Carefully Examining the Text

This psalm tells us God's anger is for a moment but His favor is for a lifetime- vs. 5.
God will turn our mourning into danger and give us garments of joy instead of sackcloth- vs.11
Judgement is not the final word for God's people
Exodus 34:6-7; Isaiah 54:7-10
Jesus fulfills the psalm in the greatest sense by HIs resurrection and He turns our grief to joy. 

The Power of God in the thunderstorm
The psalm speaks of the LORD 18 times and the "voice of the LORD" 7 times. 
The Canaanites believed that Baal controlled the storm and the lightning. But the things that psalms attributes to Baal, the Bible attributes to YHWH. 
The showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is about who controls these the storm, the lightning, and the weath. 

29:1-2 A Call to Praise God

29:3-9 The glory of God in the thunderstorm

29:10-11 The LORD as King forever

Jesus fulfills Psalm 29
The "voice of the LORD"  could be tied with Jesus as the Word- John 1:1
The heavenly being- ESV- praising God in vs. 1-2 finds fulfillment in Luke 2:10-11.
Jesus demonstrates His control of the storm in Mark 4:35-41
Jesus walks on the water in Mark 6:45-52 and shows His control over the elements.
Jesus can turn water into wine- John 2:1-11. 

This psalm has been described as an individual lament or a psalm of thanksgiving or a royal psalm. 
 
 28:1-5 Petition
 
 28:6-9 Praise 
 
 Key words: Notice has "hear the voice of my supplication" in vs. 2 is picked up in vs. 6.
 The word "hands" is used to refer to David lifting his hands to God in vs. 2, the hands of the wicked in vs. 4, and the work of God's hands in vs. 5.
 The word "bless" is used in vs. 6 of David blessing God and in vs. 9 begging God to bless David.
 In vs. 2 David "lifted up" his hands to God and in vs. 9 the LORD is carrying or "lifting" HIs people. 

The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? These bold words introduce this psalm. 
27:1-6 sound more like a psalm of confidence or praise 
27:7-14 sound more like an individual lament as David pours out his problems to God
Some have suggested that these were originally two different psalms. However, a common vocabulary ties the portions of this psalm together: "God of my salvation" vs. 1, 9; "adversaries" or "foes" in vs. 2, 12; "heart" in vs. 3, 8, 14; "seek" in . 4, 8, 9. These are some of the common links in the psalm. 

Two verses that stand out to me are verses 4, 10.
In vs. 4 he desires to be in the house of the LORD more than he desires anything else.
In vs. 10 he asserts that the LORD will not forsake him. The LORD is more reliable than the most certain cases of human love. 
So he affirms his desire not to forsake God on the basis of his knowledge that God will not forsake him. 

What does Psalm 25 teach us about God?
1. God is a God of forgiveness
25:6-7, 11, 18
God is a God of mercy- 25:6
Lovingkindness- 25:6, 7, 10
Good- 25:7-8
faithfulness or truth- 25:10
He forgives based on His goodness- 25:7- and His name's sake- 25:11

2. God is a God who teaches, instructs us in the right way
25:4-5, 8-10, 12-14
God instructs sinners in the way- Sin means to miss the mark- Judges 20:16- and those who miss the mark are taught the right way or right path by God- 25:4, 4, 8, 9, 12.
God is a God anxious to teach sinners and not just to judge them. 

3. God is worthy of our trust
25:1-2 We can trust in Him and lift up our soul to Him
25:15 He lifts our feet out of the net
25:3, 5, 21 Waiting upon Him is stressed in the psalm. In vs. 5 he waited on the LORD "all day long."
David has sins- 25:7, 11, 18- afflictions- 25:16, 18- troubles- 25:17, 18- and distresses- 25:17. 
God is worthy of trust in all these situations. 

Jesus in Psalm 25
25:19 HIs enemies were many and they were violent
25:8-9 Jesus taught the humble and afflicted- Matthew 11:25-27
25:16-17 Jesus on the cross was lonely, afflicted, and troubled
25:7, 11, 18 He forgives our sins via the cross- Acts 13:38-39
25:6-7 The thief asks Jesus to remember Him in Luke 23:42.
25:2-3, 20 God raised Jesus from the dead and did not allow Him to be put to shame

This psalm could be divided into three distinct parts- vs. 1-2, 3-6, 7-10.

24:1-2 The LORD's dominion over all in heaven, earth, and sea

24:3-6 Who may ascend into God's holy place? 
One must have clean hands and a pure heart.
He must not lift up his soul to falsehood nor swear deceitfully

24:7-10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts

What does the Psalm teach us about God?

How does the Psalm foreshadow Christ?

The LORD is portrayed as the good shepherd in vs. 1-4 and a gracious host in vs. 5-6.

Some passages that talk of the work of a shepherd are
Genesis 31:39-40 The shepherd worked tirelessly
I Samuel 17:34-36 He risked his life
Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7 He went looking after every lost sheep
Isaiah 40:11 He carried the sheep in his bosom 

The shepherd protected and provided for his sheep.

The LORD is a gracious host unlike Simon in Luke 7:44-46
23:6 pursue- is a word that deals with a diligent chasing after another. Here it is goodness and mercy that pursue us.

Jesus as the Good Shepherd
John 10:1-18
Mark 6:34, 39
Revelation 7:15-17

Jesus as the Gracious host
Revelation 19:7-9

This psalm is quoted or echoed repeatedly in the New Testament and applied to the suffering of Christ. 

There is no clear record of pre-New Testament sources applying this to the sufferings of the Messiah. 

Psalm 22:1 is quoted in Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34 

Psalm 22:7-8 is alluded to in Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29; Luke 23:34-35

Psalm 22:18 is quoted and applied to Christ's suffering in John 19:23-24

Psalm 22:22 is quoted and applied to Jesus in Hebrews 2:12

Does this psalm speak exclusively of Jesus? David was a prophet and is he hear simply prophesying of the experiences of the Christ?
Does Psalm 22 have some reference to David's experiences which are fulfilled in a greater and richer way in Jesus. 
I seek to suggest in this podcast that while these words are David describing his experiences that God selected the words so that he also prophesies about the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

This psalm is often quoted in the New Testament. In this podcast we are simply seeking to explain it in its OT setting. Lord willing, in the next podcast we will talk about its use in the NT.

In this psalm there is a contrast between the "I/me" sections where David explains his crisis and the sections that emphasize "You" as he begs God's help.

22:1-2 Why have You forsaken me?

22:3-5 The LORD has delivered Israel in the past 

22:6-8 David is despised and mocked
The glorious past only increases his pain in the present

22:9-11 God has been with him constantly and He begs him not to be far away

22:12-18 He dramatically describes his enemies and the seriousness of his situation

22:19-21 He begs God to hurry to his aid

22:22-31 The LORD will turn his lament into praise
The praise answers the lament earlier in the book.
God has not despised him but He has answered his prayer- vs. 24 contrast vs. 6 and vs. 2
This will lead to universal praise of God- vs. 27-31