Biblical Reflections

Psalm 17 is an individual lament by a person who is suffering and unjustly accused wrongdoing, similar to Psalm 7, and asks God for vindication to bring the Psalmist innocence to light.

1-2 – This is the request for vindication.  

3-5 – Here the Psalmist claims he is innocent of any wrongdoing.  He asserts that he is a godly man whose ways are blameless.

6-9 – The Psalmist asks for an answer to his prayer and then specifies the request for protection against violent adversaries.  Poetic metaphors, hide me in the shadow of your wings and keep me as the apple of your eye.  See Deuteronomy 32:10.

10-12 – The wicked enemies have no pity.  Their hearts are closed, and they speak arrogantly, eagerly looking for an opportunity to destroy the Psalmist.

13-14 – The Psalmist asks for to defeat the wicked attackers.  The only reward for these wicked people will be in this life, and even that will be given to their children as inheritance when they are but infants, marking an early death.  

15 – In contrast, the Psalmist expresses confidence in that because of his own blameless ways, after death he will awake from the sleep of death and behold the face of God.

Psalm 16 is a hymn praise where those who sing entrust themselves to the Lord in confidence and contentment in his care.

1-2 – The Lord is my refuse, the only one on whom I can rely on for my well-being.

3-4 – My delight is being with the godly, those who also rely on the Lord for their well-being.  The saints are the godly, in contrast to the ungodly who run after idols and false gods.

5-6 – The Psalmist expresses contentment with God by referencing his allotment of the land of Israel which provides for his sustenance.  This is the family inheritance.  

7-8 – The Psalmist expresses further contentment in God’s presence and moral instruction.   I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.  Compare this to Psalm 15, where the one who walks blameless and does what is right shall never be moved or shaken.  

9-11 – The Psalmist expresses his final contentment thinking about the everlasting joy that he will have after death in heaven with God,  At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 15 is a hymn celebrating the ideal worshipper of the Lord.  The singing congregation does not claim to have all of these ideal qualities, but in describing these qualities, the members yearn to have them more and more.

Who will dwell in the house of the LORD?  What does the ideal worshipper of God look like?

In v:2-5b – The answer is given that ideal worshipper of God is one whose walk with God is blameless.  Here “to walk” is “to do what is right.”  Verse 2 is the general answer, the remaining answers in 3-5b are simply examples of the main point.

Please note that these answers deal with matters of character and go beyond the Law of Moses. Jesus taught the same point in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.

5c – The person who has embraced the covenant promises may be confident that God will ensure his stability.

Psalm 14 is a community lament, in which the people of God mourn the fact that humans in general do not seek after God, and as a result, these godless people treat the people of God cruelly.  Psalm 14 is identical to Psalm 53.  Likely one was an alternate version before the Psalms were collected into this book, often called the Psalter.

Godless people, here the gentiles, devour God’s people.  The godless are described as the fool, as the one who is corrupt, and as one who does abominable deeds.  The fool is one who has stubbornly rejected wisdom.  These evildoers assume that there is no God, but even if He exits, such a person assumes that God takes no interest in human affairs, and God will not answer the prayers of his people.  Paul cites this Psalm in Romans 3:9 to show that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

But the Lord does exist, and He is the refuge and safe place for the faithful.  The people of God are in a covenant relationship with God, and therefore they must remember that God is their refuge and that God will protect them and will defeat the evildoers.  We as saved people are in the New Covenant relationship with God, so we too can pray this prayer.

In view of the threats from evildoers and the assurance as covenant people that God will deliver them, the community of faithful now prays for God’s rescue and concludes with firm hope, when, not if, God will deliver them.

Psalm 13 is an individual lament, a cry of anguish, for circumstances that have put the faithful one on the verge of despair. This is a prayer of feeling and emotion.

How long will you forget me is not a question to God as much as it is an expression of feeling unable to endure any longer. Is this your situation? The Psalm moves from God’s apparent indifference to the Psalmist’s anguish. It feels as though God has forgotten them, that God has hidden his face from them, that God has abandoned them. This is summed up in the rhetorical question, how long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

The anguish is followed by this prayer for help. The Psalmist calls on God to intervene.

The conclusion is that the Psalmist reaffirms his trust in God’s steadfast love of God’s faithful ones. The Psalmist is assured that God will save him from this crisis and will deal with him bountifully.

Psalm 12 is a community lament when God’s people are dominated by liars and deceivers in positions of authority.   Sound familiar?  

When liars prevail in all aspects of society, it seems as though the faithful have disappeared. 

