Category: Wisdom Stream

Posted on

May 9

 

Psalms 42-48

We are in the Wisdom Stream and beginning Book 2 of 5 in the Psalms. We are using the Easy-to-Read Version this week.

 

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Lord, we thank you for these prayers that remind us of your goodness and our need for you in our lives every day, every step.  Amen.
 
Today we start in book Two.  Psalms is divided into five “books” and 1-41 is book One. Here we begin with the second.  We read today about the Sons of Korah.  Just so you know, these were a family of Levites, a musical group, a team or guild if you will, that David had assembled to bolster the atmosphere of worship for the Israelites.
 

42, 43 – These two actually form one poem.  It’s the longing cry/prayer of one who wants to get back into God’s presence; into the Temple again for worship. He’s away from Jerusalem, feeling in exile up north and east – east of the Jordan.  The locals are hostile toward him and he is caught up in a full effort to cheer himself again.  Vv. 42:5,6,11 and 43:5 are used in a familiar worship song, (from a different translation) it is sung, “why so downcast oh my soul? Put your hope in God…”  Throughout these two Psalms, The Sons of Korah are longing, quizzing and encouraging themselves so to cheer up, lamenting the cruelty of others, calling for God to come quickly, and reminding themselves of His goodness. It may sound like they are “all over the place”, but this is appropriate and applicable because so are our lives and so are we on a regular basis.

 
44 – The army has paused to call on God during a rough time amid a battle.  They pause to reflect and assert that it is God in Heaven who always gave the victory in Israel’s history. And they know this.  At current they are trying to see the light when it seeeems to be snuffing out. They are feeling at a loss, they are getting pushed back by enemies and they are calling on God to guide the way, to act quickly, to show and help them get moving forward in this battle again. They pray this way because they do not want to go into complete despair.
 
45 – is the wedding song of a king. It seems to be multifaceted in that the King before us while this is written is either David or Solomon. They talk of regality, beauty, handsomeness, victory but it does seem to go ethereal in that it sounds like Revelation 19:7 and the marriage of the Bride to the Lamb which is of God. This is an event that is going to be thousands of years away. The inspiration that transforms into ambiguity adds intrigue and an alluring passion that keeps the reading and the discussion of this Psalm very much alive … for 3000 years so far !
 
46 – When in trouble from enemies or natural disasters, it is God who protects and gives peace.  God indeed can conquer anything and therefore we will run to him for our covering.  It is noted that Martin Luther drew much comfort and reassurance from this Psalm during the Reformation of the 1500’s [A.D.]
 
47,48 –  like 42 and 43, these two Psalms read like a verses 1 and 2 segment of the same Psalm, though they’re also numbered as two separate Psalms.  The worship is breaking into rhapsody, come 47!  The Lord is King, He loves Jacob and descendants, this land of Zion,  (He rules the whole world too.)     The Lord is great; so great. He has drawn people the world over to His city.  God defends this city against any foe. God in Jerusalem is cause for elation.  It is greater than can be described. Just walk through and all around Zion and experience Him. This is the invitation here.
Posted on

May 2

 

Psalm 38-41

We are in the Wisdom Stream reading from the The Living Bible today.

 

Lord God, we can learn from David today. May we, like David, when in anguish and pain turn to you and not turn on you.  Amen.

Things are not looking too good for David and that is the tone for most of what we find in the Psalms today.

 
38 – David is pleading to God for the punishment he is feeling to relent.  David has sinned and God is angry.  David is near complete despair with pain and inflammation, disease and exhaustion. Loved ones and friends have departed. His enemies are still coming at him. David calls out to God in this state – it’s quite a lesson for all of us.
 
39 – David’s sin and punishment because of it is dragging on and it has him longing for happier days. It has him musing about the frailty and emptiness of life.  His final verse here sums things up: “spare me Lord, let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.” He simply longs to fellowship sweetly again like he did with his God when he was tending sheep and playing harp and singing to Him in better days.
 
40 – is one of the most popular Psalms of deliverance, recovery and relief. It’s been a favorite for 3,000 years.  The presence and loving hand of the Lord is what the heart really longs for. And God longs to be with us – ‘ever think about that? Sacrifices are … well yeah, … they are good but God wants us and we want God.  The fellowship is what is most sought for. God delivers, just keep calling for him until the relationship is restored.   It’s very interesting about how U2; the band from Ireland made a song out of Psalm 40 and it has been among the most popular songs ever performed.  All opinions and personal impressions aside, the world longs to be with it’s Savior – even though we seem to forget this more than we seem to remember it.
 
41 – David has a lovely piece about God’s ability to nurse us back to health. He then quickly launches into his word against those who have turned on him.  This Psalm best coordinates with what is found in II Samuel 15 when Absalom has turned and is now trying to wrestle the kingdom from David; his own dad. Absalom has recruited Ahithophel to join in the rebellion. Athithophel was once very close to David (they were the best of friends) but has now become the “Judas” of the Old Testament if y’know what is being said here.  Still David remains in prayer and is turning to God in his distress, isolation, and pain. Amid this anguish he ends the Psalm exclaiming about his eternal God who is from everlasting to everlasting.  What a heart for God David had!
Posted on

April 25

 

Psalm 34-37

We are in the Wisdom Stream reading the writing of King David. We are reading from the International Standard Version this week.

 

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Thank you God for being our ever present help in times of trouble, our God in every circumstance, our God who there to comfort every pain and receive every praise.  Amen

David had just come through another vortex.  He’s been on the run from Saul.  He seeks “refuge” among the Philistines – whatever that could end up meaning!  He pretended to be a nutcase so to project to the Philistine king that he was not a threat. He absolutely could NOT let the King of Gath know that he was perhaps the most brilliant battle tactician on earth at that time. But it is vital to understand David’s mentality so to ingest this Psalm for all it’s worth. David had no place to go to find safety.  God is training him that the only ‘safe’ place is with HIM; his God in heaven. One literal translation calls God “The LORD of heaven’s armies” and it is a literal translation! David would, in time, be leading a vast army and God wanted David to be ingrained with a deep and unshakable trust in God. He couldn’t have him get complacent due to so many battle victories that were coming for him. He couldn’t have David become spiritually complacent once his power became among the greatest in history, or once wealth and status had accumulated.  These years were necessary for David to walk through. They were his own pilgrimage; it had to happen. The backdrop of Psalm 34 was I Samuel 21:10-15.  David survived this spooky incident and then wrote Ps. 34.

 
35 – whereas David is rejoicing again about surviving in Ps.34, he is venting [his prayer] in Ps.35.  He just needs to pause and muse about all the people who were coming after him.  I guess he never calculated that dropping Goliath would fester such jealousy in so many.  Yet David’s exasperation with those who hate him is not without the positive interruptions of vv. 9 and 18; “my soul will rejoice in the Lord. [and] I will give give thanks in the congregation.”
 
36 and 37 Find us in the middle of David’s 72 Psalms. They remind and urge us to TRUST in GOD.  People are wicked. God is merciful. Uh, ya, trusting in God is what we need to be doing and this trusting in God is our only hope of having an anchored soul. The contrast of the hearts of men all around us and the heart of God above is more stark than night and day. It is the most contrasting comparison that can be made under heaven.  So gaze upon God, praise Him and live in Him and the wickedness of others will become incidental.   37 feels like a continuation of the same Psalm/verse/song.  It has become one of the most endearing Psalms in the Bible. It is interesting that th Psalms are truly worth posting in places where we see them often; desk top, coffee station, on dashboard, etc. so that we see them, read them and dwell on these Psalms – especially 37.