Psalm 141 is presents the reality that even the holiest of saint has the potential to be the most horrific of sinners. The closer one draws to God, the more aware he or she becomes of their potential to sin. The psalm demonstrates that if one toys with sin, it will overtake them. Thus David, prays to God to guard his mouth and lips, to turn his heart from evil, and to protect against the allurement of the delicacies of those who work iniquity.
0 Comments
In Psalm 57, David experiences calamities coming from an enemy who is like a lion out for the kill. Although his enemies have set traps for him, David is confident that they will fall into their own traps. Hiding under the “shadow of His wings,” David knows that God will protect and deliver him.
As the Bible unfolds, little by little, it reveals a spiritual battle raging behind our earthly struggle. As Christians we are engaged in this spiritual battle. Our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil... and they are subtle in their disguises. Like Israel, we need to know how to fight. Psalm 47 provides us with the how to fight. We fight with praise to God, because our God reigns.
If Psalm 1 is about the blessed man, then Psalm 2 is about the rebellious man. In many ways Psalm 1 and 2 parallel Genesis 1-4. In Genesis 1 and 2 Adam was the blessed man. Beginning in Genesis 3, Adam became the rebellious man. In Genesis 4, Cain continues the rebellion and went out from God. Now in Psalm 2 the descendants of Adam are in full rebellion against God, but God has the final word. Thus, Psalm 2 is an exhortation to humankind to abandon their rebellious plans against the Lord and His anointed king and to submit to the authority of the Son whom God has ordained to rule the nations with a rod of iron.
David likely penned this psalm as a young man, tending David struggles to comprehend how this great God, who is glorified by the wonders of the creative universe, can be glorified on earth through frail and puny people. Thus, he asks the question, “What is man that You are mindful of him?”
Human injustices and prejudices arise when men forget about the dignity of man as God created him. Psalm 8 is a reminder that God made man “a little lower than divine.” It reminds us of Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion …” When one remembers that each person in the world, without regard to his ethnic background or social status, has been created in God’s image, crowned with glory and honor, and given dominion over the works of God, it is unforgivable to degrade or dishonor that person. |
Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|