In Ps. 1:1-3, David makes several allusions to Joshua. He speaks of how the man who meditates in God’s word day and night will prosper in his ways; and he uses the very same Hebrew words as found in Josh. 1:8 in recounting God’s charge to Joshua. But David’s point is that the man who does these things will not “walk in the counsel of the ungodly”- he won't give in to peer pressure. The fact that Joshua was wrongly influenced by his peers in later life would indicate that he didn’t keep the charge given to him.
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Psalm 3 is full of reference to Samson's fight at Lehi. It was also written at a time when David was betrayed by his own people: " Many are saying of me, 'God will not deliver him'" - the thoughts of the Israelites as they delivered the bound Samson to the Philistines " But you are a shield around me" - how it must have seemed to a spectator " To the Lord I cry aloud" - as Samson did " I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me" - huge armies against one solitary man is a clear reference to Samson at Lehi " Strike all my enemies the jaw bone" (Ps. 3:7 Heb.)- it could imply 'with the jaw bone'. The Hebrew for 'jaw bone' is the same as in Jud. 15:16. |
7:3,4- see on 1 Sam. 20:8.
Psalm 8 is quoted in Hebrews 2 to prove Christ's superiority over the Angels. Verses 3-5 therefore show Christ's marvel at how a human like Himself should be considered worthy to have such great Angelic attention. Such was his respect of them: "When I consider Thy Heavens, the work of Thy fingers (the Heavens were created by the Angels; the Law was given by the Angel finger of God writing on the stones), the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of Him? ('why should You think so much about mere Me?') and the son of man (Jesus) that Thou visitest (Angelic language) Him? For Thou hast made Him a little lower than the Angels. . Thou madest Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands (the Hand of the Lord is Angelic language; they were used to create all things); Thou hast put all things (including the Angels) under His feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field. . "- i. e. the things of the natural creation made and controlled by the Angels.
In the same way as the Angels are so closely associated with their charges that they are identified with them, so the Angels are described as the things in the natural world which they have created. Ps. 8:5,6 is quoted in Heb. 2:7 to prove Christ's superiority over the Angels: "Thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands (an Angelic phrase); Thou hast put all things under his feet". "All things" often includes Angels in its context in New Testament usage. The works of God's Angel-hands in the natural creation have been put under Christ's feet, but the purpose of the quotation in Heb2 is to show that the Angels have been put under Christ's feet. Heb. 2:11 takes the point further by saying that as the Angels are identified so exactly with that they have created, so Christ was identified with His new creation, even to the extent of having an identical nature to them.
10:1 see on Prov. 15:29
In God’s judgment of men it will be made apparent that it was so inappropriate for man who is made of dust to oppress his fellows (Ps. 10:18 RV). Respect of others is sorely lacking in our selfish natures. But the more we reflect upon our own insignificance, as creatures of dust, the more we will see that abuse of others in any form is inappropriate. And we don’t have to wait till judgment day to perceive this- for we know the mortality and constitution of man from basic Bible teaching. This link between our mortality and humility is brought out in Paul’s description of our present state as being “the body of our humiliation” (Phil. 3:21 RV). Believing we are mortal ought to be a humbling thing.
Angels do not possess ultimate power and knowledge, and therefore they need to find out our true spiritual state through the trials they bring upon us. However, God works through such weakness, as he does with us the prospective elohim, in order to bring about His very finely planned purpose. He allows Himself to be limited by the Angels, and it appears from our own experience of Him working through us that this is one of His most sublime characteristics. "The LORD is in His Holy Temple; the LORD's throne is in the Heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men" (Ps. 11:4). Apparently a Hebraism is being used here which implies God is squinting at us. To squint implies limitation of vision; God's eyes are the Angels, and so He, the great God in Heaven, allows Himself in some way to be limited by them.
Ps. 11:4,5 describes the scene in the court of Heaven: "The Lord's throne is in Heaven (mirrored by the Mighty Angel of Israel being enthroned over the Mercy Seat in the temple): His eyes (Angels) behold, His eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous (who are in His presence by their Angel), but the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth".
14:2- see on Ps. 63:8.
16:5- see on Ex. 34:27
It is quite likely that Ps. 19:8,10 were written with Jonathan's experience of 1 Sam. 14 in mind: "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes... sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb". Psalm 19 may well have been written in the Bathsheba period: "Cleanse (s.w. Ps. 51:2) thou me from secret faults". So the memory of Jonathan stayed with David all his life long.
20:1- see on Ex. 25:8
20:2- see on Ps. 80:1
23- see on Gen. 28:20,21
Every reference to " the God of Jacob / Israel" is effectively saying: 'I'm the God that stuck with mixed up, struggling Jacob. And I'll stick with you too, through spiritual thick and thin, and bring you through in the end'. This is the love of God for Jacob. So close is the association between God and Jacob that there are times when the name 'Jacob' becomes a synonym for 'the God of Jacob'. Ps. 24:6 is an example: " The generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob" (cp. other examples in Is. 44:5; Jer. 10:16; 51:19). The name of Israel therefore was paralleled with the name of God- Joshua feared that the name of Israel would be cut off, “and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?” (Josh. 2:9).
Christ's approach to Jerusalem is described in Ps. 24:10: "Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts (Angels), he is the King of glory". Thus Christ, the Lord of glory, will be especially clearly associated with the Angels as He approaches Jerusalem. He comes with all the Holy Angels with Him, with “saints”, i. e. Angels, to relieve the invasion of the latter-day Sennacherib.
25:11- see on Ex. 32:32.
25:11 David, realizing he was seen by God as a representative of his people, prayed for forgiveness in that he realized that he was thereby a pattern for all the wayward people of God. “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great” (Ps. 25:11) is an undoubted reference to Moses praying for Israel’s forgiveness relating to the golden calf (Ex. 32:30,31). He saw himself as both Moses in prayer and also guilty Israel. He saw Bathsheba had been his golden calf idol, mixing as it had done sexual abandon with an appearance of Yahweh worship. There was nobody to pray for him apart from himself. He saw himself as all Israel, savable only by pure grace and the sincere prayer of a mediator- even if the mediator himself was guilty.
What is so awesome is that the Hebrew word sod, 'council' or 'court', is something open to us as mortals. In Biblical times, Kings had their sod, their gathering of intimate advisors and ministers. But we, mere mortals on earth, are invited to be part of the sod of God Almighty, having His purpose and plans revealed to us (Ps. 25:14; Job 29:4). But sod members weren't passive listeners; they gave their advice and requests, and the King factored that into His decision making. This is a picture of the power of prayer from those who have understood the way and essence of the King of Heaven.
26:1 What David learnt from the Bathsheba failure is in essence what we all have to learn. Psalm 26 was surely written before he sinned with her. He speaks of how he had walked in integrity before God “without wavering” (Ps. 26:1 RV), and how his foot did not slip (Ps. 26:12). What else does this evidently pre-Bathsheba Psalm indicate about David’s attitude, and what changed after Bathsheba? He speaks in Ps. 26:5 of how he refuses to sit at table with sinners. Yet the Lord rejoiced to do just this. He contrasts his righteousness with the sinfulness of the wicked (Ps. 26:10,11)- a far cry from Paul’s insistence in Romans that we have sinned just as much as the world has, in the sense that we desperately need salvation by grace. When David asks for forgiveness in Ps. 26:11 (“redeem me, and be merciful unto me”), he therefore was apparently asking for mercy in an almost technical way, perhaps seeing the only mercy he required as a resurrection from the dead. All these attitudes changed radically after his Bathsheba experience. He could look back and reflect how “As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved” (Ps. 30:6), perhaps looking back to Ps. 26:10, where he had felt confident his foot had never been moved. And he speaks of how he only stands strong because of God’s gracious favour (Ps. 30:7). God works through sin and failure- to bring us to know His grace. We follow the same learning curve as David, if we are truly God’s man or woman.
