The Seven Streams Method

Joel 3 We are in the Exile Stream reading from the New American Standard Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord you are coming in clouds of glory. We have read about clouds of locusts and judgment. But we know your real love is us and restoration and being together again as blessings flow like streams down mountainsides just as blessings flow from your house. Lord we are with you and await this day. Joel's finale~ -   Two swarmings and followed by calls to repentance have led us to a Pentecost foretelling and then comes chapter 3.  As this phase of history reaches its culmination, God will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel.  The theme being "The Day of the LORD".  The nations will be gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat / later called the Valley of Decision.  You remember the battle being recalled here from II Chronicles 20 when a huge multitude gathered against Jerusalem and commenced to march upon them when they turned on each other - until all were dead.  Judah's army simply walked through thousands upon thousands of dead enemy soldiers and gathered valuables for three days.  Well, the multitudes are going to gather for judgment on the Day of the Lord as told in Joel 3.  Vast wealth will be returned to Jerusalem and Judah. Slaves will be returned.  It will be a great time of arighting things that have been wrong for a long time.  There is Apocalyptic overtones to Joel 3 that speak of signs that will symbolize End Times, the Lord's Return, the day of reckoning ... The blessing and bounty and peace on the land of Israel is impressive as described here: wine and milk and fresh water flow in abundance.  The enemies of God's land and people are laid waste - never to rise against Israel again for the LORD dwells in Zion; the high point of Jerusalem city.  Glorious things are coming for God's people.

Jeremiah 22-24 We are in the Prophetic Stream reading with the New American Standard Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, the cost of disobedience is so grave.  Give us hearts of obedience. We offer up to you, as the song says, "here's my heart, o' take and seal it, seal it for thy courts of above. Amen.

22 - This chapter is a warning to King Jehoiakim.  He reigned until 598 B.C. when the Babylonians were "at the door" and the first (not the final) captivity began for Judeans.  The final caravan of captives occurred 12 years later in 586 B.C. when Zedekiah was king.  Speaking of Zedekiah, all inference points to him being the one spoken to in Jer. 22:2; "hear the word of the Lord, O King..."  Zedekiah ended up witnessing the finale~ in time, but the literature of this chapter takes us back through a listing of the final five kings that covered the last 50+ years of the Kingdom during its demise. Josiah gave goodness a fair effort, but the other four were wretched, demented, and duplicitous to the core. they were unjust, oppressive, robbers, violent, cruel to orphans and widows, and treacherous to the innocent. God gives a last offer to change their ways before ruining the place.  God had offered always to preserve them but the snubbing of God's reminders and The Covenant was too incessant. The invaders will reverence nothing. They will be like vandals with clubs storming through a jewelry store made of glass shelves [to use some modern picture].  The violence, the death/killing, the fires ... there won't even be any time for mourning or funerals. And no allies will come to help.  The chapter ends railing upon Jehoiachin; the 4th of the last 5 kings. His uncle Zedekiah actually followed him and none of Jehoiachin's children ever ended up being king.

23 - As Hitler was ransacking Europe and looking to go in all directions with his plan to conquer and absorb. There were two opinions: Churchill in England was telling people to prepare for war or be conquered, and there was Chamberlain in England who was telling them to relax, rest, and be well for "there is peace in our time."  The prophets that Jeremiah is scolding were oblivious as Chamberlain and they were dark as darkness in their hearts, their words, and their plans. They cared nothing for God's people. The people would be scattered from following these false prophets.  Later, God would gather them again and one day reign. This "Righteous Branch of David" is One who will reign in a Messianic era.  That was coming.  For now, there are lying prophets to shush.  They are using Baal, bringing on disaster, doing deals with evil, wretched as Gomorrah.  These prophets spread evil across the land, they do NOT speak for God, yet claim that they do while touting about peace as they work their evil.  Because of them, all will be cast out.  God wants a memorandum to go national: The prophets claim they have the Word of the Lord - but it didn't come from me-says the Lord! 24 - The people God would preserve [1] and the people God would allow to be decimated [2] are illustrated as two baskets of figs.  One was like first fruits, ripe and sweet and desirable. These were akin to the initial captives taken to Babylon in 597 B.C.  Jehoiachin was on this trek of those hauled away as slaves to Babylon, as were Ezekiel and Daniel. [Remember we read Daniel last winter.] He was a young teen of about 13 walking to Babylon. He started out a slave and became virtual regent of the country!  Strangely enough, God carried these ones away to preserve them; they were the "good basket of figs."  The second basket were the ones who thought they would stay in Judah and call up help from Egypt to resist the Babylonians who were on their final push to take all of Judah.  Those who stay back, like rotten figs, will be only fit for discarding. Their future is bleak, they will be cursed, and ridiculed and devastated.  Rotten figs get thrown out and buried in a compost heap. The people who remain to fight Babylon have a similar fate.

