Thursday
Evening Bible Study
January
12, 2017
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.
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.
Idea for tonight – stop at 8:15, have people break into small groups and
share something from tonight’s study.
Maybe use the 3x5 cards to write down one verse or point that you’d like
to take home with you.
Psalm 105 – God is Faithful
:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!
:2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!
:3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
:4 Seek the Lord and His
strength; Seek His face evermore!
:1 give thanks to the Lord!
This is a Psalm of David.
After David had successfully brought the Ark into Jerusalem, he wrote a
song (1Chron. 16:8-36)
Psalm 105:1-15 is from 1Chr. 16:8-22
Psalm 96 is from 1Chr. 16:23-33
Psalm 106:1, 47, 48 is from 1Chr. 16:34-36
Just like we saw in Psalm 96, this
was written by David at the time that the Ark was successfully brought to
Jerusalem.
Initially, David had tried to move
the ark by putting it on an oxcart. The
first attempt ended in tragedy as one of the priests reached out to touch the
ark and was killed.
When David finally did some
research, he found out that the Ark was designed to be carried on the shoulders
of the priests instead of on an oxcart.
(1 Chronicles 16:7–8 NKJV) —7 On that
day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his
brethren, to thank the Lord: 8 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known
His deeds among the peoples!
The first fifteen verses of Psalm
105 match what is written in 1Chr. 16:8-22.
Verses 23-33 match Psalm 96.
Verses 34-36 match Psalm 106:1,
47,48
(1 Chronicles 16:8–22 NKJV) —8 Oh,
give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known
His deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to
Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of
all His wondrous works! 10 Glory in
His holy name; Let the hearts of
those rejoice who seek the Lord! 11
Seek the Lord
and His strength; Seek His face
evermore! 12 Remember His marvelous
works which He has done, His
wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 13 O seed of
Israel His servant, You
children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 14 He is
the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 15
Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 16
The covenant
which He made with Abraham, And His
oath to Isaac, 17 And confirmed it to
Jacob for a statute, To Israel for
an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying,
“To you I will give the land of Canaan As the
allotment of your inheritance,” 19 When you
were few in number, Indeed
very few, and strangers in it. 20 When they
went from one nation to another, And from one
kingdom to another people, 21 He
permitted no man to do them wrong; Yes, He
rebuked kings for their sakes, 22 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”
Lesson
Blessing from Tragedy
Everything seemed to go so wrong on
that day when David was first trying to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.
In the end, things actually worked
out for the good.
David learned some things through
the tragedy, like paying attention to how God wants things done.
And then there’s this song…
Lesson
Worship Essentials
David gives us a list of things that comprise what we call “worship”.
1.
Thanks
give thanks – yadah
– (Hiphil) to give thanks, laud, praise
It’s a good practice to work at giving thanks, because most of us are not
very good at it.
I have to make a point of remembering to thank God every day – it’s the
first thing on my prayer list.
I’ve learned that without putting that simple word
(“thanks”) on my prayer list, all I would do is pour out my complaints to the
Lord.
Have you noticed all the rain we’ve been getting lately? I read today that in northern California, the
drought is officially over. We should
give thanks.
I think it’s not only good to give thanks for things that God has done, but
to give thanks for who He is – merciful, gracious, all powerful, all knowing,
and loving.
2.
Calling
Calling on His name (vs. 1)
If I want to talk to my wife, and she’s not anywhere near me, I can call
her cell phone.
I could punch any old random number into my phone, but I’m not going to be
talking to her. I need to call her number.
Understand just who it is you’re talking.
You can’t be worshipping if you don’t know who you’re
praising.
He is the “LORD”
(Yahweh).
We use the name Jesus.
3. God’s deeds
We need to “make known” His deeds (vs. 1) and “talk” of all His wondrous
works (vs. 2)
Much of this Psalm will be talking about God’s deeds on behalf of His
chosen people, Israel.
4. Sing
Sometimes this is all we think of when it comes to worship, though it is
certainly a part of it.
Singing is an expression of your soul, it’s learning to connect with God
not only in an intellectual manner (like studying His word), but with our heart
as well.