30:6- see on Ps. 26:1.
David's family appear to have later disowned him during Saul’s persecution (Ps. 31:11), fleeing from him, as the Lord’s friends also did (Ps. 31:11 = Mt. 26:56). See article "David and Goliath" in 1 Sam. 17.
"I said in my haste, I am cut off from before Thine eyes" (Angels, Ps. 31:22) could be a prophecy of the Lord Jesus’ fear of losing the Angelic presence whilst He was on the cross- hence Mt. 27:46
32:1,2 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven" (Ps. 32:1), David wrote, after experiencing God's mercy in the matter of Bathsheba. But Paul sees this verse as David describing " the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works" (Rom. 4:6). Each of us are in need of a like justification; therefore we find ourselves in David's position. The Spirit changes Ps. 32:1 (" Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven" ) to " Blessed are they " (Rom. 4:7) to make the same point.
32:2- see on 2 Sam. 19:20.
32:2 "Blessed is the man (e.g. David, or any sinner- David is our example) unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity" (Ps. 32:2) is alluded to in 2 Cor. 5:19: " God was in Christ...not imputing (the world's) trespasses unto them". See on 1 Pet. 2:22; Rev. 14:5.
32:6 - see on 2 Cor. 6:2; 7:7-11.
32:6 Note how he describes those who would sin as grievously as he had done, as Godly", even in the moments before their prayer of repentance. In those moments of contrition immediately prior to uttering a prayer of penitence, we reach pinnacles of Godliness.
32:6 As David "found" God through experiencing His forgiveness, so can " every one that is Godly" today. It is quite possible that "seek and ye shall find" (Mt. 7:7) was uttered by the Lord with his mind on Ps. 32:6 and David's experience. After all, we cannot expect this to be a blank cheque offer, that whatever we seek for we must receive. But if these words are an allusion to David's seeking and finding forgiveness in Ps. 32:6, then the promise is more realistic. If we seek for forgiveness and a living relationship with God, then we have this unconditional promise that we will find this. Yet in a sense, the time when we will ultimately find God will be at the judgment: we will " find mercy of the Lord in that day" (2 Tim. 1:18), so that "ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless" (2 Pet. 3:14). We will find God, as He will find us, in that great moment of consummation; " for then shall (we) know (God), even as also (we) are known" by Him (1 Cor. 13:12; ). Then we will "be found in him...that I may (then) know him" (Phil. 3:9,10). Yet David says that after forgiveness, we can find and know God. It is as if whenever we sin, we in a sense face our judgment seat. And the knowledge and 'finding' of God which we will then enjoy should be prefigured in our present experience of forgiveness. Should we not therefore pray for forgiveness with the intensity with which we would at the judgment, if we were then offered the chance to do so?
32:7 David came to know the marvel of this. And David is our example. His response was to eagerly desire to spread the knowledge of God which he acquired through his experience of God's forgiveness. " I will instruct thee and teach thee" he exalts in Ps.32:8. He knew that as God " shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance" on forgiveness (Ps.32:7), so " he (anyone) that trusteth in the Lord (as David did), mercy shall compass him about" (Ps.32:10). " Then will I teach transgressors thy ways" (Ps.51:13) is another example. Likewise, Peter (Lk.5:8-10), Isaiah (Is.6:5-9) and Paul (Eph.3:8) all received preaching commissions straight after their experience of forgiveness. Our knowledge of God through receiving it should be a powerful stimulus to our personal witnessing. There is every reason why some of our witnessing should include personal testimony of what the Lord has done for us.
32:11- see on Ps. 51:4
32:31- see on 35:15
Ps. 34:3 promises that the Angel of the Lord will encamp /Mahanaim around all His servants, just as the Angel did at Mahanaim for Jacob. Jacob’s struggle at [or with] Penuel strikes a chord with each of us. Frank Lake has pointed out that each person struggles to find peace in their relationships with others and also with their God- whether or not they are conscious of those struggles. Jacob’s experience is clearly set up as representative of our own.
Ps. 34 has several allusions to Jacob (vv. 6,7,13). " The angel of the Lord encampeth around them that fear Him, and delivereth them" (v.7) is alluding to the Angel with fearful Jacob on the night of westling, and delivering him from Esau. And yet the Angel set out to fight and slay Jacob, after the pattern of Esau (33:10). Jacob feared because of his sins and because of the relentless approach of his brother. Yet this is turned round to mean that Jacob's fear was actually fear of God, and on account of this feat, the Angel delivered Jacob. Jacob was partly afraid of God and his own sins, but (it seems) more significantly, he simply feared Esau physically. And yet in Ps. 34:7, God chose that more positive aspect of Jacob and memorialized it there as an example to others.
34:7 The Angels being "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" and the fact that "the Angel of the LORD encampeth around" those who fear God indicates that we do have at least one Angel in control of our lives personally. "Encampeth" means more 'to settle down'- the Angel does not rush into our lives at our frantic behest when we are in a sudden crisis, but has settled down around us for a long time in preparing that trial.
34:7- see on Ex. 33:3
David several times speaks of the need to fear God and ‘depart from evil’, and the blessedness of the man who does so (Ps. 34:14; 37:27); and Solomon repeats his father repeatedly on this point (Prov. 3:7; 4:27; 13:19; 14:16; 16:6,17). Yet they are surely alluding to Job, who feared God and “eschewed” [s.w. ‘depart from’] evil (Job 1:1). Without doubt, these allusions indicate that they saw Job as symbolic of all the righteous. And this is no mere piece of painless Bible exposition; Job in all his turmoil really is the pattern for each one of us, the path through which we each must pass.
35:5,6- see on Ex. 12:23
The idea of threshing is often associated with the judgement; the unworthy will be "as chaff before the wind: and let the Angel of the Lord chase them. . let the Angel of the Lord persecute them" (Ps. 35:5,6). The Angels are made spirit (the same word Hebrew word as 'winds') and are being likened to the wind in this threshing process, driving the unworthy away, as Adam, typifying the rejected, was chased out of Eden by the Angels. "As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more; but the righteous is an everlasting foundation" (Prov. 10:25) appears the basis of the parable of the house on the rock, making the whirlwind correspond to the second coming in judgement. "The whirlwind" is Angel cherubim language; as if it is by that means that the wicked will be destroyed. Note that "the wicked" and "the fool" in Proverbs often refer to those who are responsible.
35:14 There is one verse which to me is a cameo of the extent of the victory which David won against the mind of the flesh, against our massive tendency to repay sin with sin, bitterness with bitterness, anger with anger. If we take nothing else away from this, please focus your mind on this, and keep the memory: In Ps. 35:14 David protests his love for the one who was persecuting him (v.1-4 etc.): " (When he was sick...I humbled my soul with fasting)...I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed myself heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother " . Perhaps David is reflecting here upon his attitude to Saul's death. " As one that mourneth for his mother " . Just think of it. " As one that mourneth for his mother " . This is surely one of the most powerful figures that could be employed. Picture a young man of say 24, in a dark blue suit, kneeling down at the graveside of his mother, surrounded by friends and relatives, bowing down heavily in his grief. Or picture a man of 34, 44, 54, hair greying and receding now, bowing himself down heavily. Or even 64, 74, alone in his grief, bowing down heavily to the green turf, muttering words about mum. Perhaps some of us haven't yet experienced this; many have. If you haven't, just imagine it. Surely it brings a lump to your throat. Now it was with this intensity of grief that David mourned the death or sickness of his persecutor. This is a wondrous reflection of his devotion, his true love, his triumph over bitterness and anger, over all the human actions that had been directed against him. The heavy bowing down of the Lord Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem, the city that hated and rejected him, whose leaders slew him, whose people screamed for his blood. David wept for Saul as if he was his friend or brother. Who was David's friend and brother? Surely Jonathan his brother-in-law. But he wept for Saul, David says, as he wept for Jonathan. This is testified to historically by David's lament of 2 Sam. 1. And still David sought out the house of Saul, “that I may shew the kindness of God” unto them (2 Sam. 9:3). It was the experience of Divine kindness that motivated David. As he hoped for fellowship at the King’s table in the future, so David delighted in inviting his former enemies to partake of his table, now he was king (2 Sam. 9:7,11,13). And if we hope to share the Lord’s table in the Kingdom, we must share it with our weaker brethren now. You know I see in all this such a triumph for David, that a man should reflect the love of God to such an extent, to love in the face of such hatred, to not just love those who loved him.