Psalm 73-77 We are in the Wisdom stream and starting the 3rd of 5 books in the Psalms. We are reading from the New American Standard Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis God you certainly lead your children in triumph.  You are true to those who follow and obey you and you are terror to those who fight against you.  May we always be on YOUR side of righteousness; not self-righteous, not seeking approval from men, but seeking you for your sake alone.  Amen

Asaph wrote Psalms 73-83 (along with #50).  He was David's song leader.  He was appointed to such position in I Chronicles 15:17.

73 - is his frustrated musing about the wicked prospering so and the righteous having struggles. These two scenarios contrasted against each other were troublesome.  The topic arises today as well.  And granted, the petition has merit.  All this grated against Asaph's senses until he came and prayerfully sat with God in the sanctuary.  Asaph is transparent enough to strongly insinuate that his personal musing was only making things worse and it implies he should have never tortured himself with such thinking...i.e. and that he should have come into God's house sooner.  God knows what to do with good people and He knows what to do with wicked people.  And He will! 74 - National disaster had struck and Asaph was writing in sheer despair. Some say it was during Shishak's invasion from Egypt.  This would have been a few years after Solomon's death and therefore Asaph would have been quite old at this time.  Nonetheless, Asaph is horribly distressed and calling on God to act fast instead of withdrawing his hand of retribution as the enemy attacks. His recalling all the faithful and mighty deeds of God on behalf of Israel, the natural wonders He has done - Asaph is virtually cheerleading, "hey God, you helped in the past, and uh, we need you again, --> now!"  His call in v. 22 is accurate to the bone: "Arise, O God, and plead your own cause;..."  He's almost retreating and asking that if God won't do what is needed for us, then do it for yourself and your own sake.  It's certainly a fetching line. 75 - God is judge and will judge.  The wicked will be sifted through for destruction and the righteous will be cherished by God and exalted.  Yes the unfairness of this earth will tumble and juxtapose matters against what seems to be right and fair, but God is going to sort things aright in the end, [at times sooner], and permanently for certain. 76 - A great victory has been had in Judah.  The God of Israel has arisen again on behalf of His people.  It was a relief and a triumph.  The timing does not match to be in Asaph's era, but some attribute this Psalm to be a response to learning that Sennacherib's Army of Assyrians has been struck dead, all 185,000 of them [during I Kings 19].  The same phrasing could be sung as the Exodus was completed and Pharaoh's army drowned in the sea. It is a Psalm of God meteing [sp?] out justice.  It is a warning to remain humble before Him and not be among the crass princes of the earth who have no regard for God. 77 - this and Psalm 78 are theologically linked but we will end this day with Psalm 77 and pick up with 78 next week.  77 is Asaph crying out to God for the people; longing for a reprieve from God - and no one else will do. There are sentiments of feeling forgotten by God, but regardless of how feelings fluctuate, remembering God's deeds and meditating on what He has done plus His redemption for us brings us back to truth and anchors us.  He ends with illustrations of God leading His children amid natural and colossal wonders; the terrifying power of nature that God stirs and works amidst.  