The Psalmist asks that the LORD to cut off the liars be removing them from his people and from their positions of authority.  

The Psalmist remembers the promises of God to defend and to protect the poor, the needy, and the disadvantaged.  Unlike the liars, God’s words and his promises, are pure, refined, and purified.   So, we can rely on God’s promises to protect us. 

The Psalm closes with the assurance that God will guard the faithful.  We can trust in God even though the wicked and the vile prowl on every side.

The immediate crisis is described as the wicked threatening to kill the upright in heart.  The wicked have free reign because the foundations of society are being destroyed and there is no one in authority to keep the wicked in check.  The natural reaction for the upright in heart is to want to flee like bird.  So, the Psalmist asks the obvious question:  in a time of extreme crisis, such as this, what can the righteous do?

In the second part of the Psalm, the question is answered.  We are called upon to look beyond the present crisis, as bad as it is, and to trust in God, who sits sovereign on the throne in heaven; God will act according to his righteousness.  During the time of extreme crisis, the upright in heart are tested and the wicked are destroyed.   The upright and the righteous have confidence that they will be vindicated, and they will behold the face of God. 

Psalm 10 is a lament over faithless, wicked, wealthy Israelites who hotly pursue the poor and the underprivileged. 

The lament - O LORD, why do you let the faithless wicked people get away with destroying the poor?  The wicked say that there is no God, that he has forgotten, that God does not see their deeds of evil, that God will not call us into account.

A plea to God (Elohim) to arise and come to the aide of the afflicted because in fact God does see the injustice and wickedness.  Break the arm of the evildoer.

Concluding confidence in God’s justice and power.   Justice has to do with conduct in relation to others. Just behavior accords with what is morally right and fair. Justice is the quality of doing what is right.  God is just and in righteousness always acts morally right and fair with people.  The wicked are not just; they do not act morally right or fair with the poor and other disadvantaged people.  We can pray in faith according to Psalm 10 that God will do justice, do the right thing, in regard to those who cannot defend themselves. 

Psalms 9 and 10 taken together are basically an acrostic pattern, where Psalm 9 stops in the Hebrew alphabet, Psalm 10 then picks up in the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 9 has a title, Psalm 10 does not. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate list Psalms 9 and 10 as one Psalm. There are other similarities between the two Psalms but differences also. Either way, Psalms 9 and 10 were intended to be a matched pair, companions, and to be read together.

Psalm 9 is primarily a Psalm of public praise and thanks for victory over gentile nations. In contrast, Psalm 10 is a lament over faithless Israelites who actions mimic the wicked actions of the gentile nations.

The worshipper intends to give thanks to God with his whole heart. Praising God is to be done with your inner self. He praises O Most High, El Elyon, the God above all other gods, including the gods of the gentiles. Genesis 14:18-19.

The Psalm recounts victory over the enemy gentile nations, who attacked Israel unjustly.

The Psalm celebrates the security of God’s righteous rule. God is on the throne to rule in justice and righteousness. To know God’s name, to put your trust in him, and to seek him are the marks of a godly righteous person.

God called Abraham and all Israel so that all of the peoples of the world would be blessed, and so the Israelites are to tell all the people of the world about the marvelous deeds of God.

A prayer for deliverance from present affliction. The gentile threat has passed, and this new situation has arisen. So, the Psalm looks back at past deliverance to ask for present deliverance.

The Psalm again celebrates God for protecting the needy and helpless by defeating the wicked.

One more time, a call for God to judge the gentile nations. Their plans are made by mere men, God’s plans are made by God.

Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise. God’s people celebrate their privileged place in the created order. This Psalm is covenantal, focused on the Hebrews, the covenant people, yet it speaks of man in general terms, foreshadowing Jesus as the Davidic King, who is crowned with glory and honor, who ultimately will rule all things in creation.

The majesty of God’s name, his revealed character, is seen in the dignity he gives to mankind. Covenant name, YHWH, is also majestic in all the world. The babies and infants are the people of Israel. The foes, the enemies, and the avenger are mighty unbelieving Gentiles.

The Psalm recounts man’s place in the created order. The Psalm beholds the heavens, and then marvels at God’s notice of mere man. In fact, God is mindful of man. God’s greatness does not mean remoteness, but a focus on details. Verse 5 could mean lower than God or lower than the angels.

For man to be crowned with glory and honor is to signify that mankind is God’s kingly representative on the Earth. The reference to putting all things under his feet is now a reference to the coming Kingship of Jesus Christ.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.