Some reverence God's physical power and majesty rather than His moral majesty. David got the balance right when he reflected: " Thy righteousness is like the great mountains" (Ps. 36:6). He saw God's moral strength reflected in the massive physicality of God's creation. Job had to be taught this lesson.
Ps. 38:1 is a Bathsheba Psalm: “Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me”. But it is quoted in Heb. 12:5,6 about all of God’s children, who have to go through David’s basic experience in order to become the accepted sons of God. We do all have to be rebuked and chastened, even if like children, like David, we so fear it.
38:13 - see on Jud. 16:13
38:13 As a deaf man- David learnt the secret of seeing the positive in our weak brethren, and he didn’t let all that was wrong with Saul interfere with this. He describes himself as responding to criticism like this: “I as a deaf man, heard not” (Ps. 38:13). Yet he was alluding to how Saul, when likewise criticized by “sons of belial”, “was as though he had been deaf” to their words (1 Sam. 10:27 RVmg.). He saw the good in Saul, he remembered that one good example he showed- and it empowered him to follow it. This is all the more remarkable, in that it seems God would have given Saul into David’s hand when “a deep sleep from the Lord” fell upon Saul at the very time David intended to kill him (1 Sam. 26:12). Saul himself realized that the Lord had delivered him into David’s hand to kill him (1 Sam. 24:18). God thus confirmed David in his intentions- and yet at the last minute, it seems, David chose an even higher level; of love and deep respect for this spiritually sick man.
38:14 - see on 51:4
38:17 "In mine adversity (Heb. tsela, limping) they rejoiced" (Ps. 35:15), " I am ready to halt (tsela) and my sorrow (repentance) is continually before me" (Ps. 38:17) uses a word which occurs elsewhere mainly in the context of Jacob limping after the night of wrestling (Gen. 32:31). This is one of many of David’s allusions to Jacob.
38:17 Many of the Psalms understood by the Jews as relevant to the Nazi holocaust are Bathsheba Psalms. “Out of the depths” they cried like David; and at the entrance to Bergen-Belsen it stands written: “My sorrow is continually before me” (Ps. 38:17), in recognition of having received punishment for sin [note how these kind of plaques contain no trace of hatred or calling for Divine retribution upon the persecutors]. See on 2 Cor. 7:7-11.
41:9- see on Jud. 16:13
Psalm 42 has many echoes of the cross, although primarily it refers to David's longing for the tabernacle whilst exiled by Absalom. "My soul thirsteth for God, for the God of the living ones (the Angel in the tabernacle); when shall I come and appear before God (the Angel)?"(v. 2). He reflects how in the past "I went with them to the house of God" (v. 4)- i. e. Bethel, with all its Angelic associations. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" (v. 5)- the same in the Septuagint as Matt. 26:38 "Now is my soul troubled". Jesus rallies Himself: "Hope thou in God (His Angel); for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance"- fulfilled by the Angel appearing to Jesus in Gethsemane (transferring some of the glory of His countenance to Jesus as He did to Moses, so that Christ's arresters initially fell down when they saw Him?). "O my God. . . I will say unto God my rock ("the rock" is an angelic phrase- Gen. 49:24; Dt. 32:4,18), Why hast Thou forgotten Me?" (v. 6,9). Strong defines 'forgotten' as "to be oblivious of from want of memory or attention"- surely Jesus would not accuse His Father of this? It may therefore have more relevance to His feelings concerning the Angels.
42:8 waters- see on Rev. 16:5.
44:6 sword and bow- see on 2 Sam. 1:22.
Separation from the world unto the things of God is brought out in the way Ps. 45:10.16 alludes to the Mosaic laws about a Gentile woman forgetting her father’s house. Indeed the Psalm appears to have relevance to Solomon’s marriage to a Gentile [and note the allusions to Joseph’s marriage to a Gentile]: “Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house [this is the ‘separation from’ the world]…instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, which thou mayest make princes in all the earth [land- of Israel]”. The emotional pain of separation from her father’s world would be offset by her bringing forth Godly children within the hope of Israel. The whole process of separating from and yet also separating unto seems to me to create a kind of synergy from the whole dialectic. It's by separating from the world that we go back into this world in service and witness and caring concern. And if we don't find ourselves 'separated unto' those things- have we actually separated from this world in the way God intends?
46:2- see on Rev. 8:8
51:1- see on Acts 3:19.
Ps. 51:1,9 "Have mercy upon me. . according to Thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions". Mercies and truth are often references to the promises to Abraham- to bless his seed with forgiveness of sins (Acts 3:25,26). The Angels made these promises, and were therefore the ones to blot out the sins in fulfilment of them. "Hide Thy face (presence- an Angelic title) from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities".
51:3,4 David's confession of sin in Ps. 51:3,4 is packed with Job allusions; as if Job's physical trials brought about the same effect as David's full recognition of his sin. Such recognition ought to be easily possible for each of us, regardless of our 'physical' experiences in life.
51:4 He recognized that God works through our sinfulness- he is effectively saying 'I sinned so that You might be justified...'. These words are quoted in Rom. 3:4,5 in the context of Paul's exultation that " our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God" - in just the same way as David's did! Because God displays His righteousness every time He justifies a repentant sinner, He is in a sense making Himself yet more righteous. We must see things from God's perspective, from the standpoint of giving glory to God's righteous attributes. If we do this, then we can see through the ugliness of sin, and come to terms with our transgressions the more effectively. And Paul quotes David's sin with Bathsheba as our supreme example in this. We along with all the righteous ought to “shout for joy” that David really was forgiven (Ps. 32:11)- for there is such hope for us now. David is our example. And yet the intensity of David’s repentance must be ours. He hung his head as one in whose mouth there were no more arguments, hoping only in the Lord’s grace (Ps. 38:14 RVmg.). Notice too how Ps. 51:1 “Have mercy on me, O God…” is quoted by the publican in Lk. 18:13. He felt that David’s prayer and situation was to be his. And he is held up as the example for each of us.
51:4 David was very conscious that his sin had been " in thy (God's) sight" (Ps.51:4). The psalms of repentance have several examples of him talking like this. It may be to this Davidic theme that the parable of the prodigal son (i.e. each of us) refers: " I have sinned...in thy sight" (Lk. 15:18,21). It is significant that our Lord's supreme parable of repentance refers back to that of David. It has been observed that there are many connections between the Psalms related to the Bathsheba incident, and those which are especially prophetic of Christ's crucifixion. David's intense suffering on account of sin was therefore prophetic of our Lord's mental and physical suffering for the same reason. It is because of this link that Christ is able to sympathize with the traumas of spiritual guilt which accompany our repentance. It is truly breathtaking to discern how God works through our sins, to the extent that through the struggle for repentance which they engender, they can associate us with the sufferings of His sinless Son.
51:17 David/Bathsheba language is used to describe Israel's spiritually fallen state (e.g. Ps.38:7=Is.1:6; Ps.51:7=Is.1:18; Ps.65:2=Is.40:15). David recognized this in Ps. 51:17, where he likens his own state to that of Zion, which also needed to be revived by God's mercy. As David's sin is likened to the killing of a lamb (2 Sam. 12:4), so the Jews killed Jesus. The troubles which therefore came upon his kingdom have certain similarities with the events of AD67-70. They were also repeated in the Nazi Holocaust, and will yet be. Israel are yet to fully repent after the pattern of David.