I Kings 8-10 We are in the Nation Stream today and will attend the dedication of the Temple by King Solomon. What a treat! We are reading from the New American Standard Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, today is yet another reminder of the glory and wonders you are preparing for us.  Thank you and Amen. 8 - It is fascinating in this reading pattern that we are doing together that yesterday we read about Bezalel making the Ark of the Covenant. And today it is being brought into the finished Temple (not the Tabernacle/[tent] that was carried throughout Sinai. The two stone tablets inside the Ark and the Ark itself were made well over 500 years prior and today, in our reading, they are finally in place! Imagine the "it's done!" sentiment that swept over the people after all these centuries.  Well they probably felt this way because God felt this way.  The Cloud, signified God's Presence, and The Glory of God filled the house as soon as the Ark was in place.  I don't know who else feels this way, but it sure would have been exhilarating to be there! Solomon's address to the people is historical!  The ceremony that followed was regal  - perhaps excessive, but it was for God (with a definite 'touch of Solomon') so let's do it in a big way!  This initial dedication is not going to happen again.   Solomon's prayer included remembering David, seeking God's blessing, prayers and rituals of worship, dealing with sins, enemies and their related interaction, famine and pestilence, foreigners, and battles.  The blessing Solomon gave to the people was marvelous - it would have been good if Solomon had followed his own advice all his life.  but So it goes.  At any rate, the 14 day celebration was 'one for the books!' 9 - This chapter is a continuation of ch. 4.  Note that ch's 5-8 are a hiatus to describe the Temple, then 9 continues where 4 left off.  God opens with a promise for following Him and a warning against turning from Him.  It applied to Solomon AND his sons, btw.  They all must follow God in perpetuity. The activity is impressive as Solomon and Hiram interchange and trade and gift eachother..  Solomon built cities, and rebuilt others.  He commissioned a staggering amount of workers. Solomon built a navy fleet of ships that sailed the Mediterranean, and others that sailed from the gulf to the south traversling into Arabia, India, and Africa.  In the last verse, did you perceive the size of the gold shipment loaded for Solomon from Ophir? It was 31,000+ lbs. of gold.  My math could be wrong, but in today's rates, that is $665million.  It was a gift and it was simply loaded and taken to Solomon.  Holy Smoke, these folks are living a dream. AND, it was only part of what was brought to Solomon for that one year.  The gifts kept coming annually 10 - The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon and it too was an encounter fit for the history books; the real history books for that matter.  She marveled at his world, his acquisitions, his staff, his wisdom, knowledge, and insight. 10:5b is interesting, "...and there was no more spirit in her. " [all her curiosities and questions were answered]  She was truly overwhelmed at what she saw.  She had heard of Solomon's Kingdom, but amid all the telling, she had only heard "the half of it."   She leaves him a gift of precious gems, spices that ranked as the best in the world, and 4+1/2 tons of gold (imagine that! and it was all brought by camel from Central Africa).  The chapters final phrase/phase ends with a tally of the splendor, riches, glory of Solomon's Kingdom.  The immensity is almost too much to take in. If anyone is wondering, the horses that came from "Kue"... Kue is in AsiaMinor near where Apostle Paul was from in Tarsus; Remember "Saul of Tarsus"?  One very famous preacher shared his studies revealing that Solomon had more wealth as a single individual than the country of Canada has among it's 35+ million people.  It's hard to perceive such wealth all attached to one man.  y'ever wonder what he's going to do with it all, or if he's even going to keep it?

Exodus 37:25-40:38 We are in the World Stream finishing the book of Exodus. We are reading from the New American Standard Bible this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis God we thank you for visiting us and all who will prepare themselves to come into the Presence of You. Thank for availing yourself to us. To be with YOU is the blessing of all blessings.  Amen

37 - Bezalel made the ark of the covenant, the table for it, the lampstand, and the altar of incense.  Take a moment in your mind to transport back 33+ centuries and imagine yourself walking quietly up to Bezalel at work. "Bezalel, what are you making?"      "A box of acacia wood to be covered in gold to hold the X Commandments..."    "What's the significance of this?"  To which Bezalel replies, "all society hinges upon what's in this box for all time!  The governments who ignore these Commandments shall crumble, as will the nations, the states, the communities, neighborhoods and families and individuals. The opposite is more true...all who honor and follow these commands will become eternally blessed.  This box is not just a part of history, it IS history. In fact history pivots upon the contents of this box!"  After this conversation there is nothing left to do but walk away backward, in awe in the presence of the work of a holy God that is a consuming fire.

