Sermons on the Psalms

So when you read through the Psalms, the “I,” the “me,” the “we,” the “us,” has the king in view. If it’s an “us” and a “we,” it is the king as representative of the people. And the “I” and the “me” and the “he,” as you read the Psalms, almost invariably, is the king. And as we keep that in mind, then your next thing to remember is the canonical perspective of the Psalms. And here we’ll learn from the New Testament how they use the Psalms and that the references to the king, the Davidic king in the Old Testament, those references point beyond him to David’s greater son who will come to reign. So be alert as you read through the Psalms to recognize the centrality of the king. These are songs; this is a nation of Israel gathered at the temple to sing about their king. And that then in turn points forward to the great king whom they anticipate.

Parallelism is basic to Hebrew poetry. If you’re going to read the Psalms effectively, you cannot—please hear this—if you’re going to read the Psalms effectively with understanding, you cannot just read through it linearly like you read prose. It’s not made to work that way. You have to think: how does line two correspond to line one? And as you meditate on that, the thought of the Psalm will begin to emerge.

Well, there’s a lot of white space in the Psalms. That’s because things are stated briefly, tersely, and then the second line, it’ll say it again briefly, with terseness, and then moves on to the next and the next. And you have to stop and consider what is in that little phrase. He’s not going to explain it as the prose goes forward like you would in narrative. But you have to think, “All right, in brief here, what is he saying?” Often the psalmist will omit parts of speech; often it’s just compressed, and you have to think what’s going on in this particular case.

What’s the theme? Well, you might say praise. That’s kind of broad. Praise for what? Let’s say praise to God. Praise to God for what? And as you look through it, you find God is praised because he’s the great king, he’s the ruler over all, because he exercises his reign over all. And I think by the time we’re done, we have to say that the theme of the Book of Psalms is something of the same as the theme for the entire Bible, and that is the kingdom of God—that God is reasserting his kingship and his lordship over the earth. And the book of Psalms reflects that. It reflects it in the laments. Things seem to go awry. What does that say, and how does that reflect on God’s rulership over the world? Psalms of praise—many of them take up specific enthronement themes: that God is king, or God’s king is king, the anointed is king, and he will rule for God over all of the earth. And that overall, I think, is the point of the Psalter. The nation of Israel is God’s people, God’s kingdom, and God is working through that, and what about the things that are wrong, and what about the enemies? All of this is reflecting God’s rule over the earth, and the Psalms sing that, and it ends up, interestingly, in Book 5 with many, many of the Psalms speaking of the nations giving praise to God as king.

The Psalms are a compiled work. It’s not like most of the other books that are the works of one author in particular, but we have many authors who have written these Psalms. And the question that we’re going to entertain this evening, then, is: how did all of this come about into this book of the Psalms that we have? It’s been likened—and I think this is the best way to help understand, the best illustration—it’s been likened to a large river. You have innumerable springs that make their way into brooks and streams, and those streams and brooks make their way into rivers, and finally into a large river like the Mississippi, and it finally empties out into the ocean.

The Book of Psalms was popular in its own day. It was popular in New Testament times. The Book of Psalms is the most represented Old Testament book in the New Testament. It is the most represented book in the Qumran literature, if you’ve heard of that. The Jewish sect around the time of Jesus, the Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries in 1948—there’s a wealth of literature that was found there. The most represented book of the Old Testament there was the Psalms. Every New Testament book, except for 2nd and 3rd John, 1st Thessalonians, and Philemon, quotes or alludes to the Book of Psalms in some way. Jesus and the Apostles perhaps had the book memorized. If they didn’t have it memorized, they had it learned very well. And we can say that because as we read the New Testament, both in discussions offhand in the Gospels and in the Epistles, Jesus and the apostles seem just to breathe the Psalms. They are able to just come up with the Psalms and recite them at a given point and apply it to an area of doctrine or some incident in the life of Christ or some area of theology or whatever.

Why are they so valuable? In what ways are they valuable? One, just a very practical one, and we noted this many times in our prayer group on Wednesday night when we worked our way through the Psalms, is that we learn from the Psalms; we learn to pray. We learn to lament, and we learn to praise. We learn from the Psalms how to bring everything before the face of God: laments, praises, good things, bad things, complaints, all. We learn from the Psalms how to bring life before God in prayer. We also learn about God and his people. We learn about Christ as king over the kingdom of God, the anointed who will come to reign. Many of the Psalms anticipate that in various kinds of ways and some very directly, like Psalm 2 and Psalm 110.