Psalm 57:3 "He shall send from Heaven, and save me". The word "send" is normally translated 'to send away, to let depart', implying physical movement away. This implies Angels are physically sent over space to answer prayer. The same word occurs in other verses where this same idea stands up well- e. g. Ps. 144:7 "Send Thine hand (an Angel) from Heaven. . . ” It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10
63:8 David responded to their seeking of him by seeking God more. He uses the language of the hunt and chase to describe how he was drawing closer to God: " My soul followeth hard after thee" (Ps. 63:8; Ps. 63 is a wilderness psalm, see title). " Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul...let all those that seek thee rejoice" (Ps. 40:14,16). In this sense, David felt he wasn't fleeing from his enemies as much as fleeing to God : " Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies (from whom he was running): I flee unto thee to hide me" (Ps. 143:9). This fleeing to God didn't mean that David and Jesus didn't respond or retaliate verbally; both of them, especially the Lord Jesus, did. They both pleaded their innocence, and accused their enemies of being unfair and hypocritical. Yet this must have been done from a genuine motive of love; as David loved Saul, as the thought of Saul's death must have torn at his heart, so the Lord Jesus loved Israel, weeping over Jerusalem, wishing to himself like a child for the impossible: that they would know him as their Saviour. Both David and Jesus had a real sense of direction, they could see that their mental, emotional and physical sufferings were leading them towards an altogether higher relationship with the Father. They took those sufferings as an almost welcome push towards the Father. They had a sure sense of spiritual direction in all their afflictions; this accounts for the human loneliness which they both felt. David felt that no one else understood (Ps. 14:2, a wilderness psalm) or was really seeking towards God as he was doing (Ps. 27:4,8). The Hebrew for " understand" here is that translated " wise" concerning David in 1 Sam. 18.
When men speak hard words against us, the situation on earth is somehow mirrored in the court of Heaven- Ps. 64:3,7 speak of how men "aim their arrows, even bitter words"; and God responds by shooting arrows from His Heavenly control room.
There is the implication that a great number of Angels- perhaps the guardian Angels of each of the Israelites- were with them too: "great was the company of those that published it. . . even thousands of Angels" (Ps. 68:11), i. e. the word concerning Israel leaving Egypt and entering the promised land.
Psalm 68:11 shows how the Angels receive Words from God, which they obey by putting into practice (cp. Ps. 103:20,21 "ye ministers of His. . hearkening unto the voice of His word"); but they sometimes, as we have seen, cause men to be inspired by those words. Ps. 68 comments on the Exodus from Egypt. "The Lord gave the word; great was the company (the 'host'- a word often used about the Angels) of them that published it". This "great company" is defined in v. 17 as "the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels". See on 2 Sam. 23:1-3
69:1,2-see on Job 19:12-14
69:8-see on Job 19:12-14
69:12-see on Job 19:12-14
As Christ prayed on the cross, so we should arm ourselves with the same attitude of mind in prayer (cp. 1 Pet.4:1). In the context of Ps. 69:13, these are the thoughts of Christ on the cross: " My prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time...in the truth of Thy salvation" . These words are alluded to in 2 Cor.6:2, where we are told to draw near to God (and encourage others to do so), because now is the accepted time and the day of our salvation.
69:20-see on Job 19:12-14
72:17- see on Gen. 18:18
77:17 waters- see on Rev. 16:5.
As Samson was characterized by his love of that riddle (the word occurs nine times in Jud. 14:12-19, and 15:16 Heb. is also some kind of riddle), so David uses the same word to describe how he chose to put forth a riddle (Ps. 78:2).
78:23-see on Dt. 8:2,3
The Angels never affect our freewill, but nevertheless provide the necessary arrangement of circumstances to encourage us to do God's will, and affecting the lives of unbelievers to this end too. In order for unbelievers to present the necessary trials to us in order to bring this about, the Angels harden the hearts of these people. Thus in Psalm 78 :49 we read of the plagues on Egypt being brought by the "Angels of evil", including the slaying of the firstborn. These plagues were due to Pharaoh's heart being hardened by God (Ex. 4:21)- i. e. by the Angels of evil. Angels affect human hearts- for good and bad, operationalizing the upward or downward spirals into which human beings must inevitably enter.
1 Cor. 10:10 speaks of an Angel called “the destroyer” who brought about Israel’s punishments in the wilderness. And yet Ps. 78:49 speaks of these as being executed by “A band of Angels of evil” (RVmg.). Likewise Rev. 9:14 has one Angel controlling others, perhaps as our guardian Angel has control over many others to effect his plans for us. The one Angel had control over others, Angels specifically used to bring evil upon those whom God rejects. It may be they will be used again in the judgment of the last day. Or it could be that ‘Angels’ in Ps. 78:49 is an intensive plural, and the AV reading is correct: “by sending evil angels…”. The one great Angel of evil is “the destroyer” of 1 Cor. 10:10. This could imply that some of the references to a “Satan” who brings disaster, as in Job, refer to one specific Angel who does these things, or co-ordinates them.
78:49 sent- see on Ex. 9:14
Psalm 78:60 says that because of their sins, "He (i. e. the Angel) forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which He placed among men". This implies that the Angel was physically present in the tabernacle, and that God's displeasure was shown by this Angel literally being withdrawn. A number of other references support this idea of an Angel physically being present in the tabernacle / temple, and therefore being the source of the glory which sometimes shone forth; 1 Chron. 15 and Ps. 68 describe the entering of the ark into Jerusalem in terms of the Angelic march through the wilderness at the Exodus, thus connecting the Ark with the Angels. See on 1 Chron. 13:6; Ex. 25:8; 33:3; Lev. 4:17; Num. 14:42; Ecc. 5:1-7; 2 Chron. 31:2; Is. 8:18; Mic. 1:3; Dan. 8:11; Ez. 8:4; Mt. 23:21
Ps. 78:67 comments that God did not choose Ephraim- whereas Jacob did (Gen. 48:14). The implication could well be that even at the end of his life, Jacob's choice of Ephraim over Manasseh reflected some sort of weakness, a being out of step with God. This attitude that he could bring about the fulfillment of God's promises through his own efforts was the outcome of Jacob's self-righteousness.
Perhaps the idea of our prayers going first to an Angel is hinted at in Psalm 80:1 "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel (the language of Is. 63:11 regarding the guardian Angel of Israel in the wilderness), thou that leadest Joseph like a flock (the Angel led Israel through the wilderness); Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. . ". It would seem that the Angel "went up in the midst of them" as Moses had successfully pleaded for by physically dwelling between the Cherubim whilst they were encamped, occasionally shining out with the shekinah glory either in pleasure or anger at the people's behaviour during the journey. In this Psalm we see a prayer addressed to this Angel. The word "send" is sometimes used with regard to God physically sending forth an Angel in answer to prayer. "The LORD send thee help from the sanctuary (Most Holy)" (Ps. 20:2) indicates that the Angel was physically there, and that God would send out His help through that Angel. There are other allusions to the Angel in Ps. 80, but v. 4 is interesting in the prayer context: "O Lord God of Hosts (Angels), how long wilt Thou smoke against the prayer of this people?". Incense represents prayer, but it seems that if prayer is insincere the Angels as it were fill the sanctuary with smoke to stop the incense getting through to Jesus. This is perhaps the situation in Rev. 15:8, where the temple was filled with smoke from "the glory of God and His power" (the Angels? cp. 2 Thess. 1:8,9), so that "no man"- i. e. no man's prayer?- could enter until the Angels had fully punished the world. See on Is. 6:7; Ex. 25:8
Angel is asked to give special attention to "the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself. . let Thy hand (an Angelic phrase) be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the Son of man whom thou madest strong for Thyself" (Ps. 80:15,17). Christ is the branch (Is. 11:1; Jer. 23:5), and in any case both the branch and the "Son of man" are made strong for the Angel's own purpose ("for thyself"). This Angelic making strong is surely alluded to when the Angel "strengthened Him" in the garden (Luke 22:43). This chimes in with the popular idea that Angelic presence was withdrawn from Jesus on the cross- hence His cry primarily to the Angel "My God (strength), my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mt. 27:46); perhaps fulfilling the crucifixion prophecy of Ps. 31:22 "I said in my haste, I am cut off from before Thine eyes (Angels): nevertheless Thou heardest the voice of My supplications when I cried unto Thee".