38 - Everything that was described a few chapters back is completed at this point. In 38 the Altar is the completed, and the laver, and the court; the gorgeous linen perimeter of the Tabernacle.  All contents for the Tabernacle were completed.  The mathematics of this are staggering.  It's too much to sum up.  We will just leave you with this, however - there was over 2200 lbs. of gold involved in this endeavor.  This was the place where God would be met and consulted with, and sins forgiven, and direction received.  It had been over 2600 years since Adam/Eve were expelled from the garden. Religiously, a myriad of procedures had been experimented with the world over and nothing was working to solve the problem regarding the colossal gap between where we were and where God wanted us to be.  This Tabernacle was where God would be met.  It was gravely awesome to be near this place. ... And it would be assembled soon. 39 - The ornate garments for the priests are made and completed.  They are far more decorative and costly than what we would label as "fit for a king."  The details were tedious and numerous and the work was done fastidiously,  comprehensively, and perfectly.  Once this was complete, these garments, along with the rest of the items for the Tabernacle, were brought to Moses for examination by Moses. The work was done just as the Lord had commanded.  Moses blessed them and now it was time for the finale~ of the Book of Exodus. 40 - The Tabernacle is finally raised and assembled.  The anointing is completed, the lamps are lit, the offerings are placed, the washing is done.  And they entered the Tent of Meeting, did the finishings and all the work was done.  Then the miracle of God's presence occurred.  The Cloud, symbolizing the Presence of God, settled upon the Tabernacle.  And for the next two generations that they would be in the Wilderness of Sinai and around, the Cloud would settle upon the Tabernacle to state that "God was IN".  When He lifted, it was time to go, when he settled it was time to settle and wait.  There was cloud by day and fire by night.  And this was a blessing to witness for all the house of Israel, not just the priests and leaders.  What a marvel.

I Corinthians 13-14 We are in the Church Stream reading the Apostle Paul's direction to the Corinthians. We are in the New Living Translation. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis "Lord, let love be our main characteristic.  Amen." 13 - The Corinthian Church had many colorful characteristics.  They were gifted. The fellowship was boisterous. They had faith. They had affect in Corinth.  Their feasts were impressive . . . But they were not loving.  Paul needed to remind them to be loving. They needed to be patient and kind with each other.  The rudeness needed to stop, et cetera.  You know the passage and it bears daily repeating.  It was time for the church to grow up, quit the games and be loving. The school-yard-like competition and posturing and tab-keeping needed to stop now - make that immediately. 14 - The Corinthians had forgotten the purpose of Pentecost - to reach out and edify a person that normally could not be communicated with. The speaking in tongues was reducing to a contest in Corinth that edified no one.  Prophesying was more important since it blessed whole bodies of people. The matter of speaking in tongues is dealt with rather comprehensively by Paul here in this chapter. Some churches today need to brush this over so to quell some squabbling that becomes unnecessary and distracting to the good of the Kingdom. Paul gives a hearty paragraph of instruction next about how to conduct an orderly worship service. Just like "Robert's Rules of Order" is needed to keep meetings on track, Paul needed to write this to keep worship services edifying. The Kingdom couldn't afford for worship services to fray off in dozens of needless directions. People from many other cultures were pouring in to worship services and structure was needed.  Who should speak, in what order, the evaluation that should take place.  There shouldn't be a peanut gallery of cat-callers to question the speaker during service.  And interestingly enough, Paul was concerned that the new comers not be stunned by the babbling in foreign tongues, hence get the impression that church was for weirdos, and then they'd leave and be gone.  This would not be a good pattern.   Paul wanted church to be orderly and edifying.  We need to want the same. The theme or the thread that ran through this week distilled out to be "Let's Build Something for God"  The Exodus passage with the Tabernacle actually going up is an inspiration in the desert for sure!  In I Kings 4ff, Solomon is laying out the framework of a glorious Kingdom and he gets to building the Temple and His Palace and many other beautiful structures.  David in Psalm 69:9 declared to God, "passion for your house has consumed me,"! [need to be passionate about something before it can be built]  and Psalm 72 rings with an overtone of Christ returning to reign supremely. In Jeremiah 18/19 the illustration of the potter, the clay and the broken pottery, God is asserting that the people of God must be built up a certain way. And if they won't allow God to build His way, then they must be smashed and God will start over after some seriously severe buffeting and discipline.  Joel portrays a huge cycle of locust coming through to clean them out. It will be complete devastation. God urges prayer, mourning, fasting and restoration so that he can, ... [you're right]---> restore and build them up again, for He promises to send HIs Spirit.    Mark 15-16 has Jesus tried (falsely), tortured, crucified, dead, buried, risen and His followers are told to take the message to the whole world [to build the Kingdom!}  Paul is reminding the Corinthian church to build one another up and be loving in doing so.  There's a lot of whining about churches and persnickety judging that goes on. Well, this is a misperception.  Church is where people are built up because they can learn and grow and thrive because they find acceptance.  Hooray for God as He builds His Kingdom.

