalm 95 tells the tragic result of unbelief towards the Lord. “Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
Psalm 96 is a call to worship the Lord. It tells us why we should worship the Lord and what He has done. It also gives us a warning of what is to come in verse 13. “Before the Lord, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.” Today is the day to place your trust in the Lord. He is coming soon to judge man so tomorrow may be too late to make the decision to accept the Lord’s gift of salvation.
Psalm 97 is a declaration of the Lord’s dominion over the Earth and mankind. God reigns and has ultimate control over all things. Verses 10-12 give instruction to those of us that call upon the name of the Lord. “Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name.” Psalm 98 tells us to “sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things” I like to interpret this to mean that our worship should be fresh and new each time we worship. We serve the living God who is active in our lives at all times. We should all strive to strengthen and deepen our relationship with the Lord each day that He gives us. In Psalm 99 the Psalmist writes of the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel. He always kept His promises to His people who obeyed Him. The Psalm mentions Samuel, Moses, and Aaron by name. We will finish up this week with Psalm 100. This short Psalm relays the joyous spirit of praise we should all have towards the Lord when we come before him in worship. This Psalm is addressed to all the people of the Earth. Remember these words from verses 4-5 tomorrow when you attend your church service. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” This ends our study for this week. Next week we will continue in the Book of Psalms.