This hand of God made a specific branch "strong for Thyself". This branch was Jesus (Is. 11:1; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8;6:12). The word for 'strong' is not the normal Hebrew word translated this way. It implies more to be alert, strong minded, and is the same word translated "good courage" used so often by the Angel in assuring Joshua of His support of him. We will see how the Angelic encouragement of Joshua was also repeated to Joshua-Jesus (their names being identical in itself makes Joshua a detailed type of Christ). Thus the strengthening of Joshua foreshadows that of Christ, both of His mind and courage, and also ultimately in His resurrection. It was this kind of mental strength that the Angel gave to Jesus in Gethsemane. The same word is used in Ps. 89:21 concerning the seed of David (the whole Psalm is a commentary on the Davidic promise): "with whom My hand (Angel) shall be established: Mine arm (Angel) also shall strengthen Him". The ultimate strengthening of Christ was in his resurrection, and the Angels being present at the tomb suggests they were responsible for this too. The point has been made that Peter's experience in prison was similar to our Lord's; a Herod willing to please the Jews by persecuting Christians, Passover time, sleeping between two soldiers (cp. two thieves), being smitten on the side, the death of James cp. John the baptist etc. In this parallel Peter being led out of the prison by the Angel would correspond to Christ being resurrected by the Angel.
Angels In Psalm 81
It may be that Angels use language and writing skills (e. g. for writing in the book of life? how about "the language of Angels" in 1 Cor. 13:1?), and it appears that they have limitations in these too- Psalm 81 describes the work of the Angel in bringing Israel out of Egypt:
v. 1 "God of Jacob"- an Angelic term; Jacob conceived of his God in terms of an Angel- Gen. 48:15,16
v. 5 "He went out through the land of Egypt"-the Angel of the Lord did this to kill the firstborn
v. 4,5 "He ordained a Law and a statute"- the Angels ministered the Law of Moses, as stressed in Hebrews 1 and 2
v. 6 "I removed his (Israel's) shoulder from the burden"- the Angel led them out of bondage
v. 7 "I proved thee (their faith) at the waters of Meribah"; as we will see, proving is the work of Angels rather than of God Himself, who has full knowledge of all things and doesn't need to "prove" anyone.
We then come to the amazing statement "I heard a language that I understood not" (v. 5)- as if the Angel being talked about didn't understand Egyptian? Or is this because the Angel was so strongly identified with His people that what was true of them became true of Him?
v. 10 "I. . brought thee out of the land of Egypt"- the Angel in the pillar of cloud did this.
81:5 went forth- See on Is. 37:36
81:6- see on Ex. 34:27
81:13 see on 1 Kings 22:22
Ps. 81:16 says that if Israel were obedient, they would have been fed with honey as well as Manna- whilst Dt. 32:13 says they did have honey on their journey. What they could have had and what they were given in prospect is spoken of as if it was reality due to the nature of how Angels work. Or it could be that God in His grace did give them some honey, even though they didn’t fulfill the requirement- for God is so gracious.
Ps. 81 has clear Angelic allusions; the Angel laments "Oh that My people had hearkened unto Me, and. . walked in My ways! I would soon have subdued their enemies. . He should have fed them with the finest of the wheat, and with honey of the rock should I have satisfied thee" (v. 13-16). Thus our Angel will act more quickly for us according to our obedience, and may have physical and spiritual blessings prepared for us which we are yet to realize due to our lack of wholly following the Angel into our inheritance. The Angel planned to give Israel honey as well as water out of the rock on their journey- the water representing Christ and the Spiritual blessings from Him (1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:38,39); yet even richer blessings (honey from the rock) were possible; and are possible for us in our wilderness lives. Similarly the "bread from Heaven" which represents the Word (so Jesus interpreted it throughout John 6) would not have been stodgy manna ,but "the finest of the wheat"
"Elohim has taken his place in the divine council
In the midst of the elohim he holds judgment" (Ps. 82:1)- a reference to
the court of Heaven.
Did David's faith in the resurrection collapse in Ps. 88:10? Job's likewise.
"Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Yahweh,
Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones
For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh?
Who among the sons of God is like Yahweh,
A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones
Great and awesome above all that are around him?" (Ps. 89: 5-7) - a
reference to the court of Heaven.
The reverence and humility for God's will which the Angels exhibit whilst not always fully understanding it is a great exhortation for us. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him" (Ps. 89:7) in the Heavenly council.
Angels being active in our lives represent by that token God's fundamental faithfulness to us- "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints (Angels) and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about Him (the Angels round about the Heavenly throne). O Lord God of Hosts (Angels), who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? Or to Thy faithfulness round about Thee?" (Ps. 89:7,8). The Angels around the throne are here equated with God's faithfulness. It is likely that other occurrences of this word may also have an Angelic context.
90:2 Brought forth... formed [Heb. 'give birth to']- the world was formed out of God. The idea of creatio ex nihilo isn't Biblical. This world is made out of God and is therefore not separate from Him. Man is not alone; we aren't cut adrift from our creator. God is so closely with us. He isn't far from every one of us. The fact God is in Heaven and we on earth doesn't mean He is far from us. In human terms, spatiality means apartness; but not for God, who fills Heaven and earth. His being in space and time breaks in to our experience of space and time. Note too that God is perfect / complete in and of Himself; He didn't "need" us. But He created us and then speaks as if He does in some sense "need" us. The point is, creation was an act of grace. All complaints at the seeming injustice and suffering of creation miss this point. Note too that "brought forth" implies God as a mother / female. His nature is such that He is able to identify with both male and female.
Ps. 90:3 implies that each person dies as a result of a conscious, specific command from God; not just because of natural processes. See on Mt. 6:26.
90:3 Sayest- As if God speaks Gen. 3:19 to each person who dies. In this sense the Bible is a living word; the Red Sea and other salvations of God are as it were performed in an ongoing sense to us each one today. Likewise Abel "is yet spoken of" (Heb. 11:4 AVmg.).The passage in the scrolls that said "I am the God of Abraham" was "spoken unto you by God" , Jesus told first century Israel (Mt. 22:31).
God was willing to hearken to Moses as he prayed so, so earnestly, He was willing to change His expressed purpose in respect to destroying Israel (perhaps Ps. 90 is the transcript of this prayer- v.3 in Hebrew asks God not to destroy the children of men, and to repent concerning His servants in vv. 13-17. In Dt. 16:15 Moses sounds as if Ps. 90:17 has been answered).
90:4 As a watch in the night- Was Moses right to imply that God forgets about His creatures, just as we sleep through the night watch unaware of its passing? Ps. 90 is Moses' prayer asking for God's judgment against Israel and himself in the wilderness to be changed. He had reasoned with God and changed His earlier decision to destroy Israel and make of Moses a great nation. But this prayer of Moses went unanswered- "speak no more unto me of this matter" (Dt. 3:26). However, this Psalm is an example of how intimate a man can become with God. Moses pleads that man only lives 70 years, maybe 80- so, cut us some slack, God, and reverse our judgment (90:10). He waxes very poetic and eloquent about our humanity. But fails to persuade God. And he also rather oddly seems to ignore the fact that he was blessed with 120 years of life with his youthful vigour unabated. He describes our return to dust as being a result of God's wrath and anger (90:3,7)- suggesting some resentment at God's judgment of man in Gen. 3, just as Moses resented how God had judged him and Israel. He argues that they had already suffered quite enough evil in Egypt (90:15) and asks if God can't give that generation just a little joy in life. 90:4 could be seen as Moses arguing 'You've got eternity; we only have a delicate, fragile, grief-filled 70 years. So please, relent on your idea of filling all our human lives with grief by not letting us into the promised land'. 90:8 sounds like Moses objected to God scrutinizing our "secret sins", and 90:11 speaks as if God's anger and wrath were just too much. He clearly had a problem accepting the justice of God's punishment against sin; hence this prayer wasn't answered. But it's the intimacy with God, that a man feels he can speak like this to God, which is the exhortation.