It’s our desire that we all are learning to sing to God together.
5. Glory
We are to “glory” in His name (vs. 3)
glory – halal
– (Hithpael) to boast, glory, make one’s boast
The Hebrew word is halal, which
normally means to “praise”
A form of this word is built into the word “hallelujah”
(“praise Yahweh”)
The form used here speaks of boasting in something.
We do live in a pretty wonderful country, and even with
all it’s flaws, we can still be pretty proud to be Americans.
If we’re proud to be Americans, we should be even prouder to call ourselves
Christians.
We shouldn’t forget the “man” who died to set us free.
6. Rejoice
rejoice – samach
– to rejoice, be glad
It’s not always easy to be “glad” during worship.
Sometimes our hearts are torn.
Sometimes worship takes effort to remind ourselves of who God is, of what
He’s done, and His faithfulness to us.
7. Seek
seek – baqash
– (Piel) to seek to find
seek (4a) – darash
– (Qal) to consult, enquire of, to seek in prayer and worship
We need to be seeking His strength and His face (vs. 4)
I don’t think we always arrive at church with the full recognition that we
are indeed in God’s presence.
We need to “enter in”, to be pressing in, to be seeking God.
:5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the
judgments of His mouth,
:6 O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
:6 O seed of Abraham His servant
David is going to remind his audience that they are descendants of Abraham,
the man of faith.
They are likewise descendants of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.
They are heirs of God’s contract with Abraham.
This is going to be woven through the psalm.
:7 He is the Lord our
God; His judgments are in all the earth.
:8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded,
for a thousand generations,
:9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,
:10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an
everlasting covenant,
:11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your
inheritance,”
:12 When they were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it.
:8 He remembers His covenant forever
One promise that God remembers forever is that the land of Canaan was given
to Abraham and his descendants.
When Abram was 75 years old, God brought him to the land of Canaan.
(Genesis 12:7 NKJV)
Then
the Lord appeared to Abram and
said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”
Later on, when Abram would separate from his nephew Lot, God said,
(Genesis 13:15
NKJV) for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants
forever.
Further on, God enters into an official covenant Abram involving sacrifices
…
(Genesis 15:18
NKJV) On the same day the Lord
made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of
Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates
After the whole mess with Hagar and the birth of Ishmael (the father of the
Arabs), God once again renews His covenant with Abram (Gen. 17:2), changes his
name to Abraham (Gen. 17:5), and promises…
(Genesis 17:8 NKJV)
Also
I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be
their God.”
God also goes on to tell Abraham that Sarah will have a child, and that child
(Isaac) will become his heir, not Ishmael…
(Genesis 17:19 NKJV)
Then
God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his
name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and
with his descendants after him.
The Palestinians say that the Jews have no right to be in the land, but God’s
promises to Abraham say different.
:12 When they were few in number
God made these promises to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob while they were still small in number.
:13 When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to
another people,
:14 He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their
sakes,
:15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no
harm.”
:15 Do not touch My anointed ones
Abraham and his descendants were nomads.
They moved from place to place, living among various peoples.
God protected Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from the people who wanted to hurt
them.
During one time of famine, Abram
spent time in Egypt. Abram was afraid
that the Pharaoh would kill him because of the beauty of his wife Sarai, so he
lied about their marriage. Yet God
protected Abram.
(Genesis 12:17 NKJV) But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with
great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
When Abraham later spent time in
Philistine territory, he faced the same predicament with Abimelech, king of
Gerar.
God warned Abimelech about Sarah in
a dream:
(Genesis 20:3–6 NKJV) —3 But God
came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are
a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s
wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and
he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even
she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and
innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God
said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your
heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let
you touch her.
anointed ones – mashiyach
– anointed, anointed one; of the Messiah, Messianic prince; of the king of
Israel; of the high priest of Israel; of the patriarchs as anointed kings
David used this principle in his life when he had the opportunity to kill
King Saul. David told Saul,
(1 Samuel 26:23
NKJV) …for the Lord
delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against
the Lord’s anointed.
Some people have used this as a way of saying that you can’t say anything
bad about a pastor (or evangelist).
