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Psalms 28-29

Thursday Evening Bible Study

November 19, 2015

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Target 3300 words Video = 75 wpm

The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.

The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”

The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.

It’s also the “Him” book as well. It’s all about Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 40:8 when he writes,

(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”

The author was talking about Jesus.

We’re going to see a lot of Jesus in the Psalms.

Soul Music

Music touches the soul. It’s “soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.

We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.

For every sigh there is a Psalm.

For most of us, this is what makes the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.

If we were honest, even darkest most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.

It is my prayer that as we continue on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.

Psalm 28 – A Cry for Help

: A Psalm of David.

We don’t know for sure when this was written, but it seems that David is struggling with “wicked” people.

:1 To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.

:2 Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

:1 Do not be silent to me

Lesson

When God is silent

Towards the end of his life, King Saul was not doing well with the Lord. In fact, God was silent when Saul prayed.

(1 Samuel 28:4–6 NKJV) —4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

Saul wanted some kind of supernatural guidance, and if God wasn’t going to give him advice, he decided to go to a witch and have her conjure up the dead prophet Samuel to ask him questions.

Is there a reason God is silent?

Sin: Sometimes it’s because there is sin in our lives that we aren’t dealing with.

(Isaiah 59:1–2 NKJV) —1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Saul should have known better.

He had been chasing David because of his own insecure jealousy.

He even had the priests killed when he was chasing David (1Sam. 22).

David wrote,

(Psalm 66:18 NKJV) If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

If you want God to talk to you, you’ll need to do something with your sin, like “change”.

Sometimes the thing we need to change starts at home.

(1 Peter 3:7 NKJV) Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Maybe if you treat your wife better, God may pay attention to your prayers.

Some suggest this means that if husbands will treat their wives correctly, that husbands and wives will pray together.

Others suggest this means that God isn’t going to hear the husband’s prayers if he doesn’t treat his wife properly.

Deal with your sin. The Bible says,

(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus can cleanse us from our sins because He died on a cross to pay for our sins.

Impatience: Sometimes we simply need to wait for Him and His time. Sometimes God is silent because it’s simply not time for us to get an answer.

King Saul had a tendency towards being impatient and impulsive.

When the prophet Samuel was alive, Saul had been instructed to wait for Samuel at Gilgal for seven days, and then Samuel would show up, perform a sacrifice, and give Saul instructions of what to do. But one time it seemed that Samuel wasn’t going to show up, and Saul needed to know what to do to fight the Philistines, so instead of waiting, he jumped ahead of things and got into trouble (1Sam. 13:8-14).

In Jeremiah’s day, after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, the remnant left in the land was faced with a crisis when the Babylonian appointed governor was assassinated. The people went to Jeremiah and asked for God’s advice. Jeremiah said he would ask God and let the people know.

(Jeremiah 42:7 NKJV) And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

It took ten days to get an answer.

For nine days God was silent.

David wrote,

(Psalm 37:7–9 NKJV) —7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.

If God isn’t giving you an answer, and you are not aware of a sin you need to deal with, then the answer most likely is to wait.

:2 I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary

sanctuary – debiyr – the holy of holies, the innermost room of the temple or tabernacle

For us, we know that the true Holy of Holies is in heaven, God’s throne.

Lift your hands towards heaven.

:3 Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts.

:4 Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.

:5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up.

:3 with the workers of iniquity

This is who is motivating David in this psalm.

David is being hassled by wicked people.

He’s having a hard time with people who act all nice (“speak peace to their neighbors” v.3) but who are bent on being cruel.

:6 Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!

:6 He has heard the voice of my supplications

David is joyful because he knows that God has heard his prayers.

David has faith that God has heard him.

Lesson

The prayer of faith

David experienced joy knowing that God had heard his prayers.

I think that’s something we need to remind ourselves of when we pray – Has God heard my prayer? Can I trust that He will do what’s right?

Paul said we should also experience peace when we pray as well.

(Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV) —6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Whether it’s finding God’s joy or peace, I think the principle is the same.

The key is thanksgiving.

When we know that God has heard our prayer, we can be thankful that He will do what is good.

That’s when the joy and peace comes.

:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

:8 The Lord is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

:9 Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever.

:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield

Lesson

Finding God’s strength

How does God become our “strength”?