90:6 Is interpretted in James 1:11 so positively. If we are indeed so fleeting and weak, then don't worry about getting rich. Don't trust in man nor in wealth. Because man is so weak. Likewise in 90:12- numbering our days, realizing their brevity, will help us get a heart of wisdom.
It is a fundamental, if neglected, doctrine that Christ was our representative. This really ought to be a source of comfort to us, as we sense the involvement of the Son of God in our lives, one who can truly empathise (rather than just sympathise) with our spiritual struggle. This is so clearly taught by the typology of Moses as a type of Christ. Although he spoke to God as a friend, with an open-faced relationship, he still took upon himself the sin of Israel, he felt as condemned as they felt (Ex. 34:9 cp. 33:11); when he pleaded for God's sentence on him to be lifted , he pleaded for the same sentence on Israel to be lifted too ( Ps. 90:8).
In Psalm 90 Moses pleads for his rejection and that of his people to be reversed. He says that the reason for their rejection was God setting their "secret sins" in the light of His countenance (Ps. 90:8). He felt his rejection was due to his secret sins- not the one painfully public failure. The Hebrew for " secret" means 'that behind the veil'; it is from the same root as the Hebrew for 'young girl', i.e. a veiled one. He felt the sins he had committed behind the veil had been exposed in the light of the Angel's face. Remember that Moses always appeared to Israel with a vail (Ex. 34:33-35; 2 Cor. 3:16-18 RV), only removing it when he spoke face to face with the Angel, radiating the light of God's glory to him. It seems Moses is alluding to this in Ps. 90:8; he felt that he had many secret sins, hidden to Israel, but completely open to the Angel when he met with him. Likewise Israel were rejected because of the sins of their heart rather than their grosser failures (Acts 7:39; and see the reason for their condemnation given in many other passages). " Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance" (Ps. 90:8) is not Moses reproaching God; rather is it him soberly recognising why they were barred from the land. Notice "our iniquities... our sins" - Moses was completely at one with condemned Israel, he knew exactly how they felt- just as the Lord Jesus with us.
90:8 Secret sins- Moses perceived that Israel [and his?] rejection from the land wasn't just due to one incident, but because of their secret sins being viewed by God. Moses himself had been often in the light of God's countenance. David in his penitential Psalms concerning Bathsheba and Uriah likewise at times perceives that there were many other sins involved than "just" adultery and murder.
90:9- see on Dt. 34:5,6
90:9 Tale that is told- A reference to the tradition of giving a summary of the deceased's life at their funeral? Is. 53:8 laments that this wasn't done at the death of Messiah. The idea perhaps is that as it takes a mere 20 minutes to summarize a person's life, so in the context of infinity, that is indeed how brief it is.
90:11 According to- out of our own mouths / perceptions of God we will be judged. God's mercy is upon us according as we trust in Him. And His wrath according as we fear it, Moses appears to be saying.
90:12 Number our days- The condemned generation knew that within 40 years they would be dead. And so they could number their days.
90:12 Unto wisdom- "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" (Dt. 32:29).
Ps. 90:13 "Let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants. . . Return, O Lord. . . O satisfy us early with Thy mercy. . . for we are consumed by Thine anger". This 'prayer of Moses' (title) is lamenting how Israel were being destroyed by the Angel as they wandered in the forty year period of punishment. It may even be that the Angel left Israel in a sense (hence "Return O Lord") although still leading them. Thus there are different degrees of the Angelic presence- as at the restoration the Angel did in a limited sense return to the temple. Yet Moses clearly believed that this period of decreed punishment could be shortened ("satisfy us early with Thy mercy") by the Angel repenting. Previously his prayers had succeeded in making the Angel repent of the evil that He had planned to do to Israel, and Moses evidently hoped the Angel would again repent. Why exactly didn't He? Ps. 91 follows on from Ps. 90, and is also clearly Angelic.
90:13 Return- s.w. Ex. 32:12 "Turn from your fierce wrath". Ps. 90:11 has just spoken of God's fierce wrath. Moses' hope was always that God would "repent" if He perceived the depth of Israel's suffering (Dt. 32:36 "The Lord will repent Himself for His servants when He sees that their power is gone"]. "Return" may also be a request for God's presence to return again to the tabernacle rather than being outside it.
90:13-15 See on Ex. 34:9
90:14 Early- i.e. 'reduce the time period of judgment upon us, and let us enter the land'. Or [Heb.], Moses may be asking for an answer "in the morning".
Moses desired that God’s glory would “appear…upon / unto” the children of God’s servants (Ps. 90:16). He wanted all God’s children to have the same experience of glory appearing to them as he had had. And according to 2 Cor. 3:18, this desire is fulfilled every time a man turns to the Lord Jesus, and like Moses, with unveiled face, beholds that same glory.
90:17- see on 90:3
Joshua had been charged to be strong, of good courage, not fearful nor be dismayed. Yet he had a tendency to forget those charges, the implications of his having been called by God for a purpose; and needed to be reminded of them as he forgot or lost faith in them. Perhaps this is why he is an otherwise surprising omission from the list of faithful men and women in Hebrews 11. And here of course is the challenge to us. We too have been given commissions and callings. Whether it be to raise a Godly family, to establish an ecclesia in a certain place, to overcome a specific vice…the obstacles will flee before us, every place where the soles of our feet rest, will be blessed…if we truly believe in God’s purpose with us. Yet like Joshua, we usually fail to have a full faith in this. We get distracted by the views of others, peer pressure, worried by lack of resources, discouraged by setbacks; when it is belief in God’s most basic initial promises to us that will overcome them. Joshua’s fear is all the more reprehensible when we consider the testimony of Ps. 91. Here Moses speaks about Joshua, the one who dwelt in the secret place or tabernacle of God (Ps. 91:1 = Ex. 33:11), and who therefore was miraculously preserved throughout the wilderness wanderings. Thousands of Joshua’s generation died at his side from the various plagues which wasted out his generation during those wanderings; but they never came near him (Ps. 91:5-8). As a result of this, he was commanded by Moses to “not be afraid” (Ps. 91:5), perhaps Moses was thinking specifically about peer pressure, with the assurance that truly God would hear Joshua’s prayers (Ps. 91:14,15). His amazing preservation during the wilderness years ought to have instilled a faith and lack of fearfulness within him; and yet the implication is that he did very often fall prey to fearfulness in later life. Just as with us, the circumstances of earlier life are controlled by the Father to give us faith with which to cope with later crises; but we don’t always learn the lessons we are intended to.
Moses considered that Joshua would "say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust" (Ps. 91:2). And yet only twice does Joshua use the phrase "my God" or "my Lord". It seems that Moses is imputing to Joshua a higher level of intimacy with God than he actually achieved.
Ps. 91:10 seems to look back to Job 5:19: "He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee" . "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling". Ps. 91 is Moses' encouragement to Joshua that the destroying Angel in the wilderness would not harm him, but he would be protected by the Angels who would "keep thee in all thy ways" (v. 11). Thus Moses may have seen Job 5:19 to be talking about evil brought by Angels of evil (Ps. 78:49 shows his appreciation of these)- i. e. Job's satan Angel who brought the trials.
