The Bible Recap - Day 138 (Psalm 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64) - Year 3

Episode Date: May 18, 2021

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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. In the beginning of Psalm 26, it may seem like David is boasting about his righteousness, but as he continues on, he makes it clear that the source of his righteousness is God steadfast love. That's what enables him to trust in God. In verse 3, he says he's walking in God's faithfulness, not his own. This is another crucial distinction. He loves the nearness of God and hates the things God opposes.

This psalm was likely written about the time when so many of David's friends and family betrayed him and joined forces with his estranged son Absalom. So the references to hypocrites and men of falsehood make a lot of sense. David used to walk closely with these men, so you can see why he would want to set himself apart from him now that they've shown their true colors. He wants to be markedly different as a man of integrity for the glory of God. He wants to be vindicated as he disassociates from the evil doers. Psalm 40 covers a lot of ground. This was written to be a corporate song, but it was almost certainly born out of a lot of David's personal experiences. If we zoom out on the timeline of his life, this Psalm almost seems to fit his storyline perfectly so far. In verse one, he waits patiently before the Lord,

just as he waited 15 years to be king. In verse two, God drew him up out of the pit of destruction when Saul was trying to destroy his life. And David continued to praise God and God continued to bless David. He mentions repeatedly how he proclaimed God's goodness for all to hear. In song and in conversation and among large groups of people, he can't stop talking about

God's goodness to him. But then things take a rough turn in verse 12, just like they did in David's life. His iniquity and sin, like with Bashiba and Niraya, have overtaken him. They outnumber the hairs of his head. He asked God to rescue him from the consequences of his own sin, because as he says in verse 14, some of these people even want to take his life, like Absalom and Ahid the Fel did. In verse 17, David closes with a phrase that seems unsuited for a king. He says, As for me, I am poor and needy. Really, David?

But this statement actually points more to the state of his heart than to the size of his bank account. He knows that he has nothing to offer God. If you've ever read the sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, this is what true spiritual poverty looks like. He's been humbled by his own sin

and by the pursuit of his enemies, and he knows that God is his only hope. David's anger reaches a boiling point in Psalm 58, but he never crosses over into the territory of winning selfish revenge. He only wants God to do justice, and David never sets out to attain justice for himself even though as King he could totally justify it. He trusts God to act because he knows God is a righteous judge. Things cooled down a lot in Psalm 61. It was definitely written out of David's personal experience, but he's turned it into a corporate song.

When you're reading these songs, you probably connect with a lot of the lines in them. Even though you've probably never had your kingdom overthrown by your son, you can still relate to the themes of what David is writing here. David had to flee his home in city, and he cries to God from the ends of the earth. God has been a refuge to him in the past, like he was when Saul sought his life.

So David reminds himself in the midst of these bleak circumstances that God has come through for him before. David wants to go back to Jerusalem to the city God has set his name on so that he can draw near to God. He testifies not only to God's goodness to him, but also to God's goodness to his family through the years. In verse 5, he says, You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. What a gift. If you come from a family who loves God, that's an incredible blessing.

And if you come from a family that doesn't, how beautiful is it that God called you to Himself despite the fact that He wasn't a priority in your family of origin? This verse would praise God just as much if it said, you have called me to yourself despite my heritage. Whichever truth applies to you, God is glorified to bring all kinds of people into his family from all different backgrounds. I imagine David writing Psalm 62 while he's exiled from Jerusalem, waiting to find out what will happen with Absalom. As those who betray him try to knock him down from his position, he knows that God is his rock, and he trusts that he won't be shaken.

He's been surrounded by hypocrites and liars and is just now finding out the truth. And David decides, he'd rather keep silent than talk to anyone about it at all, because who knows who can be trusted? So he pours out his heart to God. God can be trusted. And even pours out his heart to God. God can be trusted. And even though the rank and position of man

is ever changing, rising and falling like the stock market, unpredictable and even volatile at times, God is solid ground. And not only that, but God is both powerful and loving and he can be trusted to do what is right. Psalm 64 recounts the steps of David's enemies, even though he wasn't there when Absalom was seeking counsel from both the Hithafel and Hushai,

David's words in verse 6 echo exactly what was happening. It says, they search out injustice. Absalom was trying to establish the best plan for carrying out evil. Verse 7 says, God shoots his arrows at them, and this reminds me of the three arrows Joab used to pierce through Absalom's heart. And it's even interesting how David's words at the end of the song where he says, let the righteous rejoice, are almost preaching to himself. Because when we saw him last, he was mourning. Maybe soon He'll be able to

rejoice in the Lord, even in the midst of the tragedy surrounding Him. He's done it before when He lost His Son, so we know it's possible. David knows how to take His sadness to God, because He knows worship and lament aren't mutually exclusive. My God shot came from Psalm 40 verses 6 through 8 today. In verses 6 and 8 David says, in sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear, burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. I delight to do your will, O God, your law is written within my heart. What does it tell us about God that we're seeing these verses in the Old Testament? In the very place where all the sacrifices and offerings are listed out as commands?

What this shows us is that the sacrificial system God set up was never fully sufficient. It was never intended to be. Goats and bulls have never been enough. God has always been after our hearts, not our sacrifices. David says God doesn't delight in people giving him animals. Instead, God delights in being the giver, in giving people open ears that hear him and hearts that love him and delight in him in return. I've never sacrificed an animal, but I feel confident that reading his word is far more delightful to me than that would ever be. So I'm really grateful for the sacrificial death of Christ.

For God given new ears and a new heart and an increasing delight in Him. He's where the joy is. Each month we offer special bonus content to those of you who are part of our Patreon family. For the month of May, we have a document that discusses mentoring and includes information detailing how to find a mentor, how to be a mentor, and what mentoring relationships might look like. This is valuable information, and it's available for patrons who've joined at the bonus

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