The principle doesn’t mean you can’t rebuke an “anointed” one, but that you
shouldn’t kill him.
Abraham was rebuked by both Pharoah and Abimelech for deceiving them.
Saul was rebuked by David for trying to kill David for no good reason.
We now move forward in the history of the nation to the time of Joseph.
:16 Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the
provision of bread.
:17 He sent a man before them— Joseph—who was sold as a slave.
:18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons.
:19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.
:19 The word of the Lord
tested him
Lesson
Until your time
God had given Joseph dreams about his future.
(Psalm 105:19 NLT) Until the
time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord
tested Joseph’s character.
God had hinted that there would be a day when his brothers would be bowing
down to him (Gen. 37)
But until that happened, God tested Joseph.
He was sold as a slave by his brothers.
He was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison.
Perhaps God has planted some dreams in your life.
Sometimes dreams don’t come to pass overnight.
Sometimes God makes us wait as a way of developing our faith, our learning
to trust Him.
(Hebrews
11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him.
Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times so we can be equipped
with what we’ll need further on down the road.
(2
Corinthians 1:3–4 NKJV) —3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any
trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
There may be times ahead when you need to comfort people,
but if you’ve never been through rough waters and found God’s comfort yourself,
you won’t have anything real to offer them.
:20 The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go
free.
When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, the Pharaoh released him from
prison.
:21 He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions,
:22 To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom.
:23 Israel also came into Egypt, And Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
Pharaoh’s dream had foretold a coming famine, and as the famine began to
hit, Joseph had his entire family come to Egypt and taken care of.
:24 He increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their
enemies.
:25 He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His
servants.
:26 He turned their heart to hate His people
After Joseph’s generation died off, a Pharaoh arose in Egypt who no longer
respected the children of Israel.
Lesson
Tough Directions
God turned the Egyptians against Israel, and they enslaved Israel.
God works in strange ways
Difficult times are not always an attack from Satan, but sometimes a way to
encourage you to move.
Israel was too comfortable in Egypt.
It was time for them to move into their inheritance.
So God made them uncomfortable.
In my own life, I felt that God was calling me to be a Sr. Pastor since I
was 18 years old.
Being in a Baptist church, I did the Baptist road to ministry, getting my
college degree, then going on to seminary.
Around the time I was finishing seminary, our Baptist pastor left, and the
church began the process of looking for a new pastor.
It was during that difficult time at church that I began
to realize that I wasn’t all that excited about being a Baptist pastor, and
eventually Deb and I left to become involved with Calvary Chapel.
We eventually got involved at Calvary Chapel of Anaheim, and after serving
there for several years, I was invited to become a full time assistant pastor.
I did that for eight years. It was good.
And then came the day that my pastor asked me to stop
leading worship during the mid-week study because he wanted to change the
format.
I struggled a lot with that, and yet it was the very thing
that got me reconnected with my original calling, to be a Sr. Pastor.
With our pastor’s guidance, we eventually decided to take
our biggest step of faith, and launch Calvary Chapel of Fullerton in 1994.
:26 He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen.
:27 They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham.
:27 in the land of Ham
Another name for Egypt. Ham was one
of the sons of Noah.
David has now taken us to the time of the Exodus, and the plagues that God
brought to finally persuade Pharaoh to let Israel leave.
:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel
against His word.
:29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
:30 Their land abounded with frogs, Even in the chambers of their
kings.
:31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their
territory.
:32 He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land.
:33 He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the
trees of their territory.
:34 He spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number,
:35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of
their ground.
:36 He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, The first of all
their strength.
This was the tenth and final plague, done on the night of the first
“Passover”.
:37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was
none feeble among His tribes.
:38 Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon
them.
:39 He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night.
God led the nation with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by
night.
:40 The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with
the bread of heaven.
:41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like
a river.
God took care of His people as they wandered in the wilderness on their way
back to the Promised Land.
:42 For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant.
:43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.
:44 He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of
the nations,
:45 That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise the Lord!
:45 That they might observe His statutes
God did all these things for the nation so that they would represent Him
well by living life the way He designed mankind to live it.