The Psalm describes how Joshua was miraculously preserved from the punishments which befell his generation in the wilderness; thousands fell at his side from the various plagues sent to waste away his peer group. But he was preserved. In this context we read that the Angels would be given charge over him, lest he dash his foot against a stone during that wilderness journey (Ps. 91:11,12). Yet these words were understood by the Lord Jesus as relevant to Him personally, when He was in the wilderness (Mt. 4:6). The Lord Jesus clearly saw Joshua as a type of Himself. The double application of Psalm 91 to both Joshua and Jesus makes Joshua a potential Messiah.
"He shall give His Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the adder shalt thou trample under feet" (Ps. 91:11-13). It is suggested that this be read as a description of the Angels spiritually protecting Christ against sin, especially during His wilderness temptations. "Keep" in v. 11 is the same word used in Gen. 3:24, and thus alludes to the Angels keeping men in the way to the tree of life- not physically but spiritually preserving them. The figure of dashing the foot against a stone suggests the idea of spiritual stumbling against a "rock of offence" or stumblingstone. The Angels bore Jesus up to help Him avoid these. The treading underfoot of the adder must be another connection with Genesis 3; the seed of the woman trampling sin underfoot. This conquest of sin by Jesus was therefore partly due to Angelic strengthening of Him. Through them "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself", making Christ a sin-offering for us.
95:7-11 The events of Ex. 17 are the basis for Ps. 95. This is largely a Psalm of praise for what God did for Israel in the wilderness, whilst also commenting on the way they tragically put God to the test, and complained about His care for them. Now the words of Ps. 95:7- 11 are directly quoted in Heb.3:7- 11 concerning the experience of the new Israel. The simple conclusion from this is that we are really intended to see the events of Ex.17 as directly relevant for us.
95:11 See on Ex. 34:9
99:1- see on Ex. 25:8
The four cherubim covered the ark, over which dwelt an Angel; Ps. 99:1,7 therefore describes the Angel as dwelling between the cherubim: "The Lord reigneth. . He sitteth between the cherubims. . . He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept His testimonies, and the ordinance that He gave them". These latter things were all done by the Angel. Also relevant is Ps. 68:17,18: "The chariots of God are. . . thousands of Angels; the Lord is among them, as in. . . the Holy place". One Angel, which dwelt in the Holy Place, was therefore central to those thousands of others. See too Is. 37:16,17 on this. Similarly, Isaiah saw "the King, the Lord of Hosts (Angels) sitting between the cherubim" (Is. 6:5). The phrase 'living God' may mean 'the God of the living ones', and would therefore describe this mighty Angel- it is linked with "the Lord of Hosts" (Angels) in Jer. 23:36 and the Angel that dwelt in the temple (Ps. 42:2).
In the same way as the Angels are so closely associated with their charges that they are identified with them, so the Angels are described as the things in the natural world which they have created. The quotation of Ps. 102:26 in Heb. 1:10 can appear to pose major problems for belief in the humanity of Christ and that the world will never be destroyed. "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands: they shall perish, but Thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail". The context in Hebrews is again Christ's superiority over the Angels; however, the context in Ps. 102 is of Christ on the cross thinking of the eternity of God, how that "of old", "in the beginning" (clearly alluding back to the beginning of the natural creation in Gen. 1), God created the Heavens and earth by His Angel-hands. But "they shall perish. . wax old like a garment. . as a vesture shalt thou change them" (Ps. 102:26). This language is similar to that used elsewhere about the ending of the Angel-oriented Mosaic Law (e. g. Heb. 8:13). Thus the literal Heavens and earth will not perish, but the Angelic system that created them will do. Thus both the natural creation and the Mosaic system are identified exactly with the Angels that created them.
103:7- see on Ex. 34:27
Angels are given specific directives by God which they go and execute to the best of their ability and then report back to God- His "Angels. . that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word" (Ps. 103:21).
104:3,4 -See on Dan. 5:23
"Canst thou send lightnings (Angels) that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are (Septuagint: 'We do Thy pleasure?')" (Job 38:35). Compare this with "Ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure" (Ps. 104:4).
104:13 See on Mt. 6:26
Ps. 104:14,15 speaks of the blessing of “wine that maketh glad the heart of man”. This doesn’t mean we are to drink alcohol until we feel “merry”. This phrase and those surrounding it are not talking about the effect of crops on the bodies of people, but rather the effect of a good harvest on the emotions of those gathering them.
105:2 David was very much involved in Israel his people. He saw himself as their representative. When he sung Psalms, he invited them to come and sing along with him (Ps. 105:2; 107:22; 111:1).
We know that Joseph in prison was typical of Christ's death. Ps. 105:17-23 is the Spirit's commentary upon the sufferings of Joseph: " He (God) sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant; whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him...Israel also came into Egypt" . In the context of the Psalm, God is comforting Israel that all their sufferings had been experienced by Joseph. Israel as a nation are often spoken of as being in prison in a Gentile world (Ps. 79:11; 102:20; Is. 42:7,22; 49:9); just as Joseph was. Prison and death are often associated because a spell in prison was effectively a death sentence, so bad were the conditions. Israel being in prison is therefore a symbol of a living death. On the cross, Christ was the great, supreme prisoner (Ps. 69:33- this is an intensive plural, referring to a singular great prisoner). Like Joseph, He went through all the emotions of the prisoner; the shame, depression, introspection. As Israel were comforted in their living death by the fact that there was an individual in the past who had gone through all they were going through as a group; so the new Israel ought to take comfort together in contemplating the experiences of Christ. He bore our communal sorrows, griefs and sins; this is why we as a community rather than purely as individuals need to be bound together in remembering Christ.
The sufferings of Joseph were supremely in His mind. They had to be so varied and yet also intense so as to include the traumas of each of us. Ps. 105:18 highlights the mental aspects of Joseph's suffering. The verse is badly translated in the AV: " Whose feet (the same word is translated ability, endurance, journey) they hurt (Heb. 'to browbeat or depress') with fetters: (i.e.) his soul (AVmg.) came into iron" . His very soul was in iron, trapped, oppressively boxed in as he lay in the darkness. As Christ hung in the darkness He too was depressed by the weight of His mental burden, a burden so great it must have pushed His brain to maximum neurological capacity. The spirit of the crucified Christ is in Ps. 142:7: " Bring my soul out of prison...the righteous shall compass me about" (cp. Ps. 22:22). Christ poured out His soul unto death; " he was taken away by distress" (Is. 53:12,8 AVmg.) suggests that it was the mental crisis in the brain of Christ on the cross which resulted in His death. This is why Pilate marvelled that He died so quickly. It is evident from this that the physical process of crucifixion did not kill Christ, but rather the heartburst (both figurative and literal) which it brought upon Him. Do we not sense that striving in our minds as we fellowship His sufferings? Surely we do, but from a great distance. Yet we should sense it more and more, it should make us get out of this sense of drifting which we all too often have, day by day drifting along with very little stirring up our minds. Here is the challenge of the Joseph record and seeing Joseph as a type of Christ; to just begin to capture the mental anguish of the Son of God as He hung there.
Because of the high degree of God manifestation in Moses, he was so severely punished for not sanctifying Yahweh in the eyes of Israel in his sin of smiting the rock. Israel provoking his spirit to sin at this time is spoken of in the context of the way in which they provoked God’s spirit (Ps. 106:7,29,33,43) - such was God’s manifestation in Moses even while he was sinning. And so God is manifest in sinful men like us too. Moses knew this, he knew his closeness to God through manifestation, and yet he yearned to see God physically, he struggled with his distance from God (Ex. 33:18,20). The spirit of Christ in the Psalms is similar. And for us too.
Ps.106:13 seems to describe Israel's rebellions in language relevant to Saul, as if he represented them: "They sang his praise (cp. Saul prophesying). They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel" - cp. Saul in 1 Sam. 13:8.