So for example, in Deuteronomy chapter seven, Moses commands Israel going into the promised land—scorched earth policy. Wipe it out. You get into Judges chapter two, and you have an exception. Remember who it was? Rahab. Harlot. And then you get to chapter six, and you have Achan, an Israelite, who didn’t carry out the ban, and he’s destroyed. So we have a harlot who’s spared, and we have an Israelite who’s condemned. And I think it points out well a principle that we have running through the Old Testament, and Jeremiah chapter 18 states it very specifically: God pronounces a curse, but if there is repentance, he’ll turn back. So that, I think, has to be factored into it here. It’s not that David doesn’t want them ever to repent, but given that they will not, they must be destroyed.

And so, turn the other cheek, love your enemies, those things—these are not given to the state. The state is commanded to enforce justice in the earth. It is given the sword. Paul says “the sword.” That’s not the instrument of spanking. That’s the instrument of death. The state is given the sword to enforce justice in the earth. The people of Christ themselves, by contrast, are called to take up the cross of Christ and bear it every day. And yet, at the same time, while we are commanded to love our enemies and turn the other cheek, we are also commanded to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth and in heaven.” And all of the connotations of that, including his judgment on the enemies.

That kind of wickedness, that kind of arrogance—I think at some point we have to say, yes, we can pray that God would intervene and not allow this to hinder the work of his kingdom. I think we can pray, “God, if you will not give him repentance, if you will not save him, remove him.” And then at the end, in any case, in any case, use these events to the advance of the gospel. And in the meantime, embolden your people. That’s not a final answer, it’s not a definitive answer. I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer. The general answer is yes, I think there is room for this at some point, but we must be careful to recognize that this is not for personal vengeance or even personal avenging. This is for concerns for the kingdom of God.

The difference between the righteous and the wicked is graphically portrayed for us in the first and the last word of the psalm. Look at them. First word: “blessed.” Last word: “perish.” The two ways differ entirely, both in life and in death, for time and for eternity. And Psalm 1 is given to warn us that there are these two ways. There is no third. There are these two ways, and these two ways only. And in the end, they part forever. Now after we have looked through Psalm 2, we will explore more fully how Psalms 1 and 2 together form the gateway to the Psalter. This is the door into the book of Psalms. But already I think you can see how Psalm 1 is Psalm 1 for strategic reasons. Why is Psalm 1 Psalm 1? It is placed here with specific reasons. Psalm 1 is the first psalm because it identifies for us those for whom the Psalter is intended. It’s intended for the righteous. The Psalms are for the blessed who refuse the way of sin and devote themselves to divine revelation. That’s who the Psalter is for.

And the changing imagery is not the only shift that David makes in this psalm. There’s a shift you’ll notice in the audience as well. It’s so subtle you can barely notice it. Verses 1 to 3, David is addressing the congregation, talking about the shepherd. In verse 5, David is addressing God directly: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy.” But that shift was already made in verse 4. He’s still talking about the pasture and God as a shepherd, but he’s changed the audience: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I’ll fear no evil for you are with me, your rod, your staff, they comfort me.” So verse 4 is something of a transition verse from 1 to 3 into verse 5. In verses 1 to 3, he’s talking to the congregation. Verse 5, he turns to address God. In verse 4, in between, there’s a transition to that.

Living under God’s care is like, verses 1 to 4, a sheep in lush pasture. Verse 5, it gets better than that; it’s like being a guest in a wealthy sheik’s tent. And then verse 6—well, it’s better than any of that, actually. It’s better to be in God’s very presence forever. And here the metaphors give way to the reality: eternity in the presence of his shepherd king. That is David’s ultimate hope and ours. This is a psalm then of trust, a psalm of confidence, trust in God’s providence through all of life.

I think all that is right, but certainly Psalm 23 is for us, and it’s not just about Jesus. Well, it’s about Jesus, but it’s about Jesus in a different way. This psalm is for us because the Lord Jesus Christ is not just one of God’s sheep. The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd. And this psalm does indeed speak for us: Jesus the shepherd and we his sheep.

By way of overview, we have three stanzas in the psalm: verses one to three, verses 4 to 7, and then verses 8 to 10. Each of those stanzas, you’ll notice, is marked or signaled by the Selah at the end. It’s a musical note of some kind. We don’t know exactly what that means. There’s been a lot of discussion about that. But it’s at least, in this case, marking the end of each of these stanzas. And then stanzas 2 and 3, you’ll notice, each conclude with the same refrain. Verse 7 and verse 11: “The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge, our fortress.” So these are the three stanzas that we’ll look through as we make our way through the psalm. The theme running through the psalm is the safety of God’s people who live under his protective care. We have that at the outset, verse 1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” And then we have the refrains, verses 7 and 11: “The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.” And then verse 8, giving the tangible evidence of it that people can go look at and see that God has been gracious in defending his people.