Mark 15-16 We are in the Christ Stream reading from the book of the Hebrews. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis "Lord Jesus, This day expressed the depth of your love. All we want to do and be are people who understand your love, then live it and share it.  Amen." Mark 15 - Jesus is taken by the leading priests and elders to Pilate since they were not getting anywhere with their illicit trial.  Pilate had no interest in killing Jesus since Jesus had done nothing wrong.  As we all remember, a prisoner Barabbas is released, instead of Jesus, since that is whom the crowd was goaded to cry for the release of.  The part where Pilate stalls for time by sending Jesus to Herod is found in Luke, not Mark - in case anyone was wondering. When the crowd demands, "crucify him!", Pilate's question is so good: "why, what evil has he done?"  And to that, they have no answer.  They only demand, "crucify him!" over and again like a frothing mob of crazed drunks.  Pilate hands Jesus over to be whipped, and then to the Romans who mock and beat him and put a crown of thorns on his head. When he was led out to Golgotha, Simon from Cyrene was compelled to carry Jesus' cross for him. Jesus is offered wine and myrrh but he refuses to drink it. The Romans crucified him and divided his garments by lot v.s. cutting it - each getting a piece. It was now 9 a.m.  Mt/Mk/Lk say almost identical reports about the sign above Jesus' head "The King of the Jews".  John's report of the crucifixion tells of the sign being in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The squabble about what it said and the chief priests' fussing about it , the details about the dividing the garment since it was seamless and they opted not to cut it because it was seamless. Matthew and Mark have the detail about people chiding and deriding Jesus on the cross, telling him to save himself. Luke has very little of this. John has none of it.  [The confession of one of the thief wanting Jesus to remember him is in Luke; none of the other gospels] "My God...why have you forsaken me? is in Matthew and Mark only for they were writing to the Jewish world.  The distinction at his point of death is interesting.  Mt/Mk tell of Jesus giving a loud cry, Matthew says Jesus yielded up his spirit, Mark says Jesus breathed his last, Luke has, "father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." John concludes Jesus' life with "it is finished." The centurion is impressed to say, "truly this man was the Son of God!"  All four gospels note the women who were there observing all of this.  The Burial of Jesus is given the fullest description in Mark. 16 - The women came to the tomb on the first day of the week, bringing spices to further anoint Jesus and find the stone rolled away, an angel there beside it who told them Jesus had risen and was not here.  The angel told them to go tell the disciples.  Amazing that the news that is most important in history is trusted to the women who are to pass it to the disciples.  What better and most sure way to spread news but the inform the ladies of this grandest of events. Ladies must talk about what they have experienced and are feeling about it.  A culture that had females to be secondary status was about to be altered some and ladies were to be very involved with the men in sharing the gospel everywhere they go.  That still holds true today.

Joel 2 We are in the Exile Stream and reading from the book of Joel today. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Jeremiah 18-21 We are in the Prophetic Stream and using the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, we get the message that you desire us to walk with you.  You so badly don't want us to go astray as we see what happened in Judah during this season in their history. It's so important that we learn from what they lived through.  Teach us Lord, to walk by faith in you.  Amen.

18 - The potter and the clay illustration is spot on. God working with Israel and a potter working clay are identical situations.  Something has gone very wrong and it it time to flatten this piece of clay and reshape/build it up again...[Judah being the piece of clay].  And symbolically, the clay is lecturing the potter claiming the clay is in charge - not the potter! What?!  Most all of us have worked with others and when there turns out to be a rebel in the building/on the team/in the gathering, we want them to shape up and help the cause, don't we?  And when they cause far more trouble than the worth that they bring, the sentiment is to get rid of them. And if they persist in creating squabbling or become such contrarians that it is not even possible to press forward until they are gone, then they are to be removed.  Like then/like now/like still --> Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, as God told Saul around 1030 B.C. thereabouts. Now, it isn't just Saul, it's all of the Southern Kingdom. They are behaving worse than the neighboring pagans. They are leaving God little choice but to smash them flat and start over. I think He will. The potter's illustration causes Jeremiah to be aggressively shunned.