:42 He remembered His holy promise
Lesson
He is faithful
When God makes promises, He keeps them.
Others may fail you, but God will never fail you.
If you want evidence of God’s faithfulness, remember how God kept His
promises to Abraham.
The establishment of the modern state of Israel is proof that God is
faithful.
They are back in their ancient homeland just as God promised Abraham.
Psalm 106 God’s Mercies
We believe this is a Psalm was also written by David.
The last two verses of this Psalm were part of what David wrote when he
brought the Ark into Jerusalem. (1Chr. 16:34-36).
:1 Praise the Lord! Oh, give
thanks to the Lord, for He is
good! For His mercy endures forever.
:1 Praise the Lord!
The Hebrew here is a single word, “Hallelujah”, hallelu meaning “praise” and yah
being a shortened form of “Yahweh”
:1 For His mercy endures forever
A common chorus in the Psalms.
This seems to be the theme of the entire song – God’s continuing mercy to a
rebellious people.
:2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can declare all His praise?
:3 Blessed are those who keep justice, And he who does
righteousness at all times!
:4 Remember me, O Lord, with
the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
:5 That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in
the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.
:6 We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have
done wickedly.
:6 We have sinned with our fathers
David is going to talk about God’s mercy through the years to a rebellious
people.
David is saying that his generation was no different.
We are no different either.
We too rebel against God.
:7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not
remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.
:8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, That He might make His
mighty power known.
:9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; So He led them through the
depths, As through the wilderness.
:10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed
them from the hand of the enemy.
:11 The waters covered their enemies; There was not one of them left.
:12 Then they believed His words; They sang His praise.
:7 rebelled by the sea
While camping at the Red Sea, the people felt that God had abandoned them
when the Egyptian army showed up.
Despite their rebellion, God still delivered them. He parted the Red Sea, and they believed in
God again.
:13 They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel,
:14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert.
:15 And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.
:15 He gave them their request
In Numbers 11, the people began to complain about not having meat to
eat. They were bored with the manna that
God had provided for them.
Lesson
Careful what you wish for
As a result of their complaining, God gave them a huge amount of quail, and
the people gorged themselves on the meat.
(Numbers 11:33–34
NKJV) —33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it
was chewed, the wrath of the Lord
was aroused against the people, and the Lord
struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So he called the name of that place Kibroth
Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
Kibroth Hattaavah – “graves of lust”
Illustration
The Government Employee
A Government Employee in his little cubicle, out of boredom, decides to see
what’s in his old filing cabinet. He pokes through the contents and comes
across an old brass lamp. “This will look nice on my mantelpiece,” he decides. While
polishing the lamp, a genie appears and grants him three wishes. “I wish for an
ice cold diet Pepsi right now!” He gets his Pepsi and drinks it. Now that he
can think more clearly, he states his second wish. “I wish to be on an island
where beautiful sexy women reside.” Suddenly he is on an island with gorgeous
females eyeing him lustfully. He tells the genie his third and last wish: “I
wish I’d never have to work ever again.” POOF! He’s back in his government
office.
Be careful what you ask for.
Sometimes God will give you what you ask for, and it’s not what you need.
It’s best to learn to ask God to answer your prayers according to His will,
not yours.
:16 When they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the Lord,
:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, And covered the faction of
Abiram.
:18 A fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.
:17 Dathan … Abiram
This was the time of Korah’s rebellion when Korah and several others started
to think that they could do a better job leading the nation than Moses did.
It did not end well for them.
See Numbers 16.
:19 They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image.
:20 Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
:21 They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,
:22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, Awesome things by the Red Sea.
:23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen
one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.
:19 a calf in Horeb
The story is in Exodus 32, when the people grew tired of waiting for Moses
to come back from Mt. Sinai, and they had Aaron make a golden calf.
They exchanged worship of God (“their glory”, vs.20) for a statue of an ox.
It hadn’t even been a year since the Red Sea, and they had already
forgotten the amazing things God had done in Egypt and in getting them through
the Red Sea.
Moses prayed, and God was merciful in forgiving the people.
:24 Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe His word,
:25 But complained in their tents, And did not heed the voice of the
Lord.
