Biblical Reflections

Psalm 7 is an individual lament, David calls on God for help because David has been unfairly slandered and persecuted by a man from the Tribe of Benjamin, the same tribe that King Saul came from.  

Psalm 7 starts out with a cry for safety because of the desperate circumstances that David finds himself in.  In the 1st verse, David calls for refuge and deliverances from his pursuers.   

David claims innocence in the face of his pursuers.  He has done no wrongdoing that now results in his suffering, quite the contrast to David’s suffering in Psalm 6, which was the result of his wrongdoing.  This Psalm clearly only applies to those who suffer unrightly the malice of wicked people. 

David calls on God to arise as Judge.  God is called upon, as a righteous judge, to save David from these attacks.  This is a Psalm that can help all of God’s people to pray when they are persecuted by the wicked.  

In response, God’s anger against the wicked persecutors will show itself by turning their own schemes against them. 

David rejoices that the covenant, personal, relational God, YHWH, is also the Most High, El Elyon, the God above all other gods.  Genesis 14:18-19. 

Repeatedly in this Psalm we see the words judge and righteousness. 

David asks God to judge his persecutors in righteousness.  David proclaims that God is the righteous judge.  Psalm 4 – righteousness is the faithfulness in which God acts according to his holiness and covenant promises.  David, and we, can appeal to the righteousness of God for salvation, protection, and refuge from the wicked, but our appeal should come from our own righteous relationship with God and with this wicked person. 

Psalm 6 begins with a plea for mercy from some life-threatening situation, which comes from God’s displeasure for a particular sin of David. While not all life-threatening situations/illnesses are the result of sin, this one certainly was caused by sin, which David acknowledges. Notice that David pleads to God’s love and mercy. If this sin is not forgiven and if David dies, then he will be cut-off from God’s presence.

In contrast, since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, we who believe in faith will not be cut-off from God, even for subsequent sins. See Romans 8.

David acknowledges that his illness stems from his sins, and this causes the moaning, the cries, weariness, loss of sleep, grief, and sorrow over his sins. Stated differently, David weeps and cries because now he understands clearly that he is a sinner. He weeps for the sin not the suffering.

The Lord hears David’s prayer of confession for his sins, and God forgives David as evidence by God delivering David from this life-threatening situation.

When we confess our sins, we know that we acted wrongly and that perhaps someone else was hurt. But do we also realize that our relationship with God has been hurt, and that is why Jesus died on the cross?

Jesus, I am sorry that you suffered and died on the cross for this my sin.

Psalm 5 is an individual lament, a plea for help. This is also an imprecatory prayer that prays for the personal downfall of the enemies. These foes are bloodthirsty and deceitful persecutors.

The Psalm begins with a calling out to God, followed by praise that God loves justice and hates the wicked, the proud, the evildoer, the liar, and the bloodthirsty men. Their attack against David is really an attack on God.

In contrast, the godly person has every right to be confident that God will lead him into righteous actions. David then asks God to judge these evil men, who have rebelled against God.

Finally, the Psalm closes by assuring the faithful of God’s care and protection, in contrast to the fate of the evildoers.

It is okay to ask God to judge the wicked who persecute you. But remember your prayer is based upon your faith and trust in God and your commitment to righteousness.

Psalm 4 is an individual lament, a plea for help.   

David appeals to the righteousness of God. 

Again, David recollects a past experience, where God has rescued him, much like Psalm 3, which emboldens his faith to pray confidently in the present.   

David then has a word of rebuke for those faithless people who mock the godly man.   

Psalm 4 states with certainty that God hears the prayer of the godly person.   

It cautions the godly sufferer about anger.  They can be angry, but they should not let this anger lead them into sin.  The correct response is to increase their faith and to trust in God for vindication. 

Check yourself in prayer, be angry, but sin not, trust in the Lord. 

Psalm 3 is the first Psalm with a title.  Psalm 3 is an individual lament, a plea for help.  David seeks salvation from God for the foes that have come against him, apparently the forces of his rebelling son, Absalom.   

David models genuine faith amidst his dire straights. 

David remembers past experiences where God has rescued him, and to these past experiences David builds his confidence of faith.   

From this Psalm, we can see the importance of remembering in prayer the past times where God has answered us or rescued us, and to these past times we can pray in confidence for our present trouble. 

Psalm 2 is a royal Psalm celebrating the kingship of David and his descendants as God’s anointed representative to rule the people of Israel.  The nation’s prosperity is tied to the rule of the Davidic King.  But it also has a future application. 

The Davidic king figuratively is God’s Son, yet ultimately in Jesus Christ, the King will indeed be the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity.  As a consequence, all of the lesser kings and rulers of the world are warned to show honor and homage to this coming king, the heir of David, King Jesus. 

Gentile kings are warned that this is no ordinary king, rather he is anointed by God to carry out God’s plans. 

Praise God, that Jesus Christ will return to rule an eternal kingdom in righteousness.  We should look forward to that day as God’s word promises a crown of gold for those who wait in expectation in the Lord’s return. 

Praise God that he has given us the Godly King, Jesus Christ, through whom we have salvation and refuge. 

Psalm 1 states that there are only two ways to live, the way of righteous, those who obey the law and instruction of God, and the way of the wicked, those who deny God.   The way of the righteous, who follow God’s law, will flourish.  But the way of the wicked will perish. 

An introduction to the Psalms with host Andrew. We unpack what we are in for in this length but insightful season on Biblical Reflections. You are encouraged to read each with with host Andrew and keep a prayer journal as you go. 

This is the longest episode in the series and will be split into 4 parts. It is almost two-hours long. Where we find the gospel message in the book of Revelation is pretty, straight forward, and I do that at the beginning of the episode. Trying to understand the Book of Revelation, well that’s another matter. In keeping with my rather, unique story-telling style, I present four-challenges to reading the Book of Revelation. First, the author presents the story in symbols, not prose or poetry, so how do we interpret the symbols? Second, there are four-

generally recognized schools of interpretation when looking at Revelation. Unfortunately, each school or theological persuasion has “secondary-gain” issues when interpreting the symbols. Third, much of the controversy and the name-calling among fellow-believers, over the Book of Revelation, revolves around the sequencing of the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Millennium. Finally, there is the challenge of repetition and recapitulation. Spoiler alert, are there 21-judgments in Revelation, or are there 7-judgements described three-times in ever accelerating terms? My goal in this episode, other than to give the gospel message, is not explain or interpret Revelation for you, rather my goal is to give you some tools to help you critically read and understand what you are reading.

This is the longest episode in the series and will be split into 4 parts. It is almost two-hours long. Where we find the gospel message in the book of Revelation is pretty, straight forward, and I do that at the beginning of the episode. Trying to understand the Book of Revelation, well that’s another matter. In keeping with my rather, unique story-telling style, I present four-challenges to reading the Book of Revelation. First, the author presents the story in symbols, not prose or poetry, so how do we interpret the symbols? Second, there are four-

generally recognized schools of interpretation when looking at Revelation. Unfortunately, each school or theological persuasion has “secondary-gain” issues when interpreting the symbols. Third, much of the controversy and the name-calling among fellow-believers, over the Book of Revelation, revolves around the sequencing of the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Millennium. Finally, there is the challenge of repetition and recapitulation. Spoiler alert, are there 21-judgments in Revelation, or are there 7-judgements described three-times in ever accelerating terms? My goal in this episode, other than to give the gospel message, is not explain or interpret Revelation for you, rather my goal is to give you some tools to help you critically read and understand what you are reading.