19 - Jeremiah takes a clay jar, as God commanded, and he goes to the southeast corner of Jerusalem where the refuse was thrown and burned. Jeremiah gave a message that the place was soon to be a refuse heap of slaughtered Judeans that have been refusing to listen and yield to the Lord of Heaven and His Army (of angels). They have spent generations intermittently worshiping Baal and building a monument to one thing: their own stupidity!.  They've burned incense to false gods, like the stars & gods of the sky.  What fools they have deliberately turned themselves into!  And it is rather intriguing that Jesus stood in this exact area, in this gateway about 600 years later and used a zinger of a play-on-words to tell about how the Pharisees and their ilk were in danger of the fires of hell as the trash fire burned behind him.  In less than a week, they killed Jesus for this.  What do you think they will do to Jeremiah? 20 - Well, Pashhur ["Pah-SHOE-er"], the son of the Priest in charge of the Temple, arrests Jeremiah and has him whipped and put in stocks in the Temple gate called "Benjamin". Now think a moment: is Jeremiah arrested and whipped for lying or for telling the truth? ... chew on that one, folks!   Jeremiah is released then has a petition for God that is understandable. It really hit Jeremiah wrong that he was treated this way. --understandable if one puts themselves in Jeremiah's sandals for a day. Don't you think? 21 - Jeremiah is sought out as the leaders of the Temple ask Jeremiah to pray to God for relief in Judah from the Babylonians who were besieging the country and approaching Jerusalem!  [this coincides with II Kings 24, btw] The nightmare was upon them for their centuries of disobedience and derelict leadership.  Verse 7 is quite "the riot act" to read: "I will send war, disease, and famine...showing no pity, mercy, or compassion."  They could surrender to Babylon (as prisoners) or die. for Jerusalem was to be turned into an ash heap.  God was dropping the gavel. The Priests and Judges were altogether corrupt and God was fighting them now.  Why would they call on God now after disobeying Him for so long that no one even remembered what it was to follow him?!  Jer. 27:6 clarifies matters as to God's perspective regarding this turn of events: God refers to Nebuchadnezzar; King of Babylon as His servant. If God's people won't listen to God and clean up their ways then God will send an enemy to level the city and let God start over.  Yeeeesh, obeying would have been so much more simpler.

Psalm 69-72 We are in the Wisdom Stream reading some of King David's psalms. We are using the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis 69 - This is a cry for relief from suffering that is slamming David at so many levels; spiritually, physically, socially.  It is akin to Psalm 22 in its desperation tone.  Ps. 69 is quoted 8 times in the N.T.  David feels he is going down in so many ways.   And amid this pain he remains confessional and deeply committed to God's house.  He is wading through a slough of ridicule, rejection, derision - so much so that he feels that the insults are going to kill him.  He's really going under ... so it seems.  He wants all his punishers to be punished, and those who are punishing him are just about everybody.  David wants people to just let him be and let him be with his God again, undisturbed.  David wants to praise God in jubilation [a little more joy and a little less anguish in his worship it that's not too much to ask!!]  David also wants lovers of God to be well.  It's a landmark prayer coming from a good heart bent on walking with God. 70 - This Psalm is reminiscent to what we heard in the latter part of Ps. 40.  David is demonstrating in his words here that there is joy that can be clung to; joy in the Lord even thought there is persecution going on.  It reminds us that in all circumstances we are to search for God even when things are difficult. 71 - In a world where most of the people the world over were chanting things like, "this rock is my god,"  David gave a clarion call to look up for answers - not out and around.  He declared, "God is my rock."  He is looking back on a life filled with God's faithfulness and his assurance and security are the stuff of devotional material that is shared wherever there is judeoChristian theology and a proper perspective of God in Heaven who reigns on earth. 72 - Solomon is speaking in a wondrous tone here.   Certainly carried throughout this Psalm is the imagery of Christ reigning on the earth when He returns.  The things that all those who have a heart for God sense ought to be on earth truly are.  There is prosperity, the rescue that is needed is readily provided, the godly flourish, all worship the one true God, .