Embrace weakness

(2 Corinthians 12:7–10 NKJV) —7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It's when we recognize our own weakness that we experience God’s power, God’s grace.

When I think I have it all together and that I can handle all my problems on my own that I end up running solely on my own power.

I need to learn dependence on God’s power.

Wait

(Isaiah 40:28–31 NKJV) —28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

I sometimes think that God’s power is relative to timing.

It comes when I need it, not necessarily before I need it.

I need to learn to wait on Him and not rush ahead.

Blessed Be The Name

E B/D# A2/C# Bsus B

I am standing beneath Your wings

E B/D# A2 Bsus

I am resting in Your shelter

E B/D#

Your great faithfulness

A2 Bsus A2

Has been my shield

E

And makes me want to sing

E/G# A E/G# B

Blessed be the name of the Lord

E E/G# A E/G# B

Blessed be the name of the Lord

E E/G# A E/G#

I will bless Your holy name

B C#m7

For all my days

B A Bsus E

Blessed be the name of the Lord

I sing praises to Your name oh Lord

For You daily bear my burdens

Your great faithfulness

Is my reward

And makes me want to sing

Blessed Be The Name / Words & Music by Andy Park / © 1995 by Mercy/Vineyard Publishing / BlessedB.doc

Psalm 29 – The Voice

: A Psalm of David.

We know nothing else about this psalm other than David being its author.

:1 Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength.

:1 mighty ones

The Hebrew here is “sons of God”

David is probably talking about angels.

:2 Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

:2 the glory due to His name

Lesson

Giving what’s due

We give respect to certain people because of their job, the position, or what they’ve accomplished.

There are certain protocols to follow if the President of the United States were to visit your house.

I think there should be certain things done when heroes return home. They do things right in Texas.

Video: Bush Welcomes Troops

Does it seem right that we give honor to our troops who have risked their lives to protect ours?

Then what kind of glory is proper for God?

Jesus gave up His life in exchange for ours.

He did this because of His great love for us.

How do we give glory to God?

Words

We give God glory when we speak of Him properly.

That happens in our conversations with people.

It happens in the worship and adoration that we offer to God.

The multitudes in heaven worship God by…

(Revelation 5:12 NKJV) saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Actions

Jesus said,

(Matthew 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Someone once said,

“Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

(Scholars now say that there are no records of St Francis of Assisi actually saying this, though he is often credited with it.)

I think the sentiment is important.

Our actions need to back up what our words say.

Fruit

Jesus said,

(John 15:8 NKJV) By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Fruit could be the people we lead to the Lord. It can also simply be the result of our relationship with the Lord – both words and actions.

:2 the beauty of holiness

We are to worship or serve God in the beauty of holiness.

Lesson

Pure usefulness

beauty – hadarah – adornment, glory

holiness – qodesh – apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness

Holiness means to be “set apart”, being set apart for God’s use.

The concept of purity is tied to holiness.

When we are walking in holiness, we are more “useful” to God.

(2 Timothy 2:20–21 NLT) —20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

It is good to be different than the world.

I don’t often think of “holiness” as being beautiful.

We think of “holiness” being the opposite of “fun”, yet some of the things we can label as “fun” can lead to great guilt and shame.

The purity of holiness is indeed a wonderful and beautiful thing.

Video: Skit Guys – Prayer for Holiness

:3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters.

:3 The God of glory thunders

It’s possible that this psalm was inspired by a thunderstorm, God’s “voice” being the thunder.

To the ancients, storms were attributed to various Gods.

In the land of Israel, Baal was the “storm god”.

Yet David says that thunder is simply the voice of Yahweh.

:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

:5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

Things are shook up when they’re hit by lightning.

Video: Roy Sullivan Lightning Man

:6 He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

:6 Lebanon and Sirion

These are mountain to the north of Israel.

God speaks and these mountains are skipping about.

:6 Lebanon – is referring to the mountain range to the north of Israel.

:6 Sirion – is another name for Mount Hermon

:7 The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.

:8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

Kadesh is in the south of Israel.

:9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

:3-9 The voice of the Lord

It seems to me you could make one comparison between the voice of Yahweh and thunder.

David himself makes the comparison in vs. 3.

(Psalm 29:3 NKJV) The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters.

Did you notice how many times in these verses David uses the phrase the “voice of the Lord”?

Seven times.