But to answer that, verse one then serves as kind of a title to the psalm. It states at the outset the basic proposition of the psalm, the theme: the Lord is our mighty fortress, the one to whom we can run for refuge, for strength. He’s our unfailing source of strength in the face of any danger. And then verses 2 and 3 expand on that, sort of to stress the point.

Psalm 51 is one of those 14 psalms that provide a historical setting in the superscript. And David tells us here this was written in the aftermath of his infamous sin against Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah. This is recorded for us in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and 12. You’re familiar with the story, I’m sure, but to understand the psalm David tells us right up front, we need to have that chapter of David’s life well in mind.

But David was a deeply flawed man. And at the same time, David did have a heart that was for God. And when he was confronted with his sin, he did not hold back. He confessed it frankly and placed himself at God’s mercy. Psalm 51 now is David’s confession: the record of his confession of that sin with Bathsheba and his plea for mercy. You might remember some time back we were in Psalm 32. That was written in the aftermath of this event as well, but Psalm 32 records David’s joy of the forgiveness that he received upon his repentance. So Psalm 51 now is his confession, his repentance of sin, and his plea for mercy.

So clearly then it seems this psalm speaks of Messiah, David’s greater son who will come, the promised king. This psalm is shaped and driven by God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 that we keep going back to so often through the psalms. God promised that he would have a son who would reign on the throne forever, that his throne would be successful the world over, and this psalm is reflective of Psalm 2, for that matter, where the triumph of God’s anointed is assured—that he will have victory over all of the nations. So it is Messiah, it is God, David’s greater son that is in view here. He is the one in verse one who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides under the shadow of the Almighty. He is the one in verse two who says to the Lord, “My refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” He is the one who’s promised absolute success in battle over all of his enemies.

As I said, it’s common to read Psalm 91 as though Psalm 91 were about us. In recent years, we’ve been reminded over and again in much of biblical studies, reminding the church that the Bible is not about you. It’s about Jesus. We do well to remember that. However—however, this is very important to say that this psalm is not about us is not to say that it is not for us. There’s an important distinction there that you must see. To say that this psalm is not about us is not to say that it is not for us. It’s worth noting in verses 14 to 16 again that God is speaking, but he’s not talking to the king. In verses 14 to 16, God is talking about the king. In the third person: “Because he,” verse 14, “because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him. I’ll be with him in trouble. I will rescue him. I’ll honor him. With long life, I’ll satisfy him and show him my salvation.” God is not talking to the king. He’s talking to David. And David puts it here for us. God is talking to us about the king. And this psalm is not about us, but this psalm is for us. And this psalm is for us only because, first of all, it’s about Him.

That’s the distinction. He assures the Lord Jesus Christ that He will secure God’s kingdom and that He will reign in vindication endless days in triumph over all of His enemies. And the Bible everywhere, in the Old Testament and the New, assures us of the same, that in His triumph and in His kingdom, we, His people, will have a part.

In this brief lyric psalm, the psalmist expresses his trust in God and rejoices in his safety under God’s faithful care. This confidence is emphasized throughout the psalm chiefly by the six-fold repetition of the verb s ̌ amar (keep, watch, guard, protect) in reference to YHWH (vv. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8), who is both the creator of the universe and the “keeper” of His covenant people Israel. This theme of confidence is developed through the psalm by an overview of God’s protective activity. The repeated portrayal of God as a very personal guardian (“my help,” “your keeper,” “your shade”) highlights the central, unifying idea — firm confidence grounded in the continued protective care of Israel’s faithful covenant God.

The psalm, therefore, stresses throughout the theme of confidence in God’s protective care. This theme is stated and affirmed in stanza one and progressively expanded in each successive stanza until it reaches its climax in verse 8, which is a comprehensive statement of YHWH’s constant and boundless protection. God diligently and unceasingly protects His own, and there is no detail of life outside of His providential control. He is our unfailing source of help, the one in whom we may place our most confident trust. The Psalm is strikingly reminiscent of John 10:27-30, Romans 8:28-30, and host of other passages that remind us of God’s providence over all, his deep and unceasing care for his own, and our eternal safe-keeping in Christ.