Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

• The Wilderness Journey- “I tested your faith at Meribah, when you complained that there was no water. Interlude”(7)

III STERN WARNINGS - 8-10

“Listen to me, o my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.” (8-10) Four times in the psalm God calls upon his people to ‘listen’ to him. He reminds them of the 1st commandment that was given to Moses upon Mount Sinai in the wilderness 2 months after their deliv- erance from Egypt: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. Do not worship any other gods besides me.”(Ex. 20:2,3) Worship is the primary issue of life because it determines who or what we will love and obey. God is a jealous God and does not want to share our hearts with any- one. The last of verse 10 is foreshadowing the words of Jesus as he gave his sermon on the mount: “God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.”(Mt. 5:6) God is look- ing for those who hunger for his kingdom. “But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their blind and stubborn way, living according to their own desires. But oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! (11-13) Listening affects our living. When we do not listen, we end up following our own blind desires that leads to destruction. Israel’s obedience to the 1st and greatest commandment would have an immediate im- pact upon their enemies: • “How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!” • “How soon my hands would be upon their foes!” (14) The Passover deliverance happened very quickly and demanded immediate obedience from the Israelites. “Eat the food quickly, for this is the Lord’s Passover.”(Ex. 12:11) • “Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; • their desolation would last forever.” (15) As the Israelites trusted God and his Passover lamb he fulfilled these promises: “Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived.” (Ex. 14:28) God promised positive results if they obeyed the 1st and greatest commandment: • “But I would feed you with the best of foods.” The psalmist is probably referring more to the spiritual food that God promised to give those who seek him: “But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you.” (Jn. 6:27) • “I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.” (16) Honey is always symbolic of the word of God in the Bible. This reference is taken from the last song of Moses in Deuteronomy: “He nourished them with honey from the cliffs (rock), with olive oil from the hard rock.” (Deut. 32:13) To all those who honor Jesus, God’s Passover lamb, he will fill with the best of spiritual nourishment and the sweetest promises from his word. IV SATISFY YOU - 11-16

1 Keil & Delitzsch

PSALM 82: YOU ARE GODS The Deity of Christ

This psalm is a prophecy from God against the corruption of the judges of the land and Jesus quotes it directly in his most brilliant and intellectual argument with the Rabbis. He proves through the inter- pretation of verse 6 that it was not blasphemous for him to claim that he is the Son of God. This is the last of Asaph’s great prophetic psalms the others being: 200