106:32- see on Ex. 32:32
106:32,33- see on Dt. 1:37
Ps. 106:44,45,23: "He (the wilderness Angel) heard their cry: and He remembered for them His covenant, and repented according to the multitude of His mercies ('mercies' is a word often associated with the promises). . . He (the destroyer Angel) said that He would destroy them, had not Moses stood before him in the breach. . . lest He should destroy them". The Angel's repentance is very often mentioned along with Him recalling the promises He made to the patriarchs. This would explain why powerful prayers (e. g. of Jacob and Ezra) often make mention of the promises- because it is by recognizing that the answer to our request will further the fulfilment of those promises that our Angel is likely to repent and hear us.
107:22 David was very much involved in Israel his people. He saw himself as their representative. When he sung Psalms, he invited them to come and sing along with him (Ps. 105:2; 107:22; 111:1).
Perhaps it was a Satan-Angel that stood at Judas' right hand (i. e. to influence him), confirming him in the way he had chosen to go, as God hardened Pharaoh's already hard heart (Ps. 109:6,7).
111:1 David was very much involved in Israel his people. He saw himself as their representative. When he sung Psalms, he invited them to come and sing along with him (Ps. 105:2; 107:22; 111:1).
The way Moses pleaded with God to change His mind and not destroy Israel for the sake of what the surrounding nations would say is indeed inspirational to us all. It surely inspired David to pray likewise- for “wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now there God?” (Ps. 115:2).
Ps. 118:10-12 = Jud. 16:2; Samson inspired David. The Spirit came on David as it did on Samson (1 Sam. 16:13); they were both empowered to kill lions, whilst keeping the fact a secret. And in both those acts they were taught that they would deliver God's people from the Philistines (1 Sam. 17:34-37).
118:22 "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone" (Ps. 118:22) is clearly quoted in the New Testament with reference to Christ's exaltation. But in the context, these words are part of a personal prayer of praise from David for God's healing of him and rescuing him from Saul's persecution.
Ps. 119 Ps.119 was written at the time of Saul's persecution of David. It mentions David as a young man devoting himself to the word rather than riches (v.72)- the riches which could have been his if he mentally surrendered to Saul, or if he killed Saul and took the kingdom. He often laments how he is in exile from Yahweh's word (v.43,46,54), which would have been on account of his being away from the sanctuary at Gibeah. He pleads the promise of the word that he would be preserved from Saul's persecution (v.41,58), and several times mentions Saul's attempts on his life (v.87,95,109,110). The following verses are evidently relevant to this period: 61,63,67,79,84 (= 1 Sam. 27:1),95,98 (= 1 Sam. 18:14,15),110 (cp. the 'snaring' with Michal),119 (the emphasis is on 'You will destroy the wicked like Saul- one day),125 (David is often called Saul's servant),150,154 (= 1 Sam. 24:15), 157,161,165,176. Therefore in the face of such hatred and pain, feeling he must be careful of every step he took, emotionally and physically, David could rejoice: "I will walk at liberty (AVmg. 'at large'): for I seek thy precepts" .
119:18 "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law" (Ps. 119:18) may be alluding to the Angel opening Hagar's eyes to see a well of water (cp. the word) in the desert (Gen. 21:19). See on 119:135.
119:98- see on 1 Sam. 18:5.
The passages which talk about God's face shining upon men refer primarily to the Angel in the Most Holy shining forth in blessing upon men. Ps. 119:135 has the same idea: "Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; and teach me Thy statutes". Here the reference to the Angel is paralleled with having the understanding opened to the Word, implying that the Angels (especially our guardian who knows our needs so much?) open our eyes to the word (Ps. 119:18). See on 119:18.
119:176 “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments” (Ps. 119:176) was likely written by David with his mind on his follies relating to Bathsheba; and yet it is the taken by the Lord and used as the basis for the parable of the lost sheep, whereby all who have sinned go through the David experience.
Ps. 132:8 "Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest: Thou, and the ark of Thy strength". The whole Psalm is about the ark, and concerning its location in Zion God says "this is My rest for ever; here will I dwell" (v. 14). The "rest" is often used about the tabernacling of God in the ark- thus Dt. 12:1-8 warns the people not to use existing altars in Canaan "for ye are not as yet come to the rest. . . there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause His Name to dwell there" (v. 9,11). Clearer associations between the "rest" and the Ark are:
- Num. 10:33 "The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them. . . to search out a resting place"
- 1 Chron. 28:2 "An house of rest for the ark"
However, the real resting place of God's Name is not in the literal ark, but in the hearts of people humble to God's Word: "Where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?. . . to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word" (Is. 66:1,2). God's Angel literally dwelt in the ark , and they are His eyes through which He "looks" to the humble man. Thus God's Angels are searching the earth for people with hearts humble to the word, so that God can "rest" with us- and we with Him. The “ark” is spoken of as going ahead of Israel to spy out a resting place for them (Num. 10:33); but the ark is being put by metonymy for the Angel within it. Psalm 132 speaks of God chosing and desiring the ark's resting place, as if He engages in a process of searching. Such a process is only befitting of the Angels, seeing that God has absolute knowledge of every heart. The double emphasis on "the God of Jacob" (v. 2,5) being associated with the ark strengthens the Angelic context, seeing "the God of Jacob" is an Angelic term. Similarly "My covenant" of v. 12 points to the Angels, seeing they ordained the covenant.
139:6 "Such knowledge (the basic knowledge of God which, in the context, he has just outlined) is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it" (Ps. 139:6). David doesn't mean that the things of God are too wonderful for him to understand, and he just quits in trying to handle them. Throughout the Psalms, David repeatedly speaks of the wonder of God, how he wishes to extol the wonder of God, and how he mourns the tragedy of the fact that Israel generally had not grasped the wonder of their God. He asks for his eyes to be opened so that the wonder of God's ways might be made known to him (Ps. 119:18). The Hebrew word translated " wonder" or " wondrous" was evidently one of David's favourites. Yet he says that although he sees the wonder of the knowledge of God, he feels it is " too wonderful for me" - perhaps " for me" is where the emphasis should be. It may be that David spoke of the knowledge of God as being " too wonderful for me" with his eye on Job's experience. If Ps. 139 was written in the aftermath of his physical and spiritual crisis at the time of Bathsheba, David would have seen himself as coming out of it with the same sense of spiritual growth as Job after his months of crisis: " Now mine eye seeth thee...I am vile...things too wonderful for me" all have a certain ring with the sentiments David expresses after Bathsheba. It can be demonstrated that the repentance and restoration of David after the Bathsheba incident is used, through New Testament allusion, as a prototype for the spiritual growth of each of us. This means that the terrible, crushing humbling of Job, of David, of Moses, must in some way at some time be replicated in the experience of every true saint, who struggles up the same graph of spiritual growth. From each of us there must be wrung the deep, essential realization: " I am vile... I know (now) that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee... therefore have I uttered that I understood thee; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not" .
140:9,10 There's a link between David and us is in Ps. 140:9,10, which speaks of burning coals falling on the head of David's enemies; yet those words are effectively quoted in Rom. 12:20 concerning all believers. David sets himself up in the Psalms as our pattern. He speaks of himself and then applies the point to all of his readers. In other words, we really are to see David as representative of ourselves; we need to change our minds and lives so this really is the case.
143:9- see on Ps. 63:8.
143:10 David asked: “Let thy good spirit / Angel lead me in the plain country” (Ps. 143:10 RVmg.)- as if he realized that there were Angels / spirits of evil, as well as of good. Thus we too pray not to be lead into temptation- but rather, lead in the way of life. Angels do lead us in life, but they can lead us in either the downward or the upward spiral.
144 Relevant to David's victory over Goliath. See article "David and Goliath" in 1 Sam. 17.
144:7 send- see on 57:3
147:15- see on Jer. 23:18,22
148:2- see on Job 38:16
148:7 waters- see on Rev. 16:5.