I don’t know what to make of this, except the other day I was reading through Revelation 10 and something caught my eye…

(Revelation 10:1–4 NKJV) —1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

I don’t want to make too much of this comparison between Psalm 29 and Rev. 10, other than to point out that they both seem to speak of “seven” thunders.

John is told not to write down what the seven thunders said, so we won’t try to speculate about it.

:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful

Lesson

The Powerful Word

Perhaps there is more here than just thunder.

The Word of God is powerful.

(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God says,

(Isaiah 55:10–11 NKJV) —10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Illustration

The Power of the Translated Word; By Gene Scott, Wycliffe Translator

Wycliffe missionaries are dedicated to learning languages of unreached peoples and translating the Scriptures into those native languages. This is an account of a translator named Gene Scott:

Marie and I had worked 25 years among the Sharanahuas without seeing much fruit for our labors. The Sharanahua tribe lives in the Amazon jungle in the southeastern corner of Peru. Gustavo, our translation assistant, replaced his elderly father as chief and was the first of his tribe to make Jesus his “Owner.” But for many years he had not been able to leave alcohol alone, which damaged his testimony. About 11 years ago, while Gustavo was translating the books of Matthew and John with me in the village of Gasta Bala, the Holy Spirit drove the Word deeply into his “innermost.” We had translated Matthew 4:17: Our Lord God is coming to you. Therefore cut off your badness. Not doing bad, instead truly listen to God’s words. When most of the village had gathered for a meeting one Sunday, Gustavo stood before his people and spoke, “I have been a poor example to you as your chief. Not only have I been getting drunk myself, but I have been bringing the liquor to you. Also I have been living in immorality.” He prayed, asking the Lord to forgive him and telling his people that from that time on he wanted Jesus to be his Owner and to give him victory over sin.

After Gustavo made his public commitment to Christ in 1984, the people in the village began to get together every day to sing and pray and listen to the Word. Every day for nearly two months at least one person in Gasta Bala accepted Christ. This continued until all but a few had professed Christ.

During one of their meetings, Gustavo again stood up and told his people that, from the translation work, he saw from God’s Word that if you were serious about following Christ, you should be baptized, based upon Jesus’ example in Matthew 3:15: Like Father God ordered us, we should do all that is right. Therefore put me in the water now. He announced that the following Sunday he would be baptized. On that day, the entire village gathered at the bank of the muddy Purus River. Gustavo looked up at his people from the edge of the river, and this strong chief did something no Sharanahua man had ever done before. He broke into tears and said how sorry he was for all of the years that he had hurt his Owner. Gustavo then went into the water and was baptized by his brother Luis.

As a result of the spiritual awakening that came to Gasta Bala in 1984, dramatic changes occurred in the lives of the people. Barriers between families were broken down, they learned the power of prayer, and their attitudes toward death took a new focus. Before, when a person died, all of his belongings were buried with him or thrown into the river. The deceased person’s garden would be cut down, his home would be burned, and the family would move to a new location. Since then, when a believer dies, they do not wail for months as they used to, because they know that loved one is happy with the Lord and that they will see him again someday.

When the members of the tribe had gathered together and chosen Gustavo to be their pastor, spontaneously five or six of the Sharanahua men gathered around Gustavo’s chair, and as they had read in Acts 13:3--having finished resting from eating and calling on Father God, they placed hands upon Barnabas and Saul and prayed for them—they laid their hands on him and prayed for him. “Lord, help him to preach the Word plainly to us.”

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazine

God’s Word is powerful.

For some of us, we know this in our mind, but it hasn’t really sunk down into our “innermost”.

We think of our Bible as a special book, but we don’t often think about the incredible power that’s inside of it.

Get the Book inside of you.

:10 The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, And the Lord sits as King forever.

:10 The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood

God can take you through the storms.

God was in control in the fiercest of storms, the flood of Noah.

:11 The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.

I Worship You

E C#m

I give You all the honor

F#m B

And praise that's due Your name

E C#m

For You are the King of Glory

F#m B B7

The Creator of all things

Esus E

And I worship You

C#m

I give my life to you

A F#m B B7

I fall down on my knees (2x)

As Your Spirit moves upon me now

You meet my deepest needs

As I lift my hands up to Your throne

Your mercy I receive

I Worship You / Words & Music by Carl Tuttle / © 1982 Mercy Publishing / Worship.doc