:26 Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them, To
overthrow them in the wilderness,
:27 To overthrow their descendants among the nations, And to scatter them
in the lands.
:24 they despised the pleasant land
Numbers 13: When Moses sent twelve spies to check out the Promised Land,
ten of them gave a bad report and caused the people to rebel against going into
the Promised Land.
God responded by letting that generation die in the wilderness over the
next forty years.
:28 They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to
the dead.
:29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague
broke out among them.
:30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped.
:31 And that was accounted to him for righteousness To all generations
forevermore.
:28 Baal of Peor
As the people camped on the eastern side of the Jordan River, the prophet
Balaam advised King Balaak of Moab to send his young ladies into the Israelite
camp, and tempt them into worshipping Baal.
See Numbers 25.
:32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife, So that it went
ill with Moses on account of them;
:33 Because they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with
his lips.
:32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife
Moses was so angry at the people and their complaining.
He had already brought water from the Rock in Ex. 17, but they were
complaining again.
In anger, Moses disobeyed God’s command to just “speak” to the Rock.
(Numbers 20)
Though there were two similar times
when the people complained about water and Moses answered by bringing water
from the Rock, this is the second one, Numbers 20.
The first time, God told Moses to
“strike” the Rock (Ex. 17).
The second time, God told Moses to
just “speak” to the Rock (Num. 20)
But Moses was so angry with the
constant complaining that he rebuked the people about their constant
complaining, and struck the Rock rather than speak to it.
(Numbers 20:11 NKJV) Then Moses
lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out
abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
I think God was trying to get Moses
to paint a picture of Jesus as the Rock.
He was “struck” once for our sins.
Now all we have to do is “speak” in
faith, and we are saved.
But Moses blew the picture.
This outburst of anger was what kept Moses from going into the Promised
Land.
:34 They did not destroy the peoples, Concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,
:35 But they mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works;
:36 They served their idols, Which became a snare to them.
:37 They even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons,
:38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom
they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood.
:39 Thus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by
their own deeds.
:34 They did not destroy the peoples
Though they conquered most of the Promised Land under Joshua, they did not
destroy all the peoples that God had commanded them to destroy.
See the book of Judges
Instead, these Canaanites began to have an influence on Israel and led them
into many dark places, including sacrificing their own children to gods like
Molech.
Sometimes we let the world have a little too much influence on our lives,
and we end up doing stupid things.
Sometimes the ways of the world are really not all that great.
:40 Therefore the wrath of the Lord
was kindled against His people, So that He abhorred His own inheritance.
:41 And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, And those who hated
them ruled over them.
:42 Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into
subjection under their hand.
:42 Their enemies also oppressed them
During the times of the judges, each time Israel would stray from the Lord,
God would allow their surrounding enemies to rule over them.
Then the people would repent, God would raise up a judge, and lead the
people to overthrow their oppressors.
:43 Many times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And
were brought low for their iniquity.
:44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, When He heard their cry;
:45 And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according
to the multitude of His mercies.
:46 He also made them to be pitied By all those who carried them away
captive.
:47 Save us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To
triumph in Your praise.
:47 Save us
This is basically the same word we looked at on Sunday morning, “Hosanna”.
(Psalm 118:25 NKJV) Save now,
I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray,
send now prosperity.
(Mark 11:9–10 NKJV) —9 Then those
who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed
is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 10
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
הושׂיענו
(Ps. 106:47)
נא הושׂיעה
(Ps. 118:25)
:48 Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say,
“Amen!” Praise the Lord!
:48 Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel …
We have another “doxology”.
We’re at the ending the fourth “book” of Psalms.
Next week we’ll start the fifth and final book.
:48 Praise the Lord!
The Hebrew here is, “Hallelu Yah”
:45 according to the multitude of His mercies
Lesson
A merciful God
Though God is holy and just, He is also merciful.
Did you notice how many times the nation of Israel messed things up? A lot.
Yet every time they cried out to God, He was merciful.
Do you ever feel like you have done some certain sin so many times that God
could never ever forgive you?
Look at the history of Israel.
If you will turn around, God will forgive.